Last year, Live Nation and Ticketmaster announced they would merge. Then the Department of Justice (DOJ) got involved to investigate whether the merger violated anti-trust laws. After an investigation, the merger has been approved.
The new company, called Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will thankfully be subject to conditions, such as the separation of ticketing and concert promotions services. However, it will still be one insanely large company with a stake in concerts, ticketing, merchandising and even the sale of recorded music.
What this means for artists: The industry is shifting to a model of large companies handling all aspects of an artist’s career. I personally think this is a bad idea because instead of having a company dedicated to performing one service well, you will have one company performing many services on a mediocre level. You wouldn’t want your dentist to also be your carpet cleaner and personal stylist, would you?
An artist needs the people servicing each part of his career to be experts in that area. It is fine if one company employs experts in each area it handles and services the artist with the artist’s best interests in mind. However, this is not always the case. Artists need to make sure whatever company they sign with is competent in all services it provides and does not screw the artist over by taking too large of a cut from some or all areas of service.
What this means for consumers/concert attendees: It is said this merger will also be better for the consumer because ticket prices will come down. AEG, a promoter behind Live Nation is also established as a competitor of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. under the DOJ’s imposed conditions. This is good because the DOJ is trying to not let this new venture have a monopoly over the concert and ticket industries. However, I will believe that ticket prices will come down when I see them coming down.
Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal.
To be continued…