Internal emails reveal Ticketmaster helped scalpers jack up prices, FTC says

Airline-style ticketing and transferability

• Several commenters argue event tickets could work like airline seats: name-bound, ID-checked, non-transferable or only refundable at face value, which would largely kill scalping.
• Others counter that venues don’t want the friction of strict ID checks and, unlike airlines, many stakeholders (venues, promoters, platforms) actively profit from resales.
• Historical note: airline non-transferability is relatively recent; tickets used to be easily resellable before post‑9/11 ID rules.

Artist pricing, scalpers, and who’s to blame

• Strong theme: the “root cause” of scalping is artists and promoters intentionally pricing tickets below market value while still wanting market-level revenue.
• Multiple people claim artists, managers, venues, and Ticketmaster all share in high fees and secondary-market profits, with Ticketmaster acting as the public villain so artists can maintain a “we care about fans” image.
• Some push back, saying Ticketmaster’s consolidation shifted power away from artists; others argue it’s a mutually lucrative ecosystem that exploits fan passion.

Monopoly, vertical integration, and incentives

• Ticketmaster/Live Nation is described as more than a ticketing site: it owns or controls venues, promotions, and some artist management, creating a de facto monopoly over large arenas and amphitheaters.
• Venues reportedly get a cut of the “fees,” giving them direct incentives to tolerate or encourage inflated pricing and resale dynamics.
• Commenters note this structure lets Ticketmaster claim to fight bots while quietly benefiting from high-volume brokers.

User experiences and fee resentment

• Many describe high fees on both purchase and resale, with Ticketmaster taking a cut each time a ticket changes hands.
• Stories include instant “sellouts” followed by large resale inventory at higher prices, and people paying hundreds of dollars over face value or eating large losses when plans change.
• Some still report smooth technical experiences with Ticketmaster; the hatred is overwhelmingly about pricing, opacity, and perceived gouging.

Proposed fixes and policy ideas

• Legal caps: laws banning resale above face value (as in some European countries and Norway) are cited as effective in limiting scalping and fee games.
• Mechanisms: lotteries, queues, refundable-but-not-transferable tickets, and auctions or “bonding curves” that dynamically discover market prices while keeping surplus with artists/venues rather than scalpers.
• Technical ideas include on-chain/non-transferable ticket tokens, but critics note incentives are misaligned: the current ecosystem profits from speculation.

Competition, regulation, and broader capitalism debate

• Startups and independent ticketing platforms exist but are described as boxed into small, low-margin shows because Live Nation controls big venues and promoters.
• Some hope for antitrust action (FTC lawsuit, DOJ breakup talk); others are cynical that fines and class actions will be minor “slaps on the wrist.”
• A meta-thread blames concentrated market power and “end-stage capitalism,” arguing monopolies/cartels are a natural outcome when profit maximization meets weak regulation.