Almost immediately after Sillerman closed on the Elvis deal, he opened his wallet again and purchased 19 Entertainment, a business with even more moving parts than Elvis. That didnt work out, but when we started talking, Insomniacs acquistion price was $10 million, he said. Sillerman had bought Elvis Presley Enterprises from Lisa Marie Presley in 2005, but later sold it to a private equity firm. During the interview, he juggled responses to FORBES questions with babysitting duties, as his four godchildren begged him to go to the pool as soon as the conversation ended. Elviss 37-year-old daughter and heir, Lisa Marie, has been unhappy that the business has been going nowhere: We were doing good, but you cant stay the same, she says. Their daughter, Mackinley, died in 2012. Sillerman, Concert Industry Consolidator, Dies at 71", "American Idol Sillerman Dealt Elvis Default Heartbreak in Vegas", "Will Viggle, the 'Loyalty Program for TV' From Robert F.X. He doesnt want to mess with anything. There was no retirement plan. Sillerman already has 18 acres on the Strip through MJX, a real estate company he controls. And Fuller is looking to bring a gritty nighttime soap opera that is popular in Britain to America next summer. He followed the 1998 sale with a Feb. 29, 2000, deal that Playbill called a quantum leap on the first Leap Day of the century, selling his concert and theatrical production firm SFX Entertainment to Clear Channel for $3.2billion. dialogue with Robert Sillerman. I have a million ideas all the time, says Fuller, but before I could only do one a year. Before 157 West 57th Street became One57, that glassy billionaire's priapism which has come to stand for a whole battery of class . SFX, however, had problems from day one. I thought he was asleep. His cost basis on these shares? I should get a waterproof one for the shower., At this particular sit-down, when Sillerman gets around to talking about CKX, he says, Technology is breaking down the old lines of distribution. But where did it go wrong for SFX? "Robert Sillerman, SFX Entertainment Founder, Dies at 71", "Bio in the 2005 Forbes 400, he was #375", "Robert F X Sillerman purchases WAFL NY-New Jersey Knights for $11 million", "KJOI-FM's $75-Million Price an Industry Record: Station's Sale Key Part of $155-Million Ownership Shuffle That Also Affects KTWV, Westwood One", "Robert F.X. Michael Sillerman died in 1980, just when his sons career was taking off. Mr. Sillerman gained control of the Presley estate. Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil; Douglas Elliman, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Inside the Hamptons trailer park thats become a playground for millionaires, Kevin Loves model wife goes house-hunting after Heat deal, See Ashton Kutchers Your Place or Mine building in NYC, Mark Wahlberg finally sells mansion after massive $32M price cut. Elviss legendary manager, Colonel Tom Parker (a.k.a. No, I dont think the mistakes I made had anything to do with my lack of background on this particular type of music, he said. 19 also manages the career of soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife, Victoria (a.k.a. So, how much is Robert F.X. When his record company rereleased Elvis singles to promote his latest greatest-hits compilation in 2002, 19 of them became top five hits in Britain. . Now, after lying in the weeds for a few years and fighting and beating cancer, Sillerman is at it again, pulling together another media empire, whichthough Sillerman wont acknowledge that he has an endgame in mindhell ultimately look to sell for another big score. But when the so-called "go shop" ended, Sillerman didnt have the financing to cover his bid. CKEs stock fell from a high of $28.80 in early May to a current price of $12 and change. The truth is, for all of Elviss transcendent mystique, EPE has never been much of a business. He can outlast and outtalk anybody. Says a close colleague: His BlackBerry messages start at 6 A.M. and never stop into the night. Synergy is not important. Correction: In The Man Who Bought Elvis (Dec. 12), we wrote that SFX Entertainment once owned New York Citys Roseland Ballroom. CKX has the rights to the Elvis name, image, likeness, and trademark, which are currently used in 100 or so merchandising and licensing deals. You know if you make cars or washing machines or something like that, I guess you have to focus on margins. At least so says a Wall Street entrepreneur who is hoping to make Elvis the centerpiece of his burgeoning media companynot only extending the Kings reign but also taking advantage of technological and demographic changes rocking the media and entertainment industries. Sillermans actions signaled to the market that he saw significant value in SFX. counterpart.) He managed Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics, and then created the Spice Girls. His father, Michael McKinley Sillerman, was a radio executive who went bankrupt when his son was 13. Sillerman, the entertainment entrepreneur who helped. But the company had no serious strategy, a former employee told Billboard at the time, and Sillermans frequent misrepresentations angered investors, including a plan to take the company private in May 2015 that collapsed when it became clear that Sillerman didnt have the $700 million needed to finance the deal. [6], In 