(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Adam Friedman, a 14-year veteran of House of Blues Concerts, has joined Nederlander as CEO. In this newly created position, Friedman will be responsible for the day to day management of the company and oversight of general operations including the booking and promotion of live concert and special events, and management activities, at all Nederlander exclusively managed and promoted concert venues and third party facilities nationwide.
Friedman will also oversee the design and implementation of Nederlander’s expansion into new markets, the creation of new events and ensuring that Nederlander is an active participant in the development of new promotion, marketing and performance opportunities for artists such as the digital distribution of live concerts. Friedman will be based at the Nederlander’s headquarters in Los Angeles starting on January 19.
“We are pleased that an executive of Adam’s caliber and experience has agreed to join the Nederlander Organization and lead our concert and special event operations,” said James M. Nederlander, chairman of the Nederlander Organization. “We look forward to tapping into Adam’s knowledge of the business and key relationships in guiding our expansion into the future.”
Friedman said: “I am excited to join the Nederlander Organization and its outstanding team of industry veterans who have built and continue to grow the greatest legacy in the live entertainment space. I am also honored to be working for Jimmy Nederlander who is universally accepted as an industry icon who developed the concert venue business as we know it and continues to grow his businesses within an ever- changing landscape.”
In 2005, Nederlander Concerts produced such artists as Neil Diamond and Elton John at the Target Center in Minneapolis; the Eagles at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield and the exclusively booked Santa Barbara Bowl; Robert Plant, Black Eyed Peas, Jack Johnson and 4 nights of the White Stripes at the exclusively operated Greek Theatre in Los Angeles; Juan Gabriel, Juanes, Maroon 5 and the upcoming reunion tour of Queen at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim; and co-promoted multiple night performances by Depeche Mode and Neil Diamond, and the upcoming Billy Joel tour, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, to name a few. More than three quarters of a million fans bought tickets to Nederlander produced concerts last year.
As executive vice president of HOB, Friedman was responsible for day-to-day management and strategic development of the company. During his 14 years there, he focused on the growth of the company’s existing venue and promotion business and guided the company’s acquisition of new entertainment properties and the expansion of its network of venues and strategic alliances. Friedman began as a corporate attorney and moved to the business side of the entertainment industry when joining MCA Concerts in 1992 (later becoming Universal Concerts and sold to House of Blues Entertainment in 1999). — Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner
