WEBVTT - Irving Azoff 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:12.320 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back to the Bob Left Sets Podcasting. 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:16.560 My guest today is a man who food needs an introduction, 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.000 a man who's played every role of the music business, 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.040 the one and only Irving as of Irving. Good to 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:25.759 have you here, thrilled to be here, Abob. So what's 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.000 really going on with the live business? Are we back? 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:29.520 Are we not back? Are we gonna have to have 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:32.440 vaccine passports? How do you see it? We're not gonna 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:37.040 have vaccine passports. Um. The thing that you know has 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.839 has unimpressed me, shall we say, is as we were 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:42.680 in the in the depths of this, there was all 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.480 this talk about all these people running around, we're gonna 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:48.600 have testing machines, and can you test a person every 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.800 twenty seconds or ninety seconds before they walk in the building, 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:54.600 and they're gonna require that before we can go. And 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:56.840 then it was we're gonna have you're gonna have a 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:01.440 put on your device, you know, a vaccine passport. And 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.560 and what I'm finding is none of the above. When 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:07.120 you go to a venue I've been doing, a well 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:11.520 known venue called Staples Center for a Laker basketball game. UM, 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:14.360 and you arrive and they say, uh, I need to 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:18.120 see your vaccine card. Okay, then you pull out your 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:22.040 phone and a guy looks at it for about ten seconds. 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:27.479 Doesn't match your name against the card or anything. So um, 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:31.520 you know, our government blue wear masks, don't wear masks, 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:34.880 wash your hands, don't wash your hands. And now they've 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:39.679 blown you know, at all levels, federal, state health. We 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.759 have no plan. It's it's it's total chaos out there. 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.600 So I think it hurts consumer confidence on whether it 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.360 attend to show. Um. And you know, that's just you know, 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:57.160 in addition to you know, musicians basically being the bottom 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:02.120 of the heap uh in terms of um assistance, financial 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:06.600 assistance for their cruise and them during this pandemic um, 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:08.800 they haven't even come up with a decent plan to 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:12.320 protect us, or protect the fans or give people confidence 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:14.920 to come back to shows. Now, does that mean that 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.600 people aren't going to come? Of course they're gonna come, 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.480 but they're not. I don't think they're gonna come um 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:22.560 in the numbers that they would have had we had 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:28.320 a cohesive vaccination passport plan. So are there any issues 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.720 of liability in the behalf of the promoter of the act? 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.880 Is are you hesitant to book your acts until you 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.360 see what ultimately plays out. Look, it's the it's the wild, 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:42.280 wild West. Um. I don't think anybody's really worried about liability, 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:44.920 you know. And we've got some states all already passing 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:50.320 no liability laws. Um, California, who had the strictest um 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:55.080 lockdown laws. UM. Now suddenly, as I understand it, if 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:58.000 you're going to go into a music venue, UM, it's 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.880 the honor system. You have to say, I've either been 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:05.040 vaccinated or tested in the last forty eight hours. Uh 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.920 so you know what, what's what's somebody gonna sue for 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.560 that for I mean, you know it's crazy, okay, But 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:14.200 in terms of booking your acts, where you that where 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.160 were you on that one of your acts going to 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:19.799 start hitting the boards? The gardens opening Medison Square Gardens 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.520 opening June seventeenth with the Food Fighters that that that 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.480 was up and sold out already, the second shows in 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:27.920 the Garden or the Eagles in August, I think two 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:31.400 and two. Um, there's an announcement coming at the Forum 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:35.520 for a mid July date. UM. So you know, Jimmy 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:40.040 Buffett's opening his tour in July eighth in Nashville. Um, 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.200 people are going you know and um and uh it's 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.800 hard if you're a you know on a level arena 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:48.640 or stadium act that you have to go build a 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.880 huge production because you can't be sure, um of what 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.000 of what's going to happen. So you know, the you know, uh, 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.920 they're really the really big tours are being very wary. 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.760 Most of them are just holding off until next year. Okay, 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:08.200 so let's talk about your management company. Who started in management? 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:13.000 Explain it to me. Jeffrey runs it, where are you involved, etcetera. 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:16.040 But we're a private company, Bob, so we're not big 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.479 on titles, so nobody really runs it. Um. We're a 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:24.760 group of very talented managers. Um. And and you know 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.520 we have teams of people on each account. But you know, 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.320 a managed you can't run a management business like a 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.400 real business, you know, I mean, as you know, as 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:36.279 you know, most of us in the business don't feel 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.520 that we really have jobs. You know, we really do 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.640 this because we love it. Um. But yeah, my my 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:44.760 son Jeffrey is very talented. I think he's one of 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.880 the best managers I've ever known. So yeah, he's he's 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.720 got a group of managers around him who have been 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:57.880 incredibly successful. Okay, so, uh at full Stop is what 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:01.400 the management company is called. Now, what's the derivation of that? 