Michael Rapino is a Canadian-American business executive and the Chief Executive Officer and President of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc, which was formed in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
In the late 1990s, Rapino co-founded Core Audience Entertainment, a concert promoting company, and later held several roles at Clear Channel Entertainment. He was named CEO of Live Nation in 2005.
What is Michael Rapino’s Net Worth and Salary?
Michael Rapino is a Canadian-American business executive who has a net worth of $150 million. Michael Rapino serves as the president and CEO of the multinational entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment, which was created in 2010 from the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment. Under his leadership, the company acquired House of Blues Entertainment and the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, among a myriad of other music companies and festivals around the world. In 2017, Michael Rapino earned over $70 million in total compensation. Rapino and Live Nation have garnered widespread criticism for alleged price fixing, hidden fees, safety violations, and various anti-competitive practices.
He has been married to actress Jolene Blalock since 2003. They met after Michael hired her to appear in a beer commercial. Jolene actually proposed to Michael and today they have three children together.
Net Worth: $150 Million
Salary: $9 Million
Place of Birth: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Profession: CEO of Live Nation Entertainment
Michael Rapino Live Nation Salary
Michael has served as CEO of Live Nation since 2005. In 2017 he received $70 million in total compensation, the majority of which was in the form of a bonus. Also in 2017, Michael signed a 5-year contract that guarantees him a base salary of $9 million per year.
Early life and education
Michael Rapino was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, to a Catholic-Italian family and earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Lakehead University in 1989. While attending Lakehead, Rapino promoted bands at local bars and signed his first artist, Jeff Healey.
Career
While at Lakehead, Rapino landed a job as a beer rep for Labatt Breweries and started promoting bands at local bars, arranging a weekly ad in The Argus (Thunder Bay) called “The Blue Zone” that featured live music events happening in Thunder Bay that upcoming weekend. After graduation, he moved to Toronto and continued his career as a sales representative for Labatt. He remained at the company for 10 years in different marketing and entertainment roles. In the late 1990s Rapino founded Core Audience Entertainment, a concert promotion company that operated in Canada. Core Audience Entertainment was acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1999, which was in turn acquired by Clear Channel Communications in 2000. Rapino held several roles at Clear Channel Entertainment. He was later named CEO of Live Nation when it was spun off from Clear Channel in 2005.
While a student at Lakehead, Rapino worked as a sales representative for Labatt Breweries and began promoting bands at local bars. He put together weekly ads in the student-funded newspaper The Argus that highlighted live music events in Thunder Bay. After graduating from Lakehead, Rapino moved to Toronto and continued working as a sales representative for Labatt Breweries. He remained with the company for a total of ten years doing various marketing and entertainment roles.
In the late 1990s, Rapino co-founded the Canadian concert promotion company Core Audience Entertainment. The company was acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1999, and the year after that, SFX was acquired by Clear Channel Communications. Rapino held a number of different roles at Clear Channel Entertainment, the company’s entertainment division.
Live Nation
In 2005, Clear Channel Communications spun off its entertainment division and named it Live Nation; Rapino was appointed as the company’s CEO. After Live Nation merged with the ticket sales and distribution company Ticketmaster Entertainment in 2010, Rapino was named the CEO of the new company, Live Nation Entertainment. Under Rapino’s leadership, Live Nation has acquired a number of companies and festivals in the music industry, including House of Blues Entertainment, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Blue Note Entertainment, and BottleRock Napa Valley. It has also made several international acquisitions, including the Sweden Rock Festival, Australia’s Secret Sounds Group, Israel’s Bluestone Entertainment, and Finland’s Blockfest. Meanwhile, the company has struck major touring and merchandising deals with such artists as Madonna, U2, Jay-Z, Shakira, and Lady Gaga. In late 2015, Live Nation launched a film and television division called Live Nation Productions; the division produced Bradley Cooper‘s 2018 film “A Star is Born,” starring Gaga.
