Ticketmaster & Live Nation Confirm Merger

In a story that will affect music-loving consumers for many years to come, ticketing giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster have confirmed their intention to merge. Both companies have come under scrutiny lately for their mishandling of Phish and Bruce Springsteen onsales, but no one really saw this merger coming before last Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal article.

Luckily, this merger isn’t fait acompli yet. We’ve got anti-trust regulations in this country and we hope the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission doesn’t allow the #1 and #2 ticket sellers in the nation to merge. New York’s senior Senator Chuck Schumer is already on the case:

“This merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concertgoers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands,” the senator said in an e-mailed statement. “It must be viewed skeptically and scrutinized with a fine-toothed comb by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.” [NYT]

I’ve never voiced an objection to a merger before, but I’ll be writing Senator Schumer about this deal that is sure to lead to even more exorbitant ticket prices. I don’t see a scenario where the consumer doesn’t get the shaft coming out of this merger regardless of what the CEOs of Ticketmaster and Live Nation may say. Bruce Springsteen agrees with me, do you?

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7 Responses

  1. Live Nation was advised by Goldman Sachs and …Ticketmaster was advised by JPMorgan Chase

    I know a deal this big doesn’t go down without some heavyhitters, but fresh off of basically ruining the financial sector, these guys are advising these companies to merger.

    Don’t you let that deal do down…

  2. Garbage in = Garbage out.

    By consolidating the power into one company, they are further suppressing the chances of a new, better company emerging.

    Google Tix anyone?

  3. Yes, this is crossing the line.

    I see Ticketmaster has a company monitoring it’s websites, but what program and/or software is responsible for the seat selection options? I think until they prove otherwise that some seats are blocked off to go to specific scalpers subsidiaries that they have interest in and there is no way if you go to purchase a ticket on 1st day up for sale (whether presale or not) in the 1st 5 minutes that it puts you in the back row of the price category you select (whether premium or not). Now of course when I say back row, that it isn’t anywhere near the front of the areas for that price section. You can’t select your seat from a list so nothing keeps Ticketmaster from selectively pre-empting some seats from sale then open them to the hacks that jack up the prices twice as much and give cutbacks to Ticketmaster in the form of slightly higher paid ticket price above the normal.

    Until someone of an official nature can see and evaluate their software the “I’m 1st in line I get best seat” premise is bunk.

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