I've not normally got a good word to say about The Live Nation Group, but maybe, just maybe they may go up in my estimations.

It seems that they have taken it upon themselves to do their own ticketing for their events. Their contract with Ticketmaster has expired and they have set their own system up.

Gone it seems will be the charges for printing your own ticket. Also the booking charges and delivery costs will be transparent.

There will also be an option to choose where you want to sit in the arena. Handy if you want to sit at the back with your binoculars!

I suppose in this age of the '360' deals this was inevitable but again it is a sign (I think) of globalisation and monopolisation with less to choose from. Ticketmaster and several other agencies are still around but for how long before there is only one choice?

Read the story here at Pollstar ...

http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archi...46110.aspx

http://www.livenation.co.uk/

p.s Just found this article at The Independant Online, get this statistic ...

Live Nation accounted for nearly 20 per cent of Ticketmaster's $1bn sales in 2006.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busine...62795.html

A story from Billboard, possible merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation ticketing ...

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_d...3776e8675d

In this day and age why can't bands/artists sell tickets through their respective internet sites? Surley this would give them a better profit margin and then pay the venues a fee for using them.
This would also get rid of many tickets for the larger concerts ending up on ebay at stupid prices!
I booked the other year to see Y&T at Nottingham Rock City, when I got there the owners had moved the gig to another site they owned which was way too small a made it impossible for everyone to get in. If the band had paid to use the main site would this have happened.
As for the fee's added in well I wont go into that one again!

A W

Oh well!!

"The Department of Justice will announce today that it will approve the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger after a nearly a year of investigation and due diligence.

The major concessions the companies will have to make to allow the deal to fly is Ticketmaster must divest its Paciolan ticketing operation, acquired in 2007, and must strike a ticketing licensing agreement with sports and entertanment company AEG, whose concert promotion division AEG Live is Live Nation's closest competitor.

More details will be forthcoming."

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_d...83cc13b9e2