Grimaux Leaves Live Nation

Czech-based promoter Serge Grimaux has reached the end of his contract with Live Nation and decided to return to being an independent promoter.

He told Pollstar he had “five very good years” with LN and hopes the company feels the same, but he has decided to shed off the corporate structure and go out on his own.

“I have a year’s non-compete clause and of course I shall be honoring it, but after that I’ll return to promoting under my own name,” he explained.

“I think you’re either born a promoter or you become a promoter,” he said, referring to the days when – as a 14-year-old – he tramped the streets of Montreal, Canada, putting up posters to make money to buy records.

“It’s in my blood. I just want to get back to promoting shows under my own name. That’s what will be on the poster and so I better make sure it’s good,” he said.

Live Nation’s London office has confirmed that Grimaux has departed and that Robert Porket, his partner in Interkoncerts when they sold out to LN in September 2004, will be remaining as chief of its Czech operation.

“It’s been a pleasure working with him since we made the acquisition of Interkoncerts and I wish him well as he focuses on his expansion of Ticketpro,” was LN international chief exec Alan Ridgeway’s reaction to Grimaux moving on.

Apart from promoting major international acts for LN, Grimaux has built his European ticket business Ticketpro by franchising his expertise, experience and company infrastructure.

He provides the Ticketpro company name, along with its software, trademarks and trade names. The new companies join the Ticketpro network and report to him on a regular basis.

He maintains a vested interest in overseeing the business, as he is paid a small royalty on every sale, a figure included in the ticket agency’s booking fee.

In the course of the summer, new Ticketpro companies have launched in Belarus, Estonia and Croatia.