Tags: senate panel | hearing | ticket prices | kid rock | live nation

Senate Panel to Hold Ticket Pricing Hearing With Kid Rock

Senate Panel to Hold Ticket Pricing Hearing With Kid Rock
President Donald Trump and Kid Rock in the Oval Office. (Getty Images)

Wednesday, 21 January 2026 06:01 PM EST

A U.S. Senate Commerce Committee panel will hold a hearing next week on efforts to crack down on unfair ticketing issues that will include an executive from Ticketmaster-parent company Live Nation and singer Kid Rock, a Senate aide told Reuters.

The Justice Department and dozens of state attorneys general sued Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster unit in 2024 for allegedly monopolizing markets across the live concert industry in ⁠ways that hurt artists and fans.

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee will chair the Jan. 28 hearing before the Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy subcommittee that will also focus on ​the FTC suit against Ticketmaster, all-in pricing, and other consumer protection issues.

The FTC in August sued ticket reseller Key Investment Group for evading purchasing limits to buy up thousands of tickets to live events including Taylor Swift's Eras tour and resell them at a markup using thousands of Ticketmaster accounts.

Blackburn and Sen. Ben Ray ⁠Lujan, D-N.M., filed a legal brief supporting the FTC suit against Key Investment, saying, "bad actors buy up tickets with no intention of using them."

"They then resell the tickets on secondary markets with eye-popping markups. Their unearned profits come out of the pockets of ordinary Americans who just want to ⁠attend a performance by a favorite artist ​or cheer on their team ⁠at the big game," they wrote.

Key Investment has denied wrongdoing, saying its ticket purchases did not use automated software, or bots.

President Donald Trump in March signed an executive order aimed at protecting fans from "exploitative ticket scalping" and reforming the U.S. live entertainment ticketing industry.

Kid Rock, who attended the signing, last year decried ticket scalpers' use of bots to buy large numbers of tickets at face value and then resell them for a big markup.

Live Nation Entertainment, ⁠which did ​not immediately comment Wednesday, said last year it supported Trump's order and thanked him for trying to address scalpers and bots.

In January 2025, U.S. senators assailed Live Nation Entertainment's lack of transparency and inability to block bot purchases of tickets. That hearing was called after a major fiasco involving ticket sales for a Taylor Swift concert tour.

© 2026 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


Newsfront
A U.S. Senate Commerce Committee panel will hold a hearing next week on efforts to crack down on unfair ticketing issues that will include an executive from Ticketmaster-parent company Live Nation and singer Kid Rock, a Senate aide told Reuters. The Justice Department and ...
senate panel, hearing, ticket prices, kid rock, live nation
361
2026-01-21
Wednesday, 21 January 2026 06:01 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Get Newsmax Text Alerts
TOP

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved