Jim DeRogatis Recaps Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger Hearing

Say what you want about Jim DeRogatis' musical tastes, but homeboy has got it absolutely covered when it comes to bringing us the deets surrounding the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger/end of independent music as we know it. Yesterday, he live blogged the Senate hearing, and you can read his recap of it here. For my money, this is the key passage of why the Ticketmaster/Live Nation is bad news for music fans:

Washington, D.C. concert promoter Seth Hurwitz, co-owner of the legendary 9:30 Club, added, "How much control is too much? You can't blame Live Nation at this point [for wanting more] any more than you can blame a shark for eating people."

The hearing ended with Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) noting that the committee has urged the Justice Department "to examine [the merger] closely" before granting its approval. Beltway observers say this ruling will be the first significant test of the Obama administration's stance on antitrust issues."

Read the rest here