Ticketmaster and Live Nation have merged, thus completing the stinkiest music deal of the new century. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights, doesn’t like it and several Republican Senators agree. They’ve vowed to huff and puff, but Congress has been notably impotent when it comes to blowing down mega-merger monopolies. Emily Osborne’s op-ed piece in Wisconsin’s Badger Herald lays it on the line calling the deal,” a ridiculously blatant attempt to screw over customers.” Yet live music remains the best entertainment value as long as consumers avoid Ticketmaster. Most shows listed on the HWS Calendar range between free and $10.
