According to Billboard's Ray Waddell - no band meeting planned, no tour bids being solicited: 

The Rolling Stones: We Have 'No Firm Plans' to Tour

by Ray Waddell, Nashville | February 02, 2011 5:20 EST




Talk of a Rolling Stones tour this year has heated up in the wake of details from former Live Nation Chairman Michael Cohl's lawsuit against the company hitting the Internet. But Billboard sticks by its assertion that if the Stones were to tour it would probably not be until next year, or late this year at the earliest -- the Stones themselves basically squelched chatter about the tour via a statement issued today, without ruling it out completely.

"In light of recent reports surrounding the 'Breach of Contract' Court Case in America between Live Nation Entertainment and former Live Nation chairman Michael Cohl, The Rolling Stones wish to clarify their position regarding representation and touring," the statement reads. "Following the end of the 2007 'A Bigger Bang' world tour, The Rolling Stones became free from any contractual arrangements or agreements with Michael Cohl. He is neither their representative nor their tour promoter. Also the Stones confirmed today they have no firm plans to tour at this time.

"The Rolling Stones have recently secured a worldwide merchandizing agreement with Bravado Inc. and in 2008 signed a new global record deal with Universal Music," it adds.

Any squabbles between Cohl and Live Nation as to who would produce such a tour may be moot, as ultimately it's the Stones' call as to who steers the ship -- if the tour sails at all. Cohl led the band to unprecedented tour grosses with his dice-rolling financing, creative deals and market-value ticket prices, beginning with the "Steel Wheels" trek in 1989. But all of Cohl's tour deals with the Rolling Stones, which have grossed some $2 billion in ticket sales alone since 1989, were cut on a tour-by-tour basis, even if they included multiple rights such as DVDs and merchandising that extended beyond those tours' conclusion. Cohl became the Stones' guy because he and his team got the job done on all levels.

And even if the contract surrounding Cohl's exit with Live Nation apparently gave him the right to bid on a Stones tour, it certainly does not obligate the Stones to work with him.

Cohl worked with Live Nation promoters in various markets on some of his tours with the Stones, but before Live Nation existed he was able to secure financing from a variety of sources that bankrolled the massive startup costs a Stones tour requires. So he could likely get the job done without Live Nation, and indeed Live Nation could get the job done without Cohl and perhaps emerge as the favorite. Live Nation has an ace in the hole in dealing with the Stones, as LN Global Touring Chairman Arthur Fogel was a key executive under Cohl at the latter's former companies CPI and TNA before they became part of Live Nation.

Fogel has in fact become the leading mega-tour producer in the world, having steered with his Toronto-based team four of the five highest-grossing tours of all time, including U2's ongoing "360" tour. That tour will surpass 'A Bigger Bang' tour in April to become the highest-grossing tour in history, according to Billboard Boxscore. By the time "360" wraps July 30 at the Magnetic Hill Music Festival in Moncton, New Brunswick, the gross will be a staggering $700 million.

Those types of numbers surely will catch the eyes of the Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who, by the way, tend to at least take a stab at new material before launching a tour, and sources say no band meeting has been called as of yet.

The list of promoters that could take on a tour of this magnitude is a short one, but longer than it was even a few years ago. Sources say Cohl, Live Nation, Paul Dainty, and AEG Live would be in the running for the next Stones tour, but it seems all these names surface in hopes that the band will tour, not because the band is soliciting bids. Fogel has his recent track record and strong history with the Stones, and though today's statement does not bode well, Cohl should never be counted out.

Even if Cohl is completely immersed in the beast that is "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark," he tells Billboard that if the Stones came calling, "I always have time for the Rolling Stones."

Billboard

Well the fuss is that Cohl didn't make a $6 million payment due to Live Nation because he argues that they broke their agreement not to bid against hime, namely that they told him in 2008 that they would bid on the next Stones tour. Apparently they wanted to co-promote a future tour but that fell through so he's saying they broke their side of the contract and he's not paying.

Why Cohl agreed to pay Live Nation $10 million to keep them out of bidding in the first place is a bit beyond me but I suppose it made sense to him at the time...in any case this problem would exist whether the Stones tour or not in the future, so no news for us either way.

gotdablouse wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2011 at 7:32pm:

Right,this is an argument between mega millionaires as to who will promote a group of mega millionaires and has been brewing for several years. In the end,this has little or no impact on the Stones abilty,or more importantly willingness to tour. I stick by my original theory. Their is only one person keeping the Stones from touring.

we're pathetic.

