Roger Field to depart Live Nation APAC
Live Nation Asia-Pacific president Roger Field is stepping down after more than a decade with the company.
Melbourne-based Field was named president of Live Nation APAC in September 2020. He joined the firm in 2010 to set up Live Nation Australia alongside VP of touring Luke Hede, and led the growth of the Australian and New Zealand businesses, initially as COO and then CEO from 2017 following LN’s acquisition of Michael Coppel Presents in 2012.
Field was tasked with overseeing all of Live Nation’s businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, including tours by the likes of Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Pink, U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Music Network sources describe the split as “amicable”, with Alex Klos set to become COO of LN Australia & New Zealand, alongside his position as APAC CFO.
Speaking to IQ earlier this year, Field said: “Australasia is going great. This will be our biggest year ever and we’re seeing unprecedented attendances at all levels from club to arenas. We have more artists coming to our shores and we’re having our biggest stadium year.”
“It seems that the years of being unable to tour and operate have enabled a number of arena acts to take the leap into stadiums with huge success”
“It seems that the years of being unable to tour and operate have enabled a number of arena acts to take the leap into stadiums with huge success. This in turn creates the opportunity for more acts to step up to fill those arena dates – and fans are really getting behind these artists and demanding even more.”
Live Nation’s suite of venues in the region includes The Palais Theatre in Melbourne, the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, the Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide, and Anita’s Theatre, and it has continued to expand its portfolio of venues and live assets.
“Our venue development is a huge priority for us across both Australia and New Zealand – we’ve just celebrated the return of the iconic Festival Hall in Melbourne to a full-time live music venue after signing a multi-lease and that’s only the beginning,” added Field. “Our interest in venues of all sizes is partly motivated by having the ability to engage with a variety of artist content, even if we’re not promoting it, but also open to new ticket buying markets.”
Field also served on the executive committee of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF), which comprised all major Australian live businesses and was set up at the height of the pandemic to ensure fans could return safely to live events once restrictions on mass gatherings were lifted.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Live Nation acquires Hong Kong’s Clockenflap
Live Nation has acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong-based promoter Clockenflap and its flagship music and arts festival.
One of Asia’s best-known festival brands, Clockenflap made its return in early March after a four-year hiatus, featuring artists including Arctic Monkeys, Balming Tiger, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Cardigans and Wu-Tang Clan.
The Clockenflap team will continue to curate, manage and produce its events, with co-founder and music director Justin Sweeting confident that Live Nation’s support and resources will help cement its status internationally.
“It was a wonderful feeling seeing a capacity crowd at the festival last weekend – Clockenflap has one of the most positive and open minded audiences in the world,” he says. “The Live Nation team share our vision for Clockenflap being one of the best city festivals in the world, and with Live Nation’s support and resources, I’m excited for the future of the festival.”
Founded in 2008, the three-day, 30,000-cap festival takes place at Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront Event Space. Its next edition has been confirmed for 1-3 December 2023.
“By joining forces with Live Nation, we can continue to grow the festival and expand our event activities in Hong Kong and regionally”
Clockenflap also organises regular touring concerts in Hong Kong under the Clockenflap Presents banner, with recent sold-out shows announced for Cigarettes After Sex and Honne, and its partnership with Live Nation comes at a time events in the region are seeing a bloom in activity.
“Over the last 15 years we have grown Clockenflap into a world-class three-day festival,” says Clockenflap co-founder and MD Mike Hill. “By joining forces with the global leaders in entertainment, Live Nation, we can continue to grow the festival and expand our event activities in Hong Kong and regionally.”
“Partnering with Clockenflap further demonstrates that Live Nation is committed to bringing world-class festivals and live entertainment experiences to Hong Kong fans,” adds Live Nation APAC president Roger Field. “Our team is dedicated to supporting Mike, Justin and their team’s exceptional skills and capabilities, and through Live Nation’s global network we will enhance and grow the Clockenflap brand and deliver new and exciting live opportunities to the region.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Live Nation consolidates Asia-Pacific division
Live Nation has announced the appointment of a number of senior leadership roles intended to unify its Asia-Pacific division.
Roger Field, currently CEO of Live Nation Australia and New Zealand, has been named president of Live Nation Asia Pacific, with Mark Kneebone taking on the new role of managing director of Live Nation New Zealand and Kei Ikuta promoted to president of Live Nation Japan.
