Live Nation Continues Expansion In Asia Through Creation Of Joint Venture With Leading Japanese Promoter Creativeman

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Creativeman Productions in Tokyo, Japan announced the formation of Live Nation Japan, a joint venture between the two companies.
“We are very pleased to announce Live Nation’s entry into Japan and to have such a credible partner as Creativeman, which has a long and proven track record of promoting major artists as well as developing highly successful festivals” stated Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation Entertainment. “Expanding our presence in Asia reflects our commitment to growing our business internationally in a region that is becoming increasingly important for touring artists.”

“We are very excited to be a part of Live Nation Japan and for Creativeman this is an important milestone that opens up many exciting opportunities to leverage our capabilities” says Naoki Shimizu, CEO Creativeman. “Creativeman and Live Nation Japan will together be able to bring more concerts to Japan, develop existing and new festivals and also leverage Live Nation’s vast experience of promoting some of the best tours globally. This will lead to very exciting times ahead for all Japanese music fans.”

Creativeman is the leading promoter of international artists in Japan, the 2nd largest live music market in the world, presenting 290 concerts in 2011 for both international and Japanese artists. They are also the producers of the iconic Summer Sonic festival, which reached an all time high in 2011, its 12th year, with an attendance of 200,000 in Tokyo and Osaka.

Live Nation Japan, which will be based in Tokyo and led by Frank Takeshita of Creativeman, will promote both international and Japanese artists. The company will be the promoter for all Live Nation tours coming through Japan and work with Creativeman to develop and expand the highly successful Summer Sonic, Springroove, Punkspring and Loud Park Festivals. The launch of Live Nation Japan means that Live Nation is now present in six markets across Asia Pacific, including the four largest markets in the region: China, Japan, Australia and South Korea. As well as promoting international and Japanese artists, Live Nation Japan also expects to promote artists from other parts of the region, in particular K-pop which is extremely popular across Japan.

The first concert for Live Nation Japan will be Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball on 10 May in Tokyo.

Source: www.livenation.com