Live Nation has produced every U2 tour since 1997 but company bosses first worked with the Irish band in Toronto in 1980.
Live Nation has signed a $80 million cooperative deal to handle digital content, branding rights and concerts for Irish band U2.
By: Jennifer Hong
Apr 1, 2008, 9:28 AM EDT
The contract is formally extended for 12 years which will handle the merchandising, digital and branding rights of the popular band U2. Live Nation will also handle the band's touring. The deal with U2 comes five months after Live Nation announced a similar partnership with Madonna. Live Nation, the promoter that owns or manages venues such as Wembley Arena and Manchester Apollo, says the U2 deal is worth $80 million that will tie the rock band to its venues for the next 12 years.
"We've been dating for over 20 years now; it's about time we tied the knot," Bono, lead singer of U2 said. Live Nation has produced every U2 tour since 1997 but company bosses first worked with the Irish band in Toronto in 1980. The company has already invested $120 million in a ten-year deal with Madonna that covers both touring, writing and recording rights. The touring portion of that agreement is valued at $70 million. It is also chasing the Rolling Stones, who come out of their EMI recording contract this year, and has been trying to persuade Led Zeppelin to go on a modern world tour after their recent successful comeback concert. U2 formed in 1976 and remains one of the bestselling acts in the world, for both live and recorded music. Its Vertigo tour grossed $389 million, an amount that has been surpassed only by The Rolling Stones; U2's last studio album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, sold nine million after its release in 2004. Source: NewsOXY.com Live Nation Signs U2
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