Live Nation needs to get the guillotine. The monopoly will find other ways of extracting value if you try to fix one problem created by it at a time.

The UK is passing a law which makes it illegal to resell event tickets for greater than the face value.

Not a lawyer but here's how it works:

Illegal usually means there's a law forbidding it.

Tickets are usually governed by the Terms and Conditions (Contract) between original purchase.

It's already possible for the terms to forbid resale.

So as it stands it's possible to sell untransferable tickets. And those who sell such tickets are in breach of contract, but are not breaking a law.

What would 'making reselling tickets illegal' entail, a law that makes selling transferable tickets illegal? That would be a very weak position. A law that upgrades the resale of untransferable tickets to a crime? Again a very weak position.

I contend that people that suggest and write laws should learn about actual law.

The fact that "the name on the ticket must match your photo ID, but you can resell at any time before the event" would instantly solve scalping problems and yet nobody does it is your clue that nobody actually wants scalping problems to be solved. Scalpers are the sin eaters for Ticketmaster and the events themselves, taking the hate so the performers don't have to.

IANAL, but the exact language from the complaint was:

>WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of the Class, respectfully requests that this Court:

>...

>Award compensatory, statutory, and/or restitutionary damages, as applicable, in an amount to be determined at trial and that the aggregate amount in controversy across the whole class exceeds $5,000,000;

it doesn't say that the damages are capped at 5M, only that they're asking for at least 5M.

>Is a retailer that buys things and sells them with a markup a scalper?

If you bought all of the food then offered the food at 10x the prices, we'd be outraged with you, yes.

Stakes are lower because it's a luxury good, not food, but it's the same idea.

It's not a simple buy/sell marketplace. There's no recourse for fans who purchase a confirmed ticket, only to find that the seller "doesn't have them" and see the same ticket relisted for higher if the price jumps. Stubhub prioritize these scalper relationships and doesn't meaningfully protect its buyers from getting screwed over.

You are describing rent-seeking behavior: middle men who add no economic value yet inject themselves into transactions.

Yes, this is “normal” in the sense that it is common. It is “normal” in the same way that cancer is “normal”.

No, this is not “normal” in the sense of being behavior the government should just tolerate. It is in the same category of market failures as monopolies and externalities.

The ultimate customers would certainly pay more than the face price which is what the scalpers pay, yet the scalpers get all the tickets. This is abnormal market behaviour.

The outrage is over the apparent collusion between a platform that argues it only facilitates a fan-to-fan marketplace, and a hedge fund run by the platform's CEO that sells a massive volume of resale tickets. This is definitely not on the spirit of competition regardless of it's illegal or not

Yes it's rational market behavior. But it bothers people for such a blatantly worthless middleman to capture all consumer surplus for themselves while providing zero value.

no, it gets more layers.. a quick search says "Through its affiliate Colloquy Capital, StubHub helps bankroll other mass ticket scalpers by providing short-term financing based on expected future sales, further inflating the volume of professional resellers on the platform." (I have no direct knowledge of these participants)

welcome to america 2026. where it's not only encouraged but expected that you're lying, cheating, and stealing your way to the top.

You're not entirely wrong, but the root issue is artists not charging the market clearing price for tickets. If you're selling something worth $1000 for $200, you shouldn't be surprised arbitrageurs pop up to take advantage.