Kid Rock slams ‘Ticket Cartel’ – 5 Critical Takeaways from Senate Ticketing Hearing 2026
Live music ticketing was center stage as the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy convened a high-stakes hearing. This first of 2026 Senate ticketing hearing addressed crucial issues facing consumers and the industry alike.
The Senate ticketing hearing, “Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry,” laid bare the deep fractures between primary ticket sellers, secondary brokers, and the fans caught in the middle.
For the music industry, the message for DC is clear: the status quo is no longer tenable. As Senator Blackburn put it:
“The artist-fan connection is the foundation of the industry, but the ticketing industry has exploited this connection.”
5 Critical Takeaways from the Senate Ticketing Hearing 2026
1. Kid Rock Calls the Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger a “Failed Experiment”
In the day’s most viral moments, Kid Rock (Robert Ritchie) delivered a blistering critique of industry consolidation. He said spoke as both a “capitalist” and an independent artist. Additionally, he did not hold back on the 2010 merger that created Live Nation Entertainment.
“The experiment of merging Ticketmaster and Live Nation has failed miserably,” Rock testified. “Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it. The industry has become a cartel.”
Rock emphasized that while he tries to keep his own ticket prices low, the secondary market—fueled by bots—instantly siphons that value away from fans. “Secondary ticketing is driving up prices for the fans with absolutely no benefit to the artists,” he added.
2. Live Nation Defends “Market Fundamentals” Blasts FTC Overreach
Live Nation Executive VP Dan Wall offered a firm rebuttal, arguing that high prices are a result of record-breaking demand, not a lack of competition. Wall also took the opportunity to fire back at the FTC’s recent legal actions regarding the BOTS Act.
Wall described the FTC’s lawsuit against Ticketmaster as being based on an “expansionist” view of the law. He argued that it is unfair to penalize primary sellers for the actions of sophisticated scalpers.
“We are proud that our Fraud and Abuse teams block hundreds of millions of bots every day,” Wall stated. “Yet we can only block hundreds of millions of bots because we are being attacked by hundreds of millions of bots.”
3. The Scourge of “Ghost Tickets” and Deceptive URLs
David Weingarden, representing the Colorado Independent Venue Association (CIVA) and NIVA, brought the perspective of independent rooms. Issues related to ghost tickets and deceptive sales practices were central to the arguments. Specifically, Weingarden targeted the practice of “speculative ticketing” (ghost tickets”), where brokers sell seats they don’t actually own.
“Speculative and ‘concierge’ tickets are simply ghost tickets; they are not real tickets, and they must be prohibited with no loopholes,” Weingarden urged.
He also called for a federal ban on “spoof” websites – deceptive URLs that impersonate official venue box offices to trick fans into paying massive markups. Importantly, his proposal for a 10% cap on resale fees sparked significant discussion among the committee members.
4. Resellers Endorse Ban On Speculative Tickets
In what appeared to be a reversal, Brian Berry of the resale trade group Ticket Policy Forum endorsed a ban on speculative tickets—a subject at the core of the 2026 Senate ticketing hearing.
Berry’s testimony was pivotal because it showed that even the secondary market’s largest lobbying group is now willing to accept a federal ban on speculative ticketing. In exchange, they want a more transparent and competitive “all-in” pricing environment.
But David Weingarden later pointed out that the proposed TICKET Act in its current form does not fully ban spec tickets. Therefore, time will tell if Berry was really endorsing a ban or just hoping the loophole filled bill passed as is?
5. The TICKET Act Moves Toward a Vote
The ultimate goal of yesterday’s hearing was to build momentum for the TICKET Act and the complementary MAIN EVENT Act. Supported by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the legislation aims to:
- Mandate “All-In” Pricing: No more hidden fees at checkout.
- Ban Speculative Ticketing: Ending the sale of tickets brokers don’t possess.
- Strengthen Bot Enforcement: Giving the FTC more teeth to go after industrial-scale scalping.
Watch Replay Live Nation, Kid Rock Senate Ticket Hearing
What’s Next?
The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled for an Executive Session on Tuesday, February 3rd. At this session, they are expected to consider these legislative proposals and any changes.
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
