Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global
entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the
merger of
Live Nation and
Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainment in the United States and internationally. It also owns and operates entertainment venues, and manages the careers of music artists.
The company has faced criticism over its role in the
consolidation of the live events industry, allegations that it engages in
anti-competitive practices, poor handling of the ticket sale process for highly popular events, and injuries and deaths that have occurred at some of its events.
History
In 2009,
Live Nation and
Ticketmaster, a concert promotion firm and ticketing company, reached an agreement to merge. The new company received regulatory approval and was named Live Nation Entertainment.
Michael Rapino, then-CEO of Live Nation, became the new company's CEO, while Ticketmaster CEO
Irving Azoff
Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American entertainment executive and chairman of Full Stop Management, which represents recording artists. In the mid-1980s, he brought success to MCA Records.
Since September 2013, he has been cha ...
was named executive chairman.
The merger was approved first in Norway and Turkey in 2009.
The United Kingdom's
Competition Commission provisionally ruled against the merger, but reversed its decision on December 22, 2009.
The merger was opposed in the U.S. by some regulators, artists, fans, and competing firms, who argued it would reduce competition in the industry and increase ticket costs. Artist
Bruce Springsteen was one vocal opponent of the merger at the time.
On January 25, 2010, the
United States Justice Department
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
approved the merger pending certain conditions.
Ticketmaster had to sell ownership of its self-ticketing company,
Paciolan
Comcast Spectacor is a Philadelphia-based American sports and entertainment company. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, the P ...
,
and license its software to
Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which would allow it to compete "head-to-head" with Ticketmaster for business.
AEG was given the option after five years to buy the software, replace it with something else, or partner with another ticketing company.
Additionally, Live Nation Entertainment was placed under a 10-year court order prohibiting it from retaliating against venues that choose to accept competing ticket contracts.
Investments and growth
In 2012, the company announced a partnership with Creativeman Productions, based in Tokyo, Japan.
In 2013, the company acquired the
Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (formerly The Voodoo Music Experience), commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Voodoo Experience has hosted more ...
and announced a joint venture with
Insomniac Events
Insomniac (formerly Insomniac Events) is an American electronic music event promoter and music distributor. Founded by Pasquale Rotella, it is the organizer of various music festivals, including its flagship electronic music festival Electric ...
, a promoter focused on
electronic dance music. The company later acquired
C3 Presents
C3 Presents is a concert promotion, event production and artist management company based out of Austin, Texas. C3 also produces several multi-day festivals including Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in N ...
(2014), Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (2015), and Founders Entertainment (2016), the parent company of the
Governors Ball Music Festival.
In August 2015, Live Nation announced it would form Live Nation Germany, in partnership with German promoter Marek Lieberberg. Live Nation Germany would also have oversight over Live Nation events in Austria and Switzerland. In February 2016, Live Nation acquired Canada's largest independent concert promoter, Union Events. The following month in March 2016, Live Nation acquired Big Concerts International, South Africa's leading concert promoter.
In October 2016, Live Nation Entertainment bought Knoxville-based AC Entertainment.
The company continued to invest in music festivals and promoters in 2017, purchasing a controlling interest in
BottleRock Napa Valley
BottleRock Napa Valley is an annual music festival held at the Napa Valley Expo in Napa, California.
The initial BottleRock was a five-day event that took place May 8–12, 2013. The event featured three stages with 60 bands, including Jackson ...
Music Festival, Salt Lake City-based concert promoter United Concerts, and CT Touring, as well as Israeli promoter Blue Stone Entertainment and the UK's Cuffe & Taylor.
In 2017, Live Nation Entertainment reported revenue of $10.3 billion.
In 2018, the company acquired majority stakes in Frank Productions, Emporium Presents, and Red Mountain Entertainment. In May 2018, Live Nation Entertainment also acquired a majority stake in Brazil's
Rock in Rio festival (including from previous stakeholder
SFX Entertainment, which was involved in a failed attempt at a
U.S. version of the event in Las Vegas), with its founder Roberto Medina continuing to manage the festival's operations, and providing consulting to Live Nation.
