Live Nation buys dance promoter. Is this is the future of the music industry?

Live Nation, one of the world’s largest live events companies, has further extended its reach into the world of electronic dance music by buying LA-based dance music promoter Hard Events.
The takeover comes hot on the heels of Live Nation acquisition of Cream, the UK dance music institution, and the appointment of Cream’s James Barton as the company’s President of Electronic Music.
As Live Nation look to buy their way into the electronic music market, adding to their extensive portfolio of artists such as U2, Jay-Z, Madonna, Shakira and Nickelback who have already signed up to the record label-styled events company, musicians, fans and bystanders must be wondering if this marks to beginning of a new era in the music industry.
Found of Hard Events, Gary Richards, recently told the New York Times he was suspicious of corporates such as Live Nation moving into the dance space, noting “you can’t just franchise this like McDonalds”.
Richards has clearly had a change of heart in light of the Hard Events takeover, but are his concerns justified? Could the live music scene soon be flooded with mass-produced events in a similar way to how some pop stars, boy bands and girl groups are manufactured?
As many conventional record labels  struggle to survive in the online digital world, we could soon be seeing more companies copying the Live Nation model and offering artists deals based on live performances and tours rather than copyrights and album sales.
Are live event “record labels” such as Live Nation the future of the major music industry? How do you think this will affect you as a musician and the opportunities open to you?
Let us know what you think in a comment below.