Country rock singer Kid Rock headed to Capitol Hill yesterday to testify on the topic of skyrocketing concert ticket prices and the role corporations and scammers play in it. As he put it, “music fans and artists have been getting screwed by the ticketing system.”
Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing led by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was titled: “Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry.”
“I’m in a unique position to testify, because unlike most of my peers, I am beholden to no one, no record companies, no managers, no corporate endorsements or deals,” Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, told the committee. “To put it plainly, I ain’t scared, like many artists, managers and agents are, for fear of biting the hand that feeds them.”
He brought up how Live Nation and Ticketmaster merging was pitched as a benefit for artists and fans, but claimed the opposite has proven true.
“Let’s be clear—this is far from a new problem,” Ritchie said. “Thirty years ago, members of the rock band Pearl Jam sat in these same seats, warning Congress about ticketing abuse. In 2009, Congress was told—under oath—that merging Live Nation and Ticketmaster would benefit artists and fans.”
“The economic foundation that supported artists in the past is crumbling. Piracy is threatening their livelihood. Secondary ticketing is driving up prices for the fans with absolutely no benefit to the artist,” the singer continued, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Needless to say, that experiment has failed miserably. Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it.”
Kid Rock said there are “mountains of fraud” waiting to be discovered and suggested solutions including allowing performers to set their own prices and capping resale prices, to name a few. He also drew attention to bots that buy up large amounts of concert tickets to resell. Ritchie mentioned that the proposed reforms so far haven’t gone far enough.
“The problem is the ticketing lobbyists push these reforms as cover while fighting to keep tickets in an open market and let them exploit fans under the guise of capitalism,” Ritchie said.
Last year, the Senate Commerce Committee introduced the TICKET Act, a bipartisan bill which would require the total fees for an event ticket to be displayed clearly in advance. The bill passed the House in April, but has not yet passed the Senate.
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