During his speech to the Country last night, President Obama talked about this issue and the challenge.

So that is your core concern here?

I would like to know whether this merger will raise ticket prices and whether the proposed merger will make it harder for independent concert agents to market and promote lesser known artists at smaller venues.

Thank you very much, Chairman. Thank you for holding this important hearing.

So do you think the merger will bring the prices down for the tickets?

So why do you think other people would want to come in?

Well, that Ticketmaster has made. Because the numbers I look at show that tickets have been going up.

Didn't you say for a time you were going to be a competitor to Ticketmaster and many industry observers thought you could siphon off something like 15 percent of the market?

How do you think these small venues are going to continue to attract artists to their sites if the venue is not owned by or affiliated with your large combined company if the merger is approved?

I would like to hear from our witnesses whether the proposed merger will make it more or less likely that this and similar anti-consumer practices will go unchecked and unaddressed to the detriment of consumers.

But did there used to be more competition in this market?