Friends & Partners

Friends & Partners is an Italian entertainment company headquartered in Milan, active in artist management, live event promotion and organisation, television production and recorded music. It was founded in 2001 by Ferdinando Salzano as Friends & Partners s.r.l. and has grown into one of the country's leading live entertainment groups, representing major Italian recording artists and producing large-scale concerts, tours and televised music events. The company's business spans several integrated areas: it promotes, produces and organises live shows; manages the careers of musical artists; and produces and distributes albums and television programmes derived from artists' shows. Its roster has included Achille Lauro, Annalisa, Claudio Baglioni, Elisa, Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini, Ligabue, Zucchero, Il Volo, Fiorella Mannoia, Francesco De Gregori and many others, and its event search covers Italian cities as well as international markets such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, São Paulo and Mexico City. Ownership has evolved over time. From 2008 the company was 60% controlled by Warner Music Group and 40% by Habita, Salzano's own company. In 2017, when the Warner Music contract expired, the multinational CTS Eventim acquired 60% of the shares, becoming majority shareholder in November 2017; Friends & Partners S.p.A. was founded that year. In 2018 the company acquired 60% of Vivo Concerti and created the Magellano Concerti brand. In 2022 it founded Friends & Vivo Multimedia with Vivo Concerti and spun off its television activity into a new brand, FriendsTV. That year the company surpassed €100 million in revenue for the first time, reporting over €127 million, and by 2025 Friends & Partners and FriendsTV together reported combined revenue of more than €261 million. Beyond commercial activity, the group has organised benefit and humanitarian concerts, including Italia Loves Emilia (2012), Italia Loves Romagna (2023), Amiche in Arena (2016), the Una. Nessuna. Centomila series (2022, 2024, 2025) against violence against women, and Per La Pace – Live contro la Guerra (2024) in support of Emergency. It has also been involved in public debates over secondary ticketing and over perceived conflicts of interest at the Sanremo Festival.

Friends & Partners was founded in 2001 by Ferdinando Salzano as Friends & Partners s.r.l. From 2008 the company was controlled 60% by Warner Music Group and 40% by Habita, a company owned by Salzano. By 2014 the company's revenue had approached €80 million. In 2017, when the contract with Warner Music expired, the multinational CTS Eventim acquired 60% of the shares, becoming majority shareholder in November 2017. In the same year Friends & Partners S.p.A. was founded, followed by the voluntary liquidation of F&P Group s.r.l. initiated on 30 January 2019. Also in 2017, Salzano, through Habita s.r.l., founded Arena Campovolo s.r.l. with Claudio Maioli to manage events at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia; Friends & Partners S.p.A. was entrusted with managing major events at the Arena. In 2018 Vivo Concerti, a company founded by Warner Music, was acquired 60% by Friends & Partners S.p.A. and 40% by Cledaz. In the same year Friends & Partners S.p.A. created the new brand Magellano Concerti. In 2022 the company and Vivo Concerti founded Friends & Vivo Multimedia, operating in sponsorship, brand research and corporate events. Also in 2022 Friends & Partners signed an agreement with SCF for the legal use of protected, quality music both as playback bases during television events organised by Friends & Partners and for pre- and post-concert diffusion. That year Friends & Partners S.p.A. surpassed €100 million in revenue for the first time, reporting over €127 million. At the end of 2022 the company spun off its television activity into a new brand called FriendsTV. In 2025 Friends & Partners and FriendsTV reached combined revenue of more than €261 million. The FriendsTV division has co-produced films including Negramaro Back Home - Ora so restare (2023) and Francesco De Gregori Nevergreen (2025), and television programmes such as Elisa - 20 anni in ogni istante (Canale 5, 2017), Zucchero: una notte a Venezia (Rai 2, 2019), Stasera felicità (Sky Uno, 2019), Music Awards (Rai 1, since 2019), Penso che un sogno così (Rai 1, 2021), Lui è peggio di me (Rai 3, 2021), Uà - Uomo di varie età (Canale 5, 2021), DallArenaLucio (Rai 1, 2022), Gigi, uno come te (Rai 1, 2022-2023), TIM Summer Hits (Rai 1, since 2022), Il Volo - Tutti per uno (Canale 5, since 2023), Italia Loves Romagna (Rai 1, 2023), Elisa Buon Natale anche a te (Canale 5, 2023), Una. Nessuna. Centomila (Rai 1, since 2024), Semplicemente Fiorella (Rai 1, 2024), Suzuki Music Party (Nove, 2024), Annalisa - Tutti in Arena (Canale 5, 2024), Andrea Bocelli 30 - The Celebration (Canale 5, 2024), Alessandra Amoroso - Io non sarei (Canale 5, 2025), Elisa - San Siro (Canale 5, 2025), Elodie - The stadium show (Canale 5, 2025), Pavarotti 90 – L'uomo che emozionò il mondo (Canale 5, 2025) and Pino è - Il viaggio del musicante (Rai 1, 2025). Record projects have included Capitani coraggiosi - Il live di Claudio Baglioni e Gianni Morandi (2016), Pooh 50 - L'ultima notte insieme dei Pooh (2016), Amiche in Arena (2016), D'amore d'autore by Gianni Morandi (2017), Sotto il vulcano by Francesco De Gregori (2017), Arrivedorci by Elio e le Storie Tese (2018), Max Nek Renga (2018), Il mio gioco preferito: parte prima by Nek (2019), Testa o croce by Modà (2019), Due, la nostra storia by Raf and Umberto Tozzi (2019), Pugili fragili by Piero Pelù (2020), Il mio gioco preferito: parte seconda by Nek (2020) and Una storia importante by Eros Ramazzotti (2025), distributed by Sony Music. Over the years the company has organised non-profit concerts and events to raise funds for social and territorial initiatives, including Italia Loves Emilia (2012) for populations affected by the Emilia earthquake, Italia Loves Romagna for those affected by the 2023 Emilia-Romagna flood, Amiche in Arena (2016) and Una. Nessuna. Centomila (2022, 2024, 2025) in support of associations against violence against women, and Per La Pace - Live contro la Guerra (2024) in support of Emergency. On 27 October 2016 the Management Board of the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers unanimously approved an amendment to Article 13 of the 'Permesso Spettacoli e Trattenimenti', inserting a clause expressly prohibiting the licence holder from selling tickets to events and shows on secondary online platforms and websites, addressing resale at prices above the official one. CEO Ferdinando Salzano held a press conference supporting the decision and calling for greater restrictions and laws to protect the entertainment market. During the 2018 Sanremo Festival, controversy arose over an alleged conflict of interest concerning the hosting and artistic direction of Claudio Baglioni, represented by Friends & Partners, and the participation of eleven competing artists and eleven guests represented by the same company; in the following edition, whose artistic direction was again entrusted to Baglioni, the issue continued.

