Last Update:
03/19/2010 - 2:12pm EST
Tickemaster/Livenation Merger News
DOJ official Christine Varney defends Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger
Fri, Mar 19th 2010 12:18 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
Only time will tell whether the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger will end up being fair to promoters, venues and ticketing companies, and in the meantime the live entertainment industry should look toward innovation to stay competitive, Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney reportedly told a crowd of concert professionals and others at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference Thursday.
Varney and the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) spearheaded the year-long review of the merger, and the DOJ ended up approving the deal with conditions, such as requiring that Ticketmaster sell its Paciolan ticketing division to rival Comcast-Spectacor, operators of New Era Tickets. Full Story...
Save thisLive Nation Entertainment launches operations in Germany
Wed, Mar 10th 2010 10:59 am EST
By Richard Kastelein
Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s premier live entertainment company, today announced the launch of its concert promotion division in Germany, the fourth largest music market in the world. Established German promoter Johannes Wessels has been appointed Managing Director of Live Nation Germany, and will operate from his current Hamburg base. Live Nation’s first shows will be three Lady Gaga dates in Berlin, Hamburg and Oberhausen which go on sale on 12th March. For details of these shows go to http://www.livenation.de. Full Story...
Comcast-Spectacor acquires Ticketmaster's Paciolan ticketing division
Tue, Mar 9th 2010 6:15 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
As recommended by the Department of Justice when it approved the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger, Comcast-Spectacor has acquired Ticketmaster's Paciolan ticketing division for an undisclosed amount, the parties announced earlier today.
Paciolan will operate as a separate entity from Comcast-Spectacor's New Era Tickets division, the company said, and Paciolan will continue to work with its roster of more than 100 colleges, venues, performing arts groups and other organizational clients. Full Story...
Live Nation Entertainment to switch ticketing from CTS Eventim to Ticketmaster
Fri, Feb 26th 2010 2:01 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
_2.gif "Live Nation, Ticketmaster")
Disappointed by the way the operation has progressed over the past year, Live Nation Entertainment announced Thursday that it was dropping CTS Eventim for ticketing in North America and replacing it with Ticketmaster, which Live Nation merged with last month.
Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, made the announcement during a conference call to announce the company's fourth quarter and year-end results, but he did not offer specific examples of the failings of the Eventim ticketing system. Full Story...
Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger: UK Competition Commission to offer new opinion by May 11
Mon, Feb 22nd 2010 4:11 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
_15.gif "Live Nation Entertainment")
Having been ordered to reconsider the deal, the UK Competition Commission (CC) will release its new decision concerning the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger by May 11.
The move to reconsider the merger, which has received approval from the U.S. Justice Department with conditions, was issued earlier this month by the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), following an appeal made by German ticketing company CTS Eventim. Full Story...
Eric Korman, former president at Ticketmaster, has left the company
Wed, Feb 17th 2010 3:14 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
Though the company has not officially announced the move, Eric Korman, who was president of Ticketmaster is no longer with the company.
Details of the circumstances surrounding his departure, and the exact departure date, are unknown, but his picture and bio have been removed from the Ticketmaster Web site, and his LinkedIn.com profile states he is the former president of the company. Full Story...
Live Nation Entertainment reportedly inks ticketing deal with Wal-Mart
Fri, Feb 12th 2010 5:31 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
Looking to expand its reach, newly minted Live Nation Entertainment has reportedly signed a partnership deal with discount department store giant Wal-Mart, that will allow Live Nation to sell tickets from select outlets.
Details of the deal were not readily available, but according to Billboard, the partnership will launch sometime in the next few months at about 500 Wal-Mart stores, including outlets in Los Angeles and Chicago. The focus will reportedly be on concert and sports tickets in and around the cities where stores are located. Full Story...
Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger: UK regulators to give deal a second look
Thu, Feb 11th 2010 5:08 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
Convinced by CTS Eventim that the Competition Commission's (CC) report was flawed, the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) Thursday "quashed" the findings and demanded the CC reconsider its decision to approve the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger.
In December, the CC approved the merger in the UK without conditions, which reversed its earlier findings that showed concern for how the deal might affect CTS Eventim. Full Story...
TicketsNow boosts its percentage on service fees and changes rebate rules for brokers
Wed, Feb 10th 2010 5:12 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
With the merger of its parent company Ticketmaster with Live Nation essentially complete, secondary ticketing company TicketsNow is adopting a new business plan to boost its revenues.
On the sales side, the company this week raised the percentage it charges in service fees from 15 percent to 18.5 percent. Full Story...
New York Times: Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger is 'worrisome'
Tue, Feb 9th 2010 6:23 pm EST
By Alfred Branch Jr.
A little over two weeks has passed since the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation was cleared by the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ), but the criticism continues to trickle in.
In an editorial published this week in the New York Times titled "Music Inc. Gets Bigger," the two companies are taken to task for the merger because of the vertically integrated power the combined company will have. Full Story...
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