An Interview with the Most Powerful Man in Touring. And He’s Canadaian.
Arthur, a former road manager for Martha and the Muffins, has done well for himself. As chairman for global touring for Live Nation, he’s quite possibly the most powerful and influential person in live music today. Not bad for a kid from Ontario.
A couple of years ago, I helped put together a documentary on Arthur.
https://youtu.be/Ld049oJ4hAk
The Globe and Mail recently ran this profile of Arthur called “Meet the Guy Who Saved Lady Gaga from Bankruptcy.”
Lady Gaga calls him her Oz—the man who saw enough potential in this modern-day Dorothy to save her from bankruptcy. Bono says he’s George Clooney’s character in ER: “The operating room’s about to explode, and he keeps calm, doing open-heart surgery with a Swiss Army Knife.”
The man they’re praising so extravagantly is probably the most powerful behind-the-scenes figure in modern music: Arthur Fogel, the head of Live Nation’s global touring division. To date, the Ottawa native has helped run four of the five highest-grossing tours of all time. He has the clout to—as he did for Gaga—cut a performer a $40-million cheque and send her touring to the world’s biggest venues (all currency in U.S. dollars).
