Add Ontario, CAN’s Ministry of the Attorney General to the list of government entities reviewing the business practices of Ticketmaster Entertainment and is subsidiary TicketsNow.

Both companies have drawn a rash of criticism North of the Border in recent months for high convenience charges and the alleged rerouting of customers from the Ticketmaster Web site to the TicketsNow site where tickets are resold for more money. And now, according to The Canadian Press, Attorney General Chris Bentley has begun exploring different options of how to deal with complaints against the companies.

The complaints led to fans filing several class action lawsuits in Canada, which claim the companies have unfairly treated customers.

For its part, Ticketmaster has staunchly defended its business practices, but recently settled a complaint with New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram concerning the company’s handling of Bruce Springsteen ticket sales. The company did not admit wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $350,000 and stop some of its business practices, such as selling tickets from TicketsNow to events before tickets are publicly available.



The criticisms and lawsuits come at a crucial time for Ticketmaster, as it tries to gain federal regulatory approval of its proposed merger with Live Nation. Not only have various groups come out against the merger, the National Association of Ticket Brokers late last week blasted the plan, in part because Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff and Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino called for the abolishment of the secondary ticket market.

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Azoff also said he would be willing to sell TicketsNow, realizing that Ticketmaster’s ownership of it has caused the company problems.

More TicketMaster/LiveNation merger news

Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Canadian officials look at TicketsNow 03/09/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: NATB schedules meeting about the deal 03/04/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Live Nation reports 4Q loss 03/03/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Canadian AG investigates Ticketmaster 03/02/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: National Association of Ticket Brokers irate 02/27/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Azoff would consider selling TicketsNow 02/26/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Azoff, Rapino and new speakers for House hearing 02/25/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Trouble with Leonard Cohen tickets on TicketsNow, and a third class action lawsuit 02/25/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Companies grilled by skeptical Senators 02/24/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Senate hearing to be webcast 02/24/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: New Jersey AG settles investigation with Ticketmaster over Bruce Springsteen tickets 02/23/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Shareholder lawsuit details deal’s undervaluation 02/20/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Azoff, Rapino to testify at Senate hearing 02/20/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Dates set for congressional hearings 02/18/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Ticketmaster shareholders sue to block the proposed deal 02/17/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Law firm launches investigation into TicketsNow 02/16/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: Live Nation expects strong 4th Quarter 02/13/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: major shareholder may oppose the deal 02/13/2009
Ticketmaster faces second class action lawsuit in Canada 02/12/2009
Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger: stocks take a beating 02/12/2009
Visa fires back at Ticketmaster for ‘glitch’ statement 02/11/2009
U.S. Justice Department launches review of Live Nation, Ticketmaster merger 02/11/2009
LiveStub CEO Michael Hershfield discusses the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger 02/11/2009
Ticketmaster and Live Nation claim now was the best time to merge 02/10/2009
Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment agree to unprecedented merger 02/10/2009
Ticketmaster, Live Nation merger expected within a day 02/09/2009
Ticketmaster, TicketsNow face $500 million class action suit in Canada 02/09/2009
Connecticut AG wants review of proposed Ticketmaster, Live Nation merger 02/06/2009
Opposition mounts against proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation 02/05/2009
Ticketmaster apologizes to Bruce Springsteen and his fans over ticket mix-up 02/05/2009
Bruce Springsteen rips Ticketmaster over tickets and proposed Live Nation merger 02/04/2009
TicketNetwork CEO Don Vaccaro speaks with Fox Business about Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger 02/04/2009
Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment talk merger 02/04/2009