LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation Entertainment continues their Asian expansion with the launch of Live Nation Japan, a joint venture with Tokyo-based Creativeman.
Creativeman is one of Japan's leading promoters, producing 290 concerts in Japan as well as a number of festivals, including Summer Sonic, which is staged annually in both Tokyo and Osaka.
Live Nation's Japanese operation will be based in Tokyo and will be overseen by Frank Takeshita of Creativeman. The venture will promote events by both Japanese and international artists and will handle all Live Nation tours coming through Japan.
In addition, Live Nation will work with Creativeman to expand their festivals, including the aforementioned Summer Sonic, as well as Springroove, Punkspring and Loud Park Festivals.
Live Nation has been aggressively expanding in the Asia/Pacific region, and is now present in six different markets, including four of the largest in the region: China, Japan, Australia and South Korea. Live Nation also recently announced their first international K-pop tour with the South Korean pop band Big Bang.
The first concert for Live Nation Japan will be Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball on 10 May in Tokyo.
"We are very pleased to announce Live Nation's entry into Japan and to have such a credible partner as Creativeman, which has a long and proven track record of promoting major artists as well as developing highly successful festivals," stated Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation Entertainment. "Expanding our presence in Asia reflects our commitment to growing our business internationally in a region that is becoming increasingly important for touring artists."
"We are very excited to be a part of Live Nation Japan and for Creativeman this is an important milestone that opens up many exciting opportunities to leverage our capabilities," says Naoki Shimizu, CEO Creativeman. "Creativeman and Live Nation Japan will together be able to bring more concerts to Japan, develop existing and new festivals and also leverage Live Nation's vast experience of promoting some of the best tours globally. This will lead to very exciting times ahead for all Japanese music fans." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
