The Future Of Music

Yesterday, the Department of Justice approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The result could be a huge boost for music folks like us, or it could be a threat to our love and passion.
Whatever happens, this is probably the biggest thing to happen in music since file sharing appeared, and it will change the landscape.
On the plus side, the new company, Live Nation Entertainment will tie artist management together with touring and merchandising, digital marketing, content development and more, which can't be a bad thing for an artist (unless you are one of The Stoat's label pals that is).
The downsides are several. First, as a consumer marketer, I think it will be tough for the new entity to switch from a business focus to a consumer focus. The labels actively helped the
demise of retail, and for many moons believed that they could create a direct and emotional link with music buyers, but this has not been truly realized. This merger will have the same challenges, and today more than ever, consumers are wary of giant companies. One way for LNE to avoid this would be to structure itself around the consumer rather than around the artist, looking at the needs of the buyer and using its assets accordingly. But this will be culturally challenging, costly, and take time.
In addition, new music across all genres is the lifeblood of the industry and vital to consumers. But in a company of this size, how will attention be given to acts? As the industry has spiralled downwards and sadly labels have let most of their creative talent go and absorbed their indie wings, they have had to wrestle with the same problems. Why will it be different at LNE?
The message to LNE is to stop thinking about the beauty of a vertically integrated company and its attractiveness to shareholders. Guys- start WITH the artist and the consumer in mind and work backwards. Let's put the developing talent and the fan first once again.