Celine mentioned in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case

July 25, 2013 at 11:49 PM

I'm not sure if that's him????

Celine and controversy, lol, it only took her 30 years to be in the middle of crap!

lol true!

July 25, 2013 at 11:58 PM

Well, Céline will be all over the press... not necessarily for the right reasons but still... we should comment about her upcoming album on those stories... Free promotion!!! :giggle:

July 26, 2013 at 01:00 AM

Well that's very true we might as well make the best of it and do some promotion for Celine lol

July 26, 2013 at 01:01 AM

I'm out of likes :-(

July 26, 2013 at 05:01 AM

If Meglen only added "around the time of his death" in his statement, it would have been more accurate i guess... as in "I think Celine is bigger.. around the time of MJ's death."

Coz lets admit it, MJ has lost his popularity during the days leading up to his death... They were actually trying to "revive" his career with the This Is It tour... as opposed to Celine, who's had a very "stable" career ever since going to Vegas... thanks to a solid fan base.

So i guess Celine indeed was a bigger artist AT THAT TIME... but when you say OF ALL TIME, i think it's hands down Michael Jackson.

July 26, 2013 at 05:11 AM

It's just fun reading comments that defend our Celine :-)

OLEMAN

Celine Dion is definitely more dependable......MJ could barely walk, let alone moonwalk!!!!

M

I don't know about bigger, but she's definitely more respected and taken seriously.

SUSAN62509

Michael WOULD have earned $1.5 billion .......Celine is worth a measly $400 mil. OMG, "would have earned" and "worth" are two entirely different things. TMZ needs to go back to school and graduate this time around.

STATIC

The translation is Celine is a professional who gets out there and earns on a consistent basis, It comes down to strong work ethic vs MJ's weak to non existent work ethic.

PAX

Céline has a strong performance and touring history. She has performed consistently and reliably for years and always draws huge numbers. MJ hadn't had a top-earning tour since the 1987-1989 Bad Tour and he was notoriously unreliable as a business partner from the mid-'90s onward. I can understand how a concert executive would determine that a star with a solid performance record and high ticket sales is bigger than one with few recent performances, let alone tours or residencies. It's not that MJ wasn't more famous (he was and is) but that he hadn't made good on his earning potential as a live artist for many years. That's how I interpreted his opinion on the two artists.

JILL

CD is definitely a bigger deal than MJ. he was a drug addict and probably a pedophile. anyone with half a brain knew he was a mess . CD has her act together and a LOT less skeletons in the proverbial closet.

She is certainly a lot more respectable

PUDDING TANG

FYI: In most cases,grammys are awards for banality and mediocrity.

July 26, 2013 at 05:19 AM

In my opinion, I really think MJ is bigger... Cos MJ was already that successful when Celine was still very young... Even Celine herself is a big fan of MJ.

But I voted for Celine of course!

Edited July 26, 2013 at 05:23 AM by chinchin_dreampalace

July 26, 2013 at 05:31 AM

A very very interesting and FUNNY debate on the issue among TMZ staff... hahaha.. you have to see this!

http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_ho5ftpqy/

July 26, 2013 at 05:38 AM

I really don't understand... It was only the AEG guy's own opinion, there's nothing to debate or argue.

No doubt Celine and MJ are both the biggest stars in the world, and ppl should respect them both.

July 26, 2013 at 07:34 AM

OMG the video with the TMZ staff is so funny!

They are getting so angry over it!! Lol

July 26, 2013 at 09:22 AM

Tnx for sharing the TMZ link.

Well, this is not unfolding really well.. the whole argument started with Meglen saying Celine would be a more reliable and more profitable act today (or in 2009) than MJ. With Celine her track record -especially the last 10 years- this seems a grounded argument. However, no she is being used as lightning rod (Dutch saying probably.. hope you understand what I mean) in order to defend MJ career and artistry.

Well, from a MJ point of view; maybe the whole crap was going too far anyway..

Considering the dignity and the carefulness Celine -and the team- take into account when talking about other artists, this bluntness seems very uneasy and unfair.

July 26, 2013 at 10:47 AM

This is really unfair. I wonder if she and Rene know about the remarks yet?

July 26, 2013 at 01:05 PM

This is really unfair. I wonder if she and Rene know about the remarks yet?

OF COURSE THEY DO. AND THEY FEEL FREAKINGLY EMBARRASSED !

Edited July 26, 2013 at 01:05 PM by garçon

July 26, 2013 at 06:59 PM

OF COURSE THEY DO. AND THEY FEEL FREAKINGLY EMBARRASSED !

Why would they be embarrassed about it? They didn't say those things! She has no involvement in this......yet!

July 26, 2013 at 08:51 PM

One official representative, Meglen said so.

He's not a nobody.

July 27, 2013 at 03:43 AM

I can't believe Celine was even mentioned in the case -.- Of course MJ is "bigger". What does that have to do with Michael's wrongful death case?

July 27, 2013 at 07:20 PM

MJ's family is suing AEG, saying they shouldn't have hired the doctor that treated Michael. AEG also promoted Celine's Vegas shows, and Celine seems to have come up primarily when they were asking Meglen whether he agreed with some statement that Celine was a bigger artist than MJ (go to this page and search for the word Celine -- it comes up a few times: http://www.mjjcommun...582#post3874582)

It sounds pretty absurd . .like an argument that would be on this forum -- whether Celine or MJ is a bigger artist. Can't believe it's day 55 of this trial -- what a waste of resources.

I bet Rene is pretty angry at Paul Meglen right now. I wonder if they work with him a lot.

