*Ticketmaster settles

Lots of water under the bridge since last year's disastrous handling of ticket sales for a bunch of Bruce Springsteen concerts in NJ. If you recall, people using the Ticketmaster site were steered over to the company's resale site, TicketsNow, where tickets to those shows were sold at a crazy markup. It was a mistake, not a conspiracy, but everyone, including Springsteen, was up in arms - no doubt a reflection of how Ticketmaster was viewed among concert-goers. Anyhoo, the FTC looked into the matter and a settlement is expected to be announced tomorrow morning. Reuters quotes sources as saying that the settlement is likely to include some sort of refund arrangement. Several lawsuits were filed against Ticketmaster and TicketsNow in response to the mix-up, and the company settled complaints with the NJ Attorney General that included a $350,000 penalty. The brouhaha unfolded right before Ticketmaster and Live Nation announced plans to merge, a deal that required almost a year of government scrutiny before being finally approved last month (with certain conditions imposed).

*WSJ reports that settlement only involves a May 18 Springsteen concert in Washington, D.C. In that case, fans paid for nonexistent tickets listed on the TicketsNow service. It is not connected to the concerts in New Jersey.