The Celebrity Truth

Irish supergroup U2 will be rocking stadium crowds well into their 60s, with news that the band has signed a 12-year "contractual relationship" with Live Nation in a deal that will see the company handle the band’s touring and merchandising, and their official website.

No monetary amount has been specified by either party, however pundits anticipate the deal to be worth over US$100 million.

Live Nation’s Michael Cohl and Arthur Fogel, who have worked with U2 for a large part of their career, say they are looking forward to a long relationship with U2.

"The band has always been forward thinking and as one of our original and most successful artists, we are delighted to be able to work with them for many years into the future," Cohl said.

Frontman Bono hopes the deal will help the band establish closer links with their fans saying, "With regards to U2.com, we feel we’ve got a great website, but we want to make it a lot better. We want a closer, more direct relationship between the band and its audience, and Live Nation has pledged to help us with that."  

U2 are currently working on a new album, which is set for release later this year, with their longstanding manager Paul McGuinness saying the band "are doing their best work right now, on record and in concert".

According to a press release, U2′s recording and publishing deal with Universal Music is "not affected by the Live Nation deal" and "is expected to be finalized in the coming months".

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Photo courtesy of Universal Music.

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