Music, musings and miscellanea

I’ve already gone on at length about why this is a bad idea, but let me reiterate: there is no way that eliminating the competition in ticket sales can benefit the consumer. There is no incentive for a company to lower prices if there’s no one forcing their hand. Worst of all, a combined Ticketmaster/Live Nation would own you at a show – there’s no getting around them – they own the artist you’re watching, the venue you’re sitting in, the shirt you’re wearting…

One independent promoter put it best: “This is vertical integration on steroids. The amalgamation of these companies should be the poster child for why this country needs antitrust laws.

Anyway from the sounds of things the US Congress agrees. Sitting before the Senate Judiciary committee on Anti-Trust, the companies CEOs were taken to task and one Committee member seemed to want to further investigate their current practices.

Of course nothing has been decided yet and the Committee could still go ahead and approve the merger despite some members feelings on the matter. Still for once things look promising for the concert going consumer.

You can read about the whole thing via wired.com