Last week, we reported that almost 25,000 people had contacted the U.S. Justice Department to oppose the planned merger between music industry giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster. This merger, critics claimed, would create a live music monopoly, placing concert promotion, ticket sales and artist management all under the umbrella of a single company.
Apparently, the voices of the people were not enough, as reports are surfacing that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger. According to CNBC [via Reuters], the deal is expected to become official almost immediately, with Live Nation absorbing Ticketmaster for the hefty price of around $400 million in stock.
The merger was previously approved by the UK Competition Commission back in December. More recently, over 99-percent of Live Nation shareholders okayed the deal, as well as 98-percent of Ticketmaster shareholders.
TicketDisaster.org, the website that coordinated the petition against the merger, has not yet commented on the news. Also, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not released an official statement.
Apparently, the voices of the people were not enough, as reports are surfacing that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger. According to CNBC [via Reuters], the deal is expected to become official almost immediately, with Live Nation absorbing Ticketmaster for the hefty price of around $400 million in stock.
The merger was previously approved by the UK Competition Commission back in December. More recently, over 99-percent of Live Nation shareholders okayed the deal, as well as 98-percent of Ticketmaster shareholders.
TicketDisaster.org, the website that coordinated the petition against the merger, has not yet commented on the news. Also, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not released an official statement.