The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission were directed by President Trump to conduct an investigation into ticket scalping pursuant to Executive Order 14254 “Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market.”

This led directly to both agencies inviting public comments on the state of the live event ticketing market—an industry riddled with speculation, opacity, and middlemen who seem to make money without ever attending a show. Over 4000 artists, fans, economists, state attorneys general, and industry veterans all weighed in. And the record reveals something important particularly regarding resellers: there’s a rising consensus that the resellers are engaged in some really shady practices designed for one purpose–to extract as much money as possible from fans and artists without regard to the damage it does to the entire artist-fan relationship.

First up is Randy Nichols comment which is an important starting place. Randy is a long-time artist manager and board member of NITO. He was the first person I met who conducted the necessary on-the-ground forensic investigation into just how blatantly resellers leveraged bots and other fraudster tools. I’ve summarized five key takeaways from his comment, but you really should read Randy’s thoughts in their entirety.

Scalper Bots and Browser Exploits Dominate Onsales

Nichols details how automated tools—including browser plugins and autofill scripts—allow scalpers to bypass ticket limits and jump queues during onsales. These tools operate faster than any human, making it nearly impossible for ordinary fans to purchase tickets at face value.

Speculative Ticket Listings Deceive Consumers and Manipulate the Market

Sellers often list tickets they don’t yet own, using predictive software to buy them later at lower prices. Nichols compares this to unregulated short selling in financial markets, emphasizing that it inflates prices and misleads buyers.

Deceptive URLs and Affiliate Networks Mislead Fans

Lookalike websites (e.g., with venue or tour names in the domain) are used to confuse consumers into thinking they’re buying from official sources. These are often linked to major secondary marketplaces through affiliate networks that obscure accountability.

Private Equity–Backed Ticket Loans Fuel Bulk Scalping

Nichols reveals how brokers access over $100 million annually in loans—some from firms like RCN Capital and Anytickets with ties to major ticketing executives—to fund high-volume speculative purchases. This weaponizes lending capital to crowd out fans during onsales.

Breaking Up Ticketmaster Won’t Solve Scalping

While acknowledging concerns about Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s dominance, Nichols warns that the private equity–driven secondary market is a separate and urgent problem. He calls for independent enforcement actions against scalpers, not just structural remedies for Ticketmaster.