Live Nation Philippines: Not just to bring big acts to the country but to work and grow local artists, too

At Live Nation Philippines' official launch on Monday, they made known their intent to not just bring big global acts to the country but to grow Filipino artists and find them a bigger audience in the region, too.

"Particularly, we are dedicated to growing local artists, and particularly in Asia, we want to do a lot more than that," said Roger Field, Live Nation APAC president.

"We've demonstrated that with our Ones To Watch discovery brand, which has seen artists in China, New Zealand, and Australia find new fans across the world," he added.

Though they're keeping mum about their list of Filipino acts they're looking to develop — they won't even share their list of artists they plan on bringing to the Philippines — both Field and Live Nation Philippines managing director Rhiza Pascua said they are working very hard on it.

"We've got big ideas and big plans," Field told reporters. "We're looking at  developing artists, at the big international acts."

With the acquisition of MMI — the folks who brought Madonna, Coldplay, and U2 to the Philippines — Live Nation launched in the Philippines on Monday.

In her speech, Pascua recalled receiving a call from a Live Nation executive sometime in 2018, who told her "It's about time we do an acquisition."

"It is an extremely exciting opportunity to be part of this big company, in fact, the biggest live entertainment company in the whole world," Pascua said.

Four years later, "here we are at the launch of Live Nation Philippines and I stand here feeling proud of how far MMI has come," she ended her speech.

While "everybody opening at different speeds" remain to be Live Nation's biggest challenge, Field said, "the time for Live Nation Philippines to launch could not be better as the world reopens." 

"The live experience that we all know is coming back strong and we remain confident in its full return. The next couple of years is going to be huge. There's a strong supply and there's a huge demand." 

And while the world may be a bit different post-Covid, for Live Nation safety continues to be their top priority. "We'll do whatever we have to do for safety of fans and artists," Field said.

In the meanwhile, which artists would you like to see perform on Philippine stage? Which Filipino artists would you like for the rest of the world to discover? — LA, GMA News