i hate them both so much.. i'd hate to even pick.

Ticketmaster ruins your personal finances while AIG ruins global finances.

AIG is definitely worse.

I'm not sure how this is even a contest. Ticketmaster, for destroying the ability for all people's to experience live entertainment. They are a monopoly that no one seems to regulate.

Yeah, AIG sucks and we're propping them up. But people were loving their incredibly easy to get mortgage for the home outside their price range as well.

Death to AIG and their whiny, self-entitled, lack-of-perspective letter writing ex-vp.

If Ticketmaster fails, it doesn't really affect the global economy and it doesn't cost the taxpayers a dime to deal with it.

If AIG fails, then the global economy goes into a tailspin.

AIG.

Both are pretty bad, but Ticketmaster gave us a choice, while AIG spends taxpayer money like its nothing, and insured CDOs they knew were crap for short term profit.

AIG gets my vote.

Ticketmaster sucks, but its purely discretionary spending, AIG on the other hand has infiltrated so many lives, its a no brainer

DOWN W/ AIG!

With AIG, as a consumer you have a choice. With Ticketmaster, many times you don't!!
ohhhh...smug Ticketmaster...we're coming for you!

All the folks voting for Ticketmaster need to get some freaking perspective. Them getting this far is a travesty, really. Oh boo hoo, they charge you an extra $5 for your Dave Matthews Band tickets! Nooo...

AIG stole your money.

@OmniZero: i haven't been affected by the global recession, or any home mortgage.. so.. to me it's worse that I can't just pay a normal price to see my favorite bands. eff ticketmaster.

Hmm ... well, all aspects of Ticketmaster suck, while some parts of AIG were well-run and profitable ... but I guess that's really AIU now ...

I vote for a tie.

@Radi0logy:
Actually, the government stole my money and gave it to AIG.

Ticketmaster gets my vote.

We should be angry at the US Gov't for giving the money to AIG. Not AIG itself. My vote is for ticketbastered!

I can't believe it's so close! (55% AIG to 44% TicketMaster in case it changes in the next few hours.) I thought this would be a landslide...

Is AIG isn't even a company? I thought it was just a settlement agent where taxpayer dollars pass through to investment banks via credit default swaps. And I guess they sell some insurance on the side.

@undefined: @Radi0logy:

AIG didn't do anything that the government and consumers didn't WANT them to do. You can't really blame AIG, the blame lies squarely on the Clinton and Bush administrations and the millions of consumers who thought it was a good idea to spend more than they had.

I voted for AIG because even though I personally was not affected by them, others have seen their finances go to ruin and their savings disappear. That's far worse than choosing to pay fees to ticketmaster.

I don't like AIG - So I don't do anything with them, I avoid them.

I don't like Ticketmaster, but I CAN'T AVOID THEM - Monopolies SUCK - Ticketmaster gets my vote.

Ticketmaster vs. Comcast - 2 monopolies in the final (Comcast is my only reasonable choice at my home, so yes - a monopoly to many)

@Russ Savage: Just because you haven't been affected doesn't mean others have not been. Every time I hear of people getting laid off I just think how lucky I am to have a job.

AIG has stollen much more than Ticketmaster but I so hate them both.

The results just go to show you all how despised Ticketmaster and what they have done to entertainment really are.
Lets look at this another way. Would anyone other than AIG even come close to beating Ticketmaster?

AIG provides some valuable services, and they have many branches other than the one that we all hate.

Ticketmaster is just a terrible, terrible, greedy, awful business model, and a monopoly. Sure, it's smaller-scale and its effects are less devastating in the grand scheme of things, but I think it should be quality, not quantity, that counts. Evil companies shouldn't get a pass because they're small or deal in luxuries.

I've successfully avoided Ticketbastard by getting tickets at the venue, but I wasn't able to avoid the bailout money coming out of my taxes so that AIG can pay out bonuses.

AIG can suck it.

@Radi0logy:
$5? If a ticket is $50, Ticketbastard will add about $30 to it.

