I suppose if you were a psychiatrist you could say I wanted to do well, where my father had had a lack of success, Sillerman says. Which would seem to be a naturalElvis and Vegas go together like peanut butter and bananas. His father Michael created Keystone Radio Network and syndicated the popular show Lassie, but went bankrupt in 1961 and passed away in 1980, according to the book. These are Sillermans strengths: identifying trends in the media business before others, then gathering and deploying capital to make the strategy work. 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. Even very young people. Think about it. Early rewards included gift cards to retail establishments. I just love it.". Why? By day he majored in political science, while by night in 1966 he launched Youth Market Consultants, offering fellow students discount magazine subscriptions while advising marketers on how to target the teen set. 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. Besides buying Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie Presley last February, Sillerman and his lieutenants have purchased the smash-hit TV show American Idol and other properties from a company called 19 Entertainment, which was owned by British pop impresario Simon Fuller. At first, advertisers and investors flocked to the new SFX. SFX bought up enough stations to become the nation's seventh largest chain. The hotel, Sillerman and Soden say, is just screaming to be expanded, upgraded, and replicated in other locations. He refounded SFX Entertainment in 2012 as a promoter of electronic music festivals; that company is now known as LiveStyle. Sillerman had bought Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie Presley in 2005, but later sold it to a private equity firm. He rides into town and leaves with all the money and the women. Robert F.X. He doesnt want to mess with anything. But then to discount the price the way that it did was a self-fulfilling prophecy in that discouraged other bidders, which was unfortunate and had an implication on me and my financing., Established SFX festival events like Tomorrowland in Belgium attract thousands every year, but it's [+] unclear if newer events will have the same kind of draw. So what if the next Elvis is discovered on American Idol? The last thing well be thinking about is margins, Sillerman told FORBES in July 2012. [10], Leading CKX, Inc., Sillerman bought majority rights to Graceland, the Elvis Presley estate;[11] as well as the assets of Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, whose assets include TV hit American Idol and managed clients including football player David Beckham. In some ways, thats good news for Sillerman and SFX: the cost of talent is no longer skyrocketing. When asked if Bob was dishonest about the companys health, Finkel told Billboard, It was more complicated than that. [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. [15][16] As of the end of 2013 Viggle had about 3.7 million users. He sold the company in 1972 to the Boston ad firm, Ingalls. This isnt the first time Sillerman has failed to live up to his word when trying to buy back a company he listed on the public markets. 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. Late last year Lisa Presley flew to New York to meet Sillerman face to face. Sillerman became one of the most intriguing and wealthiest men in the media business but died in bankruptcy, pursued by the government and suffering the painful complications of a decade. I have a million ideas all the time, says Fuller, but before I could only do one a year. A version of this article was originally published in the December 12, 2005 issue of Fortune. He also acquired a majority of the Presley estate, with the right to operate Graceland, the Presley home in Memphis; took over the company behind the long-running television hit American Idol; and acquired the rights to Muhammad Alis name and likeness. Whether I will actually select one or more [equity partners] will depend on what the final price is, he said of any future bid. Once on the Forbes 400 list, . And Fuller is looking to bring a gritty nighttime soap opera that is popular in Britain to America next summer. He just didnt a fabout anything, said one former business partner who did not want to share their name. Its main app NextGuide and Digit Reminder Button was integrated into Viggle software. That didnt work out, but when we started talking, Insomniacs acquistion price was $10 million, he said. On August 14, Sillerman tabled his bid, saying that the markets made the ability to complete a deal virtually impossible., The fact the market said--which its entitled to--We dont believe that this deal is going to close is one thing, he said. Sillerman and Shelly Finkel, his close associate and SFX's eventual vice chairman, hardly listened to the music but saw the opportunity in what they believed to be the millennial generations rock and roll. Elvis was available. (Note: CKX also recently bought MBST, a small talent agency in L.A., which does advisory work for the Beatles company, so stay tuned.) Bob had his own way of doing things and it wasnt good in the end.. Anyone can read what you share. And I haven't a fucking clue what they do or what they're talking about. Before Bob, the whole scene was a giant Ponzi scheme.. It didnt scale and this round was young promoters that werent as established as the promoters from the first round of buyouts in the 1990s. Its easy to say that in hindsight, Sillerman told Billboard in a June 9, 2016article. 