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.
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I'm not a big fan of Ticketmaster because of their ridiculous service fees. I am all for everybody getting a piece of the pie, but my goodness service fees get a big piece and that is not fair.
ReplyDeleteWhen an artist comes to town, the tickets are usually already high priced depending on the venue. By the time one adds all the service fees which could include but not limited to processing, handling, and holding.
Who knows what may be next, service fees could include complaining fees (meaning the operator gets a fee for having to listen to the consumer complain about the fees incurred.)
The media should be all over this story because it is happening daily.
Ticketmaster's service fee's are outrageously high. My family and I find it difficult to find certain tickets, especially for decent prices. This merger could make things worse for everyday consumers.
ReplyDeleteI personally, take pride in the arts. Our school systems all around America today are cutting costs and thus, cutting back on funding for classes involving the arts.
Why are we putting such a high price on something that is so priceless?!
i hate paying extra fees. most likely u pay a good chunk of change for the ticket alone. i usually dont buy alot of tickets because the fees are so high.
ReplyDeleteI hate business monopolies. They always find a way to cut the little man out.
ReplyDeleteI hate all of the extra fees. I have paid about half of the amount in "services fees" as i did for my ticket.
ReplyDeleteExtra fees are such a pain. Unfortuanlly I often end up cutting my loses and end up buying them anyway
ReplyDeleteAHH man ticketmaster really knows how to grade on people's nerves..I always avoid ticketmaster b/c I had a really bad experience with it..I was buying about 10 to 15 tickets for a bunch of freinds of mine for a Dave Matthews concert a couple years back, and I realized how outrageuos the service fees were..I really did not pay to much attention to it at first, b/c I guess I thought it was normal, but my brother was shocked when he saw how much the fees were and he basically educated me on the fact of which fees were appropriate and which ones were ridiculous..NEVER again ticketmaster; damn scam!
ReplyDeleteLike anything else in the world they should try it out to see if it works. If it doesn't work it will eventually fall and people will know that this was a bad idea. some people may think this is a stupid way for them to make money but some people may think this is a great idea for ticket master and Live Nation to merge.
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