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Irving Azoff

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Irving Azoff
Azoff in 2018
Born (1947-12-12) December 12, 1947 (age 77)
Danville, Illinois, US
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1971-present
Known forChairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment
Spouse
Rochelle "Shelli" Cumsky
​
​
(m. 1978)​
Children4
Signature

Irving Azoff (/ˈeɪzɒf/; born December 12, 1947) is an American businessman, who is chairman of Full Stop Management, a company that represents recording artists. During the course of his career, he has worked as an agent, personal manager, concert promoter, movie producer, independent record label owner, merchandiser, music publisher, and CEO of a record label.[1]

Since September 2013 he has been chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, a venture with the Madison Square Garden Company, prior to which he was chairman and CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment and was executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and CEO of Front Line Management. He is on the boards of Starz Inc. and IMG.[2]

In 2012, he topped Billboard's Power 100.[3] Labels founded by Azoff include Full Moon Records and Giant Records.

Early life

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Azoff was born into a Jewish family,[4] and raised in Danville, Illinois, He began working with bands while still a student at Danville High School and then in college at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Career

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His first management client was Champaign-based REO Speedwagon; his second was Dan Fogelberg.[5] In 1972, Azoff moved to Los Angeles with Fogelberg, where he worked for Geffen-Roberts Management. There he began working with the Eagles, forming a relationship that has lasted more than forty years.

Azoff in 1976

From 1983 to 1989, Azoff was chairman of MCA Music Entertainment Group and is credited for turning around that label's fortunes.[6] According to Thomas R. King's book The Operator (2001), David Geffen manipulated Azoff into leaving MCA and going to Warner Music Group, where Azoff started Giant Records. King writes that Geffen wanted Azoff out at MCA to clear the way for MCA to buy Geffen Records.[7] Geffen convinced Mo Ostin at Warner Music to offer Irving Azoff a "dream" label deal. Giant Records operated for much of the 1990s until Azoff decided to return to concentrating on artist management.[8]

In October 2008, Ticketmaster announced it would acquire the management company Front Line Management Group, Inc. As part of the deal, Azoff, who was founder and chief executive officer of Front Line, became chief executive officer of Ticketmaster, and was named chairman of Live Nation in February 2011.[2]

In 2013, Azoff founded the performance rights organisation Global Music Rights. The company administered publishing for artists including Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and George Harrison, Pearl Jam, and Bruno Mars.[9] Later that year, Azoff unveiled Azoff MSG Entertainment, a venture with the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG).[10] In addition to his role as chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, Azoff would be a consultant to MSG in connection with the management of its live event venues, including the Forum in Inglewood, CA and other MSG-managed buildings.[11]

In 2015, Azoff played a character based on himself in the Documentary Now! parody of History of the Eagles.[12] The same year, Azoff co-founded Oak View Group with Tim Leiweke. The company is building the Belmont Park Arena as well as a new arena in Milan, Italy. Oak View Group is also part owner of problem hit Co-op Live arena in Manchester, together with City Football Group and musician Harry Styles[13]

Azoff and Oliver Chastan co-founded Iconic Artists Group in 2018, an entertainment rights management company. In 2021, Iconic Artists Group acquired the catalogue of David Crosby and a majority stake in The Beach Boys' intellectual property.[14] In February 2024, the company acquired the catalogue of British singer Rod Stewart for close to $100 million.[15][16]

In 2019, Azoff and his wife Shelli, along with a consortium of Los Angeles-based investors, purchased The Apple Pan, one of Los Angeles' oldest continuing operating restaurants,[17] as well as Nate n' Al, founded in 1945.[18] The following January, Azoff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Ahmet Ertegun Award winner.[19]

Azoff has co-produced the movies Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Urban Cowboy, Jack Frost, Above The Rim, and The Inkwell, and was executive producer of The Hurricane.[20] He has been named "Manager of the Year" by two touring industry trade publications. In 2012, Azoff appeared in Artifact, a documentary film about the modern music business focused on the legal battle between Thirty Seconds to Mars and record label EMI.[citation needed]

Controversy

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Monopolization claims

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In 2018, the Radio Music License Committee made anti-trust claims against Azoff's Global Music Rights, LLC, a performance rights organization.[21][22] A settlement was reached in 2022.[23]

Clippers Arena proposal

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Azoff MSG Entertainment took part in a lawsuit against the city of Inglewood to stop the construction of a new arena for the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood alongside residents of the local neighbourhood.[24] During the summer of 2019, it was reported that Azoff was working with James L. Dolan of the Madison Square Garden Company to prevent the competing arena from being built similar to the tactics used to stop the construction of the proposed West Side Stadium in New York City in 2005.[25] In March 2019, leaked emails revealed that Azoff attempted to lure the Los Angeles Lakers back to The Forum after their lease at the Staples Center was up.[26]

Nicki Minaj

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In 2018, Nicki Minaj accused Azoff of orchestrating a smear campaign against her upcoming tour;[27] however, he later became her manager.[28] Additionally, his performance rights organization Global Music Rights manages most of her song writing credits.

