The company is responsible for the booking of major concert venues
Singer Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against concert promoter AEG for forcing artists performing at London's O2 Arena to also play at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on the same tour. Both venues are owned by the company.
According to the lawsuit, the singer's promoter attempted to book a date at the O2 for February 2019 as part of the No More Tours 2 , and the venue's booking agent confirmed availability but revealed that the booking could only be made if Ozzy also booked a show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager, publicly complained about having to sign the contract with the Staples Center, but AEG did not budge ,” the lawsuit states.
Last month, Sharon accused CEO Jay Marciano of "forcing an artist to perform in a venue where they don't feel comfortable," but the only response she received was that "the discussion should be held between them and should not involve the artists."
Despite his reluctance, Ozzy had no choice but to sign the contract. "For an artist like Ozzy, there's no other place to perform in London but the O2 Arena, especially during a world tour."
In response to the lawsuit, Marciano told Rolling Stone that AEG always seeks to prioritize the artist, but “we should do something about the Madison Square Garden and Live Nation deal. Fighting to be on the same level in a competition is fair.”
The agreement that Marciano mentions refers to rumors that the famous Madison Square Garden in New York had spoken with the owners of the O2 about a deal that included the giant Live Nation.
Now, Osbourne is looking for other similar cases to support his lawsuit, which aims to break the concert scheduling policies of the O2 and the Staples Center.
