Live Nation is facing a massive class action lawsuit over the recent data breach from Ticketmaster which allegedly affected upwards of 560 million customers. The group ShinyHunters harvested users’ full names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, and credit card information. The complaint accused the parent company of taking nearly two months to even notice the breach and also of having inadequate security protections in place.
The lawsuit cites several damages including invasion of privacy, an increase in spam calls, texts, and emails, and much more. “The Data Breach was a direct result of Defendant’s failure to implement adequate and reasonable data protection procedures, including vendor management, necessary to protect consumers’ PII from a foreseeable and preventable risk of unauthorized disclosure,” the lawsuit reads, as caught by The Hollywood Reporter.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 23: In this photo illustration, the Live. Nation app on May 23, 2024, in New York City. The Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses Ticketmaster and its parent company Live. Nation of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry to the detriment of concertgoers and artists alike. The lawsuit seeks to structure how the company operates and includes breaking apart the two entities. (Photo Illustration by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
It continues: “Defendant disregarded the rights of Plaintiff and Class Members by, inter alia, intentionally, willfully, recklessly, or negligently failing to take adequate and reasonable measures to ensure its data systems, or the data systems of its vendors, were protected against unauthorized intrusions; failing to take standard and reasonably available steps to prevent the Data Breach; and failing to provide Plaintiff and ClassMembers prompt and accurate notice of the Data Breach. Plaintiff and Class Members are now at risk because of Defendant’s wrongful conduct.” With the lawsuit, users are seeking $5 million in damages.
The latest legal action comes after the Department of Justice sued Live Nation, earlier this year, for allegedly acting as a monopoly, something the company has denied. Be on the lookout for further updates on Live Nation on HotNewHipHop.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Live Nation, accusing it of not securing user information after an April 2024 hack of Ticketmaster that harvested the personal info of more than 560 million customers. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit was filed in California federal court on Friday (October 11) and demands at least $5 million in damages. Ticketmaster allegedly took nearly two months to uncover the hack, then another two months to inform customers their information had been compromised.
THR credited the attack to the hacker group ShinyHunters, which exploited vulnerabilities with Ticketmaster’s third-party server host, Snowflake, and threatened to leak the info on the dark web if not paid a $500,000 ransom. According to the lawsuit, Ticketmaster did not ensure that Snowflake had taken adequate security measures to protect user data, and retained personal information that it should have deleted. That information was also being sold to business partners and data brokers.
ShinyHunters has also been credited with hacks of AT&T, GitHub, and Pizza Hut, stealing over 900 million customer records. The stolen information can be used in further identity theft, such as opening fraudulent credit cards and other loans.
Ticket reselling platform StubHub is being sued by the Attorney General of Washington, DC for allegedly using hidden fees and deceptive pricing to increase its profits. According to Variety, Brian L. Schwalb, the AG of DC, filed the lawsuit today, claiming StubHub has been using “drip pricing” to generate over $115 million since 2015 — and that’s just in DC.
According to Variety, drip pricing is “the practice of advertising low prices that become inevitably inflated by hidden fees at the purchase point.” These “fulfillment and service” fees are never really explained, and even worse, StubHub uses a site timer to increase pressure on customers so they never have time to review these fees. If you’ve used the site, you’re likely familiar; a 10-minute timer appears when you search for tickets, giving a sense of urgency. “Hurry up and buy before someone else claims these,” it seems to imply, rushing customers through a series of unnecessary filler pages, adding extra steps that seemingly justify all those additional fees once it’s time to enter your credit card information.
The timer also prevents customers from shopping around at other sites and comparing prices, leading to paying way more as a result of added fees and no other options. The DC AG’s office says StubHub actually tested all-in pricing and drip pricing, comparing the results, and learning customers were more likely to buy the higher priced tickets if the fees were hidden until the end of the purchase, rather than included in the upfront pricing.
