Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour At Center Of Federal Lawsuit After Ticket Broker Allegedly Made $833K Reselling Tickets To One Of Her Shows

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour At Center Of Federal Lawsuit After Ticket Broker Allegedly Made $833K Reselling Tickets To One Of Her Shows

A ticket broker allegedly made more than $833,000 in profit from reselling tickets to a single Beyoncé concert during her Renaissance World Tour, according to a new federal lawsuit.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that REPS & Company Inc. used approximately 1,300 accounts to purchase 7,624 tickets to Beyoncé’s October 2023 concert in Kansas City, Missouri. The company allegedly bypassed Ticketmaster’s purchasing limits, which restricted customers to between four and eight tickets for the event.

The Beyoncé concert was reportedly part of a much larger operation. According to federal officials, REPS spent more than $1.3 billion purchasing over 18.5 million tickets to at least 83,500 events since 2022, generating at least $120.8 million in resale profits.

Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said:

“REPS’ entire business model is focused on trying to game the ticket-purchasing system in order to obtain as many tickets as possible to resell at inflated prices to consumers.”

Federal investigators allege the company used thousands of accounts, virtual credit cards, disguised IP addresses and other methods to get around ticket purchasing restrictions. The lawsuit, filed on October 15, also names three company executives and accuses them of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and Beyoncé is not accused of any wrongdoing.

What are your thoughts? Have ticket resellers made it harder for fans to afford concerts?