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Music

SFX Resurrects Itself from Bankruptcy, Rebrands as LiveStyle

Former AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips has replaced Robert Sillerman as chief executive.
Photo of Electric Zoo 2016 by aLIVE Coverage

Dance music conglomerate SFX has pulled itself out of bankruptcy and renamed itself LiveStyle, taking on former AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips as its chief executive. The company filed for bankruptcy in February after a tumultuous year of financial uncertainties in order to restructure its debt, soon thereafter parting ways with its controversial founder Robert Sillerman.

SFX's assets include companies, festivals, and promoters including Beatport, Electric Zoo presenters Made Event, Rock in Rio, Life in Color, and Dutch entertainment company ID&T, which runs Mysteryland.

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Phillips' plan for the company includes broadening its music scope outside of just EDM. Noting the bad reputation the genre has received for drug-related health issues, he told the Wall Street Journal that "the EDM thing is tough for a sponsor." He also said he aims to expand the company into markets in Asia and Latin America, considering the crowdedness of the US market for festivals.

The new CEO hopes the company will increase its earnings from $18 million to $50 million from in three years, before taxes, interest, amortization, and depreciation. Describing his decision to change the company's name, he told Billboard, "Every time I said the name 'SFX' to someone, I got this negative reaction—people would make the sign of the cross."

SFX was valued at more than $1 billion when it became publicly traded in October 2013, but was taken private with its bankruptcy filing.

In November, a Delaware judge approved reorganization plans for SFX, enabling it to eliminate $400 million in debt. Earlier this year, TomorrowWorld 2016 was cancelled as part of the fallout from SFX's bankruptcy.

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