Kid Rock Blasts Ticketmaster Merger In Senate Hearing

On January 28, 2026, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation convened a hearing with an eye-catching title: "Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry." The star witness? None other than Kid Rock, the genre-blending musician and self-styled outsider, who took the opportunity to deliver a blistering critique of the live event ticketing system, zeroing in on industry giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, was invited to testify by Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. He arrived on Capitol Hill ready to ruffle feathers, declaring, "I’m here today because I love God, I love this country, I love live music and sports, and I believe music fans and artists have been getting screwed for far too long by the ticketing system." According to The Hollywood Reporter, his testimony was personal, passionate, and, at times, unvarnished. "To put it plainly, I ain’t scared to speak out on these issues like many artists, managers, and agents are for fear of biting the hand that feeds them," he said, underscoring his independence from traditional industry ties.

Kid Rock’s grievances weren’t new, but they landed with renewed urgency. He argued that the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster—once billed as an "experiment" that would empower artists and lower costs—had, in his words, "failed miserably." He told lawmakers, "Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it. This wasn’t an experiment—it was a monopoly dressed up as innovation." As reported by Billboard, he didn’t mince words, labeling the industry as "full of greedy snakes and scoundrels—too many suits lining their pockets off talent they never had and fans they misled."

The core of Kid Rock’s critique centered on the lack of control artists have over the sale and distribution of their own tickets. "No artist should be forced to sell their tickets without a say in who sells them and how they are sold," he insisted, calling for a fundamental shift in the balance of power. He suggested that, even if Live Nation and Ticketmaster were broken up, it might not be enough to fix the system’s deep-seated problems. His solution? Break up the corporate giants, cap resale prices at 10% above face value, and deploy technology to eliminate bots that snap up tickets in seconds only to resell them at exorbitant prices.

"I’m a capitalist, I’m a deregulation guy," he admitted, "but there’s no other way around this but to put a price cap on this." He called for Congress to give artists a say in which companies sell their tickets and to impose serious penalties on those who buy tickets solely to resell them for a profit. He even suggested that a thorough congressional investigation—subpoenaing contracts between artists, promoters, vendors, and ticketing companies—would "find mountains of fraud and abuse."

Senator Blackburn, who led the subcommittee hearing, echoed some of Kid Rock’s concerns. She referenced a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report that included an internal Ticketmaster email in which a company employee said Ticketmaster "turn(s) a blind eye" to bots and scalpers "as a matter of policy." Blackburn pressed Live Nation’s Vice President for legal affairs, Dan Wall, on this point, asking why the company would need to look the other way if nothing untoward was happening. Wall responded that the line had been taken out of context and insisted that the company’s "bot defenses are second to none in the world." He further denied that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have a monopoly, arguing that the FTC had overstated their market share. Wall also pointed to the company’s efforts to ban brokers from operating multiple accounts following the FTC lawsuit, saying, "We consistently stand with artists, with venues and with fans and in opposition to ticket brokers and other resale marketplaces."

Kid Rock’s testimony followed a wave of regulatory scrutiny. In September 2025, U.S. regulators sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation over alleged "illegal" resale tactics, claiming these practices cost consumers millions of dollars. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Senate Commerce Committee last year approved the TICKET Act, which would require ticket sellers to display the total cost of tickets—including all fees—upfront, and ban speculative ticket sales where scalpers list tickets they don’t yet own. The TICKET Act is just one of several legislative efforts aimed at bringing greater transparency and fairness to the ticketing marketplace.

The issues Kid Rock highlighted aren’t unique to the United States. In the United Kingdom, similar complaints about "dynamic pricing" and secondary market abuses led to new rules banning the resale of tickets above their original cost. The Competition and Markets Authority warned Ticketmaster it may have "breached the law" and "misled fans" during the Oasis Live ‘25 reunion tour ticket sales. By the end of 2025, British MPs confirmed plans to enforce a ban on selling secondary tickets for a profit, which reportedly made re-sold gig tickets about £37 cheaper on average and saved fans a collective £112 million per year, according to UK government figures.

Stateside, the debate over ticketing fairness remains a hot-button issue. The recent announcement of Harry Styles’s 12-night residency at Wembley Stadium in London saw over a million fans trying to score tickets in the pre-sale, with queues reaching up to 250,000 for each show. Ticketmaster stated that prices, set by the organizer, would range from £44.10 to £466.25 (including fees), with a per-order handling fee of £2.95. The company assured fans that the controversial "dynamic pricing" model wouldn’t be used for these sales, though skepticism lingers among consumers who have seen prices skyrocket in the past.

Throughout his testimony, Kid Rock made clear that he views himself as a rare voice of candor in an industry where silence is often incentivized. "Unlike most of my peers, I am beholden to no one," he said. "I ain’t scared." His remarks struck a chord with lawmakers and fans alike, many of whom have long felt powerless in the face of soaring ticket prices and opaque fees.

The debate over how to fix the live ticketing system is far from settled. Some, like Kid Rock, argue for aggressive action—breaking up dominant companies, capping resale prices, and giving artists more control. Others, including representatives of the ticketing industry, insist that the system is more competitive and transparent than critics claim. What’s clear is that the battle over concert tickets—who sells them, how much they cost, and who profits—remains a flashpoint in the ongoing struggle between big business, artists, and the fans who just want to see their favorite acts live.

As Congress weighs its next steps, Kid Rock’s testimony stands as a pointed reminder that the stakes are high—not just for the music industry, but for anyone who believes that live entertainment should be accessible, fair, and, above all, fun.