Key Highlights
- Kid Rock testified at a Senate hearing on ticket pricing issues.
- The hearing addressed live concert and event fee problems, including bots.
- Rock criticized the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation for leading to price gouging.
- Rock proposed a 10% resale ticket price cap and other measures to protect artists.
- The TICKET Act is a bipartisan bill that hasn’t passed yet, aiming to display total event prices upfront.
Kid Rock’s Testimony at Senate Hearing on Ticket Prices: A Capitalist Criticizing the System He’s Part Of
So Kid Rock, a 55-year-old Grammy-nominated singer, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee. The hearing was titled “Fees Rolled On All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry,” and it focused on concert ticket fees and bots.
“I’ve been packing arenas for over 25 years,” Rock began, his voice resonating with both experience and frustration. “I’m also a capitalist. I love live music and sports, but I believe artists and fans have been getting screwed by the ticketing system.” His words cut deep, challenging the very industry he’s part of.
The 2010 Merger and Its Failures
Rock turned his critical eye to the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. “The economic foundation that supported artists in the past is crumbling,” he said. “Piracy is threatening their livelihood, and secondary ticketing is driving up prices for fans with no benefit to artists.” He called it a “monopoly dressed up as innovation,” adding, “Independent venues have been crushed; artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it.”
Rock’s Proposed Solutions
Rock proposed several measures: a 10% price cap on resale tickets to curb pricing, subpoenas on artists’ contracts with ticketing companies and promoters to uncover fraud and abuse, and allowing artists to choose their own ticket sellers. “This wasn’t an experiment,” he emphasized. “It was a monopoly dressed up as innovation.”
The TICKET Act and Beyond
Rock also mentioned the TICKET Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to display total event ticket prices upfront. However, it hasn’t passed yet. He hopes for more action: “I’ll close now with the words of one of my favorite rock bands, The Who, and say it is my sincere hope we ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.'”
As he finished his testimony, Rock’s words echoed in the room, a stark reminder that even within the industry, there are voices questioning the status quo. The battle for fair ticket prices continues.
