Gore gearing up for "Live Earth" charity concerts
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The executive producer of the Live 8 charity concerts, which refocused international attention on Africa in 2005, has joined forces with Al Gore to save the world.
Live Earth, set for July 7 on stages in all seven continents, will feature such artists as the Police, Madonna, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Concert promoter Kevin Wall came up with the concept after he saw the former vice president's now-famous slide show on global warming, and then his Oscar-winning film "An Inconvenient Truth."
"I was very deeply moved," he recalled. "This is not about the haves and the have-nots, this is about all of us."
Wall put a staff together, met with the networks and spent three months building the framework of Live Earth. Wall and the former vice president spoke about what is shaping up to be an unprecedented day of music and message.
BILLBOARD: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION WHEN KEVIN WALL CAME TO YOU WITH THE PROPOSAL FOR THE LIVE EARTH PROJECT?
Al Gore: My first reaction was that this was a great idea, but I wanted to know more about how it was going to develop. And we had so many conversations that I got more excited about it each time that we talked. He had been very open to a partnership on this, which both of us have enjoyed. I've very excited about it.
BILLBOARD: WHERE IN THIS PROCESS DID YOU HIT UPON THE 07-07-07 DATE AND THE SEVEN CONCERTS ON SEVEN CONTINENTS?
Wall: That was early on. One, it was easy to remember; two, it was a Saturday in July at a time when a lot of artists are touring who I felt we could engage in this project to play on that day. So those things were together . ... Separately from the Control Room deal, Microsoft Network came in as a massive underwriter, and the NBC, BBC and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) deals were all together prior to me going to Al.
BILLBOARD: CAN YOU GIVE ME A BALLPARK BUDGET TO EVEN UNDERTAKE SUCH A PROJECT?
Wall: Well, certainly I am at risk for millions of dollars. In the end we are not taking fees or a profit on this. We are giving all of the money in all of the names collected, and any of the IP (intellectual property) goes to the charity.
BILLBOARD: WHERE ARE WE AT THIS STAGE IN TERMS OF CITIES, VENUES, ARTISTS, ETC.?
Wall: We're doing Wembley Stadium in London, Giants Stadium in (East Rutherford, N.J.), Pearl Tower in Shanghai, Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, where we expect a million people. And in Johannesburg, we have an amphitheater called the Cradle of Human Kindness, which is outside of Jo-burg.
BILLBOARD: WHAT ABOUT TALK OF A CONCERT IN ANTARCTICA?
Wall: We're doing a small show from Antarctica from the British Scientific Station, and it's a surprise what we're doing.
BILLBOARD: HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR ROLE IN PUTTING THESE LIVE EARTH CONCERTS TOGETHER?
Gore: Carefully. (Laughs.) I have done a lot of conversations and telephone calls and meetings with some great entertainers and musicians to ask them to be a part of this. So I guess you would call me a recruiter in that sense. I've also done a lot of outreach to different groups, including environmental groups, to get them to be supportive, and of course they all are. I've also done a lot to contact business leaders and other leaders to get them to be supportive of it. It's not a hard sell because people want to be part of it, and I'm getting a lot of yeses.
BILLBOARD: ANY PARTICULAR BANDS ON YOUR WISH LIST?
Gore: There are a lot of great ones that are already signed up. I recruited the Red Hot Chili Peppers; they told me yes when they came onstage at the Grammys. The Police are on board now. And Madonna's on board.
BILLBOARD: ANY OTHER BANDS YOU PERSONALLY ASKED TO PARTICIPATE?
Gore: Oh, yeah, a bunch of 'em. I've made lots of calls. The Black Eyed Peas. I don't have the list in front of me, but I've talked to a lot of 'em, and I haven't gotten turned down yet.
BILLBOARD: WHAT'S YOUR POTENTIAL AUDIENCE?
Wall: We have told people that we will reach comfortably 2 billion eyeballs for some significant time, more than 30 minutes. This whole show is being designed as 24 hours of broadcast around the world, and we're making sure that anyone who watches for 15 minutes will walk away with a message. Each show starts about 2 p.m. local time, so as we start each show, we will go around the world and at any point in time, two or three shows will be running at the same time over a 24-hour period. All of that will be put into a global high-def feed, a global TV feed and a global radio feed, live as we're doing it. Then we'll divide up the packages based on the different networks, and we'll customize them.
BILLBOARD: WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BEST HOPES FOR WHAT COMES FROM LIVE EARTH?
Wall: That we see effects in how people shop in the next six months coming out of it. That we see an effect in government continuing to push this issue forward. That we see change in the Wal-Marts, the Office Depots, etc. You're going to see a land rush because "green" is going to be good for business. You're going to see consumers who are empowered; they're going to vote that empowerment. This is going to be a defining issue of the next election, I think.
Gore: I want people to first of all really enjoy the performances, and I want them to enjoy the music in the context of really feeling deeply the purpose of it all.
Reuters/Billboard
