EDM is big business: Live Nation acquires HARD
Live Nation Entertainment, the American entertainment behemoth formed by the merger of concert promoter Live Nation and ticketing company Ticketmaster, has acquired HARD events, the Los Angeles-based promoter behind events such as HARD Summer, HARD Haunted Mansion, and Holy Ship!
Earlier this year, Live Nation purchased beloved British brand Cream Holdings, which runs superclubs in Liverpool and Ibiza and also puts on the legendary Creamfields festivals. The HARD purchase will add to that growing conglomerate. It’s the latest stream in a flood of cash flowing into the dance music industry . Earlier this year, media magnate Robert F.X. Sillerman announced a plan to spend $1 billion in the hopes of creating an EDM empire.
Gary Richards, HARD’s founder and C.E.O., said Tuesday that the decision would allow him to expand the brand. ““I’m always going to fight the good fight,” he told the New York Times. The reason I’m different from other festivals is that I bring the new thing, develop it and bring it to the masses. This will only be able to help, because now instead of just L.A. and New York, I will be able to do this in South Africa, South America. It’s only a good thing.”
In April, Richards, who also DJs under the stage name Destructo, expressed concern at the infusion of corporate money into the EDM world. “You can’t just franchise this like McDonald’s,” he told the Times. “I’ve been working in this for 20 years and nobody cared. Now it’s so massive that everybody wants a piece of it… I have been approached by all the big boys you can imagine.”
Financial details of the acquisition have not been released, but it appears that Richards has finally found an investor he can work with. HARD Summer, scheduled for August 3rd and 4th at Los Angeles State Historic Park, will not be affected by the purchase.
I’ve seen some of the feedback on this website, and know that the EDM takeover is a scary thing to some based on all of the people who now what a part of what was once an underground scene. Hopefully there are more quality shows, and in general, let us all pray we don’t see EDM get used up like hip hop did…
Not the biggest line-up ever though
HARD never has and never will be about putting together the “biggest” lineup — if by “biggest” you mean booking the likes of SHM etc.
Look up Bloc Party, Boys Noize, Miike Snow, A-Trak, Chromeo, Magnetic Man, James Murphy, Erol Alkan, Fake Blood, DillFran, Zedd, Gesaffelstein, BRODINSKI, Claude Vonstroke, Breakbot, AraabMuzik and Alex Metric, and you’ll see that all of them can more than hold their own.
Yes it’s an interesting time for the scene, but Richards has had a unique vision for his brand and obviously needs the corporate backing to expand into other markets. At the end of the day, it’s his company.
lolz. what a joke. livenation is a complete failure – they have never had a profitable year in all the time they’ve been doing business, and never will.
Lol shows are gonna cost a fortune now since EDM is turning mainstream and people are going in the hopes of dropping some flo rida tunes
but chromeo makes my ears bleed….
hypocritical.. and disappointing. as well as the fact that it’s common knowledge that everything live nation/ticketmaster touches turns to shit.
Sillerman is not part of Live Nation. He’s his own separate blood-sucker. Just clarifying.
Thank you! Corrected. Really appreciate it, I got confused.
Regardless of what you say. Gary Richard still brings TOP of the line talent to his events. Ever since my first HARD summer 2010 ive attended almost every HARD event, and each one brings its own unique talent. Unlike other promotion groups who just rehash the same old lineup year after year HARD actually brings up and coming talent from all over the world, as well as old school talent. Simian Mobile Disco/Fatboy Slim/Bloc Party/Digitalism.. etc etc.
Throws good events, AWFUL AWFUL DJ/Producer haha.
jesus. :/