#227

Author

Back of House
October 29, 2024

Issue #227

Endeavor is reshuffling assets by selling On Location, IMG, and Professional Bull Riders to its own TKO Group in a $3.25 billion deal, streamlining TKO's public assets and Endeavor’s path to go private. AXS, meanwhile, integrates with Apple Wallet for real-time venue info, and the UK mandates that football clubs engage fans on ticket pricing changes.

Credit: AXS

Endeavor sells assets - to itself?

Endeavor will sell On Location, IMG and Professional Bull Riders to TKO Group Holdings (WWE, UFC) in an all-equity transaction valued at $3.25 billion. But, Endeavor also owns 59% of TKO. The shuffling of assets from one pocket to another consolidates Endeavor’s sports and entertainment assets under one public entity (TKO) and helps the other’s (EDR) endeavor to go private via Silverlake Capital. Pun intended. 😉

AXS also integrates with Apple Wallet

Not to be outdone by Ticketmaster, AXS has also begun integrating its tickets into Apple Wallet. The integration debuted at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado over the weekend. Similar to the partnership announced by rival Ticketmaster two weeks ago, when an iPhone user with iOS 18 puts their AXS tickets into the new Apple Wallet, they can unlock real-time venue information - think parking, maps, etc. - as well as check the weather, use it to find a friend and more.

According to Bloomberg, Sports Illustrated Tickets is looking to acquire Events BSB Company LLC, also known as AnyTickets. SI Tickets reportedly needs $50 million to get the deal done and has reached out to lenders to help with the financing. SI Tickets is a primary and secondary ticketing platform and AnyTickets “works with other ticket brokers, venues, promoters, and artists by forming partnerships and revenue sharing opportunities.”

Wiz Khalifa has been indicted following a July arrest for smoking a joint during his performance at Beach Please! Festival in Romania. In a statement, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said, Khalifa “possessed over 18 grams of cannabis” and “consumed (onstage) another amount of cannabis in the form of an artisanal cigarette.” Possession of cannabis is illegal in Romania and the rapper could face between three months and two years in jail or a fine.

The several designs of the official merch for Las Vegas’s When We Were Young Festival had band name typos, including The All-Amercian Rejects (The All-American Rejects), New And Glory (New Found Glory), and We Are In The Crowd (We Are The In Crowd). While Reddit users theorized on whether the typos were on purpose or if the designs were AI-generated, New Found Glory took a different approach, releasing its own New And Glory T-shirts for sale.

There were three consequential updates on the ongoing lawsuits stemming from the November 2021 Astroworld tragedy last week:

  • Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino was ordered by the Texas Supreme Court to submit to a deposition, despite the company’s insistence that he had no involvement in the festival decision making. Lawyers for the victims argued that he did, citing an email Rapino sent the night of the incident.

  • Nearly 100 personal injury lawsuits were settled when two bellwether plaintiffs reached confidential settlements that will resolve nearly 100 claims, keeping Travis Scott and Live Nation out of court - for now.

  • The first trial has been pushed back to February.

For artists who aren’t yet superstars, the cost of touring is becoming prohibitive. A combination of factors, including lack of “tour support” from record labels, increased costs of travel and production since the pandemic, and increased visa costs for artists traveling abroad. (Visas for UK artists to visit the US went up as much as 250%.) Check out some sample “back of the envelope” math on just how the numbers shake out.

The Grateful Dead have been named the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. The band will be honored at a January 31 gala, where they will inevitably celebrate their 60th anniversary and honor bassist Phil Lesh, who passed away last week at 84 years old.

A new version of the UK Football Governance Bill now mandates English football clubs provide “effective engagement” with their fans on ticket pricing changes and potential stadium relocations. This bill establishes an Independent Football Regulator and aims to increase financial accountability, protect club heritage, and ensure clubs remain community-centered. It follows concerns over financial mismanagement and the 2021 European Super League controversy.

  • Avant Gardner: Josh Wyatt has been named the company’s first-Ever CEO; founder Jürgen “Billy” Bildstein stays on as Creative Director. Prior to the new gig, Wyatt was CEO of NeueHouse and Fotografiska. 

  • Confirmed360: Marcus Plumb joins the premium experiences company as Vice President of Strategy & Growth. Plumb was previously at SeatGeek and StubHub.

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Headliners, Lineups, and Festival Announcements 

  • Lil’ WeezyCon has been added to Lil’ WeezyAna Fest as a “unique platform of panels, networking and community engagement” for young people on November 2 in New Orleans, LA.

  • Kelsea Ballerini is going out on her first full arena tour, “Live on Tour”. The tour kicks off in Grand Rapids, MI on January 21 and wraps in Denver on March 30.

  • 615 Indie Live, a new festival highlighting independent music venues in Nashville, TN, will take place on February 1 with 40 artists across 13 independent venues. Proceeds will benefit Music Venue Alliance Nashville.

  • “Chromakopia: The World Tour,” Tyler, the Creator’s upcoming multi-content tour will start on February 4 in St. Paul, MN and end September 4 in Perth, Australia.

  • The Friendship is heading back out to sea with Disclosure, Duck Sauce, and DJ Pee.Wee (aka Anderson.Paak), February 21 - 26.  

  • The Dropkick Murphys have announced their annual St. Patrick’s Day tour starting February 25 at the Paramount in Huntington, NY and ending at Boston, MA’s House of Blues on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

  • Tool is heading to Punta Cana for an all-inclusive destination festival, Tool: Live in the Sand, March 7 - 9 at the Hard Rock & Royalton Resorts.

  • The Linda Lindas are embarking on an 18-date North American tour starting March 21 in San Francisco, CA and ending April 26 in Toronto, ON.

  • Jelly Roll, Luke Combs, and Keith Urban will headline Fort Lauderdale, FL’s Tortuga Music Festival, April 4 - 6.

  • Two Step Inn announced Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson, and Lynyrd Skynyrd at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, TX, April 5 - 6.

  • Axe Ceremonia will feature Tyler, the Creator, Natanael Cano, Charli XCX, and Massive Attack, April 5 - 6 at Parque Bicentenario in Mexico City, MX.

  • Linkin Park, Korn, and two nights of Metallica lead the Sonic Temple lineup, May 8 - 11 at the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH.

  • Primavera Sound Barcelona will feature Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter, June 5 - 7 at Pac del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain.

  • Breakaway Music Festival is expanding to 6 new cities in 2025. Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Huntsville, AL.; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; and TBA city in northern California will join current locations in Tampa, FL; Columbus, OH; Grand Rapids, MI.; Worcester, MA.; and Charlotte, NC. The first fest (Dallas) takes place April 4 - 5 and their last fest of the season will be October 17 - 18 (CA).

Cancelations, Changes

  • Cardi B was unable to perform as scheduled at last weekend’s ONE Musicfest in Atlanta due to a medical emergency.

  • Joe Walsh’s VetsAid concert, originally scheduled for November 11 at USB Arena in Elmont, NY has been canceled for “reasons beyond their control.” However, the organization will still give out $400,000 to the previously announced grant recipients.

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