“Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, will pay $9.9 million to resolve allegations that it misled customers about ticket prices, charged deceptive fees, and used illegal pressure tactics to get fans to buy tickets for a decade.”

From the Office of the DC Attorney General:

“Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, will pay $9.9 million to resolve allegations that it misled customers about ticket prices, charged deceptive fees, and used illegal pressure tactics to get fans to buy tickets for a decade.

Since the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) began its investigation, Live Nation has changed its practices to provide customers information about the total ticket cost up front, and it also now shares more information about the purpose of fees and how they are shared among the companies receiving them. Live Nation has agreed to maintain these changes, in addition to making a monetary settlement payment.

This settlement resolves a consumer protection investigation that is separate from OAG’s antitrust case against Live Nation for illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

“For at least a decade, Live Nation and Ticketmaster boosted profits by charging predatory, hidden fees — taking advantage of DC residents buying tickets for their favorite artist or team and pricing others out entirely,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “With this settlement, we’re putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of DC fans and ensuring that the price fans see when they first start shopping for tickets is the price they actually pay.”

An OAG investigation into Live Nation’s practices uncovered evidence that the company misled consumers in multiple ways, in violation of the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, including evidence that Live Nation:

Advertised deceptively low ticket prices that did not include mandatory fees. From 2015 until May 2025, Live Nation hid the true price of tickets, revealing the full price only on the checkout page where the amount of costly mandatory fees were disclosed for the first time, after consumers had already invested time and effort in the purchase. This deceptive bait-and-switch tactic deprived consumers of complete information about ticket pricing up front and limited their ability to make informed purchasing decisions.
Did not properly disclose the fees it charged. Live Nation failed to adequately disclose critical information about the nature and purpose of its fees and the company’s role in setting them.
Used misleading pressure tactics to sell tickets. Live Nation used a countdown clock and pop-up notifications that created the impression that tickets were scarce and would soon be sold out. If users were inactive for more than one minute, Live Nation’s ticketing platform displayed a message saying “Tickets are selling fast. Get yours now before they’re gone.” This message appeared regardless of actual demand for the event.

In 2025, in response to OAG’s investigation and the FTC’s Rule on Unfair and Deceptive Fees, Live Nation made changes to its platform and has implemented all-in pricing. With OAG’s input, it has also made changes to its fee disclosures and the inactivity notice that pops up when a consumer is in the purchase flow.

Under the terms of the settlement, Live Nation will:

Pay $9.9 million to the District. The District will refund up to $8.9 million back to Live Nation customers. OAG will announce the details of a claims process in the coming months.
Show the full price of tickets—including mandatory fees—up front and throughout the purchase process. Live Nation will maintain the changes it has made to its platform, and so will continue to display to consumers the full price of a ticket, including any mandatory fees (minus taxes), on the ticket selection page and throughout the purchase process on its website and its apps.
Share additional information about the fees it charges. Live Nation has updated its platform to share additional information about the purpose of fees it charges, whether anyone profits from the fee, and how the fees are shared among the parties that put on a live event. This information can be found in the online Help Center and in “tool tips” that are shown when a user hovers their cursor over a fee during the ticket purchase.
Share additional information about its ticket hold timer. The company will also maintain the changes it has made to its inactivity notice. Now, the notice more accurately explains how the ticket hold process works.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Meryl Grenadier, Jorge Bonilla Lopez, and Brittany Nyovanie; Paralegal Kahina Crawford; and Director of the Office of Consumer Protection Kevin Vermillion.”