Executives at Clear Channel said additional fees are needed to recoup the more than $2 billion the company spent buying and maintaining 135 venues worldwide. They say continued consumer demand indicates that overall prices aren't unreasonably high.

"I'm not sitting here telling you that we don't have some tickets that are overpriced, but we also know, based on sales, that we're seeing positive trending," said Clear Channel Music Group Chief Executive Rodney Eckerman, who oversees the concert division. "There's demand way in excess over the number of tickets available."

Eckerman said concerts by superstar acts such as Madonna ($250 for the best seats) are selling briskly. But he acknowledged that Clear Channel has sold fewer tickets than a year ago. He attributed the drop-off to a 10% decline in the number of concert dates being handled by the company.

"Clearly, so far this year, the total activity is lower year over year, but that is part of how our business cycles and it's part of the touring pattern."

In recent years, Clear Channel has emerged as the dominant force in the $1.6-billion concert industry. The firm's North American tours account for an estimated 35 million tickets a year, of which Ticketmaster sells an estimated 20 million. That represents about 25% of the tickets sold by Ticketmaster last year.

The economic pressure to squeeze profit from Clear Channel concerts is immense. Clear Channel Entertainment (formerly SFX) spent an estimated $2 billion to acquire its portfolio of venues and promoters. And Clear Channel Communications, the San Antonio-based radio giant that bought SFX last year for $4.4 billion, has vowed to increase profit in its concert division by attracting corporate sponsors and additional advertisers.

The company owns about 30 amphitheaters across the country and operates or exclusively books more than a dozen others. It also owns about 1,200 radio stations--more than any other broadcaster--and runs major tours by such popular acts as Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, U2 and 'N Sync.

"They can pretty much dictate the costs, ad rates and ticket prices," said Jon Stoll, president of Fantasma Productions, a competing promoter in West Palm Beach, Fla. "If one company controls the live-music industry, there's nobody that can really bring ticket prices down."

As a venue owner, Clear Channel is well-positioned to collect added revenue from its concerts. The company establishes and takes in the facility surcharges and per-ticket parking fees. In addition, venue owners typically receive revenue from box-office sales, concessions, a "rebate" from Ticketmaster fees and often a share of band merchandise income. All of the fees result in an income stream for the venue over and above the rent that is paid by the act drawing fans to the building.

In the case of Wednesday's Godsmack concert, a portion of the $8.85 convenience fee is paid to Clear Channel to subsidize Ticketmaster's contract for exclusive ticket distribution rights on the amphitheater. The rest covers Ticketmaster's credit card processing costs, phone company expenses, anti-counterfeiting measures and profit.