FTC: Springsteen Ticket Buyers Can Expect a Refund From Ticketmaster
Consumer restitution from settlement anticipated to exceed $1 million, says FTC chairman
Jenna Greene

The National Law Journal

February 19, 2010


Bruce Springsteen concertgoers, take heart. The Federal Trade Commission has got your back.

The agency Thursday announced it has settled charges that Ticketmaster and its affiliate TicketsNow used "deceptive bait-and-switch tactics" to sell tickets to 16 Springsteen concerts last year.

When thousands of consumers tried to buy tickets via Ticketmaster's Web site, they were unknowingly redirected to TicketsNow, a resale site that charged as much as four times more than the face value of each ticket. In some cases, consumers purchased "phantom tickets" that the reseller didn't even possess.

"Buying tickets should not be a game of change," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz at a press conference Thursday. "Our hope is to clean up the Wild West of ticket reselling."

In a complaint simultaneously filed and settled Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the FTC charged Ticketmaster and its affiliates with deceptive and unfair practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The settlement calls for Ticketmaster to refund the difference between the original price of each ticket -- $95 maximum -- and the amount charged by TicketsNow -- up to $400. Leibowitz estimated that consumer restitution would top $1 million.

The settlement also calls for what Leibowitz called "dramatic changes in ticket practices." Now, when Ticketmaster redirects consumers to TicketsNow, this must be "clearly and conspicuously" disclosed. Also, resellers must clearly disclose if the tickets offered are in-hand or speculative.

The FTC also sent warning letters to about 10 other ticket resellers, putting them on notice of the agency's new standards.

Ticketmaster was represented by its general counsel, Chris Riley, and outside counsel Linda Goldstein, a partner in the New York office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and chair of the firm's advertising, marketing and media division.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation Inc. to form Live Nation Entertainment Inc., but imposed some conditions on the deal.

In 2009, Ticketmaster settled a case brought by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram to resolve more than 2,000 complaints in connection with the sale of tickets to a Springsteen concert at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

The FTC is getting geared up about a lot of stuff.  Price gouging, false advertising, dumping.  They're great.  I dont' see why people dont' realize
that we Need this sort of regulatory activity.  

What I want to know is how blocks of tickets get into the hands of stubhub etc. I was in Atlanta and there were 3 rows in front of Keith at  FOS that were empty so I stood there for awhile during Rain Fall Down.  

I know I was one of the people who got ripped off but I cant be bothered going back through my records to see what I overpaid. It's not worth the trouble and I bet alot of people wont be into dealing with more of this bullshit.  

Great, thanks Lefty!

Put these buggers in a cell with Bernie Madoff and blast Barry Manilow at them 24/7.

i don't go to concerts much anymore.  the only big acts i want to see these day are either the stones or pink floyd [which i know won't play anymore].  i have seen bruce enough back in his hay day and i would like to see u2 1 time because i have never seen them, but i won't pay mega bucks to do so.  i prefer to see small acts like the nuge or george thourogood and the like.

just a note of interest....i remember when the voodoo lounge stones tickets went on sale for the 5 night giants shows, i was on the horn hitting redial 10am sharp and it wasn't until hours [2 at most] later i got thru and was offered the best 300 section.  that was only an hour or so after they went on sale...WTF?  then i remember the time the btb tickets went on sale.  it was in poughkeepsie, ny...you had to come to the box office at the mid hudson civic center the day before the tickets went on sale to get a bracelet and then come back the next day to stand in line to buy tickets, but you were not guaranteed tickets even if you were say 5th in line.  i believe i ended up in the 300 section as well.  i think anyway you cut it sucks.  i took a chance and high tailed it down to the hartford civic center with a friend a we lucked out and got 2 tickets for 275 dollars 1st row off the ice...great seats looking 10 oclock to the stage.  but i guess if you want good good seats these days you have to bite the bullet and pay the price...a friend got 2 great seats for the 1st row b stage at giants stadiun for semi large dollars, but even more for 9th row at the baltimore show.  go figure.

ijwthstd wrote on Feb 21^st, 2010 at 9:38pm:


Well said.  I'll go with friends, but sometimes sit by myself to get the best seat possible.  For artists that aren't in my top 10, I'll take a chance and keep watching TicketMaster to see what pops up.  Many would be surprised at what opens up later.  I see a lot of shows and get very lucky sometimes (front row, center for Dave Mason in May) and sometimes not (200 section far away for U2 in June).  I caught Heaven & Hell as well last year and scored row 4.