Promoter downplays Ticketmaster merger

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Minneapolis promoter says if Ticketmaster does merge with Live Nation, U.S. concertgoers will likely not face increased ticket charges.

Promoter Randy Levy said if the proposed $2.5 billion merger does move forward, current additional ticket charges will likely become factored into the final ticket price offered by the merged ticket conglomerate, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.

"The business will get its pound of flesh but with a more fan-friendly method," Levy predicts. "I see this as a neutral situation for the concertgoer. Nothing changes the supply-and-demand (nature) of the business."

Jack Larson, general manager of Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center, said ticket increases will likely be based more on act popularity and economic conditions than the proposed merger, which was announced Tuesday.

"Whether ticket prices go up or down is more reflective of the economy and the acts themselves," Larson told the Star Tribune. "Acts usually dictate what the ticket price is."