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MEDIA ADVISORY
USC Law’s 2009 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business
Irving Azoff, CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment, to Speak
WHAT: The USC Gould School of Law and the Beverly Hills Bar Association are co-hosting the 2009 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business conference, “Lemons to Lemonade: Squeezing the Upside in Troubled Economic Times.”
The program includes an examination of the new music landscape, including an outlook for the music business and the opportunities for artists and companies in a difficult economic environment.
WHO: Irving Azoff, chief executive officer of Ticketmaster Entertainment, has been a force in the music industry for more than 30 years. He has been an artist manager for a variety of music groups, including the Eagles, Christina Aguilera, Neil Diamond, and Guns N’ Roses. He headed MCA Records in the 1980s and launched Giant Records in the 1990s. As a film producer for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Azoff assembled the first major artist management powerhouse, Front Line, and now is the head of Ticketmaster Entertainment, engineering a merger with concert promoter Live Nation. Azoff will discuss the state of the music business with J. Eugene Salomon, Jr., of Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 17. The session on “The New Music Landscape” will begin at 11 a.m. The doors open for registration at 7:30 a.m. The keynote lunch address will begin at 12:45 p.m.
ADDITIONAL PANELISTS:
*Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, is the keynote lunchtime speaker. Bruce M. Ramer of Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc. will lead a discussion with Iger on the current landscape of the entertainment industry.
*The heads of four major talent agencies: Jeffrey Berg (ICM), Jim Berkus (UTA), Ari Emanuel (WME) and David O'Connor (CAA). Moderated by Karen Stuart of the Association of Talent Agents, they will participate in discussion on “The Future of Agencies: How They Will Adapt, Change and Survive.”
*Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, is the keynote lunchtime speaker. Bruce M. Ramer of Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc. will lead a discussion with Iger on the current landscape of the entertainment industry.
*The heads of four major talent agencies: Jeffrey Berg (ICM), Jim Berkus (UTA), Ari Emanuel (WME) and David O'Connor (CAA). Moderated by Karen Stuart of the Association of Talent Agents, they will participate in discussion on “The Future of Agencies: How They Will Adapt, Change and Survive.”
WHERE: Registration and morning sessions will take place at USC’s Bovard Auditorium; lunch will be held at USC’s Town and Gown; and afternoon sessions will be offered at the USC Gould School of Law.
COST: Free for the media. Cost for the conference is $340 for the general public. Students will be charged $100 for the conference.
MORE INFORMATION AND PROGRAM SCHEDULE: Call USC Law’s Continuing Legal Education office at 213-743-1772 or log on to http://law.usc.edu/cle/entertainment/,