Washington, DC: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday aimed at protecting fans from “exploitative ticket scalping” and bringing reforms to the U.S. live entertainment ticketing industry. The order seeks to address concerns over inflated ticket prices driven by resellers and automated bot purchases.
Trump signed the directive in the Oval Office, with singer Kid Rock standing beside him, dressed in a patriotic American flag-themed outfit. Kid Rock, a vocal advocate for ticketing reforms, highlighted the issue of scalpers using bots to purchase large volumes of tickets at face value and then reselling them at exorbitant prices.
Musician Kid Rock joins President Donald Trump as he signed an executive order aimed to combat ticket scalping https://t.co/N0RN0cKa9W pic.twitter.com/h9Z1cZ4nbj
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 1, 2025
“I want the fans to have fair ticket prices,” Kid Rock stated, emphasizing that legislation would ultimately be necessary to impose caps on ticket purchases.
The executive order directs Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that ticket scalpers adhere to all tax regulations enforced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other relevant laws, according to a White House fact sheet. Additionally, the order tasks the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with collaborating with the U.S. attorney’s office to ensure that competition laws are properly enforced in the concert and entertainment industries.
The directive comes amid legal action against major ticketing companies. Last year, the Justice Department and multiple state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket-selling subsidiary, Ticketmaster, accusing them of monopolizing the live concert industry in ways that negatively impact artists and fans.
Live Nation Entertainment issued a statement on Monday expressing support for Trump’s executive order and applauding efforts to combat scalpers and automated bot activity.
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“We support any meaningful resale reforms—including more enforcement of the BOTS Act, caps on resale prices, and more,” the company stated.
The issue of ticket scalping and bot purchases gained national attention earlier this year when U.S. senators criticized Live Nation Entertainment over its lack of transparency and failure to prevent bots from purchasing tickets in bulk. The scrutiny followed the widely publicized fiasco involving ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, her first tour in five years, which saw fans struggling to secure tickets due to excessive demand and scalper interference.
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Ticketmaster, long criticized by concertgoers, came under renewed fire from U.S. lawmakers over its handling of Swift’s ticket sales last fall. Industry experts estimate that Ticketmaster controls more than 70% of primary ticket sales for major U.S. concert venues, further fueling concerns about monopolistic practices in the sector.
The White House fact sheet accompanying the executive order specifically condemned bot sales as a major factor in ticket price inflation.
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“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 stated.
The order marks a significant step in addressing long-standing concerns about ticket scalping, though whether further legislative action follows remains to be seen.
