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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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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 9:13 pm.
Categories: Today in IP ~ by Ian McClure.

2 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. 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?

  2. 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.

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