Remember when you were a kid and were trying to get into a concert at short notice? You didn't have a ticket (like when I went with a couple buddies to see Stevie Nicks in 1982), so you mooched around in front of the venue until you spotted a guy leaning against a lamppost with a speculative look in his eye and his hands in his coat pockets. That guy was a scalper, and he had tickets - if you were willing to pay.
You would pay through the nose, and that's for sure and for certain. On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on ticket scalpers, doing so with the inestimable Kid Rock at his side.
🚨 @POTUS is taking executive action to protect fans from exploitative ticket scalping and bring commonsense reforms to live entertainment.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 31, 2025
The Order directs the Federal Trade Commission to:
— Work with the Attorney General to ensure that competition laws are appropriately… pic.twitter.com/KPCkJVCOdM
The post states in full:
@POTUS is taking executive action to protect fans from exploitative ticket scalping and bring commonsense reforms to live entertainment.
The Order 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.
- Rigorously enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and promote its enforcement by state consumer protection authorities.
- Ensure price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process, including the secondary ticketing market. — Evaluate and, if appropriate, take enforcement action to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.
- The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury and Attorney General to ensure that ticket scalpers are operating in full compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable law.
- Treasury, the Department of Justice, and the FTC will also deliver a report within 180 days summarizing actions taken to address the issue of unfair practices in the live concert and entertainment industry and recommend additional regulations or legislation needed to protect consumers in this industry.
In a follow-up post from C-Span's Howard Mortman, Kid Rock had a few words.
Kid Rock in the Oval Office with Pres. Trump ... now LIVE on C-SPAN pic.twitter.com/J93vlWwVrN
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) March 31, 2025
He said:
It doesn't matter your politics, because - first of all thank you Mr. President, this is happening at lightning speed, I know you made sure, you want to lean on (inaudble) gets a lot of credit, too, because I know she's worked hard on this, so thank you for making this happen so quick. Anyone who's bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe twenty years, no matter what your politics are, knows that its a conundrum. You buy a ticket for a hundred bucks, by the time you check out it's a 170, you don't know what you're being charged for but more important are the bots. They come in and they get all the good tickets.
20 years? Try nearly 50 years, Mr. Rock. Granted, ticket sales weren't as loaded with extra charges then, but boy howdy, the scalpers were already operating, and I will admit I bought a ticket from one a time or two. In fact, were it not for a scalper, I know I wouldn't have seen Alice Cooper in 1979.
In a humorous epilogue, a reporter asked President Trump about Kid Rock's rather garish but patriotic choice of attire, and he replied in typical Trump fashion.
🚨 LMAO! A reporter just asked Trump if he'd wear Kid Rock's flashy American flag jumpsuit
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 31, 2025
TRUMP: "I don't know, I was thinking about wearing it TOMORROW! We've got a big day coming up." 🤣
I'd pay to see that 😂 pic.twitter.com/aL3RzL4pGB
The president said in response to what sounds like Fox News's Peter Doocy:
PETER DOOCY: Mr. President, would you ever wear a jacket like that?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don't know. I was thinking about doing it for tomorrow. We have a big event coming up and I was thinking about doing it.
This isn't the most ground-breaking policy position the president has taken, but it ought to make concertgoers happy.
See Also: NEW: Trump Signs EO to Establish Promising, New Presidential Advisory Commission on Science, Tech
It's not clear, of course, how much this will accomplish. A read through what's presented in the EO can be summarized as "enforce the existing laws, but do it harder." Of course, doing away with paper tickets would largely do away with scalpers; electronic tickets could be issued by name, one would think, and only the person whose name is on the e-ticket would be admitted. The last concert my wife and I went to, a small venue (about 60 people), handled it in just this way. Our tickets were texted to us, and we presented the tickets on our phones at entry.
But it's well-meant and will doubtless be well-taken by concert goers. Still, this sort of thing can take the semblance of an arms race. All the add-ons charged by the ticket companies can be dealt with, but I suspect scalpers will always find a way to scalp.
Remember the scalper at the beginning of the story? He wanted $100 each for tickets. In 1982 dollars. We went home without seeing Stevie Nicks.
This seems appropriate.
Help RedState continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration's accomplishments as we continue to usher in the Golden Era of America. Join RedState’s VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership today.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member