Live Nation to Acquire Majority Stake in Musictoday, Continuing Its Expansion Into Complementary Live Concert Business Lines

Live Nation to Acquire Majority Stake in Musictoday, Continuing Its Expansion Into Complementary Live Concert Business Lines

LOS ANGELES, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation (NYSE:LYV), a leading live event and venue management company, announced today that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Musictoday, a world 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 born out of the need to create 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, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Christina Aguilera, AC/DC and the Grateful Dead.

Musictoday employs more than 200 personnel and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. 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 Mr. Capshaw. "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 Chief Executive Officer 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."

About Live Nation

Live Nation is a leading live event and venue management company focused on creating superior experiences for artists, performers, corporations and fans. Live Nation owns, operates and/or has booking rights for 153 venues worldwide and produced more than 29,500 events in 2005. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." For more information regarding Live Nation and its businesses, please visit the company's website at www.livenation.com.

Source: Live Nation

CONTACT: John Vlautin of Live Nation, +1-310-867-7127,
johnvlautin@livenation.com

Web site: http://www.livenation.com/

-------
Profile: intent