Live Nation Entertainment confirms that Lady Gaga and her manager, Bobby Campbell, have joined Artist Nation, the company’s artist management division.
"Lady Gaga is one of the most iconic and highest-grossing artists of this generation,” Michael Rapino, president and chief executive officer of Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Artist Nation, tells Billboard.biz. “We have a long-standing relationship with Lady Gaga, dating back to her 2009 Fame Ball tour, and we look forward to continuing to support Lady Gaga and her manager Bobby Campbell in their careers.”
Campbell adds, “Lady Gaga and I have had an incredible relationship with Live Nation over the last five years. Their insight, strategic vision and global power have made them a truly invaluable member of our team. I'm ecstatic to be working even more closely with them in the years to come as we take Lady Gaga's career to new levels all around the world.”
Lady Gaga parted ways with her previous manager Troy Carter and his Atom Factory firm last November. Campbell, who worked with Gaga at Atom Factory, stayed with the artist after her split with Carter. He assumed management duties at the time and will continue to manage Gaga moving forward. The move to Artist Nation brings to an end to rampant industry speculation on Lady Gaga's management representation going forward, as several well-known management firms were pursuing her as a client, according to sources.
After bringing in Lady Gaga, Live Nation has been reaffirmed as the world's largest management organization, with more than 230 artist clients from all genres and some 16 management companies under its umbrella. As its concert and sponsorship division churn record numbers, Artist Nation is also on a roll, recently bringing in U2 and Madonna under manager Guy Oseary.
Lady Gaga, a five-time Grammy winner whose latest album "ARTPOP" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200, has sold more than 27 million albums worldwide (including 710,000 for "ARTPOP" in the U.S., according to Neilsen SoundScan), and has more than 125 million downloaded singles since she broke in 2008.
In officially joining the Artist Nation portfolio, Gaga builds on her already strong relationship with Live Nation, producer of the artist's two previous tours, which grossed more than $300 million combined and sold more than 3.2 million tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore. Live Nation is also producing Gaga’s current artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball, one of the biggest global tours of the summer, having sold nearly 800,000 tickets in more than 24 countries across North America, Asia, Australia and Europe, according to Live Nation.
“The ARTPOP Ball Tour will continue the successful run around the world through November,” says Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's chairman of global music, president of global touring, and Lady Gaga’s tour producer. “The show is great musically and visually, and Lady Gaga is at the top of her game.”