SPRING AWAKENING 2018 PHASE ONE LINEUP ANNOUNCED!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2018 – SPRING AWAKENING MUSIC FESTIVAL (SAMF) is thrilled to announce a massive Phase One lineup for its seventh annual installment, taking place Friday, June 8th through Sunday, June 10th. In 2018, the largest all-electronic music festival in the Midwest will return to the beautiful Addams/Medill Park in Chicago.

Spring Awakening’s two main stages – Solstice and Equinox – will once again showcase the event’s biggest names and productions. Headliners on the Solstice Stage are sure to please fans with performances by AFROJACK, BORGORE, CARNAGE, DASH BERLIN, DIMITRI VEGAS & LIKE MIKE, HARDWELL, KASKADE, STEVE AOKI, and TIËSTO.

Meanwhile, on the Equinox Stage, ALISON WONDERLAND, BIG GIGANTIC, DEADMAU5, FLUX PAVILION, NGHTMRE, TCHAMI, SLUSHII, VIRTUAL SELF (Porter Robinson’s new alias that blends house, happy hardcore, garage and techno), and ZEDS DEAD round out the bill by featuring a variety of genres within the realm of dance music. Additional artists providing high-intensity energy on the Equinox Stage include BAAUER, BLACK TIGER SEX MACHINE, JOYRYDE, MATOMA, MINNESOTA, while 3LAU, GETTER, SAM FELDT, SEVEN LIONS, SLANDER, and TRITONAL takeover the Solstice Stage.

To accompany the first phase of artists from around the world, Spring Awakening also reveals the identity of this year’s six Branded Stage showcases. React’s coveted event series will return with another round of specially curated stages for fans to explore. Whether you’re searching for soaring thrills and infectious rhythms of the TRANCE ARENA, the BASS KITCHEN’s perfect combination of grit and grime, or minimal beats by REQUIEM, the newest techno series, there’s a stage for everyone to call home.

Additionally, SAMF will host stage takeovers from three diverse brands within the dance music community. Attendees will experience uniquely tailored lineups from SUNDAY SCHOOL, featuring both big-name and underground champions currently dominating the scene, Oliver Helden’s HELDEEP Records imprint, and the acclaimed music publication DJ MAG with its own all-star lineup of DJs from the highest realms of EDM stardom.

Make no mistake, this is one of the most seismic lineups for Spring Awakening yet — and we still haven’t even touched Phase Two, which will be released next week!

SAMF2018_Admat_Announce_Phase1_Final

NEIL RYAN JOINS LIVESTYLE, INC. AS SENIOR VP AND HEAD OF NORTH AMERICA PRODUCTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEIL RYAN JOINS LIVESTYLE, INC. AS
SENIOR VP AND HEAD OF NORTH AMERICA PRODUCTION

LOS ANGELES, CA – February 5, 2017 – LiveStyle, Inc. President/CEO Randy Phillips and Executive VP & CFO of Chuck Ciongoli announced today that Neil Ryan has joined the company as Senior VP and Head of North America Production. Ryan comes to LiveStyle with more than 20 years of experience producing live music, touring, and special events in venues across the country including his extensive work with world-renowned music festivals. In this newly created position at LiveStyle, Ryan will have primary authority and responsibility for all LiveStyle, Inc.’s event production business and operations. Ryan will be based in LiveStyle’s NYC offices.

Phillips said, “While running AEG Live, I had the pleasure of working with Neil and saw first-hand his depth of expertise in the live event/production space. He adds to LiveStyle’s exceptional staff as we continue to bring on the best and the brightest.”

Commented Ciongoli, “Neil is exceptionally experienced and will be a valued addition to the LiveStyle team. His professionalism and hands-on approach is second to none. We are incredibly fortunate to have Neil on our team.”

Ryan said, “After years of working with some of the best people in the music industry across all musical genres, I am excited to be reunited with Randy and to be working with the team at LiveStyle.”

Ryan comes to LiveStyle from the firm he founded and owns, NRG Productions, Inc., where he served as President. Among its many clients, NRG Productions has worked with Goldenvoice/AEG Presents to provide Main Stage production management and design for the Coachella and Stagecoach Music Festivals, Desert Trip Music Festival, and Arroyo Seco Weekend. For the past two years, the company has handled production for CID Presents destination VIP music festivals in The Riviera Maya, including Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa, Phish Riviera Maya, and Dead and Company. NRG has also worked with numerous clients across the country to produce special events featuring music industry legends.

