January 19, 2010

Nearly 25,000 Ask Department of Justice to Block the Deal

Contact: John Breyault, NCL (202) 207-2819, johnb@nclnet.org or
Shannon Flaherty, National Association of Ticket Brokers, (202) 347-6762, sflaherty@theheraldgroup.com

Washington, DC — The members of the TicketDisaster.org coalition today announced that nearly 25,000 consumers have directly contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ), urging the Antitrust Division to listen to their collective voice and block the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.

“This unprecedented groundswell of consumer outrage should make it loud and clear to the DOJ that consumers nationwide want this merger to be blocked,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, a founding member of the coalition. “Consumers can spot a raw deal when they see one, and this merger is exactly that – a combination of two market behemoths that would result in higher prices, more outrageous fees, and less choice.”

Public interest groups, Members of Congress, concert promoters, talent agents, artists, managers, venue owners and operators, ticket brokers, and everyday Americans have all mobilized to oppose the proposed merger. This diverse coalition has raised its voice because they realize that if Ticketmaster and Live Nation are allowed to merge, they will dominate the live event industry, giving the new company unprecedented control over pricing and access. The ultimate result will be higher prices for tickets, less choice of venue for artists and fans alike, and a continuation of the years of poor customer service from the two companies.

In just a few short weeks, the member organizations of the TicketDisaster.org coalition have mobilized tens of thousands of consumers via online petitions, e-mail outreach, online social networks, and word-of-mouth to take action. “This is just the beginning,” said Greenberg.  “In huge numbers, consumers who are already struggling to make ends meet in a difficult economy are telling the DOJ that ‘enough is enough,’ and that they do not want even more of their hard-earned entertainment dollars going to line the pockets of a huge new live event industry conglomerate.”

The coalition urged consumers who want to become active in the fight to block the merger to sign on to the coalition’s online petition and sign up for updates at www.ticketdisaster.org. In this way, they can let Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney know that the right course of action is to block the merger.

For more information, visit www.ticketdisaster.org.

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About TicketDisaster.org

TicketDisaster.org is a coalition of public interest groups, ticket brokers, and independent venue owners and promoters united in opposition to the proposed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. Coalition members include the American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, I.M.P. Productions Chairman Seth Hurwitz (representing independent venue owners), the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG).

January 6, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–In response to recent reports suggesting the imminent approval of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger, the public interest and live event industry members of the TicketDisaster.org coalition released the following statement to correct the record and give further reason why the merger should be blocked.

“This is just the latest attempt by Ticketmaster and Live Nation to convince the public and the Department of Justice to ‘just trust us.’ Anyone who has been ripped off by their outrageous fees and inferior service knows that Ticketmaster does not have consumers’ best interests in mind,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, a founding member of the TicketDisaster.org coalition. “Thousands of consumers, fifty Members of Congress, and a broad and growing coalition of public interest groups and live event industry representatives oppose this merger as an attempt by one behemoth to snap up its only significant rival in the ticketing market and extend its market power into every level of the live event industry. DOJ should block this merger outright, and we have every hope that they will do so.”

“The reports that the merger will be approved, like the premature reports of Mark Twain’s death, are inaccurate and flawed, and are clearly timed to impact the shareholder vote on Friday,” said David Balto, former Federal Trade Commission policy director and counsel to the consumer and industry groups. “Ticketmaster may wish that the competitive problems from this merger can be solved through a piecemeal divestiture, but they are wrong. It is not unusual for merging firms to try to rescue a stranded deal with some type of last-minute remedy, but history has shown that consumers are better off when the antitrust cops reject those desperate pleas and protect the interests of a fair and competitive market.”

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About TicketDisaster.org

TicketDisaster.org is a coalition of public interest groups, ticket brokers, and independent venue owners and promoters united in opposition to the proposed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. Coalition members include the American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, I.M.P. Productions Chairman Seth Hurwitz (representing independent venue owners), the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG).

