Live Nation Entertainment announced it has acquired Mainland Music, one of the top concert promoters in Switzerland that produces over 650 shows annually.
Mainland Music, co-founded in 2012 by partners Christian Gremelmayr, Derrick Thomson, Marc Lambelet, Martin Schrader and Santosh Aerthott, has offices in Zurich and Lausanne. With this new acquisition, Mainland Music will be able to continue all operations with the help of Live Nation’s touring and promotion opportunities.
“By joining the Live Nation family, we will bring even more international top acts to Switzerland,” Gremelmayr of Mainland Music said. “As a leading local promoter, we will work with Live Nation to guarantee the best possible service for all artists.”
The promoters book acts across various genres, like rock, hip-hop, urban, punk, and metal. In the past, they have promoted big-name artists Sam Smith, Macklemore, Rise Against, Cypress Hill, Hozier, and Lukas Graham, among others.
Thomson explained themselves as a “boutique-style promoter,” and with the help of Live Nation, they’ll be able to “open a new chapter in Mainland Music’s history.”
“We are looking forward to partnering with a promising and thriving promoter like Mainland Music,” the COO of Live Nation GSA Matt Schwarz said in a press release. “With their strong relationships and impressive industry insights, this important strategic move will strengthen Live Nation’s presence in the Swiss market and ensure the continuation of our success story through this merger in the years to come.”