CLUBBED

Former WME music head Marc Geiger’s plan to “rescue” shuttered music venues, SaveLive—which is reportedly based on paying pennies on the dollar for 51% ownership—is being met by beer-bottle projectiles from many music fans on socials. Not surprisingly, concertgoers paint the suit as a corporate raider in indie garb, while insiders from the live sector view the bailout with plenty of skepticism, to put it mildly. Peers have cleverly started to refer to the venture as “StealLive.”

According to published accounts, Geiger has raised some $75m—with the son of Saudi oil adviser/investment banker Ken Moelis contributing—for a nationwide “network” of clubs to be prepped for a likely 2022 grand reopening.

We’re told Live Nation, AEG, CAA and other major players are manifestly not on board with his StealLive crusade and that several key players at Geiger’s former agency are said to be watching the proceedings with dismay. Even Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino referred to the opportunistic “fire sale” in his latest earnings call: “Any great live club is not throwing anybody the keys cheaply; there’s a lot of capital out there. So if you own The Troubadour in Los Angeles, a legendary business, and you’re having a tough year, you’re not selling to Marc Geiger at a one- or two-time multiple. Access to capital, to PPE loans—there are a lot of ways you can weather the storm.”

It’s hard to believe the amount of vitriol aimed at Geiger. Besides his arrogance and coming off as the smartest guy in the room, what did he do to generate so much ill will? What happens when club owners facing bankruptcy don’t agree to be “Saved?” Pass the well booze, please.

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