Ticketmaster, Live Nation in merger talks
 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc and Live Nation Inc are close to a merger that would combine two of the most powerful forces in the music industry, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Website Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter.

The new company would be called Live Nation Ticketmaster, marrying the world's biggest concert promoter with the dominant ticketing and artist-management company. The companies have ties to more than 200 major artists such as the Eagles, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Madonna and Jay-Z.

The paper, citing the unnamed sources, said the boards of both companies have yet to approve a merger and sticking points remain in the negotiations.

The deal, which will not involve any cash transfer, could be announced as early as next week, according to the Journal story.

Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez declined to comment. Live Nation officials were not immediately available for comment.

Last year Ticketmaster acquired Front Line Management, which represents around 200 major clients.

Irving Azoff, head of Ticketmaster, and Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino both are expected to remain at the combined organization but their exact roles have not yet been nailed down.


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NewYorkPost

In a blockbuster deal that will realign the music industry's balance of power, concert-promotion giant Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment, the nation's largest ticketing operation, are planning to merge, The Post has learned.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, talks between the two companies are at an advanced stage and a vote on a deal could be put to Live Nation's board as soon as Wednesday.

The source cautioned, however, that talks are at a delicate stage and could fall apart amid last-minute wrangling over finer points of a merger.

The source said the deal is currently seen as a merger of equals, with the board of the combined company totaling 14 members to accommodate equal representation from both companies.

Barry Diller, CEO of Ticketmaster parent company InterActiveCorp, will serve as chairman of the combined company, while Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino will be chief executive.

It's unclear what responsibilities Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff, the legendary manager of The Eagles, Guns N' Roses and other acts, will have in the new company, though it is assumed he will have some role.

Representatives for Live Nation refused to comment. Ticketmaster and Diller did not return calls and emails for comment.

The impending merger comes as Live Nation and Ticketmaster were about to go head-to-head on the ticketing front, as Live Nation spent much of last year building the infrastructure to support its own ticketing business.

That, in turn, prompted fear on Wall Street about Ticketmaster's prospects, particularly since the company has only recently been spun out of IAC as a standalone business.

Indeed, Diller brought Azoff to Ticketmaster in part because Azoff's control of artist-management firm Frontline Management would help even the playing

field against Live Nation.

While Live Nation's foray into ticketing was cheered by Wall Street, its rich deals to sign top acts like Madonna and Jay-Z were roundly criticized.

Live Nation's stock fell precipitously as a result of the bad publicity and an ugly internal power struggle between Rapino and former chairman Michael Cohl erupted into public view.

Rapino won the battle, and if he can sign the deal with Ticketmaster, he may have won the war. Without question, a combined Live Nation-Ticketmaster will be able to deal with the major record labels on its terms rather than vice versa.

Can't say I'm surprised, but.. ugh.

Oh, hell no. Anyone on the FTC who sees this as anything other than a MONOPOLY is seriously delusional or corrupt. I can just see $50 "convenience fees" tacked onto ticket prices...

And it just goes round & around...

Phish fans got the shaft last week...

When tickets for Phish’s reunion tour went on sale Friday, the event became the first major test for Live Nation’s new ticketing service — and according to reports across the Internet, the concert giant failed to deliver as countless fans encountered a system unready for the throng of Phishheads scrambling for tickets to one of the year’s most anticipated tours. Massive traffic to the Live Nation page caused the site to freeze up, often during purchases, resulting in users losing the tickets they were in the process of buying.


http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdail...icketing-test/

Then Bruce Springsteen Fans...

Springsteen Fans Left Out after Ticketmaster Glitch


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- A New Jersey congressman is demanding an investigation after Bruce Springsteen fans were unable to buy tickets from Ticketmaster's Web site -- which then promptly offered them more expensive tickets from a subsidiary it owns.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell of Paterson wants the federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to investigate possible conflicts of interest involving Ticketmaster and a ticket reseller it also owns called TicketsNow.

When tickets for Springsteen's Meadowlands show went on sale Monday, some fans got an error message on their computer screen that shut them out from buying tickets. They also saw an ad for TicketsNow, offering tickets for hundreds of dollars more than their face value.

A Ticketmaster spokesman says the system did not fail, and that only a small handful of potential purchasers had problems.

