Fresh off a lawsuit from the FTC and seven state attorneys general over its failure to block ticket-buying bots, Ticketmaster now insists it did nothing wrong – but says it’s going to stop doing it anyway.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“In a letter to lawmakers dated Oct. 17, Live Nation executive vice president Daniel Wall denies the FTC’s allegations … and said that the company will implement new practices to benefit concertgoers. As part of these new policy changes, the ticket vendor will no longer allow users purchasing tickets to have multiple accounts.”

“…the company also plans to shut down TradeDesk, its inventory management application. The controversial software is a tool … has been previously accused of facilitating ticket harvesting…”

But is this a concession, or a calculated move intended to give the optics of reform while Ticketmaster continues its command-and-control agenda?

As reported in Ticket News, their real goal is to consolidate power:

“By voluntarily giving up a small slice of its existing resale infrastructure, Ticketmaster strengthens the political case for its preferred ‘FAIR’ framework — one that would consolidate control of ticket transfer and pricing under its own roof.

“…such reforms would empower event promoters and management to effectively declare competing resale platforms illegal by fiat, locking tickets to their system, where they would be able to control pricing at all points of sale, harvesting fees any time a ticket changes hands.”

“ If implemented, the FAIR system could transform ticket resale from an open marketplace into a closed-loop ecosystem, where every ticket transaction is mediated — and monetized — by the same company that sells the original ticket.”