December 22, 2009

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–In response to the approval of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger by British regulators, the public interest and live event industry members of the TicketDisaster.org coalition today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider the profound differences between Ticketmaster’s and Live Nation’s dominance of the U.S. live event market and their market position in Great Britain.

“No matter what the decision is on the other side of the pond, it’s clear in the U.S. market that this merger will restrict choice and competition, leaving consumers with no option but to pay higher prices,” said David Balto, former Federal Trade Commission policy director and counsel to the consumer and industry groups. “The Department of Justice now has an even greater responsibility to side with competition and block this merger.”

“Today’s stunning reversal by the Competition Commission of their previous position opposing the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger represents, we believe, a flawed analysis of an inherently anti-consumer and anti-competitive merger,” said National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Live Nation’s and Ticketmaster’s market positions in Britain differ significantly from their already monopolistic positions in the U.S. We urge DOJ regulators to stand firm and conduct a vigorous, independent analysis of the impact on American consumers of this deal.”

NCL, along with four other consumers and antitrust groups, independent ticket brokers and venue owners and five Members of Congress last week announced the founding of the TicketDisaster.org coalition to help raise the voice of the millions of consumers and live event industry players who oppose the merger.

“Live Nation’s statement today says that they have ‘listened to our fans, artists, and other parties,’” said Greenberg. “Where have they been listening? In a sound-proof box? Two Congressional hearings, a letter from fifty Members of Congress and the outrage of untold numbers of consumers should make the message clear – Americans do not want this merger.”

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About TicketDisaster.org

TicketDisaster.org is a coalition of public interest groups, ticket brokers, and independent venue owners and promoters united in opposition to the proposed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. Coalition members include the American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, I.M.P. Productions Chairman Seth Hurwitz (representing independent venue owners), the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG).

December 16, 2009

Contact: John Breyault, NCL (202) 207-2819, johnb@nclnet.org or
Shannon Flaherty, National Association of Ticket Brokers, (202) 425-2404, sflaherty@theheraldgroup.com

Washington, DC–Joined by Members of Congress, leading public interest advocates and live event industry representatives today called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to live up to its antitrust mission and block the proposed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. At a press conference on Capitol Hill, the group called on concerned consumers nationwide to go to the coalition’s Web site – www.TicketDisaster.org – and make their voices heard to policymakers in Washington.

Members in attendance at the event included Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA), Representative Joseph Courtney (D-CT), Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN), Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT). Joining the Members in the announcement of the new coalition was the American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, I.M.P. Productions Chairman Seth Hurwitz (representing independent venue owners), the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG).

Published media reports have indicated that the DOJ is in the final phases of its review of the merger, which the groups called a “disaster in the making for any consumer that wants affordable, convenient access to live events.”

“It continues to be my view that this merger represents the greatest and most urgent threat to music fans across this country, and, if approved, will have far reaching and long lasting negative consequences for concert goers and nearly everyone involved in the live music business.,” said Pascrell, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee who led 50 Congress members to oppose the pending merger in July with a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice. “This is little doubt that the result of this merger will be higher ticket prices and fees for fans, and chilling effects on consumers, business managers, artists, music fans, and promoters, in every state throughout this country. The American people agree: the Department of Justice must swiftly and resoundingly reject this hostile takeover of the concert industry. No concessions from Ticketmaster and Live Nation will cure this merger’s inherent anti competitive nature.”

“This is a textbook horizontal and vertical monopoly that is being proposed here,” said Representative Courtney. “Either we have competition in this country or we don’t,” stated Representative Capuano. Added Representative Welch, “Why should [consumers] be the source of overreaching profit by the monopoly power?”

“This merger is a dead-end for consumers,” said National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “For too long consumers have had to bear the burden of ever-higher ticket prices and add-on fees while Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been left to gobble up the competition. The time is now for the DOJ to step in and say ‘enough is enough.’”

