"While the combined company might take the opportunity to ditch the 'convenience' fees that are detested by fans -- or at least internalize the fees (which are divided between Ticketmaster, the promoter, and sometimes the performing artist and other parties) -- the idea of bypassing the primary ticketing market entirely and introducing them directly into the TicketsNow auction system could give prospective audience members with more cash to burn a big edge over impecunious fans -- even if those other fans are quicker on the draw when it comes to buying tickets.
"In other words, thickness of wallet -- and not quickness of response -- would become the salient factor when trying to buy tickets for hot shows."
So if Ticketmaster and Live Nation decide to start selling tickets through an auction system, rather than on a first-come first-serve basis, the days of obsessively refreshing websites when big shows go on sale will end. People who can outbid the rest of the world on those big tickets will be able to buy straight from the source, and the rest of us will be left out in the cold. Awesome."
-- Disaster. Hope Obama cares about antitrust laws. Doubt it.
