Governors Ball is the Latest Live Nation Acquisition
After Founders Entertainment partner Jordan Wolowitz stated earlier this year that Governors Ball has “shown that, right now, we don’t need to [partner] — yet. Who knows what the future may bring,” most thought that Governors Ball would remain the last man standing in the independently run mega-festival in the market. It seems that the mentioned future has come a bit quicker than expected for the company, as Billboard announced earlier this week that Live Nation was in the final stages of acquiring majority stake in Founders Entertainment, which puts on NYC’s favorite (and until 2016) festival.
This sudden change has everything to do with the constant battle between Live Nation & AEG; the two companies are in a race to acquire the most prominent festivals across the country and secure valuable market share in specific regions, a main one being the Northeast. After AEG announced plans for a festival taking place within two weeks of 2016’s Governor’s Ball, Founders began petitioning the Mayor to block the company in order to preserve the company and integrity of the festival. The petition read: “As a small, independent company in an industry dominated by major corporations and rapid consolidation, we’ve come a long way and given hundreds of thousands of you first-class entertainment. Sadly, today our future is in jeopardy, and we need your help… The timing of this proposed event is an aggressive, greedy attempt by AEG to push a small independent company of born-and-bred New Yorkers out of business and out of the market.” While the petition was successful in moving the date of AEG’s Panorama, it unfortunately also moved the location… right onto Governors Ball’s beloved home of Randall’s Island Park.
Although many may see this as a bad thing, Live Nation acquiring Governor’s Ball may be the only way to preserve this amazing festival. Founders clearly saw this as the lesser of two evils: either partnering with AEG’s biggest competitor or risk shuttering in the wake of a major conglomerate moving in on their turf. Only time will tell what direction this will take the festival, but as a native New Yorker who has attended Governors Ball since its inception, I’d rather see the festival go on for years to come under Live Nation than risk not having it as an NYC summer staple.