Ticketmaster, one of the biggest and most used websites for buying tickets, has made an update to its terms of use that you must agree to before making purchases, and people aren’t happy about it.
Using the website can be stressful
If you’ve ever tried using Ticketmaster, you’ll know that going through the website can be a bit stressful, especially when you’re trying to get tickets to see your favorite popular artist.
And the tickets can be quite expensive with scalpers quickly buying out events to sell their tickets for more.
So a new rule isn’t helping
With the website and process of buying tickets already being stressful to navigate, it can be understood why a new issue would bother users.
Ticketmaster has made a change to its Terms of Use and Standard Purchase Policy, which is what users must agree to before buying any tickets.
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The change was made in August
When you go to purchase a ticket, the website now reads, “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.”
The company’s database was hacked last year
To understand this, you’ll have to know that Ticketmaster’s database was hacked last year, where full names, addresses, emails, phone numbers and credit card information of as many as 560 million customers were obtained by hackers.
They didn’t tell users right away
According to an article by the Hollywood Reporter, it took Ticketmaster about two months to notice the data breach, and four months to notify impacted users.
This incident resulted in a class action against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, which accused it of failing to adopt adequate security measures to prevent the hacking.
Lawsuits would bypass the usual court system
Now, this means that if those buying tickets are to raise a customer lawsuit, they would be bypassing the usual court system and instead opting to resolve any dispute through a private arbitration process.
Critics have warned against this
Some critics have noted that the arbitration system has financial ties to Ticketmaster, which could mean giving favorable rulings to the company rather than the complainants.
Legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, Lee Hepner, said the company is toeing the line, explaining, “They are certainly treading very close to the line beyond which they’d be in violation of the law.”
People online aren’t happy with the situation
Over on social media, people have noted their frustrations with the situation, with a viral tweet saying, “Ticketmaster is now requiring people to opt out of class action lawsuits in order to buy tickets. Lol.”
They seriously disliked the move
One person wrote, “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 said, “Ah yes, the classic ‘we can screw you over but you can’t fight back collectively’ clause. Monopolies gonna monopolize.”
Ticketmaster has since issued a statement
Regarding the new agreement that appears when buying tickets, Ticketmaster has issued a statement.
They told Unilad, “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.”
