Attorney General Announces Settlement With Ticketmaster On Sale Of Springsteen Tickets

Attorney General Anne Milgram announced a settlement with Ticketmaster to resolve more than two thousand complaints filed by consumers with the State Division of Consumer Affairs this month in connection with the sale of tickets to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concerts scheduled for May at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The agreement also mandates reforms to Ticketmaster's business practices.

The settlement creates a random drawing for 1,000 consumers who filed complaints against Ticketmaster with the Division of Consumer Affairs as of last Tuesday, February 17th, to purchase two tickets each to one of the two concerts scheduled for May 21st and May 23rd at the Izod Center.

In addition, those consumers who filed complaints but are not chosen in the random drawing for the opportunity to purchase tickets to the May concerts will be given a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate and will be given the opportunity to purchase two tickets to a future Springsteen concert in New Jersey prior to a general ticket sale.

For those consumers identified by the state and Ticketmaster whose credit cards were charged for ticket purchases but the transactions were never completed because of technical problems, Ticketmaster agreed to complete the transaction and provide consumers with the tickets.

For those consumers identified by the state and Ticketmaster who within the first five hours that tickets went on sale went from the "No Tickets Found" page of Ticketmaster's primary website to Ticketmaster's wholly-owned subsidiary TicketsNow.Com and purchased tickets at a higher price, Ticketmaster agreed to refund the difference between the purchase price and the face value of the tickets.

The settlement, known formally as an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, places a wall between Ticketmaster and its ticket re-selling subsidiary TicketsNow.com for at least a year for all shows and entertainment events Ticketmaster handles. After the conclusion of the year, Ticketmaster will need prior approval from the Attorney General for any links between its "No Tickets Found" Internet page to its TicketsNow re-sale website.

Ticketmaster agreed not to engage in paid Internet search advertising that would lead consumers searching for "Ticketmaster" on Internet search engines to its TicketsNow re-sale site. In addition, Ticketmaster confirmed and agreed that all tickets it receives for sale to the general public will be sold on its primary market website. Ticketmaster also agreed not to allow the sale or offer of sale of any tickets on the TicketsNow.com re-selling website until the initial sale begins on its primary website.

"This settlement swiftly and fairly resolves a significant issue for thousands of loyal Springsteen fans in the Garden State who believe that Ticketmaster tilted the playing field against their efforts to purchase tickets to the May concerts,'' Attorney General Milgram said. "Everyone deserves an equal chance to buy tickets on a primary ticket selling website and shouldn't be steered to a re-selling website where the prices can be substantially higher."

"Because of the excellent cooperation of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the agreement will make tickets available for many of those who filed complaints with the Division of Consumer Affairs as of last week," Milgram added. "I also want to thank Bruce Springsteen and his management in our efforts to hammer out this agreement. He was as outraged as anyone over the circumstances surrounding the sale of tickets to his concerts."

"Significantly, Ticketmaster has agreed to change its business practices and not allow any link from its No Tickets Found Internet page to re-sale Internet sites for at least one year, and after that any proposed linkage will not be permitted unless approved by my office," she said.

Dennis Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, said, "On behalf of our Chairman, Commissioners and staff whose dedication to customer service have made the IZOD Center one of the world's most successful concert venues, we deeply appreciate the Attorney General's commitment to bringing about a solution to the issue which occurred with these ticket sales.''

The 2,000 tickets - 1,000 tickets for each show - are being made available for purchase through the random drawing by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. All Ticketmaster fees and service charges will be waived.

An investigation by the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs into Ticketmaster's sales practices began with the immediate uproar over the sale of Springsteen tickets when they were made available for sale on Feb. 2. The Division of Consumer Affairs created a link on its website to receive complaints. As of Tuesday, Feb. 17, approximately 2,200 complaints were filed concerning the Springsteen concerts. Complaints filed by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, will be covered by the agreement.

Consumers complained that sales were blocked on the Ticketmaster website and they were re-directed to the ticket re-selling website called TicketsNow.com where tickets were available at substantially higher prices.

The state receives a settlement of $350,000 to cover investigative, attorney and administrative fees and to support New Jersey consumer protection initiatives.

Amazon Beats Apple's ITunes As Preferred Digital Media Provider

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Despite a relatively late market entry, Amazon has established a clear lead in user preference for digital media download sites in the UK, according to a survey just published by Strategy Analytics. The report, "Digital Media Survey: United Kingdom Country Profile," asked broadband users in the UK from which sites they would prefer to buy downloaded music, video and games. Amazon was the most preferred brand across all three categories, ahead of other leading digital media brands such as Apple iTunes, MSN and eBay.

