Post’s Pearlstein on Live Nation vs. Seth Hurwitz
There’s some excellent analysis today from the Washington Post’s Business Columnist Steven Pearlstein on the whole Live Nation vs. Seth Hurwitz fracas. To sum up:
- Seth raised his hand too late and now he’s whining about it
- His offer appears so attractive it’s difficult to ignore
- Seth apparently uses his power to stifle regional compeition, and then says he doesn’t mind competition (while, at the same time, saying that competition is overrated)
- Ike Leggett might have an out by giving Hurwitz 120 days to negotiate a land deal with the Lees (who own the property) and using some of the savings (should a deal be struck) to compensate Live Nation for its time and trouble.
And to all you people whining on the listservs about subsidizing Live Nation’s efforts (you know who you are), shut your collective traps and take note of this paragraph:
By the way, it’s not correct to say, as most critics do, that Leggett is proposing to hand $8 million in state and county funds to Live Nation. In exchange for its investment, the county will own a building and parcel of land valued today at $11.5 million (A provision allowing Live Nation to buy it later for $8 million will be dropped.) And it is a fair guess that the extra meals and sales tax revenue generated by the facility will more than cover the $400,000 a year in interest payments on the bonds used to finance it.
I’ll reiterate what I said the last time I posted something about this: Bring me live music. At this point, I think Seth Hurwitz is being a baby because he wasn’t invited to the big kids’ table when dinner started. And he can stop with the whole “I’m from Montgomery Country and local and would be better…” charade. This is strictly business, and anyone who tells you different is just trying to stifle competition.
Quit the bickering and get the Live Nation deal moving. Please.
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“This is strictly business, and anyone who tells you different is just trying to stufle competition”
Were this strictly business, our county government would not be making back-door deals without issuing a formal RFP to look for the best business option.
Also, how about the fact that Clear Channel (please can we cut the “Live Nation” talk and just call it a duck if it quacks) is giant, big business, far right wing, censorship loving, religious right supporting corporation who’s corporate values are in vast contrast with probably +85% of the population of the county? But honestly, I’d be happy to put that aside and say “business is business” if MoCo had gone about this in an even VAGUELY business-like approach – But instead it was approached in a back-door totalitarian manner, and THAT I think is what the people “whining on the listservs” are complaining about. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I’m not saying “give Seth a chance” I’m saying “Give anyone with a decent business plan a chance”… put out an RFP, weight ALL the options.. price isn’t the only variable,no.. abiity to successfuly run an entertainment venue, willigness to work with the community, etc… These are all important factors to consider. The building’s been empty for over a decade, seriously, what’s 4 months to look over some COMPETETIVE proposals??
I can’t disagree more about the “open RFP” suggestion. One only needs to be part of one of those RFP processes, or be involved in community development or real estate development to know they are not a panacea. It’s really difficult to effectively get to multiparty projects like this through RFPs. If there is an RFP process, it’s an imperfect first step to get to negotiations which is where we have been stuck for years. Let’s get on with it.
Without offering any judgment on Live Nation as a company, they are not part of Clear Channel. They were spun off in 2005 and are an independent, publicly traded company. NYSE: LYV
The CEO of Live Nation, Michael Lapino, is Canadian and used to work at Labatt’s Breweries of Canada. He’s given quite a bit of money to the Obama campaign, as have his colleagues: http://tinyurl.com/2bl5fv
Looking forward to having a beer with him at the opening of The Fillmore.
And from Bill Muehlhauser’s (owner of the Ram’s Head) letter to Ike Leggett:
Would be interesting to find out how he got Merriweather. Give it to Live Nation and be done with it
Heh heh “give it to Live Nation” is a potentially inflammatory phrase.
Not going to happen. This is Montgomery County! I’m surprised we didn’t see the brouhaha coming sooner. We can’t fault people for wanting a greater say in the process.
After all, failed County Executive candidate Robin Ficker didn’t promise he would encase his office in glass for noting.
I think Hurwitz is voting for someone to give *something* to Live Nation.
While we can’t fault people for wanting a greater say in the process (I do agree with the sentiment), I have to echo the sentiments of Bonifant More Sinister Than Thayer. As much as we’d like to think of this as a democracy, it’s not. Too much community say and we get mired in controversy for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if Mr. Leggett reads these things? Hey Mr. County Executive! Over here! Sign the contract before anything else happens!
I was always a little disappointed that Leggett never jumped on the “I’m Hip! I read blogs!” line that our County Councilmembers use. Sure it sounds silly, but most of them are telling the truth (and seem to be kind of scared, not gonna lie.)
Gotta love the silly misdirective comment by Bonifant regarding the CEO of Live Nation, Michal Rapino. Bonifant tries to paint a picture that Rapino came from LaBatts to lead Live Nation and had no prior history at all with Clear Channel. What a crock. A quick check on the Live Nation investor site (http://tinyurl.com/2r7f9y) says this about Rapino: “In August 2005, Michael Rapino was appointed to chief executive officer of Live Nation. He most recently held the position of CEO / President of Global Music for Clear Channel Music Group. Previously, Rapino led Clear Channel Entertainment’s London-based International Music division.” Reading on further, it’s clear that Rapino has been working for Clear Channel since 1999. Of course there remain close ties between Live Nation and Clear Channel….sheesh…think you’ll ever hear any radio advertisements for a Live Nation venue on a non-Clear Channel station? Wise up, Bonifant.
WB: Aren’t you part of the CW now?
:^p Bonifant…quite an appropriate joke actually! As you know, the CW is basically a “spin-off” of CBS’s UPN and Warner Bros’ WB, and of course has indisputably deep roots in its respective parent companies. Much like Clear Channel’s continued deep roots in Live Nation.
The CW is not a “spin-off.” It was the result of a merger of UPN and WB, both of which have ceased independent operations as of September 2006. As a joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros. Entertainment (a subsidiary of Time Warner), your CW comparison to Live Nation/Clear Channel is tenuous, at best.
Get over it, dude. Seth Hurwitz and IMP (not to mention IPI) are just as much a part of the establishment as anyone else. Screw them, too. What else would you have? The Birchmere?
yeah, you’re right, not the best comparison…clearly the point (besides riffing on bonifants cw comment) was that the new merged entity still has existing ties to it’s original parent companies. This all (for me) started as a result of Bonifants original post which obsfucated Lapino’s long standing relationship with Clear Channel. If people honestly thing there are no ongoing relationships between Live Nation and Clear Channel, then I think they’re just being totally naive.
That said, since you used the B word…and asked a question, I personally think both LN and IMP are the wrong venue for that place. The whole original concept of this was Duncan’s desire to use a local entity, instead of an international chain, to create a unique look and feel to the downtown area. That said, since the debate on venues has gotten totally and ridiculously tunnel visioned between two providers, I think we both would agree that the bottom line of Hurwitz’s operation and the LN are separated by billions…which makes IMP a bit less establishment, as you put it.
Anyways, the agreement will be signed this coming week, and then we’ll go on to some hopefully serious debate about the prudence of all this in light of the county’s economic shortfall.