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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's one Biden crusade Trump is still on board with
In this era of partisan rancor and ideological polarization, there appears to be at least one thing Americans of all political persuasions can still agree on: Buying concert tickets sucks. On Wednesday evening, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission announced that they were kicking off an inquiry into 'anticompetitive practices and conduct in the live concert and entertainment industry' and asked the public to submit comments on the issue. The move was prompted by a White House executive order instructing federal regulators and law enforcement to take action against online ticket scalpers, which President Trump signed last month while joined in the Oval Office by a stars-and-stripes bedecked Kid Rock. 'Many Americans feel like they are being priced out of live entertainment by scalpers, bots, and other unfair and deceptive practices,' FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement. 'Now their voices are being heard. President Trump has sent a clear message that bad actors who exploit fans and distort the marketplace will not be tolerated.' The attempt to make ticket-buying a less maddening experience represents a rare point of continuity between the Trump and Biden administrations. The former president made taking on ticket brokers a major part of his administration's war on so-called 'junk fees,' singling out the pesky and expensive hidden charges fans often find tacked on as they go to check out. The issue got a public boost after sales for Taylor Swift's Eras tour caused Ticketmaster's website to crash, triggering a furious fan backlash against the company. In December, the FTC finalized a bipartisan rule that banned junk fees on live event tickets as well as hotels, which is set to finally take effect next week. (Ferguson, the current chair who was then one of two Republicans on the commission, backed the regulation). In an arguably more dramatic step, Biden's Justice Department also sought to break up Live Nation, the entertainment behemoth that owns both Ticketmaster and hundreds of venues worldwide, filing an antitrust suit last year in which it accused the company of illegally trying to stamp out competition from other ticketing platforms, among other monopolistic abuses. Trump largely appears to be building on those efforts. The Justice Department has continued to pursue its case against Live Nation, and in March a federal judge rejected the company's effort to throw out some claims from the suit. Trump's executive order on scalping followed weeks later. Among other steps, the order instructs the FTC to 'rigorously enforce' the Better Online Ticket Sales (or BOTS) Act, an Obama-era law designed to stop automated buyers from snapping up seats for resale before real fans can access them. According to a White House fact sheet, the FTC has only taken action under the law once since it was enacted. It also urges the agency to consider taking action against 'anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market' and to ensure companies are keeping prices transparent, in keeping with the new Junk Fee rule. As the ticket market has come under increasing scrutiny nationally, a fierce lobbying battle has broken out over who exactly is to blame for the high costs consumers are paying to see a show. On one side, critics of Ticketmaster have argued that its iron hold on the industry has driven up costs. But Live Nation and some others have argued that scalpers, including platforms like SeatGeek and Stubhub that facilitate resales, are more to blame. Trump, for his part, appears to be trying to crack down on both sides. The effort is in some ways just a small example of how, even as it has tried to reverse much of Biden's regulatory agenda, the Trump administration has stuck with some of its major antitrust initiatives. Despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg's appeals to the president, the FTC has continued to pursue a major antitrust suit against Meta. It has also decided to stick with the merger guidelines that were updated under former Chair Lina Kahn. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has continued to push ahead with its suit against Google. Josh Withrow, a fellow at the center-right R Street Institute who has written on the ticket market and the government's suit against Live Nation, said that beyond enforcing laws on the books, it wasn't clear whether there were many new regulations Trump could pursue to combat scalping. The White House could push Congress to pass the TICKETS Act, which includes consumer-friendly reforms on issues like fees and refunds and tries to combat some particularly abusive scalping practices. But he added that it made sense Trump would stick with Biden's initiative. 'It makes sense as an easy political win,' Withrow said. 'If there's one thing there's political consensus on, it's that everyone is mad at the ticket markets and fees.' Jordan Weissmann is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Lawmakers hope to crack down on ticket-buying bots
Federal lawmakers are trying to make it harder for bots to cut in line to buy tickets to the biggest events in entertainment. Why it matters: If passed, the bill's authors say, it'll be easier for you to snag those Beyoncé or Taylor Swift tickets next time they're in town. The latest: Democratic Rep. Troy Carter is co-sponsoring new legislation aimed at protecting consumers from online scams and preventing bots from making online ticket purchases. If passed, the bill would add teeth to 2016 legislation that sought to prevent scalpers from using software to buy tickets at high volumes. Between the lines: The bill was originally introduced in the Senate earlier this year by Sen. Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). It is a follow-up to Blackburn's Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which was signed into law in 2016. That legislation gave the Federal Trade Commission a way to crack down on scalpers who use bots. But eight years after the act was passed, the FTC had only used it once. The new legislation would require online ticket sellers like Ticketmaster to notify the FTC about successful bot attacks, like the ones infamous for targeting Swift's "The Eras Tour." It would also create a new consumer complaint database and strengthen security requirements for online platforms. The FTC would also be required to update Congress about BOTS Act enforcement. Companies that violate the new law could face fines of up to $10,000 per day. The big picture: The bill has bipartisan support, along with endorsements from big music industry players like the Recording Academy and Live Nation.
