Capitol Hill Monitors Ticketmaster Merger

Capitol Hill is keeping an eye on promotion giant Live Nation's planned $575 million acquisition of Ticketmaster, a company that does much of its concert ticket business on the Internet. Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, believe the merger should be closely reviewed to ensure that the combined company does not gain inappropriate market power. "We are concerned about the antitrust implications of the proposed merger," the Senate Judiciary Committee members said in a statement. "We look forward to examining the details of this proposed acquisition to ensure that consumers are protected."
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who earlier this week raised concerns about the rumored business deal, said the Tuesday announcement by Live Nation and Ticketmaster was "a major disappointment for music fans all around the country." He said the arrangement threatens to increase concert prices and limit access for middle-class Americans to entertainment events. "We saw last week the trouble that can arise when one company exercises too much control over a market," Pascrell said, pointing to allegations that Ticketmaster sent Bruce Springsteen fans to a subsidiary Web site that sells concert seats at a premium cost.
"Any merger that would consolidate so many aspects of the concert business under one roof must be carefully scrutinized for antitrust violations by the relevant federal regulators and the United States Congress," Pascrell said. "This proposed company would have unprecedented control over nearly every single step of the music industry, from the managing and promoting of artists, to running the venues, to selling the tickets." Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, however, said the combination "will drive measurable benefits to consumers and accelerate the execution of our strategy to build a better artist-to-fan direct distribution platform."

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