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Live Nation is a live events company based in the United States of America. Live Nation, formed in 2005 by a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications. The present CEO of the company is Michael Rapino and its headquarters is located in Beverly Hills, CA. In 2005, Live Nation promoted or produced over 28,500 events, including music concerts, theatrical shows, specialized motor sports and other events, with total attendance exceeding 61 million. As of September 30, 2005, Live Nation owned or operated 117 venues, consisting of 75 domestic and 42 international venues. These venues include 39 amphitheaters, 58 theaters, 14 clubs, four arenas and two festival sites. In addition, through equity, booking or similar arrangements Live Nation has the right to book events at 33 additional venues.
History On December 21, 2005, Clear Channel completed the spin-off of Live Nation, formerly known as Clear Channel Entertainment. Live Nation is now an independent company and is no longer owned by Clear Channel. As part of the spin-off, Live Nation has a temporary Transition Services Agreement which allows it to use certain services of Clear Channel including PR, legal, HR, and accounting staff. The 2006 Annual Report notes that these shared services: "will terminate at various times, generally ranging from two months to one year after the completion of the Separation."* There will, however, remain individuals involved in both companies, specifically: L. Lowry Mays (Director of Live Nation;Chairman Clear Channel), Mark P. Mays (Vice Chairman of Live Nation; CEO, president and COO of Clear Channel) and Randall T. Mays (Chairman of Live Nation; Executive Vice President and CFO of Clear Channel) * These individuals serve in the capacity of members of the board of Live Nation or as corporate officers. United States Worldwide Controversy As a previous subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications under the Clear Channel Entertainment name, Live Nation was party to some highly visible controversies. The 2005 SEC filing for the creation of Live Nation listed several reasons for pursuing the split, including avoiding regulatory and legal pitfalls faced by Clear Channel. Live music recordings In 2004, Clear Channel acquired a key patent in the process of producing "instant live recordings", in which a live performance is recorded directly from the sound engineer's console during the show, and then rapidly burned on CD so that audience members can buy copies of the show as they are leaving the venue. This is intended to provide additional revenue to the artist, venue, and promoter, as well as stifle the demand for unauthorized bootleg concert recordings made by audience members for profit. However, some media critics, as well as smaller business rivals, believe that Clear Channel is using the patent (on the process of adding cues to the beginning and ending of tracks during recording, so that the concert is not burned as a single enormous track) to drive competitors out of business or force them to pay licensing fees, even if they do not use precisely the same process. It is unclear whether this patent now resides with Clear Channel or Live Nation. * Dirty Tactics In Philadelphia around 2003-2004, Clear Channel was rumored to have looked up documents on the main R5 Productions venue, the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. The police raided the venue, shutting down the show and forcing everyone to leave. They cited anonymous tips that included data from the central records database of Philadelphia which said that the church was not permitted to be a venue for live music (permits are required and were more strictly enforced after the Great White tragedy). Although the information of the anonymous tipper was never disclosed to the public, it was rumored to have been an operative working for Clear Channel Entertainment because at this time, R5 Productions was just beginning to book more touring bands and taking away a lot of bands from Clear Channel. Bands were beginning to go to independent promoters rather than have to succumb to "corporate control" of their tour. Lawsuits Clear Channel settled a lawsuit with a Denver, Colorado concert promoter, Nobody In Particular Presents (NIPP). In the lawsuit, NIPP alleged that Clear Channel halted airplay on its local stations for NIPP clients, and that Clear Channel would not allow NIPP to publicize its concerts on the air. The lawsuit was settled in 2004 with no monetary consideration, but Clear Channel has new rules regarding local concert promotion in Denver. In 2002, Clear Channel was sued by the US Justice Department for not allowing people with diabetes to bring medically necessary supplies, including syringes used for insulin, into concert venues. Clear Channel changed their policy shortly afterward. In 2004, Clear Channel was sued by a San Francisco, California man for charging a mandatory parking fee on every ticket sold for a venue, whether the person purchasing the ticket was driving alone, car-pooling, or using public transportation. This is still unresolved. Corporate governance Current members of the board of directors of Live Nation are: Henry Cisneros, Jeffrey T. Hinson, L. Lowry Mays, Mark P. Mays, Randall T. Mays, Connie McCombs McNab, John N. Simons, Jr., Timothy P. Sullivan, and Michael Rapino Top executives See also "Live Nation is a Minion of Evil" by Jake McGee * Sources Websites | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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