Ticketmaster Busted By an Undercover Investigator For Supplying Scalpers

UPDATE - 10/2/2018: Ticketmaster and Live Nation are being slapped with a class action suit for unfair business practices and unjust enrichment, claiming the ticket source is actually working with, not against, ticket scalpers. Ticketmaster and Live Nation deny the allegations.

The king of the ticket universe may have just been busted by an undercover investigator from CBS News. Ticketmaster is now on big time damage control after video surfaced from an undercover investigator shows that the company may have launched a secret ticket inventory system called TradeDesk that lets scalpers upload high volumes of tickets and quickly resell them at the price of their choice.

Apparently, they’ve been hiring professional scalpers which clearly violates the Ticketmaster‘s terms of service. It’s going to be pretty tough for them to beat this as the information exchange was all caught on video at a recent entertainment ticket convention in Las Vegas.

At first, a statement went out from the Ticketmaster camp saying, “As the worlds leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists, and venues we believe it’s our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets." However, a later statement from the ticket giant said it is “Categorically untrue that we hired resellers to acquire large volumes of tickets at the expense of consumers."

As we watch this unfold it's a clear example of buying tickets to shows from Ticketmaster Verified, or the phone number provided by the venue, or the box office of the venue. Be very wary of 2nd and 3rd party re-sell sites. They are hit and miss - and that miss can cost you.