Last Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Anti-Trust sat at a hearing over the potential merger between Ticketmaster -- largest ticket seller in the world/notorious dong huffers -- and Live Nation -- the largest event promoter in the world, ’05 Clear Channel spinoff, general lackey to the devils of bland music. This, only a month or so since Live Nation started selling tickets on its own, thus creating the first bit of legitimate competition Ticketmaster has seen since either the dawn of time, the fall Rome, or the Grunge era, depending on your sources. The resulting merger could potentially open the gates of hell, and we could enter into a whole new era of over-pricing, convenience fee soliciting, Springsteen-hating madness like the kind we have never seen before.
Then again, some people don't think so. Eddie Van Halen, in a letter to the subcommittee, said that this deal will "help bring our fans closer to the band." I'm sorry, Eddie, but wha? He did go on to say, "It's going to ensure that... I have a future in music," which is a far more legitimate argument for him to be making, one most likely behind a lot of these big-name supporters like Shakira, Journey, Seal, Madonna, The Jonas Bros, and Bono.
But not The Boss. No. Bruce Springsteen, you stood like a great glowing spirit behind that subcommittee hearing, playing some mean licks, singing some songs about the working man, and watching the administration call Ticketmaster a behemoth as their CEO Irving Azoff and Live Nation chief executive Micheal Rapino squirmed in their seats. It made you want to bosscock all over C-Span one, two, and three, didn't it Boss? Didn't it? Some of my favorite quotes from the night:
- "What does Live nation's decision to merge with its competitor, rather than fight it out on the open market, tell us about any company's ability to compete with Ticketmaster? If LiveNation can't compete, after all, who can?" --Sen Herb Kohl, D-WI.
- "Bruce Springsteen says Ticketmaster abused his fans and I agree with The Boss" --Sen. Charles Schumer D-NY
- "Vertical integration on steroids." --Jerry Mickelson, JAM Productions.
- "The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be for Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system..." --The Boss (attending in spirit) as read by Jerry Mickelson.
- "You can't blame Live Nation at this point anymore than you can blame a shark for eating people." --Seth Hurwitz, IMP productions & 9:30 Club co-owner.
So, good news: the law's on our side. Bad news: the Senate doesn't really have the jurisdiction to stop the merger. That's the Justice Department, and they're not saying a word yet. Maybe if we ask nicely we can get Little Steven to lean on them a bit.
