Live Nation
Festival Workers Bemoan EDC Las Vegas Postponement: “We’re Used to Bad News”
The “Headliners” aren’t the only ones reeling from the postponement of EDC Las Vegas. The COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal for the live music scene, and while fans have certainly felt its absence, the impact of the virus has been particularly devastating for music festival workers and venue crews. The lighting technicians who painstakingly retrofit stages with the rigs responsible for blowing minds; the security guards who grab creepy men by their collars and throw them out like Uncle Phil launches Jazz in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; the ticket scanners who literally open the gates of the most memorable times of music fans’ lives. These people are often overlooked by the music community at large despite their pivotal roles in ensuring special and safe experie...
EDC Las Vegas Officially Moved to October 2021, New Dates Announced
Despite the recent news that Insomniac was moving forward with the planned May 2021 dates of EDC Las Vegas, CEO and founder Pasquale Rotella has announced that the festival will move to October 2021. The somber news arrives on the heels of a triumphant April 8th announcement by Rotella that told prospective attendees, “Book your flights, hotels & shuttles.” In an Instagram post shared tonight, he said the 2021 edition of EDC Las Vegas is unable to take place in May due to its inability to align with Nevada state officials’ reopening plan. “As we expected and were assured prior to announcing the festival for May, Nevada state officials announced they would lift social distancing requirements as of May 1, creating a path for EDC to happen with strict safety guidel...
Congress Members Call on Biden to Investigate Live Nation
The letter points to a 2018 Government Accountability Office report, which concluded that Live Nation holds more than 80% of the U.S. venue ticket sales market. It goes on to add that the Department of Justice has found that the promoter has repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement over the course of the last 10 years by threatening venues and forcing the bundling of artists with ticketing services. In 2019, Live Nation reached a settlement with the DOJ’s antitrust division agreeing to extend the 2010 consent decree governing the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation to 2025 and clarifying rules regarding threats and retaliation against venues that don’t sign with the ticketing giant. “We believe the prior admin...
Live Nation and Veeps to Retrofit 60+ Venues for Livestreaming
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T02:13:23+00:00“>April 13, 2021 | 10:13pm ET Livestreaming has been embraced out of necessity over the last year, but even when things return to “normal,” it doesn’t look like the format is going anywhere. In fact, it’s only going to become more advanced. Live Nation and the Veeps platform have announced a partnership that will equip over 60 US venues with turnkey livestreaming capabilities. Launching the new joint effort will be a series of livestream concerts broadcast from Los Angeles’ The Wiltern. The innovative deal finds Veeps, co-founded by Good Charlotte’s Joel and Benji Madden, installing their livestreaming setups across a number of venues at which bands frequently st...
Pasquale Rotella Clarifies News Surrounding EDC Las Vegas Safety Plan
Despite Pasquale Rotella‘s triumphant announcement that the 2021 edition of EDC Las Vegas will move forward with its planned May 21-23 dates, many found themselves perplexed by the festival’s nebulous safety plan. The Insomniac boss recently took to Reddit to quell concerns surrounding conflicting reports on the promoter’s proposal. Rotella’s statement arrives after a turbulent week for the festival. Prior to the announcement that the event will officially take place in May, Live Nation posted a number of EDC Las Vegas-specific job listings, many of which included the phrase, “Travel required in May.” However, prospective attendees who believed they were safe to pack their bags had their plans quickly dashed by the news that Nevada state offici...
EDC Las Vegas 2021 Safety Plan Includes COVID-19 Scent Detection Dogs, Negative Tests and Vaccines
As the fate of EDC Las Vegas hinges on a robust safety plan submitted to Nevada officials, details of the proposal paint a vivid picture of a mid-pandemic major music festival. According to the plan, which was submitted to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Insomniac CEO and founder Pasquale Rotella estimated about 200,000 attendees would enter the festival over its planned May 21st to 23rd run. Local Fox affiliate station KVVU reports that EDC organizers will require face coverings and instate a “health pass” to ensure negative COVID-19 testing or vaccination. Organizers are also considering the deployment of COVID-19 scent detection canines, pending the results of ongoing studies of their effectiveness. If deemed effective, Insomniac is planning to...
