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| Ticketmaster Live Nation merger: Promoters angry about their data being compromised |
 by Alfred Branch Jr.
As details of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) approval of the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger continue to sink in, questions remain about how the deal will affect the ticketing and live entertainment landscape. And, two prominent independent concert promoters are already voicing grave concerns. "I had been assured by the DOJ that the plan they came up with is actually better for everyone than blocking the merger," said Seth Hurwitz, the influential Washington DC promoter. "And then I woke up Tuesday morning to find out that my tickets are now, in fact, being sold by Live Nation, my competitor. They rushed that merger through Monday night like an NFL team snaps the next play before anyone has a chance to throw that red flag." Hurwitz is the chairman of I.M.P., which owns the 9:30 Club and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion, and also produces the Virgin Mobile Festival. He has been slugging it out with Live Nation for years, and one of his biggest concerns about the merger was that his competitive ticketing and marketing data could fall into the hands of Live Nation, a fact he testified about before Congress last year after the deal was announced.
The issue of competitive data falling into the wrong hands is particularly sticky for Hurwitz because he's in the midst of suing Live Nation on antitrust grounds separate from the merger with Ticketmaster.
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EU Ticket News provides comprehensive B2B news coverage and market analysis for and about the European ticketing and events industries.
It features breaking news and opinion on the European ticketing and events markets – in addition to the... Live Nation Unloads U.K. Theatre Division for Approximately U.S. $160 Million Live Nation
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