February is an important time for both sports fans and the secondary ticket market. On the calendar for the moth is the Super Bowl, NASCAR’s Daytona 500, the NBA All-Star game, and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

With such a large number of tickets available, prices flatlined, and a bad economy the conditions are ideal for consumers. If you’ve ever wanted to attend one of those aforementioned events now is the time.

“All of a sudden, going to great events is within the reach of the regular fan,” said Mike Janes, CEO of FanSnap.

The biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl XLIV, is scheduled to take place in Miami on Feb. 7. The NFL’s annual championship game pits the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints.

According to Janes, the average price of a Super Bowl ticket on FanSnap is $2,500, that’s a 10 percent increase from 2009. Meanwhile on StubHub, Super Bowl tickets are averaging just under $2,600.

That’s a promising figure for StubHub being as last year they saw prices drop 40 percent. The company also expects an increase in volume. Their people are predicting 40 percent more sales than a year ago.

“There will always be a dedicated fan base that will want to go see the events, but the size of that fan base and how much they’re willing to spend will vary depending on the economy,” said Chris Tsakalakis, President of StubHub.

Not all resellers are finding this year’s Super Bowl all that super. Ticket Network says their prices are down seven percent with an average ticket price of $2,115. The reason? A bad matchup.

“If it was the (Minnesota) Vikings-(New York) Jets, it would be huge. That’s not the case with these two teams. It seems very much a lackluster Bowl,” says Don Vaccaro, CEO of Ticket Network.

That’s an interesting opinion since many believe an Indianapolis-Minnesota Super Bowl would have garnered the highest television rating of all the possible matchups Championship Sunday could have produced. Also, the Saints are far and away the sentimental favorite attracting underdog fans from all over the country.

As for the other February events, prices for the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star game are down and both are down for the same reason.

The Daytona 500, often called the Super Bowl of racing, has a large number of seats (somewhere around 185,000).

This year’s NBA All-Star game is being held at the new Cowboys Stadium (a football venue) where organizers are trying to establish a basketball attendance record. The sheer number of seats available for both events is keeping ticket prices relatively low.

Resellers are seeing quite an array of prices for the Olympics, which commence Feb. 12 in Vancouver, B.C. The most coveted tickets are for the opening and closing ceremonies, the men’s gold medal hockey game, and figure skating.

Some Executives fear ticket prices have yet to bottom out due to a decrease in corporate spending. Others remain optimistic, believing the market has to improve from its obvious nadir a year ago.

“2009 was a pretty depressing year to be in the business of hard-to-get tickets because they weren’t hard enough to get,” said RazorGator.com Chief Executive Brendan Ross.

Of course what keeps ticket resellers up at night means bargain prices for sports fans.

Tawn Albright, Kevin Brown, and Joe Kustelski have the combined past experience of working in many aspects of this new venture, from Fortune 500 brands to consumer products to artist management. They found each other during their days at Echo Music where Albright was CEO, Brown headed Strategic Marketing, and Kustelski was Vice President of Product & Technology.

Albright elaborated on their vision: “From my days at The Coca-Cola Company in corporate development to Ticketmaster and Echo where we managed the digital presence for more than 250 artists, festivals, and properties; sponsorships have become the glue in connecting brands to the entertainment industry. The way the industry is moving, brands are demanding more value in the form of measuring data and proving ROI. We see a major opportunity to activate brands and fans in a meaningful, relevant, and interactive way.”

Coming out of the gate, Rockhouse already has a fairly impressive client roster, including C3 Presents (Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival), Lance Armstrong and the RadioShack Pro Cycling Team, Next BIG Nashville, and the Tennessee State Fair, among others. Partnerships include “American Songwriter” magazine, Emma (the email marketing company), and Smith & Robot (a design firm).

“We launched this venture hell-bent on not creating just another digital marketing firm. We’re creating scalable technology products that address specific business opportunities, we understand the value of data, and we bake measurement into everything we do,” added Kustelski.

Brown expressed the team’s enthusiasm and plans thusly: “The response so far to our unique model has exceeded all expectations. We’re busy growing the team, building out our technology platform, and we’re beyond excited to take this next step. 2010 looks bright as we’ll be focusing on business development, with programs planned at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin and the annual IEG Sponsorship Conference in Chicago.”

And they seem to have the chops to back up those goals. While at Ticketmaster’s Echo Music, the team’s collective purview included managing 15 million consumer database relationships, 200,000 paid fan club subscriptions, one million mobile fan records, and more than $25 million in ticket sales annually.

