Irving Azoff exits Live Nation, will retain artist clients

[CADreaming]

By Todd Martens

December 31, 2012, 3:36 p.m.

Irving Azoff, the chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and outspoken manager of the Eagles, has left the management and concert promotion giant, the Los Angeles-based company said Monday.

In conjunction with the move, effective immediately, Liberty Media Corporation has purchased 1.7 million shares of Live Nation stock from Azoff. Liberty Media now owns a 26.4% stake in Live Nation Entertainment.

Azoff has resigned from Live Nation's board of directors and his role as CEO of Front Line Management, which represents more than 250 artists.

Azoff will, however, maintain control of his own management firm and will continue to oversee the careers of "a handful" of major artists, according to a source familiar with the negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly.

In addition to the Eagles, artists working with Front Line include Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac and Kenny Chesney, among others, but it was unclear which artists would be leaving with Azoff.

In a statement released by Live Nation, Azoff said, "I'm looking forward to returning to the entrepreneurial world and continuing to work with all my friends and colleagues at Live Nation."


"I look forward to continuing to work with Irving on his artists' tours for years to come," said Michael Rapino, the president/CEO of Live Nation Entertainment.

In an SEC filing last week, Live Nation revealed that it had extended Rapino's contract through 2017 with an annual base salary of $2.3 million.

Azoff, according to the Wall Street Journal, is joining the board of cable company Starz, owned by Liberty Media. Early in 2013 Liberty Media plans to spin off the premium network and its sister channel Encore into a new, stand-alone, publicly traded company.

Live Nation spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson declined to comment. Larry Solters, who represents Azoff, did not respond to requests for comment.

Live Nation in 2011 finalized its purchase of Front Line by paying $116.2 million to Azoff and Madison Square Garden. With the purchase, Azoff became chairman of Live Nation, which in 2010 merged with the country's largest ticket seller, Ticketmaster, in a deal worth $889 million.


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,5264112.story

[michelej1]

Interesting. I was surprised that Live Nation wasn't handling the tour packages this time. This news could have something to do with that.

Michele

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Interesting. I was surprised that Live Nation wasn't handling the tour packages this time.

What company is?

[ShangriLaTroubl]

Live Nation IS the promoter for this tour.

[michelej1]

I know they're doing the tour, but not the VIP packages.

Michele

[elle]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...wered-20130104

Irving Azoff's Live Nation Exit Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
Powerful manager was frustrated in efforts to reform concert business

Irving Azoff
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
By STEVE KNOPPER
January 4, 2013 12:55 PM ET

Days after announcing his surprise resignation as Live Nation Entertainment's executive chairman, powerful Eagles and Christina Aguilera manager Irving Azoff revealed his frustration that he couldn't use his position to lower ticket prices, kill service fees and create a long-planned online market to bundle tickets with T-shirts and downloads. "It was frustrating to be in that position," he told Rolling Stone on Thursday by phone, while golfing with Don Henley and Adam Levine at the Eldorado Golf and Beach Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. "I thought I could push a button and get it done. Couldn't get it done."

Azoff, 65, will continue to manage the Eagles, Aguilera, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen and more of his biggest clients; he has a two-year non-compete agreement with Live Nation, the world's biggest concert promoter, but can work on projects involving recorded music, TV, movies and music and book publishing. He refused to speculate about his future plans, but many in the concert business expect him to resume his role as an adversary to rich companies on behalf of his artists.

The New Economics of the Music Industry

"This guy's a sporting guy, and he likes to be involved and stir the drink," said Danny Zelisko, a veteran Phoenix promoter who worked for Live Nation from 2001 to 2011. "I would expect a lot more stirring."

Live Nation's chief executive, Michael Rapino, and his team will remain with the company. Azoff has publicly praised his partnership with Rapino, but some predict the company will struggle without a veteran "closer" to sign major tours in a heated competition with its top rival, AEG Live. Despite Azoff's non-compete clause, said Andy Cirzan, vice president of concerts for competitor Jam Productions in Chicago, "One of the two or three most powerful managers in rock is now a free agent again and open for business. He can maximize all facets of artists' careers, and that gives him an advantage when it comes down to [an artist] signing with Live Nation for a contract or signing with Irving."

Live Nation reps were unavailable for comment, but Rapino told Billboard in an interview: "You can't replace Irving Azoff, but the good news is underneath that division is a powerhouse of individual experienced managers, who have over 200 artists on their rosters, experienced pros who have been running their own business for years."