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:06.320 Why is it called full stop? Um? Full Stop was 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.440 a company founded by Harry Styles and Jeffrey. Aesof that 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.320 merged with I don't know what was I calling mine? 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:19.200 He's off music management, I think, and and that, uh, 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.039 you know who needs you know, we don't have a 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:23.640 case of Geff and I justs we didn't need the 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:27.159 name on the door, so full stop was full stop 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.680 was fine? So I love the name. Okay, it's kind 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:31.800 of an English term, you know, from in the war. 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.480 You know, at the end of the at the end 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:35.160 of the wires that would come in, it would say 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.120 full stop. That's how you knew when it was over. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.839 So I I don't know the derivation. There's something English 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.960 about it. You'd have to ask carrier Jeffrey. Okay, how 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.400 many acts are under the full Stop banner at this 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:50.120 particular point in time, I don't know. I never counted. 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:56.239 We don't publish artist rosters. I really don't know. Twenty thirty, fifty, 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:59.680 I don't know more than I'd say closer to thirty 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:03.120 than twenty or fifty. Okay, how many people work for 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:07.200 full Stop? I don't know, what is this? The I 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:09.880 R S. I mean, what's going on here? Bob? No, no, no, 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.520 why would the things people want to know? I'm not 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.920 writing it down to, you know, to write a book. 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.800 It's just to get an idea. I would guess there 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.240 are far more people that work there than clients, so 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:27.960 you know, probably maybe are they all there in Westwood 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.680 at this point or is everybody spread out? Uh? We 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:36.360 were spread out before, you know. Uh, but um, it's 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:38.960 really interesting because if you go into a management office 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.359 in the middle of the summer especially, and there's a 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:43.360 lot of people there, you know it's not going well 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.839 because we by nature touring being you know, a vast 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.320 majority of the earnings, uh, for our artists. You most 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:54.080 people are on the road. People are out, um, you know, 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.680 so you know, we don't care where people live. We've 0:06:57.720 --> 0:06:59.920 got people. We've got people in Nashville, We've got people 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:04.320 New York, we got people in Scottsdale. People you know, 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.719 people living up in the Bay Area, people living in 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.040 the desert. Okay, needless, just say you are the most 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:15.560 experienced manager extant. To what degree are you focused on 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.360 mentoring the other people at full Stop or it's pretty 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.200 much everybody going their own way and just gleaning your 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:26.440 great moves and acting accordingly. Um uh, we think we 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:30.840 have an incredible culture. UM. You know, this isn't Frontline 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.120 Management where we you know, um, which as you know 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.960 because we've talked about it a lot, but for your listeners, 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:38.720 we may not have when you know. When we you know, 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.680 Frontline Management was founded at a time when there's a 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.320 lot of consolidation going on the business and I was 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.080 starting over in the management business after having left the 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.880 record business, and and we found that no matter how 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.040 big the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were, you weren't going 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:56.600 to fight the consolidation in the business. UM. So we 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.000 got other like manded managers to that we acquired or 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:04.040 merged with. UM. But full Stop is a business that's 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.240 been grown out of culture, so we're not interested in 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.800 acquiring other managers. We kind of it's all everything's homegrown, 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.680 you know. Um. We've got incredible people and managers who 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:16.000 have worked up through the rants. It's a great place 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.320 for for somebody interested in the managing business to work 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:21.680 because you're gonna you're gonna grow and you're gonna learn 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.280 it and you're gonna you're gonna become successful and wealthy 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.120 doing it. But we have a culture. Um. You know. 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:32.120 Rule one is always make the right decision for your 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:34.800 artists and it will be the right decision for your business. 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.640 So you don't think short term, We think long term. 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:42.480 Rule two is see rule one. UM, And that's uh, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.760 that's that's kind of how how we run it. You know, 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:49.720 none of us can sell a ticket. Um. Uh. And 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.120 we love it. And if you don't, you know, my 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:56.160 advice is, if you don't love artists and the craziest 0:08:56.200 --> 0:09:00.400 that comes with it, don't do it. Let's talk about average, 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:04.719 which you referenced. You famously lined up certain clients so 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.320 you had power against the labels or Visa Viva labels. