Word: aeg
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...Britons largely considered its publicly-funded $1.22 billion price tag a waste of lottery and public money. That it took another three years to finally unload it - at a cost of around $60 million more for upkeep - only hardened negative attitudes toward the Dome. It's new owner is AEG, an American entertainment and sports conglomerate that also owns the Staples Center in Los Angeles and several sports teams, including the L.A. Kings hockey team...
...AEG needs between 120 to 150 events a year to make the O2 viable, but it's already on track to host up to 180 in its debut year. "We're well ahead of the game," says David Campbell, chief executive of AEG Europe. According to Billboard, O2 sold 601,056 tickets in its first three months, making it the fourth most popular arena in the world after Madison Square Garden, the Manchester Evening News Arena and Wembley Arena. Legendary British promoter Harvey Goldsmith, organizer of the Zeppelin show, isn't surprised by the O2's success...
...AEG also ensured that the arena's not the only attraction. Restaurants, bars and an 11-screen cinema are aligned around a faux street scene that nearly rings the arena. A smaller, 2,500-seat club, Indigo, hosts less mainstream acts, such as funkster George Clinton and jazz great Al Jarreau. Prince also played at many of his aftershow parties into the wee hours. Its exhibition space opens next month, kicking off with a nine-month run of a King Tut exhibit expected to draw up to 2 million visitors. Also in the works: a British music hall of fame...
...tickets for her tour, which sold out in minutes and have fetched more than $1,000 from scalpers. (The reselling--legal in most states--prompted outrage and lawsuits, giving kids a lesson in the American pillars of capitalism and litigation.) Says Debra Rathwell, senior vice president of AEG Live, the tour's promoter: "I've had e-mails from people saying, 'Should I not pay my mortgage this month and go to Hannah Montana?'" With the popularity of Hannah (and franchises including High School Musical, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Cheetah Girls), Disney overtook rival Nickelodeon...
...wouldn't bundle all these rights into one cross-collateralized company," argues Randy Phillips, who manages Lionel Richie and is President and CEO of AEG Live, the second largest concert promoter after Live Nation. Phillips says Warner Music contacted him a few months ago to be a potential partner when they were worried about Madonna being stolen away, though the two didn't ultimately make a deal. "I think an artist can fare better with direct relationships. It takes different skill sets to maximize revenue in the different areas and the artist cheats herself by trying...