Ticketmaster is already a monopoly. I’ve never seen a Live Nation ticket site. Besides the ticket fees are miniscule compared to the high price of tickets. But again, concerts are luxury items not essential. If u cant afford it, dont buy them.

It’s gonna be cold cold cold cold cold.

The monopoly is there prior to the merger.

The top heavy situation is bully.

On the other hand, sometimes prices
actually go down because of economies
of scale and to keep the music industry
alive. This is a depression, so its hard
to know where we are going.

There are two creative places.
The large monopoly and
everyone else.

I prefer everyone else myself,
but the monopoly acts are not
all bad.

What’s next, a merger between Live Nation Entertainment and Clear Channel to create the single largest evil empire in the entertainment universe. Evil…this is pure evil.

Live Nation is already part of Clear Channel. They call it a spin off company. Bascially it is just a division of Clear Channerl.

ThatGuy – Actually Live Nation was created when Clear Channel Entertainment was sold/spun-off from Clear Channel Communication

Personally I will do whatever I can NOT to support these people.
There is plent of music in independent clubs (Not owned by Live Nation) where you buy tickets right at the window.
The big bands won’t suffer from my personal “strike” but I’ll feel better.

We are all SCREWED, maybe we should all go back to buying cd’s instead.

I liked Live Nation because their fees were so much lower than Ticketmasters. I’m glad that many of the bands I go to see offer pre-sales for fanclub people, so we get to pay less with no fees. I might be going to less concerts now unfortunately, its one of my favorite things to do.

Clear Channel owns Live Nation, so now they own everything…. It’s time for the acts to step in, and find another way to handle ticketing. The fees are just out of control.

Jay – No Live Nation is not already a part of clearchannel. IT WAS, and was called Clearchannel Entertainment. As mentioned was spun off and no longer part of clearchannel. If you owned clearchannel stock when the spin off occurred you received a certain amount of stock in the new company Clearchannel. The officers, many were from clearchannel, on both boards, etc. but not a part of clearchannel any longer. It was spun off because it wasn’t making any money and was dragging down clearchannel’s stock price. Regardless – - Live Nation, the people who run it are true pondscum, evil and incompetent. The only way they can survive is charge more and more for… “music”. which people, so far continue to pay because personal attachment to music is more about a spiritual connection than anything else. Moron loser exec’s at Live Nation live off that life blood. They are vampires… and again to say, very stupid incompetent ones.

If you really want to teach Ticketmaster a lesson, search google for “ticketmaster” or “ticketsnow”, then click on the Sponsored links, which will cost them several dollars per click.

Now LiveNation and its contracted performing artists can sell their tickets thru Ticketmaster and make a profit. Then they can provide a website (TicketsNow) for the scaplers to scalp tickets at a ridiculous prices and LiveNation, its contracted performing artists and Ticketmaster make another profit. And this will improve the availability and affordability of tickets to the concert-goer how?!?

The artists set the ticket price in their contract with the promoter not the venue/promoter/ticket company.

Its funny that everyone is getting upset at Live Nation/Ticketmaster when the artists are taking almost 100 percent of the ticket price… Those “service charges” are really the only way that promoters/ticket agencies can make any money. Live Nation’s margin, for example, is down at 4 percent, a horribly low number for any company. Without those fees there would be no concert, simple as that. People need to step back, take a bigger perspective look and start questioning the overwhelming greed of the “Artist” and not just the promoter.

As long as people continue to buy tickets, this BS will continue. Don’t buy tickets and see what happens!

The only way to protest is to vote with your wallet by not going to any TM shows. That’s tough to do, it makes it seem you are giving the finger to acts you like. But the acts deserve the finger as well, they are the ones who collaborate with TM in setting the ticket prices. I love Neil Young and Van Morrison but I won’t pay $130 to see them. You’d be better off in a small club where you can afford a ticket and a couple beers for less than half of a big arena show. It is tough for me because I think Springsteen, U2, Metallica, Tina Turner, AC/DC and a few others are great and worth it. But the average person only goes to 1-2 expensive arena shows a year right now. They are picking and choosing their favorites very carefully, and when those favorites reach the end of the touring road, especially if people are nervous financially, they may decide a couple beers and their iPod is a better deal than big arena shows.

This is a joke!

I love that Live Nation says their hours-long system blunders led to “success.” It is easy to see that LN, just like Ticketmaster, does not give a flying concern about customers and fans, and neither do the bands that do business with these venues/promotions companies (Phish fans can suck it, the band is just like these companies, so please don’t start yelling otherwise).

Stubhub already has tickets up for the Elton John & Billy Joel show at Wrigley Field, which was announced yesterday & tickets arent even on sale yet…get 2 tix for a low price of $1,000!

Buying tickets is a joke now

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

I’ve never understood the print-at-home PER ticket fees. It should be per transaction and not per ticket. What a RIP!!! Also I am being gouged for using my computer, my printer, my ink and my paper. Waaaaay over the top. I’ve quit big shows. I’m now only going to small clubs where I pay as I go and stand ten feet from the entertainer.

Wasn’t a Live Nation spokesperson just quoted in the last issue of RS saying that the creation of their competing ticketing service was a “big, big step forward”? Should we expect them to then tell Congress that the merger is logically “a big, big step backward”?

Dear All,

from all your comment I could get that the only thing which disturbs you is the price for the tickets. We all undoubtly always want to get more for less however I believe its very unfair to judge this merge because neither you nor me have the full information and therefore if we are unaware of the reasons how can we be so sure that our judgements are fair.

Its exetremely simple yyou either want to see artist x or not and if you do you make your second choice go to the concert or go AND BUY CD!!

It goes without saying that the artists themselves set the prices for the tickets.

I really astoished and upset but such unfounded and unjustified comments.

All the best.

the justice department has not given the OK for this to happen.
hold on.
somebody will be getting passes to the next 1000 live nation shows though.

Wake up people! The ticket prices are established by the promoter, not the band. Ticketmaster is a greedy, slimeball monopoly, so don’t kid yourself that “artists are taking almost 100 percent of the ticket price”. Unless you take stand and BOYCOTT TICKETMASTER, you remain the mindless humans who will pay to keep TM executives laughing all the way to the bank.

It is documented that deceptive practices continue, and TM uses it sudsidiaries (TicketWeb, TicketsNow and Admission) to scalp tickets. I have raised my middle finger to TM and the bands that use them. Oh yes, I will go out and “buy” the CD. Yeah …