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Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: National Association of Ticket Brokers irate
Angered over negative comments made this week by Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff and Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino about the secondary ticket market, the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) is calling for an emergency meeting of its members next month to decide a course of action.
During separate hearings before U.S. Senate and House subcommittees to discuss their companies' proposed merger, Azoff twice, and Rapino at least once, blasted the secondary ticket market for being a problem, wishing aloud that it should be outlawed.
"The secondary market is a mess," Azoff told the House subcommittee, and calling for it to be abolished, Rapino told the Senate subcommittee, "We spend $2 billion each year on promoting and producing artists for a 4 percent margin on ticket sales, but we don't see a dime from the secondary market."
Both companies have reportedly called on well-connected lobbying firms to try to gain government support for the merger, which is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department on possible antitrust grounds.
“Opposition is beginning to increase against this merger in the secondary market," said Don Vaccaro, founder and CEO of TicketNetwork, parent company of TicketNews. "Brokers are very upset at the lack of credibility with Michael Rapino's statements that Live Nation doesn’t participate in the secondary market, which brokers believe is simply not true.”
In an email to its members, the NATB made it clear that it intends to fight. The email marks the NATB's first public comments specifically about the planned merger:
As you are aware, the NATB Board held a strategic planning session this morning in Las Vegas to discuss, among other things, recent developments including the announcement of the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The Board of Directors and Advisory Board expressed great concerns about Ticketmaster CEO, Irving Azoff’s and Live Nation President & CEO, Michael Rapino’s public testimonies (http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_090226.html) and positions regarding brokers and the secondary market. Both spoke to members of the House Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy this morning in what was the second of two Congressional Hearings regarding the merger of their two companies. The first was held on Tuesday, February 24th (http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3674) where Azoff openly expressed his aversion for the secondary market.
This morning, Azoff reiterated his position and said that he would consider selling their reselling division, TicketsNow. He testified that the secondary ticketing is driving up prices for the fans with absolutely no benefit to the artist. Rapino’s testimony regarding the secondary market was sharp but not contrasting, stating that in the concert business, 40 percent of concert seats go unsold, yet he blamed “scalpers” for concerts that sold for more than they should, claiming scalpers benefit from computer driven bulk purchases that deny fans a chance to see their favorite performer at a reasonable price. He expressed that he would like to “see ticket scalping outlawed” and eliminated and continued with giving an example of what the first step would be to do so (http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2009/02/live_blogging_the_house_hear...).
The battle line cannot be any clearer. Your Association needs your help and the time to act is now! As a result, the NATB Board of Directors has requested your attendance at a special emergency meeting to discuss a plan of action. The meeting will be held within the next 30 days and is open to members and pre approved invited guests. Your feedback and participation at this emergency meeting is urgent. More details will follow next week.
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Live Nation's promoters are the BIGGEST RESELLING promoters in the biz.
They knowingly sell more tickets to brokers then anyone else in the biz.
What a hipocrit.
Seriously! I'm a broker, and I really don't expect Ticketmaster, Live Nation, StubHub (which, if the Ticketmaster relationship with TicketsNow is of questionable legality, has a similar conflict with their MLB relationship, especially with respect to Tickets.com clients), or any other primary or secondary market company to look out for me. This was the way it's ALWAYS been, guys, and any broker who has been doing this for more than a year or two knows this. We've had it easier because of the acceptance of the secondary market by the primary market, legislators, and consumers - regardless of how reluctant that acceptance was. But we can't criticize them for wanting to strengthen their industry, anymore than we can criticize ourselves for lobbying for legislative reform across the country over the last five years...and successfully so, I might add =)
If Ticketmaster and Live Nation feel they will be a better company as one than separately, then all the power to them. Some people are crying 'monopoly' but that's what Ticketmaster was for well over a decade before Live Nation became a major player, and in all honesty, a merger won't help or hurt brokers (or the general public) as much as everyone thinks. At the end of the day, both TM and LN, whether together or apart, would benefit if every concert, sporting event, Broadway play, and any other event they sell sold out. It is in their best interest to make that happen. As a result, I don't see them pricing concerts out of the budgets of most Americans, and if they are able to generate a lot of sell-outs, that will obviously benefit brokers as well.
