WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With American entertainer Kid Rock at his side, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday clamping down on ticket scalping and live event pricing.

The directive seeks to prevent “unscrupulous middlemen” from profiting off reselling tickets for concerts and other events at an “enormous mark-up”.

It orders the US attorney general and the Treasury secretary to use “all legal means” to stamp out soaring price gouging, and calls on the Federal Trade Commission to “ensure price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process, including the secondary ticketing market”.

“You can buy a ticket for US$100. By the time you check out it’s US$170,” said Kid Rock, who wore a straw fedora and American-flag emblazoned red suit to the Oval Office.

The Born Free singer, who appeared with Trump on the presidential campaign trail in 2024, added that, due to “bots”, tickets were being relisted “for sometimes a 400 to 500 per cent mark-up”.

The Administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden also targeted scalpers, suing concert booking website Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment last year over monopoly allegations.

In a statement Monday, Live Nation, which has denied monopoly allegations, said it supports Trump’s order, and called for enforcement.