SMASHING PUMPKINS Frontman Favors LIVE NATION/TICKETMASTER Merger

The Pulse of Radio reports that SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan recently wrote a letter to several members of the Senate Committee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights in favor of the proposed Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger, according to Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jim DeRogatis. In his late February letter, Corgan wrote in part, "This is a new model that puts power into the hands of the artist, creating a dynamic synergy that will inspire great works and attract healthy competition . . . The combination of these companies creates powerful tools for an independent artist to reach their fans in new and unprecedented ways, all the while restoring the power where it belongs."

Corgan didn't mention in his letter that his manager, Irving Azoff, is also the CEO of Ticketmaster.

Other acts in Azoff's management stable, including VAN HALEN, have also written to the committee in favor of the merger. Azoff's Frontline Management is wholly owned by Ticketmaster and represents some 200 artists.

The merger, which would put unprecedented control of touring, merchandising, promotion and recording in the hands of one entity, was the subject of two Congressional hearings last week and is now being reviewed by the Justice Department's antitrust division.

Corgan went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday (March 10) to testify in favor of the proposed Performance Rights Act, which would make radio stations pay royalties from songs they broadcast to the performers on the recording. Royalties are currently paid only to songwriters.

The singer and guitarist told the House Committee on the Judiciary, "The change to the law we are here to discuss only redresses an outmoded, unfair practice that favors one participant's needs over another. This legislation is simply a form of restoration to artists long overdue."