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How the String Cheese Incident -- five barefoot, mandolin- plucking improvisers from Boulder -- is taking on the most hated corporation in music

MotherJones.com | Commentary:

What do you call a company that has preserved its near monopoly for more than a decade despite numerous antitrust lawsuits, that charges exorbitant fees to its captive customers, whose CEO is said to revel in the fact that he 'crushed' one of America's most beloved rock and roll bands when it dared to take the company on, that (for these reasons and more) is near the top of most Americans' list of companies they love to hate? Well, some people call it Ticketbastard, but Ticketmaster doesn't mind, so long as people keep calling -- and logging on and walking up to its outlets, which they did enough times last year to buy 95 million tickets, worth $4 billion, on behalf of its parent, Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp.

They call, of course, because they have no other choice. Ticketmaster has made hay during the recent consolidation of the entertainment industry, scooping up the exclusive right to deal tickets for nearly 90 percent of the nation's arenas and amphitheaters, and more than 70 percent of the clubs and theaters. And in the unlikely event that an artist is performing at a non-Ticketmaster venue, the company also has exclusive contracts with the country's top promoters -- Clear Channel, AEG, and House of Blues, among them -- which together sell about 30 million tickets a year."

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