Search Results for: ticketmaster

The potential merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster will face off against the Department of Justice tomorrow as the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will decide whether the two concert industry superpowers can join forces or if whether the merger violates monopoly laws. The hearing will be titled “The Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger: What Does it Mean for Consumers and the Future of the Concert Business?” Confirmed witness include Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff, Live Nation president Michael Rapino, JAM Productions chairman Jerry Mickelson and the Center of American Progress’ David A. Balto, Pollstar reports. Live Nation and Ticketmaster… Read more »

SAN FRANCISCO —-  Blockbuster Inc . will begin selling concert tickets at about 500 of its video rental stores, bolstering its effort to create a one-stop shop for entertainment. Under a three-year agreement announced Tuesday, Blockbuster ‘s stores next month will become the primary brick-and-mortar sales outlet for music concerts staged by promoter Live Nation Inc. in the United States. Dallas-based Blockbuster will supplant a hodgepodge of department stores, supermarkets and other retailers that Live Nation had been relying upon as part of an unraveling partnership with Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. Beverly Hills-based Live Nation is breaking away from Ticketmaster to… Read more »

How do you get VIP or backstage passes at concerts? I’m not a crazy, but I would love to meet Foo Fighters next time they play here. –Jenna, Melville, N.Y. I’d like to take this opportunity to dedicate this column to Kevin, That Other Jonas, who gets such little love from the kids. Everyone is always going on about Foo Fighters or Rihanna or the two hot Jonas Brothers. Doesn’t anyone want to hang out backstage with What’s-His-Name Jonas? Kevin? No? Anyway, no matter. From what I learned today from Industry insiders, you stand very little chance of a backstage… Read more »

There’s nothing like 1.3 billion potential ticket buyers to attract the attention of the live entertainment business. With the world’s largest population and an exploding economy, China may represent the future for international touring artists. That’s why the three biggest players in the U.S. live entertainment business — Live Nation, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Ticketmaster — have all staked claims in China. It’s virgin territory. “In China you have a huge potential market, a clean slate and opportunities you don’t see in more mature markets,” Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty said. “There is no established way of doing business yet,… Read more »

Live Earth concert organizers have revealed the lineups for both the U.S. and London legs of what will be a worldwide series of Live Aid-like concerts, scheduled for July 7. The U.S. portion of Live Earth, announced early Tuesday (April 10), will take over New Jersey’s Giants Stadium, and feature an all-star lineup led by Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, AFI, Akon, Kelly Clarkson, Ludacris, Rihanna, and the reunited Smashing Pumpkins. The Police, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Roger Waters, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, and Melissa Etheridge are among the other artists confirmed… Read more »

Bright Eyes, aka singer/songwriter Conor Oberst, will be in London next month for a one-off live date, Sound Generator can confirm. The indie rock darling releases a new album in April, “Cassadaga”, with a single, “Four Winds”, coming a week prior, and Oberst plans to debut the new cuts to British fans on March 16th with a date at the Koko club in London. Tickets are on sale from Friday, Feb. 9. Click here to buy online.

If 2006 was the year of user-generated content, 2007 will be the year the music industry learns to generate new revenue from the hugely popular trend. Labels are striking licensing deals with sites like YouTube so that fans can post copyrighted content or include it in videos they make themselves. Additionally, labels are expected to start releasing new types of content — such as unused clips or video montages — specifically created for fans to manipulate in new ways. By doing so, record labels can then share in the advertising revenue these sites collect. Rather than just suing YouTube and… Read more »

Las Vegas – Officials are complaining that tickets given away for a city-sponsored centennial concert by the bands the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer are being sold on the Internet. “You get a couple of bums who take advantage of the situation, and what starts off as a very nice gesture… turns into a sleazy methodology of trying to make a buck from it,” Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said. The July 2 show in a parking lot near the Las Vegas Convention Center is to mark the city’s 100th anniversary. About 35,000 free tickets were quickly snapped up… Read more »

The Backstreet Boys, whose hits such as “Everybody” and “As Long As You Love Me” catapulted them into popster superstardom in the ’90s, are ready to stage a comeback. The megaselling quintet announced plans to play a string of U.S. club dates starting Mar. 21 in New York in preparation for the release of their as-yet untitled upcoming studio album in July-their first album since 2000’s Black and Blue. As of now, the club tour is set to wrap in St. Louis on Apr. 10, but more dates are expected to be added. Once the album is released, Backstreet plans… Read more »

Los Angeles – British rock group Oasis has confirmed its first U.S. shows in three years, which will come in support of its as-yet-untitled new studio album. The band will play Toronto (June 17), Detroit (June 18), Chicago (June 20), New York (June 22) and Philadelphia (June 25), with support from Australian rock outfit Jet. Tickets for all shows go on sale Feb. 12 via Ticketmaster. The dates will be sandwiched between a run of European and U.K. performances, including previously announced visits to the German Hurricane and Southside festivals. The new album, a follow-up to 2002’s “Heathen Chemistry,” is… Read more »