Live Nation = Evil Nation

TicketMaster = TicketB*st*rd

A merger produces Evil B*st*rd :laugh:

I was so pissed off when I found I could only get my ticket from one company or brokers. Here we have several different companies providing concert tickets. :distress:

This just got posted on Springsteen's fan site from Jon Landau after yesterday's disasterous presale for Bruce shows:


A Letter to Our Fans:

We know there was much confusion regarding Ticketmaster and TicketsNow during last Monday's on-sale dates. We were as confused as you were, as we were given no advance notice of the major changes in the Ticketmaster-TicketsNow world. (Bear in mind that we are not clients of any ticketing company, and that all those arrangements are between venues and ticketing companies.)

Last Monday, we were informed that Ticketmaster was redirecting your log-in requests for tickets at face value, to their secondary site TicketsNow, which specializes in up-selling tickets at above face value. They did this even when other seats remained available at face value. We condemn this practice.

We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest. Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at their face value plus normal ticketing charges. TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site.

We know the many cynical arguments some make in favor of the Ticketmaster system: There are rumors that some artists or managers participate in Ticketmaster charges--we do not. There are rumors that some artists or managers are receiving a percentage of the amount above face value at secondary outlets like TicketsNow--we do not. Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect "scalping" those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow--we do.

While many of you have sent notes to us and your local promoters, you may also send accurate informational letters to Albert Lopez of Ticketmaster [[email protected]] and he will try to address your questions.

A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. Several newspapers are reporting on this story right now. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.

The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team

Go get em Bruce!!! This is very shoddy business practices on the part of Ticketbastard.

Matt

An apology from Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment:

An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:

While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.

We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce’s shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans’ specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.

If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket. (Please don’t abuse this good faith gesture – we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)

We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.

Sincerely,

Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment

I don't know, I think this is what ticket sales are going to be like in the future, I mean they can't argue against Bruce because he's one of the biggest concert draws right now but smaller acts won't be able to fight against Ticketmaster especially if they merge with Live Nation. Pearl Jam tried it years ago and lost.
I honestly don't remember having such trouble getting tickets as little as 10 years ago, now even shows you wouldn't expect to sell out do and it's all because of sites like eBay and Tickets Now. I realise some people here think that's all fine and dandy, the right to sell your ticket to the highest bidder and all that, but I think it's sad. Real music fans are losing out because now they can't afford tickets that, if sold at face value, they should be able to afford.

If this merger goes through, I can't wait to see what AEG or Jam will do... because I can't see either of them merging with Live Nation, nor do I see either of them (ESPECIALLY Jam) readily willing to line LN/TM's pockets by selling their shows through their ticket system.

What a load of crap! If they did not give TicketsNow preferential access, then how could they be scalping tickets the very second tickets went on sale? There seriously needs to be an FTC investigation into this practice! It is creating an artificial scarcity in a market that is being manipulated by a monopoly. Bruce should now take this up to Capitol Hill. In an era where the music industry is dying and people are suffering, we don't need ruthless monopolies like Ticketbastard to gorge themselves on the carcasses of artists and consumers.

and the Azoff open letter of apology to fans is located where?

i also think that they should charge one price for all the seats even the floor and then more people could afford to go. i don't think that they should charge different prices for different sections. i think they should check into that also. i have been saying this for along time and they still sell expensive tickets even more now with the way the economy is right now. does anyone else agree or disagree. thanks kathy

Well, that's how it used to be 20 years ago. While it sounds fair in theory, what often ended up happening was that the good seats would go straight to the scalpers anyway, who would then be able to get away with a huge mark-up. In recent years, I think a lot of artists/promoters started charging much higher prices for the choice seats to deter ticket scalping- they effectively started scalping their own tickets pre-emptively. Although I don't like paying a lot for concert tickets, I would rather pay big bucks to the artist rather than the scalper.

I refuse to purchase tickets (with the exception of Lindsey solo) unless they are indies...

11. TICKET PRICE
The agreed ticket price will not be changed. Purchaser agrees to not lower or raise ticket price from what was agreed upon. Ticket price will remain the same to all persons, regardless of age. In the event Purchaser raises the ticket without agent’s approval, the Artist reserves the right to refrain from performing until all persons are refunded the ticket difference in cash immediately and in an orderly manner.

That last bit would go over well at an FM show...haha.

Ticketmaster (or any ticket seller) has zero to do what a certain ticket in a certain section costs, so there's nothing to "check into".

As for the strategy you're suggesting, most people would have a problem with the fact that they paid the same price for their seat located towards the back of the arena as the person in the front row.

