For those that know me,  you know I have worked in the digital marketing arms of both Live Nation (Ultrastar Entertainment/MusicToday) and Ticketmaster (echomusic, then echo, then… helloecho?).  In fact, leaving echo to begin working at live nation caused a bit of a stir, as technically I was headed to straight to the competition.

Having seen the landscape from both sides of the fence, I can tell you these two don’t play nice.  From the first day of the Ticketmaster/echo merger not one kind word was spoken about MusicToday or Live Nation. In my seven months working for Live Nation, not one kind word was spoken about Ticketmaster.  In fact, more times than not, it was how much more ROBUST the Live Nation (see MusicToday) ticketing engine would be when launched.  As seen earlier this week, Phish fans aren’t impressed with the new engine.  These two giants have been trying to one-up and out do one another for as long as they’ve been frienemies.  Hoping to one day break free from ones the reliance on the other, and finally just a month ago, there was complete and total separation.

So now we reach a crossroad.  Maybe these rivals depend on each other more than they ever thought.  Live Nation masters in promoting their tours, they own some of the largest venues in the world, and can basically make an international tour happen… but their ticketing engine is apparently bullocks.   Ticketmaster sells tickets (and adds a lovely surcharge to the fans delight), and they’re good at it… but what venues are they going to sell tickets in if they miss out on all the sheds and major tours?

So great, merge, stop trying to destroy one another… but does a Live Nation / Ticketmaster merger give fans any option?

The beauty of the Live Nation ticketing platform was to go head to head with Ticketmaster and beat them where they are most weak the public perception on those *bleepin* service charges….. So what happens next?  A merger?  One option for the fan, a near monopoly on tickets, touring, venues, and promotion?  Not to mention the resurgence of those damn “360 deals”, and dozens of “reunion tours” (and next to no new tours featuring new artists).

How does this scenario benefit the fan? A merger of these two companies completely rules out the idea of competition

Looks like we should get used to seeing the Rolling Stones on stage, with this model they’ll be playing sold out venues well into their 90′s.  But don’t expect any new music sensations, a Live Nation Ticketmaster would only cater to the megatours, with a mega margin already built in for the taking.