Euronews
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Donald Trump signs executive order against ‘exploitative ticket scalping'
ADVERTISEMENT Donald Trump invited rocker and MAGA supporter Kid Rock into the Oval Office and signed an executive order that he says will help curb ticket scalping and bring 'commonsense' changes to the way live events are priced. Kid Rock campaigned for regulations and legislation to be implemented when it comes to online ticket purchases, citing the 'unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct' in the ticket resale market. The president said rising fees for concerts and other events have 'gotten worse and worse with time.' Kid Rock, wearing a red bedazzled suit featuring an American flag motif and a straw fedora, agreed: 'Anyone who's bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it's a conundrum.' 'You buy a ticket for $100, by the time you check out it's $170, you don't know what you're charged for.' Kid Rock and Donald Trump in the Oval Office - 31 March 2025 AP Photo The order directs authorities to enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, a federal law designed to prevent scalpers from buying tickets in bulk using bots in 2016. Additionally, it instructs US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that ticket resellers are entirely compliant with IRS regulations and other laws, as well as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) working with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce antitrust laws in the concert industry. Kid Rock continued: 'These bots come in and get all the good tickets to your favourite shows, and they're re-listed immediately for a 4-500 per cent markup. The artists don't see any of that money.' 'Ultimately, I think this is a great first step. I'd love down the road if there would be some legislation that we can actually put a cap on the resale of tickets. I'm a Capitalist and for deregulation, but they've tried this in some places in Europe and it seems to be the only thing that lets us as artists get the hands in artists at the price we set.' Attempts to curb scalping in Europe have had mixed results . The most recent and headline-grabbing instance has been for the highly awaited Oasis reunion tour . The band mentioned efforts to prevent touts from re-selling tickets at inflated prices, saying that tickets sold for profit on other sites would be cancelled. However, when tickets finally went on sale and rapidly sold out, it was reported that roughly 50,000 tickets ended up on resale sites. It was then announced in February that thousands of tickets were cancelled by Ticketmaster in a crackdown on bots. However, many infuriated fans claimed they were targeted wrongfully and then faced with surging ticket prices. Secondary ticket swap sites such as Viagogo, TicketSwap and the Oasis-approved Twickets have become a widespread part of the live event market in recent years. Ostensibly intended as a means for gig-goers to sell on tickets to other fans when they can't attend due to unforeseen circumstances, these secondary sites are regularly filled with tickets for popular events snapped up by touts being advertised for significantly above the original asking price. ADVERTISEMENT According to the BBC, some of the tickets listed on these secondary sites for the upcoming Oasis tour were being sold for as much as £119,000 (€143,000). A quick check through StubHub and Viagogo found multiple examples of tickets being sold for thousands of euros.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What Trump's Executive Order on Tickets Means
President Donald Trump, accompanied by entertainer Kid Rock, signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on March 31, 2025, in Washington, DC. Credit - Andrew Harnik—Getty Images A new executive order signed by President Trump Monday aims to hit all the right notes with concertgoers by addressing the price-gouging of tickets for live events. It orders the Federal Trade Commission to ensure price transparency at all stages of ticket buying and the Attorney General to ensure that ticket scalpers are abiding by the law and Internal Revenue Code. The executive order claims it will double down on enforcing the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which targets scalpers who use bots to purchase tickets and resell them at much higher prices—profiting the scalper instead of the artist. 'It is a big problem,' Trump said during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, claiming that the new executive order would be a step towards lowering 'crazy ticket prices.' Kid Rock stood next to the commander-in-chief in a red-white-and-blue jumpsuit emblazoned with the American flag. 'I want the fans to have fair ticket prices, to be able to go enjoy more shows,' said the Grammy-nominated artist, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie. 