TJ Chambers
Ticketing and (Adversarial) Legal Matters
In a slight follow-up to the throw-away comment in last week’s post ‘is LNE the leading employment creation agency for lawyers?’ (https://tjchambers.blog/2024/10/25/in-other-news-25-10-24/).
What it is it about ticketing, that repeatedly triggers litigation. Seemingly again and again.
Is the standard ticketing provision so routinely bad, poor in technical execution and/or failing in customer service, that users are somehow unable to resolve their dissatisfaction other than through legal disputes and lawsuits.
Why do the end-users of ticketing, both clients and consumers, as well as politicians and regulators, constantly offer opinion and legal remedies to an industry that doesn’t appear to be able to function efficiently, transparently and ethically.
Does ‘ticketing’ have a legal problem?
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This week the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision, affirming that Live Nation (and its subsidiary Ticketmaster) cannot enforce contract clauses requiring customers to settle disputes through private arbitration rather than in a federal court.
Essentially, the three-judge appeals panel echoed earlier findings, stating that the arbitration agreements imposed on ticket buyers were disproportionately advantageous for Live Nation-Ticketmaster and ultimately unfair to consumers.
This ruling opens a potential path to federal court for consumers who allege that they were forced to navigate complex arbitration frameworks that undermine their ability to seek fair redress for ticketing service issues.
For further details, see Mike Scarcella – ‘Live Nation must face consumer lawsuit over ticket prices, US appeals court rules’ (https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/live-nation-must-face-consumer-lawsuit-over-ticket-prices-us-appeals-court-rules-2024-10-28/), or Alison Frankel – ‘Live Nation decision will force companies to rethink consumer arbitration rules’ (https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/column-live-nation-decision-will-force-companies-rethink-consumer-arbitration-2024-10-29/).
Observers claim that Live Nation may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but in the interim, consumer lobbyists claim this is ‘a strong statement about contractual fairness’.
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In another U.S. story, over the last month there has been various media reports of Ticketmaster tickets ‘disappearing’ from individual consumer accounts.
The NBC Bay Area office reported on the 2nd October (https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/consumer/ticketmaster-stubs-disappear/3669965/) that some Ticketmaster customers’ bought-and-paid-for tickets had disappeared from their accounts.
Similar incidents were reported by customers to various media outlets across the nation (Ashley King – ‘Fans Find Tickets Stolen From Ticketmaster Accounts — Multiple Incidents Reported’ https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/10/01/fans-find-tickets-stolen-from-ticketmaster-accounts-multiple-incidents-reported/), but without any official acknowledgement of an issue, some customers then speculated that the disappearing tickets may be linked to the ‘Shiny Hunters’ Live Nation-Ticketmaster hack earlier this year when approximately 560 million customers had their email addresses, phone numbers and other personal information compromised.
In a further development, some customers then reported that their missing tickets had reappeared on various secondary sites.
Ticketmaster then insisted that the ‘unapproved ticket transfers’ were likely the result of customers having weak password security and unrelated to the earlier hack.
Dan Wall LNE EVP Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, warned a NBC Chicago interviewer ‘If you haven’t updated your password recently and if you’re using a password that you use in a lot of different places, they might be able to get into your account’.
Several firms have now filed class action suits (Ethan Millman – ‘Ticketmaster Sued Over Massive Data Breach’ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ticketmaster-sued-class-action-massive-data-breach-1235133657/) against Ticketmaster, claiming the breach was ‘a direct result of [Ticketmaster’s] failure to implement adequate and reasonable data protection procedures’.
Inevitably, more to follow.
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Meanwhile, India’s Directorate of Enforcement says it has seized ‘incriminating’ material in a series of raids across five states in connection with the ‘illegal’ touting of Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh tickets.
Local police are investigating after tickets sold via the official ticketing partners – BookMyShow and Zomato Live – sold out in minutes only to re-appear on unauthorised resale platforms at highly inflated prices or being counterfeit tickets.
