Eddie Van Halen, Seal and four members of Journey (Neal Schon, Jon Cain, Deen Castronovo and Ross Valory) have also delivered letters to the Senate and House Judiciary Committee voicing their support for the deal.

And, as Bruce Houghton points out on music technology and business blog Hypebot, they all left one really important fact out of their letters – just like Corgan.

But in each case, the artist, as well as Ticketmaster and Live Nation, failed to reveal their connection to one of the key players in the deal.

Gee, wonder who that could be?

Each is managed or co-managed by Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff and his Front Line Management. Azoff is also slated to hold one of the top three positions in the new merged company.

Actually, Seal is not managed by Front Line, but he was until recently, and his relationship with Azoff goes back quite a few years.

Earlier this week, when news broke that Corgan had formally spoken up in support of the merger, it was unclear exactly how he delivered his letter. Hypebot sheds a little light on that.

The letters were presented during a recent hearing before a sub-committee of the U.S. House of Representatives after Democratic Party Rep. Brad Sherman, who represents Azoff’s Los Angeles district, asked if anyone had letters to present regarding the merger.

The hearing Hypebot is referring to was a separate review of the TM/LN merger that took place in the House and got very little to no coverage.

In other words, it was the perfect place for Rep. Sherman to set up this little exchange without some of the parties against the merger who were at the bigger show (and who would undoubtedly know the relationship between Azoff and the artists) crying foul.

Houghton, who is founder and president of booking agency Skyline Music, managed to get his hands on copies of all four letters.

The missives cover much of the same ground as Corgan’s – career path, gratitude for success, where the music business is headed – before expressing a firm conviction that this merger is the way forward.

Van Halen trots out the warm-fuzzies in his letter:

My 17-year-old son, Wolfgang, joined the band a couple of years ago as our bassist. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world. Aside from how the merger could help me and my band, Wolfie and his future in this industry is really the reason why I’m in favor of these two trusted companies coming together.

Aww. Let’s hope for Wolfie’s sake he doesn’t follow exactly in your footsteps Ed.

If this deal helps bring our fans closer to the band, with more direct access to merchandise, new music we write, and other promotions we do, it’s going to ensure that Wolfie and I have a future in music. And not just us, but all other musicians trying to make their dream a reality in this economy.

How exactly is this merger going to provide “more direct access to merchandise, new music we write, and other promotions we do” Eddie? Don’t fans already have direct access to those things? Does this mean you’re going to drive to my house and download your latest album onto my computer personally?

In their letter, the members of Journey go out of their way to point out that there will still be plenty of healthy competition out there.

And importantly, just like there is currently, a thriving independent venue and ticketing system will continue to operate. This multi-layered industry offers artists and fans many choices in how they set up their ticketing, touring and interaction.

“A thriving independent venue and ticketing system”?

Okay, let’s look at venues first. The only company that’s even within a stone’s throw of Live Nation in terms of how many venues it controls is AEG. And the numbers aren’t even close. It’s like being the second place finisher in a bike race where Lance Armstrong is number one.

Now for ticketing. Let’s see. Who’s a serious competitor for Ticketmaster? Well, there was that one giant company that stopped doing business with them and started doing their own ticketing…

Oh wait. That was Live Nation.

There’s one thing about all four of these letters that really puzzles me. Artists have been painting the label system for years as a giant monster trampling on their rights. And in many cases that was justified.

But now that it’s mortally wounded, why would they want to sign on to something that’s not only going to be more gargantuan than most labels ever were, it’ll be pretty much the only game in town?

Seal’s letter is the most transparent about the motivation:

I’ve been involved in music as a performer for more than 20 years. Like most artists, the thing I most wanted when I started my career was a record deal. At the time, that was the only way to get my music out there and still make a living doing what I love – creating music.

I performed in London, where I grew up, then explored the world with various bands. As an unknown artist, I played live in front of as many people as possible. I toured Japan. I joined a band in Thailand. Attempting to build a fan base, I toured all over the world, playing in any venue that would have me, for little or no money.

Eventually, I was fortunate enough to get signed to a major record label, Warner Music. Since 1991, I’ve sold 15 million albums worldwide, five of my albums have placed in the top 30, and my songs have been hits in pop, adult contemporary, R&B and dance formats.

There’s your answer: They’re rich and want to stay that way.

Every one of these artists made a fortune selling records/CDs. Those days are over. Not even Madonna can produce an album that sells 1 million copies upon release anymore. Granted, Van Halen, Journey and even Corgan probably make decent money from back catalog sales. But they’re not gonna stay rich that way.

So it seems that all of these big names have decided that their best chance to keep on living the life to which they’ve become accustomed is to keep on dancing with the devil.

Read Bruce Houghton’s post on Hypebot here.

Read Eddie Van Halen’s letter to congress here.

Read Journey’s letter to congress here.

Read Seal’s letter to congress here.

Read my previous post about Billy Corgan’s letter to congress here.