Music Ally

The UK Competition Commission has given permission for the so-called  ”merger of equals” between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, despite initial expectations that the merger would be opposed.

Earlier this month Live Nation published a document detailing what it described as “key legal flaws” in the Competition Commission’s provisional ruling, which was made in October.  In a curious twist on the usual bullish attitude of corporate giants, both Ticketmaster and Live Nation found themselves explaining why they believe their market powers and technological capabilities are  lower than the Competition Commission had claimed.

The Competition Commission has now reversed its finding that competition will be harmed, particularly in terms of UK market entry for German ticket provider CTS Eventim, with Commission inquiry group chairman Christopher Clarke stating that “we concluded it was unlikely that the merged entity would harm other ticketing agencies, promoters or venues”.

Music Ally is currently running a week-long special looking into the various competitors in the ticketing space, particularly the new generation of online self-service providers including Eventbrite. To read an interview with Stormcrowd CEO and former Ticketmaster executive Steve Machin view today’s piece or for Matt McNeill from eTickets to view yesterday’s. A detailed feature looking at the world of ticketing is published in last week’s Music Ally PDF Report – sign up for a two week free trial.

The US Department of Justice has asked Ticketmaster and Live Nation for more information about their planned merger – the second time it’s made such a request – according to Associated Press.

That suggests it’s taking a detailed look at the deal – although this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the size and importance of both companies in their respective markets.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster chairman Barry Diller has gone on the attack again over accusations that the company isn’t serving fans well enough, particularly around big gigs like Michael Jackson and Phish. “Oddly, the better we sell tickets, the more unpopular we become,” he says.

Hypebot has an interesting article highlighting the fact that Eddie Van Halen, Seal, Billy Corgan and Journey have all sent signed letters to the US Congress expressing their support for the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

Why is that interesting? Well, none of them mentioned the fact that they were either managed or co-managed by Front Line Management, whose boss Irving Azoff is also CEO of… Ticketmaster.

The problem isn’t that they signed letters supporting their boss’ corporate strategy, but that they didn’t declare the connection. That said, there are an increasing number of other artists who have come out against the merger too – whatever their affiliations.

The rumours were right, it seems. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the boards of Ticketmaster and Live Nation have approved an agreement to merge, with the new company thought to be named Live Nation Entertainment.

The deal will create a genuine goliath of a company, covering ticket sales, venues and promotion, and management activities. One aspect of the deal is the two companies’ desire to make cost savings of up to $40 million, but the merger will face an intense anti-trust review, and is already attracting criticism from lawyers, artists and politicians.

To push it through, Live Nation and Ticketmaster will need to convince the regulatory authorities that the merger is good for consumers. For more on the story, check what Reuters, the Financial Times and USA Today have to say.

With a new DRM-free music store being launched every week (seemingly), Digital Music News has an interesting article on Live Nation subsidiary Musictoday, and its plans to run MP3 download stores for artists.

The article suggests that Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and EMI have all signed licensing deals allowing Musictoday to sell MP3s on artist sites. Well, kind of – the actual deals have apparently been signed with US firm appliedSB, which will be hosting and delivering the actual downloads within those artist sites.

“We’ll be turning on sites for the artists and labels that have given us the authorisation to do so,” says appliedSB boss Todd McGee.

Another day, another deal for online music talent contest site OurStage. This one’s a biggie though: it’s negotiated a deal with Live Nation to offer opening slots at 300 gigs across the US at Live Nation’s venues. (more…)

Her hips might not lie, but they’re very, very rich. Yes, the rumours about Shakira signing a big-bucks Live Nation deal were correct: the Colombian singer has signed a ten-year deal worth anything between $70 million and $100 million, depending which excited industry source you believe. (more…)

Earlier this week, Live Nation claimed it may sign a couple more 360 deals this year with big-name artists, scotching rumours that it was going cold on the strategy. Now Fox News has some informed speculation on who those artists might be. They claim that Nickelback could be in line for a full 360 deal, while Shakira may sign some kind of deal covering concerts and CDs only

The rumours were true: a week on,  Live Nation chairman Michael Cohl has resigned. However  he’s tied in as a consultant until 2012, with a non-compete clause running until 2016. The company has played down the reports of a clash between Cohl and CEO Michael Rapino over Live Nation’s 360 deal strategy, and it seems it’ll continue – Rapino says the firm is close to signing “another superstar”, and may reach 5-6 such deals by the end of the year.

A report in UK newspaper The Observer yesterday suggests the Rolling Stones are on the verge of ending their relationship with EMI, in favour of a megadeal with Live Nation, involving touring, merchandising AND the band’s back catalogue. Universal Music Group would apparently be involved, licensing the latter for new digital and CD compilations. Because there aren’t enough Rolling Stones compilations in the world.