I agree with John Meglin and his following statement : "In my opinion Celine Dion is right up there with Michael Jackson and, to me, she is bigger."

IMO, Michael Jackson was totally overrated and overhyped. Thanks to all the controversies that has been surrounding him during almost all his career.

Watch these two videos and you'll see that he wasn't the greatest artist of all time.

Edited July 27, 2013 at 07:28 PM by GoldenLeaf

July 27, 2013 at 08:24 PM

Ok this is just ironic:

https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/4BEB8A272F972948307196645376_1da92a681a7.3.1_Zxp5mgnkv_5Q9lHvP73niaE4uw1BOSiZ1GSk_5hf_oOKYeWUlMsU.fEMjBP6qQP4.mp4?versionId=fV1SKgQ3bc6EDvDjZcgzAffcF2e0FU7b

Waiting for the concert to start and listen to what's playing in the background :wacko:

Why did he have to use Celine's name, why not Madonna or someone else?

April 8, 2017 at 05:04 PM

Amazing what you can find on the net!

I've been reading the MJ court transcripts and was pleasantly surprised by how heavily and favourably Celine figures in them.

And then I was about to post about them and so found this thread - and oh boy! What a completely different line of commentary here.

Why would you all be so surprised / outraged that John Meglen talks about Celine in his testimony?! He was, after all, testifying under oath. Questions were asked, he answered. As he was obliged to.

He runs AEG Concerts West and Celine is their best and most consistent business. MJ would have been a great deal for them, but clearly working on Celine's gigs is a huge part of John's job, and the closest comparable to MJ. So of course he would talk about her in this context!

Anyway, I happen to think Celine's presence in this testimony is pretty cool and, for geeks like myself, these transcripts make for fascinating reading.

All 3 days of John Meglen's testimony are here (Jul 22^nd-24^th): http://www.teammichaeljackson.com/jackson-v-aeg-the-trial

Here are some of the more interesting excerpts, but there's plenty more Celine in there.

[Jul 22^nd]

A. At a certain point, I moved more into just touring and the Vegas -- the Vegas project was a

very major project for us when we launched Celine's show in Las Vegas, and so I virtually

spent probably a year to two years going back and forth to Las Vegas on that.

Q. When you say the "Vegas project," what do you mean by that?

A. Celine Dion wanted to become a resident artist in Las Vegas and do a show with the

creator "O," a man named Franco Dragone.

Q. So that was a new kind of business for AEG Live?

A. Yeah, it was pretty much considered a -- you know, the -- the residency as we look at it

today in the music industry did not exist really up until Celine.

[...]

A. After we showed the first sizzle reel, I think I asked him the question if he would be

interested in doing something along the lines of what Celine was doing, to which he said no,

he didn't want to do that right now. He went on about that he had written a -- was -- had

written a -- a miniseries with another lady on -- about King Tut. King tut was a big -- I guess a

favorite subject of his.

Q. So when you say what Celine Dion was doing, do you mean the --

A. The residency at Caesars Palace.

Q. So you asked Mr. Jackson whether he would want to do a Vegas-style residency?

A. Yeah. I said, "would you be interested in doing something like that?" and his answer was

no, he wasn't ready to do something like that.

[Jul 23]

Q. Have you ever been in a situation where a show director is frustrated because an artist is not

rehearsing, in their view, enough?

A. Absolutely.

Q. Can you give us some examples?

A. Franco Dragone and Celine Dion for her show "a new day." it drove Franco Crazy that she wouldn't

show up for rehearsals.

Q. Did the show open?

A. Yeah. I mean, she knows her stuff. I wasn't worried about Celine, I was more concerned about Franco and him having a nervous breakdown.

Q. So is that kind of thing common where a director wants an artist to show up more often?

Mr. Panish: Foundation.

Q. In your experience?

Mr. Panish: Foundation. Foundation.

Judge: Overruled. You may answer.

A. In my experience, people automatically want to think that rehearsals is about the artists themselves,

and in many, many ways it's more about the people around the artist. The artist knows what they're

going to do. It's all the people around them that need to learn everything, and what they're going to do

in their role in this big play that's going on.

Q. Another thing that has come up in this case is the use of teleprompters or other kinds of ways for an

artist to remember their words during the show. Have you ever seen that on any concerts that you've

worked on for AEG Live or others?

A. Yes.

Q. Again, is that something that, in your experience, is common or uncommon with the artists you've

worked with?

Mr. Panish: For the record, his experience should be expert testimony.

Ms. Stebbins: Your honor, it's not expert testimony.

Judge: Overruled.

The witness: Of all of the tours I have done, I would say that I've seen many, many teleprompters. I

might even say I've seen more tours with teleprompters than without.

Q. And I'm guessing you may not be able to give any examples of those for artist confidentiality

reasons?

Judge: Artists don't like to admit they're using a teleprompter?

The witness: Yeah. I'm just concerned about, you know, people I know using teleprompters, and

whether they want me to tell who they are.

Judge: Maybe you can give numbers.

Mr. Panish: How can he answer without telling us who? They give numbers, but -- I'll ask. That's

improper, "this is the answer, but I can't tell you."

Ms. Stebbins: Can you give us an estimate of how often it's happened? I'm not going to tell you --

A. You know, I mean, Barrack Obama uses teleprompters. It's very common to use teleprompters for

an artist. Teleprompters or ear monitors. I will tell you that on Celine, she uses both teleprompters, but

she also has her brother speaking into her ear the entire show. And so he is reciting words to her before

she sings them. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen. But -- like a newscaster or something.

