Expert Views on Business Plans (Part II)

Irving Azoff and Michael Rapino are today's leaders in the live events industry. Together, they have managed to globalize Live Nation Entertainment into the largest concert and event company in the world. Their operations take place in over twenty-six countries around the world, more than $4 billion in revenue and are known for having a formidable list of artist under their belt. After reviewing their perspectives on business plans, it is clear that it is important to make sure all aspects (marketing, financials, operations etc.) need to be in order. As the soon to be owner of a live entertainment company, I have looked at my business plan in its current state and made sure that I have all the appropriate licenses and permits to be able to host concerts and events in India. 

Live Nation depend on marketing to let people know about their concerts that are coming up. They use many distributions channels such as social media, since a majority of people use this to keep in touch and spread news. I have made sure to include this channel in my business plan, as it will be important to inform people about my upcoming shows. Live Nation has a large list of artist under their belt and have done their best to keep them happy. Since hosting concerts and events can be expensive, I have made sure to look at outsourcing (merchandise, application design etc.) to avoid any unnecessary costs. The sectors of my business plan that I find important to the investors reading it are the marketing and financials. Investors would be interested to know wether they will make any return and if a market actually exists. I am confident enough to stand in front of investors and explain why business is worth investing in.  

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http://upandrunning.bplans.com/2011/10/03/what-makes-a-successful-business-plan/

Experts' Views on the Value of Business Plans

The two people I am going to talk about today are the driving forces in the live entertainment industry. Irving Azoff and Michael Rapino. During his college years at the University of Illinois, Irving Azoff (born December 13, 1947) began promoting and booking bands. He has also worked as an agent, concert promoter, personal manager, movie producer and CEO of a recording company. He later moved to Los Angeles and joined Geffen Roberts management, where he started work with the Eagles. After David Geffen sold Asylum Records to Warner Music, the management company split and Azoff left with the Eagles as his own client. From 1983 to 1989, Azoff headed MCA Records, and was given a lot of credit for saving the company from bankruptcy. Irving left MCA in 1989 to start Giant Records, which is now a defunct company. As a personal manager he is known for representing artists such as Christina Aguilera, Journey, Jewel, The Eagles, REO Speedwagon, 30 Seconds to Mars and many more. In 2008, Irving became chairman and CEO of Ticketmaster, which is the worlds largest and leading distributor of tickets for live concerts. After the merger with Live Nation, Azoff was made Executive Chairman for Live Nation Entertainment.

Michael Rapino was named CEO for of the newly created Live Nation Entertainment in January 2010. He was instrumental in leading the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which is now the number one live event company in the world. Prior to the merger, Michael held the position of President and CEO of Live Nation, since August 2005. In a span of five years, under Michael's leadership, the company built its position as the world's largest producer of live concerts in over 26 countries, with revenues exceeding $4 billion. Prior to acquiring his position as CEO of Live Nation, Michael was President and CEO of Clear Channel Music Group, and also had the chance to run the London-based international music division of the company. Earlier in his career, Michael co-founded Core Audience Entertainment, which was a leading concert promoter and entertainment marketing company based in Canada. It was later acquired by SFX in 1999.


When looking at business plans Irving Azoff had this to say, "Since the traditional recorded-music business models have drastically changed, there is truly diminished income derived from recorded music by artists - both current and catalog. It's all about artists and those they empower to execute their business plans" (Irving Azoff: The Billboard Power). Both Irving and Michael have the same views, since both of them work in the same industry. Both parties believe that one has to have goals for a business to be successful. 

Sources:

1) http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/record-labels/irving-azoff-the-billboard-power-100-q-a-1006016752.story

2) http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=194146&p=irol-govBio&ID=145086

3) http://www.scoopmarketing.com/2012/01/irving-azoff-is-billboards-most-powerful-in-music/