If Kid Rock can actually get this done, he has my vote for President.
Ok maybe a President Kid Rock isn’t the best idea, but I think we can all agree that the process of buying concert tickets is about as fun as getting a colonoscopy (unless you’re into that thing, no judgment I guess).
Between searching for presale codes or signing up for an artist’s presale, then logging on at the right time, waiting in the queue only to get in to buy tickets and watch them disappear right out from under you, then pay almost twice the listed price once all the fees are tacked on…it’s a total disaster to get tickets to any in-demand concert.
It’s gotten so bad that the Department of Justice has even filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, seeking to break up the monopoly between the entertainment giant and Ticketmaster.
And the issue goes far deeper than just Ticketmaster. Live Nation controls not only the ticketing process for most shows, but they also own many venues and festivals, and even have management contracts with artists, meaning one company is controlling every step of the process – so of course they can charge whatever they want.
Then there’s the issue of bots and scalpers buying up tickets as soon as they go on sale, only for those same tickets to immediately appear on resale sites for insane markups.
In the end, it’s only the concertgoer who ends up losing in the end, while companies like Live Nation and Ticketmaster keep expanding their stranglehold over every aspect of the entertainment industry.
It sucks, and somebody needs to fix it.
Somebody like Kid Rock, maybe?
Earlier today, ol’ Bob Ritchie posted a photo of himself alongside Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General of Florida who was recently appointed by incoming President Donald Trump as his nominee to lead the Department of Justice. And apparently, the focus of the meeting was on helping out people trying to buy concert tickets:
“What a treat to break bread with our soon to be Attorney General Pam Bondi.
I look forward to working with her and the whole administration to help fix the fiasco of buying concert tickets. Gonna open a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies, managers and artists alike who rip off and deceive the public with the horse shit that has gone on for decades and only gotten worse.
Whoever in charge that wants to help fix this, get your ass to the table, otherwise, Fuck Around and Find Out.”
I like the sound of that.
At a minimum, it sounds like Bondi has no intention of dropping the lawsuit brought by current Attorney General Merrick Garland’s DOJ against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, but hopefully they can get even more figured out to help make the whole process better and more fair for music fans.
It’s not the first time Kid Rock has expressed an interest in fixing the broken system. During an appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, the American Badass blasted Ticketmaster and explained how the entire system ends up screwing over actual fans:
“They made over a billion dollars in the secondary market last year. That means if you buy a ticket and go to a concert, you’re their worst customer. They want that ticket to resell, and resell, and keep getting that money on it.
And they could cut it out but the government will not hold them responsible to stop the bots. The government says, ‘We’re going to do it,’ and they’re not doing sh*t. And these bots are out of hand.
I could charge so much less if I could get those tickets to people that want to come see me as fans, but when we’ve done it in the past, $20 tickets, we have to scalp our own tickets just to combat the real scalpers.
And I know people that do this that used to work at big banks, with Goldman Sachs, they do this full time and it’s nothing illegal. They go on…and they buy as many tickets as they can to like 10, 15 of the hottest shows in the world, and they just resell them for a markup.
And they’re making more money than they were being at a huge bank.”
He also said that he had discussed the issue with several elected officials in his home state of Tennessee and urged them to take action:
“I’ve actually talked to several of them about really taking a hard look at Ticketmaster. They have a monopoly. And even though I make a lot of money for them and I love the people at Live Nation – we’ve done great business together – I’m like, this is f*cked up.
I’ll be the first one to admit, I’m overpaid. There’s no reason to make this much money. But I can’t control it, because the market dictated, and Ticketmaster.”
Could Kid Rock actually be the hero we need when it comes to fixing the problem with buying concert tickets? Honestly, I don’t care who fixes it, I just want it fixed.
What a treat to break bread with our soon to be Attorney General @PamBondi . I look forward to working with her and the whole administration to help fix the fiasco of buying concert tickets. Gonna open a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies,… pic.twitter.com/zgzGshBL7y
— KidRock (@KidRock) December 13, 2024