Marcel Avram, born in Bucharest, Romania, has been a German Concert and Tour Promoter for over 50 years.
He founded the agency “Mama Concerts” which later merged to “Mana Concerts und Rau” which implemented tours from Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Frank Sinatra, Prince and many more.
But fans will recognise him for becoming Michael’s agent, producer and promoter for his world tours in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1993.
In 1994 Avram’s promotion firm sued Michael for $20 million after the singer failed to complete his 1993 Dangerous world tour, claiming fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty. Michael had canceled 19 Avram-promoted concerts. Avram settled the lawsuit after obtaining an agreement that he would have the rights to promote the singer’s next series of concerts.
He was arrested in 1997 for an irregularity in tax settlements and sentenced to 3.5 years in jail. He was released after a year. However, Michael Jackson visited him at the Munich’s Stadelheim prison in the same year.
In the summer of 1999, Avram moved back to Israel. After Rau and Avram dissolved their joint agency, Avram settled in Switzerland. There he founded the company Entertainment One and later Concerts West AG. Avram sits on the supervisory board of the Munich-based concert and tour promoter United Promoters AG.
The relation between Marcel Avram and Michael Jackson deteriorated in the 2000s. Avram filed suit in June 2000 claiming Michael cost him $21 million when he allegedly abandoned plans to perform two millennium concerts scheduled on the New Year’s Eve. Both parties blamed each other for the concert cancellations.
A Santa Barbara County jury in March 2003 ruled that Michael Jackson must pay Avram $5.3 million.
Both parties reached a settlement agreement in 2003 that resolved existing and future claims related to the concerts, court papers said. Disputes regarding the settlement were to be resolved in Superior Court as a part of the settlement agreement, but Avram has moved forward with arbitration, according to the lawsuit.
Both men never reconnected or worked together again since.
Avram carried on his work in the music tour business from Justin Bieber to AC/DC. Only this year (2023), he worked for Cat Stevens Yusuf, Robbie Williams and Scorpions tours.
The Michael Jackson fan community has a divided feeling about Marcel Avram, some will admire the work he did for the King of Pop, others will not forgive him to put Michael through years of trial.
