Randy Phillips, ousted yesterday as president/CEO of AEG Live, the concert promotion arm of Anschutz Entertainment Group, was predictably upbeat when he talked to Billboard today. “I ended a 13-year run [at AEG Live] having the biggest year the company ever had, working with great people I hired trained and mentored,” he says. “I’ve got a great contract, they’re honoring it, I was terminated without cause, so life’s good.” Asked about the timing of his exit, Phillips supposes it has to do with the year coming to a close. “They want to start the new year with the re-org, and it gives them time amongst the holidays,” he says. “Part of it is I was a larger-than-life presence there, and the face of the company. What’s the best time to get rid of a king? Right before the holidays. By the time Monday starts, it’s all new.”
Asked what’s next, Phillips says he’s looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity. “Right now the lawyers are negotiating with the company to get me as much freedom as possible in the next chapter of my life,” he says, adding that he has “a huge amount” of opportunities. “The outpouring and the emails have been insane because of the work I did. The [Michael Jackson wrongful death] trial is behind me, and I’m trying to figure out what the next chapter is, and how to build a better mousetrap in this ever-changing media world we live in.”