Prior to opening NRG Productions in 2012, Ryan was Director of Production Northeast for AEG Live, NY for over ten years, where he worked directly with Phillips. There he was responsible for the production and management of all AEG Live shows throughout the Northeast as well as the successful launch of touring shows and events across the country. Additionally, he was responsible for overseeing the opening of numerous venues throughout the region including the Prudential Center and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Prior to his position at AEG Live, Ryan was Production Manager and Promoter Representative at Metropolitan Entertainment Group, Director of Operations at the Meadows Music Theater, Hartford, CT, and began his career in the music industry in Boston, MA with the Don Law Company.

About LiveStyle, Inc.
Positioned to be the world’s largest electronic music event producer, LiveStyle boasts a wide variety of leading live electronic music properties. LiveStyle produces and promotes single and multiday electronic music festivals across North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. North American key operating entities include Made Event, React Presents, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, and MMG, along with festivals and brands such as Electric Zoo, Spring Awakening, Sensation, and Life in Color. In Europe, the company boasts key operating entities such as Monumental, B2S, ID&T, i-Motion, and Q-Dance, and festivals and brands including Decibel, Mysteryland, Awakenings, Back-To-School, Air, Qlimax, Nature One, Sensation, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. In Brazil, LiveStyle owns PlusNetwork which has produced the enormously successful Tomorrowland Brasil festival and tours by internationally acclaimed DJs and artists. Further, LiveStyle has a 40% participation in Rock in Rio, held biannually in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with spin-offs in Lisbon and Portugal. Together with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization, LiveStyle launched TomorrowWorld, the first international version of the Tomorrowland festival, and also promoted the first South American Tomorrowland festival. LiveStyle continues to work with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization as its international partner to bring Tomorrowland to new territories outside Europe and to return to the USA and Brazil. LiveStyle also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.

For more information visit www.livestyle.com/.

# # #

CONTACT:
Scoop Marketing for LiveStyle, Inc.
Larry Solters, [email protected], 818-761-6100
Erik Stein, [email protected], 818-761-4645

BEATPORT ANNOUNCES TWO PROMOTIONS ON LEADERSHIP TEAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

BEATPORT ANNOUNCES TWO PROMOTIONS ON LEADERSHIP TEAM

 

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 16, 2018 – Beatport, the world’s leading DJ music platform, announced two executive promotions that will help propel the company to new levels of success in 2018 and beyond. The internal promotions, of Jonathan Steffan and Terry Weerasinghe, were announced today by Robb McDaniels, who joined the company as CEO in October 2017.

Steffan was promoted from SVP, Technology to Chief Information Officer. In his new role, he oversees Infrastructure Engineering, Data Services, Content Operations and IT from Beatport’s Denver office. With over 15 years technology and consulting experience, Steffan is well versed in digital media technologies and scalable platforms. Steffan joined Beatport in 2008 from the open source Fedora Project community and is one of the company’s longest serving employees.

Weerasinghe was promoted from SVP, Music, Marketing & Analytics to Chief Product Officer. In his new role, he oversees all Product Development, Marketing & Artist and Label Relations from Beatport’s Berlin office. Weerasinghe brings 17 years of music industry experience to the leadership team, which includes over five years as Head of Native Instruments’ Traktor brand before joining Beatport in 2013.

“Successful companies are born from intelligent, passionate people, and Jonathan and Terry exemplify these traits,” commented McDaniels. “If we are going to transform Beatport from a simple download store to a next generation ecommerce platform, we need leadership and vision from experienced executives like these two gentlemen.”

Beatport, a subsidiary of LiveStyle, Inc., the largest electronic music event producer in the world, is planning on big improvements to its product offering by Q3 2018 and has been mobilizing to support this new direction.  The company is making renewed investments in its core technologies and systems, and the DJ community is beginning to respond favorably to these developments.

 

 

Pictured: Jonathan Steffan (for a high-resolution download, click here).

 

Pictured: Terry Weerasinghe (for a high-resolution download, click here).

 

About Beatport

Founded in 2004 as the principal source of music for DJs, Beatport today is the worldwide home of electronic music for DJs, producers, and their fans. The Beatport Store offers music in premium digital formats and provides unique music discovery tools created for and by DJs. Each week, Beatport’s music collection is refreshed with hundreds of exclusive tracks by the world’s top electronic music artists. Beatport has offices in Denver and Berlin. Follow Beatport on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

For more information visit www.beatport.com/.

About LiveStyle, Inc.