But concert-business sources predict Azoff's departure will mean Rapino's promoters will begin to seize power within Live Nation from Front Line's management team. When Azoff was with the company, an industry insider says, artists usually won financial negotiations with promoters. "Those guys [managers] had Irving in their back pocket."

A typical exchange, the source says, went like this:

ARTIST MANAGER: "Rapino's offering only 450 grand – I want $500."

AZOFF: "I'll call you back." [Pause. Calls back.] "You got the $500."

"The balance of power, which was steeped in the management side, has now shifted, with the loss of Irving, to Rapino, who comes from the promotion side," the source says. "Who gets hurt? The artist."

In interviews since his resignation on New Year's Eve, Azoff expressed frustration with working for a large public company after a 35-year career as an entrepreneur. "I can't work at a public company," he told Rolling Stone. "I kind of got trapped."

After selling his record label, Giant, to another company in the early 2000s, Azoff returned to managing the Eagles and other artists full-time. His management company, Front Line, became so large that he was able to merge it with Ticketmaster in 2008. After that, he steered the ticket-selling behemoth to a bigger merger, with Live Nation in 2010.

Azoff spent weeks before that merger telling congresspeople and reporters that he planned to use the company's new clout to fix the problems in the concert business – such as rapidly rising ticket prices on top acts and widespread scalping. He expressed frustration Thursday that he was unable to achieve these goals, blaming the travails of running a public company as well as the conflicting interests between managers and promoters within Live Nation.

Music Industry Reacts to Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger

"I really believed we could lower the ticket prices, we could stop the scalping, and I still think we can," he said. "I couldn't get cooperation from the industry to institute paperless ticketing and dynamic pricing and all-in ticketing – three things I thought were really important for artists and consumers."

Azoff left the company a much richer man. The timing of his resignation allowed him to take home $3.5 million in bonuses and salary payments and 196,000 Live Nation shares. He predicts the company will continue to grow, particularly now that Ticketmaster has upgraded its technology over the past five or six years, but he expressed frustration with the company's struggling stock prices. Some sources predict that with Azoff's departure, top shareholders such as Liberty Media's John Malone will expand their influence within the company – which could mean layoffs and other corporate cuts.

In a reflective mood, Azoff said that in hindsight he wouldn't have pushed for the multibillion-dollar merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster. "The worst experience in my life was the process of being in Washington, dealing with the merger," he said. "But Ticketmaster, in a couple of years, is going to be a great technology company. Michael Rapino is doing great things. I'm 65. I'm not going to be there for that."


Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#ixzz2GyX5TnEK
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[michelej1]

With this big transition taking place, we're lucky we're getting the tour right now. I could see it being pushed back until things were settled.

Michele

[elle]

http://nickslive.blogspot.com/2013/0...ntent=FaceBook

Friday, January 04, 2013
Azoff, to continue to manage Fleetwood Mac after leaving Live Nation

When the news broke on New Years Eve that Irving Azoff had stepped down from his position at Live Nation as chairman and CEO of Front Line Entertainment, it came as a bit of a shock. It wasn't initially clear at the time what the status of Fleetwood Mac or it's members was in terms of artist representation. But according to RollingStone, Fleetwood Mac will still be managed by Mr. Azoff.

"Azoff, 65, will continue to manage the Eagles, Aguilera, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen and more of his biggest clients; he has a two-year non-compete agreement with Live Nation, the world's biggest concert promoter, but can work on projects involving recorded music, TV, movies and music and book publishing."

Mr. Azoff will continue to manage these artists under his Azoffmusic Management. Lindsey Buckingham signed with Irving just a couple of years ago - so it seems he's still connected with Irving. Where Stevie stands, I'm not sure. Stevie's managed by Howard Kaufman and Sheryl Louis. Howard was a partner in Front Line Management with Irving at the time of the merger with Ticketmaster and with Front Line staying with Live Nation, It's not clear what her status is whether she's still with Howard and Front Line under Live Nation, or if Howard left with Irving and therefore took Stevie and whomever else he managed with him. When Irving left, leaving behind Front Line he only retained a select number of artists he managed directly ie the Eagles (who he's managed since the 70's) and Christina Aguilera. Presumably Lindsey falls under Azoffmusic Management. This is also where I'm assuming Fleetwood Mac falls. It's entirely possible that Stevie as a solo artist could be in that mix as well - or it's possible that for her solo work she's still with Howard under Front Line which is still with Live Nation. Confusing!