'I'd like to take my ticket price lower, but if I set my ticket prices low, these bots immediately eat them up, and they resell for hundreds of dollars more, and I'm just making these bad actors rich.' Trump's executive order comes after the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden sued Ticketmaster last year, accusing it of running an illegal monopoly over live events. The New York Times recently reported on the growing number of Gen Z concertgoers who are willing to go into debt in order to see their favorite performers. In 1996, the average ticket for a top 100 tour went for about $25, while today average ticket prices are about $135, per Pollstar, a trade publication that covers the live music industry. The issue of price-gouging gained new attention in the last couple of years when tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras tour sold for tens of thousands of dollars. In a statement published by Variety, leading ticket reseller StubHub railed against what it called the "live entertainment monopoly" and commended Trump for "taking steps to better protect fans from ticket bots and bad actors who exploit vulnerabilities in the primary ticket market." Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster's parent company, issued a press release thanking Trump for signing the executive order, stating, 'We support any meaningful resale reforms,' including 'caps on resale prices.' The executive order does not get into caps. Music industry analyst Bob Lefsetz called the executive order 'grandstanding' in his newsletter, arguing, 'In reality the order says nothing. Other than ticket scalpers make a lot of money and they must pay taxes on their revenue.' He wrote that the BOTS act has been rarely used because not enough money has been delegated to enforce it and expressed doubt that such funds would be allocated given the new Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to reduce government spending. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Donald Trump signs executive order against ‘exploitative ticket scalping'
Donald Trump invited rocker and MAGA supporter Kid Rock into the Oval Office and signed an executive order that he says will help curb ticket scalping and bring 'commonsense' changes to the way live events are priced. Kid Rock campaigned for regulations and legislation to be implemented when it comes to online ticket purchases, citing the 'unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct' in the ticket resale market. The president said rising fees for concerts and other events have 'gotten worse and worse with time.' Kid Rock, wearing a red bedazzled suit featuring an American flag motif and a straw fedora, agreed: 'Anyone who's bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it's a conundrum.' 'You buy a ticket for $100, by the time you check out it's $170, you don't know what you're charged for.' The order directs authorities to enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, a federal law designed to prevent scalpers from buying tickets in bulk using bots in 2016. Additionally, it instructs US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that ticket resellers are entirely compliant with IRS regulations and other laws, as well as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) working with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce antitrust laws in the concert industry. Kid Rock continued: 'These bots come in and get all the good tickets to your favourite shows, and they're re-listed immediately for a 4-500 per cent markup. The artists don't see any of that money.' 'Ultimately, I think this is a great first step. I'd love down the road if there would be some legislation that we can actually put a cap on the resale of tickets. I'm a Capitalist and for deregulation, but they've tried this in some places in Europe and it seems to be the only thing that lets us as artists get the hands in artists at the price we set.' Attempts to curb scalping in Europe have had mixed results. The most recent and headline-grabbing instance has been for the highly awaited Oasis reunion tour. The band mentioned efforts to prevent touts from re-selling tickets at inflated prices, saying that tickets sold for profit on other sites would be cancelled. However, when tickets finally went on sale and rapidly sold out, it was reported that roughly 50,000 tickets ended up on resale sites. It was then announced in February that thousands of tickets were cancelled by Ticketmaster in a crackdown on bots. However, many infuriated fans claimed they were targeted wrongfully and then faced with surging ticket prices. Secondary ticket swap sites such as Viagogo, TicketSwap and the Oasis-approved Twickets have become a widespread part of the live event market in recent years. Ostensibly intended as a means for gig-goers to sell on tickets to other fans when they can't attend due to unforeseen circumstances, these secondary sites are regularly filled with tickets for popular events snapped up by touts being advertised for significantly above the original asking price. According to the BBC, some of the tickets listed on these secondary sites for the upcoming Oasis tour were being sold for as much as £119,000 (€143,000). A quick check through StubHub and Viagogo found multiple examples of tickets being sold for thousands of euros.