The lawsuit states, “For years, StubHub has illegally deceived District consumers through its convoluted junk fee scheme. StubHub lures consumers in by advertising a deceptively low price, forces them through a burdensome purchase process, and then finally reveals a total on the checkout page that is vastly higher than the originally advertised ticket price. This is no accident—StubHub intentionally hides the true price to boost profits at its customers’ expense. The District is home to one of the nation’s largest and most vibrant live entertainment scenes, and StubHub’s predatory tactics disproportionately harm District residents. That is why today we’re suing to end StubHub’s exploitative pricing scheme.”
StubHub isn’t the only ticketing platform to receive official scrutiny this year; in May, the US Justice Department sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for monopolistic business practices, just about a year after Ticketmaster updated its own policy to show full prices upfront. “Junk fees” have been a point of emphasis of the current Presidential administration, a trend that can be expected to continue if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected this November.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s groundbreaking lawsuit to split up Ticketmaster and Live Nation has sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing battle against monopolistic practices. The lawsuit, which alleges that the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation has created an unfair monopoly in the live events ticketing market, can potentially reshape the music and entertainment business landscape.
The merger between Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticketing company, and Live Nation, a global leader in live entertainment promotion and venue management, was completed in 2010 amid concerns about its potential anti-competitive effects. Critics argued that the combined entity would wield unprecedented market power, stifling competition and driving consumer prices.
The Department of Justice’s lawsuit represents a culmination of years of scrutiny and investigation into the alleged anti-competitive practices of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The complaint alleges that the merger has enabled the company to dominate every aspect of the live events ecosystem, from ticketing and promotion to venue ownership and artist management, effectively locking out competitors and controlling access to the marketplace.
The lawsuit’s implications are far-reaching and potentially profound for artists, fans, and the broader entertainment industry. By challenging Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s dominance, the Department of Justice is seeking to level the playing field and create a more open and competitive marketplace that benefits both consumers and industry stakeholders.
Critics of Ticketmaster and Live Nation have long accused the companies of exploiting their market power to extract exorbitant fees from consumers and impose restrictive terms on artists and venues. The lawsuit represents a significant opportunity to address these concerns and restore fairness and transparency to the live events industry.
If successful, the lawsuit could lead to the divestiture of certain assets or the imposition of structural remedies to foster competition and innovation in the ticketing and live events markets. This could include measures such as requiring Ticketmaster to sell off certain venues or ticketing platforms or imposing restrictions on its ability to enter into exclusive contracts with artists and venues.
The outcome of the lawsuit is likely to have far-reaching implications for the future of the live events industry. It could pave the way for greater competition, lower ticket prices, and increased choice for consumers while boosting independent promoters, ticketing companies, and venue operators.
As the legal proceedings unfold, all eyes will be on the Department of Justice and its efforts to rein in Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s alleged monopoly power. Whatever the outcome, the lawsuit represents a watershed moment in the ongoing struggle to promote competition and protect consumers in an increasingly consolidated and vertically integrated entertainment landscape.
Ticketmaster is easily one of the largest companies in the entire world. Overall, they have a monopoly of sorts on the live events market. If you are someone who has bought tickets to either a concert or sporting event, you have probably dealt with Ticketmaster. In fact, you have probably dealt with some massive price spikes while trying to cop tickets in real-time. Although everyone has to use them, the Department of Justice is filing an antitrust lawsuit against them. However, there is no telling what will come of this.
Well, some bad news has hit the company once again this morning. According to Uproxx, the group ShinyHunters has claimed to have hacked Ticketmaster in what can be described as a data breach. They have allegedly stolen the personal information of 560 million customers, which comes out to 1.3 Terabytes. In fact, they are looking to sell this data for a total of $500K. As for what the hackers stole, they currently have usernames, contact information, order info, and partial payment info. Partial payment info meaning the expiry date of your credit card, as well as the last four digits.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 18: : In this photo illustration, A ticketmaster website is shown on a computer screen on November 18, 2022 in Miami, Florida. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating the parent company of Ticketmaster for possible antitrust violations, this follows the news that Taylor Swift concert ticket sales overwhelmed the Ticketmaster system.(Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Ticketmaster has not officially commented on the situation. Needless to say, customers are being left in the lurch on this one. Given all the scrutiny Ticketmaster is under right now, this is probably the last thing they need. Needless to say, consumer confidence is likely at an all time low.
