Kid Rock has given an impassioned testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee, addressing the ongoing issues plaguing the ticketing industry.
The Committee is hearing allegations about the unfair practices employed at the expense of both artists and fans.
In his five-minute speech, titled Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry, the musician outlined how the industry has evolved on the promise of lowering costs and benefitting all areas of live entertainment, but has in fact become an industry plagued with “fraud and abuse”.
Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, explained that he was in a “unique position” to testify before Congress because, “Unlike most of my peers, I am beholden to no one, no record companies, no managers, no corporate endorsements or deals. 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.”
“It’s no secret,” he continued, “that this industry is full of greedy snakes and scoundrels. Too many suits lining their pockets over talent they never had and fans they mislead.
“The truth is, much of this could have been or still could be solved through technology, especially proof of humanity tools. It hasn’t happened yet because there’s just too much money in the secondary ticket market. Ticketing companies didn’t fail to stop this; seems they chose not to.”
Rock has made fixing the ticketing industry a priority in his career, meeting with US President Donald Trump in March last year as Trump signed an executive order intended to protect fans by cracking down on exploitative ticket scalping.