Positioned to be the world’s largest electronic music event producer, LiveStyle boasts a wide variety of leading live electronic music properties. LiveStyle produces and promotes single and multiday electronic music festivals across North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. North American key operating entities include Made Event, React Presents, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, and MMG, along with festivals and brands such as Electric Zoo, Spring Awakening, Sensation, and Life in Color. In Europe, the company boasts key operating entities such as Monumental, B2S, ID&T, i-Motion, and Q-Dance, and festivals and brands including Decibel, Mysteryland, Awakenings, Back-To-School, Air, Qlimax, Nature One, Sensation, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. In Brazil, LiveStyle owns PlusNetwork which has produced the enormously successful Tomorrowland Brasil festival and tours by internationally acclaimed DJs and artists. Further, LiveStyle has a 40% participation in Rock in Rio, held biannually in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with spin-offs in Lisbon and Portugal. Together with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization, LiveStyle launched TomorrowWorld, the first international version of the Tomorrowland festival, and also promoted the first South American Tomorrowland festival. LiveStyle continues to work with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization as its international partner to bring Tomorrowland to new territories outside Europe and to return to the USA and Brazil. LiveStyle also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.

For more information visit www.livestyle.com/.

# # #

 

CONTACT:

Beatport

Jack Tregoning, [email protected]

 

Scoop Marketing for LiveStyle, Inc.

Larry Solters, [email protected], 818-761-6100

Erik Stein, [email protected], 818-761-4645

 

ROBB MCDANIELS NAMED CEO OF BEATPORT

By Variety Staff

Originally Published in Variety on October 17, 2017

Robb McDaniels

 

Robb McDaniels has been named CEO of Beatport, the long-running download store for DJs, parent company LiveStyle announced today. In his new role, McDaniels will focus on strengthening the company’s position as the leading online music store for DJs and the global dance music community, according to a release. LiveStyle was formed in the wake of SFX’s bankruptcy in 2016 from several of that company’s assets including the Tomorrowland and Electric Zoo festivals.

McDaniels was the CEO of INgrooves, which he founded in 2002 and built into a full-service distribution and artist services operation. The company managed North American digital distribution for Universal Music Group, as well as more than 4 million songs for thousands of artists and labels. Most recently, he served as a Venture Partner for Dubai-based investment company TechInvest, and launched Faction Entertainment, a management services business with a client list including Thievery Corporation, Bonnie McKee, and others. He will continue to serve as Venture Advisor at TechInvest and Executive Chairman at Faction.

LiveStyle President/CEO Randy Phillips commented, “Beatport is in a period of resurgent growth and has recently returned to profitability. We are excited to have Robb take the reins of Beatport during this time and look forward to his innovative leadership to continue Beatport’s upward user trends, including the company’s increased visitors, users, and track sales.”

McDaniels commented, “I have known Beatport since its birth in 2004 as the preeminent DJ download store in the world. Ever since they easily convinced me to sign up INgrooves as a content partner, I have worked closely with many of the talented executives and passionate employees at the company. I know that Beatport, in partnership with its parent company LiveStyle, has the ingredients to dramatically increase the positive impact it can have on the dance and DJ community. We are looking forward to reigniting both innovation and value creation for our partners and customers at Beatport in 2018 and beyond.”

ROBB MCDANIELS ANNOUNCED AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BEATPORT

     

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

ROBB MCDANIELS ANNOUNCED AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF BEATPORT

 

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 17, 2017 – It was announced today by LiveStyle, Inc., Beatport’s parent company, that music industry executive and media and technology entrepreneur, Robb McDaniels, has been named CEO of Beatport. In his new role at Beatport, McDaniels will focus on strengthening the company’s position as the leading online music store for DJs and the global dance music community.

 

LiveStyle President/CEO Randy Phillips commented, “Beatport is in a period of resurgent growth and has recently returned to profitability. We are excited to have Robb take the reins of Beatport during this time and look forward to his innovative leadership to continue Beatport’s upward user trends, including the company’s increased visitors, users, and track sales.”

 

Chuck Ciongoli, Executive Vice President/CFO of LiveStyle, said, “We are proud to welcome Robb to the LiveStyle family. I’ve known Robb for many years, since a previous investment in INgrooves while at Universal Music Group. He is an extremely capable and dynamic senior executive who will help Beatport continue to grow as the DJ destination of the future.”

 

McDaniels commented, “I have known Beatport since its birth in 2004 as the preeminent DJ download store in the world. Ever since they easily convinced me to sign up INgrooves as a content partner, I have worked closely with many of the talented executives and passionate employees at the company. I know that Beatport, in partnership with its parent company LiveStyle, has the ingredients to dramatically increase the positive impact it can have on the dance and DJ community. We are looking forward to reigniting both innovation and value creation for our partners and customers at Beatport in 2018 and beyond.”

 

Since recommitting to its core mission as the world’s premier music store for DJs, Beatport has returned to profitability in 2017, with registered users, visitors, and track sales growing significantly over 2016.  Beatport also embarked on a comprehensive genre cleanup this year, recategorizing more than 1.5 million tracks. This initiative led to the successful launch of the Leftfield House & Techno category, plus three new bass genres: Trap/Future Bass, Garage/Bassline/Grime, and Leftfield Bass. Additionally, Beatport launched the unique Beats In School Producer Scholarship, in collaboration with top labels Circus Recordings, Anjunabeats, Dirtybird, and Hospital Records.