It's false advertising. If you can't buy a ticket for $50, then it doesn't cost $50. It costs $80. Bait and switch.

A quiz to see if you're a little selfish and out of touch:

When voting for worst corporation, I

a. Choose the company that wrecked the world's entire economy

b. Chose the company that wrecked my evening seeing the REO Speedwagon/Styx tour

@Dreamworks: It's like sophie's choice :(

Well, ticketmaster will still be around and screwing us next year, where AIG is only a villain till things calm down. So my vote is AIG this year, and ticketmaster in a year when the bracket isn't so tough.

@gerrylum:

By that same logic--

Ticketmaster didn't do anything YOU wanted them to do. I mean, you CHOSE to see the shows didn't you? If it really pissed you off, you shouldn't have gone.

@JGKojak

I know I'm the dreaded facebook user, but in reality AIG isn't the only one at fault for the economy going down the crapper.

Some blame needs to be given to the people who took on loans that they couldn't afford. Yes AIG was giving them the hard sell but that doesn't mean you should go into major financial decisions blindly.

Blame also should go to the U.S. Government, specifically the politicians, for basically saying that everyone should own a home . It's ok NOT to own a home, there is nothing wrong with that. To me it's similar to the argument that everyone should attend college, there is no shame in going into a trade skill (Plumber, Electrician) if your not the brightest student.

AIG is still a greedy corporation and a major factor in ruining the economy, just not 100%.

@OmniZero: You're comparing apples to apples. While that's normally a good thing, here it's not germane (or even Tito).

AIG, through negligent, greedy and ignorant practices, ruins global finances.

Ticket Master, through usurious and monopolistic practices, affects the ability to attend cultural experiences.

It's a comparison of economic (apples) and cultural (oranges) damages. Who knows which is worse in the long term?

Frankly I am stunned that people are voting for Ticketmaster.

Yes, they're evil. But consider that AIG has taken billions of tax dollars by threatening to go bankrupt and drag all of the major banks with them.

The level of incompetance and outright evil at AIGFP makes Ticketmaster's JV level evil pale by comparison.

AIG could have brought down the whole global banking system. (and still could if we stopped propping them up)

AIG FTW!

@OmniZero: so those people can vote for AIG.

On one hand... We have an corrupt out of control multinational corporation that played a major role in creating the current economic recession while simultaneously giving executives bonuses that are funded by taxpayer bailout money.

On the other hand... We have a corrupt monopolistic corporation that single handedly crippled the live entertainment industry with its outrageous surcharges and horrible customer service.

While Ticketmaster is a strong contender in this race, I have been able to successfully avoid using their service or giving them funding. However, my federal income tax is currently being used to fund AIG in the form of federal bailout money. Due to my involuntary funding of AIG service, I am forced to choose AIG as the "winner" of this competition.

It's not as if AIG single-handedly screwed over the world economy. Sure they suck, but so do their competitors that used similar practices, their stockholders and analysts who never questioned where all this sweet, sweet money was coming from, and the governments that decided we didn't really need those old depression-era regulations anymore. Plenty of blame to go around to all parties involved.
Ticketmaster, on the other hand, are a textbook example of why monopolies suck. They jack up the price of their product with "convenience" and other charges, with absolutely no fear of competition. EVERYTHING that's wrong with their industry is their fault!

It's really a question of impact and degree.

Those who attend live entertainment productions are actually a slim piece of the population, out for kicks.

Those who face loss of savings and insurance plans comprise nearly everyone, and many families are desperate as a consequence.

Get real.

AIG took huge, stupid risks that put their business and our entire financial system in jeopardy. Ticketmaster just milks a system that doesn't regulate them and the only failure they can be responsible for is their own.

"It's not as if AIG single-handedly screwed over the world economy. Sure they suck, but so do their competitors that used similar practices, their stockholders and analysts who never questioned where all this sweet, sweet money was coming from, and the governments that decided we didn't really need those old depression-era regulations anymore."