But, yes, it's very common to -- we use teleprompters all the time on many, many tours, many, many

shows.

Q. Now, we've had some testimony on this, but can you explain to me what a residency is?

A. A residency is where an artist agrees to perform at one venue for an extended period of time,

preferably, you know, within some type of geographic protection. In other words, they can't play

anywhere else in North America, or anywhere else in the world, or anywhere west of the Mississippi, or

things of that nature. And their show is there.

Q. And I'm going to hold you up a second, because I didn't understand that last bit. "geographic

protection," what do you mean?

A. Yes. You want to say this is the only place in the world you can see them, or the only place in North

America you can see this.

Q. So if an artist is playing a residency in Las Vegas, they're not going to be simultaneously touring

somewhere else?

A. Correct.

Q. All right. What are some reasons that artists have given you for choosing residencies?

A. Well, it's -- to a lot of them, it's a lot easier than traveling from city to city all the time. For some

people, Celine specifically, it's about her children and that she's a mom and that she's at home, and she

only works when Rene-Charles is not in school. So it's a lot of factors like that, from a -- call it a

lifestyle side. From the economics side, it can be very rewarding. It can be what we call a "high artist

net" situation. And the reason we use that there is because in the venue, there is already sound and

lights and video screens. And we have hotel rooms and employee cafeterias, so they don't need buses,

they don't need trucks, they don't need hotel rooms, they don't need to pay their staff and crews per

diems. They don't need to worry about sound and lighting contracts and vendors and things like that, so

it generates a very high net situation for them.

Q. Which artists have you worked with for Las Vegas residencies? And I apologize if I asked you this

yesterday.

A. Let's see. At the Coliseum, it's been Celine, Elton, Rod, Cher, Bette Midler, Shania Twain, Jerry

Seinfeld. At the Hard Rock it has been Def Leppard, Motley Crew, Guns n' Roses, Santana. At Paris

Hotel it was Barry Manilow, and a couple other minor ones.

Q. What's the range of time that a residency lasts? Are all of those of equal length?

A. With the artists headlining?

Q. Yeah.

A. You know, Celine is the exception. The others are really, maybe, low of two, to a high of five years.

Q. So someone may stay in one place for two to five years?

A. Yeah.

Q. What's the longest?

A. Celine has been the longest. She did a five, six-year run, and now she's back again and has already done 150 shows in the second run, second show.

A. No, I know what a typical residency schedule looks like and probably what one should look like.

Q. What does it look like?

A. Four shows a week to maybe a maximum of five. If you go down to three, you can kind of pull it

off, but it gets really tight on the money. A. Three-week run is great. That's like 12 shows a run. And

do that four times a year, once each quarter, so that's 48 shows. That's, to me, the perfect residency, and

then you do that for a two- or three-year period.

Q. So you said four to five shows per week?

A. Yes.

Q. That seems -- well, we've heard testimony in the case that the "This Is It" tour was scheduled to be

about two, two and a half shows per week.

A. Could not do a residency if you're doing two and a half shows a week.

Q. Why not? A. You wouldn't generate enough revenue to pay -- well, not only would you not

generate enough revenue, the hotel wouldn't let you. The hotel wants -- the casino wants something

there every night, you know. So they're not going to let you take over an entire theater and only do two

and a half shows a week. They're going to say, "wait a minute. We need people on our property every

night." they can understand a couple nights off, but not five nights you're off.

Q. And you said you wouldn't make money. What do you mean by that?

A. Well, you just wouldn't generate enough revenue to make it worthwhile.

Q. Is that because of the size of the theaters or the prices or -- I guess I'm asking, why wouldn't it make

money at two and a half shows per week?

A. Well, if you're going to do a residency, you're talking about repeating, doing things over and over

and over again, so that's going to factor into your pricing. So you can't -- you know, if you've got

Barbra Streisand coming in and doing one show in a 4,000-seater, you can charge a ton of money for

one show. But when you're trying to do something over and over and over again, you need to bring that

ticket price down. So at the Coliseum, we always have a $50 ticket. That's very important to us, that

there's always a $50 ticket there.

Q. And at that price, you need to be more than two and a half shows a week to be viable,

economically?

A. Yes. I mean, we have -- we have our price as high as $250, but, you know, when you're only doing

-- you know, the average ticket price on a headliner basis, average is probably between 100 and $125 a

ticket. So in a 4,000-seater, it means you have a $400,000 gross, at best, if you sell out. And if you only

do two shows a week, that's only $800,000. That might not even cover your weekly operating expenses.

Q. I was going to ask: $800,000 sounds like a good amount of money. Where does that money go?

A. Well, you have to pay -- in residence situations, you have to pay your band members, you have to

pay your immediate staff, your band roadies. You have to pay your hairdresser and your wardrobe, your

doctor -- whoever you have out there with you, you have to pay for all of those people. So, you know,

again, he would be earning -- well, he wouldn't -- you know, of the 800,000, we'd first have to take out

the show costs. So --

Judge: Can I ask you a question? Are you talking about whether it's viable for AEG Or whether it's

viable for the artist?

The witness: Viable for the artist.

Judge: Well, you're saying the artist has to pay all this stuff. I'm a little confused as to who it's viable

for and who it's not.

The witness: It actually would be viable for the promoter, because we'd only have two shows a week,

so I wouldn't have any worry about selling them. It would sell, because he's only doing two shows a

week. So -- and the promoter makes money based on how many tickets you sell less the show cost. So

let's say the show costs were $100,000 a show at the Coliseum, and you grossed 800,000. You would

have 600 left. On a standard 90/10 deal, the promoter would make $60,000, and the artist would make

$540,000. Then out of his $540,000, he would then have to pay his expenses, the ones that are not

covered by the production that exists in the building; okay? So on tour, he'd have to pay sound and

lights. In a residency, he doesn't have to pay sound and lights. So he has less costs.

