Not even a year ago, Irving Azoff and James Dolan left their positions at Live Nation in a bitter split. Last Wednesday, it was announced that Azoff Music Management and The Madison Square Garden Company would team up to create a new venture, Azoff MSG Entertainment. Azoff will stand in as chairman and chief executive officer.
“We have a shared vision for ways to do things that are artist-friendly and fan-friendly,” said Azoff.
The company will remain private, unlike Live Nation, which Azoff believes will give him the opportunity to be more entrepreneurial.
“The process of being a public company in America right now sucks if you’re an entrepreneur. I’m not going to have the responsibilities that I did at a public company, where I was dealing with investor relations and board meetings. This allows me to be very entrepreneurial, but you can’t be too small or you can’t make an impact.”
In partnering with Madison Square Garden, Azoff MSG will have access to a number of premiere concert venues such as Radio City Music Hall and the Garden, as well as the soon to be renovated Forum in Inglewood, California. The company will focus on music management, television production and live events, licensing content, digital branding and more.
Also announced was a partnership with digital technology company ACTV8 and United Talent Agency in an effort to launch a new show called “Streets of the City” – live music discovery allowing viewers to find and support street acts via crowd sourcing.
H/T The Wrap
Share On
