NASHVILLE |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GARY RICHARDS JOINS LIVESTYLE, INC. AS
PRESIDENT OF LIVESTYLE NORTH AMERICA
LOS ANGELES, CA (September 5, 2017) – Randy Phillips, President/CEO of LiveStyle, Inc. announced today that Gary Richards has joined the company as President of LiveStyle North America. Richards is the founder of the world-renowned event and festival company HARD Events, recognized for landmark festivals such as HARD SUMMER, HARD Day of the Dead, and the electronic music cruise HOLY SHIP! In this newly created position at LiveStyle, Richards will be responsible for working with all of LiveStyle’s current U.S. festival operations, developing and launching new brands and activities on the West Coast.
Phillips commented, “When Chuck Ciongoli and I took over the former SFX, the global leader in electronic music festivals and the parent company of Beatport, we rebranded it LiveStyle to signal that a new vibrant business was emerging debt-free with some of the greatest assets in the live entertainment industry. To complete our executive suite, we wanted to bring some real authenticity to the management of LiveStyle, and no single candidate to be the President of North America fulfills this role better than Gary Richards, of HARD and Holy Ship fame. In fact, this is a delayed goal for me since I tried to make a deal with Gary 10 years ago while I was running AEG Live. Not only is he an accomplished working DJ (DJ Destructo), he is a very astute businessman with an affinity to his fellow artists. With Gary on board, LiveStyle is prepared for creative and strategic growth in the years ahead.”
Gary Richards said, “Randy Phillips has been a trailblazer in the music and entertainment industry for as long as I can remember. Having known Randy personally for many years, I’m excited that the stars have aligned and I’m able to build a new platform for live music with him. I look forward to coming on board as President of LiveStyle and have a much larger role to play in the music community. Their portfolio of brands such as React, Made Event/Electric Zoo, DDP and Beatport to name a few is an incredible place to start from and build. In addition, I plan to create new festival concepts and cruises at LiveStyle. We will continue on the path that I created with the HARD and HOLY SHIP! brands.”
Since 1991, Richards has been a concert promoter, DJ, record label executive and festival founder. Having been handpicked by legendary producer Rick Rubin to handle A&R duties for the electronic music division at Def American Recordings and as a recording artist and producer/DJ himself, under the moniker Destructo, Richards knows firsthand how to identify and nurture new and developing talent.
Richards launched the very first HARD Events festival in 2007. The festival helped launch the careers of DJ’s including Diplo, Steve Aoki and Skrillex. After much success he sold a majority stake of his company Hard Events to Live Nation in 2012. Prior to starting HARD, he has been included on the “50 Most Important People in EDM” list by Rolling Stone twice and featured on Billboard’s annual Dance Power Players list of DJs and execs for the last four years.
Gary Richards
(Photo credit: Nikko Lamere)
Pictured (L to R): LiveStyle’s Chuck Ciongoli, Randy Phillips, Gary Richards & LiveStyle/Made Event’s Michael Julian at “Electric Zoo: the 6th Boro” at Randall’s Island Park in NYC.
(Photo credit: aLIVE Coverage on behalf of ElectricZooFestival.com).
About LiveStyle, Inc.
Positioned to be the world’s largest electronic music event producer, LiveStyle boasts a wide variety of leading live electronic music properties. LiveStyle produces and promotes single and multiday electronic music festivals across North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. North American key operating entities include Made Event, React Presents, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, and MMG, along with festivals and brands such as Electric Zoo, Spring Awakening, TomorrowWorld, Sensation, and Life in Color. In Europe, the company boasts key operating entities such as Monumental, B2S, ID&T, i-Motion, and Q-Dance, and festivals and brands including Decibel, Tomorrowland, Mysteryland, Awakenings, Back-To-School, Air, Qlimax, Nature One, Sensation, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. In Brazil, LiveStyle owns PlusNetwork which produces the enormously successful Tomorrowland Brasil festival and tours by internationally acclaimed DJs and artists. Further, LiveStyle has a 40% participation in Rock in Rio, held biannually in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with spinoffs in Lisbon and Portugal. LiveStyle also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.
For more information, visit: livestyle.com/
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Click the link for additional trade photos of Gary Richards, Randy Phillips, and more from Electric Zoo: http://www.scoopmarketing.com/livestyletradephotos/
CONTACT:
Scoop Marketing for LiveStyle, Inc.
Larry Solters, solters@solters.com, 818-761-6100
Erik Stein, estein@solters.com, 818-761-4645
MSO PR for Gary Richards
Alexandra Greenberg, agreenberg@msopr.com, 818-380-0400
Mitch Schneider, mschneider@msopr.com, 818-380-0400
