My readers know that I'm not a fan of Ticketmaster, I see it as a tax on society and our shared culture. It can double the price of events tickets and its proposed merger with Live Nation would extend its controls over tickets and raise prices.

I was glad to see this (via Tom Abate).

Oakland -Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today joined sixteen state attorneys general and the United States Department of Justice in approving the Ticketmaster and LiveNation merger after requiring the two companies to agree to several changes that would create "a more competitive market" for concert tickets by allowing two new primary ticketing competitors.

In the settlement, concert-promoter AEG will be able to "self-ticket"and offer ticketing services at other venues, and Ticketmaster will divest its Paciolan ticketing system unit, a proprietary computer system used for ticketing events and contracts.

"Ticketmaster and LiveNation together dominate the market for concert tickets," Brown said. "Without serious competition, concert-goers will inevitably pay more for concert tickets. With this merger agreement, we're taking an important step to ensure a more competitive market for concert-ticket sales."

The full release is here: News & Alerts - California Dept. of Justice - Office of the Attorney General

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Please see:

Ticketmaster Rant Update . . . The High Price Of Pearl Jam's Principled Battle Against Ticketmaster

My Ticketmaster Mugging... And Collecting Ticketmaster Horror stories


Mugged By Ticketmaster - The Outrageous Tax On Culture