Editing Ticketmaster (section)

{{Short description|American ticket sales company}}
{{redirect|Ticket Master|the [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]] episode|The Ticket Master}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC
| logo = [[File:TicketMaster wordmark.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|October 2, 1976}}, in [[Phoenix, Arizona]], U.S.
| founders = {{ubl|Albert Leffler|Peter Gadwa|Gordon Gunn III|Jerry Nelson}}
| hq_location_city = [[Beverly Hills, California]]
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Michael Rapino]] ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])|Mark Yovich ([[President (corporate title)|president]])}}
| area_served = Worldwide
| industry = [[Entertainment industry|Entertainment]]
| products = {{ubl|Ticketing technology|Ticket sales|Ticket resales|Marketing|Distribution of event tickets and information|Support of venue renovation}}
| revenue = $11.9 billion in 2019<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theticketingbusiness.com/2020/02/28/live-nation-reports-revenue-growth-2019-11-5bn/ | title=Live Nation reports revenue growth in 2019 to $11.5bn | date=February 28, 2020 }}</ref>
| num_employees = 6,678
| parent = [[Live Nation Entertainment]] (2010–present)
| homepage = {{URL|ticketmaster.com/about/about-us.html|ticketmaster.com}}
}}

'''Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC''' is an American [[primary ticket outlet|ticket sales]] and distribution company based in [[Beverly Hills, California]], with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with [[Live Nation (events promoter)|Live Nation]] under the name [[Live Nation Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ticketmaster-livenation-idUSTRE60O4E520100126|title=Live Nation, Ticketmaster merge; agree to U.S. terms|last1=Pelofsky|first1=Jeremy|date=25 January 2010|work=[[Reuters]]|last2=Adegoke|first2=Yinka}}</ref>

The company's ticket sales are fulfilled digitally or at its two main fulfillment centers located in [[Charleston, West Virginia]], and [[Pharr, Texas]], for both [[primary ticket outlet|primary]] and secondary markets. Ticketmaster's clients include venues, artists and promoters. Clients control their events and set ticket prices, and Ticketmaster sells tickets that the clients make available to them. Ticketmaster also owns and operates TicketWeb, a ticketing website geared  towards independent venues.

Ticketmaster is subject to numerous controversies and lawsuits, alleging violations of various laws. The platform charges a fee on tickets purchased and resold on the platform. The fees from ticket sales can account for a large percentage of overall ticket costs and have received scrutiny from regulators, customers, and musicians. The company has also faced scrutiny from the [[United States Department of Justice]] for retaliation against venues violating its 2010 10-year consent decree from the Live Nation merger, which has been extended an additional five years from 2020 through 2025.

Following the [[2022 Ticketmaster controversy|widespread criticism of the company's handling]] of the pre-sale of [[Taylor Swift]]'s [[The Eras Tour]] in November 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) began a formal investigation into Live Nation Entertainment on the grounds of [[monopoly]], [[antitrust law]] and [[consumer rights]] violations. The [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee]] examined the merger with a hearing in January 2023. On May 23, 2024, the DOJ and a coalition of 29 states formally [[United States v. Live Nation Entertainment|launched an antitrust suit]] against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Michaels |first=Dave |last2=Steele |first2=Anne |date=2024-05-23 |title=Justice Department Sues to Break Up Live Nation-Ticketmaster |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/media/ticketmaster-live-nation-sued-justice-department-monopoly-d9442a75 |access-date=2024-05-24 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> An additional 10 states joined the lawsuit, bringing the total number of co-plaintiffs to 40.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-19 |title=Ten Additional States Join Justice Department’s Suit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ten-additional-states-join-justice-departments-suit-against-live-nation-ticketmaster |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=United States Department of Justice |language=en |quote="The department, and its now-expanded group of 40 co-plaintiffs, filed an amended complaint in the Southern District of New York."}}</ref>