What bothers me is artists like FM, Billy Joel, Elton John, Bon Jovi, Eagles etc who just play the same old hits and then charge you an arm and a leg to hear those same old tired hits year after year. We are in a reccession ,but try telling those baby boomer rockers that. It is a shame that the average family can't go to most shows these days as they are WAY overpriced. 200 dollars for the Eagles, 275 for the Face to Face Tour with Elton and Billy, 125.00 for Bon Jovi, 350 for Madonna. Just outrageous!!!

Matt

I agree... but they wouldn't charge it if they couldn't get it. If they didn't get it, they would adjust their prices. All things equal, its not incumbent upon them to lower their prices- its incumbent upon us (the ticket buying public) to not buy tickets to see their show. That's the only way it will come across to acts & their promoters.

Exclude Bon Jovi from that list! I could never tire watching that man perform.:D:D

This is what AC/DC did. Every seat $92.50. They also used the paperless ticket system for the "better" seats. I would say it helped keep brokers to a minimum.

Looks like it's a done deal!

LOS ANGELES (dpa) - Two of the largest concert and event companies in the U.S. announced Tuesday that they had agreed to merge, creating one of the largest live entertainment companies in the world.

The $400 million deal will see Live Nation take over Ticketmaster to form a new company called Live Nation Entertainment with an estimated value of $2.5 billion including debt.

The new company is expected to sell more than 150 million concert tickets a year, promote 22,000 concerts annually, and own more than 140 venues globally.

It will also handle more than 200 big-name artists including U2, Shakira, Madonna, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus and the Eagles. The concert companies, which also control marketing and recording rights for some of the artists, are seen as a growing force in the music world.

As sales of recorded music have declined because of the internet, touring revenues have increased.

However the deal faces significant anti-trust hurdles with one key legislator already coming out against it.

"This merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concert-goers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands," said New York Senator Charles Schumer, in a statement. "It must be viewed skeptically and scrutinized with a fine-toothed comb by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission."

The announcement of the deal comes after both companies have suffered negative publicity in recent weeks on charges that they inflated ticket prices for popular acts such as Bruce Springsteen.

But in a release announcing the deal, Ticketmaster and Live Nation said the merger would improve access to tickets, reduce prices and increase attendance at events.

The companies said that Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino will run the new company as CEO while Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff will be executive chairman. Ticketmaster chairman Barry Diller will be non-executive chairman.

And that - my friend would be getting off easy.. LOLOLOL.. I'm sure there's also going to be other mysterious taxes and fees attached as well, and I can't even begin to think about that.. as it makes my stomach do flipflops! LOL.. Long live Stub Hub! LOL:laugh:

Amen Matt.!. It surely is.. So I'm thinking that this should be WAY more business for places like Stub Hub, who don't necessarily charge 2 arms and 2 legs, along with other body parts for a friggen concert ticket..:rolleyes:

That's why I only go to smaller acts, now.

I saw Andy White before. Cost us £5 per ticket plus drinks. Great show, with support, and we got to speak to the artists afterwards. Not 40 people playing, it was the main artist playing guitar and pedal bass, and a percussionist playing ... "things". But just as enjoyable.

Have a listen to this and tell me that I'm losing out massively! Particularly since some of my favourite songs of his ("Acoustic Guitar", "Long Time Coming") aren't there.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=60965840

Hmmm.... Looks like I'm spamming Andy White here. But my point is that the big artists cost such a massive amount, and you're so insulated from them. With these ripoffs meaning that the ticket prices are, practically, even higher, and with tour DVDs an inevitability, it just doesn't add up for me.

Do you think FM is aware of this or even cares :shrug: Should we all write them and voice our outrage like Springsteen fans?

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/...0News/2167479/


Canadians sue Ticketmaster over prices

Mon. February 09, 2009; Posted: 07:39 PM
New! Day Trading

TORONTO, Feb 9, 2009 - Giant ticket broker Ticketmaster Monday was slammed with a $500 million class-action suit accusing it of violating Canada's anti-scalping laws, lawyers said.

The civil suit contends Ticketmaster, which has its headquarters in West Hollywood, Calif., conspired to divert tickets to popular events from its main Web site to www.TicketsNow.com, a ticket auction Web site it owns, Canwest News Service reported.

"Customers have voiced concerns over the fact that tickets for the most popular events can ostensibly sell out in minutes, only to become immediately available in the secondary market at much higher prices," Luciana Brasil of Branch McMaster, one of the two law firms handling the case, said in a news release.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all Ontario customers who bought tickets through Ticketmaster or TicketsNow.com since Feb. 9, 2007.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating Ticketmaster as well.