Judge: He has less costs on tour or less --

The witness: On residency.

Judge: -- on residency?

The witness: But he still has costs. I mean, he still has real costs he has to pay for.

Q. So if I understand you correctly, the promoter might make money at two shows a week, but the

artist is likely not to be able to cover the costs, even if the costs are lower for a residency than a

concert?

A. Correct.

[...]

Q. Okay. Well, Celine Dion, is she honest?

A. Yes, very.

Q. And how many years have you been working with Celine Dion?

A. Celine, 12 years.

Q. 12 years. So you're very familiar with her career?

A. Yes, I am.

Q. And are you familiar with her history and her work and all the stuff she's done?

Ms. Bina. Objection, vague as to "all the stuff she's done."

Panish. As a musician and artist.

Judge. Overruled.

A. I don't think I'd be familiar with all that she has done. I'm familiar with a lot of what she's done.

Panish. Well, you, as her promoter... you'd be expected that you would know about her biggest

concerts, wouldn't you?

A. I would know about the biggest concerts that I was involved in.

Q. Okay. Well, wouldn't you know historically about her biggest concerts since you're promoting her

all the time?

A. Not necessarily. I wouldn't necessarily know about her Asian and European shows that I did not

promote.

Q. Well, sir, when you promote her on your AEG website, you have a link to her website, don't you?

A. I believe so.

Q. And...

A. Hope so.

Q. And you would expect Celine Dion to be honest and trustworthy and rely on the information she

puts on her website, wouldn't you, sir?

A. Yes, I would.

[and then they go into a line of questioning about whether Celine's site is or isn't correct]

Q. How much... how much does Celine Dion's doctor get paid, sir?

A. You know, I don't know.

Q. It comes out of the production budget, doesn't it, sir?

A. She's paid a per-show operating budget and they spend the money out of that.

Q. Sir, isn't Celine Dion's doctor paid out of the production budget for the show in Las Vegas?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. And you told us how familiar you are with that show and the budgets for that show, didn't

you, sir?

Ms. Bina. Objection, misstates the testimony.

Judge. Overruled.

A. I'm not going to tell you I know what every single person on her staff makes. Nobody...

Panish. I only want to know the doctor, sir.

A. Well, that's not one that's ever been high on my list.

Q. Well, sir... how many budgets for Celine Dion... you've told us all about it. How often do you

review the budgets?

A. The operating budgets?

Q. Yes, where you're paying out doctors like Celine Dion's doctor?

A. I pay Celine Dion an amount of money to which she pays the doctor out of that money. I don't

know how much she pays the doctor out of that money.

Q. Right. So that's how you would expect normally it would be done if the artist has their doctor, you

would give the money to the artist and the artist would pay the doctor, right?

A. Celine has her own in-house production company called C.D.A. Productions. Other artists do not

have the luxury of having that. If they had that, they would not... if they had that, they wouldn't need

us.

Q. Okay. So let's take the two that you know about. Celine Dion. Celine Dion did not have a... her

doctor did not have a contract with AEG, correct?

Ms. Bina. Objection, asked and answered.

Judge. Overruled.

A. AEG Did not have a contract with Celine's doctor.

Panish. AEG Did not negotiate the price that the doctor was going to get to pay... get paid, did they?

A. No, they did not.

Q. AEG Didn't have the term... didn't negotiate the terms under which the doctor was to work, did

they?

A. No, they did not.

Q. AEG Couldn't fire the doctor at any time, could they?

A. No, they could not.

Q. Did the doctor arrange the rehearsal schedule for Celine Dion?

A. I do not know the answer to that question.

Q. Okay. Now... and AEG, as far as you know, wasn't paying the doctor to set the rehearsal schedule,

were they?

A. AEG Was not paying the doctor directly on Celine Dion.

Q. Were they paying the doctor indirectly?

A. The... AEG Paid the weekly operating... or, actually, it was a per-show operating expense to

C.D.A. Productions, who, in turn, paid the doctor.

Q. Oh, so you know that they paid the doctor? You've seen...

A. No. I'm assuming they paid the doctor. I don't think the doctor worked for free.

Q. Okay. Was Celine Dion's doctor on your budgets?

A. Celine's doctor was on the original operating budget.

Q. Was he taken off?

A. No.

Q. So it's still on the budget, then? Because when I asked you before...

A. Well, it's... not today.

Q. I asked you before how much was for the doctor, and you said, "we don't have it on the budget. We

just give the artist money," because that's why you couldn't tell me the amount. I said, "don't you

review the budgets?" now you're telling me that it was in the budget. So what is it?

A. He was listed as a person that would be paid for out of their weekly operating expense, and that's

what I mean by he was on... he was an area that they were responsible for.

Q. Who is "they"?

A. C.D.A.

Q. Celine's company?

A. Correct.

Q. Okay. Not AEG?

A. Correct.

Q. Okay. But you can't tell me that amount, right?

A. No, because they wouldn't disclose the amount that was in there, they would simply say that the

operating budget covers these items.

[this whole doctor convo about Celine's doctor goes on for a while, understandably, given the circumstances]

[Jul 24]

Q. And Celine Dion’s shows that you told -- her -- when she's performing -- her shows went

from 2002 to 2007, right?