Let us know what you think about this recent development, in the comments section down below. Does this news worry you at all as someone who uses Ticketmaster? Are you going to think twice about using them in the future? Additionally, stay tuned HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
With how ingrained shopping and doing other things online are in our lives, this means that a ton of companies have access to our personal data. Ideally, they’re taking care to keep it safe, but sometimes, things happen. Well, it looks like a thing just happened: As Consequence notes, the hacking group ShinyHunters claims to have stolen the personal data of 560 million Ticketmaster customers.
ShinyHunters says they’ve stolen 1.3 terrabytes of data from Ticketmaster, including a lot of sensitive information: usernames, contact information, order info, and partial payment info like the last four digits of credit card numbers and expiration dates. They are offering to sell their haul for $500,000.
Ticketmaster themselves have yet to acknowledge the supposed hacking, but a spokesperson for Australia’s Department Of Home Affairs told the Australian Broadcasting Department it’s “working with Ticketmaster to understand the incident.”
This news arrives while Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation is already not having an awesome time: It was reported last week that the US Department Of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, “accusing [Live Nation Entertainment] of illegally maintaining a monopoly in the live entertainment industry.”
Public sentiment really turned against Ticketmaster in 2022, when the platform had significant issues as tickets for Taylor Swift’s wildly popular The Eras Tour went on sale.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a lawsuit against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, in an effort to dismantle what it alleges to be an unlawful monopoly. The case has sent ripples through the live events industry, sparking debates about competition, fairness, and the future of live music. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a speech on May 23, accused Live Nation of engaging in anticompetitive behavior that harms fans, artists, and smaller industry players. However, the company, which dominates ticket sales and concert promotion in the U.S., has responded by defending its practices and criticizing the DOJ’s actions. As this legal battle unfolds, here’s what we know so far.
DOJ’s Doha Mekki on the suit against $LYV: “There are harms that are felt throughout the ecosystem, and that’s really the way that Live Nation and Ticketmaster maintain their dominance and enrich themselves, while harming fans, artists, venues, and everyone in-between.” pic.twitter.com/G5Ck1oUawW
The DOJ’s lawsuit centers on accusations that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have leveraged their dominant market position to stifle competition. According to AG Garland, the company controls primary ticketing for 80% of major concert venues in the U.S. and also owns 60% of the larger amphitheaters. Additionally, Live Nation manages over 400 artists and promotes 60% of U.S. concerts, giving it extensive influence over the live events landscape. These practices, Garland argues, are both anticompetitive and illegal, ultimately disadvantaging fans, artists, and smaller promoters and venues.
Live Nation’s Defense
In response to the DOJ’s lawsuit, Live Nation issued a statement rejecting the accusations. The company described the claims as “absurd” and “disingenuous,” asserting that the DOJ is misleading the public about the impact of its market practices on ticket prices. Moreover, Live Nation argued that its operations do not inflate ticket prices and suggested that dismantling its business model would not lead to lower costs for consumers. This stance underscores the company’s belief that it provides value to the live events ecosystem despite its dominant market share.
— United Musicians and Allied Workers (@UMAW_) May 23, 2024
The reaction from within the music industry has been mixed. The United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) expressed strong support for the DOJ’s action, praising it as a significant step toward creating a fairer live music industry. In their statement to Pitchfork, UMAW highlighted the financial struggles faced by artists and fans due to Live Nation’s practices, advocating for a more sustainable model where music workers can earn fair wages and fans can afford tickets. This endorsement reflects broader concerns about the concentration of power in the hands of a single entity and its effects on the industry’s health.
Historical Context
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 19: Taylor Swift performs during night two of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos on November 19, 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by TAS2023 via Getty Images)
The DOJ’s scrutiny of Live Nation-Ticketmaster is not new. The merger of the two companies in 2010 has been under investigation since 2018, with various incidents fueling the case against them. The 2022 controversy surrounding ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and subsequent class action lawsuits by fans have brought renewed attention to Ticketmaster’s practices. Earlier, in 2015, concert discovery tool Songkick sued the company for anticompetitive behavior, resulting in a $100 million settlement in 2018.
