Former WME agent Marc GeigerSaveLive’s company has quietly raised $112 million over the past 12 months to buy music venues hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. Licensed from WME by co-CEO Ari-Emmanuel in June 2020, the former co-director of music shocked the concert industry in October 2020 when he announced plans to raise millions to buy and protect independent venues with the CEO of FactoryMade Ventures and former member of the WME Board of Directors John Fogelmann. but has remained fairly quiet over the past few months, with some industry watchers speculating that the initiative simply failed.

But filings released by the SEC on Feb. 25 show Geiger had been busy over the past 16 months amassing a nine-figure war chest worth a total of $134.5 million, raised from nine anonymous investors. . This sum of money could have a huge impact on independent promoters and site operators struggling with a fragile recovery in the live sector as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on longer than expected. Geiger’s plans for SaveLive, according to a New York Times The article written in October 2020 was to invest millions in struggling music venues in exchange for a 51% stake in a venue’s operating business. If enough independent venue operators and promoters agree to the deal, Geiger could potentially create a powerful network of venues to route tours and force structural changes that would level the playing field between independent operators and the live gig giant. Live Nation company. The 51% stake in clubs resembles the financial structure of competitor Live Nation which owns more than 100 clubs and theaters in the United States

In conversation with the Timesmain funder of SaveLive Jordan Moelis of Deep Field Asset Management said the company was designed to be a partner to troubled sites and not “a game of troubled assets.”

SaveLive’s first infill in February 2021 showed that SaveLive had raised $22.5 million from two investors in its first five months of operation. The company’s goal at the time, according to the filing, was to raise $75 million in total.

SaveLive has nearly doubled that goal in the past 12 months, and while no room acquisitions have been announced, SaveLive made headlines in July 2021, when it hired the co-founder and president of madison house Nadia Precher to lead its music division. “I join Marc in developing his vision for the SaveLive network to support independent music venues,” Prescher said. Billboard in June 2021. “Over the past 25 years as an agent, I have worked closely with the independent community, and more so since the pandemic with the National Independent Talent Organization. Marc and I agree that independent venues should have a protected opportunity to grow their business.

Geiger and company have been relatively quiet about SaveLive since the initial announcement and have yet to reveal any additional details or a list of locations. SaveLive did not respond to Billboardrequest for comment.

During the pandemic, hotel developer AJ Capital also began acquiring a collection of independent music venues across the country. In March 2021, AJ Capital purchased the building where the 50-year-old Exit/In site is located in Nashville. A month later, AJ Capital made an offer to buy the famous Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon, which hosted concerts by Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Pearl Jam and Miles Davis.