Donald Trump Issues Executive Order to Combat Ticket Scalping in the U.S.

New Proposal for Ticket Industry Reform

US President Donald Trump has enacted a new order aimed at reforming the ticket industry for concerts across the United States.

• Read more: How to stay safe when buying tickets on social networks

On March 31, he signed the directive in the Oval Office with Kid Rock present. This order targets the “exploitation” of ticket scalping, a concern that extends beyond the borders of the United States.

Kid Rock’s Advocacy for Change

While in the Oval Office, Kid Rock advocated for the enforcement of rules and legislation concerning online ticket purchases, calling attention to the “unfair, deceitful, and anti-competitive behavior” that exists within the ticket resale markets.

The directive instructs authorities to enforce compliance with the federal law against ticket bots, originally established to curb bulk ticket purchases in 2016. Additionally, it directs US Treasury Secretary Scott Immotrot and Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure adherence to IRS regulations and other laws affecting ticket sales, including antitrust laws in the concert industry.

The Department of Treasury, DOJ, and FTC now have 180 days to provide a report outlining steps to eliminate unfair practices in the live entertainment sector.

Challenges in the Scalping Issue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JRGD_4UKPU

Kid Rock expressed during his campaign for the executive order: “Anyone who bought a concert ticket in the last 20 years, irrespective of their political views, knows it’s a mystery. You buy a ticket for $100, and by the time you check out, it’s $170—not knowing what additional fees are added. More importantly, these bots snatch up all the good tickets for your loved ones instantly, and the artists don’t see that money.”

He further stated, “I believe this is a significant first step. I hope we can enact legislation in the future that can effectively restrict the resale of tickets. I am a capitalist advocating for deregulation, but similar attempts made in Europe have shown that artist earnings at the prices we set are crucial.”

Despite efforts to tackle scalping in Europe and the UK, measures have yet to yield successful outcomes.

When tickets for the highly anticipated OASIS reunion tour were first announced in August, the band disclosed efforts to prevent high-priced resales by partnering with certain ticket platforms and stating that tickets sold for profit on other sites would be canceled.

However, upon the tickets going on sale and quickly selling out after long queues, it was reported that around 50,000 tickets from a total of four percent ended up being sold on the resale market.

In February, Ticketmaster canceled thousands of tickets sourced through bots, but numerous fans asserted that they were mistakenly affected. NME reached out to Ticketmaster for clarification, and they advised affected individuals to refer to their FAQ page regarding OASIS. HereField

In January, the UK government launched a consultation focusing on ticket resale markets to “better protect fans, improve access to live events, and support the growth of the global events sector in the UK.”

This consultation follows frustrations arising from the sales of Oasis Live ’25 tickets, where many fans expressed anger due to unexpected price surges. The CMA and European Commission are currently investigating the issue.