Ticketmaster and Live Nation Merge

Live Nation and Ticketmaster finally finalized their merger earlier this week. The newly formed Live Nation Entertainment will be closely monitored by the Department of Justice, which will require Ticketmaster to liscence out it's ticketing software, sell off it's Paciolan Inc ticketing unit, and is restricted from retaliating against competing ticketing services.
The merger, which was initally announced in June, has sparked huge debate and uproar from consumers and performers alike. Opposition from legislators and competitors has come in even louder, with concerns that the unification of two companies that already have such a profound monopoly would completely obliterate any rivals.

This will probably be a good move for the two companies, but I can't see this being a positive change for the artists or consumers. The monopoly they already have on the ticketing market is ridiculous, the performers, venues, and buyers lose out through massive fees and the lack of competition. I have a love but mostly hate relationship with ticketmaster; while it is easily accessible, the "service fees" are outrageous. I recently paid a total of $56.50 in service fees alone for a total of 3 tickets which couldn't be found at any other location. That comes out to almost $20 in service fees for each ticket, which were originally only $20 apiece. I try and avoid the corporation and it's crass service fees by using websites such as MusicToday, Ticketweb, FrontGate, and direct links through the venues; but more often than not Live Nation and it's subsidaries are the only options. The union of the two companies has the potential the create an almost oligarchic system with the option to further suppress the distribution of entertainment tickets and further damage the already suffering entertainment industry.

NY Times to charge web readers ?

It has been reported that in the coming weeks the New York Times will announce their plans to charge their online viewers for access. The rumored course of action is said to be similar to The Times previous venture with cashing in on online readers, in the fact that it will charge a metered annual or monthly rate for exclusive access to columns and other "premium content"; the earlier attempt failed in late 2007 after a steep decline in online readership. Also reputed is the likely pairing of The Times with Apple's newest media device, due to be revealed on the 27th of this month.
With the way print media has declined over the past decade or so, this sadly seems to be the only logical course of action. While the Times previous attempt did fail massively, I believe this one will have a greater success, due in part to the fact that other major news outlets are also charging online readers. The partnership with Apple would be a great benefit to the Times as well, as the use of multi-media devices like the iTouch are already hugely popular, and the use of eBook devices such as the Kindle and Nook are swiftly on the rise; Apple's addition to the eBook technology will surely bring it further popularity. While I do still prefer print media, it seems that this is the direction news outlets and readers are moving in, and the Times is smart to act now.

Multilingual Census Campaign

The NY Times piece is about the new Census campaign encouraging Americans to participate in 28 languages. The campaign will be using all forms of media, including YouTube, Twitter, and the standard newspaper and television routes. The new campaign is being produced in 11 more languages than the 2000 census, and includes catch phrases such as "It's in your hands" in Kurdish, Cantonese, and other new languages.

Hello, World.

Post one.