The two most powerful forces in live music, Ticketmaster and Live Nation, are close to a merger, according to the Wall Street Journal, which would make them the ultimate force in a waning Music Industry.

Ticketmaster is the largest ticket sales and distribution company in the country. Live Nation, the stepchild spin-off of Clear Channel, is the largest concert promoter in the country. Venues, artists and most importantly music fans are forced to deal with both of these companies on a regular basis because there are hardly any other options for mainstream live music. Recently, Live Nation launched a ticket selling division which looked as if it would compete with Ticketmaster opening the doors for smaller promoters, lower ticket prices and even lower service charges. This merger would result in the exact opposite. Live Nation Ticketmaster, as the Journal says it will be called, would force any competition out of business, raise prices and charge any service fees they want. There would be no rules, but there should be.

Regardless of what the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice calls Ticketmaster, I have always considered it a monopoly. Music fans are forced to put up with Ticketmaster if they want to see any popular bands in any major venue in the country. What are we to do? Even Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam tried to take on Ticketmaster by appealing to the Department of Justice. He lost and Pearl Jam had to cancel their 1994 tour. When you add Live Nation to the Ticketmaster conglomerate, wouldn’t that strengthen the case for a monopoly? It wouldn’t even be a monopoly anymore, we’d have to apply a new term to the behemoth and call it a Dictator Co. or a Death Star.

The Anti-Trust law of the United States reads “No person shall acquire, directly or indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock or other share capital... of the assets of one or more persons engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce, where... the effect of such acquisition, of such stocks or assets, or of the use of such stock by the voting or granting of proxies or otherwise, may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.” How does this not apply?

Musicians and music fans should be outraged if this merger does happen. One single company may own the promotion rights to hundreds of artists, have exclusive deals with thousands of venues and run the only ticketing service allowing you access to shows. Shame on us for letting this happen.