Concerned about the dominance LiveNation and Ticketmaster would have if allowed to merge when a plan was announced last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown and 16 others states initially opposed such an idea. "Without serious competition, concert-goers will inevitably pay more for concert tickets," Brown said today in a statement. "With this merger agreement, we're taking an important step to ensure a more competitive market for concert-ticket sales." more ›

The world's biggest concert promoter and ticketing service are now okayed to be one giant-ass company. The deal was approved today, despite opposition over such a game-changing move, by the Department of Justice. One of opponents was Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns L.A. Live. The rumor is that Live Nation agreed to sell some of its venues to AEG in exchange for them dropping their arguments of the merger. more ›

Ticketmaster has been served...with subpoenas. "Four government agencies in the U.S. and Canada, including the Justice Department, are investigating the West Hollywood company's activities in reselling concert tickets," explains LA Biz Observed. The inquiry is to uncover information pertaining to their work with ticket brokers, "including the names of every broker who resells tickets on its TicketsNow site." more ›

Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged today creating one behemoth of a company called Live Nation Entertainment. The merger, expected to save the companies $40 million and create annual sales worth up to $6 billion, is now subject to an anti-trust review because they would dominate 80% of the market. The new company will fill various rolls including promotion, ticketing and artist management. Ticketmaster has always been under general scrutiny for service charges and the such and most recently some legal complaints. The question now is whether with Live Nation's presence, will the company treat customers with the respect they've deserve? Comment with your predictions below... more ›

As mentioned last Friday, the adult industry has gathered this week for AVN's annual Adult Entertainment Expo and Adult Movie Awards in Las Vegas, with the convention running through Sunday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, and the awards show on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. And while Thursday, the first day of the convention, was only open to members of the adult industry and press, it will be open to the public from today onward. more ›

Even though Southern California is the nexus of the adult industry, next week the industry and its fans will convene in Las Vegas for AVN's annual Adult Entertainment Expo and Adult Movie Awards. more ›

West Hollywood based Ticketmaster has gone off and become a management company in addition to its ticket selling marketing duties. Soon to be Ticketmaster Entertainment, the company has "acquired a controlling equity interest in Irving Azoff’s music management company Front Line and install Azoff as CEO of Ticketmaster," reports Variety. The $125 million acquisition will be bought from the Warner Music Group. Some of Front Line's artists include the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Chicago, Journey and Guns N' Roses. more ›

The idea of October baseball in Chavez Ravine seemed nearly impossible after the Dodgers deflated just weeks ago, but they're rollin' now and if you act fast, you can snag tickets for potential playoff games at Dodgers Stadium. The Dodgers magic number is 5, meaning any combination of 5 Dodgers wins and/or Diamondbacks losses and the NL West will be won. Get 'em here or at 1-800-DODGERS. Tickets start at $26 for the Division Series and $51 for the LCS. Your credit card will be refunded for any games that don't take place (including facility charge but not service charge), according to Ticketmaster. more ›

West Hollywood based Ticketmaster's heart skipped a few beats yesterday when Cablevision, who runs Madison Square Garden among many other venues, hinted towards leaving Ticketmaster and signing up with Live Nation to do their ticketing. News of that sent Live Nation's stock from $2.82, to $16.82. But after the freakout, Cablevision announced later in the day that they would stick with Ticketmaster, who closed 3% higher at $13.09 but is still down 30% after last week's announcement that SMG, the ticket provider's second largest client, signed up with Live Nation. more ›

In the war of who's going dominate the ticket selling market for concerts and events, Live Nation has only just begun to challenge West Hollywood based Ticketmaster. A recent deal will let Live Nation sell the majority of tickets for SMG, a Philadelphia company that manages more than 200 major venues including The Forum in Inglewood. "SMG, owned by private-equity firm American Capital Ltd., is estimated to be Ticketmaster's second-largest client," reports the Wall Street Journal. more ›

Today is the first day that West Hollywood based Ticketmaster is on their own. Its parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp spun off the ticket seller and three other internet sites to make five separate publicly traded companies. At the end of the article posted on the LA Times' website, it has this little nugget about one of the most frustrating parts regarding Ticketmaster: "[The Company] may consider revamping how it presents fees and charges, if not reduce the actual costs, which vary from ticket to ticket but can amount to nearly half of face value.'The fee structure is too complex,' [CEO Sean] Moriarty said. 'We're hopeful that over the next couple of years we'll make it much more fan-friendly.'" more ›

In 1995, Pearl Jam toured in support of their third full length, Vitalogy. Though the album wasn't the traditional send up to the band's unparalleled Ten, it was to be an otherwise ordinary tour of the best that grunge rock had to offer, save for one looming message: Ticketmaster is the devil. more ›

... secondary sellers like Stubhub.com and TicketsNow are now facing the heat. The state of Missouri is suing the professional scalpers and the states of Arkansas and Pennsylvania are both looking into consumer complaints about music fans not being able to purchase tickets to shows on Ticketmaster, even at the minute and second they go on sale. Within minutes, the sought-after tickets can be found on other sites with jacked up prices, sometimes ten times... more ›

The system is down, I repeat, the system is down. Anyone care to voice their thoughts or views on Ticketmaster? Of course, they won't be able to hear you; their system is down. more ›

Over the years the pool of the Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas has established itself for being one of the funnest places to meet some of the hottest ladies in town. Next month not only will there be babes lounging, there will also be hotties on stage rocking. To celebrate their 14th(!) anniversary (didn't they just turn 21?), the Donnas will give a concert poolside of the Hard Rock, Friday May 11th. Tickets... more ›

For all of you who gave up on Coachella because it sold out faster than you expected, your prayers have been answered - Three Day passes are back on sale for a very limited time. more ›

There are countless reasons to love the Hollywood Bowl: the outdoor ambience tucked in the so-close-yet-so-far-away Hollywood Hills; bring your own... whatever you want; great sound and big screens that you can see no matter where you're seated. Best of all, if you act quickly you'll get to many more shows for far less money. Here's how: You can purchase tickets RIGHT NOW (as long as you purchase for at least 5 events). General... more ›