US President Donald Trump on Monday (March 31) signed an executive order aimed at clamping down on ticket scalping and hidden fees in the live entertainment industry, with rock-country musician Kid Rock standing by his side in the Oval Office.
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Trade Commission to ensure the proper enforcement of competition laws in the concert and entertainment industry. It also instructs Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to enforce IRS compliance among ticket resellers.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office alongside Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, Trump said, “I think Bob [Ritchie] is more interested in the fans and the people that are having to pay crazy prices.” Gesturing toward Kid Rock, Trump said, “It bothers him, it bothers a lot of other artists too. [The artists] go out with a $100 ticket and it sells for $2,000 the following night.”
During the signing ceremony, the president also criticized how ticket resellers “seem to be able to sweep up the best locations too, which is pretty amazing.” Kid Rock noted that the enforcement of existing ticket sales regulations has been limited, stating that authorities have “only enforced that BOTS Act one time, I believe.”
The BOTS Act is a law passed in 2016 that bans the use of automated software, or bots, to purchase large volumes of event tickets. It aims to prevent scalpers from reselling tickets at inflated prices.
“If Ticketmaster sells a ticket and you buy a ticket and go to a show, you’re in a lot of ways their worst customer.. They make another 17 or whatever percentage every time that ticket resells, so they don’t want to enforce the BOTS Act necessarily because they’re making more money off it.”
Kid Rock
Kid Rock directed criticism at Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment, suggesting the ticketing giant benefits from secondary market sales at the expense of fans.
“If Ticketmaster sells a ticket and you buy a ticket and go to a show, you’re in a lot of ways their worst customer,” Kid Rock explained. “They make another 17 or whatever percentage every time that ticket resells, so they don’t want to enforce the BOTS Act necessarily because they’re making more money off it.”
Kid Rock said he was not advocating for his self interest. “The artists don’t see any of that money, but that’s not what I’m advocating for—is for me to make more money. I want the fans to have fair ticket prices, be able to go and enjoy more shows.”
The executive order specifically targets several practices in the ticketing industry. It orders federal agencies to enforce existing competition laws against scalping, calls for increased price transparency, and aims to prevent what the Trump administration calls “unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.”
“Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on.”
Live Nation Entertainment
“America’s live concert and entertainment industry is the envy of the world. But it has become blighted by unscrupulous middlemen who sit at the intersection between artists and fans and impose egregious fees while providing minimal value,” according to the executive order.
“Ticket scalpers use bots and other unfair means to acquire large quantities of face-value tickets and 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,” the EO added.
Live Nation issued a statement supporting the order, saying, “Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on. We support any meaningful resale reforms — including more enforcement of the BOTS Act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
The company claims that Ticketmaster “stops over 200 million bots a day — a number that continues to grow exponentially.”
The company has also rolled out “all-in pricing,” which allows online ticket buyers to see the final price of a ticket before purchase.
Live Nation’s praise comes amid an ongoing legal battle with the federal government. Almost a year ago, the US Justice Department served Live Nation with an antitrust lawsuit, alleging several violations of antitrust laws including claims of “anticompetitive conduct.”
A federal judge recently denied Live Nation’s motion to dismiss two major parts of the lawsuit. The DOJ is joined by 40 state and district attorneys general in the lawsuit. US District Judge Arun Subramanian upheld the states’ standing to seek damages on behalf of consumers, according to a court document on March 14.
Trump’s latest executive order bears similarities to former President Joe Biden’s previous directives. While in office, Biden directed the FTC to address “junk fees” in various industries including those added to ticket prices at checkout.
“Research shows that without realizing it, folks can end up paying as much as 20% more because of hidden junk fees than they would have paid if they could see the full price up front and compare it with other options. It’s wrong,” Biden said in October 2023.
In Trump’s executive order, federal agencies are given 180 days to report back to the White House on their enforcement actions and any recommendations for additional regulations.
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