Navigating Ticketmaster can be a hassle, and recent updates to their terms and conditions have sparked concern among fans.
Ticketmaster is a go-to platform for purchasing tickets to see your favorite artists or bands perform live. However, the process is not always straightforward.
The efficiency of scalpers has made securing tickets for most events challenging, and a recent alteration to Ticketmaster’s policies is adding to the frustration.
The company has updated its Terms of Use and Standard Purchase Policy, which are the conditions you must agree to before purchasing tickets for an event.
This update, made in August, now includes the statement: “I have read and agree to the current Terms of Use and Standard Purchase Policy, including the arbitration agreement and class action waiver, updated in August 2025.”
To understand the context, we need to revisit last year, when Ticketmaster experienced a significant data breach.
Hackers accessed the full names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, and credit card details of up to 560 million customers.
The breach went unnoticed for about two months, and Ticketmaster took four months to inform affected individuals, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
This led to a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, alleging inadequate security measures to prevent the breach.
As a result, those purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster now agree to handle disputes through private arbitration, bypassing the traditional court system for customer lawsuits.
Critics have pointed out that the arbitration system has financial connections to Ticketmaster, potentially leading to biased outcomes favoring the company.
Lee Hepner, a legal advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project, has criticized this approach, suggesting it skirts legal boundaries.
Hepner stated: “They are certainly treading very close to the line beyond which they’d be in violation of the law.”
On social media, users have expressed their displeasure regarding this development.
One comment read: “Ticketmaster making me swear fealty like I’m joining a medieval guild. next step is pricking my finger and dripping blood on a Groupon.”
Another remarked: “Nastyy work. I gotta start buying tickets at the box office like??”
A third user added: “Ah yes, the classic ‘we can screw you over but you can’t fight back collectively’ clause. Monopolies gonna monopolize.”
Ticketmaster released a statement addressing the new agreement that appears when attempting to purchase tickets.
In a conversation with The Lever, a company spokesperson stated: “Ticketmaster’s Terms and Conditions have included arbitration provisions for many years. The updates we made to those terms were for clarity and to ensure continued compliance with applicable legal rules.”
We have reached out to Ticketmaster for further comment.