In April 2018, the
United States Department of Justice launched an investigation following allegations by AEG that Live Nation pressured them into using Ticketmaster and intentionally avoided booking acts for AEG venues.
Live Nation stated that decisions in selecting venues were not punitive, and were instead based on size and management.
In October 2019, Live Nation acquired a majority stake in
David Grutman's Groot Hospitality, which includes several nightclubs and restaurants in the Miami area.
In 2020, Live Nation was hit particularly hard by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, with essentially all concerts and sporting events around the world on hold. The company has been sued as it has been reluctant to offer full refunds to customers, though it has since amended its refund rules to address those complaints. On February 25, 2021, Live Nation released its full-year 2020 financial results, of which the company saw revenues fall by 84%.
In April 2020, it was disclosed that the Saudi Arabian
Public Investment Fund (PIF) had recently acquired a 5.7% stake in Live Nation, as of April 28, 2020, the investment was valued at just shy of $500 million. The transaction, performed on the open market, made the PIF Live Nation's third-largest shareholder.
In 2021, Live Nation acquired a majority stake in streaming entertainment company Veeps. On April 25, 2022, Live Nation acquired the Filipino promoter Music Management International (MMI) to create its local branch.
Operating divisions
Live Nation Entertainment's business segments are concerts, ticketing, and sponsorship and advertising.
The company promotes and operates live music events and manages artists under its concerts division
Live Nation Concerts.
Live Nation Entertainment's artist management arm, called Artist Nation, is included within its concerts division
and also includes Front Line Management and
Roc Nation. Live Nation Entertainment owns and operates venues, including the
House of Blues. The company sells tickets to live events through
Ticketmaster.
Legal issues
The company has faced various lawsuits alleging ticket
price fixing, hidden fees and
anti-competitive practices. Live Nation has been linked to at least 200 deaths and 750 injuries at its events in seven countries since 2006. From 2016 to 2019, they had also been cited for at least ten
OSHA violations, fined for several more serious incidents, and
sued civilly at least once for a concert incident.
Destiny's Child manager
Mathew Knowles unsuccessfully sued Live Nation in 2011, asserting that the company had spread false information about his business dealings with
Beyoncé.
In June 2013, Live Nation was charged with violating
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
health and safety laws following
a stage collapse at a
Radiohead concert that killed one crew member.
A 2019 inquest returned a verdict of
accidental death.
In November 2021, a
crowd crushing incident occurred at
Astroworld Festival—a concert event in Houston organized and headlined by rapper
Travis Scott and promoted by Live Nation—which resulted in 10 fatalities and nearly 5,000 injuries. Live Nation, Scott, and other parties involved have been named in over 387 lawsuits related to the incident, which in January 2022 were combined down into a single case.
In December 2021, the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
House Oversight Committee announced a bipartisan investigation into Live Nation's role in the incident.
In May 2022,
Representative for
New Jersey's 9th congressional district
New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented in Congress by Democrat Bill Pascrell, who resides in Paterson. Congressman Pascrell was first elected in 1996 from the old 8th district (prior to the 2010 census), defeating incumbent Wi ...
Bill Pascrell
William James Pascrell Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served in this position since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson, New Jersey, Pascrel ...
stated that he had issued letters to the
Federal Trade Commission and
U.S. Department of Justice calling for Live Nation to be unwound and broken up, citing its safety record and other factors. These calls were repeated in November 2022 after the Taylor Swift (
The Eras Tour
The Eras Tour (stylized as Taylor Swift The Eras Tour) is the upcoming sixth headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Having not toured for her studio albums ''Lover'' (2019), ''Folklore'' (2020), and '' Evermore'' ( ...
)
Ticketmaster controversy.
References
External links
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{{authority control, state=expanded
Ticket sales companies
Online retailers of the United States
Electronic music event management companies
Festival organizations
Sports management companies
Music festival organizations
Entertainment companies based in California
Entertainment companies established in 2010
2010 establishments in California
American companies established in 2010
Companies based in Beverly Hills, California
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Corporate spin-offs
Music promoters