Some people loved Bob and some people hated him, there was no middle ground, said James Disco Donnie Estopinal, a New Orleansdance promoter now living in Puerto Ricowho served as Sillermans deal maker and helped bring in the dance promoters that would come to form the new SFX Entertainment. That seemed to sum everything up., A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry. We bought companies based on what we anticipated that we could bring in incremental sources of revenue.. Almost immediately after Sillerman closed on the Elvis deal, he opened his wallet again and purchased 19 Entertainment, a business with even more moving parts than Elvis. But the company had no serious strategy, a former employee told Billboard at the time, and Sillermans frequent misrepresentations angered investors, including a plan to take the company private in May 2015 that collapsed when it became clear that Sillerman didnt have the $700 million needed to finance the deal. Posh Spice). The New York entrepreneur is most notably known for consolidating a number of U.S.. Why? And Fuller is looking to bring a gritty nighttime soap opera that is popular in Britain to America next summer. They said music doesnt work on TV in America. That greatly reduces the number of viewers who DVR it and skip the commercials. The company acquired various promoters and electronic music festivals, as well as related companies in digital (including Beatportan electronic music store, online ticketing provider Paylogic, and web development agency Fame House). Sillerman was the owner of a range of television and radio stations during the 1970s and 1980s, In 1993 he formed SFX Broadcasting, and then built SFX Entertainmenta concert and stage performance promoter that was sold to Clear Channel in 2000 for $4.4 billion. He graduated from Brandeis in 1969 and, three years later, sold Youth Marketing Consultants to Ingalls, an advertising firm in Boston. I suppose there are all kinds of gratifying lines of work, he says. Another show with legs? Bob is like a Clint Eastwood character in an old Western movie, says Dennis Arfa, a business associate of Sillerman. Just ask the makers of the smash-hit movie Lilo and Stitch, who used an Elvis soundtrack to great success. A version of this article was originally published in the December 12, 2005 issue of Fortune. Its a word Ive never liked. The companys chief Michael Rapino declined a request for an interview through a spokesperson. Sillerman, the entertainment. As for spinoffs, did we mention that another smash hit on Fox, So You Think You Can Dance, is produced by Fuller too? The man who bought Elvis is Robert F.X. He rides into town and leaves with all the money and the women. SFX raised $260 million in its initial public offering. and attractions such as Memphis' Graceland to Robert Sillerman, . In short order Sillerman went on a billion-dollar shopping spree, buying dozens of concert hallslike Roseland in New York and the Fillmore West in San Franciscoin major cities across the country. And sad. And dont even think about asking him what his middle initials, F.X., stand for. [6], In 1978 Sillerman and disc jockey Bruce Morrow bought two radio stations in upstate New York for $1.875 million. Beyond the lawsuit, questions have also been raised about the fundamentals of a business that some analysts said relied on what they deemed a cultural fad. When the King died in 1977, his estate was a mess. [30][31], In an interview with Billboard, Sillerman admitted that there were "no easy answers" surrounding why the company collapsed, but added that he didn't "begrudge the disappointment and anger" of his staff because he was just as disappointed over the company's performance. But if you walk down the street, youll be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesnt know what it is. Down the road EPE may construct more Graceland-like properties in places such as Dubai and Macau, and perhaps develop a concept similar to the Hard Rock Cafs in Europe. He seems to have a knack for selling just when markets are at their peak, which has given some buyers severe indigestion. Sillerman had no intention of consolidating the EDM industry before he met Paolo Moreno in January 2012, said Steven Feldman, a Hueston Hennigan LLP attorney representing Moreno and two other plaintiffs. Sillerman announced in early June that he'd be making a return to the live entertainment industry, and today he made his second purchase toward that. On Wall Street they like to say that Bob Sillerman hardly knows failure, but he saw it firsthand growing up. The entrance is through original doors from the Paramount Theater. In 1993 he founded SFX