ticketmaster and live nation merge in completely legal single firm

• ticketmaster and live nation merge in completely legal single firm
  Posted by FrankZappa on 10 Feb, 2009 10:28
• what.the.hell
  
  

  Quote

  BC-Live Nation-Ticketmaster,0216
  URGENT
  Live Nation and Ticketmaster in merger deal
  Eds: Moving on general news and financial services.
        LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two of the biggest forces in the
  entertainment business are joining up.
        Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. and ticketing giant
  Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. said Tuesday morning that they plan
  an all-stock merger of equals.
        The combined company will be called Live Nation Entertainment.
        Regulatory experts have said the deal could get delayed by an
  antitrust review.
        Ticketmaster sells tickets for more than 80 percent of the major
  arenas and stadiums in the U.S., according to concert tracking firm
  Pollstar. Live Nation is the world\'s No. 1 concert promoter and
  owns more than 140 venues. It has comprehensive deals to the tours
  of such artists as Madonna, Jay-Z, U2, Nickelback and Shakira - and
  recently developed its own ticketing service.
       
        (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
       
  AP-NY-02-10-09 1020EST
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• #1 Reply
  Posted by davepeck on 10 Feb, 2009 10:40
• cool. here\'s hoping i never have to use LN\'s ticketing system ever again.
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• #2 Reply
  Posted by Yoda on 10 Feb, 2009 10:46
• Sorry, but after the whole "bait and switch" routine that Ticketmaster/Tickets Now pulled with Bruce tickets, I can\'t trust either of them, especially when they are one large monopoly.
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• #3 Reply
  Posted by FrankZappa on 10 Feb, 2009 10:53
• I don\'t know about you guys, but I was furious when I saw this. I hope it gets stopped as a trust. this is rediculous.
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• #4 Reply
  Posted by davepeck on 10 Feb, 2009 10:59
• i\'m not furious. there will be one company charging me inflated prices for tickets instead of two. and they\'ll probably actually let me purchase the tickets i have in my cart. big deal.
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• #5 Reply
  Posted by Yoda on 10 Feb, 2009 11:04
• Or they will send you to their own ticket broker to purchase tickets after telling you that they cannot process your order due to routine maintenance.
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• #6 Reply
  Posted by davepeck on 10 Feb, 2009 11:10
• are you furious, ryan?
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• #7 Reply
  Posted by Yoda on 10 Feb, 2009 11:13
• I am.... I was ready to actually spend money to see The Boss... My wife was trying to buy me tickets for my birthday... I\'m not as furious at the merger as I am at ticketmaster for being a bunch of money grubbing ****... I\'m mad as hell and I\'m not going to take it... I\'m going to have to settle for listening to someone\'s recording of the show several days after the fact... Thanks ticketmaster...
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• #8 Reply
  Posted by Spacey on 10 Feb, 2009 11:38
• Great news!
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• #9 Reply
  Posted by ds673488 on 10 Feb, 2009 11:48
• i can only think that this is a good thing, larger company, probably easier to get tickets
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• #10 Reply
  Posted by NickNels on 10 Feb, 2009 11:54
• They can start pricing tickets based on demand now.  Phish and other large bands will not be able to sell tickets at their own established price...not if they want to play in a TM/LN venue.  Tickets will start in the hundreds.  Probably less expensive than scalped tickets, but more than the face value being charged now.
  
  You will be able to gain access to tickets during the on-sale easier, but you will be paying for it.
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• #11 Reply
  Posted by davepeck on 10 Feb, 2009 12:04
• pure speculation. bands don\'t sell tickets at their own established price as it is. there hasn\'t been any such thing as "face value" for years. ****, i\'d rather pay $100 for a ticket that says $100 on it than pay that same amount for a ticket that just happens to say $70.
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• #12 Reply
  Posted by Yoda on 10 Feb, 2009 12:19
• But if ticket price set themselves at $100 as a standard, TM/LN is going to add another $15-$30 service charges and now people are being price-guaged when they want to go to a show.
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• #13 Reply
  Posted by bdfreetuna on 10 Feb, 2009 12:35
• I see a lot more Breakfast shows in my future..
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• #14 Reply
  Posted by SkyePrizm on 10 Feb, 2009 12:48
• I feel like this is the merging of one giant evil empire.
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