What the major issue seems to be is a bunch of people made up of brokers, legislators and the general public who have a bull's eye on Ticketmaster because they're the largest organization in the primary market and have a history of quite bastard-ish behavior. But somehow, despite that behavior, brokers such as myself managed to build up profitable business and the secondary market became an enormous industry in and of itself. And now, even with a LN/TM merger, we have the added benefit of much more favorable legislation across the country. I truly believe that the secondary industry, like any other industry, is one built up largely of entrepreneurs as opposed to industry insiders. As small business owners, we tend to look for every break we can get and lament when the strong get stronger. But, as small business owners, there is a universal rule that all of us most learn and accept, regardless of industry, and that is the rule of adaptability. The brokers who will continue to grow and be profitable, even in a bad economy, are the ones who will adapt to the changes in the industry while the rest sit around and whine and complain, and ultimately, fail.
At last, some rationale thought. Thank you.
this novel was not written by a broker.
No brokers want this merger to happen after Azoff and Rapino said under oath that reselling should be outlawed.
I am a broker, and I am the guy who wrote that post. I don't particularly care what Azoff and Rapino think about the secondary market for a few reasons:
1. The secondary market is here to stay. They can try to impede the secondary market, but when Ticketmaster did that in the past, I was still able to build a successful business. I'm not really afraid of them doing it again, because I know my business will adapt and I'll survive, while my competitors who moan and whine and don't adapt will fall behind.
2. Over the last five years, legislative reform regarding ticket reselling has swept across the country, making it a much more open marker and easier for brokers to buy and re-sell tickets. Considering how out of favor Ticketmaster, TicketsNow, and, to a lesser extent, Live Nation, is with both the public and our government, I don't think anything their respective leaders say in Congress is really going to turn into reality.
3. Like I said before, I'll adapt. The brokers like the guy who responded to my post probably won't. In five years, my business will still be here, and I will still be growing. Your's won't. That's better for me.
Please send an email to block this merger before Livenation & Ticketmaster becomes a Cartel and squeeze every penny from you. antitrust.atr@usdoj.gov
So it is okay for ticket scalpers to buy a ticket for $50 and sell it for $150 on StubHub, but not okay for the artist to sell that same ticket for $150 on TicketExchange? C'mon!
Be honest, this is all about the days of free money being over. No amount of ticket spinners, capcha readers, speculative selling or cash payments to box office managers will help you thru next generation of ticket distribution.
Please figure out how to add value versus manipulate onsales. Everyone will be better off for it.
In this case, everyone is rediculous then, since the artists are also ticket scalpers as well as Ticketmaster, brokers, promoters, venue operators, and box office managers. In this case, everyone is a scalper and we are all rediculous! This is insane!
Dear confused smart guy. Eliminate brokers and live music industry will die on the vine. I would tell you why, but you won't get it.
Let the senator know that TM Exchange is just like Tickets Now. Here's his contact info:
http://schumer.senate.gov/
How about another class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster by speaking against secondary market while at the same time obviously participating in the secondary market?
Like their Ticketmaster Ticket Exchange Program. Hypocrites.
Rapino and Izoff are lairs. These retards just figured out that
there is NO real money in the secondary market and now all brokers
get thrown under the bus. They say to Congress it is brokers fault.
Yet for a good show like Hannah Montana they sell maybe 30% of the best seats
and do whatver with the rest. They are liars and it will come out in the public domain soon.
We all need to call Senator Charles Schumer office and tell him about Ticketmaster Exchange - their other Tickets Now. Ticketmaster Exchange is the secondary market and they can reroute people to this site after they sell Tickets Now. This site needs to be ended / sold ASAP too. Here's his number 202 228 3027.
These 2 guys are so full of crap it's unbelievable.