Spider-Man set to weave Broadway web with U2 music

Spider-Man set to weave Broadway web with U2 music
Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:02pm EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark" will open on Broadway on February 18, 2010 with music and lyrics written by U2's Bono and The Edge.

The show is inspired by more than 40 years of Marvel Spider-Man comic books, but spins a new take on the tale of Peter Parker, who finds himself endowed with astonishing powers after he is bitten by a genetically altered spider.

"Spider-Man's battles will hurtle the audience through an original story both recognizable and unexpected -- yielding new characters as well as familiar faces -- until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero's journey," producers said in a statement.

The show, which will begin preview performances on January 16, 2010, will be directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor, best known for Disney's successful "The Lion King" on Broadway.

Bono and The Edge, one half of U2, will make their Broadway debut by creating new music and lyrics for the "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark." Casting for the show is yet to be announced.

That Presidents Obama's Chief of staffs brother (Rahm) is.....part of Live Nation ticketmaster deal

That Presidents Obama's Chief of staffs brother (Rahm) is.....

Ariel Emanuel "Ari"
Director
Live Nation, Incorporated
Beverly Hills , CA
Sector: SERVICES / General Entertainment

47 Years Old

Ariel Emanuel has served as a director of Live Nation since September 2007. Mr. Emanuel is a founding partner at Endeavor, a leading talent agency. In the 12 years since its inception, Endeavor has become one of the top agencies in the entertainment industry and Mr. Emanuel has been an integral part of that success and in providing its vision. Mr. Emanuel is also a director of Source Interlink and a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute.

That should pretty much neutralize the Bruce effect!!
'

Former SOUNDGARDEN and AUDIOSLAVE singer CHRIS CORNELL has announced a U.S. spring tou

The tour dates announced so far are:

Austin, TX Stubbs (March 27)
Dallas, TX House of Blues (28)
Houston, TX Warehouse Live (29)
New Orleans, LA House of Blues (31)
Atlanta, GA CW Center Stage (April 1)
Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (3)
Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory (4)
Washington DC 9:30 Club (5)
New York, NY Webster Hall (7,8)
Boston, MA House of Blues (10)
Montclair, NJ Wellmost Theatre (11)
Cleveland, OH House of Blues (13)
Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater (14)
Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre (15)
Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater (17)
St Paul, MN MYTH (18)
Chicago, IL Riviera Theater (19)

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood 2009 concert tour dates and ticket information

After their historic three-nights at Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood announced today an exclusive 14-city U.S. tour beginning June 10, 2009.
After a stunning collaboration at the Chicago Crossroads Guitar Festival in July of 2007 and much speculation, Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton announced three eagerly anticipated concerts at New Yorkʼs Madison Square Garden. Those shows featured the artists performing together in a varied set list with Blind Faith classics and solo hits from each artist. Critics acclaimed the shows as historic and some of the best Clapton Winwood work ever. The tour promises more of the same collaborative musicianship that made these men legendary award-winning artists.

For tickets go to www.wwwtixx.com

Both Winwood and Clapton have long and prestigious musical careers with countless honors and awards to their names. Their musical paths connected in 1969 with the formation of Blind Faith, a group that pioneered the fusion of rock and blues into tremendous studio and stage success. Despite critical and popular acclaim, the band was short-lived with only one album and a brief 1969 tour that debuted July 12 at Madison Square Garden and ended August 24th in Hawaii. Since that final show, Winwood and Clapton have remained friends, but have only performed together a few times over the years for an occasional song at a charity event. The 2008 Madison Square Garden shows were the first full Winwood-Clapton concerts in 40 years.
Steve Winwood is currently signed to Columbia Records and released an album of new music, NINE LIVES in 2008. Eric Claptonʼs compilation album Complete Clapton was released in 2008 on Reprise Records. The duoʼs captivating performance at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago can be seen as part of a 2-disc DVD available now from Rhino Entertainment.

discount tickets for Eric Clapton are on sale at www.wwwtixx.com 2009 TOUR SCHEDULE:
June 10 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
June 12 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
June 13 Washington, DC Verizon Center
June 15 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
June 17 Chicago, IL United Center
June 18 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
June 20 Omaha, NE Qwest Center
June 21 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
June 23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
June 24 Houston, TX Toyota Center
June 26 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena
June 27 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Arena
June 29 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
June 30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

