By the end of this week, 46,000 people will have crowded into venues around Dublin to see some of the best-known music acts in the world. The fans of Puff Daddy, Simply Red, Five and Sting have paid to be entertained and the man who can take credit for delivering the stars is Denis Desmond.

Not that Mr Desmond is taking all the credit for making it happen. The 46-year-old Corkman is full of praise for his staff at MCD. "We have a core group of staff, some of whom have been with us since the beginning. They are very passionate about the business and I can rely on them completely," he says.

Mr Desmond is the biggest name in concert and event promotion in Ireland and has been involved in many of the defining moments of the music industry over the past 20 years. He was the man behind the legendary Feile series of outdoor music festivals and, with his business partner Eamon McCann, was the first to bring rock music and hoards of young people to Slane way back in 1981. Mr Desmond always had his heart set on a career in the music business, but after graduating from UCC, he worked as a petro-chemical engineer in Britain for seven years. "Even though I was making plenty of money and had plenty of time off, I hated every minute of it but I did gain valuable experience and one thing it taught me was discipline."

It was only after the first Slane gig that he quit his day job and became a full-time music promoter.

Nowadays, Mr Desmond is where he wants to be. "I love what I do, I love everything to do with music."

He continues to have a handson approach to the job and says he never switches off. According to Mr Desmond, the music business is all about contacts and building good relationships with those contacts over a period of time.

"Professional standing is very important. If you commit to doing things and to paying certain artists a certain amount of money, you have to be able to guarantee they will get paid no matter what," Mr Desmond said.

Paying artists is not a problem for MCD. This year they will sell approximately one million tickets for a range of events, including Macy Gray, Disney on Ice, the Heineken Green Energy Festival, Gael Force dance show, Oasis and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Approximately 70 per cent of the tickets sold by Ticket-master are for MCD events.

Mr Desmond is coy about saying MCD dominates the market, but admits they are busy and are producing a lot of events. He points out that it has taken 20 years for the company to get there.

"We have 22 people full time in the office who work solely on marketing and promotion. It's not as easy as just announcing something is on and then watching the tickets fly out the door, it takes a lot of work."

But event promotion isn't the only activity keeping Mr Desmond busy. Six years ago he bought the SFX Centre on Dublin's northside and since then he has acquired the Gaiety Theatre, 50 per cent of the Olympia Theatre, and a stake in the HQ venue on Abbey Street, Dublin. He also has a significant stake in Today FM dating from his involvement in the founding of Radio Ireland and the portfolio would not be complete without his own record label, Solid Records.

So far, Mr Desmond has been successful in generating new ideas and delivering the old favourites. He is working with partners in England and Scotland promoting Feile-style events there. The promoter has also teamed up with Dreamchaser in the US to run a St Patrick's Day combined event special called The Jam.

Mr Desmond clearly enjoys his line of work, but is more likely to spend time hanging out with his three children than to go nightclubbing with the stars. He points out that rock bands are a lot more sensible these days and are focused on maximising their income while their popularity is at its peak.

"The approach is more businesslike than it was in the past and hectic touring schedules mean artists can barely tell what city they're in. It's just a round of hotels, airports and venues for them," Mr Desmond said.

"I socialise mainly with agents and managers. There is a core number of them in the business and we have built up strong working relationships."

The entertainment business is only beginning to develop the role of the Internet in its operations, but in the very near future the nature of the business will be transformed by the medium, according to Mr Desmond.

"People will still want to be at a live event, there's nothing better but the potential for live global broadcasts on the Internet is enormous and the value of intellectual property rights will soar," he said.

Last year's Robbie Williams concert in Slane was attended by 80,000 people but a further 1.5 million viewers saw the concert through Sky Television and Sky Rocket.

Mr Desmond predicts out that the relationships between the fans, the artists, the record companies and the promoters will all change fundamentally as the scope and use of the Internet develop further.

"The A&R man will no longer decide where a particular artist sells. That will be driven by the Internet audience anywhere in the world who may watch a concert online and then order the album."

MCD currently handles 16 per cent of its ticket sales over the Internet.

Mr Desmond is happy to stick to the industry he knows in the changing business landscape as he believes content and cross-promotion will play a central role in the new technologies. MCD is involved with the Rose of Tralee Festival and that website is one of the top 20 most-visited Irish sites, according to Mr Desmond.

The straight-talking promoter is aware that he has a reputation in some quarters for being tough and intimidating but he says he works in a tough business. "I am very frank and I like to get to the point and sort things out but I wouldn't say I'm intimidating."

Mr Desmond says he enjoys life and is at a point where he can take more time off. He likes going to rugby and soccer matches and occasionally makes the trip to see Manchester United play.

"I can go away for a week or 10 days and relax but I would have to keep in touch and I always work a couple of hours every day."