5 ms·

TicketMaster and Live Nation Agree to $2.5 Billion Merger

14 points by fallentimes 18y ago

fallentimes 18y ago
Monnnnopoly!
- yan 18y ago
  I wouldn't even mind so much if TM was less evil, but this is ridiculous.
- prakash 18y ago
  Where is Pearl Jam when you need them? ;-)
- rms 18y ago
  I think this will get blocked in antitrust. Presumably Obama will be more active here than Bush was.
  - mikebo 18y ago
    I think in the current economic climate it will pass. Ticketmaster/Live Nation will say the only way they can be profitable is to consolidate.
jasonlbaptiste 18y ago
How do you innovate around a potential monopoly like this? If ticketmaster starts becoming more like a scalper in its operations, then the secondary ticket market becomes pretty useless. Or, do the ticket prices just increase even more in the secondary market. Normally, I'd say this would make ticketmaster RIPE for disruption, but they're the gatekeepers. You can't get tickets any cheaper than what they sell them for. If they also interlock with the record labels, it's going to desperately slow innovation in the music industry around concert tickets and alt. revenue sales. Thoughts from the ticketstumbler guys?
- omouse 18y ago
  >You can't get tickets any cheaper than what they sell them for. Yes you can. I've been to two local music stores that sell tickets and they charge a low transaction fee, under $3. Ticketmaster on the other hand has charged me $9 or so, for random shit.
  - Arubis 18y ago
    "two local music stores." That's about half as many as are in my city now in total, and it's a major metropolitan area. They're able to sell tickets to shows only where there isn't a preexisting deal with TM, and only because they cut deals directly with local venues. Ticketmaster has deals that are already semimonopolistic both vertically and horizontally. How do you compete with that at scale?
  - jasonlbaptiste 18y ago
    how does ticketmaster operate? ie- where can local merchants, music stores, or others sell tickets in addition to ticketmaster? I'm assuming it's only for smaller shows and such.
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
- acgourley 18y ago
  I'm afraid you would have to beat them at their own game - making relationships with each venue (convince them you will help them sell more tickets, or give them a larger cut). At its heart its not a technology problem, although you'd have to employ technology to operate cheaper that ticket master. (Which includes preventing bots or scalpers from grabbing all the good tickets for hot shows right after they go on sale). my 2c Edit: Perhaps one way around this problem is to provide an easy way for venues to sell their own tickets. Let them setup their own web-front where they can sell will-call or even mailed tickets. Allow for features like will-call ticket transfers. The question is if venues that don't already do this will be convinced to. I'm not sure what is keeping venues like The Fillmore from using any web presense other than Live Nation and TicketMaster. Hopefully its just technophobia, not any actual lock-in...

14 points by fallentimes 18y ago

fallentimes 18y ago

Monnnnopoly!

yan 18y ago
I wouldn't even mind so much if TM was less evil, but this is ridiculous.
prakash 18y ago
Where is Pearl Jam when you need them? ;-)
rms 18y ago
I think this will get blocked in antitrust. Presumably Obama will be more active here than Bush was.
- mikebo 18y ago
  I think in the current economic climate it will pass. Ticketmaster/Live Nation will say the only way they can be profitable is to consolidate.

jasonlbaptiste 18y ago

How do you innovate around a potential monopoly like this? If ticketmaster starts becoming more like a scalper in its operations, then the secondary ticket market becomes pretty useless. Or, do the ticket prices just increase even more in the secondary market. Normally, I'd say this would make ticketmaster RIPE for disruption, but they're the gatekeepers. You can't get tickets any cheaper than what they sell them for. If they also interlock with the record labels, it's going to desperately slow innovation in the music industry around concert tickets and alt. revenue sales. Thoughts from the ticketstumbler guys?

omouse 18y ago
>You can't get tickets any cheaper than what they sell them for. Yes you can. I've been to two local music stores that sell tickets and they charge a low transaction fee, under $3. Ticketmaster on the other hand has charged me $9 or so, for random shit.
- Arubis 18y ago
  "two local music stores." That's about half as many as are in my city now in total, and it's a major metropolitan area. They're able to sell tickets to shows only where there isn't a preexisting deal with TM, and only because they cut deals directly with local venues. Ticketmaster has deals that are already semimonopolistic both vertically and horizontally. How do you compete with that at scale?
- jasonlbaptiste 18y ago
  how does ticketmaster operate? ie- where can local merchants, music stores, or others sell tickets in addition to ticketmaster? I'm assuming it's only for smaller shows and such.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
acgourley 18y ago
I'm afraid you would have to beat them at their own game - making relationships with each venue (convince them you will help them sell more tickets, or give them a larger cut). At its heart its not a technology problem, although you'd have to employ technology to operate cheaper that ticket master. (Which includes preventing bots or scalpers from grabbing all the good tickets for hot shows right after they go on sale). my 2c Edit: Perhaps one way around this problem is to provide an easy way for venues to sell their own tickets. Let them setup their own web-front where they can sell will-call or even mailed tickets. Allow for features like will-call ticket transfers. The question is if venues that don't already do this will be convinced to. I'm not sure what is keeping venues like The Fillmore from using any web presense other than Live Nation and TicketMaster. Hopefully its just technophobia, not any actual lock-in...