What happens when Bloomberg, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal become the leading trade publications for deals and investments in the live music industry? What does it say about this industry when Politico.com isn't the only one reporting on antitrust cases against corporate concert companies?
The live music industry is undoubtedly heading into a new era and is becoming more than ever before an investment opportunity for private equity funds. Attracting their interest as the success stories of a new generation of global superstars reaches new levels. At the same time, they are also attracting more interest from politicians and authorities, who are asking unwelcome questions about monopolistic business models and the ticketing business and questionable service fees and sales strategies.
The more capital can be made from the enthusiasm of music fans for live events, the greater the covetousness. Added to this is the greed of reselling tickets on the internet, which undoubtedly further intensifies competition and market concentration. The question is, who else could be interested in this apart from the legislators and competition watchdogs?