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. Unable to eat solid foods, he was prone to horrible coughing fits and had to eat through a feeding tube. What Sillerman bought was Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), a company that gets its $40 million in annual revenue from Graceland tours, onsite retailing, and licensingeach contributing a bit less than a third of the totalwith the balance derived from an apartment complex and the Heartbreak Hotel. Sillerman worth at the age of 71 years old? Robert FX Sillerman is the Founder at Function (x). Didnt work. Okay, so come on, Bob, what does F.X. There are so many ways to exploit that level of awareness. When presented to the public--and later, Wall Street--the plan for SFX Entertainment seemed simple enough: roll up local EDM event organizers under one umbrella organization that could drive profits by providing structure and efficiency. 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. [6], In 1978 Sillerman and disc jockey Bruce Morrow bought two radio stations in upstate New York for $1.875 million. The man who bought Elvis is Robert F.X. In September 2016, U.S. district court judge Colleen McMahon ruled there was evidence that Sillerman likely misrepresented the go-private plan to inflate the companys price and allowed a lawsuit by investors with the Guevoura Fund to move forward. A serial media-industry entrepreneur, Sillerman was best-known at the time for buying up concert promoters under the rubric of SFX Entertainment and, in 2000, selling them to the radio giant. Robert F.X. In February 2014, a lawsuit was filed against Sillerman, for allegedly having defrauded a trio of business partners. 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. When his record company rereleased Elvis singles to promote his latest greatest-hits compilation in 2002, 19 of them became top five hits in Britain. How big will CKX become? That company was also called SFX. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. But the companys performance was weak, and its stock price eventually plunged by more than 95 percent. The founder of SFX Entertainment rarely spoke about the impact of his daughters death but his friends say it weighed on him and changed his outlook. But stars still do get born. Sillerman, Concert Industry Consolidator, Dies at 71 Roy Trakin November 26, 2019, 6:02 PM Click here to read the full article. Their daughter, Mackinley, died in 2012. Robert F.X. [2][3], Sillerman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, and was raised in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, the son of Estelle (Levande) and Michael McKinley Sillerman. And sad. Robert F.X. Helped by federal deregulation of radio ownership rules, the two were able to quickly amass a chain of more than 70 stations, which they sold in 1997 to a larger rival, Capstar Broadcasting, for $2.1 billion. Contestants on the new Fox hit So You Think You Can Dance.Jason Merritt FilmMagic/Getty Images, So why did Sillerman buy Fullers company? DJ Afrojack (left) and Sillerman at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York in 2013. Its sad how things ended because he really was a bright guy, but in the end he carried a lot of pain. ), Sillerman, who had extensive exposure to the rock & roll business as a radio executive and concert promoter, realized that owning the rights to a rock act could be a great business. . Clear Channels stock, which hit a high of $95 in 2000, is trading at $32. In 2010, he re-emerged with a second strings-attached take-private bid, but CKXs board chose to sell the company to Apollo Global for $5.50 a share, a bruising result for investors. (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? 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. Investor Robert Sillerman is combining the King, American Idol, and other entertainment assets to build his next media conglomerate. unclear if newer events will have the same kind of draw. Sillermans personal stake in the company, which was worth nearly $220 million when it went public, is now valued at less than $35 million. At Ingalls he met a young copywriter, Laura Baudo, who would become his wife. Viggle registers the television show a person is watching, and engages the users with a loyalty program for viewing particular programs. Not bad for a years work. He replied with an email that said, Can I borrow a dollar? Estopinal said. Few suggest the genre is decliningnot yet, anywaybut theres evidence that points to a plateau. Sillerman was born into a media household, raised in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and attended top private schools in New York City. And they said they would synergize their content. AI Is Creeping Into the Functional Music Market What HappensNext? Maybe, but maybe not. In addition to Mr. Sillermans brother, Ms. Baudo Sillerman survives him. At various points heated negotiations and lawsuits ensued between Sillerman and the likes of PaineWebber, Steinhardt Partners, and W.R. Huff, who alleged that Sillerman was trying to shortchange investors. When the King died in 1977, his estate was a mess. Robert F.X. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google. But he doesnt seem to be worried about anything of the sort. In fact, theres a hit TV show in the business of finding them. The massive property that was assembled from four different plots of land has just hit the market for a staggering $150 million. The entrance is through original doors from the Paramount Theater. A limestone mansion once owned by the late entertainment mogul Robert F.X. The transaction renamed the company to Function (X), Inc. and changing its listing on the stock exchange to FNCX. And get this zinger from Reids report: CKX apparently has the right to shut down impersonator shows. (Say it aint so!) 