'Fair ticket prices': Kid Rock praises Trump executive order targeting ticket scalping
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at protecting fans from "exploitative ticket scalping" and reforming the U.S. live entertainment ticketing industry.
The order directs Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that ticket scalpers comply with the Internal Revenue Service's tax collections and other applicable law.
The order also directs the Federal Trade Commission to work with the attorney general to ensure that competition laws are appropriately enforced in the concert and entertainment industry.
“I want the fans to have fair ticket prices,” said Kid Rock, a musician who joined Trump for the signing. “There’s plenty of money to go around. Nobody’s going to lose here.”
Trump said an artist might sell a ticket for $100 and have it sold the next night on the secondary market for $2,000.
“They seem to sweep up the best locations," Trump said.
The concert industry has drawn scrutiny from both parties in recent years. Under former President Joe Biden, the Justice Department sued Live Nation Entertainment, alleging it monopolized access to events.
In a hearing called after a major fiasco involving ticket sales for a 2023 Taylor Swift concert tour, senators assailed Live Nation's lack of transparency and inability to block bots from purchasing tickets on behalf of scalpers.
Live Nation's subsidiary Ticketmaster, which has been unpopular with fans for years, has drawn fresh heat from lawmakers over how it handled ticket sales last fall for Swift's "Eras" tour, her first in five years. Experts say Ticketmaster commands more than a 70% market share of primary ticket services for major U.S. concert venues.
Live Nation issued a statement supporting Trump's executive order and calling for a cap on resale prices, which Rock also mentioned as a goal.
“Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on," the statement said.
Ticket resale company StubHub also praised the president's order.
"StubHub applauds President Trump for taking steps to better protect fans from ticket bots and bad actors who exploit vulnerabilities in the primary ticket market," the company said in a statement. "We welcome more transparency, safety, and competition to improve the industry for fans and further protect them from a live entertainment monopoly."
Trump's executive order singled out bot sales in particular.
"Ticket scalpers use bots and other unfair means to acquire large quantities of face-value tickets, then re-sell them at an enormous markup on the secondary market, price-gouging consumers and depriving fans of the opportunity to see their favorite artists without incurring extraordinary expenses," it said.
“A lot of artists and a lot of fans who love concerts and music are going to be very appreciative," Rock added.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Paste BN; Reuters
This article has been updated to include new information.