Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), a business centered on music concerts, one that counts Madonna and U2 among its portfolio of artists, promoted its fourth-quarter numbers earlier in the week. After browsing the data, and considering comments on guidance, I'm not sure I would want to buy the stock, even after seeing that it closed on Friday at a 52-week high.

According to BusinessWeek, Live Nation booked an operating loss of $64 million during the three-month period (adjusted operating income was positive, however). Sales went down well over 4%. Free cash flow for the full year, though, as detailed in a table right at the beginning of the press release, came in at nearly $59 million. That table also provides financial information for Ticketmaster, which recently merged with Live Nation.

Live Nation (NYSE: LYV), the big, famous concert promoter that counts Madonna as a member of its roster, reported dismal Q4 results on Monday after the bell. A huge write-down in goodwill related to a bad decline in market capitalization led to a loss per share of $4.33. That was many times more than the year-ago loss of 25 cents per share in the similar period. According to this source, Live Nation lost 89 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Wall Street was thinking that maybe the promoter would lose 22 cents per share. Quite the disparity there, eh?

Looking through the press release, I see that there's a lot going on in terms of acquisitions and adjustments. Overall, I came away less than thrilled with the business. I wasn't taken by the statement of cash flows, and I have to wonder how difficult it will be to close on the Ticketmaster (NASDAQ: TKTM) merger. There's talk of antitrust issues.

While sagging global music sales may be down, spelling hard times for music labels and the like, the proliferation of cribbed (read, downloaded illegally) music is actually driving concert sales to record levels.

Anyone heard of Live Nation (NYSE: LYV)? It only happens to be a real player in this industry. Live Nation recently announced its global ticketing initiative, which is set to debut next January. Live Nation is partnering with European firm CTS Eventim, which will provide the back-end technology and other related services for LYV's ticketing business.

So, what does this new business mean to a company that is a mover and shaker in the the promotion and production of live music shows, theatrical performances, and specialized motor sports events?

To those of you with younger females in the house, you may know the Disney television show Hannah Montana. It features the real-life daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus as a normal teenager that has a secret double life as a Hillary Duff-esque teenie-bop singer. This past Saturday morning, tickets were to go on sale at 10 a.m. CDT for tickets to a December Hannah Montana concert.

To girls in the eight-to-15 age bracket, this is gold stuff. Problem is -- no tickets were actually available at 10 a.m. when they were supposed to go on general sale. Using a combination of live, box-office presence, wireless Internet website checking and old-fashioned box-office phone calling, it was pretty clear to probably thousands of local parents here that no tickets would be for sale.

As always, the problem with high-profile concerts and appearances is the scam-laden "ticket broker" industry. These opportunists somehow manage to scoop up all tickets to major events (especially high-demand children's events) before general public ticket sales even happen, then spread them all over the web at 400% to 1000% markups. Some parents don't care and will do anything to buy these tickets, while level-headed ones become incredibly annoyed that ticket travesties like this happen, and consistently.

Apple has finally found a product, in the iPod, that is an unqualified profit monster. The company is morphing from niche hipster to provider of music to the masses. And as part of the transformation they're making moves that never before seemed possible, like using Intel chips and (horrors!) Microsoft software on their computers. New strategies indicate that Apple is willing to be creative and do some interesting deals, like the one where the Red Hot Chili Peppers are selling advance tickets to their upcoming tour through the iTunes store.

The obvious next step? Porn, says Mark Gilbert (no relation to yours truly). If iPod owners will watch films on their 2.5" screens, surely they'll watch movies of an, umm, more lascivious nature. It's a huge money business; if Apple could get just a sliver of that $20 billion in adult video sales each year, they might continue their finally-respectable growth. But is growth respectable if it's (literally) made on the backs of the naked and promiscuous?

I love profits and all, but for the same reason I wouldn't invest in cigarettes, I'd feel very different about an Apple (fruit of the tree of good and evil) sinking its strategic go-juice into porn. Mark Gilbert doesn't agree, with the (flawed) rationale: "A search on Google Inc. shows a bunch of companies willing to sell the content and software needed to view erotic material on an iPod. Apple may as well grab some of that revenue for itself." With this logic, you could justify anything. I, for one investor, will pass.