Onyx takes over at SMG

Toronto-based private equity company Onex has acquired US-based venue operator SMG, which was recently put up for sale by its current owners, investment fund Northlane Capital Partners. Live giant Live Nation had been linked to a possible SMG bid. With SMG owning and/or managing a significant network of venues around the world - including arenas in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Belfast - that deal would have provided a big boost to the venues side of Live Nation's business.

Earthcore parent company wound up

Yellow Sunshine Pty Ltd, a holding company controlled by Earthcore festival founder Spiro Boursine, is to be wound up following the cancellation of this year’s festival amid the alleged non-payment of artist fees. The boutique Australian music and arts festival, which bills itself as the “original bush doof”, had taken place in rural Victoria since 1993, drawing crowds of up to 30,000 in its mid-’90s heyday. It was revived under new management in 2013, with a capacity of around 5,000.

https://www.iq-mag.net/2017/12/earthcore-owner-yellow-sunshine-fold/#.WjES20pl-M9

THE REVOLVING DOOR

Bjorn Rogstad has been named General Manager of Universal Music Norway, MBW has learned. Rogstad will report to Universal's President of the Nordic Region, Per Sundin. The news comes little over a year after the exit of Peter Singsaas (MBW).

NEC Group veteran Nick Waight will head up the team at SMG Europe's Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, set to relocate in 2018 (IQ)

Clementine Bunel has exited ATC to join Coda The former 2 For the Road Events director becomes the latest agent to take a desk in the London-based agency's expanding offices. her client's have included Stromae, Benjamin Clementine, Ibibio Sound Machine and Songhoy Blues.

BMG in the US has appointed Tom 'Grover' Biery - the former Warner Music exec, most recently with Concord Music Group - to the role of EVP Recorded Music. In his new job he will oversee BMG's American recorded music teams with the task of "further building the company's scale in recordings"

BMG has promoted Jon Baker to head its UK Legal & Business Affairs team – responsible for both music publishing and recordings. As Vice President Legal & Business Affairs UK, Baker (pictured) will take charge of a twelve-strong team, including Berrin Latif (newly promoted to Senior Director) and Directors Adrian Cornes, Stuart Souter and Justin Robson.

Live Nation's artist management division Maverick has hired Lee Anne Callahan-Longo who previously played an instrumental role at Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment company as General Manager and Executive Vice President. (MBW)

And Live Nation has appointed Anna Sjölund and Therése Liljedahl as joint Managing Directors in Sweden. The duo have been promoted from previous roles at the company, with their "unparalleled experience" hailed by LN international chief John Reid. Both Sjölund and Liljedahl, who commence their new positions immediately, will retain elements of their previous roles: Sjölund remains head promoter, overseeing Live Nation Sweden’s agency, touring and festivals, while Liljedahl will retain responsibility for commercial partnerships in the Nordics while also managing Live Nation Sweden’s marketing, partnership, finance, administration and HR functions (IQ).


Former Syco Music President Sonny Takhar is joining forces with Live Nation to launch Los Angeles-based 'entertainment rights and management company' Kyn Entertainment. The company already manages a Sony priority artist in boyband PrettyMuch (MBW)

Eps, The German BASED event supplier has made three finance/control hires, with Alice Kentenich joining eps gmbh and Olga Sarman and Katharina Wilk joining its parent firm.

Walter Kolm’s WK Entertainment is to open its first European office, in Madrid, on 1 December. Former APM chief Pascual Egea will take charge.

After nearly 28 years of service, Karen Buse, Executive Director, Membership and International will leave PRS for Music. Paul Clements, who currently is PRS Commercial Director, will become Executive Director for Membership, International and Licensing and will take up this new role on 1 December 2017. As part of this new role, Paul will be recruiting a Membership Director over the next few months, who will report into him.  

Norbert Plantinga, who ran Universal Music's Dutch office for a decade before leaving this year, is joining rival Sony. The respected executive has taken a role as Benelux Marketing Director at Sony Music, where he worked in the early years of his career. (MBW)

David O’Connor, the president and CEO of Madison Square Garden Company (MSG), has stepped down with immediate effect, the company has announced.

Promoter and venue owner/operator MJR Group has added several new venues, made a number of hires and expanded into a new country, following a period of growth for the UK-based company. Joining MJR Group – which promotes more than 2,500 shows in the UK annually and a further 250 overseas, chiefly in Australia and New Zealand – are Mark Dennis, who joins from DHP Family as international marketing and communications director; Lottie Bradshaw, formerly of CAA, who becomes assistant to promotions director Mike Jones; and new national promoter Joff Hall, formerly of venue management and booking consultancy VMS.

Matthew Morgan has become the second CAA Nashville booking agent to make the move to rival agency WME. Morgan, who was previously co-head of Creative Artists Agency (CAA)’s festival department, joins Scott Clayton at WME’s Nashville, Tennessee, office, where he will serve as a music agent.

Steve Hasker, formerly COO of market research firm Nielsen, has been appointed CEO of Creative Artists Agency (CAA)’s restructured CAA Global division, joining the agency in January 2018. CAA Global includes assets outside CAA’s core talent booking business, including CAA China, a joint venture with China’s CMC Capital Partners; Evolution Media, the agency’s merchant bank; venture-capital fund CAA Ventures; and Vancouver-based tech investment vehicle Creative Labs.