ARTISTdirect, Inc. today announced a decision to exit the talent agency business and establish a relationship with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to provide services to the Company. The Board of Directors reached the decision after an internal evaluation determined that ARTISTdirect faced limited prospects for increasing the value of its agency business and there are potential conflicts with the Company’s expanding record label interests. In addition to its record label co-venture, the Company will continue to operate its online music network, artistdirect.com.
Former ARTISTdirect Agency President Don Muller and agent Marlene Tsuchii will join CAA and continue to provide booking services to the roster of artists they represented at ARTISTdirect. An agreement between ARTISTdirect and CAA provides that Mr. Muller and CAA will work to support ARTISTdirect’s proprietary concert tours, Fan Nation, Sno-Core and Revolucion. In addition, CAA will offer ARTISTdirect’s online concert ticket pre-sale service and proprietary brand advertiser entertainment marketing initiatives to its roster of artists.
Ted Field, ARTISTdirect Chairman and CEO, commented, “Upon joining the Company last summer, I undertook a review of our business segments to evaluate their long-term value. We concluded that in the current competitive marketplace, ARTISTdirect’s agency business would face challenges maintaining its historical growth and profitability. Also considering potential conflicts with our record label initiative, we determined that the Company would be better served by exiting the agency business and creating a relationship with industry leader CAA.”
Rob Light, head of CAA’s Music Department and CAA partner, said, “Don and Marlene will be an exciting addition to our department and our company. Their experience with and knowledge of ARTISTdirect will be an invaluable asset as we move forward with this relationship to create more opportunity for the artists and fulfilling experiences for the fans.”
Richard Lovett, President of CAA, added, “We have always enjoyed a great working relationship with Ted Field and with ARTISTdirect. We are delighted to expand those relationships, to get two great additions to the CAA team, and to have the opportunity to work with many additional talented artists from the ARTISTdirect roster.”