 

Most recently, as McDaniels served as a Venture Partner for Dubai-based investment company TechInvest, his focus turned to the world of talent management. In early 2016, he launched Faction Entertainment, a forward-thinking, technology enabled management services business with a client list including Thievery Corporation, Bonnie McKee, Slightly Stoopid, Youngblood Hawke, Jamestown Revival, Vassy, and Phantoms. While serving as Beatport CEO, McDaniels will continue to serve as Venture Advisor at TechInvest and Executive Chairman at Faction, which will be expanding its presence with the dance & electronic community.

 

Previously, McDaniels was the founder and CEO of INgrooves where, since 2002, he built the company into a full-service distribution and artist services operation. Under his leadership, INgrooves managed North American digital distribution for Universal Music Group, as well as more than 4 million songs for thousands of artists and labels.

 

About Beatport

Founded in 2004 as the principal source of music for DJs, Beatport today is the worldwide home of electronic music for DJs, producers, and their fans. The Beatport Store offers music in premium digital formats and provides unique music discovery tools created for and by DJs. Each week, Beatport’s music collection is refreshed with hundreds of exclusive tracks by the world’s top electronic music artists. Beatport has offices in Denver and Berlin. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

 

About LiveStyle, Inc.

Positioned to be the world’s largest electronic music event producer, LiveStyle boasts a wide variety of leading live electronic music properties.  LiveStyle produces and promotes single and multiday electronic music festivals across North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. North American key operating entities include Made Event, React Presents, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, and MMG, along with festivals and brands such as Electric Zoo, Spring Awakening, Sensation, and Life in Color. In Europe, the company boasts key operating entities such as Monumental, B2S, ID&T, i-Motion, and Q-Dance, and festivals and brands including Decibel, Mysteryland, Awakenings, Back-To-School, Air, Qlimax, Nature One, Sensation, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. In Brazil, LiveStyle owns PlusNetwork which has produced the enormously successful Tomorrowland Brasil festival and tours by internationally acclaimed DJs and artists. Further, LiveStyle has a 40% participation in Rock in Rio, held biannually in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with spinoffs in Lisbon and Portugal. Together with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization, LiveStyle launched TomorrowWorld, the first international version of the Tomorrowland festival, and also promoted the first South American Tomorrowland festival. LiveStyle continues to work with the Belgian Tomorrowland organization as its international partner to bring Tomorrowland to new territories outside Europe and to return to the USA and Brazil. LiveStyle also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.

 

# # #

 

CONTACT:

Scoop Marketing for LiveStyle, Inc.

Larry Solters, [email protected], 818-761-6100

Erik Stein, [email protected], 818-761-4645

HARD FOUNDER GARY RICHARDS JOINS RANDY PHILLIPS AT LIVESTYLE

By Lars Brandle

Originally Published in Billboard on September 5, 2017

It’s official: HARD founder Gary Richards has joined LiveStyle, where he takes duties as president of the EDM promoter’s North America activities.

Richards, who DJs under the moniker Destructo, founded HARD Events in 2007 and has spent the past decade creating and curating the company’s lineup of parties, which include the festivals HARD Summer, HARD Day of the Dead, and the Holy Ship cruise.

In 2012, Live Nation acquired HARD Events and Richards stayed on until August of this year, when he confirmed that his relationship with the live entertainment giant had ended. His jump to LiveStyle was the source of some conjecture at the time.

Randy Phillips, president/CEO of LiveStyle, said Richards was the perfect fit for the company, which emerged out of the troubled electronic music powerhouse SFX Entertainment.

“When Chuck Ciongoli and I took over the former SFX… we rebranded it LiveStyle to signal that a new vibrant business was emerging debt-free with some of the greatest assets in the live entertainment industry,” comments Phillips, the former AEG Live chief who helped lead SFX out of bankruptcy. “To complete our executive suite,” he adds, “we wanted to bring some real authenticity to the management of LiveStyle, and no single candidate to be the president of North America fulfills this role better than Gary Richards.”

Securing the talents of Richards was a ”delayed goal” for Phillips who admits he tried to cut a deal with him 10 years ago when he was running AEG Live. “Not only is he an accomplished working DJ, he is a very astute businessman with an affinity to his fellow artists.  With Gary on board, LiveStyle is prepared for creative and strategic growth in the years ahead.”

Richards intends to create new festival concepts and cruises with his new employers. “We will continue on the path that I created with the HARD and Holy Ship brands,” he enthuses in a statement.

