| Arthur Fogel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupations | CEO, Divisional at Live Nation Entertainment |
| Website | Official website |
Arthur Fogel CM is a Canadian music promoter and the CEO of the Global Touring division of Live Nation Entertainment. His team has managed four of the top five highest-grossing tours in history, including those by U2, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and The Police. He has been considered one of the most important people in live music.
Ottawa, Ontario. He graduated from Ashbury College and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from McMaster University. [1]
Fogel relocated to Toronto, where he played drums professionally. [1] His involvement in music promotion commenced after meeting promoter Dennis Ruffo in Ottawa, when Ruffo had booked the Wells-Davidson Band, in which Fogel was the drummer. [1]
Fogel first started in the concert and music promotion business at a Toronto club called The Edge. [2] In 1981, he joined Concert Productions International (CPI) as an executive assistant before being promoted as president of the concert division at CPI in 1986. In 1989, the company's risky North American breakthrough was to win the tour contract for the Rolling Stones, earning a record-breaking $300 million. [3]
In 1995, Fogel became president of The Next Adventure (TNA), a global touring company, and was responsible for the global touring division as the company was acquired first by SFX, then by Clear Channel Communications. [2]
As a promoter and tour manager of some of the world's largest stage scenes, Fogel's rapport with his superstar clients is reportedly enhanced by his own history as a professional musician. [4] He manages egos, saying "I had this sense of how to interact with artists. When to insert myself in their world and when to withdraw." [3] He has actively responded to crises outside of his control. In 2000, his team was prompted to cancel Diana Ross's Return to Love Tour mid-stride, reportedly due to a failure of financial negotiations with artists, high ticket prices, and low attendance. [5] A 2002 Guns N' Roses concert tour was reportedly shaken by promoter Clear Channel Communications's cancellation of multiple concert dates, due to the band's second failure to appear. Described by MTV News as a riot, the event suffered fighting and mayhem amid the audience, and between the audience and the attending riot police. [6] [7]
Fogel is the CEO of the Global Touring division of Live Nation Entertainment and the chairman of its Global Music group. [8] The organization sells almost 50 million tickets to more than 20,000 events every year, and his team has managed four of the top five highest-grossing tours in history, including those by U2, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and The Police. [3] [9]
Bono of U2 called Fogel "clearly the most important person in the live music world" in a documentary movie titled Who the F**k Is Arthur Fogel, [10] which was screened at the Canadian Music Week Film Fest of 2013. [11] In 2013, The Globe and Mail called him "the most powerful man in music", remarking that "Arthur Fogel runs the world – or at least a large part of the music industry – but doesn't even have his own Wikipedia entry." [3]
In 2016, Fogel was named to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. [2]
Woodstock '99 was a music festival held from July 22 to July 25, 1999, in Rome, New York. After Woodstock '94, it was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the original 1969 Woodstock festival. Like the previous festivals, it was held in upstate New York, this time at the former Griffiss Air Force Base roughly 100 miles (160 km) from the original Woodstock site. The attendance was approximately 220,000 over four days.
Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of five awards at 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, including the Video of the Year.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".
The Fame Ball Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her debut studio album The Fame (2008). North American shows began in March, followed by dates in Oceania and a solo trek through Europe. Dates in Asia soon followed, as well as two performances at England's V Festival and two shows in North America that had been postponed from April. Gaga described the tour as a traveling museum show incorporating artist Andy Warhol's pop-performance art concept. Tickets were distributed for charity also. Alternate versions of the show with minimal variations were planned by Gaga to accommodate different venues.
"Paparazzi" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). It was released as the album's fifth and final single by Interscope Records. Gaga wrote and produced the song with Rob Fusari. The song portrays Gaga's struggles in her quest for fame, as well as balancing success and love. Musically, it is an uptempo techno-pop and dance-pop ballad whose lyrics describe a stalker following somebody to grab attention and fame.
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, The Fame Monster (2009) and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut studio album, The Fame (2008), the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It is the highest grossing tour for a debut headlining artist in history. Described as "the first-ever pop electro opera" by Gaga, the tour was announced in October 2009 after an intended joint concert tour with rapper Kanye West was suddenly cancelled. The Monster Ball Tour commenced four days after the release of The Fame Monster in November 2009.
"Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), The Fame Monster (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal demo leak, Gaga premiered the song's final version during the finale of Alexander McQueen's 2010 Paris Fashion Week show in October 2009 and released it as the lead single from The Fame Monster later that month. Musically, it is an electropop and dance-pop song with a spoken bridge. Inspired by German house and techno, the song was developed as an experimental pop record. Lyrically, Gaga drew from the paranoia she experienced while on tour and wrote about her attraction to unhealthy romantic relationships.
The Billboard Live Music Awards is an annual meeting sponsored by Billboard magazine that honors the top international live entertainment industry artists and professionals. Established in 2004, it has thus been described as "part industry conference, part awards show".
"Alejandro" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), The Fame Monster (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). Written and produced by Gaga and RedOne, it was released on April 20, 2010, as the third single from the EP. Interscope Records intended the track "Dance in the Dark" to be the EP's third single after "Alejandro" initially received limited airplay, but Gaga insisted on the latter. A synth-pop track with Europop and Latin pop beats, it opens with a sample from the main melody of Vittorio Monti's "Csárdás". The song was inspired by Gaga's fear of men and is about her bidding farewell to her Latino lovers named Alejandro, Roberto and Fernando.
"Born This Way" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, and the lead single from her second studio album of the same name. Written by Gaga and Jeppe Laursen, who produced it along with Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow, the track was developed while Gaga was on the road with the Monster Ball Tour. Inspired by 1990s music which empowered women, minorities and the LGBT community, Gaga explained that "Born This Way" was her freedom song. It was also inspired by Carl Bean and his song "I Was Born This Way", released in 1977. She sang part of the chorus at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and announced it as the lead single from the album, released on February 11, 2011.
"The Edge of Glory" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her second studio album, Born This Way (2011). The song was released on May 9, 2011, as the album's third single. Initially released as one of two promotional singles for Born This Way, it shortly became a single following its success in digital outlets worldwide. The song was written and produced by Gaga and Fernando Garibay, and is a pop, electro-rock, and disco song that speaks of the last moments of life. According to Gaga, lyrical inspiration came from the death of her grandfather, who died in September 2010. Along with a saxophone solo played by Clarence Clemons, the melody of the song resembles much of the musical works of Bruce Springsteen, and contains several qualities similar to that of 1980s adult contemporary musical works.
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden is a 2011 concert special which documents the February 21 and 22, 2011 shows of American pop singer Lady Gaga's worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour. Filmed at Madison Square Garden in Gaga's hometown of New York City, the two-hour special was directed by the singer's choreographer Laurieann Gibson and produced by HBO. It was first broadcast on the channel on May 7, 2011, a day after Gaga's last date of The Monster Ball Tour. The special was released on November 21, 2011, on DVD and Blu-ray by Media Blasters.
The Born This Way Ball was the third concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her second studio album Born This Way (2011). The tour visited all continents, except Antarctica, and was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour of 2012 by Pollstar. The tour grossed $22.5 million in 2013 according to Pollstar's year-end chart from the 18 dates played, bringing the Born This Way Ball Tour's total gross to $183.9 million from 98 dates. The tour was well received by critics who praised the stage design, Gaga's vocal abilities and different expressive messages.
The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, MDNA (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Córdoba, Argentina on December 22, 2012. Rumors of the singer embarking on a concert tour first began in October 2011, but nothing was confirmed until four months later, following Madonna's performance at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show. Madonna's fifth tour with Live Nation, it visited Eurasia and the Americas, and marked the first time she visited the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Scotland and Colombia. Additionally, it was her first visit to Turkey since the Girlie Show (1993). An Australian leg was planned for January 2013 but was cancelled.
MDNA World Tour is the fourth live album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on September 6, 2013, by Interscope Records as a full concert on all formats including a double-disc CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. Madonna had embarked on the MDNA Tour for promotion of her twelfth studio album MDNA. The tour was a commercial success although it courted a number of controversies. The performances at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida during the North American leg of the MDNA Tour were documented for video release. The recording was directed by Danny B. Tull and Stephane Sennour who included footage from other shows of the tour.
ArtRave: The Artpop Ball was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Supporting her third studio album Artpop (2013), the tour ran from May 4, 2014 to November 24, 2014. The tour dates included cities where Gaga had canceled shows of her previous Born This Way Ball tour after suffering a hip injury. The ArtRave tour was preceded by a performance at the South by Southwest music festival, which drew controversy due to a segment where an artist vomited on Gaga, and a seven-day residency at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York.
Dennis Ruffo is a Canadian music promoter, based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
John Giddings is an English music agent and promoter who has run the Isle of Wight Festival since its revival in 2002.
