Mark Campana & Bob Roux
Co-presidents of North American concerts
Live Nation Entertainment
POWER MOVE: Huge tours from Rogers Waters, One Direction, Jason Aldean and others sold more than 20 million tickets, an increase of more than 8%.
THE RUNDOWN: Managing a diverse group of promoters across the continent is a tough gig, but Mark Campana and Bob Roux are making it work. The veteran promoters were upped to co-presidents of Live Nation’s North American business at the end of 2010 with the mandate of rejuvenating the concert biz in North America, driven by empowerment of Live Nation’s 15 local and regional offices in critical matters like marketing and talent buying.
“We’re extremely proud of the amazing results achieved by our strong network of local promoters,” Roux says. “We sold in excess of 20 million concert tickets, an increase of more than 8%, and built on our momentum from the previous year.” He cites Live Nation’s domestic touring team’s success with such treks as Roger Waters, Jason Aldean, Drake, Journey, One Direction, Wiz Kalifa and Van Halen.
Given its size and scope, Live Nation promotes the lion’s share of arena, theater and club shows on these shores, but, as the largest owner/operator of amphitheaters, its North American business is driven in large part by the success of the sheds in summer. As of Sept. 30, show attendance for its sheds was up 15% over 2011, the company says, and the number of shows also jumped 15% during the same period.
“When you’re doing a few more shows, and the shows you’re doing are selling well [and] attendance is up,” Campana says, “that’s when you know you’re winning.”