Wow!  Bob, I never said that the business was fine or even that consolidation (SFX to Clear Channel Entertainment to Live Nation) was good for the business. I, actually, yearn for the way it was when I was a young manager using local promoters to promote my clients.  I knew them and their families, personally, and they knew what was best for my clients in their respective markets.  Some of them couldn’t make payroll if they didn’t sell tickets to a show.

The live entertainment industry is not healthy, even though AEG Live is having our best year in a long time.  We have taken financial hits over the years, also, but Phil Anschutz and Tim Leiweke have vision and staying power, a bit to the dismay of the rulers of the universe at LN.  Sometimes I envision a world where the promoter roll-up didn’t happen and AEG Live didn’t have to exist.  In light of the fact that this was a fantasy reflection, thank God AEG Live and the handful of independent promoters left (Greg/Sherry, Seth, Arne/Jerry, the Franks, etc.) are still here.

Since I cannot continue to keep this dialoque going, I probably should stop taking the bait everytime you say something about my company or me.  What will you say in 5 years if Justin Bieber isn’t just a massive commercial shooting star and actually proves the haters wrong with a productive and blossoming career?

The truth is I love reading and engaging in this blog because Bob does occasionally get it right and it gives us all a forum to vent.