TicketMaster & Live Nation Combine!

Big news in the ticket industry today; TicketMaster and Live Nation officially announced their merger to create Live Nation Entertainment Inc. The entertainment super-company Billboard refers to as “the most powerful and influential entity the music business has ever known,” will have an enterprise value of about $2.5 billion.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc will touch every aspect of the entertainment industry. Live Nation is already the largest producer of live entertainment, owning most venues and producing over 16,000 concerts per year in 57 countries. Recently, they have started signing exclusive deals with major artists like Madonna and U2 that include touring, merchandise, website and other ventures.
TicketMaster not only brings their ticket technology as the largest ticket seller, they also own TicketsNow a major ticket re-seller, as well as Front Line Management, an artist management firm that represent major acts like Miley Cyrus and the Eagles.
The companies are assuring concert fans that the merger will improve “access and transparency” and that they will be able to develop new strategies that will benefit the customer, improve attendance at events and support a healthier live entertainment industry.