Entertainment giant Live Nation said Wednesday it will acquire a controlling stake in the iconic Rock in Rio festival, the latest consolidation in the fast-growing world of live music.
Entertainment giant Live Nation said Wednesday it will acquire a controlling stake in the iconic Rock in Rio festival, the latest consolidation in the fast-growing world of live music.
The Los Angeles-based company said it will take a majority stake in Rock in Rio in 2019, although a representative for the festival in Brazil said that the arrangement would be a 50-50 split. The festival's Brazilian founder, Roberto Medina, will maintain a key role in organizing the festival, Live Nation said.
"The partnership will generate a number of synergies that will enable the realization of even greater ambitions for Rock in Rio," Medina said in a statement. Rock in Rio has its roots in the fall of Brazil's military dictatorship in 1985 when a total of nearly 1.4 million people came out for 10 days of musicthat included Queen, Rod Stewart, AC/DC and Yes.
With a seventh edition taking place last year, Rock in Rio has become South America's best-known music festival. It has also expanded overseas with editions in Lisbon, Madrid and, in 2015, a first US version in Las Vegas that starred some of the top Names in pop music including Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars.
