Former concert promoter and multiple venue owner Live Nation has expanded its scope within the music scene by signing high profile acts such as Jay-Z, Madonna and Nickelback to so-called 360 deals which include merchandising, distribution, licensing and touring. In order to "hone (its) focus on (the) music business" and pay off some debt, the company announced on Tuesday evening that it sold its motor sports division for $200 million to Feld Entertainment, a producer of circuses, ice events and musicals.
Live Nation called the motor sports division "its largest non-core asset" before the sale. Live Nation has now sold $465 million-worth of its business, including its theater division, sports agency, a San Francisco office building and music venues it called "non-core" to date, to increase its focus on music.
The company's contract with Ticketmaster expires at the end of 2008, which will hopefully bring some more competition into the online ticketing market. In other words, Live Nation has plenty of ways to spend this money on its music division before January 1 – and beyond.
We plan to meet with Live Nation executives next week; expect more details on their plans soon.
See Also:
