Gary Richards Becomes President of LiveStyle North America

Gary Richards, who is known for being HARD Events‘ founder and president, left the Live Nation Company in August, but it is now known exactly what he will be doing in his new venture. It was announced yesterday by the CEO of LiveStyle, Randy Phillips, that Richards will be the President of LiveStyle North America.

“To complete our executive suite, we wanted to bring some real authenticity to the management of LiveStyle, and no single candidate to be the President of North America fulfills this role better than Gary Richards, of HARD and Holy Ship fame.”, Phillips stated about Richards. “Not only is he an accomplished working DJ (DJ Destructo), He is a very astute businessman with an affinity to his fellow artists. With Gary on board, LiveStyle is prepared for creative and strategic growth in the years ahead.”

This serves as exciting news for the LiveStyle Inc. The company formerly known as SFX, was rebranded to show that a new vibrant business was emerging debt free and ready to offer the best of the live entertainment industry. LiveStyle currently is in charge of many festival around the world. In North America they have been in charge of Electric Zoo, Sensation, Life in Color, and Spring Awakening while in Europe the company has operated Tomorrowland and Mysteryland, Qlimax, and more. With Richards at the head of the North American sector of the company America could possibly see a Mysterland USA installment or the return of TomorrowWorld.

This year’s edition of Electric Zoo was Richards’ first festival that he took charge of under his new position. He tweeted the news at the beginning of Electric Zoo’s weekend but quickly deleted it.

Richards left Live Nation voluntarily as his five year contract was up this year. He stated that he has the utmost respect for Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino and that he was off to an incredible new opportunity. The new LiveStyle president stated that he is happy to now have a bigger role in the music community.

“I look forward to coming on board as President of LiveStyle and have a much larger role to play in the music community. I plan to create new festival concepts and cruises at LiveStyle. We will continue on the path that I created with the HARD and HOLY SHIP! brands.“, Richards excitedly commented.

LiveStyle will certainly see a huge benefit with Richards because of his extensive experience in the dance music community. He has worked as a producer, concert promoter, record label executive, and festival founder. DJs such as Diplo, Skirllex and Steve Aoki have high respect for Richards because of his hands on artist experience in the EDM world. His experience in A&R and knowing how to nurture and develop new talent has allowed him to achieve massive success that promises a bright future for LiveStyle.