Michael Cohl: ‘The world loves storytelling’

Pioneering promoter and producer Michael Cohl has tipped the world of touring entertainment to “continue to grow, much like music did” in a keynote interview with IQ‘s Touring Entertainment Report 2025.

Known for paving the way for global touring as we know it today, the former Live Nation chair promoted groundbreaking outings for the likes of the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, U2, Prince, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand.

After building Concert Productions International (CPI) into one of North America’s dominant touring companies, he sold it to Live Nation forerunner SFX Entertainment in the late 1990s.

In more recent times, the Canadian has focused on theatre, producing Broadway shows including Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Lion King, Spamalot…

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