HARD EVENTS FOUNDER GARY RICHARDS NAMED PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICA OF LIVESTYLE, FORMERLY SFX

By Jem Aswad

Originally Published in Variety on September 4, 2017

Gary Richards

Hard Events and Holy Ship! founder Gary Richards, who recently parted ways with Live Nation after five years, has been named North America president of LiveStyle, the company formed from post-bankruptcy SFXLiveStyle president/CEO Randy Phillips announced today. In the newly created position, Richards will be responsible for working with all of LiveStyle’s current U.S. festival operations, developing and launching new brands and activities on the West Coast.

Phillips commented, “When Chuck Ciongoli and I took over the former SFX, the global leader in electronic music festivals and the parent company of Beatport, we rebranded it LiveStyle to signal that a new vibrant business was emerging debt-free with some of the greatest assets in the live entertainment industry.  To complete our executive suite, we wanted to bring some real authenticity to the management of LiveStyle, and no single candidate to be the President of North America fulfills this role better than Gary Richards, of Hard and Holy Ship fame.  In fact, this is a delayed goal for me since I tried to make a deal with Gary 10 years ago while I was running AEG Live.  Not only is he an accomplished working DJ (DJ Destructo), he is a very astute businessman with an affinity to his fellow artists.”

Richards said, “Randy Phillips has been a trailblazer in the music and entertainment industry for as long as I can remember. Having known Randy personally for many years, I’m excited that the stars have aligned and I’m able to build a new platform for live music with him.  I look forward to coming on board as President of LiveStyle and have a much larger role to play in the music community. Their portfolio of brands such as React, Made Event/Electric Zoo, DDP and Beatport to name a few is an incredible place to start from and build. In addition, I plan to create new festival concepts and cruises at LiveStyle.”

Richards broadly hinted in an interview with Variety earlier this year that he’d be leaving Live Nation, and he made the announcement days before this year’s Hard Summer festival, which featured Snoop Dogg, Justice, Migos, Dog Blood (aka Skrillex and Boyz Noise), Bassnectar and many others. The festival had been marred by deaths in its two preceding years, but this summer’s installment — which underwent a last-minute venue change, moving from the Fontana Auto Club Speedway to the Live Nation’s Glen Helen Amphitheater — went comparatively smoothly, despite 19 hospitalizations and 107 arrests (actually those numbers are down from previous years). However, the festival drew just 77,500 people over two days, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department — a dramatic drop from 2016’s tally of around 146,000. However the festival received many positive reviews from media and attendees and Richards, who is a widely respected DJ operating under the name Destructo, played a well-attended valedictory set during the festival, which may be his last (owing to the terms of his deal with Live Nation).

Richards’ influence on the contemporary dance-music scene has been vast — Hard is of one of the genre’s biggest promotion companies and he’s a veteran of several record labels, as well as his frequent work as a DJ. After launching the original Electric Daisy Carnival in 1991, he handed off the brand to fellow dance maven and (sometimes) friendly rival Pasquale Rotella to take a job as Rick Rubin’s dance-music A&R at Def American Records. (Rotella has since developed Electric Daisy into North America’s biggest dance-music festival.) After several years at labels and a period of working with his brother Steven (who managed Slipknot and died of a brain tumor in 2004), Richards launched the first Hard show on New Year’s Eve, 2007. Over the ensuing years, the company’s rocket-like growth matched that of dance music, and it was purchased by Live Nation in 2012 for an undisclosed price; Rotella’s Insomniac Events came under the same roof the following year.Yet for all the success, Richards’ stint at Live Nation was rocky. Two concertgoers died of drug overdoses at 2015’s Hard Summer and three died last year; MDMA (aka ecstasy) toxicity, the main culprit, was exacerbated by heat of the Southern California summer sun. And his situation at Live Nation was complicated enormously by his ferocious rivalry with Rotella, which has flared into the open many times over the years.

Chuck Ciongoli, Randy Phillips​, Gary Richards & Made Event's Michael Julian ​ at "Electric Zoo: the 6th Boro" at Randall's Island Park in NYC.

From left: Chuck Ciongoli, Randy Phillips​, Gary Richards & LiveStyle/Made Event’s Michael Julian ​ at “Electric Zoo: the 6th Boro” at Randall’s Island Park in NYC. (Photo by aLIVE Coverage on behalf of ElectricZooFestival.com​)

HARD EVENTS FOUNDER GARY RICHARDS FINDS A NEW HOME WITH LIVESTYLE

By August Brown

Originally Published in Los Angeles Times on September 4, 2017

When Gary Richards walked off the stage after his DJ set at Hard Summer last month, he knew it would be his last performance at the festival he founded 10 years ago.

Just weeks later, however, Richards is ready to announce his new gig.

The promoter behind one of L.A.’s largest — and sometimes controversial — electronic dance music festivals will be joining the EDM firm LiveStyle as president of LiveStyle North America.