Citizens Bank Park floor seating chart concerts

 

Citizens Bank Park floor seating chart concerts
to buy tickets go to www.tixx.com

Billy Joel Elton John seating chart Philadelphia Citizen's Bank Park floor seating chart

Billy Joel and Elton John, those piano men and electric entertainers with two first names and three tons of hits, will reunite in a July 30 concert at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the city where they opened their first ''Face to Face'' tour in 1994.

for tickets go to www.tixx.com



 

Live Nation & Ticketmaster do the dirty deed

Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment to Combine in Merger of Equals to Create World's Premier Live Entertainment Company






Combination Will Drive Greater Access, Transparency and Choice in Ticketing to Serve Fans, Artists and Entire Live Entertainment Industry


Will Improve Live Event Attendance, Supporting Venues and a Healthier Industry


LOS ANGELES and WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) and Ticketmaster Entertainment ("Ticketmaster") (Nasdaq: TKTM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create the world's premier live entertainment company. The combined entity, which will be called Live Nation Entertainment, joins Live Nation's concert promotions expertise with Ticketmaster's world-class ticketing solutions and artist relationships to improve the live entertainment experience and drive major innovations in ticketing technology, marketing and service. Live Nation Entertainment will have the tools to expand access, improve transparency and deliver artists and fans more choice - driving greater attendance at live events and bringing more value to all major constituents in the industry.


The companies will be combined in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals with a combined enterprise value of approximately $2.5 billion. Under the agreement, Ticketmaster shareholders will receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation common stock for each share of Ticketmaster they own, subject to certain adjustments defined within the agreement. Live Nation and Ticketmaster shareholders will each own approximately 50 percent of the combined company. The new company anticipates generating approximately $40 million of operating synergies through the combination of their ticketing, marketing, data centers and back-office functions. The merger agreement was approved by both companies' boards of directors.


Barry Diller, Chairman of Ticketmaster Entertainment, said, "It was less than two months ago that Ticketmaster ended its 10-year partnership with Live Nation, and I'm extremely glad we could reunite with this combination. No different from any other industry, the challenges are all around every aspect of live entertainment. Being able to put Live Nation and Ticketmaster into an equal partnership will allow the companies to get through this difficult period and be able to expand live entertainment options to audiences throughout the world."


Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, said, "This combination will drive measurable benefits to consumers and accelerate the execution of our strategy to build a better artist-to-fan direct distribution platform. As every industry observer knows, too many tickets go unsold and too many fans are frustrated with their ticket-buying experiences. The current inefficiencies in the system result in higher costs and confusion over access to seats. Together, we will work to simplify the ticketing process and ultimately increase attendance at live events. This is also a logical step in the evolution of our business model, creating a more diversified company with a stronger financial profile that will drive improved shareholder value over the long term."


Irving Azoff, CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment, said, "This merger, and the resources of these combined companies, will create a new dynamic and unique creative platform of choice for fans across all levels of the live entertainment experience. There is nothing more magical than the bond and the intimate relationship of fans to artists. It is truly an experience that needs to be embraced and nurtured with both integrity and respect. One of the mandates of the combined company will be to develop that bond to unsurpassed levels. Additionally, the Live Nation and Ticketmaster relationship will allow the live entertainment community and their respective venues to reach fans on unparalleled platforms. I look forward to working closely with Michael Rapino and the Live Nation team during this exciting and industry changing time."


By integrating these two businesses, Live Nation Entertainment can work to:


Improve Access and Transparency


By uniting an artist, promoter and ticketing company under a combined banner, the new entity will be positioned to address the challenges of serving fans better at the point of the initial ticket sale with more options and better access.


Improve Ticket Pricing Options


The merger will enable more innovative and dynamic promotion arrangements that create more choice and a more fan-friendly purchasing experience. As an example, the Eagles' recent all-inclusive pricing initiative was favorably received by the public as well as the broader industry.


Invest in Better Ticketing Technology


The combination will enable increased R&D investment and the sort of technology advances that improve the ticketing experience for consumers and deliver best-in-class solutions to artists, other content owners and venues. Live Nation Entertainment will be better positioned to deliver technological advances such as paperless ticketing as well as interactive seat access and mobile delivery.