Confirmed: EDC Las Vegas to Move Forward With May 2021 Dates
Insomniac founder and CEO Pasquale Rotella has confirmed that EDC Las Vegas will move forward with its planned May 2021 dates. Sharing a number of cryptic countdown videos that were tantamount to torture for EDC fans, Rotella eventually announced the news in a triumphant Instagram post. “Electric Daisy Carnival is finally on the horizon. There were times during the pandemic when many of us lost hope,” Rotella wrote. “We were challenged to learn & listen to our hearts & trust that the storm would eventually pass, making way for a bright & sunny future for those in our community & around the world.” “With the world being shutdown for over a year, I’m happy to announce we’re on our way to being able to celebrate in person,” he continued...
New Live Nation Job Listings Point to EDC Las Vegas Keeping May 2021 Dates
A slew of new job listings posted by major music festival promoter Live Nation seem to have confirmed the May 2021 dates of the company’s flagship event, EDC Las Vegas. In light of the impact of COVID-19, the road to the fest’s 2021 edition has been shrouded in uncertainty. In a late-March announcement, Insomniac founder and CEO Pasquale Rotella said the promoter submitted a “robust safety plan” to Nevada officials which, if approved by the state, would allow them to move forward with the festival’s planned dates of May 21st to 23rd. However, he cautioned that if the plan is rejected, EDC Las Vegas will move to October 2021. Some of the EDC Las Vegas-specific job listings, which were published yesterday, April 7th, include the phrase, “Travel required in...
Michael Rapino, Other Live Nation Execs Partially Forfeit Bonuses Due to COVID-19
Live Nation President Joe Berchtold and chief financial officer Kathy Willard also forfeited restricted stock today due to the revenue miss. A spokesperson for Live Nation told Billboard that regular stock and cash payments were also reduced as part of the adjustment. In April, Rapino announced he was reducing his salary to $0 as part of a cost-savings initiative at the company brought on by the pandemic. In 2019, the company’s compensation committee agreed to pay Rapino a $6 million cash bonus if the company achieved an adjusted operating income of $875.0 million, and between $6 to $12 million if he hit between 100% and 110% of the AOI target. Rapino ended up hitting 109% of his target AOI ($942 million) for a cash award of $11.4 million, which he deferred until the end o...
Live Nation CEO on Ambitious Hopes for 2021: “I Have Never Been More Excited About the Opportunities in Front of Us”
Despite the billion dollar loss shouldered by Live Nation Entertainment this last year, the company’s CEO, Michael Rapino, has high hopes for 2021. He cites the imminent influx of demand for post-pandemic live events as a driving force expected to propel the events hub through “the light at the end of the tunnel,” according to IQ Magazine. Given the recent success of Live Nation’s stocks, it appears their predictions may not be unfounded. On February 25th, share prices skyrocketed above the $90 mark for the first time in the company’s history, reaching $91.80. IQ notes that this is nearly $15 higher than the price pre-pandemic. The change may have been spurred by the 48 hour-sellout of Live Nation-produced festival Creamfields, for which Alesso,...
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino Says Largescale U.S. Concerts Could ‘Start in Midsummer’
Based on conversations with governors in key U.S. states, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is optimistic that large-scale American concerts are closer than ever to returning. He said that “a clear outline to a 75% to 100%” capacity for outdoor U.S. events in 2021 was looking likely to be green-lit.” Speaking on Live Nation’s Q4 2020 earnings call and as reported by Music Business Insider, Rapino said, “[We] think we’re better off waiting for a high bar capacity moment in most of the states to ramp up and talk to the artists about getting paid properly.” Rapino added that the prospect capacity re-opening in the largest U.S. markets with over 75% capacity was “within sight.” “We are seeing… what we’ve been talking about: [fans] are excited to get back to the show as soon as we get the green li...
Live Nation Expects to Ramp Up Business in Three Months With Government Green Light
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino shared new information Thursday (Feb. 25) about the company’s plans for the return of live music. Once the concert promoter gets government approval to operate above a 50% capacity in the majority of territories where it hosts concerts, Rapino estimates the rehiring of employees and rescaling of the company will take three months. “We’ve been talking to our global employees about that kind of timeline when we can [promote] our first show at scale,” Rapino told analysts and investors on a company conference call Thursday for the company’s year-end earnings report. During the three-month period, the company will “start bringing back marketing, production [and] all the kind venue functions” adding that the company can expect to ramp up “between the onsale or the...
