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The boards of concert-promotion behemoth Live Nation and ticketing giant Ticketmaster have approved a merger agreement between the two companies, and an announcement regarding the megamonopolistic entity is scheduled for sometime this morning. The all-stock deal will result in a company known as Live Nation Entertainment Inc. provided that the government’s antitrust division doesn’t get all huffy and try to scuttle the deal. And now we know another reason that Ticketmaster really wanted this deal to happen: All those negative associations concertgoers have with the word “Ticketmaster” will just evaporate into the night!
The decision to dump the three-decade-old Ticketmaster name appears to acknowledge the widespread public distaste for the ticketing giant, which has long had a reputation for gouging consumers with service fees that can add 15% to 50% to the cost of a ticket. Ticketmaster has in the past been willing to be the focus of public ire, partially to deflect the negative publicity from its clients — concert halls and nightclubs — who shared in the service fees.
People familiar with the thinking of Ticketmaster Chief Executive Irving Azoff and Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino say the men are looking for ways to diminish consumers’ impression that the company is out to gouge them. Mr. Azoff, who will be the executive chairman of the new company, has already experimented with selling concert tickets with service fees rolled into the face value — so consumers don’t feel misled by advertised prices which are often far lower than the final cost.
That is, if the show doesn’t sell out right away.
So to paraphrase basically everyone, we’re all fucked?
[blogs.suntimes.com]
So Ticketmaster took the heat so the venues and artists wouldn’t get bad publicity? How gracious of them.
@Richaod: unless the DOJ saves the day…
@tenners: Not that I’m a supporter of Ticketmaster/Live Nation but the main reason you see high ticket prices are because of high prices asked by bands/agents. Of course, it can be argued that touring is expensive and I think we’d be really surprised to see how little our “rich greedy rock stars” actually net out after all is said and done (except for the big guys like Springsteen, Eagles, Bon Jovi, etc.)
Am I the only one who thinks it would be *worse* to have “concert tickets with service fees rolled into the face value” ?
1) It’s insulting to hear that this is being done as a “convenience” for fans. I guess this is just how my brain works, but to consumers who bitch that they’re “misled by advertised prices which are often far lower than the final cost” I say pay attention! Unless you’re Grandma going to her first show in a few decades, it’s pretty much universally known that a “49.95″ ticket is gonna be more than that by the time you hand over the plastic. Feel free to ask the cashier or check the website FAQs for details. (I’m not saying there *should* be all those fees, but they’re not exactly deviously hidden.)
2) With the current system of tacked-on charges/fees, at least I *know* when I’m getting raped by Ticketmaster. If it gets rolled into one final bill, we’ll never know how the pie is getting split. (I know, most people won’t give a damn as long as they know how much that pie costs, but…sigh…)
@2ironic4u: Oh, I agree about the actual ticket price. I was referring to the prices for the service charges. Personally, I’m tired of paying a $6 service charge on a $15 ticket.