Broadcasting with a partner, R. Steven Hicks. Capstar applied for and received permission to operate more than one class of radio station in the same market. And the show garners the highest ad rates on network TV, between $660,000 and $705,000 for a 30-second spot, which is higher than CSI or Desperate Housewives. [7] The company was merged at the end of 1989 with a unit of Westinghouse Broadcasting in a then record-setting transaction worth $727 million. He also made money on Broadway as an executive producer for Mel Brooks' musical The Producers. Sillerman, a triathlete who loves vigorous games of volleyball and basketball, has recovered and now sports a yellow Livestrong bracelet. (Photo credit: Jonas Roosens/AFP/Getty Images), Increase Website Performance With Three Metrics, Europe Is Lagging Behind In Developing Large AI Models, Deepfakes - The Danger Of Artificial Intelligence That We Will Learn To Manage Better, Overview Of How To Create Deepfakes - Its Scarily Simple, Ukrainian Startups Showing Resilience In A Time Of War, Worried That Your Phone Is Spying On You? Only Mike Darnell [at Fox] got it straight away., Man in the middle: Simon Fuller (in back) with Idol stars Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, and Fantasia Barrino.Ray Mickshaw WireImage/Getty Images. The 66-Year-Old Rave King of Wall Street In the past few years, Bob Sillerman has become notorious in the dance music industry for buying up a string of once-independent rave promoters in order. 19 is the brainchild of Simon Fuller, whom Sillerman describes as a cherubic bundle of nonstop creative energy. Fuller started out as a talent scout in the 1980shis company is named after a hit song by an artist he manageddiscovering and working with British rock groups like Spandau Ballet, Billy Idol, and Ultravox. He passed away in his sleep on Sunday at the age of 71. And there are a couple of Sillerman stories that involve nudity. SFX Broadcasting sold its 71 radio stations for $2.1 billion in 1998. Clear Channel would later spin off its concert holdings into Live Nation in 2005 with CEO Michael Rapino at the helm, which grewinto the most dominate company in music, with $15 billion in revenue reported in 2019. 1 show on television, drawing some 30 million viewers, which is great, but it means that fewer than one out of ten people in America watch it, Sillerman says. Even so, Sillermans 47% stake is worth some $400 million. Lately Sillerman has become more guarded, though. Investor Robert Sillerman, who bought Elvis Presley Enterprises, photographed with Elvis impersonators, 2005. It wasnt a plan too dissimilar to Sillermans moves with the original SFX where he spent more than $1.2 billion to gobble up regional rock promoters, venues and management companies in the late 90s. Sillerman had bought Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie Presley in 2005, but later sold it to a private equity firm. When asked what exactly went wrong with SFX, Sillerman offered two explanations: mistakes in management and a misunderstanding of the complexity and time of marketing partnerships. He did not name any specific people with regards to personnel issues, though music industry sources pointed to the fact that many of the people who sold their businesses to SFX did not stay long after closing their deals. I dont want to say anything negative about someone who wasgood to me, but there were a lot of issues.. The company that emerged would become Clear Channel, which is now known as iHeartRadio. Think of how we can continue to expand the show, says Fuller. Part of that underwhelming reality may have to do with the public relations nightmares that can occur while running EDM festivals. He loves to party. Robert Sillerman, born April 12, 1948 in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, early on had a strong entrepreneurial bent starting a greeting card in high school and a youth marketing company while at Brandeis University. But isnt American Idol just another reality show that will soon run out of gas? Profanity was part of a larger schtick punctuated with sexist, racist and generally inappropriate language that was softened by Sillermans own self-deprecating jokes with his Jewish heritage being the punchline. Robert F.X. All Rights Reserved. Sillerman was known for pushing the envelope. I dont want to be like Martha Stewart and talk about what I shouldnt, Lisa says with a chuckle. Robert F.X. We thought there were only three rock groups worth owning, says a source in Sillermans camp, Elvis, the Beatles, and the Stones. In 19, Sillerman saw a small but dynamic media company with one of the hottest TV shows on the planet. By then Sillerman