created to “prohibit abusive monopolies.” According to the Rule of Reason in the Sherman Anti Trust Act, this merger would be using tactics that are illegal to maintain power in the music industry because Ticketmaster/Live Nation would be in control of too many facets involved with artists booking shows, prices for tickets, music distrubution, etc. If this merger occurs it could mean that “too much power over the U.S. and global live music industry [would be] in the hands of just one company,” according to the Reuters MediaFile blog. Interestingly, some artists have expressed that they are in favor of the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger. This unification given the current state of the economy could actually be terrible for artists and their tours. Artists who have already achieved fame are in favor of this merger because the company it would result in would provide them with great services in addition to a rather large signing bonus. With so much control of the market, the amalgamation of these two companies could mean very high ticket prices, and end the "golden age of concerts."The proposed merger is clearly a bad idea. Currently economic geniuses like Warren Buffet predict that the economy is doomed at least for this year and possibly for years to come. Buffet stated that “the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009–and for that matter, probably well beyond” in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders just last week. With the music industry in such turmoil for the last few years, this merger could be traumatizing for the concert aspect associated with it. I've already explained how illegal downloading is killing the music industry, but some say "the age of downloading could be turning into a golden one for the concert business." This golden age of concerts could be over very quickly if this merger goes through when considering that right now people have less money to spend in general. Therefore, the odds of an average American being willing to pay for expensive tickets accompanied with surcharges is getting smaller every day. Now consider rock star Alanis Morissette's manager who explains "only 10 percent of artists make money on record sales; the rest go on tour." If people cannot afford to go to a concert, how are artists going to make a living? I am not talking about already successful acts like Seal, Journey, Van Halen and Shakira careers dying. I am talking about new artists trying to make it. Some of the aforementioned acts already signed a $70 million multiple rights deal with Live Nation last year, I doubt up and coming acts will be offered such generous deals. Thus, artists and consumers/concert goers are going to suffer from the amalgamation of Ticketmaster/Live Nation because of the monopoly it would create. New artists will have a much more difficult time getting deals similar, or even close, to acts like Van Halen.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer slammed the deal ahead of its formal announcement, calling for a federal probe into Ticketmaster, the top U.S. ticket vendor. Schumer proclaims that "this merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concert-goers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands. It must be viewed skeptically and scrutinized." I have no choice but to agree with Schumer. In the article "Live Nation to Buy Ticketmaster," author Yinka Adegoke explains that the merged company would have more than 140 concert
venues around the world resulting in the newly merged company selling over 140 million tickets during the year. They would be selling the tickets for 22,000 concerts a year, and additionally, Ticketmaster/Live Nation would manage a client roster that included acts like Madonna, Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, and the Eagles. With the U.S. economy in such turmoil this could possibly be catastrophic, and could be the final blow to the already dying music industry. Rock star Seal stated in his letter which was mentioned in the Reuters blog that “The record business is not what it used to be” as a reason for his support of the merger, but this is exactly why the unification of these two huge companies should not be supported. James Love, a writer for the Huffington Post, explains that “the merger would reduce competition in the core business areas of both companies, it would likely lead to high ticket prices, while making small independent booking venues and artists both more vulnerable in business dealings with the new giant.” There are already expenses associated with using Ticketmaster and Live Nation when purchasing concert tickets such as surcharges. There are processing fees and consumers even have to pay just to obtain the privilege of printing a purchased ticket at home some times adding up to ridiculous sums. Pearl Jam actually canceled part of one of their tours because of these surcharges and the control it had of the ticket market in 1994, but ended up giving into using Ticketmaster's services a year later. Fred Moody, from the "Seattle Weekly" sheds light onto the dispute between Ticketmaster and Pearl Jam. According to their manager, the band "objected to Ticketmaster's service charges on two grounds. Ranging from $4 to $8 from venue
to venue for the same $18 ticket, the charges clearly bore no relationship to the ticket price, and appeared to have no relationship to the cost of the service provided. And even at their lowest level, the service charges seemed unreasonably high."
Just for fun I decided to see how horrendous these charges are by going to Ticketmaster’s website to do some investigating. I pretended to “buy” tickets for the 80’s cover band Steel Panther, who plays every Monday night at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The price for the ticket was eighteen dollars, and then they tack on another two and a half dollars if you want to print your ticket. However, there is the option of picking up your ticket at the venue before the event. To do this Ticketmaster charges customers a dollar when they already have to use gas and time to get to the venue. The only way Ticketmaster's services are free is if event goers want to pick up their tickets the evening of the event they are attending. Now, I agree that $2.50 or $1.00 is not an insane amount of cash, but when buying a ticket for hundreds of dollars it seems quite unnecessary to tack on a couple extra dollars when Ticketmaster already owns about 70% of ticket distribution nationwide. Combine this 70% ownership of the market with Live Nation moving from concert promotion to making record deals, all of a sudden two companies merge together creating a monopoly. If these two companies unite there would be no incentive for Ticketmaster/Live Nation to sell tickets at their face value since almost all their competition would cease to exist, causing consumers to go to less concerts since tickets will become so expensive.
