Ticketmaster hit

Fined $10M for breaching rival’s system

Entertainment giant Ticketmaster was rocked and rolled with a $10 million fine Wednesday for illegally accessing a competitor’s computer system to steal confidential information — and its musical clients.

Ticketmaster officials signed off on the fine at a Brooklyn Federal Court hearing before prosecutors released details of the company’s efforts to snare the presale ticketing business of a rival operation by hiring one of its ex-employees.

The company gave its duplicitous newcomer a promotion and a raise after he provided confidential internal financial documents taken from his old job to executives at the concert ticketing behemoth.

The ill-gotten info was even shared at a company “summit” meeting with at least 14 employees of Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation, authorities charged.

“Ticketmaster employees repeatedly — and illegally — accessed a competitor’s computers without authorization using stolen passwords to unlawfully collect business intelligence,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme.

The agreement was a part of a deferred prosecution deal between Ticketmaster and prosecutors on a five-count indictment charging the company with conspiring to commit computer intrusions and fraud. A top Ticketmaster employee, former head of artists service Zeeshan Zaidi, pleaded guilty last year to similar charges in the subterfuge.

The effort targeted two unidentified “signature clients” who left Ticketmaster for the company Songkick, a business specializing in artists’ presale of a limited number of tickets to fans. The unidentified ex-employee claimed his new bosses could “cut [the competition] off at the knees” with information that included stolen usernames and passwords between 2013-15.

Ticketmaster eventually accessed the victimized company’s client list and tried to steal their business, prosecutors alleged, before reaching a $110 million settlement with Songkick in 2018.

“Ticketmaster used stolen information to gain an advantage over its competition and then promoted the employees who broke the law,” said William Sweeney, assistant director-in-charge of the FBI’s New York office. “This investigation is a perfect example of why these laws exist — to prevent consumers from being cheated.”

The victimized company, though based in the United Kingdom, had a U.S. headquarters in Brooklyn. One of its former workers was hired by Ticketmaster in 2013, and he was was soon providing detailed information allowing Ticketmaster access to draft web pages and other proprietary details of the business.

“Awesome — thanks!” responded Zaidi after receiving a pair of pilfered spread sheets from the ex-employee.

Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, a union of the largest ticket selling business and the biggest concern promoter. Last year, Live Nation reported its annual revenue at $11.5 billion.

Under the agreement, both sides are due for a June 2024 court appearance regarding Ticketmaster’s compliance with the parameters of its deal. The charges will be dismissed at that time if the company follows the agreement, and Ticketmaster is required to file annual reports with prosecutors on its compliance with the measures detailed in its settlement.