Los Angeles - Concert promoter and live venue owner Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) announced on Monday that it has signed a 12-year contract to handle touring, merchandising and the website for Irish rock band U2. Unlike Live Nation's estimated $120 million, 10-year deal with Madonna, which covers touring as well as three albums, U2's longstanding relationship with Universal Music for recording and also publishing is not affected by the Live Nation deal.

"It's not a do-or-die situation that we have to be involved in the recordings," Live Nation chairman Michael Cohl told Reuters. "We'd prefer to, but it's not always available."

The company serves 1,000 artists through its array of services.

U2 has recorded eleven studio albums have garnered 22 Grammy Awards and sold in excess of 140 million copies globally.

Related Links:
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=223211

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-live1apr01,1,4607025.story

http://www.u2.com

http://www.livenation.com