Further details via ‘ED finds irregularities in ticket sales for Coldplay, Diljit Dosanjh’s concerts after raids; BookMyShow responds’ – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/ed-finds-irregularities-in-ticket-sales-for-coldplay-diljit-dosanjhs-concerts-after-raids/articleshow/114614847.cms, or, ‘Diljit Dosanjh’s Jaipur show: ED raids 13 locations in 5 states over illegal sale of tickets’ – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/ed-raids-uncover-ticket-scalping-scandal-ahead-of-diljit-dosanjhs-jaipur-concert/articleshow/114669528.cms, or Kamya Pandev ‘ED Conducts Search and Seizure in Ticket Scalping Probe for Coldplay, Diljit Dosanjh Concerts’ https://www.medianama.com/2024/10/223-enforcement-directorates-investigation-ticket-scalping-networks-coldplay-diljit-concerts/.
So ticketing and suspect criminality and/or fraud isn’t just a North American experience, or limited to the activities of a single company.
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Back in the UK, Live Nation and SJM Concerts, the promoters of Oasis’s reunion tour confirmed to the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9ql7jnepwlo) that they will begin cancelling tickets which have ‘broken the terms and conditions’ of the original Onsale which resulted in 1.4M sales.
However, it is estimated that 4% of those tickets, or approximately 50,000, were then listed on secondary marketplaces.
The promoters have now warned that these tickets risk being invalidated and then redistributed through the official channel, Ticketmaster, at their original face value.
One stated aim of the original Onsale T&Cs was to limit secondary ticketing companies from reselling tickets for huge profit.
So, if unauthorised resale tickets are now going to be identified and cancelled by the promoters, customers will have to claim a refund from the secondary retailer for their original purchase, and then make a second buy.
In the UK the prevailing industry view is that ticketing terms and conditions are legally binding. And that by purchasing a ticket, the consumer is entering into a contract with the ticketing company and agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined.
Further Oasis and their promoters stated before the general Onsale (see 30th August, Hollie Cole – ‘Oasis warn fans over reselling ahead of main ticket sale’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj62dg8zgp9o) that ‘tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via Ticketmaster and Twickets’.
Which seems clear enough, unless you’re a customer who unknowingly and unfortunately originally purchased via a secondary platform.
So, whilst this clampdown may not result in a (successful) consumer lawsuit, will it win ‘the hearts and minds’ of those ticket buyers impacted?
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In other news, it’s been a busy week, albeit without much invoiced end-product, but the laptop-based research and report-writing has been interspersed with attending the first anniversary of the Music Technology UK (see Gareth Deakin’s write up: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garethdeakin_music-technology-uk-turned-one-today-as-activity-7257537058833854466-zA14) and the Rock’n’Roll Book Club event at 21 Soho featuring John Kennedy OBE interviewed by Eamonn Forde for the launch of the book ‘Just For One Hour. Moments I Pinched Myself In The Music Industry’ (https://justforonehour.com/newhome/).
Both events attracted a smattering of off-duty music-lawyers, perhaps because they are fundamental to all commercial contracts, and/or central to the unearthing/exposing any unauthorised behaviours, or confidants to those prone to onstage/offstage emotional outbursts. And so, they typically have all the best stories.
(Special mention to Roger Ames who was at the Soho event, and who when taking some time out from his illustrious recorded music career, led Ticketmaster International during the merger process with Live Nation (2010-12). He was appointed by Irving Azoff, the then Chairman of Ticketmaster Entertainment, to oversee the transition. Unfortunately, for some at Live Nation he was his own man and may have ruffled a few personalities along the way – so many colourful memories from a fascinating and storied man.)
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Lastly, I note a couple of ticketing-related award nominations.
At the forthcoming LIVE Awards 2024 (https://theliveawards.com/) 11th December, 2024 at Troxy, which identifies a number of ticketing organisations (albeit how you compare/contrast B-2-B service providers, B-2-C retail agencies, or secondary marketplaces – is unclear) which includes: Gigantic Tickets; Skiddle; Kaboodle; AXS Europe; Tixel; and Ticketmaster.
Separately the ILMC Arthurs Awards (https://ilmc.com/arthur-awards/) which will take place on 27th February 2025 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, includes an award for ‘The Ticketing Professional / The Golden Ticketer’. These nominees include, Iris Bögeholz (white label eCommerce); Lou Champion (The O2); Birgit Gerstl (CTS Eventim Austria); Cameron Hoy (TEG); Stefano Lionetti (TicketOne); Andrew Parsons (Ticketmaster UK); Katrijn Van Meervenne (Greenhouse Talent); and Kevan Williams (ASM Global).
Best wishes and good luck to all organisations and individuals nominated, I’ll see you at the bar.
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Until next time.
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