You would be surprised. AIG took a leading role in the CDS marketplace. If this had simply been the 4-8% of mortgages that had defaulted we wouldn't be in nearly this bad a shape. The fact that the banks were counting on AIG to make good on the default insurance on their balance sheets meant that they had nowhere near enough captital to cover the losses. AIG was dominant in this marketplace and it will cost us billions more to make good on their promises.

The AIG bailout is one of the reasons the surviving banks had such a good quarter BTW.

Ticketmaster sucks, but I've gotta vote for the company that ruined the world economy. How could you not?

Augghhh!!! Cannot choose!

Ticketmaster has to take the cake. They have to win. They screw with fun. They screw people out of concerts that they want to attend. Even though AIG are scum, people still want to have fun.

I voted for AIG for their monumental failure that affected the entire financial system. Ticketmaster pales in comparison, they are just evil. But the vote for AIG might as well have been a vote for the real culprit in the WCIA, The United States Government. USG is the one now running banks, insurance companies, automotive manufacturers and pretty soon, health care....they might as well be an entry in this thing, and they should win it going away. USG, FTL.

a. Inflated Hannah Montana tickets (whoopee).

b. Making your grandchildren pay for the mess AIG made.

AIG.

I suppose this makes me "clueless and out of touch" in JGKojak's view, but I'm placing my votes based upon the business practices, intent, and customer service of the companies, not upon their affect upon society or the economy. I believe this thinking to be in line with Consumerist, a blog which focuses on consumer affairs, while the alternate thinking may be more applicable to political blogs or the like.

In this instance, we have a miserable failure of a company in AIG, which had a faulty business model, which contributed greatly to the current economic shambles, and which is now suckling at the government teat. Not good. However flawed, though, AIG provided goods and services under the auspices of an insurer which did actually enable some good outcome for the individual: in the form of [too] easy credit which enabled responsible borrowers to finance their aspirations of home ownership, business startup, etc. So, from a [responsible] consumer's perspective, there was some good.

Ticketmaster, on the other hand, bases its entire business model upon what used to be called "scalping", employs a predatory and monopolistic practice which inflates prices and decreases profits for performers, and basically only exists to screw everyone else involved in public music/sporting/etc. events. No good, no value, to anyone but Ticketmaster.

Hence my vote for Ticketmaster. JGKojak, you can take your sanctimonious, save-the-world-from-the-corporations philosophy elsewhere, or at least not be so vocal in your derision for those who quite reasonably are voting based upon a consumerist mindset.

@lawnmowerdeth: however, the government is not an option in this voting bracket, so AIG is a good proxy. AIG gets our money by force of arms, whereas tickemaster only gets your money when you make a choice to deal with them. One company takes your money against your will and gives nothing in return, the other overcharges you when you choose to let them and gives you a service back.
AIG wins (or loses) by far

@AtomicPlayboy: is there anything more anti-consumerist than being robbed by force of arms to give money to a company and not be given any goods or services in exchange? Monopoly

AIG is a no-brainer. They were involved in wrecking the economy and then took taxpayer money and spent it on parties. However, Ticket Master is worthless. Their only function is to add cost to concerts. If they went away it would save us a bunch of money. Death to Ticket Master, but face it, AIG is the worse evil.

@Shane Elliott: Your point is taken, but if you want to blame someone for "being robbed by force of arms to give money to a company", you should be venting upon the US government, not the beneficiary of its idiocy, which is in this case AIG.

Ticketmaster is the worst.....imagine buying your own tickets so you can scalp them on another website. Not so much the amount of money, only the "in your face control freak" aspect of it.
They must be connected in "Foggy Bottom" big time.

Mac

C'mon people, AIG already got the message we hate them. Let's do the same to Ticketmaster. I'll never forget paying $22 in "Service Fees" to have Ticketmaster print and mail me two tickets to see the Rolling Stones.

AIG's mess is what it is, but the company at least had SOME value to customers at some point. Ticketmaster is simply a greedy ticket scalper doing an unnecessary task.