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:11.960 Same deal. When Live Nation then called Clear Channel was 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.280 moving up, you helped form a competitor a g. Can 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:19.240 you tell us about those experiences in your strategies? Um, 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:23.040 it was survival. I mean back in those days, it 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.240 was shrinking from like twelve to five record labels. Now 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.360 we're basically down to the three majors, but with some 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:33.760 wonderful independent action going on now outside of it, Um, 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.440 there was big consolidation at retail, you know, because this 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:38.719 was even precede you know, it was even pre c 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.240 d s in early days of c ds when we 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:46.400 when we did that, and there was consolidation and promoters, 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:48.920 you know, because Bob Sullerman, which was the primary it 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:50.800 wasn't really about the labels as much as it was 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.559 the live side of the business. And Bob Sullerman had 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:55.480 come along and you know, and rolled up a whole 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.520 bunch of these big promoters and sold them to Clear 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:02.720 Channel Radio. Uh and in those days called Clear Channel. Um. 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.480 And and I woke up one day, uh, and I'd 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:08.280 restarted my business, and I believe I was managing the 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:11.720 Eagles and Journey. And I got into a big beef 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:14.439 with a couple of promoters that were running Clear Channel 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:16.600 at the time, who are my friends who had done 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.040 business with for thirty years. And I said, I gotta 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.400 get bigger fast, or I'm not going to be able 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:22.960 to you know, no matter how you know, I should 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.640 I should quit because I can't I can't get fair 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:30.439 deals for my artists. UM. So that's that was the 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:34.120 the reason for putting together front Line And what about 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:38.560 helping in the creation of a g um that was 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:40.880 that was the level of playing field as well in 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:45.160 those days. And you know Tim lay Wicky who UM 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:50.640 who I met when he was building staples UM understood 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:52.880 the content game and said we want to be in it. 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.000 And I felt that. And I had invested in a 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:01.120 company called Concerts West, not the original Big Concerts West, 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.760 but some guys that are in Gongo area and Meglan 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.679 who had split off from the origin know when Concerts 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.520 West folded and Terry Bassett gave them the name so 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.480 that the company name would go on. So I I 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:15.760 had invested in those guys, and in those days I 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:20.320 had invested in Golden Voice in Coachella, UM, and then 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:26.040 we kind of put together Golden Voice Coachella and UH 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:30.760 Concerts West to start a g live. Okay, let's stay 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.280 with a live business. This is a business where those 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.680 on the inside know what's going on, those on the 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:39.679 outside are clueless. Ticket masters paid to take the heat. 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:42.960 But as a manager, we've discussed a number of issues 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:47.920 relative to the buildings, tickets on the manifest, what leverage 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.160 their employing. Can you go a little deeper into that, 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:55.760 UM tickets on the manifest off the man of what 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.959 you want to know. Yeah, we were taught. We were 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:03.160 talking that the buildings are withholding tickets and wanting certain 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:05.880 commitments in order to take the data for you to 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:09.640 play the date. Um there were you know, Bob, it's 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:16.480 really been cleaned up recently over the years though. Um. 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:18.959 So like if you if you landed on Earth from Mars, 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:22.960 how a record contract has written or paid, or how 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.600 a live contract has written or paid, It would never 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:29.640 look this way. When Fred rosen Um took over and 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:33.439 and made and switched, we had a company in those 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.400 old days called Tickettron that he kind of put out 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.439 a business. And the difference between Tickettron and ticket Master 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.079 was it was an all in ticket price went during 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:45.080 the Tickettron days and then you would pay them a 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:48.560 dollar and a half or two bucks for selling your ticket. 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.840 Rosen came along and said to the buildings, instead of 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.440 you paying a dollar and a half to two bucks 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.880 to Tickettron, I'll pay you, but I'm gonna put a 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:02.000 service charge on top. So he they inflated the price 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.200 of tickets and and basically took a piece of the 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:08.560 artist gross and and start paying the buildings. So then 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.440 you know, so as things happen. So then we as 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.200 managers and agents then said okay, but we're not gonna 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:17.400 pay you rent. Right, So then when we weren't paying 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:22.120 them rent, they said, okay, but we've got these seats 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:25.960 that we sold as I don't know, sponsor seats, club seats, 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.280 you know, whatever, wherever you want to call them, and uh, 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.400 you know, and and that's what helped us finance the 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:36.920 improvements on our buildings. So those seats don't exist, meaning yeah, 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.360 we're gonna they're sold and we're gonna put people in them, 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.959 but they're sold by the year. And then suddenly buildings 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.680 