: NEW YORK (Reuters) - A battle has broken out among Live Nation Inc's top executives over the concert-promotion company's strategy to reshape the music industry by making big, expensive deals with artists, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday.
Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino has tried to slow the pace of multimillion-dollar deals with artists, while Chairman Michael Cohl wants to accelerate it by striking deals with as many as 15 more artists, the Journal reported.
Live Nation struck a $120 million deal with Madonna and a $150 million deal with Jay-Z, the paper reported. It has held talks for a similar deal with South American pop star Shakira, according to several people involved, though no agreement has been reached, the Journal said.
The disagreement between the two executives in recent weeks resulted in Cohl threatening to leave Live Nation, and the board at one point was prepared to intervene, the Journal reported.
The executives are speaking again and Cohl has changed his mind about leaving, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
A Live Nation spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Music companies are trying to sign up artists to such "360-degree" deals which can include recording, publishing, touring, digital and other rights. The deals are all-encompassing as a way for music companies to try to make money even as their traditional business of selling music is undercut by free, and often pirated, music on the Internet.
A 12-year global contract signed earlier this year with Irish rock band U2 includes merchandising and licensing rights, sponsorship and strategic alliances, digital rights, fan clubs and Web sites and other marketing and creative services.
MTO!!!STOP PUTTIN DAT SAME PICC OF JAY Z...IF YOU AINT KNOW...HE ISZ FAMOUS *** IM PRETTY SURE DAT DERE'S WAY MORE PICSZ OF HIM...NE WAYS IF DIS DEAL GO SOUTH JAY Z ALWAYSZ HAVE A BUSINESS BACK UP PLAN...HE A BUSINESS SSLUT...SO IM PRETTY SURE HE'LL HOPE ON SOMETHING QUICK B4 HE TURN LIK MC HAMMER...LOLSZ
Watch out for These online record companies they well be taking over very soon...digitally download albums and free singles along with ringtone downloads its the wave of the future...the problem these traditional record labels have is how the treat their artist..if you are new to the game they will rape you for everything..if your hip to the game they tend to not wanna deal with you..best bet go indy or digi...get what u can as an artist cause its your music your vision,,jay has set the bar high as an artist and buisness man its more of a blueprint that that status can be reached without having to get *** 9 times or sell ur soul with a dance step ROCNATION!!!
Uuuuuuum, can you "journalists" (and I use that term VERY loosely) at MTO read? That article doesn't say a *** thing about Jay's deal being in jeopardy. It sounds to me like 2 execs are attling over whether or not to make more deal before they know how the other deals will work out. Correct me if I'm wrong. Besides, they already signed the contract and gave Jay 25 million up front, so I HIGHLY DOUBT they'd try and get out of that deal because they wouldn't get that mooney back.
From an artist stand point, I dont think it makes sense. Jay-Z is almost 40 years old, and he's a rapper. There is not that many 40 year old rappers, selling a million albums. BUT from a business stand point due to Jay's fame and power in the business its makes perfect sense. IMO, for an artist, a deal like Jay's is more suitable for someone like Kanye, Justin, Beyonce, Alicia Keys. Artist that can use that money to promote their albums and sell 3 million or more albums everytime their albums drop & who can sell out concert tours etc!!!
@ MTO, WANT YALL STOP HATING! NOWHERE IN THE ARTICLE IT SAID JAY-Z DEAL IS GOING SOUTH OR NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. HE ALREADY SIGNED THAT DEAL. THEY SAYING THE TWO EXEC JUST DISAGREEING ON CONTINUING TO DO THAT. SO STOP HATING ON JAY-Z. IF THAT'S THE CASE THEN THE MADONNA DEAL GOING SOUTH AND SHE BEEN SIGNED HER CONTRACT. GET'A LIFE AND STOP HATING.
SAME GO FOR THE ONES ON HERE U READING THE ARTICLE HOW MTO WANT U TO READ IT LIKE WE DON'T HAVE SENSE.
@ C_The_Goodfella Flag post From an artist stand point, I dont think it makes sense. Jay-Z is almost 40 years old, and he's a rapper. There is not that many 40 year old rappers, selling a million albums. BUT from a business stand point due to Jay's fame and power in the business its makes perfect sense. IMO, for an artist, a deal like Jay's is more suitable for someone like Kanye, Justin, Beyonce, Alicia Keys. Artist that can use that money to promote their albums and sell 3 million or more albums everytime their albums drop & who can sell out concert tours etc!!! ---------------
WHAT U SAYING IS SOMEWHAT TRUE BUT JAY DEAL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW MANY CD'S HE SELL. HE GET $10 MILLION EACH TIME HE BRING OUT A CD FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 CD'S. AND U SEE IT SAYS MINIMUM NOT MAXIMUM. COMPANIES LIKE THIS MAKE MONEY OFF THE CONCERTS MOSTLY NOT CD SELLS AND JAY WILL ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD SELL OUT CONCERT OVERSEAS OR IN THE STATES.
yeah, there's nothing about Jay Z's deal being in jeopardy, but the fact that execs don't see eye to eye over deals like his and this comes after his deal does warrant a story like this. I don't think it was a smart deal either, frankly. The way Jay Z is a lucrative brand (and he IS) has nothing to do with music, really. He's more of a living legend/celebrity...people don't care about his music anymore...they go to concerts to see him.
TROOPER
Yeah your right, Live Nation is a Concert Promoting company, but Those artist I named are just as capable to sell out concerts as well as sell a good few million albums for years to come. I think is Jay's last push but he's more of the business man than them other artists. For example, Justin Timberlake's tour gross killed almost every artist this year and his album sold 8 million! He is someone who can really get big money on both sales and concert sales!
Marketing people are really late when it comes to who is hot in music. They are always late especially with hip hop they never catch the hottest artist out. Jay Z is not the hottest rapper in the game today they are late and silly for giving old rappers big as deals as if they are the ones who appeal to the youth. If they were smart they would give somebody like Soldier Boy or little Wayne that deal they are what is hot now. They are very very late on Jay Z.
JAYZ NEEDS TO SIT HIS RUSTY UGLY OLD *** DOWN. AINT NOBODY BUT THE LAMES CHECKIN FOR HIS ***. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP LIVING IN THE PAST, CAUSE THIS FAKE LYRIC STEALING *** IS DONE. WHEN HIM AND BEYONCE GO ABROAD, THEM FOREIGNERS DON'T BE CHECKIN FOR HIM, THEY BE SCREAMING BEYONCE NAME. HE IS IRRELEVANT, AND ONLY RELEVANT IN THE MINDS OF THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO SWEAT HIM, EVEN THOUGH HE AINT PRODUCING NO GOOD MUSIC, PUTTING OUT JUNK CALLIN IT MUSIC. THIS NEGRO REPPIN HIMSELF, AND NO ONE ELSE. HE'S A SELLOUT, AND HE CAN SIT HIS *** DOWN ON THAT NOTE. I PERSONALLY WOULD NOT RUSH TO BUY SOMETHING JUST CAUSE HIS *** IS CONNECTED TO THE PROJECT.
UKNOWUAINTRIGHT Marketing people are really late when it comes to who is hot in music. They are always late especially with hip hop they never catch the hottest artist out. Jay Z is not the hottest rapper in the game today they are late and silly for giving old rappers big as deals as if they are the ones who appeal to the youth. If they were smart they would give somebody like Soldier Boy or little Wayne that deal they are what is hot now. They are very very late on Jay Z -----------------------------------------------
SOLDIER BOY LIL WAYNE? HOW MANY SOLD OUT CONCERTS HAVE EITHER OF THEM HAD. RIHANNA POPULAR TOO, LOOK AT HER CONCERT SALES BEFORE THEY THROUGH HER OWN KANYE''S GLOW IN THE DARK TOURS, SHE WASN'T POPPING! JAY-Z HAS SOLD OUT COUNTLESS SHOWS.