"Although our survey shows that the majority of UK broadband users regularly enjoy digital media content on their PCs, the market for selling downloaded content is still in its formative years and market shares are up for grabs," noted Jia Wu, Analyst at Strategy Analytics' Digital Consumer Practice and author of the report.

"Amazon is still some distance behind Apple's iTunes when it comes to actual market share," commented Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics, "but our survey results suggest that Amazon's dominance and brand strength in traditional online retailing put it in a strong position to lead the UK's fast growing premium digital media sector in the years ahead".

The survey polled 515 broadband users in the UK. The questions on retail brand preference referred to above were addressed to users who expressed interest in and willingness to pay for online digital music, video and games.

Live Nation And Ticketmaster CEOs Outline Benefits Of Merger

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Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, and Irving Azoff, CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment, told members of Congress Tuesday that the merger of their two companies could help revive the struggling music industry and provide a host of benefits to artists and consumers.

The two music industry leaders discussed the challenges facing their industry at a hearing on the merger and future of the concert business convened by the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights.

"Clinging to old ways and fighting change is not the answer. Together with artists, local promoters and venues, and my new partner Irving, we want to offer some solutions. I'm not claiming we have all the answers, but we can be on the leading edge of change in our industry," Rapino said.

Azoff, who has spent his 43-year career working with artists, also spoke of the need to find new ways to support artists.

"The message I want to leave you with today is that the music business is in far worse shape that most people realize. We cannot keep doing things that no longer work. This merger will allow the live music industry to avoid repeating the mistakes of the record business," Azoff said.

Rapino and Azoff said the competition that exists today in every aspect of their business will thrive undiminished after the merger. They pledged to work with the Department of Justice during the agency's review of the merger.

"Our business model rises or falls on our ability to serve the artists. If others can do it better, the artists will go elsewhere. We welcome competition. Every service we offer today faces aggressive competition and that competition will continue -- and likely increase -- long after this merger is complete," Rapino said.

Rapino and Azoff said the combined company, which will be called Live Nation Entertainment, will create an artist-driven company that provides a full-service connection between artists and fans. They said the new company will continue to work with independent venues, promoters and other industry stakeholders.

"It is designed to address the obvious inefficiencies in the supply chain -- the large volume of unsold tickets to events, higher costs, surcharges and the explosion of the resale market," Azoff said.

Rapino said the music industry has been struggling for an alternative to the business model that relied on record labels to support the artist and drive sales. While Azoff offered the perspective of a long-time artist manager, Rapino spoke of his efforts to bring change to Live Nation. Live Nation has achieved steady growth under Rapino's leadership, despite the music industry's problems.

"Unlike so many other businesses, we are not here today to seek a bailout or a tax credit or any other favor. Instead, we've come with our own self-funded renewal plan. All we ask is the freedom to innovate in an American industry that is in deep trouble," Rapino said.

The desire to combine the two company stems from several factors:

The live entertainment business model is broken and the industry needs to evolve.

* There are too many parties between the artist and the fan, all working at cross-purposes, and creating enormous inefficiencies and additional costs.
* The escalating reseller market is creating a crisis in the industry. Resellers, especially the scalpers/illegal resellers, have no skin in the game and are sapping the system.
* The primary market is not working well for artists or fans.

Fans and artists are demanding change.

* Fans are seeking more choice, clear pricing and more technological innovations to improve the ticketing experience.
* Artists want to have a stronger, more direct and secure connection to their fans.
* Everyone wants to fill more seats.

Together, Live Nation and Ticketmaster can begin to make the investments needed to fix what doesn't work today. Merging will:

* Reduce costs associated with today's inefficiencies;
* Relieve pressure on ticket pricing in the primary and secondary markets;
* Give artists and fans new services and products
* Spur innovation and competition from all quarters; and
* Increase concert attendance and improve the entire experience, from ticketing to the actual performance.

Combined, the companies will be better positioned to confront a challenging economy and shifting marketplace.

