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With the arrival of the Paramount+ documentary miniseries “Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza,” alt-rock fans who attended the era-defining Lollapalooza festival in its national heyday will experience a rush of nostalgia, and viewers from Gens Z and Alpha will see and hear what Gen X has been crowing about since 1991. That’s the year Perry Farrell created a touring farewell party for his Jane’s Addiction, invited still-new bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Ice T’s Body Count for the ride, and found a tribe of like-minded rebel youth enthralled with his tribal gathering.

Farrell and the series’ director, Emmy nominee Michael John Warren, spoke with Variety about the new documentary in separate interviews. Warren is more naturally prone to rhapsodize about Lollapalooza’s rich history than Farrell, who isn’t so nostalgically inclined and has his sights set very much on what he believes could happen under...

The upcoming Paramount+ + documentary Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza traces the story of Perry Farrell’s alternative music extravaganza from its roots in 1991 as a Jane’s Addiction farewell tour all the way through its role today as one of the largest festivals on the planet. The three-part special, which features interviews with Farrell, Chance the Rapper, Flea, Trent Reznor, Ice-t, Tom Morello, Lars Ulrich, and Vernon Reid premieres May 21.

In this exclusive clip, Lollapalooza founders Perry Farrell and Marc Geiger talk about their efforts to revive the festival in 2004 as a tour featuring Morrissey,...

Three-year-old Scener, a startup that enables communal viewing of TV series and films that live on top streaming services, has nabbed a slew of high-profile executives and investors to steward its next chapter of growth.

The company has tapped founding Hulu exec David Baron to serve as its next CEO, and added filmmaker J.J. Abrams, Tinder founder Sean Rad, and former WME global music head Marc Geiger to a newly-formed strategic advisory board and investor group. At the same time, Richard Wolpert – a longtime angel investor and entrepreneur – has been named Scener's executive chairman.

Scener seeks to add a social layer on top of streaming TV shows and movies. The platform-agnostic service – accessible through a free Google Chrome extension – has hosted 7 million such events in 2021 for programming that lives on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, and YouTube. The platform provides a synchronized video playback sessions with the ability...

Exclusive: David Baron, a member of Hulu’s original launch team in 2007 who went on to have a 14-year run with the streaming pioneer, has been named CEO of social viewing startup Scener.

The Seattle-based company has also has added filmmaker and producer J.J. Abrams as an investor and member of its advisory board. Tinder founder and investor Sean Rad and former WME music chief Marc Geiger have also invested in Scener and joined as advisors. Richard Wolpert, a longtime tech investor and entrepreneur, has come aboard as executive chairman. Rob Glaser’s RealNetworks was the original incubator of Scener, which was founded in 2018.

Daniel Strickland, who founded Scener and was its original CEO and Cto, will continue as Cto.

The overall streaming explosion has boosted Scener, whose Google Chrome extension lets groups collectively watch programming and interact as it plays. One of its splashiest projects was an activation last...

WME said Monday that music agent Aaron Tannenbaum has joined the agency as a partner based in its Nashville office. Tannenbaum, who had been at CAA since 2010, specializes in country artists and has repped singers including Luke Combs, Brantley Gilbert, Michael Ray and Walker Hays among others. No word yet on which clients will make the move with him.

“Aaron has earned a reputation in our business as an agent who has a strong ability to identify talent and takes the long view in building an artist’s career, making him a great fit for us,” Scott Clayton, WME’s Co-Head of Music, said today.

Added Jay Williams, co-head of WME’s Nashville office: “As our Nashville office continues to grow, Aaron represents a significant addition to our team and we look forward to bringing his creativity and strategic approach to our colleagues and clients.”

The hire comes after several...

Ever since Covid-19 brought concerts and tours to a crashing halt this spring, the global live music industry has been in a bind: It was one of the earliest industries forced to shut down, and it will likely be one of the last to reopen. In the meantime, promoters and booking agents have lost jobs, venues have shuttered, artists have been cut off from one of their most reliable streams of income, and thousands of tour crew members have faced a financial and existential reckoning.

The global concert business, which...

Trent Reznor reflected on Nine Inch Nails’ past and looked forward to their future in his speech marking the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Following an introduction from Iggy Pop, the frontman opened by acknowledging the surreal nature of this year’s virtual event. He said when he found out Nine Inch Nails had been selected for the class of 2020, the thing he was most looking forward to was getting together with bandmates past and present at the ceremony. Now, he added, “We’re...

Facing nearly eight months of no live music now, ticketing and promotion giant Live Nation Entertainment reported a 95% drop in revenue in its third quarter compared to the same time last year, the company said in its earnings report on Thursday. The stark figure, though somewhat expected, signals yet another tough period as Live Nation batters the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Third-quarter revenue was about $154 million in 2020 compared to over $3 billion in 2019, with the company — which operates both Live Nation and Ticketmaster — reporting a $173 million loss for its concert business and a $142 million loss for ticketing.

Bozoma Saint John, marketing executive extraordinaire, scored big when she took the chief marketing officer gig at Netflix last week, TheWrap has learned. The former Endeavor marketing leader was offered a roughly $7 million payday to work for the streamer, according to an insider familiar with the deal. That package was “dramatically more” than what Saint John was earning at Endeavor, according to the individual. Netflix and Endeavor declined to comment for this article. TheWrap was unable to reach Saint John for comment as well. Saint John, whose contract was up at the end of the year, is just the latest in a slew of notable executives to exit Endeavor. In June, WME lost partner and Worldwide Head of Music Marc Geiger, as well as agent and partner Theresa Kang-Lowe, who left to launch her own management company with an overall deal at Apple TV+. The agency also shed talent agent Sean Grumman,...

