Irving Azoff

Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American businessman, who is chairman of Full Stop Management, a company that represents recording artists. During the course of his career, he has worked as an agent, personal manager, concert promoter, movie producer, independent record label owner, merchandiser, music publisher, and CEO of a record label.

Since September 2013 he has been chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, a venture with the Madison Square Garden Company, prior to which he was chairman and CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment and was executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and CEO of Front Line Management. He is on the boards of Starz Inc. and IMG.

In 2012, he topped '' Billboards Power 100. Labels founded by Azoff include Full Moon Records and Giant Records.

Early life

Azoff was born into a Jewish family, and raised in Danville, Illinois, He began working with bands while still a student at Danville High School and then in college at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Career

His first management client was Champaign-based REO Speedwagon; his second was Dan Fogelberg. In 1972, Azoff moved to Los Angeles with Fogelberg, where he worked for Geffen-Roberts Management. There he began working with the Eagles, forming a relationship that has lasted more than forty years.

From 1983 to 1989, Azoff was chairman of MCA Music Entertainment Group and is credited for turning around that label's fortunes. According to Thomas R. King's book ''The Operator'' (2001), David Geffen manipulated Azoff into leaving MCA and going to Warner Music Group, where Azoff started Giant Records. King writes that Geffen wanted Azoff out at MCA to clear the way for MCA to buy Geffen Records. Geffen convinced Mo Ostin at Warner Music to offer Irving Azoff a "dream" label deal. Giant Records operated for much of the 1990s until Azoff decided to return to concentrating on artist management.

In October 2008, Ticketmaster announced it would acquire the management company Front Line Management Group, Inc. As part of the deal, Azoff, who was founder and chief executive officer of Front Line, became chief executive officer of Ticketmaster, and was named chairman of Live Nation in February 2011.

In 2013, Azoff founded the performance rights organisation Global Music Rights. The company administered publishing for artists including Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and George Harrison, Pearl Jam, and Bruno Mars. Later that year, Azoff unveiled Azoff MSG Entertainment, a venture with the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG). In addition to his role as chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, Azoff would be a consultant to MSG in connection with the management of its live event venues, including the Forum in Inglewood, CA and other MSG-managed buildings.

In 2015, Azoff played a character based on himself in the '' Documentary Now!'' parody of '' History of the Eagles''. The same year, Azoff co-founded Oak View Group with Tim Leiweke. The company is building the Belmont Park Arena as well as a new arena in Milan, Italy. Oak View Group is also part owner of problem hit Co-op Live arena in Manchester, together with City Football Group and musician Harry Styles.

Azoff and Oliver Chastan co-founded Iconic Artists Group in 2018, an entertainment rights management company. In 2021, Iconic Artists Group acquired the catalogue of David Crosby and a majority stake in The Beach Boys' intellectual property. In February 2024, the company acquired the catalogue of British singer Rod Stewart for close to $100 million.

In 2019, Azoff and his wife Shelli, along with a consortium of Los Angeles-based investors, purchased The Apple Pan, one of Los Angeles' oldest continuing operating restaurants, as well as Nate n' Al, founded in 1945. The following January, Azoff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Ahmet Ertegun Award winner.

Azoff has co-produced the movies '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', '' Urban Cowboy'', '' Jack Frost'', '' Above The Rim'', and '' The Inkwell'', and was executive producer of '' The Hurricane''. He has been named "Manager of the Year" by two touring industry trade publications. In 2012, Azoff appeared in '' Artifact'', a documentary film about the modern music business focused on the legal battle between Thirty Seconds to Mars and record label EMI.

In 2025, Azoff assembled 27 artists in order to run a so-called ' FireAid' concert for the victims of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. In an interview with '' TheWrap'' about the concert, Azoff claimed that he hadn't slept for two weeks preparing for the event; he also said that its audience would "understand how bad this has been and have compassion for the people and start the healing process".

Controversy

Housekeeper Lawsuit

In 2023, a former housekeeper named Rosa Martinez sued Irving and his wife for back wages and wrongful termination. They were also accused of various abuses including burning the housekeeper with cigarettes, making her clean dirty sex toys and for firing her because she needed a hysterectomy.

Monopolization claims

In 2018, the Radio Music License Committee made anti-trust claims against Azoff's Global Music Rights, LLC, a performance rights organization. A settlement was reached in 2022.

Clippers Arena proposal

Azoff MSG Entertainment took part in a lawsuit against the city of Inglewood to stop the construction of a new arena for the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood alongside residents of the local neighbourhood. During the summer of 2019, it was reported that Azoff was working with James L. Dolan of the Madison Square Garden Company to prevent the competing arena from being built similar to the tactics used to stop the construction of the proposed West Side Stadium in New York City in 2005. In March 2019, leaked emails revealed that Azoff attempted to lure the Los Angeles Lakers back to The Forum after their lease at the Staples Center was up.

Nicki Minaj

In 2018, Nicki Minaj accused Azoff of orchestrating a smear campaign against her upcoming tour; however, he later became her manager. Additionally, his performance rights organization Global Music Rights manages most of her song writing credits.

The Black Keys

In 2024, American rock duo The Black Keys cancelled their tour and fired Azoff as their manager after they had to cancel their US tour due to low ticket sales. In response to the claim by a representative of Azoff that the split was an 'amicable parting', drummer Patrick Carney said "I mean, we fired their ass. Shit happens".

Personal life

In 1978, he married Rochelle "Shelli" Cumsky. They have four children, and the eldest son, Jeffrey Azoff, is a partner in Full Stop Management.

References

External links

David Segal: Calling Almost Everyone's TuneIrving Azoff on Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azoff, Irving
1947 births
Living people
American music industry executives
20th-century American Jews
American music managers
MCA Records
People from Danville, Illinois
21st-century American Jews
U2