LN Locks In CIE - Pollstar News

Live Nation announced August 21 a five-year exclusive distribution agreement with Latin America’s largest promotion company, Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento SAB de C.V., better known as CIE.

The agreement gives Live Nation a strong partner in Mexico and South America, which provides a promotional base for Live Nation’s tours through Latin America. CIE is expected to pay Live Nation a percentage of revenue when the company brings acts into buildings CIE operates. Live Nation also worked out a similar deal with T4F (Time For Fun).

“The expansion provides us with a world-class execution partner and a new revenue source to further monetize our global tours in a region where we currently have no market share,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement.

The deal has apparently been in the works for about a year.

CIE is the preferred promoter in scores of Mexican and South American venues, from gaming rooms to convention centers to racetracks, and generated more than $1 billion in revenue last year, according to a statement. With the CIE relationship, a Live Nation tour – such as Shakira’s, now that she has signed a 360 deal with the company – would have quick and painless routing throughout the hemisphere.

The interested parties told the Wall Street Journal that competitors with acts on world tours wouldn’t be able to use CIE’s venues, incorrectly implying that Live Nation had a total lock on Mexico and South America. CIE is a facility operator of 12 venues. That leaves plenty of venues CIE promotes but does not operate, including those run by SMG. In such venues, the CIE-Live Nation handshake may be nothing more than a co-promoter agreement.

“We have a great relationship with both companies and are very excited about this deal,” SMG President Michael Evans told Pollstar. “We will continue to welcome all qualified promoters to our facilities.”

And even though Live Nation and CIE are keeping things in the family at CIE-run buildings, it was not clear what would happen if a third party came calling.