Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., which controls ticketing at major venues across the country, and artist manager Live Nation Worldwide Inc. are in talks to merge, according to a person close to the negotiations.
But superstar Bruce Springsteen, who has objected to Ticketmaster policies in the past, quickly cried foul, saying it would give too much power to one combined company.
“The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near-monopoly situation in music ticketing," said a statement on the singer's website that was also signed by manager Jon Landau.
Fans, already upset over fees that can tack 30% or more onto the price of a concert ticket, were wary of the deal too.
Leah Baker, a tax analyst in Atlanta who goes to as many as five concerts a month, worried that a combined company would be so powerful that it would push out other promoters and ticket sellers, leaving concertgoers with fewer options.
“If they merge, and they develop a market where music managers are only willing to go to them for shows and events, then what happens to the little guy who doesn't tack on all the fees?" Baker said. “It almost seems unethical to merge."
Ticket fees can add up. A concertgoer who buys a ticket in person at the Honda Center box office in Anaheim for an upper-level seat to next month's Elton John/Billy Joel concert will pay the face value of $54.50.
But if the same purchase is made via Ticketmaster online or by phone, there will be an added $12.05 service charge per ticket plus a $4.05 processing fee per order, bringing the total to $70.60.
It doesn't stop there. A customer who picks up the ticket at a Ticketmaster retail location is required to pay an extra $1, and there is a $2.50 charge for printing out the ticket -- at home.
But a merger, even if the companies come to terms, is still a long way from going through. Legal experts said there were major hurdles to overcome, especially in regard to antitrust issues.
“When you have a company like Live Nation that controls so much of the concert promotion market, and they're going to merge with a company like Ticketmaster, it does make it harder for smaller companies to compete," said attorney Timothy Mathews of Chimicles & Tikellis, a law firm that takes on music antitrust cases.
