• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
FinanceLive Nation Entertainment

Exclusive: Concert Promoter Takes Bite Out Of Shark Tank Winner

By
Caroline Fairchild
Caroline Fairchild
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Caroline Fairchild
Caroline Fairchild
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 11, 2014, 6:00 AM ET
Courtesy: Melissa Carbone
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

In 2009, Melissa Carbone envisioned a way to turn your darkest fears into cold hard cash. Now, Live Nation is making the same scary investment as well.

A former Clear Channel Media and Entertainment executive, Carbone is the co-founder of a live horror attraction business that produces terrifying, Halloween-themed events for thrill seekers in the Los Angeles area. Ten Thirty One Productions, Carbone’s company, landed a spot on ABC’s business reality show Shark Tank last year as well as a $2 million investment from notorious businessman Mark Cuban. The largest investment in the show’s history, Cuban’s capital helped bring Carbone’s company grow from $400,000 in revenue in its first year to a projected $3 million by the end of 2014.

Live Nation,the biggest concert company in the country, plans to benefit from Carbone’s growth with a small investment in her company. Neither Carbone nor a Live Nation spokesperson would give specifics on the deal, but the entrepreneur revealed that Live Nation’s stake is smaller than Cuban’s initial $2 million deal for 20% of her company.

“Melissa has a unique, gutsy and proven business model, and being in business with her and Ten Thirty One Productions underlines our commitment to bringing fresh and engaging live entertainment into the marketplace,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino wrote in an email to Fortune. Formerly owned by Clear Channel, Live Nation was spun out in 2005 and Rapino didn’t meet Carbone until recently.

After expanding her entertainment company outside of Los Angeles to other cities in California, Carbone is anxious to take advantage of Ticketmaster — Live Nation’s ticketing platform — which sold 400 million tickets last year. Live Nation also owns 41 venues across the country that could provide an ideal stage for Ten Thirty One’s frightening live events as the business grows.

Rapino likely sees the same potential in the business that Carbone and her co-founder — current Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Clear Channel Media Alyson Richards — pictured a few years ago. Halloween is approaching a $7 billion industry in the U.S. and is second only to Christmas in annual revenue, says Carbone. The media execs wanted to fill a hole in the marketplace for engaging horror experiences that took entertainment beyond just watching something on a screen. Customers pay as much as $139 a person for an overnight horror experience with The Great Horror Campout or as little as $30 for a 25-minute Haunted Hayride.

“When you go to this attraction you are literally putting your hands into bodies, trying to break ribs, finding severed heads and engaging in voodoo rituals. There are just so many layers to it,” Carbone explained. “Events up until this point have been very spectator sport: you sit in a chair and you clap or you look at things. This is completely hands on and people leave the event dirty and muddy and tired. It takes live entertainment to the next level.”

Ten Thirty One productions is unique for reasons other than its business model. Carbone is one of the few female business owners in the horror entertainment industry. What’s more is that her team is almost entirely female as well. The first year her staff walked into a Halloween trade show, Carbone said she could tell that her peers in the industry were shocked. “It’s definitely a boys club,” she added, but Carbone enjoys walking into a room and being the only woman.

Rather than view the gender divide as a problem to fight against — like some of her peers in the film industry — Carbone chalks it up to working in a genre that naturally skews male. Roughly 60% of her production company’s customers are men. “It’s a gory and extreme industry and men jump into that pool more often,” she added.

Now with Live Nation as a partner, Carbone plans to expand her attractions into New York and San Francisco over the next two years. But as her business rolls onto the Ticketmaster platform, there is no telling what the demand will be for her terrifying experiences to start popping up across the country.

“This model is easily duplicatable,” said Carbone. “We can roll into a city, have an event, break it down and do it all over again and we can do this every weekend. That’s what makes it such a great investment.”

About the Author
By Caroline Fairchild
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

spiegel
Personal Financephilanthropy
Snap’s Evan Spiegel joins MacKenzie Scott in the billionaire race to erase medical debt—wiping out $550 million for 260,000 Californians
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
7 minutes ago
cuban
AIJobs
Everyone agrees that you hate AI, but only Mark Cuban sees why Silicon Valley is powerless to fix it
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
25 minutes ago
g
BankingFederal Reserve
Alan Greenspan said 3 years with Gerald Ford beat 18 at the Fed. His death at 100 raises the question: was he right?
By Simon Bowmaker, Paul Wachtel and The ConversationJune 26, 2026
28 minutes ago
suez
EconomyIran
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its ‘Suez moment’—and history says what comes next could end an empire
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
29 minutes ago
Meet Micron, the under-the-radar chipmaker that just reported a 346% sales surge and helped stop a global AI selloff
AITech
Meet Micron, the under-the-radar chipmaker that just reported a 346% sales surge and helped stop a global AI selloff
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 26, 2026
31 minutes ago
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 26, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 26, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 26, 2026
32 minutes ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
1 day ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
2 days ago
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
Success
Ikea’s billionaire founder was so frugal that he bought clothes from flea markets and took free salt and pepper from restaurants
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 25, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Thursday, June 25, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Thursday, June 25, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
19 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
19 hours ago
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
Economy
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
By Tristan BoveJune 25, 2026
11 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.