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Ticketmaster Live Nation Merger Given A Conditional Green Light
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by Yuliya Talmazan | January 25, 2010 at 03:45 pm
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A merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation has been conditionally approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and Canadian Competition Bureau. Ticketmaster was obliged to license its ticketing software to competitor AEG, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions, which means concert organizers will have an option to choose a ticket retailer or promoter other than Ticketmaster or Live Nation without any repercussions. Ticketmaster will also have to get rid of Paciolan Inc., a ticketing company that it currently owns. These are the requirements for the merger with Live Nation to proceed.
The department said that the proposed settlement will protect competition for primary ticketing, which will in turn maintain incentives for innovation and discounting. The department said that the merger, as originally proposed, would have substantially lessened competition for primary ticketing in the United States, resulting in higher prices and less innovation for consumers.
Canadian Competition Bureau added:
"This resolution is welcome news for Canadians," said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition. "The agreement strengthens competition by providing rival companies with the tools they need to compete more effectively against Ticketmaster."
But, many of the consumers and artists are incredulous that the merger will in fact increase competition. Given that the Ticketmaster and Live National are the biggest ticket retailer and concert promoter in the world, their merger can still mean more monopoly power in their hands. And, when there is a limited number of providers and a stable demand, ticket prices soar. The service quality and innovations also tend to go down.
Back in 2009, rock legend Bruce Springsteen said to the Rolling Stone magazine, "the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing."
What is your take? Do you anticipate a positive or a negative outcome from this merger? Do you feel it will affect you?
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 21:12 on January 25th, 2010
"The CC, an independent public body which conducts in-depth inquiries into mergers, markets and the regulation of the major regulated industries, concluded in its final report that the merger will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for live music ticket retailing or in any other market in the UK. "Source: www.businessinsider.com/ticketmaster-and-livenation-get-approval-as-one-giant-music-ticket-monster-2010-1
at 21:13 on January 25th, 2010
Updated Link: <a href="www.businessinsider.com/ticketmaster-and-livenation-get-approval-as-one-giant-music-ticket-monster-2010-1">www.businessinsider.com/ticketmaster-and-livenation-get-approval-as-one-giant-music-ticket-monster-2010-1</a>