* Competition is robust at every level of our traditional distribution (legal and illegal resellers, primary market players, self-ticketing venues as well as new fronts such as iTunes, Amazon and eBay).
* Technology continues to spur innovations in all aspects of the business.
* Merging will also allow us to strengthen our ability to serve all fans
* including those who don't have computers or credit cards -- by investing further in our phone and retail outlet presence. This also will help preserve existing brick and mortar jobs, too, which contribute to local economies.
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Comcast Partners W/Rock Band U2
To Offer An Exclusive & Unprecedented HD Collection Of Music Performances On Demand

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More than one week before the release of U2's highly-anticipated twelfth studio album, "No Line On The Horizon," on March 3, 2009, Comcast offers its customers free access to the brand new HD music video for the album's first single, "Get On Your Boots," along with nearly 50 of the band's other music videos and concerts On Demand. This HD collection has never before been available in one place and can be found On Demand under "Top Picks," under "U2 HD." Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, also has created a breakthrough television ad featuring the band performing the new single.

"Our customers watch 50-60 million music videos a month On Demand, or 20-25 videos per second every day, and they love U2 so this is our gift to them," said Derek Harrar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Video Services for Comcast. "We make the best pop culture content available…it doesn't get any better than this."

Comcast's signature On Demand service gives customers the chance to have an immersive U2 experience that allows them to watch the band's videos and concerts at anytime and as many times as they want. Music is one of the most popular categories of On Demand viewing and it continues to grow. Based on its popularity and usage by customers Comcast continues to expand its music offerings and provides everything from videos to live performances across a wide range of music genres.

Comcast's U2 partnership, blockbuster movies, new television series and other new viewing choices are part of the company's commitment to deliver exponentially more quality content choice on TV, including more HD, sports, movies, kids' programs and network TV shows. Comcast On Demand currently offers customers thousands of kids and family entertainment choices among the more than 10,000 programs available throughout the course of a month, including more than 1,000 choices in HD available at any time. Currently, Comcast customers view more than 300 million On Demand programs a month.

Music Jobs News: RightsFlow, The Echo Nest, Warner/Chappell Music & Island Records
RightsFlow Hires Jason Walker; The Echo Nest Hires Paul Lamere; Warner/Chappell Music Key A&R Appointments; Island Records Appoints Mark DiDia

RightsFlow Hires Jason Walker As Manager Of Systems

RightsFlow, a provider of licensing and royalty services announced Jason Walker as its new Manager of Systems. In this position, he oversees the ongoing development of the RightsFlow proprietary bulk mechanical licensing & royalty system "FLOW," and is responsible for the execution of all technical aspects of the licensing & royalty department. The appointment reinforces RightsFlow's strategic data management initiative for optimizing its entertainment rights licensing platform to achieve greater business value. Walker will be instrumental in implementing the processes to develop a streamlined system for improving communication flows between RightsFlow and its clients.

The Echo Nest Hires Paul Lamere To Run Music Application Developer Community

The Echo Nest, a music intelligence company powering advanced digital music applications, hired Paul Lamere as Director of Developer Community. Lamere will build on the momentum of The Echo Nest's developer community site, developer.echonest.com. Developer.echonest.com is like a virtual hardware store for application developers, opening up access to a diverse suite of web APIs, including music search, recommendation and remix/mashup applications. Lamere will manage developer outreach and delivery of new music application development utilities for non-commercial use at developer.echonest.com.

Warner/Chappell Music Announces Key A&R Appointments

Warner/Chappell Music, the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp., and one of the world's largest music publishers, announced a series of strategic new hires to its U.S. A&R team including the appointments of both Lee Dannay and Brad Aarons to Vice President of A&R and Peter Visvardis to Senior Director of A&R. Effective immediately, Dannay, Aarons and Visvardis will be responsible for working with the company's existing roster of songwriters as well as identifying and signing emerging songwriters. All three executives will report to Greg Sowders, Senior Vice President and Head of A&R for Warner/Chappell Music.

In making the announcement, Sowders said, "This is an exciting time of performance and growth for Warner/Chappell's A&R division and I am delighted to welcome Lee, Brad and Pete to the company, each of whom brings their own unique and diverse experiences in A&R. They complement our existing team and together they will be strong additions to Warner/Chappell as we continue to seek out emerging and established songwriters to add to an already impressive roster."

Mark DiDia Appointed EVP/General Manager, Island Records Mark DiDia has been appointed EVP/General Manager, Island Records. In this newly created position, Mr. DiDia will oversee all day-to-day operations of Island Records. Mr. DiDia, who is based in New York, will report directly to Mr. Bartels.

"Mark's arrival at Island Records is perfectly timed to coincide with the label's 50th anniversary this year," said Mr. Bartels. "He brings a wealth of experience in every field of the business, respect from the major label artists with whom he's worked, and a unique vision for Island's future. We welcome him to IDJ's senior management team and look forward to working together on the many exciting challenges that face us."