Following in the footsteps of Norway and Turkey and heading straight to the US, the UK Competition Commission have approved the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
I guess the Competition Commision is some form of euphemism, like the Department of Defense.
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that every time I pay $42 for a $25 ticket I want to kick TM right where it hurts. Have you never played Monopoly? All the other players go bankrupt when they land on Park Lane with a Hotel on it. Same here. A company of this size will leave a handful of boutique ticketsellers AND THAT’S IT. They will charge you whatever they want and there will be nothing you can do about it.
Has the last year taught us nothing? Capitalism without regulation leads directly to poverty on an unimaginable level. Pretty soon I’ll be reviewing Montgomery Gentry’s “Oughta Be A Song About”: “oughta be a song about that old man who worked hard all his life, then Wall Street stole his nest egg, now he can’t afford to die…”
And nothing changes.
And what if, say, Jay-Z, wants to make a statement and not play for TMLN rooms? He can’t because he is signed to the LN portion.
The future is here, stick it in your ear.