Kid Rock Joins Trump to Fight Ticket Markups \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at curbing concert ticket scalping and rising event fees. Joined by musician Kid Rock, Trump’s order targets bots, pricing transparency, and unfair resale practices. The initiative echoes bipartisan concerns about the secondary ticketing market’s lack of regulation.
Trump Executive Order on Ticket Scalping: Quick Looks
- Trump signs order to address high concert ticket prices
- Kid Rock appears at White House to support the move
- Order aims to enforce transparency and limit bot-based scalping
- FTC and DOJ directed to act on secondary ticketing abuses
- Echoes Biden-era push against junk fees and monopolies
- Live Nation supports the reform, backs resale price caps
- Ticket scalping said to harm fans and not benefit artists
- Trump’s action seen as populist move targeting inflated costs
- Kid Rock calls the order a “great first step”
- Report on enforcement outcomes due in six months
Deep Look
In a rare moment of bipartisan overlap on consumer protection, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday aimed at tackling one of the most frustrating issues for fans of live entertainment: ticket scalping and deceptive pricing practices in the concert industry. Standing beside longtime supporter and musician Kid Rock, Trump called the initiative a long-overdue response to what he described as a “rigged system” that has allowed bots and middlemen to exploit fans and inflate ticket prices beyond affordability.
“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade knows it’s a mess,” said Kid Rock — real name Robert James Ritchie — who wore a flashy red suit adorned with an American flag design and a straw fedora. “The bots get all the good tickets, and then they’re relisted for sometimes 400-500% more.”
The executive order, signed in the Oval Office, directs multiple federal agencies to crack down on bad actors in the secondary ticket market. Among its mandates:
- The Attorney General and Treasury Secretary must ensure that resellers follow IRS compliance standards when selling tickets above face value.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must increase price transparency at every stage of ticket purchases and crack down on unfair, deceptive, or anti-competitive practices.
- A six-month review is required to summarize agency actions and propose any additional legislative or regulatory fixes.
Trump described the action as a “commonsense” reform to restore fairness and accessibility to the live events market. He emphasized that rising fees are “hurting everyday Americans,” echoing frustrations shared by concertgoers across the political spectrum.
Kid Rock, who has long aligned himself with working-class themes in both music and politics, praised the order as a move that aligns with his own fan base. “I’m a capitalist, but there’s gotta be a line,” he said, suggesting that resale price caps could be a future solution. “I’d rather be a hero to working-class people than overpaid for a ticket they can’t afford.”
The White House noted that the live entertainment industry contributes over $132 billion annually to the U.S. economy and supports nearly 1 million jobs, but has been “blighted by unscrupulous middlemen who impose egregious fees on fans.”
Trump’s initiative may seem like an unusual policy area, but it touches on a populist pressure point that has increasingly drawn scrutiny. Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment, often blamed for the ticketing market’s dysfunction, have come under fire from both Trump and President Joe Biden, whose administration has made “junk fees” a regulatory priority. In fact, the Biden administration previously directed the FTC to investigate fees tacked onto purchases of tickets, hotel rooms, and other services, and sued Live Nation in 2023, alleging monopolistic behavior.
Live Nation, which has frequently clashed with major artists like Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and Zach Bryan, responded positively to Trump’s order. “Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on,” the company said. CEO Michael Rapino also acknowledged the order in a post on X (formerly Twitter), thanking both Trump and Kid Rock for their efforts.
Bryan, whose 2022 album All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster was inspired by ticket access frustrations, declined to comment through a representative.
While Trump’s order largely reinforces existing federal laws, it marks a strategic attempt to deliver on one of his campaign pledges to lower ticket prices and remove hidden fees—an issue he previously labeled “very unfortunate.”
The order mandates the FTC and other agencies to report back in six months on their progress and recommend future steps, including potential legislation. That sets the stage for ongoing action, and potentially future bipartisan support, depending on the report’s findings and public response.
Though Trump’s announcement was filled with fanfare, its policy implications touch on real pain points for millions of Americans. Hidden service charges, bot-driven ticket hoarding, and arbitrary price hikes have long plagued the live event experience, making once-affordable entertainment a luxury for many. Consumers have voiced frustration over events where tickets are sold out in minutes, only to appear immediately on resale sites at massive markups.
The Trump administration hopes this action will mark a turning point, creating a fairer and more transparent ticketing system that benefits artists, fans, and the broader entertainment ecosystem.
Kid Rock summed up the public sentiment well: “It’s kind of ridiculous. I just want people to be able to come to my shows and not get screwed.”
As Trump continues shaping his 2024 policy agenda, this executive order positions him as an advocate for everyday consumers in the cultural and entertainment space, with a populist spin that’s likely to resonate across party lines.
Kid Rock Joins
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