was already toiling away on his next project, SFX Entertainment, a company that would own concert venues and other media properties. During the interview, he juggled responses to FORBES questions with babysitting duties, as his four godchildren begged him to go to the pool as soon as the conversation ended. Late last year Lisa Presley flew to New York to meet Sillerman face to face. Can we monetize that? Then there are concert tours and merchandising. In a July 2009 interview with the New York Post Sillerman admitted failure, stating with reference to the Flag project: "I'm not very knowledgeable about real estate. Starting in the late 1970s, Mr. Sillerman built a portfolio of radio and television stations worth nearly $1 billion. He is from USA. Sillerman in the gift shop at Graceland, Elvis Presleys home in Memphis. I have a million ideas all the time, says Fuller, but before I could only do one a year. Sillerman intends to buy more high-profile properties like these (think athletes and rock groups, for instanceSillerman is tightlipped about possible deals), find new ways to distribute them, and increase their value. What we wanted to do was to take this to another level. Lisa says that she, her mother, and Soden had spoken for years about bringing in outside investors and/or management, but nothing clicked. Among them was former Beatport CEO Matthew Adell, who stepped down less than two years after selling his company for $50 million in early 2013. Elvis, a poor boy from Tupelo, Miss., comes up to Memphis, manages to get himself into Sun Records, and lays down the track to Thats All Right (Mama). A local radio station airs it, the calls come streaming in, and Elvis is on the way to glory. Former employees also interviewed by Billboard felt that the company did not do enough to leverage its scale, and that the company did not engage in centralization, leading to a lack of coordination between its collection of subsidiaries. Sillermans personal take was a reported $219 million. He made a lot of people wealthy, and he made himself even wealthier., Visit with Sillerman for an hour or two in his Manhattan office, and you are likely to get a rapid-fire discourse on politics from the 1960s to today, or rock & roll radio, or Thoreau, or education in America, or all of the above. Yes, Elviss core fans are aging, but young people still are drawn to the man with the oversized Q-rating. Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, The Price Is Rightthese shows go on for decades. This past season American Idol ratings averaged over 27 million viewers per episode, up 5% from last season. We have to be careful to not deprecate Elviss legacy or to damage our authorized and official Elvis shows.. In 2017, he almost lost the home after defaulting on a $12.5 million. around. As for Sillermans take on Lisa: I was impressed with how real and grounded she was. Which would seem to be a naturalElvis and Vegas go together like peanut butter and bananas. I could tell you, but Id have to kill you, he says. Sillerman graduated from Brandeis University in 1969, avoided the Vietnam War draft due to an injury and eventually went on to buy 92.7 WALL-FM in Middletown, New York, with famed DJ Bruce Cousin Brucie Morrow, according to Ticket Masters. Some of those companies listed werent done deals, Estopinal tells Billboard, adding that Sillerman misrepresented his financing and capitalization as he put SFX together. American Idol is the No. You and I buy a couple loaves of bread, Bob buys the bakery, Morrow told Budnick and Baron of Sillermans sales abilities, which by 1988, netted nearly $1 billion value in broadcast assets. Robert F.X. That show is American Idol, and as with Elvis, Sillerman is convinced he can make it an even bigger deal than it already is. Five years later, Clear Channel spun off those concert assets into a separate company, Live Nation, which in 2010 merged with Ticketmaster to become Live Nation Entertainment, the biggest concert promoter in the world. Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil; Douglas Elliman, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Inside the Hamptons trailer park thats become a playground for millionaires, Kevin Loves model wife goes house-hunting after Heat deal, See Ashton Kutchers Your Place or Mine building in NYC, Mark Wahlberg finally sells mansion after massive $32M price cut. FORBES first started charting DJ earnings in 2012; a year later, the collective income of the top ten acts had doubled. Viggle registers the television show a person is watching, and engages the users with a loyalty program for viewing particular programs. SFX grew into the nations seventh-largest chain and sold its 71 radio stations for $2.1 billion in 1998. They acquired additional radio and TV stations, including WALL and WKGL (Middletown, New York); WJJB; (Hyde Park, New York); WHMP (Northampton, Massachusetts); WLOM (Orleans, Massachusetts); WRAN (Randolph, New Jersey); WPLR (New Haven, Connecticut) and the television station WATL (Atlanta). FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Mr. Sillermans marketing talents emerged early. Meet the Women in Music Honoree Who Escaped the IronCurtain, Manson Accusers Recantation Cant Be Used for Now in Case Against Evan Rachel Wood, JudgeSays, Fadia Kader Joins Venice Music as EVP &GM. Even when he was being sued in the end and was broke, hacking and wheezing with a hole in his throat and eating through a feeding tube, he was cracking blowjob jokes and talking about how he was going to f this guy and how this other guy was a scumbag.. Sillerman already has 18 acres on the Strip through MJX, a real estate company he controls. I have never had one single boring day., CKX has a 90-year lease on Elviss home.Richard Berkowitz Getty Images, Soden, who will continue running EPE in the new company, enhanced the Elvis business by expanding into merchandising and licensing. Because American Idol is whats known as event programming, meaning that because its a contest, you almost have to watch it live. The duos tactics could be unorthodox. Ive tried to get him drunk to get him to tell me, says Brucie. Lisa received $50 million in cash, plus $26 million in CKX common and preferred stock. The CK stands for content is king, while the X is a reference to one of his middle initials (they are F.X., and he wont tell anyone what they stand for). I dont know whether its directed at a specific individual, or a type of individual, or more as my interpretation of Albert Einsteins fabulous quote: No problem can ever be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. And thats what Ive done my whole life. All Rights Reserved. AI Is Creeping Into the 'Functional' Music Market What H Meet the Women in Music Honoree Who Escaped the Iron Curtain, Bright Eyes Return to the Road With Eight-Date U.S.Tour, Brandi Carlile, Trey Anastasio & Stick Figure To Headline 2023 LevitateFestival, British Indie Rockers Lovejoy Announce 20-City U.S.Tour, It Takes a Lot of People to Create All This AIMusic. He bankrolled Mel BrooksBroadway production of The Producers and was golf partners with NBA legend Michael Jordan. He likes to jump out of the bushes or hide in hotel rooms and scare people, says Cousin Brucie. Now when we dont need it, were flooded with it, Sillerman says. Eight years later he unloaded a bunch of stations to Hicks Muse for $2.1 billion. Details surrounding the companys formation remain disputed, and today Sillerman faces a lawsuit from acquaintances who allege that they are cofounders. Bob can sell anythingit doesnt matterhe has that kind of head. (Morrow says it was he who enlisted Sillerman, not the other way around. Robert F.X. With reporting from Sue Radlauer and Zack O'Malley Greenburg in Jersey City, N.J. Arent companies like Viacom (VIAB) and Time Warner (TWX) disassembling or considering disassembling their empires, while Sillerman is putting one together? At the time of the companys formation, Sillerman boasted of his ability to go toe-to-toe with Live Nation Entertainment, the live events behemoth which was formed out of the firm he sold to Clear Channel for $4.4 billion in 2000. If we can, this will dwarf the first SFX. Elvis's 37-year-old daughter and heir, Lisa Marie, has been unhappy . Thats not the way I view the entertainment businessI view it as an art not as a science.". Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. He died on November 24, 2019 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, USA. And there are between 105 and 110 scheduled for next year.. stand for? He. Sillerman, the entertainment entrepreneur who helped. In June 2007, Sillerman told investors of CKX--a Nasdaq vehicle hed created with intellectual property rights to American Idol, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali--that hed pay $13.75 a share to take the company private. [19][20] In July 2015, Viggle had more than 9.5 million registered users across all properties, up from 5.4 million registered users at the end of 2014. Moreover, those familiar with the live events industry know that festivals can lose millions of dollars in their early years as they try to build their fan bases. Fullers company doesnt get a direct share of ad revenues from Fox; rather, it receives a $1.2 million fee per episode. 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