started with sweets. So so through the years, it's just 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:48.560 a moving of the same money around. Okay, you know, uh, 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:53.160 you know, a standard or nine five deal with an artist, 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.280 if promoter had to live off of just that, um, 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:58.560 there'd be no you know, there would be no live nation, 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.160 there be no age, either be no promoters. So so 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.040 then it comes down to, oh, but we have to 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.400 have rebates and we have to have ticket service fees, 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:08.520 and we have. Then then somebody invented the facility fee, 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:12.040 which was supposed to pay a state government or something 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:14.680 attacks but it wasn't attacked. It was to pay off 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.360 your loan for having built the building. But no, no, 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:22.600 two buildings have the same economics. But um, um, you know, 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.960 since you know, listen, um, Michael Rapino is committed to 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:32.080 a fair count okay, and and between him, um and 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.680 and pressure and and look, buildings are not the enemy. 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.240 You know, Buildings don't make nearly the kind of money 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.720 that people think, okay, So um, And there's a lot 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.040 of people that would take tickets off the manifest you know, 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:47.520 in this order, I would say the um, the stub 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.200 hubs of the world are the are the worst, okay, 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.000 because they have no skin in the game, and they've 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.320 got people that get ahold of tickets and they take 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:58.560 a big chunk um. You know, buildings taking tickets, you know, 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:02.680 manifests tickets off the manifest except you know that's kind 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:06.320 of gone away, especially for a big act, okay. And 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.440 then of course you've got acts that are doing it themselves. 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:15.120 So um, it's a while wild west out there. Okay. 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:18.800 So let's today today. If you play an arena fifteen 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.200 thousand seats, how many of those seats are in the 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.840 deal with the act? And how many just never show off? Well, 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.440 I can. I can tell you at the Forum, every 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:32.560 seats on the manifest. Okay, I can tell you that, UM, 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.360 in most buildings, every seats on the manifest except for 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.720 the sweets. Okay. Now, on a big show they might 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.840 try and put four extra stools and the suits and 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:46.080 sell them. But the buildings are being really cool now, 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:47.840 so they're kind of telling you and they're gonna they're 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:49.560 gonna pay you or split that money with you on 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.120 those seats. Um, it's it's gotten cleaned, it's gotten a 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.800 lot cleaned up. There are there are a few buildings, 0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:00.440 uh that still have some some some unmanifested seats. And 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.680 their claim is, look, the way we built this building 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.280 was with the money from these suite holders. We took 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:10.400 these massive, several thousand dollar year commitment for people to 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.000 have these suits, and that's what allowed us to go 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.440 have the money to go get financed so we can 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:19.480 build the building. UM and and what so, So what 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:22.480 goes on is with the exception of the suites, it's 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:24.800 pretty clean out there with the buildings. Now there's a 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.360 few and what they claim is well for the suites 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.880 that are behind the stage and can't see, that's why 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.720 we have these unmanifested seats to move these people down there. 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.200 But of course we find them listed on the secondary 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.240 a lot of times, and you don't know if it 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.120 was the guys in the suite that listed it or 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.080 the building that listed it. But every time we find that, 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.440 we clean it up real quickly. And all in all, 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:48.320 the building sign of the business is very clean, The 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.880 ticketmaster side of the business is very clean. The secondary 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.440 is very dirty. Okay, before we get to the secondary, 0:16:55.920 --> 0:17:00.280 let's just just you talk. Can you explain since you 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:06.080 certainly worked at Live Nation where the profit verticals for 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:11.320 the promoter um, Well, at Live Nation they have a 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:16.720 wonderful sponsor, you know, have the sponsorship branding arm um 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:21.200 is you know they're allowing you know that that isn't shared, okay, 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.960 so that they make their money that way they you 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.400 know then and certainly when they own venues, they're making 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:28.439 it off the popcorn and the beer in the parking 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.240 and and and stuff like that. But on the straight 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:35.960 promoter line, the money, the money's you know, the money's made, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:40.800 you know, off a piece off a piece of the ticket. Okay, 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:45.640 what's the status of the secondary market today? And uh, 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:50.199 we'll see post COVID, you know um stub Hub and 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:54.080 those you know whereas Live Nation and a g. When 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.520 COVID hit, we're saying, if you'd like a refund, here's 0:17:56.560 --> 0:18:01.760 your cash. Stub Hub basically issued credits. Okay, So coming 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.800 out of COVID, I'm hoping these guys have maybe shot 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.560 themselves at the foot because when the consumer realizes that 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:12.040 he can't get his cash back from these people, maybe 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.680 people will realizing for the pariahs that they are. Now. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.360 You certainly come up with ways to beat the scalpers. 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.000 You came up with Platinum, and you told me once 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.840 you know, find someone who complains about paying you know, 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:26.600 five sit in the first ten rows for the Eagles. 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:30.480 You can't find them, so well he well here look here, 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:33.040 here's what it is. You gotta price your tickets, right. 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:36.200 I mean, if you're an act and you think your 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.800 your fans gonna love you more because you charge less money, 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:43.719 and then somebody buys six tickets and gives and sells 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.360 four of them on the secondary. You know, when when 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.159 you go to a concert you don't turn it's not 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:49.880 you know, when you get on an airplane, you don't 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:51.280 get to the person next to you and say how 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:53.120 much did you pay for your ticket? I paid more 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.480 than you. Oh I'm piste off. It's just a fact 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:58.000 alive when you when you walk into building, nobody turns 0:18:58.000 --> 0:18:59.400 to the guy next and says where did you get 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.840 your ticket and how much did you pay? They just 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:03.639 know what they paid and whether they thought it was 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:06.400 worth it, you know. And the great thing is that 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.600 we can dynamically price now. And if you if an 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.760 act will price their tickets right, so you have a 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:15.399 chance to charge in the upper deck and the seats 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.040 behind the stage a very small amount of money so 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.560 that more of your real fans they can pick where 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:22.080 they want to sit in the building, where what they 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:25.639 can afford um. And you know, if if acts would 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:27.840 just price their tickets right, the only people that ever 0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:31.119 complain about tickets being priced too high were the press 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:33.920 who got their tickets for free anyway, you know, And 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:35.640 and and you know, we're in a new era where 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.240 more and more acts are not afraid to price their 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:42.520 tickets right. Platinum, it's just that's just pricing your tickets right. 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:45.560 Only when you when you go on Ticketmaster, it says 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:47.879 it's a hundred and fifty dollar and a hundred and 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.320 seventy five dollar ticket, but they know to go to 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:52.960 Platinum and there's some five hundred dollar tickets. It's just 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:54.400 in a way for an act to say I didn't 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:58.960 charge five hundred dollars from my tickets. They're fucking kidding themselves. Okay, 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:02.640 let's talk about e g g. The Oakview Group. What exactly 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:07.480 is ov G uh. Oak View Group is a a 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.399 company that's primarily owned by Tim Lwicky, UH, the light 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:15.040 Wicky family and the Asa family. UH, funded with and 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:20.040 partnered with silver Lake, A wonderful UM one of the 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.239 biggest private equity companies in the world. UM. And we 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:27.760 have UM UM. We're committed to building new arenas and 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.000 maybe other kinds of venues at some point UM and 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:35.200 taking over certain existing arenas and renovating them. And what 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.520 we're committed is to, you know, buildings that are built 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:41.840 UM for the future, not the past. For instance, in 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:44.280 our you know, in our buildings, UH, you know, you've 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.879 got a sports tenant, seailar being one backstage and music 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:50.720 being at afterthought where you just get to go use 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:55.280 the visiting team visiting NBA or hockey teams dressing room. 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:59.360 There's full sets of dressing rooms like at the Forum 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:02.920 for music and a full set addressing rooms for sports. Right, 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:05.520 we're trying to say that music is a tenant and 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:09.399 just as important as sports. UM and UH and the 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.880 right and the right mix of premium and great experiences 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:15.439 in the building. People want experience more than just the 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.560 concert now in a building, so UM, you know. And 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:22.200 we were opening in Seattle in mid October. We're opening 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:25.040 in New York at the at UBA you know ubs 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:28.600 Belmont Park, the home of the Islanders. Seattle's the home 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:31.880 of the Kraken. UH. And we're opening in in Austin 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.720 in April of UM and then the next couple to 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:40.440 come online or Manchester, England and Palm Springs, California. Now 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:45.240 haven't you also UH created a group of buildings where 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:48.600 you share information and there are other initiatives you have 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:52.480 as a whole. Yeah, the the Arena Alliance. So if 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:56.359 you're a big national brand, you're probably not going to 0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:59.560 just go to Salt Lake. And if you're if you're Walmart, 0:21:59.560 --> 0:22:02.119 you're probably not going to go do a dealing. You know, 0:22:02.200 --> 0:22:04.440 you don't have anybody in the field there's gonna Walmart's 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:06.920 going to do a deal with the building in Salt Lake. Okay, 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:10.000 they like to buy nationally. So you've got these billionaires 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.320 that known the hockey and the NBA teams, but they're 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:15.879 not getting any national brands. So what we do is 0:22:16.119 --> 0:22:18.840 people for people like pet Smart and Walmart you know 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:21.160 there we offer it to all our buildings. Were able 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:24.679