Live Nation CEO Changes Name to Bill Graham

It’s almost official: Concert-promoting heady overlord Live Nation is one step closer to pulling off the…completely unnecessary. The good people at Idolator ran a clever post today with the following picture taken from one of those cellular telephones with the cameras. They’re taking down the sign, and just six days from now, the un-brand new Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza will still(!) be open to the public.

IPsign

There are purists and there are branders. And the branders love the “at” and “of” prepositions; for, those little descriptors allow them be douchebags. Or douchebottles, or whatever the devil you fallopian tubers use these days.

The pride of Denver took the naming-rights ducats and became Invesco Field at Mile High. Arte Moreno, so soon after his $184 million purchase, smelled bigger-city pesos and birthed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Even one of our alma maters fell prey to a benefactor of renovation and transformed itself from a lesbianic-sounding stronghold to Ryan Field at Dyche Stadium (with the last three words generally truncated). Face it: Ideas hatch, and unscrupulous whores with silly motives and sillier perspective usually incubate them quickly.

But here’s the angle that’s not being discussed: Live Nation has to be frustrated by the success of Wolfgang’s Vault. The wunder-site began after Bill Sagan bought the contents of Bill Graham’s old shit for $5 million dollars from Live Nation’s former parent company. Hell, the Bill Graham Presents website is Live Nation owned and operated. Live Nation is the kid that traded away his dad’s Mickey Something rookie card for a week of borrowing Contra for Nintendo. Sagan found the contents in complete disarray, so Live Nation obviously had no idea of the vast amount of priceless rock memorabilia that was thrown in a warehouse. Now someone is pissed and wants to leverage the Bill Graham Presents trademarks for all they’re worth.

Cheeky bastards. We can’t wait to go and see what’s not at all new there…

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8 Responses

  1. Well, now i really hate Live Nation. Having seen many fine performances at the “REAL” Fillmore, this just pisses me off. First of all, Irving plaza is an ok venue but does not even compare to that storied venue in the city by the bay. If they
    think they can hand out apples and posters and call it the Fillmore and expect that same feeling when u enter or leave, they are sadly mistaken. Are they going to hang vintage posters everywhere too? Here is hoping I am wrong….

  2. Clear Channel sold the archives, not Live Nation.

    Live Nation wasn’t even around back then. To try to connect the selling of the archives to Live Nation is not only disingenuous, it’s simply not true.

    Many people not in the music industry (just as yourself) do not understand that the formation of Live Nation was a coup. The music people in the company had the good sense to separate themselves from the radio advertising and billboard people. Clear Channel NEVER knew what to do with their purchase of all those independent concert promoters collected under the SFX name just prior to their purchase.

    As for the ridiculously awkward naming that includes “of,” or “at,” that is an issue to be taken up with local officials. Live Nation would just as soon call everything The Fillmore (New York, Detroit, etc.)

    Sagan/Wolfgang’s Vault is being sued by a group of artists (Grateful Dead, etc.)who never approved the sale or use of their creative property by anybody but Bill (Graham).

    Maybe you should check with the people in Denver to see if changing the venue there to a Fillmore was a good thing or bad thing. Seems ignorant to judge something before you’ve even seen it or experienced it.

  3. I agree. I only had the pleasure of catching one show at The Fillmore and it was The Pat McGhee Band, which makes it not as cool as seeing someone cool, but that venue is the tits. You walk in and you can feel the history. Escpecially if you know the history. I guess if you didn’t know the history, you’d just be stoked to be seeing Pat McGhee. When you weren’t fixing your popped collar.

    Anyway…

    The TLA in Philly is a cool venue, but it’s NOT The Fillmore. It’s also not that big. They do serve PBR, which is a plus…

  4. Live Nation is Clear Channel. They were called Spinco for two weeks to pretend they were a different company and deny employees benefits.

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