“We do not see any possible divestitures that will create an alternative competitor comparable to what Live Nation is in practice and can be potentially,” said Albert Foer, President of the American Antitrust Institute. “The systemic risk that will be created by this merger is not that it is too big to fail, but that it is too likely to succeed. It is time for the Justice Department to just say NO!”

Tom Patania, immediate past president of the National Association of Ticket Brokers and a constituent in Rep. Pascrell’s district, said “Ticketmaster’s game plan is if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em out, and we can’t turn a blind eye to it. In just the last few years Ticketmaster’s been on a buying spree, spending more than $400 million to acquire their competitors. The question for DOJ is who can compete against that?”

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About the American Antitrust Institute

The American Antitrust Institute is an independent non-profit education, research and advocacy organization. Since its formation in 1998, the AAI’s mission has been to increase the role of competition, assure that competition works in the interests of consumers, and challenge abuses of concentrated economic power in the American and world economy. To learn more about the AAI, please visit www.antitrustinstitute.org.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action, founded in 1971, is a national non-profit consumer education organization headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.  For more information, please visit www.consumer-action.org.

About the Consumer Federation of America

The Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of more than 280 groups that, since 1968, has sought to advance the consumer interest through advocacy and education.  For more information, please visit www.consumerfed.org.

About the National Association of Ticket Brokers

The National Association of Ticket Brokers, formed in 1994, is the non-profit trade association dedicated to protecting consumers and the secondary ticket market.  For more information on NATB and consumer protection efforts, please visit www.NATB.org.

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

About the U.S. Public Interest Research Group

U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.  For more information, please visit www.uspirg.org.

December 8, 2009

Consumer advocate and Ob/Gyn team up to address questions and concerns

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC–Citing the special vulnerability of pregnant women to the H1N1 virus and persistent confusion over the risks, benefits, and availability of vaccines, a leading consumer advocate and a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist have teamed up to get expectant moms quality information through a new digital Q&A called “Flu facts for expectant moms.”

“Our message to expectant moms is: Do what is best for you and your baby and get vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, a nonprofit advocacy group with strong expertise in medication information. “Perhaps more than any other group, pregnant women are desperate for practical and trustworthy information on how to protect themselves and their babies from what can be a devastating illness in high-risk populations.”

Recent reports show that up to 30 percent of pregnant women who are infected with the H1N1 flu virus require hospitalization, and of the H1N1-related deaths reported in the United States, 6 percent of them – a disproportionately high percentage – were pregnant women.

Annelise Swigert, M.D., a practicing Ob/Gyn and Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, answers questions posed by Greenberg in the digital Q&A’s, available at NCL’s Web site, www.nclnet.org. “Pregnant women are already highly concerned about their health, and when you introduce something as potentially frightening as a widespread flu outbreak—coupled with a limited supply of vaccine—it is easy to understand the heightened anxiety,” Swigert said. “In this situation, facts can often be the best prescription, and the fact is both expectant moms and new moms are doing the right thing by getting vaccinated.”

In the Q&A, Greenberg and Swigert tackle the issue of vaccine supply. Vaccine makers have produced the H1N1 vaccine in about half the time typically required for the seasonal flu vaccine and without using adjuvants, additives commonly used in Europe but not yet approved in the US to increase the vaccine supply. “Health officials believe enough H1N1 vaccine will be available by the end of the year to vaccinate all those who wish to receive it,” said Swigert. “For the most part, pregnant women and members of other high-risk groups have been able to get vaccinated, but those who haven’t yet shouldn’t hesitate to use their status to help them get priority.”

On the vexing challenge of getting vaccinated when supplies are limited, Swigert recommended that pregnant women start by contacting their Ob/Gyn. “Many obstetrical clinics have the vaccine available for their patients,” she said. “Your clinic can also help you find other resources for the vaccine if they don’t have it.” Pregnant women should also get the regular flu vaccine.

The Q&A will be distributed nationally to consumer groups, women’s and health organizations, and the news media. It is available directly to consumers on NCL’s Web site at nclnet.org.

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