Michael Cohl is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

concert promoter,

theatrical producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

and touring impresario. He is the former Chairman of

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertain ...

. Cohl now runs S2BN Entertainment, with offices in New York and Toronto. Having been named the Howard Hughes of rock ‘n’ roll by '' Fortune'' magazine, Cohl is most famous for having overseen the tours and related ancillary businesses for more than 150 artists, including Frank Sinatra,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

and U2. He has also been credited with developing the concept of "package" touring. Eliminating the middleman, Cohl worked directly with the artist to strategize and route the tour, promote the dates, and assist in the development and exploitation of the lucrative aftermarket – books, films, DVDs, television specials, and merchandising. He was the lead producer of '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', the most expensive musical flop in Broadway history, with music by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

and

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

of U2. In December 1995, The

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

printed a 4,000 word article entitled "King Cohl of Rock'n'Roll and the Tax That Never Was." From conversations with a number of managers of touring bands, the reporter argued that Cohl's Concert Productions International misrepresented to touring artists that it was collecting a tax, while not remitting any such tax to any government body. The tax was a phoney tax Cohl added onto every ticket he sold at Toronto's CNE Stadium. Fans paid an extra $3 per ticket for Springsteen, U2, and Stones tickets. According to Canadian government auditors, that $3 per ticket added up to $5 million, all of which was pocketed by Cohl. He avoided jail time but had to sell back his BCL Entertainment Ltd stock to Labatt's.Bill German, Under Their Thumb, Villard Books, 2009, page 342

Honours

Cohl was inducted into the

Canadian Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established in 1978 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to honour Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The award presentation is held each year as part of the ...

, when he received a

Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award is awarded by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to "individuals who have contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry." It is given annually every Juno Awards ...

at the 2002 Juno Awards. Cohl is also a recipient of the 2004 Billboard Legend of Live award, an honour previously bestowed on such artists as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guit ...

. When ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' won the 2005

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

and

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

, Cohl was among the producers who received the awards. He was inducted in

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame (french: link=no, Allée des célébrités canadiennes) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a ...

in 2005

Theatre

Cohl has produced several

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

s as well as numerous other international touring shows. These include: *'' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' *''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 c ...

'' *''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' *'' The Producers'' *''

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. Nove ...

'' *''

'' *'' La Cage aux Folles'' *''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for tw ...

''Satisfaction: The Life and Times of Michael Cohl''

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

released a 2006 documentary directed by acclaimed filmmaker Barry Avrich as part of the '' Life and Times'' series chronicling Cohl's rise to prominence in the entertainment industry. The film claims "When the Rolling Stones won’t make a move without talking to you first, your name must be Michael Cohl."

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and

all make appearances.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohl, Michael 1940s births Living people Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian music industry executives Juno Award winners Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Music promoters