“Senators slammed Ticketmaster for raising ticket fees following a regulatory crackdown on hidden charges as revealed in a report by the Guardian last week.”

“The Federal Trade Commission last May began requiring Ticketmaster to disclose concert ticket fees upfront – a practice known as all-in pricing.”

“The company eliminated the order processing fee it charged at the end of a transaction to comply with the rule.”

“Documents obtained by the Guardian in public records requests show how Ticketmaster simply raised other fees so it wouldn’t lose money.”

“Former regulators told the Guardian that the company’s practices may violate the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on misleading fees.”

“The Federal Trade Commission sued Ticketmaster along with its parent company Live Nation Entertainment last September in part for hiding mandatory fees until the end of the transaction.”

“Ticketmaster disputed the allegation and said that it complies with FTC’s all-pricing rules.”

“Since May 2025, tickets on Ticketmaster.com have displayed the full price upfront in line with the FTC’s all-in pricing rule.”

“Blumenthal is a ranking member of the permanent subcommittee on investigations, which published a report last month about how Ticketmaster drove up the cost of concert tickets following the pandemic.”

“The report found the company pushed artists to make tickets available on the resale market before they were available to the general public as well as expanding dynamic pricing, which raised the cost of tickets for fans. Both practices boosted Ticketmaster’s revenues.”