In one fair competition move, Ticketmaster must license its proprietary software to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) rather than keep them as a client. The ticketing giant must also sell its Paciolan division to Comcast-Spectacor.

A 10-year consent decree was also established preventing the newly formed Live Nation Entertainment from retaliating against any artists, venues, or other organizations that cease business dealings with the mega-conglomerate.

At a press conference announcing the deal, Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney vowed vigilance in the DOJ’s watchdog role: “The Department of Justice’s proposed remedy promotes robust competition for primary ticketing services and preserves incentives for competitors to innovate and discount, which will benefit consumers. The proposed settlement allows for strong competitors to Ticketmaster, allowing concert venues to have more and better choices for their ticketing needs, and provides for anti-retaliation provisions, which will keep the merged company in check.”

The secondary ticket market was not addressed by the decree, however, leaving agencies wondering what will become of Ticketmaster outposts TicketExchange and TicketsNow. The holding company a few years ago failed to monopolize the secondary market and was exposed by the Wall Street Journal for its efforts.

Independent venue operators and concert promoters are also still concerned that the restrictions don’t go far enough.

Varney believes those issues were considered: “The relief here is both structural and behavioral. The settlement requires Ticketmaster to divest more ticketing than it will gain through its acquisition of Live Nation. Simultaneously, the licensing solves a second competitive issue by giving AEG, an integrated competitor, the ability and incentive to compete with the combination of Ticketmaster and Live Nation for concert promotion, venue management, and ticketing.”

Within the Beltway, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. isn’t so sure of things either. He even gathered 50 signatures of opposition from his colleagues to send to Varney.

“The American people need to be told how DOJ decided that this deal, even with the concessions made, passes muster with our nation’s anti-trust laws. Moving forward, as these two companies with a history of anti-consumer behavior are poised to join together into an entertainment behemoth, I will be keeping a close eye on how the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission enforce any conditions they impose on this new entity to ensure consumers are protected. I will also be looking toward the passage of my BOSS ACT as a vehicle to regulate the ticket marketplace, which is about the get a whole lot more complicated, as it gets more anti-competitive,” Pascrell said.

Consumer protection groups are also chiming in on the deal and promising to scrutinize LNE’s operations. Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League which set up TicketDisaster.org, a site and coalition of consumer protection groups opposing the merger, voiced her ongoing concern at news of the deal in a statement.

“The DOJ has asked consumers, independent promoters, ticket brokers, artists, and venue owners to take a very large leap of faith – that the conditions imposed on the merger will improve competition and ultimately lead to greater choice and lower prices. While we appreciate the efforts of the DOJ to extract meaningful concessions from the parties, we remain concerned that these two companies, with a history of anti-consumer behavior, will abide only by the letter, and not the spirit of the settlement agreement,” Greenberg wrote.

The Live Nation/Ticketmaster deal was affirmed in the UK several weeks ago by the Competition Commission, though German ticketing agent CTS Eventim recently lodged a complaint about the merger.

Korn, Rob Zombie, and Jay-Z have recently confirmed plans to appear at major music festivals this year while the rock band Daughtry have announced a second leg to their North American tour that started in 2009.

Korn and Rob Zombie will headline the very popular Mayhem Festival. The festival begins July 10 in San Bernadino and wraps up August 14 in Oklahoma City. In total, the festival is scheduled to visit 24 markets in the U.S. and Canada.

Sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drinks, the Mayhem Festival features three stages. The main stage will host the aforementioned Korn and Rob Zombie as well as Lamb of God and Five Finger Death Punch.

The two side stages will see the likes of Atreyu, 3 Inches of Blood, Hatebreed, Winds of Plague, Norma Jean, Chimaira, In This Moment, and Shadows Falls.

Daughtry will be back out on the road in 2010 for the second leg of their North American tour. The rock band, featuring former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, is still supporting their 2009 album, Leave This Town.

The string of 52-dates begins March 18 in Baltimore and concludes June 19 in Rochester, New York. Stops on their tour include Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Seattle. The band will play just four shows in Canada.

Jay-Z will headline the opening day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The three-day event is scheduled for April 16-18 and features more than 130 musical acts on five main stages.

Headlining the event’s second day (Saturday, April 17) are British rockers Muse. The English virtual band, Gorillaz, is the top billing for the final day, Sunday, April 18.

Other acts slated to perform include LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Faith No More, MGMT, Phoenix, and Spoon.

Another highlight of the festival is the highly anticipated appearance of Pavement. Since the band with the cult-like following reunited in 2009 they’ve played only a handful of shows in the United States.