Personal life

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In 1978, he married Rochelle "Shelli" Cumsky.[29] They have four children, and the eldest son, Jeffrey Azoff, is a partner in Full Stop Management.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "The New Pioneers: Irving Azoff on His Plan to Deal With the 'StubHub Factor' -- 'You Have Lots of People Escaping With Lots of Money'". Yahoo.com. August 11, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Live Nation Chairman Azoff Said to Exit Concert Company". Bloomberg.com. January 1, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Billboard Reveals the 2012 Power 100 | Billboard.biz". billboard.biz. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Gensler, Andy (September 23, 2014). "Houses of the Holy: Where the Music Biz Celebrates the Jewish High Holidays". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "A TASTE OF RAINMAKERS:IRVING AZOFF". Hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  6. ^ E. Scott Reckard, "AZOFF QUITS AS CHAIRMAN OF MCA'S MUSIC UNIT", AP News Archive, September 5, 1989.
  7. ^ See generally Tom King, The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood, p. 449-450, Broadway Books (New York 2001).
  8. ^ Stein, Seymour; Murphy, Gareth (2018). Siren Song: My Life in Music. St. Martin’s Publishing. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-250-08101-8.
  9. ^ Sisario, Ben (October 29, 2014). "New Venture Seeks Higher Royalties for Songwriters". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Ray Waddell, Nashville and Andrew Flanagan, New York, "Irving Azoff and Madison Square Garden Co. Announce $300 Million Joint Venture", Billboard, September 4, 2013.
  11. ^ "Irving Azoff to Serve as Chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment LLC", GlobeNewswire, September 4, 2013.
  12. ^ Penrose, Nerisha (September 14, 2016). "Fred Armisen & Bill Hader Explain How 'Documentary Now!' Cast Irving Azoff & His Son in Eagles Spoof". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  13. ^ "Oak View Group Taps Milan for First Arena Outside U.S". Billboard.
  14. ^ "David Crosby sells catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group, including recorded music and publishing rights". Musicbusinessworldwide.com. March 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Geraghty, Hollie (February 16, 2024). "Rod Stewart sells back catalogue for near $100million". NME. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "Rod Stewart Reportedly Sells Rights to His Song Catalog for Nearly $100 Million". Peoplemag. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Kang, Matthew (February 11, 2019). "The Apple Pan has new owners for the first time in decades". La.eater.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Nate 'n Al's, beloved delicatessen of Beverly Hills, to close for now". Los Angeles Times. March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  19. ^ France, Lisa Respers (January 15, 2020). "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020 inductees are..." CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  20. ^ [1] [permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ Gardner, Eriq (July 12, 2019). "Hollywood Docket: Music Industry Antitrust; Video Game Humvees; Paul Haggis DNA". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Sanchez, Daniel (August 16, 2018). "Irving Azoff's GMR Faces a Serious Setback Against U.S. Radio Stations". Digitalmusic.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  23. ^ Cho, Winston (January 8, 2022). "Irving Azoff Group Strikes Deal With Radio Stations to End Legal Battle Over Performance Rights". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  24. ^ "Inglewood Mayor Butts Slams Azoff MSG Entertainment Lawsuit". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  25. ^ "James Dolan and MSG are waging a war on Inglewood over new Clippers arena project". New York Daily News. July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  26. ^ "Must Reads: Lakers explored leaving Staples Center for return to Forum, emails reveal". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Aswad, Jem (August 24, 2018). "Nicki Minaj Accuses Travis Scott Manager Irving Azoff of 'Smear Campaign' Against Her Tour". Variety.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  28. ^ "Irving Azoff Assures Nicki Minaj That Travis Scott Doesn't Hate Her: 'It's All Show Biz'". Variety.com. June 24, 2019.
  29. ^ "Rolling Stone #267 : Irving Azoff". theuncool.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  30. ^ Pappademas, Alex (November 5, 2020). "'He's our Satan': Mega music manager Irving Azoff, still feared, still fighting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
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