SamboraBlog

Bon Jovi offers Jersey a tune — for a song

New Jersey tourism officials want a rockin' new Bon Jovi track to lure young people to the Garden State. But it's going to cost them.

Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora have said the state is welcome to use their latest hit, "Who Says You Can't Go Home," in a new commercial — gratis. But the song's publisher wants $175,000 for the rights, according to budget documents.

"That's not a lot of money," a source close to the band tells us. "Coke pays millions to use a song in a commercial. People should get paid for what they write. Jon and Richie are good Jersey boys. They've done so much charitable work for the state." Gannett's Home News Tribune reports that the commercial could run $250,000 — roughly what the state spent for a slogan that was later rejected.

The state Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission is trying to get the commercial's cost added to its $19.6 million budget. "There's no deal yet," says a source.