Music Venue Trust has set up shop in the 'live music capital of the world – Austin, Texas – which it says faces the same "core challenges" for venues as the UK
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Austin Skyline Theater signs Statesman naming deal
Paragon Presents will present the Steve Miller Band and Goo Goo Dolls at the 7,000-capacity venue, attached to the Long Center in downtown Austin, this summer
By IQ on 23 Mar 2016
Austin's skyline as viewed from the lawn of the Long Center
image © www.knowsphotos.com
Texan promoter Paragon Presents has announced a strategic partnership with the Austin American-Statesman that will see the newspaper have exclusive naming rights over its Austin music venue, the Skyline Theater.
As part of the partnership, the Statesman will market the 7,000-capacity venue, rechristened the Statesman Skyline Theater at the Long Center., in both its print and digital media, reaching an audience of over 600,000 people per week.
The newly named Statesman Skyline Theater will open on Friday 20 May with a performance by country singer Justin Moore, with gigs by Boston and Styx singer Dennis DeYoung (11 June), the Steve Miller Band (26 July) and the Goo Goo Dolls with Collective Soul and Tribe Society (11 September) also on the agenda for its inaugural concert season.
The Long Center complex is located in Austin city centre and is home to the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin.
“This partnership brings together two of Austin’s most iconic entities to provide the best live entertainment to the city’s burgeoning music scene and its fans”
“Statesman Media and its premier news and entertainment brands, Austin American-Statesman and Austin360, are thrilled to be a part of the Statesman Skyline Theater at Long Center’s inaugural season,” says Susie Gray, publisher of the Austin American-Statesman. “This partnership brings together two of Austin’s most iconic entities to provide the best live entertainment to the city’s burgeoning music scene and its fans.”
“These kind of partnerships come down to how it can add value and benefit to the artists, the venue, and most importantly the fans,” adds Paul Thornton, president of Paragon Presents, a joint venture between Nederlander Concerts and TAG Presents and the venue’s exclusive promoter. “The Statesman is that perfect trifecta. They were our first call and I couldn’t be happier.”
It emerged last month that Austin, Texas – the self-described ‘live music capital of the world’ – shed more than 1,200 music-industry jobs from 2010 to 2014. “In a town boasting of our live music heritage, many who work in the Austin music industry can’t even make a living doing it and can’t afford to live in our city,” said advocacy group Austin Music People.
