Last week, the US Department of Justice approved the controversial merger of two music industry giants; concert promoter Live Nation and ticket agent Ticketmaster. This follows the UK Competition Commission’s approval of the merger in December, taking a U-turn on their previous claim that the merger was anti-competitive.
This new superpower will control every aspect of the music industry from artist management (including U2, Madonna, Jay-Z, the Eagles), distribution and promotion of events, tickets sales and venue ownership, with all the extras like T-shirts and beer sales, parking etc. Michael Rapino, chief executive of Live Nation and the newly merged company, said the coming together would create “a more diversified company with a great selling platform for artists and a stronger financial profile that will drive improved shareholder value over the long term”.
However there is widespread concern that the new company will dominate the market, pushing up prices for the consumer.
The DOJ-approved merger contains modifications to the originally proposed merger to the effect that Ticketmaster will have to licence a copy of its ticketing software and sell its Paciola ticketing company to other “suitable” companies. According to the DOJ, these moves will recreate the level of competition that existed in the live music marketplace before the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Independent promoters, music journalists, bloggers and the wider public remain sceptical.
