capitalism as achieved by fair market competition
That's a great concept. But who tells the bands that? Each band, essentially, is a monopoly. There is only one of them. Who tells a band they're not worth what they want - especially now that they've seen other bands make coin hand over fist for years on end? How do you drive prices down without having people that stand up and say no to the asking prices of touring artists who CAN get the ticket prices that they want? And given an industry is so built upon relationships - leveraged by agents with enormous power and sway over artist rosters - how do you say no without risking impacts on the rest of your business?
What's more, how do you meet the expectations of fans that now demand spectacles like U2360? How do you meet the rising production costs associated with big tours without raising ticket prices? I know that this isn't as true in the club world - but the big shows still make the biggest splash on everyone's bottom line.
Shows still sell out. People still go. The true fair market the one between the bands and the fans. And if fans are willing to pay, what motivation (outside of the goodness of their hearts) do bands have to lower their prices? Especially given the fact that their revenue streams outside of touring are drying up left and right?
Hypothetically, can't you make the argument that a bigger promotions company (like Live Nation/Ticketmaster) has more clout to say "no" on raising ticket prices, especially if they can offer to increase artist revenue stream in other ways, like merchandising or downloads or whatever else? I'm not saying I necessarily believe this to be true - but there is certainly a case to be made for it.
I have very, very mixed feelings on the idea of the merger for a lot of reasons - but the issue is definitely not as simple as "Live Nation and Ticketmaster are raising prices." Bands, agents, managers, promoters, fans - everybody is involved in ticket prices going up.