While this deal might appeal to some artists on paper, it is not as it good as it looks at first glance. If concerts are not selling out then the artists and the other parts of the music industry, even Ticketmaster/Live Nation are going to lose money. These two companies possess too much power in the concert circuit and music industry without their fusion, when combined the drawbacks of the merger would be severe. Concert ticket prices would sky rocket causing concert attendance to decrease, which would mean that artists would lose one of the last ways that they make their living. Also, the merger is only going to make it harder for new artists to achieve success since so much would depend on how the officials at Ticketmaster/LiveNation feel about them. Hopefully this merger is prevented so people can still go to concerts for decent prices, and also so there is still hope for new and up and coming artists. If people cannot afford to go to concerts how are artists going to make a living in the music industry given its current environment?
Just for fun I decided to see how horrendous these charges are by going to Ticketmaster’s website to do some investigating. I pretended to “buy” tickets for the 80’s cover band Steel Panther, who plays every Monday night at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The price for the ticket was eighteen dollars, and then they tack on another two and a half dollars if you want to print your ticket. However, there is the option of picking up your ticket at the venue before the event. To do this Ticketmaster charges customers a dollar when they already have to use gas and time to get to the venue. The only way Ticketmaster's services are free is if event goers want to pick up their tickets the evening of the event they are attending. Now, I agree that $2.50 or $1.00 is not an insane amount of cash, but when buying a ticket for hundreds of dollars it seems quite unnecessary to tack on a couple extra dollars when Ticketmaster already owns about 70% of ticket distribution nationwide. Combine this 70% ownership of the market with Live Nation moving from concert promotion to making record deals, all of a sudden two companies merge together creating a monopoly. If these two companies unite there would be no incentive for Ticketmaster/Live Nation to sell tickets at their face value since almost all their competition would cease to exist, causing consumers to go to less concerts since tickets will become so expensive.
While this deal might appeal to some artists on paper, it is not as it good as it looks at first glance. If concerts are not selling out then the artists and the other parts of the music industry, even Ticketmaster/Live Nation are going to lose money. These two companies possess too much power in the concert circuit and music industry without their fusion, when combined the drawbacks of the merger would be severe. Concert ticket prices would sky rocket causing concert attendance to decrease, which would mean that artists would lose one of the last ways that they make their living. Also, the merger is only going to make it harder for new artists to achieve success since so much would depend on how the officials at Ticketmaster/LiveNation feel about them. Hopefully this merger is prevented so people can still go to concerts for decent prices, and also so there is still hope for new and up and coming artists. If people cannot afford to go to concerts how are artists going to make a living in the music industry given its current environment?
I greatly enjoyed reading your post regarding the potential monopoly Tickermaster and Live Nation could created if the two conglomerates are to unite. Your rationale is well developed throughout the post as you accurately and specifically organize points such as the respective companies’ roles within the music industry. This helped me as a reader knowing relatively little about the music industry become equipped with a good understanding of this situation. Additionally, your assertions are well reinforced through the use of strong quotes gathered from individuals involved with the merger. Utilizing people ranging from Seal to Alanis Morissette’s manager made it seem like you strived to gather the “complete picture” and simply did not load your post with bias. Furthermore, you actually quote the specific sections of the Sherman Act where this merger may fall under which again helped me to better understand the situation from an outsider’s perspective. Lastly I greatly enjoyed the utilization of an actual real life experience (when you yourself tried to purchase tickets for the Steel Panther concert) as it garnered your post with a sense of personal touch. I can tell that this is a subject in which you are greatly concerned and your excellent research and presentation of argument clearly illustrate how hard you worked on this post.
ReplyDeleteWhile your post in my mind is very well-done, there are some parts with which I want to offer advice. While the content is excellent the form is a big cluttered. I suggest you possibly break the two paragraph into multiple paragraphs, as you have great points in it which deserve their own presentation and time for the reader to digest. Possibly begin a second paragraph with the sentence, “With the U.S. economy in such turmoil…” and maybe a third paragraph when you depict the scenario in which you tried on your own to book tickets on Ticketmaster? Also while your opinion on the matter is clearly established, this post could possibly benefit from your predication or forecast as to whether the merger will be able to go through. All and all I think this is a great post and you have successfully sparked my interest in this exciting topic, thank you.
Although you offer an intriguing post, I would like to offer you some constructive criticism. I feel that some editing needs to be done along with implementing a thesis statement; instead of just informing your readers, try to persuade them. Consider rephrasing the last sentence in your first paragraph to read, “According to the Reuters MediaFile blog, if this merger occurs it could mean that “too much power over the U.S. and global live music industry [would be] in the hands of just one company.” Also consider rephrasing the third sentence in the second paragraph, I feel that you could make it read more eloquently. I find your ‘undercover” work very interesting; it also adds a personal touch to your post. I advise you to read your post aloud because you have a number of areas where pauses/commas are needed. Try to use more varying words in the second to last sentence in your second to last paragraph. Your conclusion paragraph is good and leaves the reader with something to think about in the future. Aside from the small edits previously mentioned, I find your post informative and interesting. You offered some insight into concert goers and artists, which is greatly appreciated. The biggest concern that I have is the fact that you haven’t posed a compelling question or argument to grasp the attention of your readers. Try to strengthen your introductory paragraph by implementing one of those techniques. I think this will add a lot to your post and to your tone as a writer. Thank you for providing me with so much information, I look forward to reading your posts in the future. Great job, Josh!
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