Congressmen Look to Investigate Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger, All Sacco and Vanzetti-Style

The Simpsons got it spot on with Ticketmaster (from the Homerpalooza episode):

Mr. Burns: [chuckles] And to think, Smithers, you laughed when I bought Ticketmaster. "Nobody's going to pay a 100% service charge."}

Smithers: Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.

Unfortunately, if the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger goes through, we’ll all be suckers! The proposed merger would see Ticketmaster, the nation’s dominant ticket seller, combine with Live Nation, which has its own ticketing business.

But one thing is for sure: this deal is not going through without a fight. Britain’s Office for Fair Trading, a consumer watchdog, has already referred the merger to the country’s competition regulator, the Competition Commission, which will report on November 24. And Senator Herb Kohl is most certainly not going to be taken for a goddamn fool either. As chair of the Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, Kohl wrote to Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, to argue "It is clear that this merger raises serious competitive concerns warranting thorough scrutiny.” In addition, Rep. Bill Pascrell wrote a letter expressing concern about the deal, which was signed by 50 members of the House of Representatives.

Kohl also says the venture would create "an enormous, vertically integrated entertainment giant, which will control everything from artist management, concert promotion, concert venues, and merchandise sales to primary and secondary market ticket sales."

On a lighter note, I did particularly enjoy Billboard’s comment that “the deal has been criticized by superstar Bruce Springsteen, politicians like Senator Charles Schumer, and legions of music fans commenting in Internet chat rooms.” Yeah, lets not forget those highly intelligent, sophisticated, and well-reasoned visitors of internet chat rooms, all (and I mean all) of whom engage with each other in an intellectual and erudite manner. Teh interwebz iz srs bsns!

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