N.J. settles with Ticketmaster over Springsteen tickets

The New Jersey attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Ticketmaster over the recent sale of tickets to Bruce Springsteen performances in that state, calling for major changes to the way Ticketmaster does business.

The settlement -- announced Monday, a day before hearings open in Washington on the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation -- requires Ticketmaster to reform several of its business practices, in particular with regard to its ticket resale operation, TicketsNow.com.

New Jersey Atty. Gen. Anne Milgram said her office received more than 2,000 complaints from would-be ticket buyers after Springsteen tickets went on sale this month. Many said that upon logging in to Ticketmaster's website, they were advised that no tickets were available and then were redirected to TicketsNow, where seats were being offered at prices above face value.

The settlement provides for a random drawing from which 1,000 consumers who filed complaints with the attorney general's office will be selected and allowed to purchase a pair of tickets to shows Springsteen will play in May in his home state.

Additional compensation will be offered to those who aren't selected in the drawing, and Ticketmaster will institute changes including a one-year moratorium on directing Ticketmaster.com users to TicketsNow.com.

Under terms of the settlement, Ticketmaster admits no liability and said in a statement, "Ticketmaster believes that its activities have at all times complied with all relevant laws and regulations."

The drawing and refunds are specific to the ticket sales for two New Jersey concerts, but other aspects of the agreement relating to TicketsNow.com will apply nationwide.

-- Randy Lewis

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Photo credit: EPA

Comments

[RandyM]

What a bunch of bull. That's no settlement, just a cover up so they can continue to do what they've been doing for at least a year now. They take the tickets that are supposed to be sold to the public and move them over to 'Tickets Now' their 'legal' scapler service. Just because they stopped TM's re-directing to TN doesn't mean the tickets stopped going there. TN.com still exists with all tickets just as before. Are the people who took this on that dumb, don't really care and just wanted the press or were possibly paid off to settle? Who knows, just as PJ tried to take this on and had to give up because it's just a powerful monster.