Due to the exorbitant price of Coachella tickets organizers are offering layaway options. This helps fans defer the cost of the tickets over several payments instead of paying one large sum. Tickets for Coachella went on sale Jan. 22.

Justice Department Requires Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to Make Significant Changes to Its Merger with Live Nation Inc.
Software Licensing Agreement, Divestiture and Anti-Retaliation Provisions Will Preserve Competition in Ticketing in the United States

Together, these remedies will preserve the competition that Ticketmaster faced from Live Nation, a new ticketing entrant, the department said. Prior to its proposed merger with Ticketmaster, Live Nation had established incentives to reduce service fees to sell more tickets. Today’s settlement offers a new competitor comparable incentives to ensure ticket sales are maximized for the benefit of consumers, the department said.

Several nationally renowned venue operators and concert promoters have banded together to oppose the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

The announcement follows the lead of the National Association of Ticket Brokers and other consumer protection groups. This coalition recently harangued the merger as a detriment to both fans and the ticket industry.

To battle the merger, the operators and promoters are sending emails to fans and customers titled “Concert Fans Beware!” The email urges readers to oppose the deal and provides a link so they can complain directly to the Department of Justice.

The email also features arguments and opinions from the merger’s harshest and most educated critics.

From the email:

“There’s a train wreck about to happen and consumer groups say YOU will be the victim - if the two most powerful corporate interests in the live concert business get their way. But you can help stop the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The government needs to hear from music fans now. Tell the Department of Justice that you’re against these monopolies amassing illegal power over consumers, before it’s too late.”

The venue operators and concert promoters involve with this email campaign are the 9:30 Club, Another Planet, The Black Cat, Frank Productions, Minnesota’s First Avenue, Jam Productions, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Metropolitan Talent, Rams Head Live, and Stone City Attractions.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people, and it seems like the only two parties in favor of this deal are Ticketmaster and Live Nation,” said Audrey Schaefer, spokesperson for 9:30 Club. “We launched this effort because it seems like the people who will be most affected by this merger are the ones with the least amount of information about it.”

The group began sending the email last week with the hope of reaching 2 million fans. Due to a special “cc” function they have been able to track the number of fans contacting the Department of Justice. At the time of composing this article in excess of 2,000 concert fans had emailed their opinion to the government.

While there are a myriad of reasons to oppose the merger, operators and promoters are especially worried about the dissemination of competitive information. The merger would combine the world’s largest ticketing company with the world’s largest concert promoter. This new company would have access to vital information that was hitherto kept separate. It will eventually put independent promoters out of business.

The group also believes the proposed concessions made by Ticketmaster and Live Nation will do nothing to increase competition within the industry. They believe the only recourse for the government is to block the merger.

“When you own the venues and control the artists, independent promoters can’t compete,” Schaefer said. “Just selling Paciolan will do nothing; Ticketmaster was already far and away number one in the ticketing market before they bought it, not to mention that they only bought it a couple of years ago.”

Part of the Live Nation family since 2006, House of Blues recently ceased ticket sales through Ticketmaster and is now selling solely through LiveNation.com, according to CleveScene.com.

Streamlining systems is generally a good way to trim costs and work more efficiently. Sometimes those savings even get passed on to the consumer. Not in this case.

Here’s CleveScene.com’s example: Purchased online via Ticketmaster, a $20 Anvil ticket incurred a $7.30 “convenience charge.” A day later, purchased though Live Nation, the same ticket incurred a $9 “ticket fee,” raising the markup from an already high 36.5 percent to a seemingly punitive 45 percent. For the upcoming High School Rock Off, $8 online tickets incurred a $6.10 fee — 76 percent markup.

Ticket prices ordered directly through the House of Blues box office remain slightly lower with fees in the $3 to $5 range.

Higher service fees are but one potential danger concerning music lovers in the face of this large merger looming on the horizon.

And fans aren’t alone. Even music biz power players like AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke thinks the Live Nation/Ticketmaster deal is “not good for the industry.”

Although Leiweke may change his tune now that Live Nation is offering to sell AEG some big venues at small prices in order to appease the DOJ.

While there were many topics discussed at the 2nd annual Ticket Summit in New York City the subject du jour was the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

The secondary ticket market’s largest conference and trade show was held at the Waldorf=Astoria from January 13th through the 15th. The Ticket Summit played host to an estimated 500 ticketing professionals. It’s the must-attend event for those working in the ticket industry. The summit offers ample opportunities for attendees to network and discuss the future of the secondary ticket market.

