One congressman is already calling for an antitrust investigation of Ticketmaster -- and that's before any merger with Live Nation is even announced. If the Obama administration wants to demonstrate clearly to corporate America that the laissez-faire attitude of its predessor is a thing of the past, it should look very long and very hard at this deal. Ticketmaster is already a monopoly; if it merges with Live Nation, its market power would be pretty much unassailable.
Besides, there's a huge amount of political capital in attacking Ticketmaster, which is one of the most-hated companies in America. Ticketmaster might be in talks with Live Nation, but my guess is that the chances of a merger actually going through are slim.
