LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — After being sued for breach of contract in November by Live Nation, Michael Cohl has fired back at the promoter giant with a counter-suit, alleging the company was in breach of contract by attempting to block his efforts to land promoting rights for a Rolling Stones tour set to launch later this year.
When Cohl left Live Nation, part of his exit deal included an agreement to pay $9.85 million in exchange for various concessions, including an exemption to the non-compete clause in his contract that would let Cohl continue to work with a number of artists, including the Rolling Stones.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Cohl's suit alleges that Live Nation violated the terms of this deal when they sent Cohl a letter in February, stating that they were planning to bid for an upcoming tour by the Stones. Cohl's suit alleges that Live Nation followed this letter up with an email stating that Cohl could compete on the bid, but only through a joint venture with Live Nation.
According to Cohl's suit, the Stones were informed of the dispute but indicated that they wished to remain neutral parties, however Cohl contends that the contretemps is harming his relationship with the band.
Cohl has produced numerous Stones tours in the past, including A Bigger Bang, Licks, Steel Wheels and the Voodoo Lounge Tour. The Stone's next tour, the widely rumored (but yet to be confirmed) 50th anniversary tour, would likely be a monster, if their past performance can be used as a metric. Their last outing was their 2005-2007 Bigger Bang Tour, which was the highest grossing tour of all times, earning more than 558 million. – Ian Courtney
