The FTC is ordered to prevent “unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticket market.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, aimed at thwarting “exploitative ticket scalping” and price adjustment practices at live entertainment events.
It also instructs the FTC to “ensure price transparency at all stages of the ticket purchasing process” and to “take enforcement measures” if deemed appropriate to prevent “unfair, deceptive or anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticket market.”
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Kid Rock, Robert James Richie, called it a “great first step” in working on ticket scalping, thanking Trump for making it “lightning.”
He also expressed his hope for the passage of laws that would reduce the price of resale tickets.
“I’m going to buy a ticket for $100. It’s $170 by the time I check out. I don’t know what was charged, but even more importantly, these bots you know will come and get all the good tickets for the favorite shows you want to go to, and sometimes they’ll be relisted quickly with 400% or 500% markup,” he added.
Trump said ticket females use bots and other means to buy large quantities of tickets and use bots and other means to resell them in the “huge markup” of the secondary market. According to the order, some fans paid up to 70 times the face value to get tickets to see their favorite artists.
America’s live concert and entertainment industry has created a national economic impact of $132.6 billion and supports 913,000 jobs.
Ticket Giant Live Nation said it will support orders and “meaning resale reforms” including implementing bot laws and implementing resale prices caps.
