Talking of "fan engagement", some say we should expect to see that phrase, or a variation thereof, on the business cards of the company about to be created by the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster - LiveMaster - or what we should probably start referring to by its official name, Live Nation Entertainment.

For while much of the coverage of the two live entertainment giants' bid to merge centred on Ticketmaster's dominance of the ticketing industry, some reckon ticketing will be just a sideline for the combined company, which intends to dominate this much talked about, but still only just now emerging, sector of 'fan engagement' - the management and monetisation of fan relationships.

Ticketmaster brings to the table a phenomenal mailing list of music fans, plus, through its Frontline division, management relationships with a plethora of a-list artists. Live Nation, meanwhile, have a venue infrastructure that can give the fan relationship a physical manifestation, a history in negotiating sizable sponsorship deals with non-entertainment brands, and growing expertise in the merchandise market and fan club management. Meanwhile, both companies have been dabbling with the revenue-generating potential of VIP concert packages.

Get all that right, and recording and publishing rights could become a happy add-on for some artists, certainly those with an established fan base. And for Live Nation Entertainment, ticketing will become just one more revenue generating service to offer existing fans, or, perhaps, a marketing tool through which to engage new ones. Hmm, interesting.

In related news, Live Nation chief Michael Rapino is set to get a $3 million cash bonus for successfully negotiating the Ticketmaster merger, while the ticketing giant's top man Irving Azoff could receive a $2 million cheque. Two other Live Nation execs, Kathy Willard and Michael Rowles, are reportedly set for big cash bonuses too as a result of the merger. Nice work if you can get it.