Ticket Summit 2010 got underway Wednesday afternoon with a cocktail reception. On Thursday, the conference featured panel discussions concerning the economics of the industry, pending ticket legislation, and ways for brokers to improve their relationships with other businesses in the ticket industry.

“Over the years, the power of ticket sellers as part of the marketing and promotion for acts has been overlooked. Ticket companies can play a greater part in the marketing and selling of tickets,” said Jeff Allen, co-owner of Universal Attractions.

On the final day of the summit founder and CEO of Qcue, Barry Kahn, led a panel discussion on “How To Price Your Tickets” and the co-founder of SeatGeek, Jack Groetzinger, led a panel discussion on the best time for ticket brokers to buy and sell their inventory.

Friday afternoon featured an informative discussion of past, present and future trends of the primary market. That was followed by representatives from the NBA, NHL and WPS discussing the latest developments in sports venue management and ways to increase partnerships.

Attendees at Ticket Summit 2010 also heard from Andy Cotten of Yahoo!, Braden Cox of NetChoice, Gretchen Shugart of TheaterMania, and Larry Witherspoon of Tickets.com.

Even with the vast array of subjects addressed at the summit, most discussions were dominated by talk of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.

“It’ll be terribly unfair to consumers if the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger goes through,” said Sean Healy, owner of WeBookBands.com.

Healy, like many at the Ticket Summit, believes the merged company will hoard “competitive information” that’s vital for brokers and their businesses.

The U.S. Department of Justice has been reviewing the proposed merger for nearly a year. They haven’t announced when they will reveal their ruling but insiders believe it could happen within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, a group of ticket experts, featuring college professors Joris Drayer and Stephen Shapiro, ticket executive James Reese, and Ticketnetwork’s Dan Pullium, are working with the Better Ticketing Association to survey those in the secondary ticket industry.

The group hopes to use the data they collect to forge a better picture of the secondary market and to learn more about its customers.

“It’s easier to keep customers you have than to go out and try to find new ones,” Reese said.

The questionnaire can be found at the Better Ticketing Web site.

The next Ticket Summit 2010 is scheduled for July 14-16 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a recent blog entry on phishandthedead.com, the writer asks music fans everywhere to voice their opposition against the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

The article features a mailer from Another Planet Entertainment that lays out a well-thought case against the merger as well as providing an email address to the Department of Justice that consumers can use to express their displeasure against the deal.

The mailer points out that in the last 12 years, which coincides to the rise of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, concert tickets have raised 82% while the consumer price index has raised 17%. If the merger is approved the fear is the quality of concerts will decline while ticket prices increase.

“This merger will not only expand Ticketmaster’s control of the ticketing market by eliminating a competitor, but it is also creating an entity that will control the entire chain of the concert business - from artist management to concert promotion and production to ticketing and ticket resale,” said Senator Herb Kohl (WI) during an antitrust hearing.

The perception that this merger will violate anti-trust laws and be a slap in the face to concert goers is shared by five prominent public interest groups: National Consumers League, the American Antitrust Institute, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, and Knowledge Ecology International.

Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, uttered perhaps the harshest criticism against the proposed deal, “This merger would be a disaster for consumers. Nothing short of blocking this takeover of the ticket market by two industry behemoths will be acceptable.”

The director of Consumer Protection at the Consumer Federation of America, Susan Grant, echoes Greenberg’s remarks, “Consumers deserve a fair deal in the entertainment marketplace, not the fewer choices and higher prices that would result from this merger.”

The main reason why the merger would be detrimental to consumers isn’t necessarily because Ticketmaster and Live Nation will have a monopoly on ticket selling (which they will), but because they will also have a monopoly of the entire concert industry. Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket seller and Live Nation is the world’s largest ticket promoter.

Besides creating a huge company controlling every aspect of the concert industry, the new entity would also gain access to sensitive information about venues, promotions, and ticket sales (now independently possessed by one or the other). Once the new conglomerate has the sensitive information it becomes extremely difficult for competitors to emerge and challenge Ticketmaster-Live Nation’s immense market share.

The created monopoly would also have a devastating effect on the secondary ticket market. With one entity controlling the entire industry Draconian measures, such as paperless ticketing, will be employed to eliminate resellers.

Without a secondary ticket market, which is mainly comprised of mom-and-pops resellers, consumers lose the convenience of buying concert tickets whenever they want and the ability to re-sell their own unwanted tickets to whomever they want.

The demolition of the secondary ticket market means consumers will lose freedoms when it comes to buying, selling, and trading concert tickets.

To implore the Department of Justice to block the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger email antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov.

To learn more about the devastating effects of the merger visit ticketdisaster.org.