The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a major lawsuit against Key Investment Group LLC, alleging that the company used illegal tactics to circumvent ticket purchase limits and resell hundreds of thousands of tickets at inflated prices. The operation, which targeted high-demand concerts including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Bruce Springsteen shows, generated approximately $64 million in secondary market sales revenue.
According to the FTC complaint, Key Investment Group purchased at least 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster between November 2022 and December 2023 at a cost of nearly $57 million, then resold a portion of them on secondary platforms for $64 million. The operation used sophisticated technology, including thousands of fake accounts, virtual credit cards, IP masking, and SIM farms, to defeat Ticketmaster’s anti-scalping measures.
The FTC charges that the defendants violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act) through their scheme, which put consumers at a disadvantage by allowing them to purchase tickets more rapidly and in greater volume than regular fans. The agency is seeking permanent injunctions to prevent future violations and civil penalties for each violation of the BOTS Act.
This lawsuit marks one of the most significant enforcement actions under the BOTS Act since its passage in 2016. It highlights ongoing challenges in the live music industry around ticket accessibility and pricing, particularly for major artists like Taylor Swift whose tours generate unprecedented demand. The case will now proceed through federal court, where it could set important precedents for enforcement of anti-bot ticketing laws in the music industry.
Source: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/trump-targets-scalpers-taylor-swift-bruce-springsteen