Months after U.S. regulators banned surprise fees that appear while purchasing tickets, Ticketmaster raised the cost of other fees to “offset the revenue loss,” according to a report.

Ticketmaster vowed last May that it would display all-in ticket pricing upfront to customers after a Federal Trade Commission ban on so-called “junk fees” went into effect.

While Ticketmaster stopped charging the small amounts it tacks on at checkout to comply with the rules, it raised the price of other fees it charges to make up for the loss, documents obtained by The Guardian revealed.

“To account for the loss of order processing revenue, we must adjust fees to offset the revenue loss,” Ticketmaster wrote in an email to the Findlay Toyota Center in Arizona last year.

The venue had ditched its $6 order processing fee, but raised the cost of its service fee by $2 a ticket.

The outlet obtained copies of Ticketmaster’s contracts with 26 venues across the country. Most of the contacts described an order processing fee similar to the one in the email to the Findlay Toyota Center, which is no longer allowed under FTC rules.

Additionally, at least eight of the venues amended their contracts to raise other fees following the all-in pricing rules, according to the report.

Grouping an illegal fee with another charge could go against the FTC’s rule against misrepresenting fees, which took effect last May, former regulators told the outlet.

“Ticketmaster may effectively still be charging the fee, just disguising it as something else. That type of behavior can run afoul of the FTC rule,” according to John Newman, a former economist at the FTC.

The Independent has contacted Ticketmaster for comment.

In a statement to The Guardian, the company said, “Since May 2025, tickets on Ticketmaster.com have displayed the full price upfront in line with the FTC’s all-in pricing rule. We also provide explanations of fees during the purchase process and maintain a dedicated page with additional information.”

The report comes as Live Nation Entertainment, which owns both Ticketmaster and Live Nation, is facing an antitrust trial over claims that it is an illegal monopoly in the live music industry.

The U.S. Department of Justice had previously filed a lawsuit against the entertainment company, but abruptly reached a tentative settlement days after the trial began earlier this month.

While the DOJ withdrew its claims, more than 30 states are rejecting the settlement.

Live Nation Entertainment has denied that it operates as a monopoly.