The Corgan-Bono Merger

The Live Nation / Ticketmaster Entertainment merger has affected artists in different ways, namely Billy Corgan and Bono.

Corgan recently made his opinion known, on paper, that he was gung-ho for the merger. Bono, on the other hand, is too busy ratcheting up buzz for the U2 tour to know what the merger is about.

Corgan appeared before the House Committee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights in Washington, D.C., March 10 to support a bill that would give artists more favorable radio royalties. Meanwhile, he presented a letter to chairman Sen. Herb Kohl in support of the LN / TM merger.

The Chicago Sun-Times obtained a copy of the letter from Ticketmaster (Corgan apparently was less cooperative). In it, the songwriter who rhymed “rage” with “cage” wrote phrases like “dynamic synergy” and “boldly addressing the complexity of the existing musical and economic landscapes.”

There is a flowchart that can align Corgan’s Smashing Pumpkins project to Ticketmaster through its CEO, Irving Azoff, who runs the management conglomerate that is strategically aligned with Corgan’s management company.

Meanwhile, the Sun-Times’ Jim DeRogatis got face time with Bono during a recent promotional visit to Chicago by the U2 singer. Instead of asking Bono about lines on the horizon, Derogatis asked for his opinion on the merger between TM and a company Bono has financial dealings with, Live Nation.

“I genuinely don’t … I haven’t had a minute to consider [the merger]. Is it definitely going to happen?” Bono asked, before discussing a cause célèbre, the “marginalization of musicians in music.”

DeRogatis suggested Bono read up on the topic, one he told Bono was “the biggest I’ve ever covered as a music journalist.”