COHL VIRTUALLY OUT
AT LIVE NATION

Commented President/CEO Michael Rapino: “Michael’s contributions to the formation of Live Nation Artists have been immeasurable. With his vision and guidance, we have signed historic deals with Jay-Z and Madonna, whose ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour is currently selling tickets at a record-breaking pace around the world. We are also nearing completion of our proposed long-term agreement with U2. The foundation of Live Nation Artists is firmly established and I thank Michael for agreeing to stay with the company as a consultant.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Ethan Smith had reported that Rapino and Cohl had argued about the extent that the company should be involved in the so-called 360-degree artist deals, with Cohl being the more aggressive one.

“Live Nation’s strategy and execution remain on track as we are committed to acquiring additional artists’ rights beyond the concert tour, including unified rights deals with select artists,” continued Rapino. “At the same time, we continue to take a disciplined financial approach and are focused on expanding cash flow and margins and increasing value for shareholders. We will continue to build out our integrated model as we selectively look to add more artists that can feed our core concert pipe.”

Michael Cohl commented: “I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished thus far at Live Nation Artists. We have built a division whose current strategy we believe is set to unlock great value for our shareholders and our artists. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Michael Rapino, and remain committed to further growing Live Nation’s enterprise value as a consultant to the company.”

How’s that for a nice, warm fuzzy feeling?