Entertainment giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster are set to merge, creating a horizontal monopoly in the concert ticketing market. Both companies have sizeable artist management rosters as well. In a media industry already scrutinized for monopolizing the market, this may be the first test on the Obama administration’s proclaimed anti-trust crack-down.
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Ian McClure is a former corporate & securities and intellectual property law attorney with Wyatt, Tarrant, & Combs, LLP, and currently he is in-house IP transactional counsel with Intellectual Property Exchange International (IPXI). IPXI is the world’s first financial exchange focused on intellectual property. 
Trevor M. Blum is a former Associate in the Chicago-based, valuation practice group of Ocean Tomo, LLC., an intellectual property (IP) consultancy. Additionally, he provided instrumental research support to Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., an IP exchange start-up. Trevor holds a B.S. from Indiana University and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Cambridge, focusing on international business and finance. His interests also include entrepreneurship, economics, and informational visualization. He enjoys running and cycling in his free time. Trevor seeks to bring a transnational business perspective to the blog. 
The world’s IP and financial markets are interconnected, turbulent and difficult to navigate. Luckily the International IP Strategists Association (INTIPSA) exists to provide guidance through rough, economic waters. Headquartered in London, INTIPSA is a professional organization with the desire to build a global community of IP strategists, including in-house practitioners, specialists, external advisors and students. The ... Read More
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2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Justen
One would think, after the Clear Channel split, Live Nation would try to stay of the big anti-trust radar and keep their ticketing in-house. This move has red flags going up everywhere.
Even if the merger passes scrutiny, do they really think people are going to be excited about so much control of the live performance market?
Feb 12th, 2009
admin
Couldn’t agree with you more, Justen. This is probably not a move which will benefit consumers. Bruce Springsteen has voiced his opinion about it.(good article on Rollingstone.com) One of the largest implications of the merger will be the combination of two of the largest artist management rosters. These are the people, presumably, that book shows. So, not only will tickets for shows become available through one medium, but the places artists play will be decided from one office.
Feb 12th, 2009
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