Top concert promoter sets up a challenge to Ticketmaster

Live Nation, whose partnership with Ticketmaster ends in 2008, will get its own ticket-selling software for U.S. sales and a new partner in Europe.
The New York Times

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[Get_Bent]

It's about damn time!

Ticketmaster has been ripping off concert goers for decades with their outrageous fees. Their attitude has been "If you don't like our fees, get your tickets somewhere else. Oops, sorry, you _can't_ get them anywhere else. Bwahahaha!!!" I hope that Live Nation gets its act together and gives Ticketmaster some serious competition. They're _long_ overdue for an attitude adjustment.

[billrubin]

No cheaper prices

Yes, it is nice that Ticketmaster will have competition, but you will notice that nowhere in the article does it say that the goal is to get consumers lower prices. If anything, they will charge the same ridiculous fees that TM charges now, but Live Nation will get to keep it all for itself. Also interesting how the article says that LN actually gets a piece of the TM fees now, here it is you thought that the ridiculous ticket prices was enough for the concert promoter and they didn't need to take a piece of the ticketing fees which I thought they always claimed "were out of our control".

I also question how they're going to ticket events at arenas which already have deals with Ticketmaster. Don't they have the right to sell tickets to all events at that venue???