I think we knew at the time that it was a textbook Communist-created famine, so not at all surprised that Mengistu simply stole the money, or that St. Bob Geldof ignored the warnings.
As to the argument that “Live Aid ruined music,” I think the author is confusing correlation (or temporal proximity) and causation. Music did indeed fall off a cliff in the mid-late 80s, but I don’t think it was “because of” Live Aid. Even had their been no Live Aid, the wells of creativity were running dry at that time.
Most music from the 80s has aged poorly compared to what was produced in the 60s and 70s.
I believe the 80's had a lot of great music and creativity. The fall-off occurred with the increasing popularity of Diva driven banal pop fluff and the beginning of Grunge for the remaining hard rockers. I haven't bought a new CD in years, except for a few re-mastered classics.