Live Nation Acquires ScoreMore

ScoreMore Shows, the Austin-based concert promotion company that throws many of Texas’ marquee hip-hop events — including the hugely popular three-city JMBLYA festival — has sold a majority stake of their company to industry giants Live Nation.

The financial details behind the deal have not been made public. ScoreMore, founded locally in 2009 by Sascha Guttfreund and Claire Bogle, will keep their current staff and continue to operate out of their Austin office, but they’ll now operate at a standalone company, along with a growing club of indie promotor acquisitions, under Live Nation’s business umbrella. Already Texas’ largest independent promotions company, ScoreMore will now have access to Live Nation’s extensive infrastructure, which could help them take their events to new markets.

A deal involving the two companies had been in the wind for months. The agreement does not cede control of ScoreMore’s artist management assets, which include Grammy nominated rapper/singer Tory Lanez.

ScoreMore’s always been an organization defined by youth. Beginning with Guttfreund booking at erstwhile Sixth Street club Ace’s Lounge and continuing into its present day handling of four music festivals, the company has thrived on connecting with college markets better than competing promoters. Guttfreund, who runs day to day operations, is only 29-year-old.

In a 2014 interview with “Playback” Guttfreund compared his company to JetBlue Airways — giving the customers the most while keeping affordable prices.

"We're not trying to be the biggest, but we're good at what we do,” declared the University of Texas grad.

Meanwhile, the local promoters trajectory has mirrored that of acts like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Wiz Kalifa — all of whom had their first Texas shows booked by Scoremore. The company’s relationship with Cole has remained close and they are promoting his recently announced Dreamville Music Festival, taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina in September.

Other festivals in ScoreMore’s portfolio include JMBLYA, Mala Luna in San Antonio and Neon Desert, which ran last weekend in El Paso. The success of those events is no doubt a reason ScoreMore is so attractive to Live Nation. This year the three-date JMBLYA saw a 60% uptick in ticket sales. Neon Desert saw over 30,000 attendees over Memorial Day weekend and Maya Luna, in just two years, has reportedly become San Antonio’s largest annual music gathering.

These days ScoreMore slots many of their Austin shows — including next Thursday’s engagement with Flatbush Zombies — at Emo’s, a venue owned by fellow local Live Nation affiliate C3 Presents. C3, which produces ACL Fest in addition to myriad of other festivals, remained indie until 2014 when it sold to Live Nation, which has been accused of monopolistic behavior subjected to federal review since merging with Ticketmaster in 2010.

“Sascha and the ScoreMore team have a proven ability to form very early and long-lasting relationships with top talent, and their ground-breaking events, whether an intimate club show or a giant festival, really resonate with a diverse and passionate audience base, as well as with the leading artists that they present,” Live Nation’s U.S. Concerts President Bob Roux offered via statement this morning. “This company is just getting started, and we are all very excited about their future, as we know what they are going to accomplish even greater things as part of the Live Nation family.”