Paul Antonio, currently president of Asia and the Middle East, moves to the new role of chief operating officer of Live Nation EMEA, reporting to John Reid, president of Live Nation EMEA.
Field (pictured) joined the company in 2010 to set up Live Nation Australia alongside Luke Hede (currently vice-president of touring). Following Live Nation’s acquisition of Michael Coppel Presents in 2012, Field has led the growth of the Australian and New Zealand businesses, initially as COO and then CEO from 2017.
In his new role, Field will oversee all of Live Nation’s businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Live Nation Asia Pacific chairman Alan Ridgeway. Michael Coppel will continue as chairman of Live Nation Australia.
Serving as co-head of promotions for Australia and New Zealand since 2018, Kneebone’s new role will see him oversee all Live Nation’s businesses in NZ, reporting to Field. Stuart Clumpas retires from his role as chairman of LN New Zealand, but will continue as a consultant for the company, as well as a shareholder in Spark Arena.
“The cohesion of a true Asian-Pacific organisation presents significant opportunities for growth”
In Japan, Kei Ikuta takes over from John Boyle, who had served as president since January 2018 and is now moving back to work with Live Nation in Los Angeles. Under Boyle’s leadership, Live Nation’s profile and scale has grown significantly, launching Download in 2019, being appointed international booker for new Tokyo Olympic venue Ariake Arena and growing the company’s show count and market share. Ikuta, who joined the company earlier this year from Japanese promoter Udo Artists, will report to Field.
Commenting on the new hires, Ridgeway says: “The appointment of these roles provides us with the opportunity to further align our Australian, New Zealand and Asian businesses.
“Roger comes to the role with an impressive record of success and is in a great position to lead our growth strategy as he leverages our resources across the whole region. I wish Roger, Mark and Kei all the best in their new roles in taking our businesses forward in this new era, and thank Paul, Stuart and John for their hard work and dedication in establishing our presence in Asia, New Zealand and Japan.”
“I want to thank Alan for giving me the opportunity to lead the talented teams across the division,” adds Field. “The cohesion of a true Asian-Pacific organisation presents significant opportunities for growth, not only for our business but for the professional development of our people and relationships.
‘New Zealand continues to prove itself as a market that leads the way in the return to live and Mark is a proven leader who has played a critical role in our overall success. This appointment further solidifies our commitment to NZ and will affirm the market as a significant player in the global live industry.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
20 before 2020: Live Nation buys into Malaysia’s PR Worldwide
Live Nation has acquired a controlling interest in the live entertainment division of PR Worldwide, one of Malaysia’s leading live events promoters, in its second acquisition announced this week and the 20th of the year.
Established in 1999, PR Worldwide is one of the most prominent promoters in the Asia-Pacific region, having previously worked with Live Nation on tours including Bruno Mars, Lewis Capaldi, Why Don’t We, Jim Jeffries and Charlie Puth. It has also promoted shows by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Mariah Carey, Imagine Dragons, Russell Peters, Shawn Mendes and Disney on Ice in its own right.
The pre-Christmas buy-in to PR follows the acquisition earlier this week of Chile’s DG Medios. IQ calculates that Live Nation has taken a majority shareholding in 20 promoters, festivals and other live music-related businesses so far this year across Asia (One Production, PR Worldwide), Australia (Moshtix), North America (Embrace Presents, Neste Event Marketing, Levitate, Spaceland Presents, Bonnaroo, Groot Hospitality), Europe (Planet Events, Blockfest, Tons of Rock, Antwerps Sportpaleis, PDH Music, Go Ahead, Rewind Festival, Hög Agency) and Latin America (Rock in Rio, Ocesa Entertainment, DG Medios).
“We are extremely proud to be taking our long-standing relationship with Live Nation to the next level,” comments Para Rajagopal, founder and CEO of PR Worldwide. “It gives us a unique opportunity to continue PR Worldwide’s 20-year commitment to the development of the Malaysian live entertainment industry. Together, we can strengthen Malaysia as one of the major live entertainment destinations while giving both artists and fans the very best live experiences.”
“We are excited to add yet another market to our Asia-Pacific network, which enables us to become the leading international concert promoter in Malaysia”
“Asia continues to be an extremely important region for growth and opportunity for Live Nation. By joining forces with PR Worldwide we are excited to add yet another market to our Asia-Pacific network, which enables us to become the leading international concert promoter in Malaysia,” says Paul Antonio, president of Live Nation Asia and Middle East.