"I am deeply disturbed that Ticketmaster may be exploiting its market dominance -- funneling consumers to its subsidiary in order to inflate profits," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal has criticized a planned merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, another major ticket selling operation.

"This possible $6-billion music mega merger -- combining two already-powerful companies -- creates a singular and dangerously dominant force in the industry that threatens to illegally cut competition and consumer interests," he said.

Springsteen fans have an especially large beef and reason for outrage, based on the ticketsnow.com re-routing during last week's onsales.

This lawsuit in Canada seems a bit frivolous, since the re-selling of tickets above face value is legal in most cases.

In the end, I think that Live Nation/Ticketmaster will have to ditch ticketsnow.com in order to get the merger to go through. There's just too much of a conflict of interest to plausibly rationalize its existence.

and same thing is happening to us Fleetwood Mac fans, so I don't understand.

But it is illegal in Ontario, which is where the lawsuit is being filed (as well as two other provinces).

I thought it was illegal in all but two Provinces (BC and AB) I may have misread it as two Provinces besides Ontario where it's illegal.

Any.... In other light news:

Live Nation to acquire Ticketmaster for $2.5 billion, plus $700 million in convenience charges :lol:

Its not illegal if the seller isn't a resident of Ontario... and I'd venture to guess that most of the re-sellers on ticketsnow.com selling tickets to events in Ontario are from elsewhere.

If the system/software is facilitating illegal transactions, then of course the lawsuit has merit and should proceed.

But the "re-sellers" on TicketsNow is Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster owns TicketsNow and are illegally scalping the tickets themselves and calling it a "ticket exchange". Shady, shady.

I believe its illegal only in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta :shrug:

:laugh: :wavey: :laugh:

Don't confuse the people who own the tickets (the re-sellers) and the forum/marketplace that facilitates the transaction (TicketsNow). And, pardon me if this seems like a dumb question, but are there actual examples of where Ticketsnow is illegally facilitating the resale of tickets above face value?

As listed on their site (http://www.ticketsnow.com/info/faq.html) :

Really, my only problem with Ticketsnow is the concept of Ticketmaster redirecting consumers when tickets are still available (it should be redirected ONLY if the show is completely sold out). But, it seems that the Springsteen clusterf*ck fixed that problem.

You can argue that its in poor taste that a ticket seller/distributor would have a vested interest in the resale of their product but, in the end, its not illegal (except, when it is, of course... but in most cases, its not). Its a viable business model involving in-demand aftermarket commodities- the only reason why ticket scalping is vilified vs., oh, I don't know, IPO trading is because of the emotional component that tends to be involved with music/sports.

HOWEVER, if the merger of Live Nation & Ticketmaster goes through, then they absolutely need to dissolve Ticketsnow, or at least disallow any Live Nation promoted events being listed on the site. Artists/managers won't allow it... or will want to make sure they're cut in on the transaction somehow.

They're selling Mac tickets for over $2,000 each on that site. Is that not over face value? And they have this note posted right above the ticket for sale: Tickets may be sold for more than the price listed on the ticket.

Again, Ticketsnow is *not* the party selling the tickets. They don't own the tickets- the re-seller ("scalper") does. And, again, in the majority of cases, its not illegal to sell tickets above face value.

Ticketmaster *is* the party re-selling the tickets, through Ticketsnow. They own the tickets, they are the re-seller (scalper). They are "ticket flipping". There is no actual consumer buying and re-selling the ticket. Allegedly.

That is completely false, and amounts to pure paranoia. I can't believe I'm a position where I'm defending Ticketmaster/Ticketsnow/etc., but you are WAY off base.

Personally, I don't believe for one second that your average everyday concert goer is re-selling their tickets on TicketsNow... If it's not Ticketmaster doing the reselling themselves, then they sure as hell are providing an outlet for scalpers to do so - how else can you explain numerous tickets (and we're not just talking a few tickets) show up on TicketsNow's site immediately after the official ticket sale?

Oh, of course... I completely agree with you. No argument there.

If anyone is going to investigate anything... that's what they need to be looking at... Who is posting those tickets for-sale on TicketsNow... Once that's determined 100% either way whether it's Ticketmaster themselves, or a legitimate ticket holder then I think the argument will be settled. Taking it a step further would be determining how those TicketsNow sellers managed to get some of the primo seats right off the hop!