The new firm, led by former AEG executive Randy Phillips, is a resuscitated version of the bankrupt promoter SFX Entertainment, which produced a large coterie of EDM festivals and concerts around the world.

“It’s been a crazy 10 years, I don’t know if I’ve really processed it all yet,” Richards said. “I’m definitely looking forward to the future and taking on new tasks.”

Under Richards’ stewardship, Hard Events hosted popular festivals such as Hard Summer and also grew to encompass an in-demand dance cruise, Holy Ship. Hard Summer, despite some ups and downs, solidified itself as the definitive dance festival in L.A. It helped launch the careers of superstars such as Skrillex, Diplo and Deadmau5.

“I should be doing more than one show and one cruise,” Richards said. “Working with these guys, they have thousands of shows around the globe. I wanted to be involved with more fests and projects, and it seems like a natural progression.”

The move is a thorough reset for Richards after parting ways last month with Live Nation, the concert promotion behemoth that bought Hard Events in 2012.

In his new role, Richards will be tasked with creating and producing festivals in North America (concentrating on the West Coast) and consulting with LiveStyle’s global properties, which include major European, Asian and South American dance music festivals such as Electric Zoo, Life in Color, Defqon.1 and Mysteryland.

Richards’ move to LiveStyle arrived at an opportune time for each. LiveStyle — which also owns the music-download portal Beatport — emerged from the ashes of SFX Entertainment, the firm formed by embattled promoter Robert F.X. Sillerman that declared bankruptcy last year after a highly leveraged buying spree of regional dance music promoters.

Previously, Phillips was CEO of the music firm Global Entertainment after 13 years as president and CEO of AEG. He led the transition to LiveStyle after SFX’s bankruptcy, admitting that SFX’s old gold-rush mentality was “basically a stock play” more than an attempt to build a viable network of rave promoters.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat it,” Phillips said. “That was the original intent of [SFX]. What we’ve done [with LiveStyle] is create a corporate culture where there was none. The idiosyncrasy of [Richards] was what attracted me to bringing him in.”

Richards’ move to LiveStyle brings a proven, popular festival promoter into Phillips’ fold, where he hopes to create a viable third major concert promotion firm on the dance-music festival circuit in North America.

In an earlier interview with The Times this year, Richards admitted that he had already been reassessing his relationship with Live Nation, which also owns a large share of Insomniac, the Electric Daisy Carnival promoter founded by Richards’ longtime rival Pasquale Rotella.

“I just want to grow and be able to have more influence in the industry,” Richards said. “This company [LiveStyle] has multiple divisions like Hard instead of having one little division. Now I have a lot more babies to tend to.”

As a performing DJ as well, he feels he has unique insight on all sides of what makes a successful show. “With the right guidance, these things can all do really well, because I’ve been there,” he added.

Hard Summer’s rapid growth from a one-off New Year’s Eve party in 2007 to a defining SoCal event proved that Richards’ vision for a mix of EDM, hip-hop and underground club music could drive a devoted audience. His popular rave cruise Holy Ship was also a scene favorite.

At LiveStyle, Phillips said, Richards will bring that credibility and loyal crowd to the revamped firm, while getting a chance to start anew outside the Live Nation mantle.

Hard Summer (and its sister festival Hard Day of the Dead) had faced criticism from L.A. county officials after two fans died in 2015 after attending the event at the Pomona Fairplex. The fest then moved to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, where three fans died in 2016, prompting another move to the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino just weeks before the 2017 edition (this year’s festival saw no reported deaths).

“There have been issues with EDM events in general, there have been deaths and we don’t shy away from that,” Phillips said. “But the way EDC was pushed out of L.A. into Las Vegas, I’m not sure that was good for L.A. The [economic] impact on Las Vegas is very substantial, and it was L.A. County’s loss that they couldn’t find a way to make that work.”

Could this mean a Richards return to L.A.?

“In Gary’s case, it did push him out to communities that want these events,” Phillips said. “But Gary is such a straight shooter and actually has a good relationship with the county supervisors, I believe he will get back into L.A. and do events here.”

Live Nation will maintain control of the Hard Events brands after Richards’ departure. Hard Summer fans waiting for Richards’ next projects can likely expect a new summer festival from him in the near future.

“I’m definitely thinking about it, that’s part of the reason for the change,” Richards said. “After 10 years I’ve been doing Hard, it’s time for something new. It’s nice to be able to hit reset and start something new that’s not cemented in people’s heads. I can take all that experience and make it better.”

It may take time to get back to the scale of Hard Summer, and LiveStyle isn’t yet in a position to rival Live Nation or AEG (the latter of which is the parent company of Goldenvoice, which produces the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival).

