Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger hearings
February 26, 2009 by CMC · 1 Comment
Jim Derogatis at the Chicago Sun Times and Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribune have been doing some really good coverage of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger talks now taking place before the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights. Given the nation-wide market share these two companies have in ticket sales, venue ownership and promotion, these hearings, and the ultimate Department of Justice treatment of the merger, will certainly have an impact on Chicago music. As Rolling Stone notes, Chicago’s concert industry has been front and center in the hearings so far, with Chicago-based Jam Productions’ Jerry Mickelson testifying against the merger. Some expect this merger to be the Obama Administration’s first big antitrust challenge. It’s good to know our local media is on the case.
EDIT: while the outcome of this merger (approved, rejected or modified w/concessions) will ultimately impact Chicago music, the specific focus of the Senate hearings is on how the proposed merged company will affect “market competition”. Which market(s)? Well, you antitrust scholars out there:) know that defining the “market” at issue is the be-all and and end-all for antitrust cases. Ticketmaster is arguing that they only play in the ticket sales market, and Live Nation is arguing that they only play in the promotion market, and to a lesser extent in the venue-ownership market. If this merger is challenged by the Obama Department of Justice, it will try to define the market at issue as broadly as possible (saying the merged Ticketmaster-Live Nation company will play in venue ownership, ticket sales, promotion) and that the merged Live Nation-Ticketmaster entity will use its dominant market power in that large market to unfairly compete against others, resulting in a bad deal for consumers.
Taking a look at our competition: what is Austin doing?
February 24, 2009 by CMC · 1 Comment
We at CMC think one of the best ways for Chicago’s music community—and our city–to best improve is by looking outward across the globe and taking a long, honest look at how we stack up. CMC’s first stab in this direction was “Chicago: Music City” that we commissioned the University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center to draft for us. That economic impact study showed that Chicago music and Chicago’s music economy has some fundamental strengths—our diversity, the innovative music we offer, the number and quality of jobs we create—but also some very real challenges compared to other cities. “Chicago: Music City” pegged Chicago in third place (NYC and LA were, generally, first) for most categories. But it also made clear that our competitor music cities are gaining on us, and in some significant categories have passed us by.
So we’re kicking off here an informal, irregular set of posts taking a snapshot look at interesting efforts other city governments are undertaking to support their music communities. These snapshots are not scientific—we’re grabbing what we think are noteworthy initiatives. We’ll hopefully delve into the details on some of these efforts in future posts. In any event, please let us know what innovative/effective efforts you know about that we don’t mention.
First up: Austin, Texas.
- Government-supported music community branding campaign (“Live Music Capitol of the World”)
- Live Austin music at all Austin City Council meetings
- An average of eleven performances per week of live Austin music at Austin’s airport
- “Live From the Plaza”, a live showcase of Austin music every spring and fall Friday outside of Austin City Hall
- 24/7 city funded television (“ME TV”) showcasing Austin music
- Creating and support of Austin Music Memorial, honoring individuals who have had significant impact on Austin’s music community
- “Creative industries loan guarantee program”, assisting performers and music companies
- “Cultural contracts fund”, helping music-related nonprofits
- Creating of dedicated music-only loading/unloading zones on 6th Street (a main music/entertainment thoroughfare) that allow bands to park and load/unload their equipment for a short period of time without being fined
- Creation and support of Austin Music Commission (and here), a group of volunteer Austin citizens, all of whom are appointed by the City Council, to advise the City Council on music-related matters
- Sponsorship of SXSW, annual world-wide music festival in Austin generating approximately $95 million in revenue for the city. City’s sponsorship allows for various fees to be waived that have been valued at $90,000.
- City Council-created “Live Music Task Force” to make recommendations to the City Council about ways to support and enhance live music in Austin, including pushing the creation of a city music department, the development of more music venues, and a city-lead campaign to lure music industry firms such as publishing houses, managers, record labels and digital distributors.
Next up: Seattle
Arts funding included in stimulus package
February 16, 2009 by CMC · 1 Comment
President Obama is expected to sign the stimulus bill into law tomorrow and begin the flow of federal dollars that will hopefully begin stimulating our economy. Progress Illinois has a good take on how Illinois will be affected. The NYTimes recounts how concerned citizens and arts advocates banded together to keep arts funding intact (at approximately $50 million) in the stimulus–and in the process once again made clear to our elected officials that the arts are an economic force.
It remains unclear at this time what if any of this stimulus will be directed to Chicago music.
Chicago music is an economic engine that must play a role in Chicago’s economic recovery
February 12, 2009 by Jim · 1 Comment
As the country continues to debate the national stimulus bill and the full Congress moves to vote on it shortly, it is imperative that Chicago’s music community speaks out about the value of Chicago music to the city’s economy. CMC is seeking your help in doing just that. The Mayor and Governor made their priorities in the stimulus bill known and music and music infrastructure are not high on the list. This needs to change.
Chicago’s music community and industry are ready to be part of the solution to the national economic crisis. As has been documented in the CMC-sponsored economic impact study, “Chicago: Music City”, conducted by the University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center, and elsewhere, Chicago’s music economy generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and provides jobs for 53,000 people. Moreover, the health of Chicago music community and Chicago music economy affect not just those members of the music industry, but also the city at-large.
This is because Chicago music fosters a “creative class” that improves Chicagoans’ quality of life, increases the attractiveness of the area to businesses and individuals, and generates millions of dollars in tourism and tax revenue. In fact, Chicago music is a leading export in Chicago’s economy.
The fundamental objective of President Obama’s stimulus proposal is to inject money into state and local economies to generate economic growth. By spending a portion of the billions that will be allocated to Chicago on Chicago’s music economy and its creative class, our city will see a ripple effect that generates economic activity for the larger Chicago economy.
Our elected officials must understand the need to support Chicago’s music community by providing more funding during this economic crisis and beyond. Our leaders need to hear from us that the stimulus dollars in the two bills now moving towards a consensus package in Washington must benefit Chicago music.
And locally, we need a policy and legislative environment that encourages our world-class music community to create more music, especially during these tough economic times.
Please contact your elected officials to convey your support Chicago music and your commitment to jump-starting our local and national economy by supporting Chicago’s music community. Please click here locate your elected officials and to send them a message that you know how important the arts are to our economy.
Welcome to the CMC blog
February 11, 2009 by CMC · 1 Comment
Welcome to the Chicago Music Commission’s blog. CMC will use the blog to facilitate a wide-ranging discussion about Chicago music and to keep you updated on news affecting Chicago’s music community, including CMC’s independent take on everything from Chicago music and music business news to legislative updates on what’s happening in Chicago government to national arts news.
Before we get too far down the road, we want to make sure we’re all on the same page about commenting policy. It’s the standard fare. In short, we welcome any and all comments to posts. But please know we screen all comments before publishing and while we value differing opinions, we won’t publish abusive and/or vulgar language. While we’re not afraid of a heated debate–we welcome it, in fact–we’re the judge and jury on this; if we think it’s over the line, we won’t publish it. However, we’re not going to edit comments that are published. It’s either goes up in full or gets removed in full.
We think there has been too little conversation about Chicago music, so we’re looking for a vibrant, spirited dialogue. Thank you for your interest in Chicago music.