Increase Event Attendance


A very substantial portion of the tickets put on sale to the public for live events goes unsold. The new company will be positioned to take full advantage of its combined online resources, databases and promotional operations to strengthen and enhance the direct connection between artists and fans. This will create opportunities to improve attendance at events, benefiting venues and supporting a healthier live entertainment industry.


The combined company will be led by Barry Diller as Chairman of the Board, Michael Rapino as CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment and Irving Azoff as Executive Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and CEO of Front Line. Live Nation Entertainment's board will consist of 14 directors, seven from each company. The companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed and will work together to determine where the combined company's headquarters location will be as well as to determine additional management appointments prior to closing.


The transaction is subject to approval by both companies' shareholders, consent of Ticketmaster bank lenders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory review and approvals. The companies expect the transaction to be completed by the second half of 2009.


Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel to Live Nation. Deutsche Bank provided advisory services and delivered a fairness opinion to the Board of Live Nation. J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisors to Ticketmaster. Allen & Company delivered a fairness opinion to Ticketmaster.


For more information about this transaction, please visit www.premierliveentertainment.com.


Conference Call and Webcast Information

The companies will host a joint conference call and webcast today at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT) to discuss this announcement. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (866) 394-0797 within the U.S. or (706) 679-3454 for international callers, referencing passcode 85124431. The webcast can be accessed at both www.livenation.com/investors and http://investors.ticketmaster.com.


A replay of the conference call will be available for one week and can be accessed by dialing (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 and referencing passcode 85124431. A webcast replay also will be available on the Live Nation and Ticketmaster websites.


About Live Nation

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 22,000 concerts for 1,500 artists in 57 countries. During 2008, the company sold over 50 million concert tickets and drove over 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com/investors.


About Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc.

Ticketmaster Entertainment consists of Ticketmaster and Front Line Management Group. As the world's leading live entertainment ticketing and marketing company, Ticketmaster connects the world to live entertainment. Ticketmaster operates in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through www.ticketmaster.com, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet; approximately 6,700 retail outlets; and 19 worldwide call centers. Established in 1976, Ticketmaster serves more than 10,000 clients worldwide across multiple event categories, providing exclusive ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters. In 2007, the company sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.3 billion on behalf of its clients. Ticketmaster Entertainment acquired a controlling interest in Front Line Management Group in October 2008. Founded by Irving Azoff and Howard Kaufman in 2004, Front Line is the world's leading artist management company. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is headquartered in West Hollywood, California (NASDAQ:TKTM).


Forward-Looking Statements

Bob Lefsetz is right the Live Nation ticketmaster merge is all about money $$ and screw the fan

This is about money, not music.

If you want to point fingers, look to the long gone Robert Sillerman, not Michael Rapino or Barry Diller. They're just dealing with the aftermath of what Mr. X wrought.

Sillerman rolled up the concert promotion companies and then laid them off on Clear Channel. A brilliant financial exercise. You overpay for an asset, create a near-monopoly and then convince an outsider that what you've established is not only valuable, it has synergies with the core company.
This is Gladwell's rule in reverse. Without 10,000 hours of expertise in the field, Clear Channel ignorantly purchased SFX. And ultimately had to take a huge loss and spun it off.

Where Michael Rapino was left with a company with profit margins so thin, the "Wall Street Journal" dubbed it "a river of nickels".

Rapino tried to change the economics of the business. To have acts and promoters share in the upside. But he could not achieve this. One could say he too was lacking his 10,000 hours. How was he to compete with managers and agents with dozens of years of experience? An agent at the Concert Industry Consortium last weekend told me that he had sympathy for Live Nation. To be fair, revenues should be split 60/40 in favor of the act, with a minimal guarantee and a split of the bar revenue. But if this were done, he'd be out of a job, there'd be no need for his services. So, we end up with a public company, Live Nation, that can't make any money.
Except on ticketing.

That's where the profit is for promoters. Essentially all the profit. Live Nation could not continue to share this revenue with Ticketmaster. In order to make the stock go up, Live Nation had to establish its own ticketing entity. The fact that it doesn't work well is irrelevant. Where else are you going to go? The scalper? Oh, Ticketmaster owns its own. And it does resell its own tickets on TicketsNow. Yes, acts are scalping their own tickets despite Ticketmaster's denial. So, the consumer gets screwed. What else is new?

