Live Nation Buys Musictoday

Live Nation has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Musictoday for an undisclosed sum, a leader in connecting artists directly to their fans through online fan clubs, artist e-commerce and fulfillment, VIP packaging and artist fan club and secondary market ticketing.

Founded in 2000 by Coran Capshaw, Musictoday was created to direct artist-to-fan e-commerce tools for artists he managed. In a very short time, Musictoday’s roster has grown to over 500 clients, including Dave Matthews Band, the Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Kenny Chesney, Bonnaroo, Christina Aguilera, AC/DC and the Grateful Dead.

The company employs more than 200 personnel at its Charlottesville, Virginia, headquarters. In 2005, the company’s gross sales exceeded $100 million.

“Our mission is to build larger and more passionate communities of fans around our artist clients,” said Capshaw in a statement. “Partnering with Live Nation will allow us to provide the artist with a full suite of services related to the live experience. We are now in the unique position to create opportunities for artist-fan interaction both online through our platforms and offline at venues, taking fan communities beyond the virtual world to the places where artists and fans converge. Together we will offer artists unparalleled marketing reach while championing new and innovative products for their fans.”

“Coran and his team at Musictoday have pioneered a new business that has empowered artists by enabling them to build direct sales relationships with the music fan,” said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino. “As the global leader in concert ticket sales, our investment in Musictoday will enable us to access additional revenue streams centered around the live concert experience including artist merchandise web stores, fan clubs and ticketing. This further adds complementary product lines to our core live music and venue divisions.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers