Dear musicians, promoters, managers, artists, and especially fans:

Tonight I read this breaking news on the Wall Street Journal Online:

 

Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. are close to a merger, people familiar with the matter said, in a deal that would consolidate two of the most powerful forces in the music industry under one roof.

The newly created company would be called Live Nation Ticketmaster, and would combine the world’s biggest concert promoter with the world’s dominant ticketing and artist-management company.

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Recent shady and allegedly crooked activity on the part of TicketMaster through their subsidiary TicketsNow just further reinforces the inkling that many live entertainment fans have had for a couple of decades: this company seems to care little if at all for the fans. And how much of those ridiculous fees are they sharing with you, promoters? Artists? 

As for Live Nation, there was a glint of hope as they released their ticketing platform earlier this year. Then there was the Phish incident, along with those damn familiar and ludicrously high fees, which served as the one two punch of reality, letting us know that superpowers in this industry have all of their own interests aligned, and they are not with us.

The good news is, there are companies out there founded by, staffed by, and driven by live entertainment fanatics who appreciate the entire experience. This new generation of entrepreneurs is unbridled by the old way of doing business, unencumbered by overhead, and as disenfranchised and tired of the superpowers as you are. So to the musicians, venues, and promoters, here is our plea to you:

Say NO to MasterNation. Don’t buy it. get out, do research on other ticketing providers. Check us out, of course. But don’t stop there. Check out Capterra for a directory, or Google. I guarantee you’ll be surprised. Innovations like social media ticketing, viral marketing tools, and mobile ticketing are all within your reach. And ticket fees? We let YOU control them. Hell, you don’t even have to charge service fees if you don’t want to.

Visit http://www.ticketbiscuit.com, Call 866.757.8330 or email info@ticketbiscuit.com. Say NO to MasterNation and YES to the future of live entertainment.

To the fans, please realize the importance of activism here. Encourage your favorite venue, promoters, and artists to say no to MasterNation. 

Stay tuned for more updates.