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. With Finkel by his side and Estopinal giving the pair needed credibility, Sillerman set out to once again consolidate the dance music business by buying up dance promoters in Europe, Asia and North America. It had earlier been trading on the NASDAQ exchange. Unable to issue new debt without breaching bond covenants, SFX sold stock before the quarter's end to raise collateral that its banker, Barclays, had demanded in order to borrow from the companys credit line, a rainy day source of cash. All these ballet dancers from Russia were huge Elvis fans, and [their handlers] were asking for our help to get them out of here and back to rehearsal. Lawsuits increasingly became a common part of his life, including a suit from a luxury real estate firm for breach of contract after he allegedly cut the firm out of a $114 million real estate deal withoutpaying their commissions. As for spinoffs, did we mention that another smash hit on Fox, So You Think You Can Dance, is produced by Fuller too? Bob is like a Clint Eastwood character in an old Western movie, says Dennis Arfa, a business associate of Sillerman. The company also acquired 80% in Muhammad Ali Enterprises. Elviss 37-year-old daughter and heir, Lisa Marie, has been unhappy that the business has been going nowhere: We were doing good, but you cant stay the same, she says. In 2001, Britains ITV put Fullers baby, Pop Idol, on the air. Working with Steve Hicksbrother of Tom Hicks, the head of Texas buyout firm Hicks MuseSillerman embarked on a dizzying run of acquisitions, creating one of the largest radio station companies in the country. This is a BETA experience. Bear Stearns analyst R. Glen Reid says to also look for a 2,000-seat Elvis theater in Vegas. We thought there were only three rock groups worth owning, says a source in Sillermans camp, Elvis, the Beatles, and the Stones. Im not very knowledgeable about real estate, he reportedly told the New York Post at the time. Robert Francis Xavier Sillerman (April 12, 1948 November 24, 2019)[1] was an American businessman and media entrepreneur. In addition to concerts, Robert F.X. But nearly every time Sillerman sold, he and his investors made money. Can we monetize that? The second floor boasts two main bedroom suites with ensuitemarble bathrooms, woodburning fireplaces and a large planted terrace. On Saturday, however, Sillerman was fielding questions on whether the company would go bankrupt--he said there was a zero percent chance--and admitting that he didnt work with the right people. Its also unclear if he was ever the right man for the job. He loves to party. Correction: In The Man Who Bought Elvis (Dec. 12), we wrote that SFX Entertainment once owned New York Citys Roseland Ballroom. Recognizing the environment she was raised in, I thought she was astounding. Today, that blueprint to take over the electronic dance music (EDM) world is in shambles, the result of poor management, suspect financial planning and a certain hubris that Sillerman, who corporatized the live music industry in the 1990s, could do it all over again. I dont want to be like Martha Stewart and talk about what I shouldnt, Lisa says with a chuckle. Even more worrying, SFXs cash reserves dwindled to $38.6 million. Im also confident that we will create a better experience for the fans, Mr. Sillerman said in an interview with The New York Times. That business was built from a spree of acquisitions from 1997 to 2000 when Sillerman bought up Houston outfit Pace Concerts, New York promoter Delsener/Slater enterprises, Boston big man Don Laws Blackstone Entertainment, Los AngelesAvalon Attractions, Jack Boyles Cellar Door International, Bill Graham Presents in Northern California and Jimmy Koplicks 4,800-seat Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. The top contestants on the show are signed to Sony BMG, and 19 gets 10% of their recording revenue. I also thought she was shrewd and perceptive. Industry sources suggested that a possible buyer could be Live Nation. During its public run, the company also sold $295 million debt to finance additional acquisitions and fund operating losses. Capstar applied for and received permission to operate more than one class of radio station in the same market. I ask Sillerman about his revenue and income projections for his Elvis and American Idol businesses. Fullers company doesnt get a direct share of ad revenues from Fox; rather, it receives a $1.2 million fee per episode. [12], In May 2009, Credit Suisse filed a request for summary judgment in New York State Supreme Court, alleging Sillerman had failed to pay the outstanding balance due under a credit agreement with Flag Luxury Properties LLC and that Sillerman defaulted on a series of payments due since April 2008, totaling $21.4 million. When he did sell to Live Nation, the number was closer to $100 million the only thing that changed was were out there buying promoters., Dance music was rapidly growing in popularity with ticket sales increasing by nearly 30% from 2011 to 2012, but most electronic promoters were putting everything they owned into the next show, explains Estopinal. Lately Sillerman has become more guarded, though. Then there are concert tours and merchandising. Sillerman, poses after ringing the Nasdaq closing bell on Oct. 9, [+] 2013, the day his company went public. 19 also manages the career of soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife, Victoria (a.k.a. In 19, Sillerman saw a small but dynamic media company with one of the hottest TV shows on the planet. We were misinformed by an SFX spokesman. But if you walk down the street, youll be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesnt know what it is. Sillerman's Dream," Deadline Holly- wood, May 10, 2011. 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