President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday aiming to reduce excessive prices in the concert ticket resale market, which could benefit music enthusiasts facing high costs for live events.
The order, signed in the Oval Office on March 31, 2025, instructs federal agencies to address ticket scalping practices affecting the entertainment industry, particularly impacting Taylor Swift fans during her Eras Tour.
“It bothers a lot of other artists. They go out with a $100 ticket, and it sells for $2,000 the following night,” Trump explained, according to CNN, noting that “it is a big problem.”
The executive order targets what the White House refers to as “unscrupulous middlemen” who impose high fees without benefiting artists. The Federal Trade Commission is tasked with enforcing competition laws, ensuring ticket price transparency, and addressing unfair practices in the secondary ticketing market.
Furthermore, the Treasury Department and Department of Justice are directed to ensure compliance with tax laws and other regulations by ticket scalpers. The order emphasizes enforcement of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which bans the use of automated software to bypass ticket sale security measures.
Musician Kid Rock attended the signing ceremony, supporting the measure and encouraging Congress to legislate limits on ticket resale prices.
The ticketing industry faced scrutiny after the chaotic presale for Swift’s Eras Tour in November 2022, where fans encountered website crashes, long wait times, and disappearing tickets. The public sale was canceled due to insufficient ticket inventory.
Ticketmaster issued a statement apologizing: “We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans – especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets. We feel we owe it to everyone to share some information to help explain what happened.”
The company explained that due to high demand and a lack of available tickets, the public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour was canceled.
Swift expressed frustration over the situation, stating she was working on improving future ticket sale processes despite 2.4 million fans securing tickets.
The ticketing issues led to a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company, and prompted a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2023 to investigate the lack of competition in the industry.
In May 2024, the Justice Department and state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging it maintained an abusive industry dominance and operated an “illegal monopoly” that increased ticket prices.
Live Nation expressed support for Trump’s executive order and called for additional resale reforms, including better enforcement of the BOTS Act and resale price caps.
Recent ticketing issues have intensified, with two individuals, Tyrone Rose and Shamara P. Simmons, arrested for stealing over 900 concert tickets, including many for Swift’s Eras Tour, by exploiting a StubHub system vulnerability. They allegedly resold these tickets at higher prices, profiting over $600,000.
The Eras Tour has been significant both culturally and economically, grossing over $1 billion and contributing about $4.3 billion to the U.S. GDP. Initial ticket prices averaged $204, while secondary market prices averaged $1,652, with some resale prices reaching $30,000.
Under the executive order, federal officials must submit a report within 180 days detailing actions taken and recommendations for further regulations or legislation to protect consumers in the live entertainment industry.
This move represents a rare area of agreement between Trump and Swift, who has criticized the secondary market allowing tickets intended for fans to be resold at inflated prices.
For concert-goers, particularly Swift’s fans, the executive order could offer hope for fairer ticket prices in future tours. The industry and consumers will be closely monitoring the effectiveness of these measures in addressing the challenges of ticket scalping and price gouging in live entertainment.
