In a theatrical move to stop outlandish ticket prices along with unauthorized reselling activities, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at putting an end to ticket touting and supporting greater live event price transparency.
US American artist Kid Rock was one of the individuals standing next to Trump when he signed.
The executive order seeks to prevent malicious resellers from profiteering over fans by raising ticket prices at concerts, sporting events, and other live shows.
The US Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury have been told by it to utilize all possible lawful means at their disposal in an effort to eliminate excessive price-gouging of tickets in the market.
Furthermore, the order mandates the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce clear and upfront pricing throughout the entire ticket-buying process—whether or not it is the secondary resale market.
“You can buy a ticket for $100. By checkout time, it’s $170,” Kid Rock said.
The “Born Free” artist, who also appeared with Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, pointed out that automated bots are a leading source of the problem, allowing scalpers to re-post tickets with a whopping mark-up.
Due to “bots,” tickets were re-posted sometimes with a mark-up of up to 400-500 percent, according to Kid Rock.
Ticketing reform has also been in President Joe Biden’s sights. In fact, last year the Biden administration brought a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation Entertainment on anti-monopolization claims.
Live Nation, while denying the monopoly claims, put out a statement supporting Trump’s executive order and emphasizing the necessity of strong enforcement measures to protect consumers
