Phillips Expected To Re-Enlist At AEG Live.

Navigation: Main page

Author: Waddell, Ray rwaddell@billboard.com

On The Road

It appears that Randy Phillips is about to re-up as CEO of international promoter/producer AEG Live.

A source says that Phillips is in the process of negotiating a new five-year deal with parent Anschutz Entertainment Group, the international sports, venue and entertainment firm.

Phillips' current contract expires Jan. 15, 2007. Since Phillips took over AEG Live in January 2002, the company has come from nowhere to become the second-highest-grossing promoter in the world behind Live Nation.

AEG Live's predecessor Concerts West, now a division of the company, grossed $30.5 million in 2001. In 2002, Concerts West had jumped to third in Billboard Boxscore rankings at $146 million. A year later under the AEG Live banner, AEG Live was No. 2 at $342 million. By 2004, that number had climbed to $454 million, and last year AEG Live reported $416 million in grosses, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Among the AEG Live successes under Phillips' watch are mega-tours by Prince, Bon Jovi, American Idols, Kenny Chesney, Rod Stewart, Dixie Chicks, Neil Diamond and the Eagles, as well as Celine Dion's historic run at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. AEG Live also produces Coachella and co-produces the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The company has raised its venue profile from the theater to the stadium level, with the new Nokia Theatre at Times Square in New York, and major arena projects in London and Berlin among their growth initiatives. Based in Los Angeles, AEG Live has opened offices in London, Houston and Nashville (with Louis Messina's Messina Group).

Phillips declined to comment on the negotiations.

SIMONIZED: Paul Simon will begin a tour in support of his new Warner Bros. release "Surprise" on June 28 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The tour will play a mix of arenas, amphitheaters, large theaters, fairs and casinos.

Simon last toured as a duo with Art Garfunkel in 2003-2004, grossing more than $80 million in a much-celebrated reunion. Simon's prior touring efforts did not scale such heights. A 2001 tour with Brian Wilson grossed $5.4 million and drew 158,604 from 22 shows. A 1999 tour with Bob Dylan grossed $22.7 million from 33 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore.

Simon is booked by Brian Greenbaum at Creative Artists Agency.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK: After weeks of speculation, sources confirm that Jim Glancy, president of Live Nation's New York offices, will exit the company when his contract expires July 31.

Glancy will partner with John Moore at the Bowery Presents in New York, beginning Aug. 1. Moore is best-known for promoting and booking shows at popular New York rooms like the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge and Webster Hall. In the new partnership with Glancy, the Bowery Presents will promote shows from the club to the arena level.

Glancy's exit from Live Nation New York leaves a gap in an office that was founded by pioneering promoter Ron Delsener in the 1960s. It later became Delsener-Slater Presents, then was among the first promoters acquired by Bob Sillerman in the late 1990s industry consolidation. These days, Delsener serves as a consultant to Live Nation; other executives in the New York office include senior VP Randi Henner and talent buyer Sam Kinken.

Venues booked by Live Nation New York include the Roseland Ballroom, the Hammerstein Ballroom, the Avalon and Irving Plaza in New York, along with Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y., and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J. Live Nation is also a major promoter of shows at Madison Square Garden, including the recent 12 sellouts by Billy Joel and six Madonna sellouts this summer.

PHOTO (COLOR): SIMON

PHOTO (COLOR)

~~~~~~~~

By Ray Waddell, rwaddell@billboard.com