In a move to further strengthen the company’s Nashville music connections, Front Line Management, the Ticketmaster Entertainment subsidiary created by CEO Irving Azoff, recently bought an undisclosed stake in DS Management, which specializes in representing bluegrass acts.
Among the acts under DS Management’s umbrella are critically acclaimed Alison Krauss and Union Station, but the company also boasts the Peasall Sisters and Dan Tyminski among the artists it manages.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the move follows Front Line Management’s complete acquisition of Dale Morris & Associates during the spring. Dale Morris & Associates is also based in Nashville and it reps Kenny Chesney and Big & Rich, among others.
By adding a stake in DS Management to its roster, Front Line continues its quest to gobble up increasing amounts of the music management industry, which will in turn give its parent company Ticketmaster more market influence, as it tries to finalize its proposed merger with concert promotion giant Live Nation.
DS Management is owned by famed music producer Denise Stiff, who was executive music producer of the Grammy award-winning soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” She did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
According to business information service Manta.com, DS Management employs five people and generates an estimated $230,000 in annual revenues. Manta estimates Dale Morris & Associates employs about nine people and generates between $1 million and $2.5 million in annual revenues.
Front Line’s talent roster includes Van Halen, Neil Diamond, Jimmy Buffett, Christina Aguilera and The Eagles, among other top-shelf artists.
