Added 03/07/2008 by ronni

Shakira $70 million Live Nation deal

Shakira is set to sign a $70 million contract with Live Nation.

The 'Hips Don’t Lie’ singer is following in the footsteps of Madonna and Jay-Z by handing over management of recording, merchandising, ticket sales and other services usually handled by separate companies.

The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of the year. However, the 31-year-old chart-topper’s recording rights currently belong to Sony BMG’s Epic Records and she still has two more studio albums to deliver – one in English and one in Spanish – as well as a greatest hits collection.

Talks have been ongoing for 10 months, sparking speculation the deal could actually be worth much more. Jay-Z is believed to have received a staggering $150 million, while Madonna reportedly earned $120 million.

There is no indication of how long the contract will last, but both Madonna and Jay-Z have signed to Live Nation for 10 years. Shakira is the highest-selling Columbian artist of all time, selling more than 50 million albums worldwide and raking in around $100 million from her global tour last year.

According to Music-News.com

Added 02/07/2008 by ronni

Last Shadow Puppets announce European tour

Following their surprise appearance on The Park Stage at last weekend's Glastonbury Festival appearance, The Last Shadow Puppets - that's Alex Turner and Miles Kane - have announced details of their upcoming tour.

The Last Shadow Puppets will be performing their debut live shows in August, followed by their first European and American shows in October and November.

The band will be joined by live musicians James Ford (drums), John Ashton (keyboards) and Stephen Fretwell (bass) and will be augmented by a full 16 piece orchestra at each show.

The tour dates are:

Portsmouth, Guildhall (August 19)
Oxford, New Theatre (20)
Leeds Festival (22)
Reading Festival (24)
Paris, Olympia (26)
Stockholm, Circus (October 15)
Copenhagen, Vega Main Hall (16)
Berlin, Tempodrome (17)
Brussels, Cirque Royale (19)
Amsterdam, Paradiso (20)
Glasgow, Academy (22)
Sheffield, City Hall (23)
London, Hammersmith Apollo (26)
New York, Grand Ballroom (30)
Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles (November 3)

Added 01/07/2008 by ronni

Nathan Hubbard Promoted to CEO of Live Nation Ticketing Unit

Live Nation has announced that Nathan Hubbard has been promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation’s ticketing unit.

Hubbard will lead Live Nation’s ticketing unit with responsibility for creating a new, innovative concert ticketing company. The new ticketing division will also manage Live Nation’s ticketing gateway, LiveNation.com.

Hubbard came to Live Nation in 2006 through the purchase of Musictoday, where he was CEO. At Musictoday, Hubbard pioneered the company’s primary ticketing system which Live Nation currently uses in its venues to sell over 2 million tickets annually to registered fan club members. Musictoday ticketing clients include Bonnaroo, and the Pemberton Festival among others.

Following the acquisition of Musictoday, Hubbard was appointed President, Ticketing at Live Nation. As the division’s founder, he crafted the company’s ticketing vision and architected the structure, process and final platform selection that will enable Live Nation to handle an expected 20 million tickets worldwide when the company takes over all of its ticketing operations.

Hubbard will lead a world class senior management team to support the mission of creating a new, innovative concert ticketing company:

• Chief Information Officer, Joe Manna, a 25-year veteran in the technology, operations and IT fields who most recently served as Chief Technology Officer of Tickets.com.

• EVP Business Development and Strategy, Greg Bettinelli, who joined the company earlier this year from StubHub/eBay, where he spearheaded the company’s landmark relationship with Major League Baseball.

• EVP/GM of LiveNation.com, Noah Maffitt, who recently joined the company from Office Depot where he was instrumental in driving growth to nearly $5 billion in total ecommerce revenue.

“We have assembled a ticketing team consisting of some of the most creative, effective and seasoned leaders in the arena,” said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation. “With his proven track record of building ticketing, online and ecommerce businesses from the ground up, Nathan is perfectly positioned to expand his role to lead our ticketing unit as we integrate our ticketing platform with a redesigned, ecommerce focused gateway at LiveNation.com.”

“Joe, Greg and Noah are absolute superstars in their fields and I’m very pleased to continue my work with them in this expanded role,” said Hubbard. “This is an exciting time for Live Nation’s ticketing initiatives, and I’m looking forward to spearheading our growth as we prepare to launch our major ticketing operation in 2009.”

Hubbard is a graduate of Princeton University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He reports directly to Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation.