Michael Cohl Is Back In the Game, Competing Against Live Nation

By FYI Staff

European live entertainment and ticketing company CTS Eventim has announced it is moving into North America through a new partnership with concert promoter Michael Cohl.

The joint venture will be structured as a 50/50 partnership between Cohl and CTS Eventim and will focus on acquiring “world-class content for global touring,” as reported Friday a.m. by Celebrity Access.

Ticketing Business expands on the deal, as follows: The new entity will be based in New York City and will be led by Michael Cohl and Glenn Orsher, who is the president and chief executive of Cohl’s S2BN Entertainment Corporation.

Eventim Live now comprises more than 30 promoters across Europe and has now added Cohl to the portfolio, who has promoted major tours by the Rolling Stones, U2, Pink Floyd and Prince.

Over the past year, Eventim has been on an acquisition drive, having purchased the likes of Austrian promoter Barracuda Music and Switzerland’s Gadget Entertainment and Wepromote Entertainment Group Switzerland. It also purchased a minority stake in France’s Fnac Darty and its ticketing subsidiary France Billet. In October, the firm also entered the Russian live entertainment market through its acquisition of the country’s leading tour and concert promoter, Talent Concert International (TCI).

According to Pollstar, Cohl is a Canadian native who helped pioneer the modern-day mega tour, spent a reported $60 million for the Rolling Stones' 1989 "Steel Wheels Tour," which for its time was unprecedented. Subsequently, he went on to promote major tours by U2, Pink Floyd and Prince. He began his career in Toronto with Concert Productions International, which was acquired in 2006 by Live Nation. Cohl would go on to become Live Nation's chairman before departing in 2008. He went on to form S2BN Entertainment which promoted shows by Barbra Streisand, David Gilmour and Oprah as well as theatrical and musical productions.