To summarize the late 18th century, the newly independent United States had a run-in with a British invasion (not to be confused with Beatlemania), there was an awful pun about France losing its heads of state and, of course, Adam Smith published 'The Wealth of Nations.' The book's central focus on an 'invisible hand' was ahead of its time for science fiction, but Smith's ideas about the principles of supply and demand and competition have shaped our modern capitalist economy.
According to capitalism, competition should insure good service and prices. When an industry is under the control of a monopoly, however, these principles no longer apply, due to the large companies' complete market domination and doubled rents.
Such is the current system governing the live music industry, where the average price for a concert ticket has doubled in the last eight years to around $54 and musicians' freedoms are deteriorating.
While one can hardly blame music venues for having monopolized the live performance market (YOU try getting the Rolling Stones to play in your walk-in closet), music fans everywhere have'??for years now'found a more deserving target for their pathos in the duo of media-giant Clear Channel Communications and Ticketmaster, which, for the uninformed, is a kind of automated service that takes your money in exchange for causing you physical pain.
These two companies have played a large role over the last decade in bleeding concert-goers dry through a certain kind of underhanded corporate bastardry known as exclusivity agreements.
Clear Channel, the country's largest radio conglomerate, uses its music promotions wing, Clear Channel Entertainment, to set up exclusive booking contracts with over 100 of the largest venues in the country.
The company punishes venues who refuse to enter into such agreements by preventing them from hosting any Clear Channel represented artists and similarly threatens bands by banning them from the venues and radio stations it controls.
Ticketmaster maintains its dominance in similar fashion, by forcing artists who object to their fans paying the company's additional fees to book shows at venues not affiliated with the service, a list that is constantly shrinking. Legal battles with the company have typically been disastrous for the artists involved, most famously for Pearl Jam, who's protracted lawsuit against the company resulted in the band being nearly forced out of touring the United States entirely.
While it might be hard to get too worked up about a canceled Pearl Jam tour (especially post-'Riot Act'), the widespread effects of the Ticketmaster/Clear Channel hegemony are a much larger concern.
With Clear Channel representing both artists and venues, there is virtually no competition for lower ticket prices occurring between the most popular tours and theaters in the country. Ticketmaster's hold on all but a fraction of the nation's live entertainment ensures that concert-goers are stuck paying extra fees that sometimes double the original prices of shows.
Keeping these facts in mind, it's also worthwhile to point out that consumers themselves are partially to blame for the high prices they pay. As long as people are willing to pay $300 to see the Eagles, people will be charged $300.
Furthermore, as the government has sided with Clear Channel and Ticketmaster in almost every single suit brought against them, consumer pressure is likely the most effective method for changing things.
So remember: Think twice before selling your car for front row tickets the next time the Eagles come to town. Unless you're planning on punching Don Henley in the head.
