Business And Leadership: US clears Ticketmaster/Live Nation deal; strings attached

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US clears Ticketmaster/Live Nation deal; strings attached

26.01.2010
The US Department of Justice has cleared the merger of ticketing agent Ticketmaster Entertainment and promoter and venue operator Live Nation.

The newly formed company will be known as Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

However, the Department of Justice had a number of provisos attached to its approval.

These include requiring Ticketmaster to license a copy of its primary ticketing software to a competitor, AEG.

AEG is the second-largest concert promoter in the US and operator of some of the most important concert venues in the country. With a copy of the Ticketmaster software, AEG will be able to market a ticketing system that is an attractive choice to venues and will have incentives similar to Live Nation to provide better services at lower prices.

Ticketmaster will also have to sell off subsidiary, Paciolan Inc, which is used by hundreds of venues in the US to sell tickets, including those for major concert venues around the country. This sale will replace the competitive pressure on Ticketmaster lost as a result of the merger, the Department of Justice said.

The approval also forbids the merged entity of Ticketmaster and Live Nation from retaliating against any venue owner that chooses to use another company’s ticketing services or another company’s promotional services.

Last December, the UK Competition Commission (CC) decided to clear the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, despite ruling against the deal in its provisional findings published a few months ago.

Pictured: Jay Z, just one of the artists signed to Live Nation, performs with U2’s Bono at a free concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

^{Photo - Getty Images}