Live Nation’s legal and financial troubles extend beyond the current DOJ lawsuit. In 2019, a company executive was recorded admitting to placing tickets on resale sites, and Live Nation faced a $4.5 million fine in Canada for hidden fees and misleading pricing. The DOJ also fined the company $10 million in 2020 for hacking a competitor’s systems. Furthermore, in 2023, Ticketmaster introduced an “all-in pricing experience” to provide upfront cost transparency, a move seen as a response to ongoing criticism of its pricing practices.
The outcome of the DOJ’s lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster could have far-reaching implications for the live events industry. If the DOJ succeeds in breaking up the company, it could pave the way for increased competition, potentially lowering ticket prices and giving more opportunities to smaller promoters and venues. For now, the industry watches closely as this high-stakes legal battle unfolds, with the potential to reshape the landscape of live entertainment in the United States.
Why Is The Justice Department Suing Ticketmaster And Live Nation?
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland explained why the DOJ has filed the suit. “We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” he wrote. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”
According to the suit, among Ticketmaster’s illegal practices are tactics like using long-term contracts to keep venues from choosing other ticketing companies, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, and threatening venues into choosing Ticketmaster by withholding Live Nation artists from performing there. This allegedly gives Ticketmaster and Live Nation an effective monopoly, with the resulting lack of competition allowing them to set prices and fee structures as high as they want.
News broke earlier this year of a massive antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department against Ticketmaster and, by extension, its parent company Live Nation. On Thursday (May 23), the governmental organization officially filed its suit against the entertainment conglomerates, accusing them of an illegal monopoly over live events in the U.S. that aggressively stifles competition and inflates fees and ticket prices. Moreover, authorities comprising 30 state and district attorneys general filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. It aims to dismantle the alleged monopoly for the benefit of artists and promoters suffering at its hands.
“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland read. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.” This is not the only legal move that Live Nation is reckoning with right now, considering other debacles like the Astroworld tragedy.
The Justice Department Sues Live Nation & Ticketmaster
BREAKING: The Department of Justice has officially filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and will seek to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live… pic.twitter.com/NwGPj3Pcaq
Nevertheless, the Justice Department pointed to long-term venue contracts, blocking venues from using other sellers, and threatening venues to use their service as ways in which Ticketmaster unrightfully exerted or held their power over live U.S. events. Live Nation has continually denied any violations of antitrust laws. They cited “the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best primary ticketing system” as the explanation for its dominance in the market back when federal investigations bubbled up in 2022. However, the service’s competition claimed that they make market disruption impossible through, for example, threatening to withhold performers if venues don’t partner with Ticketmaster.
“Today’s action is a step forward in making this era of live music more accessible for the fans, the artists, and the industry that supports them,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. This joins other antitrust initiatives amid the Biden administration, including lawsuits and legal action against Apple, Google, Amazon, and more. Ticketmaster accounts for 70% of major venue ticket sales in the U.S., according to a 2022 federal lawsuit data. In 2019, the Justice Department found Live Nation liable for violating an agreement to not retaliate against venues using other ticketing services, which was established when it merged with Ticketmaster in 2010.
The New York Times relayed that the Department Of Justice is reportedly “accusing [Live Nation Entertainment] of illegally maintaining a monopoly in the live entertainment industry,” citing three unnamed sources.
“The government plans to argue in a lawsuit that Live Nation shored up its power through Ticketmaster’s exclusive ticketing contracts with concert venues, as well as the company’s dominance over concert tours and other businesses like venue management, said two of the people, who declined to be named because the lawsuit was still private,” The New York Times report continued. “That helped the company maintain a monopoly, raising prices and fees for consumers and limiting innovation in the ticket industry, the people said. The government will argue that tours promoted by the company were more likely to play venues where Ticketmaster was the exclusive ticket service, one of the people said, and that Live Nation’s artists played venues that it owns.”
Bloomberg additionally noted, “The move is the latest antitrust suit pursued by the Biden administration, which has made competition a key component of its economic policy, bringing cases against companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc.”
