Industry giants Ticketmaster, (the leading ticketing company) and Live Nation (the biggest concert promoter) plan to merge and call themselves Live Nation Entertainment.

In a press release, Ticketmaster chairman, Barry Diller said he had been “trying and consistently failing to put these companies together for many years now,” but he added that the climate was more favorable now. The company says it would benefit performers, fans and investors alike.

Live Nation’s chief executive, Michael Rapino would run it, and Ticketmaster’s chief executive Irving Azoff would become the executive chairman.

Billboard’s Ray Waddell says, “the merger would create the most powerful and influential entity the music business has ever known.”

There are certainly issues about the amount of control this new powerhouse would gain over the music industry. Bruce Springsteen posted opposition to the merger on his website, stating it would be putting a “…near-monopoly situation in music ticketing.”

The question is whether the deal will actually go through. There are certainly huge antitrust issues, and concerns about whether this joint venture will result in higher ticket prices by eliminating competition.http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ie7ae6a91eebf611fcb32258e4850b013