Eagles

Take That, Mark Cuban! Bengals Receiver Chad Ochocinco Pays $520 a Word for NFL Twitter Fine

Peter Kafka in Media on August 25, 2010 at 5:22 am PT

A $25,000 fine for two tweets comes out to $520 a word (more or less). Or in terms that mean more to an NFL superstar: That’s two months’ worth of Bugatti payments.

Don Henley Does Not Have a Peaceful Easy Feeling About YouTube

Peter Kafka in Media on August 5, 2010 at 11:46 am PT

The former Eagles frontman wins a legal fight against a politician, but he’s still worked up about Google’s video site. He may have to, um, take it easy.

Welcome to the Hotel California: Here's What's Really Happening in the Foursquare Pig Pile

Kara Swisher in News on April 23, 2010 at 1:37 am PT

No, Facebook is not in serious talks to buy Foursquare. No, Microsoft is not poised to snap up the social location start-up, beyond a cursory should-we-look query to itself. No, there is no longer a crazy bidding war going on among major players in Silicon Valley, all waiting with bated breath for Foursquare founder and CEO Dennis Crowley to make a decision about which of them he will deign to take a big pile of money from. Here’s what’s true: You can check in any time you like with Foursquare to do a deal, but you can never leave.

Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger Gets Conditional Thumbs Up From DOJ (Plus D7 Video With TKTM CEO Azoff)

Kara Swisher in News on January 25, 2010 at 4:46 pm PT

While many thought it would not sail through regulatory scrutiny easily, and it has taken a year, the merger of two entertainment industry giants–Ticketmaster and Live Nation–can go forward as long as a certain set of conditions is met, the Department of Justice said. And while DOJ’s antitrust head, Christine Varney, told reporters today that she warned the two companies that the federal government was prepared to litigate if necessary, it–well–did not. Now, the combined company will be able to do everything from selling tickets to booking artists to selling their T-shirts and more. Does this concentration of power mean ticket prices will go up for consumers?

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff: The Full D7 Session

Kara Swisher in D7 on June 12, 2009 at 8:23 am PT

Today, the full sessions of the seventh D: All Things Digital conference get rocking–literally–by posting my onstage interview with music powerhouse Irving Azoff. One of the most important behind-the-scenes movers and shakers in the industry, Azoff is now running the world’s biggest entertainment ticketing company while still heading one of the largest music management companies. He is also personal manager for the Eagles and many others. He and I talked about all this and more, focusing on the digital forces buffeting the music business.

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff: How to Make Money While Music Becomes “Demonetized”

Peter Kafka in D7 on May 27, 2009 at 9:31 am PT

As a longtime music executive and talent manager, Irving Azoff has had to find a way to work with everyone from inebriated rock stars to David Geffen. But he’s never had to placate Washington, D.C. before. But that’s what Azoff needs to do in order to pull off the deal of a lifetime: A merger between his Ticketmaster Entertainment, which dominates the ticketing business, and Live Nation, which dominates the live concert business. When Azoff isn’t busy trying to convince people that the merger doesn’t violate antitrust regulations, or running his ticketing company, he manages the careers of everyone from the Eagles to Christina Aguilera. Note the one thing in the music business he doesn’t spend time on: Selling recorded music.