One of Ticketmaster’s US rivals has initimated that it’s been deluged with calls from venues wanting to get out of contracts with Ticketmaster. When the US Department of Justice (DOJ) gave the go ahead for the merger of Ticketmaster with leading promoter and venue operator, Live Nation, one of the provisions was that the newly formed company must allow venues the option of terminating an existing contract. The DOJ’s wording:

“The merged firm will be forbidden from retaliating against any venue owner that chooses to use another company’s ticketing services or another company’s promotional services, including restrictions on anti-competitive bundling.”

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation came to dominate their respective industries over the last decade, concert prices have more than doubled and service fees for processing tickets have climbed to as high as 50 percent per order. Sky-high ticket prices and out-of-control ticket touting are symptoms of a concert industry that’s already dominated by these companies on their own.

Ticketmaster, in particular, has a terrible reputation with consumers. With their talk of ticket auctions and “dynamic pricing”, surveys sent out by Ticketmaster to consumers prior to the merger give little hope that prices will come down. Even if Live Nation Entertainment is able to operate at cheaper cost than if it were two companies, there is little precedent for these savings being handed on to the consumer.

Venues have a simple choice: Keep the customer happy or make use of  Ticketmaster’s huge influence. Venues realise that consumers have had enough of  surcharges. If, as appears to have started, they migrate to other agents, it’s possible there will be a significant down turn in these hidden fees. Many of Ticketmaster’s rivals allow the venue, not the agent, to set the charges for postage and other surcharges. But it will take time for venues to move over to new systems.

One UK company which is very optimistic about the possibilities the merger has thrown up is Fatsoma. They offer a paperless ticketing service with a fixed 10% booking fee They believe the merger will present a conflict of interests for many of Live Nation's current competitors who choose to use the Ticketmaster ticketing platform to sell and distribute their tickets . Marketing and Brand Manager, Ray Boggiano says:

“For the UK, it’s early days but there is definitely an opportunity to use this merger to our advantage. People have a vested interest, and the opportunity now, to get out of existing Ticketmaster contracts. “

But Seattle based "Brown Paper Tickets  has already acquired a dozen venues looking for a change from Ticketmaster, even before the merger was approved. CEO Steve Butcher believes it’s happening all over the US:

"It’s common. Everybody is shopping because they are afraid of what’s going to happen. The bigger the venue, the more worried they are that their competition is now going to be a [Ticketmaster/Live Nation venue]. And people are worried about fees. In a recession, a 3 percent fee makes a difference.”

But while the DOJ ruling makes it possible, in theory at least, for venues to switch ticket agents, the position of promoters is not quite so clear cut. Washington DC based promoter, Seth Hurwitz is clearly worried:

“We have asked for clarification from the DOJ on perhaps the most immediate and obvious concern... Are promoters free to choose who they want to do ticketing, or are they bound by venue agreements they had no say in? And how do we implement this wonderful new world now, with those deals already in place?”

It’s obvious that the DOJ will have its work cut out enforcing the conditions it’s set out. With so many unanswered questions, on everything from pricing to promoters, this story has a long way to go yet.

For more on the merger, visit:

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100128248/ticketmaster-live-nation-merger-promoters-angry-about-their-data-being-compromised.htm

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100128254/ticketmaster-live-nation-watch-closely-liberty-media-moves-to-drastically-increase-stake-in-live-nation-entertainment.html 

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100128251/ticketmaster-live-nation-merger-means-belgian-primary-ticket-sellers-now-secondary-ticket-sellers-by-proxy.html

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100126236/ticketmaster-live-nation-merger-approved-usdoj-green-lights-new-entertainment-monopoly.html

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100126240/ticketmaster-and-live-nation-merger-ticketnetwork-ceo-comments-on-department-of-justice-decision.html

http://www.euticketnews.com/20100126239/ticketmaster-live-nation-merger-ticketdisaster.org-statement-on-doj-settlement.html