Full Text:

As Live Nation takes on ticketing through an exclusive deal with SMG, it is easy to see that the company is moving aggressively towards taking a piece of Ticketmaster’s market. Starting in 2009 Live Nation Ticketing will launch, and it is not only looking to provide for its own venues, but also aiming to gain contracts with other venues outside of themselves. Ticketmaster has been a major player in the ticketing business, but that could all start to change because Live Nation now has rights to sell tickets in facilities controlled by SMG. Even though the Live Nation Ticketing business model has not been made public, knowing their strong content they are predicted to be profitable and grow into a major competitor. For Live Nation, adding the ticketing component is just one more thing that adds clout to its multirights model.