By Jim McCarthy Feb 24, 2009 0 comments

As it Was with This, So Shall It be with Prices

I’ve already expressed my feelings on the LN-TM merger, and they are thus:

There’s probably not much in it for the ticket buyer, but on the other hand, this merger doesn’t mean the new company would be able to charge whatever it wants because the market decides that.

That’s a less popular sentiment than expressing general rage about prices, but most people, when they think it out, will realize that artificially high prices would just result in people not going to shows.  It’s not like gasoline or milk.

And I think more evidence in this direction comes from this story, wherein TM has made changes to the way it interacts with its secondary arm, Ticketsnow.com, and is compensating people who feel they were ripped off during the Springsteen debacle.  Here’s the key tidbit:

“Ticketmaster agreed Monday to change its online ticket sales process after butting heads with Bruce Springsteen and his fans.

Ticketmaster reached a settlement with New Jersey, where the Springsteen concert in question had been scheduled, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram.

The changes apply to all Ticketmaster sales nationwide, she said.”

In other words, ticket buyers had a direct and immediate impact on the company’s behavior.  Likewise, if Carrot Top got together with TM and decided to charge $500 a seat, you, as a buyer, would have an impact on TM too, by not buying.

Well, unless you REALLY like Carrot Top!

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