A. Correct.

Q. And then she came back in 2008; is that right?

A. No. It was later than that. Its '13 now, about 150 show -- I don't think she came back until

‘10 or something, somewhere in there, '10 or '11, maybe.

Q. And she signed another ten-year contract?

A. No, it is not a ten-year contract.

Q. Well, how long is the contract? 2018, isn't it?

A. We have not publicly announced how long her contract is; but the contract is through 20

and, I believe, 18.

Q. Okay. Now it's public.

A. I know. You're going to kill my sales.

Q. And you told us that Celine Dion, one of the reasons that she likes to perform there is

because she has a family, right?

A. Correct.

Q. And it's very lucrative, correct?

A. Correct.

[…]

Q. do you agree with Mr. Phillips that Michael Jackson was bigger than celine dion?

A. that is a personal opinion.

Q. Sir, could you please try to answer the Question? Do you agree with Randy phillips, the c.e.o.

Of Your company, that Michael Jackson was a bigger artist than celine dion? "yes" or "no"?

A. I do, myself, personally believe that that is Not true.

Q. Okay. Well, you can say "no." that's okay. So celine dion, in your opinion, is a bigger Artist

than Michael Jackson; right?

A. So in my opinion, celine is right up there with Michael Jackson, yes. And, to me, she is

bigger.

Q. Okay. All you got to do is say "yes." it's Okay

April 8, 2017 at 05:23 PM

I thought that was interesting.

I wonder about the rehearsal if Céline didn't show up for scheduled rehearsal for her or if Franco just expected her to be there all the time for all rehearsal. That's some difference.

April 8, 2017 at 06:36 PM

Maybe that was about rehearsing in Belgium. Wasn't she supposed to rehearse for 6 months or something like that and she ended up being there for a month?

A. So in my opinion, celine is right up there with Michael Jackson, yes. And, to me, she is
bigger.
Q. Okay. All you got to do is say "yes." it's Okay

Hell yes! :w00tbounce:

April 8, 2017 at 06:47 PM

Fascinating! Thank you!

April 8, 2017 at 07:04 PM

Celine is wayyyyyy bigger than MJ

April 8, 2017 at 08:24 PM

Amazing what you can find on the net!
I've been reading the MJ court transcripts and was pleasantly surprised by how heavily and favourably Celine figures in them.

And then I was about to post about them and so found this thread - and oh boy! What a completely different line of commentary here.

Why would you all be so surprised / outraged that John Meglen talks about Celine in his testimony?! He was, after all, testifying under oath. Questions were asked, he answered. As he was obliged to.
He runs AEG Concerts West and Celine is their best and most consistent business. MJ would have been a great deal for them, but clearly working on Celine's gigs is a huge part of John's job, and the closest comparable to MJ. So of course he would talk about her in this context!

Anyway, I happen to think Celine's presence in this testimony is pretty cool and, for geeks like myself, these transcripts make for fascinating reading.

All 3 days of John Meglen's testimony are here (Jul 22^nd-24^th): http://www.teammicha...v-aeg-the-trial

Here are some of the more interesting excerpts, but there's plenty more Celine in there.

[Jul 22^nd]
A. At a certain point, I moved more into just touring and the Vegas -- the Vegas project was a
very major project for us when we launched Celine's show in Las Vegas, and so I virtually
spent probably a year to two years going back and forth to Las Vegas on that.
Q. When you say the "Vegas project," what do you mean by that?
A. Celine Dion wanted to become a resident artist in Las Vegas and do a show with the
creator "O," a man named Franco Dragone.
Q. So that was a new kind of business for AEG Live?
A. Yeah, it was pretty much considered a -- you know, the -- the residency as we look at it
today in the music industry did not exist really up until Celine.
[...]
A. After we showed the first sizzle reel, I think I asked him the question if he would be
interested in doing something along the lines of what Celine was doing, to which he said no,
he didn't want to do that right now. He went on about that he had written a -- was -- had
written a -- a miniseries with another lady on -- about King Tut. King tut was a big -- I guess a
favorite subject of his.
Q. So when you say what Celine Dion was doing, do you mean the --
A. The residency at Caesars Palace.
Q. So you asked Mr. Jackson whether he would want to do a Vegas-style residency?
A. Yeah. I said, "would you be interested in doing something like that?" and his answer was
no, he wasn't ready to do something like that.

