• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, January 26, 2010 10:50 AM

The Justice Department has approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster -- the world's largest concert promoter and the U.S.' dominant ticket seller -- but the new entity will have to create a pair of rivals to ensure price competition, Dawn C. Chmielewski, Ben Fritz and Randy Lewis report. "The merger," they write, "will create a goliath with hands in every pocket of the music business."

Ticketmaster has agreed to give Anschutz Entertainment Group access to its technology so that AEG -- which owns and manages nearly 100 venues -- can create its own ticketing service. It must also divest a subsidiary that provides software for venue operators to sell their own tickets; Comcast Spectacor has signed a letter of intent to acquire the subsidiary, Paciolan. Live Nation will be prohibited from retaliating against venue owners that use competitors.

"This goes beyond what is normally provided for in a settlement by creating two additional competitors who can go up against the behemoth," says Matt Cantor, a law partner at Constantine Cannon who specializes in anti-trust issues. A federal judge still must approve the proposed settlement after a 60-day comment period.

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