1978 Sillerman and disc jockey Bruce Morrow bought two radio stations in upstate New York for $1.875 million. Between Elviss legendary free spending and the fact that he didnt own his songs, the situation was dire. So what if the next Elvis is discovered on American Idol? Pei through the hallowed halls. This year, there are 88 festivals that we anticipate doing, said Sillerman. More and more content can go directly to consumers through cellphones, devices like iPods, and home video, which makes content even more valuable. But doesnt Sillermans strategy fly in the face of what big media is doing right now? During its public run, the company also sold $295 million debt to finance additional acquisitions and fund operating losses. He was also starting to run afoul of the SEC an audit by the firm BDO of his company Function(x)found that Sillerman allegedly broke the law when he transferred $6.1 million into his own personal account and withdrew $500,000 in cash with no explanation and no supporting documentation. Sillerman settled the case with the SEC in June, agreeing to a $179,000 fine and a ban from holding an officer or director role at any public company. In 2011, Apollo Management purchased CKX in 2011 for $512 million. It runs in the family: Lisa Marie Presley signs autographs for NASCAR fans at Daytona Speedway this past July.Jeff Gross Getty Images, Sillermans latest publicly traded corporate incarnation is called CKX. In 2017, he almost lost the home after defaulting on a $12.5 million loan, The Post reported at the time. Moreover, those familiar with the live events industry know that festivals can lose millions of dollars in their early years as they try to build their fan bases. How Trust In Institutions Determines COVID Vaccination Rates In The EU, Clubhouses Future Depends On Data - How To Build A TikTok Like Algorithm. Sillerman was also a major shareholder of CKX Inc. As for spinoffs, did we mention that another smash hit on Fox, So You Think You Can Dance, is produced by Fuller too? Ive tried to get him drunk to get him to tell me, says Brucie. We have to be careful to not deprecate Elviss legacy or to damage our authorized and official Elvis shows.. Backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show, 1956: Elvis with the host and manager Parker (left).CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images. [12], In May 2009, Credit Suisse filed a request for summary judgment in New York State Supreme Court, alleging Sillerman had failed to pay the outstanding balance due under a credit agreement with Flag Luxury Properties LLC and that Sillerman defaulted on a series of payments due since April 2008, totaling $21.4 million. Sillerman was the owner of a range of television and radio stations during the 1970s and 1980s, In 1993 he formed SFX Broadcasting, and then built SFX Entertainmenta concert and stage performance promoter that was sold to Clear Channel in 2000 for $4.4 billion. This company owned "American Idol" and the licensing rights to Elvis Presley and his Graceland estate. With so many formats vying for consumers attention, content is king. [29] In December, the company went private and was renamed LiveStyle, with Sillerman exiting the company in favor of former AEG Live executive Randy Phillips as CEO. And there are a couple of Sillerman stories that involve nudity. The results supported theories that Sillerman--who proposed in late May to take the company private at a price of $5.25 per share--didnt have the financial partners or intent to buy his cash-strapped company. Entertainment mogul Robert Sillerman is facing foreclosure on his $16 million Upper East Side town house for defaulting on a $12.5 million loan since 2015, a new lawsuit claims. We bought companies based on what we anticipated that we could bring in incremental sources of revenue.. So far Idol stars like Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken have sold over 14 million albums. The man who bought Elvis is Robert F.X. (Photo credit: Jonas Roosens/AFP/Getty Images). When SFX began bursting at the seams, in no small part because of his mismanagement, Sillerman again reneged. While he pointed to lucrative deals with Anheuser Busch, MasterCard and T-Mobile and those companies increased yearly ad spend, the SFX CEO admitted that his earlier business models anticipated greater participation from brands. Estopinal says he last saw Sillerman at a deposition, but he remembers sending Sillerman a note after the bankruptcy, acknowledging the failures of SFX while also thanking him for the opportunity to be part of the company. This stands out as unique. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Industrial Media. He likes to jump out of the bushes or hide in hotel rooms and scare people, says Cousin Brucie. Sillerman was born into a media household, raised in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and attended top private schools in New York City. I ask Sillerman about his revenue and income projections for his Elvis and American Idol businesses. [9] Its funny, when we needed money we had a difficult time raising it. Over half a million tourists from all over the world stream into the shrine called Graceland each year. In characteristic form, Sillerman wont give investors any firm commitments. 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