I like asking questions like that.
That’s why I’m a little surprised that this bit of important info evaded most reports about the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger. But I’m glad I eventually came across Bill Wyman’s Hitsville post citing this Billboard article about the connections between the Obama administration and the heads at Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
It’s interesting, but not completely surprising news to me. Because I experienced many concerts in 2008 that displayed the mobilizing force of the Obama campaign within the live concert community.
But what I’d like to focus on here is Wyman’s word choice.
The negative impact of a paranoid mind
Though, Wyman might have been using ‘paranoid’ loosely, I still liked Wyman’s use of the word ‘paranoid’ because it got me thinking about how we could choose to respond psychologically to the relationship between the Obama Administration and the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger.
And when I thought about the effect of paranoia on our minds in times crisis or when we need to take some type of action, I thought about how being paranoid can have a negative impact and actually produce the opposite of what we really need in order to keep tabs on this merger situation: clear and rational thinking.
In response to this Obama connection news (or any situation that requires a level-headed response), I decided being paranoid isn’t the best thing. Because all it does is shut down our brain’s ability to think clearly and rationally. In order to keep The Obama Administration and big companies like Live Nation and Ticketmaster honest, we really need to be informed and level-headed concertgoers. And we definitely don’t need to be ‘paranoid’ to the point where we stop think rationally or stop thinking at all.
We need to balance our love for live entertainment with an informed mindset, so we can continue to enjoy live music on our terms. And we do this by not letting paranoia rule our minds nor let our love for live entertainment lull us into a state of political and civic apathy. We have a right to be entertained (sounds kind of funny but it’s true) and a responsibility to stay informed about the laws and happenings that determine our live concert rights. Judging by what I saw at concerts in 2008 we know how to be political and still have fun rockin’.
Since the Senate hearings in February, there’s been no official update on the merger status. But we’ll keep our antenna up and not let ‘paranioa strike deep or into our minds seep.’