Bozoma Saint John is stepping down as Cmo for Endeavor to take the same position with Netflix.

Saint John replaces Jackie Lee-Joe, who is leaving the company after less than a year on the job for personal reasons, an individual with knowledge of the move told TheWrap. Lee-Joe has been with her family in Australia since the coroanvirus pandemic began.

“Bozoma Saint John is an exceptional marketer who understands how to drive conversations around popular culture better than almost anyone. As we bring more great stories to our members around the world, she’ll define and lead our next exciting phase of creativity and connection with consumers,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer.

Also Read: Endeavor Secures $260 Million Loan Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

Added Saint John: “I’m thrilled to join Netflix, especially at a time when storytelling is critical to our global, societal well-being. I feel honored to contribute my...

WME said Thursday that Marc Geiger, a partner and the agency’s longtime worldwide Head of Music, is leaving after 17 years as part of a restructure in the division. The moves include WME’s Co-Head of Music Sara Newkirk Simon transitioning to a consultant role at WME’s parent Endeavor, where she will continue to advise the Music division.

In the new structure, Lucy Dickins has been elevated to Co-Head of WME Music, joining current Co-Heads Scott Clayton and Kirk Sommer. The trio will guide strategy and operations for the division moving forward.

No reason was given for Geiger’s departure, though Endeavor like others in the industry has been slammed by the coronavirus shutdown and notably its reliance on live events — from sports to fashion to concerts — as well as the shutdown of film and TV production. In May, WME announced that 20% of its employees will either be laid off,...

Genna Batson, who graduated last month from Syracuse University’s Bandier Program with a music business degree, was about as poised for a career in the concert industry as a senior without a nepotistic benefactor could be. She’d focused on the touring business early in her college days, serving as talent buyer and co-director of the school’s concert board, and held internships at industry titans Live Nation, Red Light Management and Superfly, where last summer she interned as a sponsorship coordinator for the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco. She’d secured a contracted position for this summer in the same role, and a permanent job looked promising.

But then came the pandemic, which in a matter of days flattened the entire concert industry — the financial engine of the music business, which touring trade Pollstar had projected would generate $12.2 billion in box office this year. Every major concert...

June 1, 2019 marks the official 10-year anniversary of the William Morris Agency-Endeavor merger. It wasn’t a marriage of equals, with 14-year-old Endeavor, then valued at $100 million-plus, joining forces with a Hollywood royalty, the 111-year-old Wma valued at more than twice as much. But, in one of the most shocking Hollywood takeovers, it was Endeavor, with its 80 agents, that came up on top, taking advantage of the existing fractures within Wma leadership to take control of the bigger rival, which boasted more than 300 agents at the time.

“The Wma leadership was totally blindsided; they truly believed that they would be running the combined company,” one insider said. Indeed, Wma was supposed to control five of Wme’s nine board seats versus four for Endeavor, with Wma CEO Jim Wiatt leading Wme as chairman and Wma president Dave Wirtschafter as co-ceo alongside Endeavor toppers Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.

But the...

Wme has booked veteran music agent Lucy Dickins as Head of UK Music division starting next month. Joining the agency from Itb (International Talent Booking), she has a client roster that includes Adele, Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, James Blake and Mabel — all of whom Wme now will represent globally. Dickins who recently was named Live Music Agent of the year at the Music Week Awards, also works with the likes of Hot Chip, Bryan Ferry, Rex Orange County, Jamie T and Jack Peñate. “There’s no one else who possesses Lucy’s combination of pedigree, taste and respect in our industry,” Wme’s Head of Music Marc Geiger said. “After being in business with her family for so many years, we feel fortunate that she decided to join Wme, and we look forward to bringing her perspective to our clients and colleagues.” Itb agents James Simmons and Chris Payne are...

The first Lollapalooza Berlin will be held at Tempelhof Airport on Sept. 12-13, 2015, it was announced Thursday. Germany will join Chile, Brazil and Argentina as the fourth international location for the festival, produced by Festival Republic, the team behind the Reading and Leeds Festivals, and Melt! Booking, in conjunction with Lolla's U.S. team of Perry Farrell, William Morris Endeavor and C3 Presents. This is the first time Lolla has ventured onto European soil, either as a touring festival or a one-off event, and Marc Geiger, head of Wme's music division, says in a statement that, while

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In a major move in the music agency world, Don Muller has moved to WMA from CAA, taking with him such acts as Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys, Weezer, Tenacious D and Mars Volta.

Muller will be reunited with his pal Marc Geiger, who heads up WMA's contemporary music division and with whom Muller co-founded Lollapalooza in 1992, along with Perry Farrell. The two left WMA in 1997 to co-found the musical digital company Artist Direct. Muller had been at CAA since 2002.

Muller, who is bringing Scars on Broadway and Maxwell with him, also worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers while at CAA. It is unclear at this time if that band will be joining him.

Muller's joining strengthens WMA's already muscular music division. The department is coming off its strongest showing at the Grammies ever, with acts Kanye West, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, Eagles among the winners.