Remember the New Era of live music? Those hopeful days when Live Nation’s launch of in-house ticketing promised to increase competition, decrease fees, and encourage new and more creative models of promotion, merchandising, and ticket sales?
You know, last month.
As you’ve certainly heard, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have announced their intention to merge. This unholy matrimony will be the culmination of a long, on-again-off-again relationship between the two companies: until the end of last year, Live Nation was simply a promotion company that used Ticketmaster for its sales. When the contract between the two expired, Live Nation launched its own ticketing service, with new pricing models (the dreaded convenience charges would be hidden, if not technically gone) and sales systems (buyers could pick their own seats, instead of letting a computer decide which were “best”). Fans rejoiced at the split, hoping competition between the two entities would result in lower ticket prices. Artists signed massive contracts with Live Nation. And then, six weeks later, the two ex-lovers suddenly spun around and announced their engagement.
It’s obvious that I’m ticked off about this, and I think you should be too. The most obvious concern is that the new entity, Live Nation Entertainment, will hold undue control over the US music industry. Live Nation doesn’t just sell tickets; they also manage artists, promote concerts, and are even poised to release recordings. The new company would fold all of these services in, and even the Wall Street Journal admits that “because it would be so vertically integrated, the new company would… be able to muscle out competing concert promoters and have more power to dictate ticket prices to consumers.”
“We still believe the venue, the artist and the fan would love an alternative ticketing company.” – Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino, December 2008
Wired.com also speculates that Live Nation Entertainment may bypass fixed-price ticket sales altogether, and move towards an auction system that could ruin accessibility to tickets for those with lower incomes. Seats at shows by industry giants like Madonna have been impossible for most to afford for years, but the average fifty dollar concert ticket is within most people’s reach, at least once in a while. It would be a shame to see that change.
The aspect of this deal that bothers me the most, though, is the one with the least tangible implications. During the hullabaloo surrounding their split from Ticketmaster, Live Nation let itself be the good guy. It sat back, looking at all the glowing media reports of increased competition and decreased fees and blah blah blah, and smiled. Or maybe smirked? Because the only people Live Nation seems to be bringing positive change to are its executives. It’s hard to see how the consumer can possibly profit from this merger, except perhaps creatively. Maybe someone will write some really good angry songs about it.