“It is our pleasure to welcome Para Rajagopal and his team to the family and we look forward to working with them to service artists and offer unforgettable live experiences to fans across the region,”
Live Nation has Asia-Pacific offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland. Earlier this year, the company announced its expansion to Singapore by acquiring leading promoter One Production and made senior appointments to its growing business in China.
It also recently launched Live Nation Connects, a creative marketing agency based in Hong Kong.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
LN Australasia appoints new brand partnership president
Live Nation has announced the appointment of Greg Segal to president of brand and partnerships for Australia and New Zealand.
Segal takes on the newly created position after serving as managing director of Sydney agency mixitup, which he founded in 2006.
Since Live Nation acquired a majority stake in mixitup in 2013, Segal has been responsible for the creation and leadership of the current brand partner programme, forming partnerships with Optus, Amex Air New Zealand, Spark NZ, Virgin Australia and more.
“Since we originally partnered with Greg in 2013, he has developed world-class brand partnerships for the Australian and New Zealand markets,” says Alan Ridgeway, chairman of Live Nation Asia Pacific. “We welcome working more closely with Greg to build on both existing and new brand partnerships in his new role with Live Nation.”
Russell Wallach, LiveNation’s global president of sponsorship and media, adds: “Greg has a proven track record of creating ground-breaking brand partnerships and this opportunity will see him leading a team of specialists in Australia and New Zealand to craft end-to-end solutions for leading brands in music and entertainment.”
“Greg [Segal] has a proven track record of creating ground-breaking brand partnerships”
Segal, who will be based in Sydney and report to Ridgeway and Wallach, says, “Over the last few years we have built a great team and a fantastic group of brand partners. I am excited to be able to continue to work with the team to deliver unforgettable live experiences to music fans across Australia and New Zealand”.
2018 was a record year for Live Nation Australia with high-profile tours including Pink, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Shania Twain. This year brings Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Maroon 5, Metallica, Childish Gambino and Post Malone and more to the country.
Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, has had a presence in Australia since 2012, when it acquired Michael Coppel Presents (MCP). MCP was later rebranded Live Nation Australia with Coppel as chief executive (he became chairman in March 2017, handing over the CEO reins to Roger Field).
Once mainly ran by independents, the touring landscape in Australia recently lost its last major indie promoter, as Michael Gudinski’s Frontier Touring joined forced with global concert conglomerate AEG Presents. Gudinski had merged with fellow Australian promoter Michael Chugg’s Chugg Entertainment in April.
Another leading independent promoter down under, Paul Dainty of the Dainty Group, sold his business to TEG, the parent company of leading ticketing platform Ticketek, in 2016.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Singapore’s One Production acquired by Live Nation
Live Nation has acquired a controlling interest in Singaporean promoter One Production.
The companies have a history of co-promotion – notably recently partnering on this month’s sold-out BTS show at Singapore’s National Stadium (55,000-cap.) – while Live Nation Singapore brought major international acts including the Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Bruno Mars to the city-state in 2018.
Recent shows for One Production, which largely focuses on promoting Asian acts, include Taiwanese rock band Mayday, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan, K-pop acts Got7, Twice, Super Junior and Exo and Japan’s One OK Rock.
One Production managing director Ngiam Kwang Hwa comments: “We already know the Live Nation team very well and are excited by all the opportunities this new venture generates for our team and our artists.”
The deal follows the most acquisition-heavy 12 months to date for Live Nation, which closed 2018 by taking over Argentina’s DF Entertainment. Terms of the One Production acquisition were not disclosed.
“We are creating the leading international concert promotion business in Singapore”
“By joining forces with One Production, we are creating the leading international concert promotion business in Singapore,” says the chairman of Live Nation Asia-Pacific, Alan Ridgeway.
Other major promoters in Singapore include Midas Promotions and LAMC Productions, which focus on international acts, and MM2’s Unusual, which mostly promotes Asian artists.
“We look forward to amplifying performance opportunities for artists, and diversifying concert offerings for fans, by welcoming the local expertise of the One Production team,” concludes Ridgeway.
One Production’s first show as part of Live Nation will be Korean girl band Blackpink, who play Singapore Indoor Stadium (12,000-cap.) on 15 February.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.