But in the dance music sphere, where LiveStyle is already well-established in Europe and elsewhere, it could quickly be a major player in the U.S. with West Coast complements to fests like Electric Zoo in New York and Spring Awakening in Chicago.

Both Richards and Phillips said that the fresh start should mean a return of Richards’ festival vision to Los Angeles, and a clean slate for each promoter.

“I’ll give it to you in three words: smaller, better and then bigger,” Phillips said.

ELECTRIC ZOO: THE 6TH BORO – NYC’S BIGGEST LABOR DAY WEEKEND PARTY – CONCLUDES BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER

ELECTRIC ZOO: THE 6TH BORO
–NYC’S BIGGEST LABOR DAY WEEKEND PARTY AT RANDALL’S ISLAND–
CONCLUDES BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER
FESTIVAL SET TO RETURN IN 2018
FOR ITS 10TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION
Event photos available here.

Credit: aLIVE Coverage on behalf of ElectricZooFestival.com

 

Social media handle and hashtag to share are:
@ElectricZooNY
#EZoo2017
One of LiveStyle‘s flagship festivals, ELECTRIC ZOO, completed its ninth annual turn as Electric Zoo: The 6th Boro on Randall’s Island in NYC over this past Labor Day Weekend. Over three days (September 1-3), 90,000+ fans attended New York’s largest and longest-running electronic music festival which was headlined by DJ Snake, Above & Beyond, deadmau5 & Eric Prydz, ZEDD, Galantis and Armin van Buuren.
NYC’s biggest Labor Day Weekend party took place in the 6th Boro, where fans danced to some of the world’s biggest artists across five never-before-seen stunning stages reflecting zoo and NYC themes (an elephant, aquarium and 6th Boro subway stop) with breathtaking light shows and spectacular pyrotechnics, interactive installations and art, 30+ New York’s best food vendors and much more. New friends and magical memories were created in this utopian dance-tropolis under the lights of the New York City skyline.
Attendees were also treated to curated stages by European nightlife brands Awakenings and the ‘Bollywood’ themed elrow (for their only North American festival appearance) as well as artists Jauz and Dada Life, who used ELECTRIC ZOO to catapult their respective brands, Off The Deep End and Dada Life Compound, into the festival space. In all, almost 100 DJs performed over the weekend.
ELECTRIC ZOO: THE 6th BORO-an homage to NYC, the Greatest City In The World-proved to be the most successful Electric Zoo since 2014 when LiveStyle (previously SFX) added the festival and its parent company Made Event to its portfolio. The brand has enjoyed two years of sustained growth and is proof that electronic music is alive and well in the Greater New York Metropolitan area.
Look for ELECTRIC ZOO to return in 2018 to celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
Check out ELECTRIC ZOO: THE 6th BORO reactions from the press and performers:
“…Electric Zoo 2017 brought sunny skies, comfortable dancing temperatures and plenty of memorable moments from the heavy bass drops of Sub Focus to the 138-bpm, ’90s-style trance of Armin van Buuren. Even with a massive crowd and some mud from the previous day’s rain, the last day of the 6th Boro-as this year was themed-turned upside down, inside out and grooved to the endless beats. “
 – Zoe Levy, Time Out New York (9/4/17)
“Day 3 brought Elrow to the Hilltop Stage, a three-hour Dixon set, deadmau5and Eric Prydz going back-to-back to close out the mainstage and leaving all mainstream music behind, Jauz  hosting his own Off The Deep End stage and much more…
you will be hard pressed to find someone frowning at the end of that.”
– Ryan Middleton, Billboard (9/4/17)
“There are five stages at EZoo 2017, and on Friday 28 different acts–including Snails, DJ Snake, Dada Life, and Sasha & John Digweed–made the big crowds shuffle, bounce, head-bang, mosh, or bliss out, depending. The main stage comes complete with a massive elephant head, and the two other smaller outdoor venues feature an aquatic theme (the “Riverside” stage) and a “gritty graffiti” vibe at 6 Pointz…EZoo has the whole festival thing down pat, and the day was a total blast.”
 – Scott Lynch, Gothamist (9/2/17)
“Electric Zoo: The 6th Boro absolutely exploded with talent over the weekend as DJ Snake, Galantis, Dada Life, Sasha & John Digweed, Above & Beyond, ZEDD, Excision, Seven Lions, Armin van Buuren, Jauz, deadmau5 b2b Eric Prydz and so many more hit the stage! That’s really just scratching the surface on the amazing mix of music and artists the festival experienced with its 9th installment.”
– Katie Powell, Your EDM (9/4/17)
“You’re beautiful @electriczoony”
Armin van Buuren, via Twitter (9/2/17)
“Was fun being back in NYC with @sashaofficial for @electriczoony tonight.”
John Digweed, via Twitter (9/1/17)
About Electric Zoo
Established in 2009 by Made Event, the internationally renowned Electric Zoo Festival is one of New York City’s largest music festivals and features the top names in electronic music, bringing a wide variety of acts from around the world and across the spectrum of electronic music’s various sub-genres. International editions of Electric Zoo have taken place in Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai and São Paulo, with further expansion underway.
About Made Event
Made Event, a LiveStyle, Inc. company, is a premier producer of electronic music events and the creator of the Electric Zoo Festival. Having produced hundreds of memorable events in New York City, Miami and elsewhere around the globe, Made Event continues to set the bar for quality electronic music events. For more info, please visit www.MadeEvent.com.
About LiveStyle
LiveStyle, Inc. is the largest global producer of live events and digital entertainment content focused on electronic music culture. LiveStyle’s mission is to provide electronic music fans with the best possible live experiences, music discovery, media and digital connectivity. LiveStyle produces and promotes a growing portfolio of world-class festivals and live events that includes leading brands such as Mysteryland, Sensation, Electric Zoo, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, Rock in Rio, Nature One, Mayday, Decibel, Q-Dance, Awakenings, and React Presents, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. In 2013, LiveStyle launched TomorrowWorld, the first international version of the Tomorrowland festival, and we continue to work with our partners to bring Tomorrowland to new territories outside of Europe and to return to the USA and Brazil. LiveStyle also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.
For information on Electric Zoo, please visitwww.electriczoofestival.com.
Official images for ELECTRIC ZOO available here.
Credit: aLIVE Coverage on behalf of www.electriczoofestival.com
Press Releases & More Information Here
For more information on ELECTRIC ZOO, contact:
MSO PR 818-380-0400
Alexandra Greenberg [email protected]