[Jul 23]
Q. Have you ever been in a situation where a show director is frustrated because an artist is not
rehearsing, in their view, enough?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Can you give us some examples?
A. Franco Dragone and Celine Dion for her show "a new day." it drove Franco Crazy that she wouldn't
show up for rehearsals.
Q. Did the show open?
A. Yeah. I mean, she knows her stuff. I wasn't worried about Celine, I was more concerned about Franco and him having a nervous breakdown.
Q. So is that kind of thing common where a director wants an artist to show up more often?
Mr. Panish: Foundation.
Q. In your experience?
Mr. Panish: Foundation. Foundation.
Judge: Overruled. You may answer.
A. In my experience, people automatically want to think that rehearsals is about the artists themselves,
and in many, many ways it's more about the people around the artist. The artist knows what they're
going to do. It's all the people around them that need to learn everything, and what they're going to do
in their role in this big play that's going on.
Q. Another thing that has come up in this case is the use of teleprompters or other kinds of ways for an
artist to remember their words during the show. Have you ever seen that on any concerts that you've
worked on for AEG Live or others?
A. Yes.
Q. Again, is that something that, in your experience, is common or uncommon with the artists you've
worked with?
Mr. Panish: For the record, his experience should be expert testimony.
Ms. Stebbins: Your honor, it's not expert testimony.
Judge: Overruled.
The witness: Of all of the tours I have done, I would say that I've seen many, many teleprompters. I
might even say I've seen more tours with teleprompters than without.
Q. And I'm guessing you may not be able to give any examples of those for artist confidentiality
reasons?
Judge: Artists don't like to admit they're using a teleprompter?
The witness: Yeah. I'm just concerned about, you know, people I know using teleprompters, and
whether they want me to tell who they are.
Judge: Maybe you can give numbers.
Mr. Panish: How can he answer without telling us who? They give numbers, but -- I'll ask. That's
improper, "this is the answer, but I can't tell you."
Ms. Stebbins: Can you give us an estimate of how often it's happened? I'm not going to tell you --
A. You know, I mean, Barrack Obama uses teleprompters. It's very common to use teleprompters for
an artist. Teleprompters or ear monitors. I will tell you that on Celine, she uses both teleprompters, but
she also has her brother speaking into her ear the entire show. And so he is reciting words to her before
she sings them. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen. But -- like a newscaster or something.
But, yes, it's very common to -- we use teleprompters all the time on many, many tours, many, many
shows.
Q. Now, we've had some testimony on this, but can you explain to me what a residency is?
A. A residency is where an artist agrees to perform at one venue for an extended period of time,
preferably, you know, within some type of geographic protection. In other words, they can't play
anywhere else in North America, or anywhere else in the world, or anywhere west of the Mississippi, or
things of that nature. And their show is there.
Q. And I'm going to hold you up a second, because I didn't understand that last bit. "geographic
protection," what do you mean?
A. Yes. You want to say this is the only place in the world you can see them, or the only place in North
America you can see this.
Q. So if an artist is playing a residency in Las Vegas, they're not going to be simultaneously touring
somewhere else?
A. Correct.
Q. All right. What are some reasons that artists have given you for choosing residencies?
A. Well, it's -- to a lot of them, it's a lot easier than traveling from city to city all the time. For some
people, Celine specifically, it's about her children and that she's a mom and that she's at home, and she
only works when Rene-Charles is not in school. So it's a lot of factors like that, from a -- call it a
lifestyle side. From the economics side, it can be very rewarding. It can be what we call a "high artist
net" situation. And the reason we use that there is because in the venue, there is already sound and
lights and video screens. And we have hotel rooms and employee cafeterias, so they don't need buses,
they don't need trucks, they don't need hotel rooms, they don't need to pay their staff and crews per
diems. They don't need to worry about sound and lighting contracts and vendors and things like that, so
it generates a very high net situation for them.
Q. Which artists have you worked with for Las Vegas residencies? And I apologize if I asked you this
yesterday.
A. Let's see. At the Coliseum, it's been Celine, Elton, Rod, Cher, Bette Midler, Shania Twain, Jerry
Seinfeld. At the Hard Rock it has been Def Leppard, Motley Crew, Guns n' Roses, Santana. At Paris
Hotel it was Barry Manilow, and a couple other minor ones.
Q. What's the range of time that a residency lasts? Are all of those of equal length?
A. With the artists headlining?
Q. Yeah.
A. You know, Celine is the exception. The others are really, maybe, low of two, to a high of five years.
Q. So someone may stay in one place for two to five years?
A. Yeah.
Q. What's the longest?
A. Celine has been the longest. She did a five, six-year run, and now she's back again and has already done 150 shows in the second run, second show.
A. No, I know what a typical residency schedule looks like and probably what one should look like.
Q. What does it look like?
A. Four shows a week to maybe a maximum of five. If you go down to three, you can kind of pull it
off, but it gets really tight on the money. A. Three-week run is great. That's like 12 shows a run. And
do that four times a year, once each quarter, so that's 48 shows. That's, to me, the perfect residency, and
then you do that for a two- or three-year period.
Q. So you said four to five shows per week?
A. Yes.
Q. That seems -- well, we've heard testimony in the case that the "This Is It" tour was scheduled to be
about two, two and a half shows per week.
A. Could not do a residency if you're doing two and a half shows a week.
Q. Why not? A. You wouldn't generate enough revenue to pay -- well, not only would you not
generate enough revenue, the hotel wouldn't let you. The hotel wants -- the casino wants something
there every night, you know. So they're not going to let you take over an entire theater and only do two
and a half shows a week. They're going to say, "wait a minute. We need people on our property every
night." they can understand a couple nights off, but not five nights you're off.
Q. And you said you wouldn't make money. What do you mean by that?
A. Well, you just wouldn't generate enough revenue to make it worthwhile.
Q. Is that because of the size of the theaters or the prices or -- I guess I'm asking, why wouldn't it make
money at two and a half shows per week?
A. Well, if you're going to do a residency, you're talking about repeating, doing things over and over
and over again, so that's going to factor into your pricing. So you can't -- you know, if you've got
Barbra Streisand coming in and doing one show in a 4,000-seater, you can charge a ton of money for
one show. But when you're trying to do something over and over and over again, you need to bring that
ticket price down. So at the Coliseum, we always have a $50 ticket. That's very important to us, that
there's always a $50 ticket there.
Q. And at that price, you need to be more than two and a half shows a week to be viable,
economically?
A. Yes. I mean, we have -- we have our price as high as $250, but, you know, when you're only doing
-- you know, the average ticket price on a headliner basis, average is probably between 100 and $125 a
ticket. So in a 4,000-seater, it means you have a $400,000 gross, at best, if you sell out. And if you only
do two shows a week, that's only $800,000. That might not even cover your weekly operating expenses.
Q. I was going to ask: $800,000 sounds like a good amount of money. Where does that money go?
A. Well, you have to pay -- in residence situations, you have to pay your band members, you have to
pay your immediate staff, your band roadies. You have to pay your hairdresser and your wardrobe, your
doctor -- whoever you have out there with you, you have to pay for all of those people. So, you know,
again, he would be earning -- well, he wouldn't -- you know, of the 800,000, we'd first have to take out
the show costs. So --
Judge: Can I ask you a question? Are you talking about whether it's viable for AEG Or whether it's
viable for the artist?
The witness: Viable for the artist.
Judge: Well, you're saying the artist has to pay all this stuff. I'm a little confused as to who it's viable
for and who it's not.
The witness: It actually would be viable for the promoter, because we'd only have two shows a week,
so I wouldn't have any worry about selling them. It would sell, because he's only doing two shows a
week. So -- and the promoter makes money based on how many tickets you sell less the show cost. So
let's say the show costs were $100,000 a show at the Coliseum, and you grossed 800,000. You would
have 600 left. On a standard 90/10 deal, the promoter would make $60,000, and the artist would make
$540,000. Then out of his $540,000, he would then have to pay his expenses, the ones that are not
covered by the production that exists in the building; okay? So on tour, he'd have to pay sound and
lights. In a residency, he doesn't have to pay sound and lights. So he has less costs.
Judge: He has less costs on tour or less --
The witness: On residency.
Judge: -- on residency?
The witness: But he still has costs. I mean, he still has real costs he has to pay for.
Q. So if I understand you correctly, the promoter might make money at two shows a week, but the
artist is likely not to be able to cover the costs, even if the costs are lower for a residency than a
concert?
A. Correct.
[...]