The Back Story
This is how I understand it... Irving Azoff and Howard Kaufman were partners in Front Line Management from '74 to '83 when Irving decided to leave Front Line to become president of MCA Records in 1983. Irving continued managing artists like the Eagles under Azoffmusic Management. Mr Kaufman then created a talent management company, HK Management, who at the time managed Stevie Nicks. In 2005 Irving and Howard formed a partnership and merged their two companies to reform Front Line, the management company. Now Stevie is with Front Line guided by Howard and Sheryl Louis. Front Line as a management company then began acquiring other smaller management companies and artists bring them under the Front Line umbrella becoming a rather large management company with a stable of managers who managed well over 200 artists, some of the biggest in the industry. Irving then took Front Line and merged it with Ticketmaster in 2008 and became the head of Ticketmaster Entertainment. Front Line became a subsidiary of Ticketmaster. After that merger, he then merged Ticketmaster with Live Nation in 2010 becoming Chairman of Live Nation in 2011. Again, Front Line was a subsidiary. With the artist and ticketing and with Live Nation and all the venues they own the world over, from a business point of view, it just made sense to have everything in house. But according to what Mr. Azoff is saying in these departure interviews, with Ticketmaster and Live Nation being public companies, you are restricted in what you can do and he felt smothered.... So he felt it was time to move on.

But it's good to hear Fleetwood Mac will still be well looked after.

Check out billboard Biz and these two articles in The Hollywood Reporter here and here plus the latest in Rolling Stone "Irving Azoff's Live Nation Exit Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
Powerful manager was frustrated in efforts to reform concert business"

I find this stuff kinda fascinating, but oh so confusing!
Posted by Nickslive at 1/04/2013 08:55:00 PM
Labels: Fleetwood Mac, Irving Azoff

[michelej1]

When Lindsey said that the tour was a year too late, it sounded strange to me. It sounded like they missed some kind of boat or deadline, not just that he wishes they had done something last year.

I wonder if, knowing that this management fissure was taking place soon, he wanted the tour to take place earlier to avoid complications and who knows what contractual problems or losses might result from the break up.

Michele

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by elle

"But Ticketmaster, in a couple of years, is going to be a great technology company. Michael Rapino is doing great things. I'm 65. I'm not going to be there for that."

I'd like to know exactly what he's expecting TicketBa$tard to become when he already stated he was unable to get them to lower the ticket prices for concerts in all the time he was running the show.

[michelej1]

He's 65 and he doesn't expect it to happen in his life time? That doesn't leave me very optimistic about change.

Apple talked about developing some kind of competing ticket service and that is the only thing I can see that might bring some kind of relief.

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

He's 65 and he doesn't expect it to happen in his life time? That doesn't leave me very optimistic about change.

Apple talked about developing some kind of competing ticket service and that is the only thing I can see that might bring some kind of relief.

Michele

hmm... did Apple ever have prices lower than competitors?

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

hmm... did Apple ever have prices lower than competitors?

No, but if they did it (and I mean linked with a third party ticket distributor, rather than actually doing it themselves) to sell us more of their high-priced devices rather than as to actually make money on ticket sales, it might work. Kind of like Itunes music.

Michele

[APerfectLie]

Originally Posted by elle

Mr. Azoff will continue to manage these artists under his Azoffmusic Management. Lindsey Buckingham signed with Irving just a couple of years ago - so it seems he's still connected with Irving. Where Stevie stands, I'm not sure. Stevie's managed by Howard Kaufman and Sheryl Louis. Howard was a partner in Front Line Management with Irving at the time of the merger with Ticketmaster and with Front Line staying with Live Nation, It's not clear what her status is whether she's still with Howard and Front Line under Live Nation, or if Howard left with Irving and therefore took Stevie and whomever else he managed with him. When Irving left, leaving behind Front Line he only retained a select number of artists he managed directly ie the Eagles (who he's managed since the 70's) and Christina Aguilera. Presumably Lindsey falls under Azoffmusic Management. This is also where I'm assuming Fleetwood Mac falls. It's entirely possible that Stevie as a solo artist could be in that mix as well - or it's possible that for her solo work she's still with Howard under Front Line which is still with Live Nation. Confusing!

I don't see why Stevie is with Front Line. Honestly, her management sucks. And didn't they "hold her prisoner" for all those years? If she is still with them, this would be the perfect time for her to give them the boot.

[BrownEyedGirl26]

Originally Posted by APerfectLie

I don't see why Stevie is with Front Line. Honestly, her management sucks. And didn't they "hold her prisoner" for all those years? If she is still with them, this would be the perfect time for her to give them the boot.

Yes, the song was "Welcome To The Room Sara"! The lyrics were, "Frontline Baby, Well You Held Her Prisoner".