SPRING AWAKENING ANNOUNCES 2017 OFFICIAL AFTER PARTIES

SPRING AWAKENING ANNOUNCES 2017 OFFICIAL AFTER PARTIES

Tickets On Sale Wednesday 5/24 at 10am CST!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2017  –  Spring Awakening Music Festival (SAMF) is thrilled to announce this year’s official after parties! Tickets to all afters will go on sale this Wednesday, May 24th at 10am CST. From Chicago’s most popular and intimate nightclubs including the MID, Prysm, Smart Bar and Sound-Bar, to concert venues like the legendary House Of Blues and Concord Music Hall, there are a plethora of shows throughout the weekend to keep the party going after the festival ends. 3-Day SAMF passes are almost sold out so grab your tickets now if you haven’t already.

THURSDAY 6/8:

  • SAMF Official Pre-Party: Datsik – The MID – Tickets available HERE

FRIDAY 6/9:

  • Keys N Krates (DJ Set) – Concord Music Hall – Tickets available HERE
  • Afrojack – Prysm – Tickets available HERE
  • Bingo Players – Sound-Bar – Tickets available HERE
  • Marshmello – The MID – Tickets available HERE

SATURDAY 6/10:

  • Axwell ^ Ingrosso – Prysm – Tickets available HERE
  • Diplo – The MID – Tickets available HERE
  • Excision – House Of Blues – Tickets available HERE
  • GRiZ – Concord Music Hall – Tickets available HERE
  • Moon Boots – Smart Bar – Tickets available HERE

SUNDAY 6/11:

  • Headhunterz – Sound-Bar – Tickets available HERE
  • Jauz – The MID – Tickets available HERE
  • Martin Garrix – Prysm – Tickets available HERE
  • Mr.Carmack & What So Not – Concord Music Hall – Tickets available HERE

MONDAY 6/12:

  • SAMF Official Closing Party: Barely Alive + Porn and Chicken – The MID – Tickets available HERE

Stay tuned for set times, a map of the expanded festival grounds including brand-new stage designs, and Saturday’s special surprise guest at the Trance Arena stage! Don’t miss a beat and follow Spring Awakening on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and announcements.

 

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If you’re interested in covering the festival, please fill out the press application here.

Festival Assets:
After Party Calendar: http://bit.ly/SAMF17_Afters
Ticketing Link: www.springawakeningfestival.com
2017 Full Flyer: http://bit.ly/SAMF17_FullLineup
2017 Daily Flyer: http://bit.ly/SAMF17_SingleDays
2017 Lineup PR: http://eepurl.com/cGYsrz
2016 Recap Video: https://youtu.be/OsH7cIulm8A
2016 Pictures: http://bit.ly/SAMF_Pics

Spring Awakening Music Festival
June 9 – 11, 2017
Addams/Medill Park
1301 W. 14th Street
Chicago, IL 60608
18+  |  1PM Doors
www.springawakeningfestival.com
www.reactpresents.com