Photo Credit: Tbilisi, Georgia, by Jaanus Jagomägi
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is working with Live Nation Israel on a show in Tbilisi, Georgia, after attempts to book a show in Israel.
It’s been a rollercoaster for those following the Ye situation, just this year alone. The latest move comes in the surprising form of the artist formerly known as Kanye West working with Live Nation Israel on a show at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia, a former Soviet republic.
Shortly after taking out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to issue a public apology following years of antisemitic behavior, Ye released a new album and promptly attempted to embark on a worldwide apology tour. But several countries, like the UK and Australia have denied him entry, leading to his attempt to negotiate a show in Israel—which was, of course, quickly shot down.
Now, it seems like he’s found an alternative solution: working with a Live Nation Israel subsidiary on a booking billed as the latest by Starring Georgia. It’s an initiative partially funded by the Georgian government “to bring to Georgia the most in-demand contemporary artists […] who have never performed in our country before.” And it’s obviously working: the 70,000 tickets put up for Ye’s show sold out within a day.
According to Rolling Stone, Live Nation Israel was formed in 2017 alongside Ticketmaster Israel when the live events giant acquired majority ownership in Israeli concert production company Bluestone Group. Bluestone Group is reportedly a joint venture between Guy Oseary (Madonna’s longtime manager), and Bluestone founder Guy Beser. Bluestone, which launched in 2014, has hosted Tel Aviv concerts by artists like Bon Jovi, Backstreet Boys, Enrique Iglesias, Major Lazer, and OneRepublic.
Live Nation, meanwhile, denies any direct involvement. A spokesperson for the company told DMN, “Live Nation is not producing the Ye show in Georgia. The show is being produced by Blue Stone Productions. […] Contrary to other reporting, Live Nation did not acquire Blue Stone Group; Live Nation does not have a joint venture with Blue Stone; however, they continue to operate a number of businesses and events separate from Live Nation.”
The spokesperson further claimed that Guy Beser is a shareholder in Blue Stone, but that he does not have any role in the production. Blue Stone Productions and Guy Beser do partner with Live Nation, they said, but the company is independently producing the Ye show without the support of Live Nation.
It’s worth noting that Live Nation announced it acquired a ‘majority stake’ in Israel’s Bluestone Entertainment in 2017—right around the time it launched Ticketmaster Israel. Bluestone Entertainment was created in 2014 with the goal of “promoting international artists in Israel.” The confusion here arises from the similarly named Bluestone Entertainment, a concert promoter; and Blue Stone Productions—a seemingly similarly-named but entirely separate entity. Either way, Guy Beser is involved with both of these entities as well as Live Nation Israel.
Meanwhile, Guy Beser’s LinkedIn page lists his connections to Live Nation Israel. Live Nation’s spokesperson said that Live Nation Israel itself is a small local team of about six employees and “is not staffing, funding, or operating this event in any way we would usually do as the promoter.”
Ultimately, it seems like an attempt by Live Nation proper to deny direct involvement in order to protect the company’s image. Their connection to this production, however indirect, cannot be overlooked since they own a majority-controlling stake in the promoter seeking to bring Kanye to Georgia.
As for how known antisemite Ye ended up in bed with an Israeli crew on a production just a quick flight away from Tel Aviv, the connection stems from the damage the Israeli music industry has suffered since the attack by Hamas near the Gaza border during the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
Before then, the country’s music market was booming, and Western artists were starting to see promotion in Tel Aviv to draw more international talent to the country. But since October 7, hardly any international acts have visited Israel, for a plethora of reasons that include, in no small part, a multi-front war.
Even if Israel doesn’t want Ye to play directly in their country, producers based in Israel seemingly like the idea of a (former) A-list artist playing a venue that’s a quick three-hour flight and a popular tourist destination for the Israeli people. And the best way to make that show happen is to place the production in the hands of Blue Stone Productions, so that neither Live Nation nor Israel has to take direct ownership of booking the noted antisemite—but both can still reap the benefits.
