In another blow for bands and fans getting screwed over by corporate greed, the world’s biggest ticketing company and the world’s largest concert promoter have been given the go ahead to merge by US anti-trust authorities. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have joined forces in a deal that stitches up control of 140 concert venues globally, the sale of 140 million tickets and promoting 22 thousand gigs a year.
It also controls the sale of beer and parking, as well as music releases for an artist roster that includes U2, Madonna, Jay-Z and the Eagles. Despite strong opposition, the deal was hammered out over the last year with even Bruce Springsteen – king of enormodome shows – saying the move would be bad for artists and music fans.
To gain approval for the deal, Ticketmaster agreed to license its ticketing software to a competitor, and is also required to sell a subsidiary that has turnover of tens of millions of tickets a year. Small price to pay for gaining a stranglehold on lucrative stadium shows across the US and UK.
