• by Sara Guaglione , September 20, 2018

Billboard Media Group has enlarged its holding, acquiring live entertainment news site Amplify. Founder of the site Dave Brooks has joined Billboard’s full-time staff as a senior correspondent.

He will lead and -— working with former Amplify news editor Taylor Mims — expand Billboard’s coverage of touring and live entertainment.

Amplify, created by Brooks and his wife Kristen Bilanko in 2014, covers the live entertainment industry and the concert business, such as promoters, agents, managers and venue executives. 

In his new role, Brooks will also be programming Billboard’s recently rebranded Live Music Summit & Awards, set to take place in November in Beverly Hills.

Formerly known as the Billboard Touring Conference & Awards, the event brings together artists and concert industry insiders to discuss the concert business.

Amplify will continue to provide its subscribers analysis and commentary on the music touring industry, as well as produce its signature newsletter “The Real.” It will continue to operate from its offices in Long Beach, California.

Billboard gained full ownership of Amplify on June 18, but did not announce the acquisition until today.

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group acquired Spin, Vibe and Stereogum from SpinMedia to “consolidate the music media business."