Province Probes Sale Of Concert Tickets In Wake Of Lawsuits
Posted March 1, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There could be more bad legal news ahead for Ticketmaster, which is already facing two class action lawsuits in Canada and just settled a costly fight with Bruce Springsteen and his fans.
The Canadian Press has learned Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General is looking into the sale and pricing of tickets for entertainment and sporting events in the province.
Attorney General Chris Bentley “is exploring options right now to address mounting concerns about access to tickets and the cost of tickets,” a source close to the minister said Sunday.
It’s not known whether those options would include legislation or a formal investigation into the sale and resale of tickets.
Bentley is expected to have more to say on the matter when he meets with reporters following Monday’s question period at the Ontario legislature.
“Minister Bentley wants to ensure families and music fans are being treated fairly when they buy tickets for concerts and other events,” said the source.
“Particularly when many average Ontario families are feeling a financial pinch.”
One class action suit stems from Ticketmaster’s ownership of the resale site TicketsNow, where tickets are frequently sold for many times their face value. Customers have noted tickets are sometimes posted on TicketsNow almost immediately after hitting Ticketmaster’s website.
A second lawsuit targets Ticketmaster’s fees and service charges, and claims the entertainment giant “conspired” to sell tickets at a higher cost than their original price.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Both suits, filed by the same two law firms, note that Ontario law prohibits the sale of tickets for prices higher than the issuing price. The lawyers say calls from Canadians have gone up dramatically since Springsteen spoke out against Ticketmaster’s practices.
Ticketmaster agreed last week to change the way it sells tickets in the United States after Springsteen fans in his home state of New Jersey complained about being redirected to TicketsNow.
The company admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $350,000 to the state of New Jersey and to compensate ticket holders to a Springsteen show who were redirected to TicketsNow.
Ticketmaster purchased TicketsNow in February 2008 for US$265 million, and takes a slice of every ticket resold through TicketsNow, in addition to the service charges and fees it levies when the tickets are first sold.
The company insisted in a previous interview with The Canadian Press that it did not set aside or redirect tickets to TicketsNow or give the resale site any preferential access to tickets.
Ticketmaster vice president Joe Freeman said the company was providing consumers with a service they wanted, which guaranteed the resale tickets were not counterfeit. He said customers don’t get that guarantee when buying tickets from scalpers outside arenas or concert halls.
The U.S. Justice Department announced last month it would investigate Ticketmaster’s proposed merger with Live Nation Inc. to see if the new company would create an unfair monopoly in the ticket-selling business.
Live Nation, the world’s No. 1 concert promoter, owns over 140 venues and was once Ticketmaster’s biggest client. It has multi-year comprehensive rights deals covering the tours of Madonna, Jay-Z, U2, Nickelback and Shakira.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Bridgestone Halftime Show during Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Raymond James Stadium on February 1, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
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