Live Nation Takes On Ticketmaster

Now that its Ticketmaster contract has expired, concert promoter Live Nation has launched a competing in-house ticketing company, reports Billboard. For now, Live Nation is only selling tickets for smaller, Live-Nation-owned venues because bigger amphitheatres are still locked into pre-existing ticket deals. "We went live over the [holiday] break and I didn't hear one complaint from anybody about the system," said Live Nation CEO of global music Jason Garner.  However, Rolling Stone's Rock Daily blog tested out new Live Nation and made a discovery that may irk consumers - a large ticket fee - $13.50 on a $29.50 ticket, for example. Live Nation says it is merely making its costs more transparent, and claims that Ticketmaster charges similar fees at the close of every transaction.