Q. Okay. Well, Celine Dion, is she honest?
A. Yes, very.
Q. And how many years have you been working with Celine Dion?
A. Celine, 12 years.
Q. 12 years. So you're very familiar with her career?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. And are you familiar with her history and her work and all the stuff she's done?
Ms. Bina. Objection, vague as to "all the stuff she's done."
Panish. As a musician and artist.
Judge. Overruled.
A. I don't think I'd be familiar with all that she has done. I'm familiar with a lot of what she's done.
Panish. Well, you, as her promoter... you'd be expected that you would know about her biggest
concerts, wouldn't you?
A. I would know about the biggest concerts that I was involved in.
Q. Okay. Well, wouldn't you know historically about her biggest concerts since you're promoting her
all the time?
A. Not necessarily. I wouldn't necessarily know about her Asian and European shows that I did not
promote.
Q. Well, sir, when you promote her on your AEG website, you have a link to her website, don't you?
A. I believe so.
Q. And...
A. Hope so.
Q. And you would expect Celine Dion to be honest and trustworthy and rely on the information she
puts on her website, wouldn't you, sir?
A. Yes, I would.
[and then they go into a line of questioning about whether Celine's site is or isn't correct]

Q. How much... how much does Celine Dion's doctor get paid, sir?
A. You know, I don't know.
Q. It comes out of the production budget, doesn't it, sir?
A. She's paid a per-show operating budget and they spend the money out of that.
Q. Sir, isn't Celine Dion's doctor paid out of the production budget for the show in Las Vegas?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And you told us how familiar you are with that show and the budgets for that show, didn't
you, sir?
Ms. Bina. Objection, misstates the testimony.
Judge. Overruled.
A. I'm not going to tell you I know what every single person on her staff makes. Nobody...
Panish. I only want to know the doctor, sir.
A. Well, that's not one that's ever been high on my list.
Q. Well, sir... how many budgets for Celine Dion... you've told us all about it. How often do you
review the budgets?
A. The operating budgets?
Q. Yes, where you're paying out doctors like Celine Dion's doctor?
A. I pay Celine Dion an amount of money to which she pays the doctor out of that money. I don't
know how much she pays the doctor out of that money.
Q. Right. So that's how you would expect normally it would be done if the artist has their doctor, you
would give the money to the artist and the artist would pay the doctor, right?
A. Celine has her own in-house production company called C.D.A. Productions. Other artists do not
have the luxury of having that. If they had that, they would not... if they had that, they wouldn't need
us.
Q. Okay. So let's take the two that you know about. Celine Dion. Celine Dion did not have a... her
doctor did not have a contract with AEG, correct?
Ms. Bina. Objection, asked and answered.
Judge. Overruled.
A. AEG Did not have a contract with Celine's doctor.
Panish. AEG Did not negotiate the price that the doctor was going to get to pay... get paid, did they?
A. No, they did not.
Q. AEG Didn't have the term... didn't negotiate the terms under which the doctor was to work, did
they?
A. No, they did not.
Q. AEG Couldn't fire the doctor at any time, could they?
A. No, they could not.
Q. Did the doctor arrange the rehearsal schedule for Celine Dion?
A. I do not know the answer to that question.
Q. Okay. Now... and AEG, as far as you know, wasn't paying the doctor to set the rehearsal schedule,
were they?
A. AEG Was not paying the doctor directly on Celine Dion.
Q. Were they paying the doctor indirectly?
A. The... AEG Paid the weekly operating... or, actually, it was a per-show operating expense to
C.D.A. Productions, who, in turn, paid the doctor.
Q. Oh, so you know that they paid the doctor? You've seen...
A. No. I'm assuming they paid the doctor. I don't think the doctor worked for free.
Q. Okay. Was Celine Dion's doctor on your budgets?
A. Celine's doctor was on the original operating budget.
Q. Was he taken off?
A. No.
Q. So it's still on the budget, then? Because when I asked you before...
A. Well, it's... not today.
Q. I asked you before how much was for the doctor, and you said, "we don't have it on the budget. We
just give the artist money," because that's why you couldn't tell me the amount. I said, "don't you
review the budgets?" now you're telling me that it was in the budget. So what is it?
A. He was listed as a person that would be paid for out of their weekly operating expense, and that's
what I mean by he was on... he was an area that they were responsible for.
Q. Who is "they"?
A. C.D.A.
Q. Celine's company?
A. Correct.
Q. Okay. Not AEG?
A. Correct.
Q. Okay. But you can't tell me that amount, right?
A. No, because they wouldn't disclose the amount that was in there, they would simply say that the
operating budget covers these items.
[this whole doctor convo about Celine's doctor goes on for a while, understandably, given the circumstances]