• 2025

  Friends & Partners and FriendsTV reach combined revenue of over €261 million.

• 2022

  Founds Friends & Vivo Multimedia with Vivo Concerti; signs agreement with SCF; revenue exceeds €100 million (over €127 million); spins off TV activity into FriendsTV.

• 2019

  Voluntary liquidation of F&P Group s.r.l. initiated on 30 January.

• 2018

  Acquires 60% of Vivo Concerti; creates Magellano Concerti brand.

• 2017

  CTS Eventim acquires 60% of shares, becoming majority shareholder in November; Friends & Partners S.p.A. founded.

• 2017

  Arena Campovolo s.r.l. founded with Claudio Maioli to manage RCF Arena events.

• 2016

  SIAE approves anti-secondary ticketing amendment to Article 13; CEO Salzano supports it publicly.

• 2014

  Revenue approaches €80 million.

• 2008

  Company becomes 60% controlled by Warner Music Group and 40% by Habita.

• 2001

  Friends & Partners s.r.l. founded by Ferdinando Salzano.

Leading Italian live entertainment and artist management group, integrating concert promotion, management, television production and recorded music.

• 2016

  Capitani coraggiosi - Il live di Claudio Baglioni e Gianni Morandi

• 2016

  Pooh 50 - L'ultima notte insieme dei Pooh

• 2016

  Amiche in Arena

• 2017

  D'amore d'autore by Gianni Morandi

• 2017

  Sotto il vulcano by Francesco De Gregori

• 2018

  Arrivedorci by Elio e le Storie Tese

• 2018

  Max Nek Renga

• 2019

  Il mio gioco preferito: parte prima by Nek

• 2019

  Testa o croce by Modà

• 2019

  Due, la nostra storia by Raf and Umberto Tozzi

• 2020

  Pugili fragili by Piero Pelù

• 2020

  Il mio gioco preferito: parte seconda by Nek

• 2025

  Una storia importante by Eros Ramazzotti

1. 1Friends & Partners | Homefriendsandpartners.it
2. 2Friends & Partners - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Friends & Partners - Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org