But when Ticketmaster is scalping its own tickets, it is guaranteeing the spread to the act. Yes, the vaunted act. The greed starts there. If you want to blame anyone, blame the act. That's why the fees are so high.
Because of the kickback to the act. And the need for profit by the promoter, after it's been forced to pay so much for talent.

So you've got two companies whose stock prices are mired in the depths.
Live Nation can only make money in tickets, even though it can't issue tickets for a huge quantity of its concerts because Ticketmaster still controls those rights, and Ticketmaster is losing a certain portion of revenue to Live Nation. And now with Ticketmaster having been spun off, analysts can do the math, and see that the ticketing organization's dominance will be eroded and that company's stock dives.

Ergo, a merger.

It's just that simple.

True, there's an effect on the music business, maybe even music itself, but that's not what the titans are worried about here. They're worried about their profit margins, their stock prices. Combining the two gives them a shot at rising on the market. And, as a result, the stock employees own rises and compensation packages are enlarged. Rocket science? No.

Antitrust violation?

Not in the Bush White House. In Obamaworld? Well, he limited compensation today, but that was only if you work at a bank, and you've taken federal bailout funds. The concert industry keeps touting higher grosses, they're not in line for a bailout anytime soon. The fact that we're not growing any superstars? The Wall Streeters are just as stupid as Clear Channel, they just don't get this, they don't see that at some point the Rolling Stones and the Eagles just won't be able to do it anymore, and then what?

But in order for a merger to be prevented, there must be a barrier to entry by third parties. Ticketmaster already controlled all that ticketing, Live Nation just carved out a part of it. There's no significant change if they merge. As for competing in the promotion sphere, AEG does quite well, thank you. (Actually, the "New York Times" is reporting that Ticketmaster might still merge with AEG, instead of Live Nation...) So, despite the cries from fans and the little people who will lose power and influence in the industry, a cold analysis of antitrust problems would seem to indicate this merger passes muster. Because you don't analyze antitrust violations on emotions, but the law. And the law doesn't appear to exclude a merger.

And then you have the acts. Live Nation's relationships with artists are the legacy of a failed strategy concocted by Michael Cohl. Who was doing the Sillerman act. Gussy up enough assets and sell to an ignorant third party. But what happens first, a sale or an empty wallet? Cohl was all in, he wanted to bet the farm, if you've tied up all the acts, someone will want to buy you. But Rapino got nervous and Cohl is gone and Live Nation has very few act relationships. But Ticketmaster has tons. They bought Irving Azoff's Front Line. Where does this leave Irving and the acts?

It appears this isn't Irving's deal. This is Barry's deal. He wants to save one of his core assets. The acts are gravy, another enticement for Live Nation. And Live Nation will do well by the acts. Rapino is dying to sell merch, monetize the fan transaction, artist relationships will help.

The loser? The labels. They're toast. They've given up fifty percent of sales through sheer ignorance. And rather than try to solve this problem, they're insisting new talent sign 360 deals. But why would anybody make such a deal, when the label has no infrastructure with regard to touring and merchandising? A label can break a Top Forty record, but the consistently successful touring acts are not those with recent radio hits. Lady GaGa can't sell out an arena, she'd be lucky to sell out the House of Blues. And we can state with near certainty, almost no one will want to see her five years from now. Labels don't sign career artists, they sign easily exploitable "talent", they want their money now. But forgoing the long term view, they've backed themselves into a corner.

Furthermore, Live Nation/Ticketmaster does not need recorded music sales to survive. The Ticketmaster/Front Line artists are pure management clients, there's not even guaranteed payments. But the Live Nation/Ticketmaster juggernaut is where most of the artists' revenues/profits lie, they're in the right place.

Which begs the question of why you'd want to be at a competitor? CAA has the most relationships, they can get you in a movie, they can broker a corporate relationship, but the Agency Group and Paradigm and William Morris survive. But, unfortunately, Front Line dominates in a way that CAA never did, Azoff has built a monolith even Michael Ovitz can envy. But, it is a renegade business, and management is about personal attention, it oftentimes doesn't pay to be with a behemoth.

But Live Nation/Ticketmaster doesn't mind. Because you're still going to come to them for your tour. After all, you want that guaranteed money.

And Wall Street is now enticed by so many assets being under one roof.
Management, concert promotion, ticketing...

