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Merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, two of the major concert ticket vendors in the US, was approved by the US Justice Department. Consumer groups, independent promoters and ticket brokers all urged the department to block the deal, warning that it would give the resulting company the power to dictate terms for live entertainment at the expense of venues, artists and consumers. The companies argued that combining their ticketing and promotions arms would enable them to offer better services to venues and acts, and better value to fans.

"Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in New Jersey unveiled a 43-count indictment charging four men with using sophisticated computer programs to bypass security measures to buy up blocks of tickets through online vendors like Ticketmaster. They sold the tickets to brokers, who in turn marked them up for ravenous fans who found the available supply of tickets scarce. According to the indictment, the defendants reaped more than $20 million in profits from 2002 to 2009 through purchases of more than one million tickets by their company, Wiseguy Tickets."