The Justice Department ended months of a high-stakes, concert-dominating game of Mother May I by giving Live Nation and Ticketmaster the go-ahead to form a monolithic Voltron that will surely crush whatever life remains in the big-time live music scene.

DailyFinance reports:

Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment on Monday reportedly received approval for their merger from the Justice Department. The move paves the way for Live Nation Ticketmaster, a titanic entertainment company that would handle ticketing, artist management, and live music. LNT would have managing interests in about 350 artists and exclusive booking and promotional deals with more than 125 venues around the country, and it would handle ticketing for events outside of music, like baseball games. Shares of both companies surged almost 10% on news of the merger’s approval.

So maybe the news isn’t all bad, that is if your 401(k)’s mutual funds have Ticketmaster or Live Nation stock.

Not so much for those hoping to see a concert sometime the rest of their life without being gouged to the highest possible degree due to a lack of realistic comeptition.

Ticketmaster, Live Nation’s Monster Merger Approved by U.S. [DailyFinance]
(Thanks, Richard and Gene!)

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