And the fan is screwed. Consolidation has not helped the fan one bit.
Label consolidation reduced the variety of music. Promoter consolidation drove the price of concert tickets sky high. Music itself may be free, but going to the show is a once a year event. And after you've seen the dinosaurs, do you really need to go every year?

These are the problems facing Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Rapino says the average Live Nation customer goes to a show fewer than two times a year.
Can he lower prices to build the business? If you believe so, you also think he can single-handedly break new acts to stadium level and broker Mideast peace.

It's all about the Benjamins. And Rapino wants to keep his job. And the acts want that guaranteed money. And the public is at home playing wii, which is reasonably priced and delivers more cluck for the buck.

The music business' problems run deep. But their roots are so far in the past and those in charge are so into making money that change is almost impossible to achieve. We need new acts, who are primarily focused on music, not money, who appeal to broad swaths of the public. Instead, everybody wants to get paid and it's almost impossible to get noticed. What you're lamenting left the building long ago. It's calculated high finance today. This deal is just evidence of it.

An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:

An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:

While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.

We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce's shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans' specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.

If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket. (Please don't abuse this good faith gesture - we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)

We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.

Sincerely,

Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment

http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archive/2009/02/04/646941.aspx

Ticketmaster Merger Plan Could Touch on Antitrust

Ticketmaster Merger Plan Could Touch on Antitrust

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By TIM ARANGO
Published: February 4, 2009
If Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation agree to merge, it would become a powerhouse in the music industry and an early test of the Obama administration’s views on concentrated corporate power, particularly in an area with potentially stark implications for consumers.

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“For a couple of different reasons this is likely to have reasonably intense scrutiny,” said Bruce Sokler, a lawyer in the Washington office of Mintz Levin, who focuses on antitrust matters. “One is, it’s going to be an early, big spotlighted merger for the new administration. Second, it is a deal with great interest for consumers.”

While hurdles remain that could scuttle a deal, the two companies have been in merger talks and could announce a pact as early as Friday, although a likelier possibility is next week, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The combination of the two companies would place under one corporate umbrella dominant players in all sides of the live concert business: the sale of tickets, the representation of artists and the control of concert halls. Of particular issue to regulators, say lawyers with expertise in antitrust law, would be Live Nation’s recent entry into the ticket-selling business — essentially a challenge to Ticketmaster on its own turf.

“That would definitely be something the government would want to look at,” said Joseph J. Simons, a partner at Paul Weiss Rifkin Wharton & Garrison, and a former chief antitrust enforcer at the Federal Trade Commission.

Regulators, Mr. Simons said — whether from the Department of Justice or the F.T.C., the two government bodies that review mergers — are often hesitant to approve deals that quash new competition in a historically concentrated business.

In the ticket business, Ticketmaster had 30 percent of the $21 billion events market last year, according to data from Forrester Research. But in the more narrow view of just concerts, Ticketmaster’s market share was closer to 70 percent, according to Scott W. Devitt, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus. Mr. Devitt estimates that Live Nation, as a promoter of concerts, is three times the size of its next nearest competitor, the Anschutz Entertainment Group.

“I think it’s safe to say this will be reviewed aggressively,” Mr. Devitt said.

Robert W. Doyle Jr., a partner at Doyle Barlow & Mazard, a Washington law firm that specializes in antitrust litigation, said that the high market share in ticketing and event promotion made this “a problematic deal.”

“I think the Obama administration would be much more aggressive” than the prior administration in reviewing merger deals, he said.

A representative for Live Nation declined comment, and a spokesman for Ticketmaster was not immediately available for comment.

Ticketmaster has a long history of entanglement with regulators and plaintiffs over questions of anticompetitive practices, but has mainly escaped those complaints intact.

This week, a congressman sent a letter to the F.T.C. seeking an investigation into the company’s relationship with a subsidiary, TicketsNow.com, that sells tickets on the secondary market.

The congressman, Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, wrote in a letter that he was responding to concerns that fans of Bruce Springsteen had technical problems when trying to buy concert tickets on Ticketmaster’s Web site. But an ad on the same page could direct them to buy tickets on TicketsNow.com at a “value marked up hundreds of dollars beyond their original value,” according to Mr. Pascrell.

In the letter, he wrote, “there is significant potential for abuse when one company is able to monopolize the primary market for a product and also directly manipulate, and profit from, the secondary market.”