[Jul 24]
Q. And Celine Dion’s shows that you told -- her -- when she's performing -- her shows went
from 2002 to 2007, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And then she came back in 2008; is that right?
A. No. It was later than that. Its '13 now, about 150 show -- I don't think she came back until
‘10 or something, somewhere in there, '10 or '11, maybe.
Q. And she signed another ten-year contract?
A. No, it is not a ten-year contract.
Q. Well, how long is the contract? 2018, isn't it?
A. We have not publicly announced how long her contract is; but the contract is through 20
and, I believe, 18.
Q. Okay. Now it's public.
A. I know. You're going to kill my sales.
Q. And you told us that Celine Dion, one of the reasons that she likes to perform there is
because she has a family, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And it's very lucrative, correct?
A. Correct.
[…]
Q. do you agree with Mr. Phillips that Michael Jackson was bigger than celine dion?
A. that is a personal opinion.
Q. Sir, could you please try to answer the Question? Do you agree with Randy phillips, the c.e.o.
Of Your company, that Michael Jackson was a bigger artist than celine dion? "yes" or "no"?
A. I do, myself, personally believe that that is Not true.
Q. Okay. Well, you can say "no." that's okay. So celine dion, in your opinion, is a bigger Artist
than Michael Jackson; right?
A. So in my opinion, celine is right up there with Michael Jackson, yes. And, to me, she is
bigger.
Q. Okay. All you got to do is say "yes." it's Okay

Thanks for posting. After reading my previous comments in this thread it just goes to show that I shouldn't be commenting on things I have no clue about! :wacko:

Edited April 8, 2017 at 08:26 PM by DionFanAlways

April 8, 2017 at 09:04 PM

That whole thing about Celine's doctor was ridiculous. It was cut and dry. AEG gives the money to CDA. CDA pays the doctor from that money. Why keep badgering on? What was not to understand about that? I'm no business man, but that seemed to be explained in the most simple terms possible.

April 8, 2017 at 09:17 PM

That whole thing about Celine's doctor was ridiculous. It was cut and dry. AEG gives the money to CDA. CDA pays the doctor from that money. Why keep badgering on? What was not to understand about that? I'm no business man, but that seemed to be explained in the most simple terms possible.

I didn't really follow closely, but seems that was the focal point of the trial.

http://www.rollingst...awsuit-20131004

"In three days of deliberations that foreman Gregg Barden called "extremely stressful," according to the Los Angeles Times, the jury debated the question of whether Jackson or AEG hired Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after giving Jackson a deadly dose of propofol in June 2009. The jury found that AEG did, in fact, hire Murray, but answered "no" to the next crucial question, which was whether Murray was unfit or incompetent at the time to be Jackson's doctor."

http://www.hollywood...t-revive-768684

"In the lawsuit, filed by the pop star's mother, Katherine Jackson, in 2010 seeking $1.5 billion in damages, the family argued that the concert promoter had negligently hired and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for providing Jackson the anesthetic that caused his death.

In pretrial proceedings, the promoter won summary decisions against the Jacksons' claims of negligence and respondeat superior liability. The remaining cause of action — negligent hiring, retention and supervision — went to trial in October 2013. The jury found that while AEG had hired Murray, it wasn't responsible for his actions as an independent contractor and denied the Jacksons' claims."

Edited April 8, 2017 at 09:23 PM by scielle

April 8, 2017 at 09:24 PM

That whole thing about Celine's doctor was ridiculous. It was cut and dry. AEG gives the money to CDA. CDA pays the doctor from that money. Why keep badgering on? What was not to understand about that? I'm no business man, but that seemed to be explained in the most simple terms possible.

I'm imagining it must have something to do with the fact that MJ was (allegedly?) killed by his doctor. The lawyers were trying to figure out if AEG was responsible for hiring Celine's doctor so they could prove that AEG was responsible for MJ's doctor? That's the only thing I can think of for such specific questioning.

April 8, 2017 at 09:52 PM

Yes, I understand the importance in the line of questioning, as AEG in fact did have Jackson's doctor on their payroll. But in reference to Celine's doctor, he was employed by CDA productions. CDA productions was given the money for expenses outside of show production. CDA then paid Celine's doctor directly. That was very simply explained. But they kept badgering.

April 8, 2017 at 10:16 PM

Yes, I understand the importance in the line of questioning, as AEG in fact did have Jackson's doctor on their payroll. But in reference to Celine's doctor, he was employed by CDA productions. CDA productions was given the money for expenses outside of show production. CDA then paid Celine's doctor directly. That was very simply explained. But they kept badgering.

But that's what lawyers do. Haven't you ever watched a soap opera? Or Law & Order?

April 8, 2017 at 10:32 PM

But that's what lawyers do. Haven't you ever watched a soap opera? Or Law & Order?

...or read Javito's posts?

:giggle:

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