Photo Credit: The Independent / X (Twitter)
President Trump signed an executive order on March 31 that takes aim at ticket scalping and price-gouging in the live entertainment industry. The order is aimed at protecting consumers from inflated secondary-market prices while providing more transparency in ticket sales.
The executive order strengthens crackdowns on scalpers using automated bots to bulk-purchase tickets for resale through the BOTS Act and directs the FTC to ensure clear pricing disclosures at all ticket-purchase stages, including secondary markets.
It also requires scalpers who are reselling tickets above face value to follow tax regulations set up by the IRS, including reporting income over $600 from the activity. The FTC and DOJ have also been tasked with identifying and addressing unfair practices in the industry. Finally, the EO mandates a review within 180 days to recommend further legislative or regulatory actions to be taken.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino took to Twitter to thank the president for his action against secondary-markets—which notably won’t impact Ticketmaster as a primary ticket source. Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model (which is what most people complain about) comes from captured audience demand and an algorithm that raises and lowers prices based on that demand. Some of the highest prices seen from the dynamic pricing model comes during artist pre-sale—when verified fans are clamoring for good seats.
“Big thank you to President Trump for taking ticket scalping head-on which protects American consumers and artists,” Rapino stated. “Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, which is why we support any meaningful resale reforms—including more enforcement of the BOTS Act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
Live Nation moved all of its U.S. venues to all-in pricing in 2023, delivering on the transparency required by the FTC for primary ticket sales. The company says all-in pricing has reduced abandoned carts at checkout, since fees are no longer hidden on the final checkout page.
Live Nation also says Ticketmaster stops over 200 million bots a day—a number that continues to grow exponentially. The company also introduced Face Value exchange, which allows tickets to be resold purely at face value—with no profit motive for scalpers to take advantage. This move allows fans to resell tickets to another fan if something comes up and they can’t attend.
