You'll notice that most of the Live Nation information revolves around mergers. It's no coincidence; Live Nation is getting bigger and bigger as the music industry. It would be absurd not to include Live Nation in this report, though plenty of its news revolves around concerts that the company is putting on. However, Live Nation has been making plenty of important business decisions and are changing the music recording industry as we know it.
Specifically, Live Nation is ushering in the era of the "360 deal." This is exactly what it sounds like: a deal in which an artist signs with one company to cover all aspects of the music business, "including direct advances as well as funds for marketing, promotion and touring" (which would otherwise be split up among two or more companies). Live Nation has signed 360 deals with Madonna, U2, Nickelback,, and Jay-Z.
More on the 360 Deal
- Here's a great breakdown of why the 360 model is here to stay by a great blog called "Lawyer 4 Musicians."
- 411Mania with a more balanced perspective on the 360 deal; it's not all good.
- In fact, it might be all bad. Why can't anything be straightforward in business?