Live Nation chairman resigns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Live Nation Chairman Michael Cohl, the driving force behind the concert promoter's wooing of superstars such as Madonna, has resigned, the company said on Friday after a disagreement over strategy.

Cohl, who was head of Live Nation's artists division, has moved to a consultant role and stepped down from the board, the company said. Live Nation's shares fell almost 10 percent in anticipation of the news carried in earlier reports.

At issue are "360 deals" under which Live Nation signed major name artists such as Madonna and Jay-Z, giving them big upfront payments in exchange for financial rights to nearly all their business activities, from recording to licensing, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Cohl wanted to sign more such deals at a faster pace, while Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino preferred signing around four to six artists a year, the person said.

"We are committed to acquiring additional artists' rights beyond the concert tour, including unified rights deals with select artists," Rapino said in a statement, adding that the company was near to closing the long-term deal with U2.

"At the same time, we continue to take a disciplined financial approach and are focused on expanding cash flow and margins and increasing value for shareholders."

Cohl said in the statement that he remained committed to helping Live Nation grow.

David Joyce, an analyst at Miller Tabak, downgraded Live Nation earlier on Friday due to the management uncertainty, but said after speaking with Live Nation's Rapino he was reassured by the fact Cohl had not sold off his stock, even though he was stepping down from the board.

"Cohl's never run a public company and wanted to build the business with much more quickly than Rapino," said Joyce. "There's still a good working relationship between Cohl and Rapino."