Disco Donnie Repurchases Disco Donnie Presents From Livestyle

After several years operating under LiveStyle, Disco Donnie Presents is back under the full control of its founder.

Author:: Cameron Sunkel
Publish date:: Apr 14, 2020

Disco Donnie Presents has finally returned back to independent status. "Disco Donnie" Estopinal, Jr., the man behind the storied events brand, has repurchased the company he founded from LiveStyle.

Throughout his quarter century of experience, Estopinal has frequently pursued strategic collaborations with iconic event brands, including Insomniac. In 2012, Estopinal aligned his company with SFX Entertainment and Robert Sillerman.

The goal for SFX was to consolidate the world's leading dance music promoters under one central entity. Estopinal was the first independent promoter to throw his weight behind the new venture.

Unfortunately, Sillerman's plans to dominate the dance music industry with SFX Entertainment never fully manifested. The company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 in order to wipe out a staggering $300 million in debt. Sillerman was additionally forced out as CEO at the time.

Following the bankruptcy, the vestiges of SFX reemerged as LiveStyle, a private company. By late 2019, LiveStyle had begun exploring the idea of spinning off some of their assets, including Disco Donnie Presents. After months of negotiations with Estopinal, he was finally successful in reclaiming his namesake brand.

Still, despite the global uncertainty, Estopinal remains certain in his convictions and is determined to weather the storm alongside the company he started. The entrepreneur tells Billboard, “Nobody's really said ‘congratulations’ or ‘great job.’ It’s more like, ‘Oh, are you sure?’ Or, ‘Okay, well, I support whatever decision you make.’ I understand people are worried about it, but I had to do what I had to do."