Russ Feingold: “After I began looking into the consolidation trends, I was taken aback by the diverse range of people that expressed…”

“After I began looking into the consolidation trends, I was taken aback by the diverse range of people that expressed concerns about the effects of concentration and consolidation. Concert goers talk all the time about higher ticket prices. Broadcasters, artists, and others in Wisconsin and across the country have told me about reduced diversity and local input in the music industry. And local businesses have spoken about anticompetitive behaviors that have put them on an unfair playing field. Following the passage of the Telecommunications Act, and the resulting vertical concentration, a number of trends have emerged. Ticket prices have gone through the roof, during the same period in which a few companies consolidated ownership of radio stations, promotion companies, venues, and advertising. This chart compares ticket prices during the period of consolidation following the 1996 act with the preceding 5 year blocks of time. Before the passage of the 1996 act, ticket prices rose slightly faster than the Consumer Price Index. For example, from 1991 to 1996, concert ticket prices grew by about 21 percent, compared to the consumer price index increase of about 15 percent. Following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, however, ticket prices have increased almost 50--50--percentage points more than the Consumer Price Index. From 1996 to 2001, concert ticket prices grew by more than 61 percent, while the Consumer Price Index increased by only 13 percent.”