by admin | January 26th, 2010
…although proposed last February, the US Department of Justice has just finally cleared the way for a landmark merger for music industry giants Ticketmaster and Live Nation to combine forces into the new megacompany, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. In a statement from the two companies, “Through this merger, the parties believe that the combined company will have the tools to develop new products, expand access, improve transparency and deliver artists and fans more choice.” Sure it will…
…You can read all about the 17 state attorneys general that have already filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the merger at the DOJ website and the response from watchdog organization Ticketdisaster.org to get better informed on just how all this might play out. While the DOJ seems to have negotiated some “concessions” from both Ticketmaster and Live Nation that will outsource small parcels of each companies activities and are designed to “prevent abuse of its power over concert tours, artist management, ticketing and theaters,” according to a NY Times report, it appears as if commerce has trumped art yet again…
Gross… abuse of power.
Good thing I don’t give two shits about any of the bands they deal with.
But Ted, if you ever plan to see a concert in the near… lifetime (arrogance directed at the merger), you will be sure to pay an exhorbant amount more. What is the logic there? well now that TicketMaster will control the majority of ticket sales (music and sports), they can push higher fees AND limit ticket reselling to make sure they are monopolizing the ticket industry. i could rant and rave fo daze about dis… but i wont.