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Live Nation recruits former major label execs to advise management division

By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 3 April 2012

Live Nation’s management division Front Line has announced new deals with former label execs Ron Fair and Richard Palmese, who will work with the live music conglom’s artists business on a consultancy basis. Their exact roles aren’t that clear.

Producer and A&R man Ron Fair previously held exec roles at Universal Music, most recently overseeing its Geffen division, while Palmese was a promotions VP for Sony’s RCA Music Group.

Confirming Front Line’s new partnerships with Fair and Palmese, Live Nation boss and the management agency’s founder Irving Azoff told reporters: “When proven industry superstars such as Richard and Ron are available, I know I need to have them join the Front Line team. Our artists and managers have just hit the lottery”.

It’s ‘hit the jackpot’ or ‘won the lottery’, Irving. You need to choose one.

Safely avoiding such clichés, Fair added: “Teaming up with Irving Azoff is a spectacular new beginning for me. I look forward to working closely with Irving, Richard Palmese and Front Line’s incomparable roster of managers and artists. We will also focus on discovering, nurturing and developing a new generation of superstars and hit music-intensive branded entertainment”.

Meanwhile Palmese opted for more cliché, but at least used it correctly, saying: “I am thrilled to be working with Irving and the Front Line team, and we’re ready to blaze new trails with Front Line’s talented artists and managers. Working with Ron Fair is an added bonus, and I am confident that together we will create winning strategies across all musical platforms”.