Ticketmaster

A large and evil corporation which sells tickets in the U.S. They are probably the most obvious example of a monopoly to be found. Pearl Jam and other bands have unsuccessfully tried to break their stranglehold on the market, while the department of justice does nothing with the Sherman Antitrust Act.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that
unnerves me...and causes me to tremble for the safety
of my country....Corporations have been enthroned ... an
era of corruption in high places will follow...and
the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong
its reign by working on the prejudices of the people ...
until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands...and
the republic is destroyed."
-- Abe Lincoln

Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TMCS) is the largest ticket distributor in the US. In 2001, they sold more than 86.7 million tickets, valued at more than $3.6 billion. Ticketmaster is majority owned by USA Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAI) and is a part of its Interactive Group. Ticketmaster has the exclusive right to sell tickets to all major venues in the US. They also sell tickets to events in Canada, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Tickets sold through Ticketmaster are subject to various fees and taxes. These may add up to 20-30% of the face price of the ticket. These don't include special shipping options, which may be another $15-25. TMCS also owns Match.com, Citysearch, Evite, ReserveAmerica, PacerCats, Admission.com, Synchro.com, and Ticketweb.

Most of this info from aboutticketmaster.com