Music's Pandora and Live Nation Disclose Executive Compensation

A couple of music companies reported Wednesday the compensation awarded to their top executives. In the last year, it paid a whole lot more to work for concert promoter and Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment that it did to work for the popular purveyor of Internet-streamed music Pandora Media.

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Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino earned $11.9 million in 2011, down from $15.9 million a year earlier, according to an SEC filing on Wedesday.

Rapino's compensation fell primarily because he received fewer stock awards in 2011 than he did the year before.

Joseph Kennedy, meanwhile, was paid $732,425 for his services as CEO of Pandora during the company's fiscal 2012, up from $503,829 the year before.

Neither company managed to turn a profit during their full fiscal years, though Live Nation generated a lot more revenue: $5.4 billion compared with Pandora's $274 million. And neither company did much for shareholders, with Live Nation's stock sinking 27 percent in 2011 and Pandora's stock being more than halved since its initial public offering in June.

Some of the biggest money in music, though, goes to LIve Nation executive chairman Irving Azoff, who saw his compensation shoot up to $34.6 million from $22.8 million the previous year.

A vast portion of Azoff's compenstation -- $25.3 million -- came by way of "all other compensation," which, according to the SEC filing, relates to his ownership interest in Front Line, a company he founded then sold to Live Nation.

Nathan Hubbard, CEO of Live Nation's Ticketmaster subsidiary, earned $4.1 million in 2011, down from $5.7 million.

Alan Ridgeway, president of international and emerging markets at Live Nation, earned $2.2 million, down from $4 million. Michael Rowles, general counsel, earned $1.5 million, down from $6 million in 2010 when his stock awards amounted to $3.8 million, and CFO Kathy Willard earned $2 million, down from $6.6 million when she also stock awards amounting to $3.8 million.

Over at Pandora, CFO Steven Cakebread earned $446,400 during the company's fiscal 2012, down from $1.1 million the year before. Thomas Conrad, the chief technology officer, earned $3.4 million, up from $405,000. Chief marketing officer Simon Fleming-Wood, who wasn't with the company a year ago, earned $2.7 million in fiscal 2012, and chief revenue officer John Trimble earned $4.6 million, up from $1.6 million, mostly because of $3.5 million in option awards.

Email: paul.bond@thr.com