Kid Rock just lit a fire under Capitol Hill. The outspoken rocker, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, took his frustration straight to the Senate this week, calling out the “out of control” mess that is modern ticket pricing. Speaking before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, Rock didn’t hold back—slamming Ticketmaster, the Live Nation merger, and what he sees as years of failure to protect fans from price-gouging and scalpers.
“You just ask anybody these days about buying a ticket to a popular sporting event or concert, and they’ll tell you that it’s a complete fiasco,” Rock told lawmakers. “The merger frickin’ failed.”
The hearing, chaired by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), brought together voices from both sides of the ticketing war. Rock, however, came in hot, pinning the blame squarely on the companies in charge—namely, Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation. Their silence was deafening. Despite multiple media requests, Ticketmaster declined to comment.
“We want to fix ticket pricing, ticket pricing has been out of control for well over 30 years now,” Musician and Singer, Kid Rock weighs in on his fight against ticket pricing.
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— America Reports (@AmericaRpts) January 28, 2026
For fans who’ve tried—and failed—to get tickets at face value for a big show, Rock’s testimony echoed what millions already know: bots and resellers have hijacked the system. He pointed to legislation like the federal BOTS Act, which was meant to block automated ticket hoarding, and emphasized the need for stronger enforcement.
This isn’t Rock’s first rodeo. He stood alongside President Donald Trump in March 2025 when Trump signed an executive order targeting ticket scalping and demanding more transparency in the entertainment industry. That order directed the Justice Department and Treasury to get serious about competition laws—and gave scalpers a serious wake-up call.
“We’re also trying to get to the root of the problem,” Rock said. “Hopefully legislation can get drafted where, as an artist, we can get the ticket prices that we set into the hands of the fans for those prices and stop them from being gouged by these bad actors.”
And those “bad actors” aren’t just bots. In August 2025, the Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Key Investment Group for allegedly skirting purchase limits to buy up thousands of tickets, only to turn around and jack up prices on the resale market.
Rock says Trump’s order was a crucial first step, but there’s more work ahead. With lawmakers now facing growing pressure from artists and fans alike, the next phase may include stricter penalties, platform accountability, and legislation that actually gives artists control over their own ticket prices.
“Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it. Should Ticketmaster-Live Nation be broken up? Probably.”
WATCH: @KidRock testifies before Congress and says Ticketmaster-Live Nation should be broken up
— American Economic Liberties Project (@econliberties) January 28, 2026
One thing’s clear: Kid Rock isn’t done raising hell. And judging by the reaction in Washington, the ticketing industry’s free ride might finally be coming to an end.
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