House Democrats are investigating StubHub CEO Eric Baker over revelations that the executive is also operating a separate ticket broker service on the platform, citing concerns that Baker may have “engaged in market manipulation and self-dealing at the expense of consumers.”
In a letter addressed to Baker on Friday, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told the executive that “Oversight Democrats are investigating whether you have manipulated markets for your own benefit, while Americans are left paying higher costs in an unfair system.”
“Reports suggest that you have financed and profited from the very scalpers that are locking fans out of affordable ticket sales in the first place, and that you are further ripping off consumers and smaller sellers by giving yourself preferential treatment on the StubHub platform,” Garcia wrote.
Along with serving as CEO of StubHub, one of the live music business’s largest ticket resale platforms, Baker also serves as a co-owner and managing director of Andro Capital, a separate company that lists and resells tickets of its own on the platform. StubHub had disclosed Baker’s relationship with Andro in the company’s S-1 filing ahead of its IPO last year, though it had only come under scrutiny after an investigative report from CBC news in recent weeks.
Following the report, both StubHub and Baker were hit with a class action lawsuit over allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation and violation of state consumer protection statutes among other claims.
“Eric’s investment in Andro Capital has been disclosed publicly,” a StubHub spokesperson said in a statement. “Andro Capital is a separate company and is one of many vendors we use. StubHub, like many companies, works with vendors to provide additional services for their customers, allowing the StubHub team to focus on its core business. This relationship with Andro Capital makes up only a small fraction of StubHub’s total revenue.”
Garcia sent a series of questions and requests for Baker on Friday, demanding Baker “detail all listing, pricing, and fulfillment practices StubHub has utilized to sell tickets on behalf of Andro Capital, including any way in which such practices may differ from the services StubHub provides to other ticket resellers.”
The committee has asked for response to their questions and request for documents by August 6.
The probe against Baker comes amid a particularly busy year for legislative action in the live music business. Live Nation lost its antitrust case against earlier this year, and the company and the dozens of plaintiff states await a judge’s ruling on potential remedies. Meanwhile, Vermont, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. all announced legislation in the past month to cap how much tickets are allowed to be resold for on platforms.
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