That really hit home in the Bilboard article above

Quote:

that's all the interest a new Stones album raises these days...

Wonder who updates that FB page, sounds a bit silly to say "we" but I guess that's part of the game.

The Stones on Twitter?

Is it just me or is there something not right about that?

Yes, I have no doubt the people posting on the Stones FB accound are "auhtorized", obviously it's not one or the actual Stones, so it's a bit silly to say "we".

Edith Grove wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 11:49am:



or a "twat" ?

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 4^th, 2011 at 2:50pm:

Gazza wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2011 at 7:02am:


__________________________

Not when Live Nation and Cohl are the two that will guarantee The Stones considerably the highest amount of money. If you think The Stones and their company is going to accept a smaller, less safe tour option we need to think about who we are talking about here. The Stones aren't going to settle for the "third" best option. They will gladly wait a year to make 100 million more dollars. They really do want to tour... but not at the expense of not maximizing the biggest package and going third rate. Seriously, without Live Nation or Cohl it's not worth The Stones time as they see it. All the the other promoting organizations are a level below all that. As far as Cohl I am quite sure he's spoke to Mick and I am very sure he knows The Stones willingness to do this. I'm sure he knows their stance on it and it's obvious they are wanting to do it but there are obstacles. Otherwise he wouldn't be giving two shits because they aren't up for it anyway. I can assure you he knows the personal viewpoints of the band and I'm sure he's spoke to at least Mick concerning their wanting to tour vs. not wanting to. . He knows The Stones are wanting to go on a major tour. Maybe not right away, but that's the next step for them as a band (besides making an album). Otherwise ...why all this fuss? Why a lawsuit? I'm sure he and Live Nation have other career ventures they would rather tend to than to waste time, effort, and cash on suing if The tour wasn't in the cards for The Stones. It's obvious they have no plans on retiring. They are just waiting for the best offer and/or the smoke to clear. If they were to attempt to tour right now/ legalities may get in the way or The promoters could get sued. Not a good situation for them even though they would still make money, they may suffer a bit in that area once lawsuits start being cast.

*In a major sense you simply can't blame them. Why? ... well they are The Rolling Stones. They don't take second place when it comes to touring. Never have, never will. They go the highest possible road in that sense. Been this way since 1969. In their eyes they are the ones who can command the most money and every single time they get it and set records. Their entourage revolutionized touring three times over (1969, 1981, and 1989). They are the old pros at it and the biggest major leaguers in this respect and have been forever. In their eyes .... why go third rate? Wait to see who the highest bidder is?

Would Donald Trump go third rate because the two top organizations offering the most cash are fighting at who gets to promote him? No. If you were the best at something for forty years and always commanded the most cash would you think about going grade C on a contract job?? Why should you? Your the one in demand and sooner or later you'll get your fat cookie form one of the grade A's. They want you bad and you are loaded to the hilt right now and not hurting in the least. Wait a bit for that much more dough...

This is all they are doing guys. They are planning on touring ... they are just waiting on the highest bidder, with no suing or legal cloud with the smoke cleared as opposed to risking alot and trying a third rate option at a much higher risk (especially in today's fragile financial economy).

**The delay isn't bc they aren't into it. The delay is they are waiting to see how they can maximize and make the most cashola "safely" ...without going third rate, making less money, in a riskier venture.


Clearly that's whats going on. ...


Ian

ijwthstd wrote on Feb 7^th, 2011 at 12:30am:


________________________________________


Nice input. Still I must state some contrary. AEG's venues are arena's and large halls. A major Stones tour begs for many larger places and stadiums. As far as "renting" stadiums and such it becomes cumbersome, more risky, and adds many factors opposed to if Live Nation or Cohl were footing the bill. All those added steps and head aches wouldn't be necessary. Your concept is a great idea if there were no other high end options. However there are ... They can just record an album while simply waiting it out to see who comes out on top between Cohl and Live Nat. and take the winner for the big dollars in a straight ahead guaranteed payday. It would be uniform, they'd make more than with any other organization, and if it's Cohl, would be of familiarity.

I understand your concept. It's neat (although risky and much more cumbersome) but I don't think The Stones and their posse would take that route unless they were all out of other options. Right now, they still got the big boys fighting over them.

Regardless, nice idea and insightful thinking to this conversation... heck ... you ever thought about promoting?


Ian