Amid tense scrutiny over its ticketing practices, Live Nation shareholders have voted ‘no’ on the proposed $139 million pay package for CEO Michael Rapino.
Digital Music News first covered the details of the compensation package in May. The skinny: Rapino has signed a new contract with Live Nation to continue as CEO through 2027—which came with a $6 million signing bonus. His base salary is $3 million, bumped up from $2.1 million in 2021. He earned a $12 million cash performance bonus for 2022 and stock awards of $116 million for a total compensation of around $139 million for 2022.
But a majority of Live Nation shareholders have voted against that compensation package for Rapino and other C-Suite execs for the company. Nearly 54% of shareholders said no and in a new proposal, a majority of shareholders voted to review executive salaries every year going forward.
Executive compensation packages have generally been pushed through Live Nation’s shareholder votes with little issue—so this reproach is notable. The Ticketmaster meltdown with Taylor Swift and the Congressional hearings likely haven’t pulled any favors with shareholders among current leadership.
Shareholder advisory groups Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both advised Live Nation shareholders to vote against accepting these pay packages. Primary concerns were that the compensation packages were not fully disclosed, with Rapino’s actual compensation being higher. The $139 million package outpaced compensation for top execs at other major corporations and was not aligned with long-term performance.
Had the compensation package been approved by shareholders, it will make Michael Rapino one of the highest paid CEOs in 2022. Let’s take a peek.
Who are the highest paid executives in 2022?
- Sundar Pichai | Google ($225 million)
- Barry McCarthy | Peloton Interactive ($168 million)
- George Kurtz | CrowdStrike Holdings ($147 milion)
- Safra Catz | Oracle Corporation ($147.6 million)
- Douglas Ingram | Sarepta Therapeutics ($124.9 million)
- Michael Rapino | Live Nation Entertainment ($139 million)
- Tim Cook | Apple ($99 million)
While the shareholders have voted against the compensation package, it was a non-binding vote. That means it is purely advisory and the Live Nation board of directors will have the ultimate say on whether Rapino gets that proposed $139 million package.