Bob,

Once again, you are blaming the artist for the problems with the record industry.
You yourself has said radio is irrelevant, so why do you chastise an artist for workings so hard to promote his art.

I would like to make a few points.

First, Jon , while definitely a classic, is far from a " classic rocker". He and his band have continued to have major hits long since the 80’s passed. How many classic artists from that era are even on the charts, lest I remind you that " Who says you can’t go home" was a number one at country radio, Jon won a grammy in 2007 and songs like "It’s my life" and "Have a nice day" got huge airplay, after the turn of the millenium.

Second, almost every major artist has wanted to be on Idol, and everyone has done the Today show , Unplugged and every other TV outlet available, why…it creates visibility for new music, is that such a crime, to let the world know that you have a new CD in the market. One addtional point on Idol, if you watched that show, all the contestants struggled with those " classic songs" why , they are tough to sing, takes a real performer like Jon to do them.

Third, you fail to mention, that this promotion surrounded Jon doing ten nights to open the first new arena in the tri state area in 30 years. He offered this promotion to his hard core new Jersey fans, who were probably going to by this CD anyway, and he put together a smart and succeful promotion to reward those fans and sell CDs, smart marketing in light of the lack of creativity surrounding our business.

Fourth, as for ticket pricing , go and check all of Jon’s contemporaries he has never been one to gouge on the price. To the contrary, he is very aware of his audience, has never been at the high end, and most importantly delivers a show that is worth every dollar of the price paid.

Fifth, and lastly….I hate when people slam Jon for being smart, as if that were a crime. Yes , he is a smart businessman, so is Bono, Jagger, Sting, Elton, etc etc….does that mean they cannot be great artists as well. Jon has has a 25 year plus career, he consistentaly sells out stadiums around the world, he continues to make hit records, he is incredibly philanthropic, has stayed married to his high school sweetheart and raised great kids….and he knows how to put on a great 2 and a half hour plus hour show, giving every fan the satisfaction of hearing three decades of hits and weaving in his new music as if you have always known it.

Instead of chastising this artist, why not applaud him…..he deserves it.

Rob Light

The response I sent to Rob:

Wow, why don’t I deduct $100,000 from your bank account, you’re going to buy a new Mercedes Benz ANYWAY!
Oh, you wanted a BMW? Well, it’s MY choice.

As for ticket pricing… Are you DELUSIONAL? People were buzzing all over the boards about the top prices.

This is boilerplate bullshit. Written as the guy’s agent.

Wow, how about pulling Richie from rehab? How about never saying ANYTHING negative? How about credibility?

You might be getting paid, but if shit like this was king when you were growing up, you wouldn’t be IN this business, you’d have no DESIRE!