NEWS
Ariel Emanuel speaks onstage during Los Angeles LGBT Center's 48th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 23, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.
Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesConcerns about IMG's ownership in a ticketing company that Live Nation had spun off in 2010 led to a Department of Justice request that IMG parent Endeavor's chief executive Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro resign from LN's board of directors, sources tell Billboard.
As part of a consent decree governing Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster in 2010, the DOJ assistant attorney general for its Antitrust Division Christine Varney required Ticketmaster to sell off Paciolan, a ticketing company it had purchased three years earlier, to Comcast-Spectacor. In 2017, Paciolan was again sold as part of an intra-company transaction to sports marketing platform Learfield IMG College, which Endeavor owns a stake in through its blockbuster purchase of IMG in 2013. Silver Lake and the Comcast-backed Atairos also hold stakes in Learfield with Endeavor.
Emanuel has been on the Live Nation board of directors since 2007 while Shapiro joined the Live Nation board in 2008.
“While there has been no violation of law, we understand and respect the DOJ’s concerns regarding the current similarities of our businesses," a statement from an Endeavor spokesperson reads.
Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.
In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."
Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."
"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.
“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”
Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.
In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."
Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."
"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.
“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”
Why the DOJ decided to act now — under the Biden Administration, the DOJ's acting assistant attorney general for Antitrust is career DOJ deputy AG and Distinguished Service Award winner Richard Powers — is unclear. Emanuel had already agreed to resign from the board effective two weeks ago when his final stock awards in the company had vested.
In a release, the DOJ described the ownership issue as an illegal interlocking directorate where "one person – or an agent of one person or company – serves as an officer or director of two companies."
Section 8 of the Clayton Act "prohibits the same person or company from serving as an officer or director of two competing companies, except under certain defined safe harbors."
"Endeavor and Live Nation compete closely in many sports and entertainment markets. Both Live Nation and Endeavor, through its wholly owned and minority owned subsidiaries, promote and sell tickets and VIP packages that include tickets, lodging and travel accommodations, to live music, sporting and other entertainment events," the release explained.
“These resignations ensure that Endeavor and Live Nation will compete independently,” explains Powers in a release. “Executives are not permitted to hold board positions on companies that compete with each other. The division will enforce the antitrust laws to make sure that all companies compete on the merits.”
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
