“It seems to be monopolistic, plain and simple," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “This is not the American dream, as the companies' witnesses might have you believe."
The Senate's antitrust subcommittee grilled chief executives Michael Rapino of Live Nation and Irving Azoff of Ticketmaster and solicited input from concert promoters on how the industry would be affected.
“This merger is vertical integration on steroids," Jerry Mickelson, chairman of concert promoter Jam Productions in Chicago, told the committee. “The amalgamation of these two companies into one should make them the poster child for why this country needs antitrust laws."
But Rapino and Azoff presented their case as two companies trying to weather the recession as best they could, creating a new model for the music industry in the process.
“The economic foundation that supported artists in the past is crumbling," Azoff said. “We cannot just cling to the old ways. This merger will allow the live music industry to avoid repeating the mistakes of the record industry."
