Watchdog's about-turn on music merger sparks furore

Making a stand: rock legend Bruce Springsteen opposes the 'near-monopoly'

11 April 2012

There was fury across the live music world today after the Competition Commission overturned its plans to block the merger of the world's biggest concert ticket seller Ticketmaster with the biggest live music promoter Live Nation.

The £844 million all-share merger of the two US companies with huge operations in the UK was slammed by rock legend Bruce Springsteen for creating a "near-monopoly situation".

Live Nation promotes concerts by some of the world's biggest artists including U2, Madonna and Coldplay.

Ticketmaster is the world's biggest seller of concert and gig tickets and a merger of the two has sparked fears that ticket prices could rise as rivals are squeezed out of the market.

But in a highly unusual reversal of its decision in October the Competition Commission today said it had been convinced that the deal would not damage the entry of Ticketmaster's biggest global competitor, Germany's Eventim, into the UK market. Eventim has a deal to sell a minimum number of tickets for Live Nation concerts.

Competition Commission deputy chairman Christopher Clarke, who also headed the watchdog's inquiry into BAA which was overturned yesterday, said: "We concluded that it was unlikely the merged entity would harm other ticketing agencies, promoters and venues."

But only in October he said he believed the merger would put "Eventim's future prospects in the UK in serious doubt."

Opponents of the deal said their hopes rested on the US Department of Justice, which expects to make its ruling early in the New Year. More than 50 members of Congress have expressed their opposition to the deal and a website against the merger was launched last week.

Springsteen wrote on his website: "The one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near-monopoly situation in music ticketing."

The combined group would have revenues of $6 billion selling almost 200 million tickets a year at some 22,000 concerts. It would handle more than 200 artists and manage some 140 venues around the world.

In the UK, Ticketmaster and Live Nation welcomed today's decision. Paul Latham, chief operating officer and head of UK operations for Live Nation said: "We have listened to our fans, artists and other parties. And we have reassured them that by combining the resources of these two companies, we will deliver a better live music experience for the entire sector."