President, Live Nation Country

Given Nashville’s changing landscape, what’s changing in your world? How are you meeting the challenge? What needs to be fixed?
Speed. And by speed, I mean patience. The statistics and data on artists and their relative popularity is uncharted water for most people. There are artists I’ve worked with in just the last six months who have basically never been played on radio, but the fans know their music. This is a GOOD thing. This is not to be confused with any mass ticket-selling ability.

As we get into festival season, the bookings that were done with these new artists six months ago are starting to come to fruition. It’s not because they had some monster radio hit; it’s because fans have discovered them and like what they’re doing.

What are your thoughts on festivals? Are they sustainable? What’s their impact on your overall touring business?
Festivals are sustainable, and I want to be among the leaders of this charge. But they need to be updated. Putting a headliner on at 11pm is gonna kill ‘em; the fans are beat up by that time, and frankly, the artist is out of rhythm as well. Do I think we need a festival on every street corner? No. Do I think the ones we have are sustainable? Yes. Do I think that we as an industry need to update the experience? Absolutely. Festivals are about discovery, both for the fans and for people who book and produce them. I get a ton of insight from watching the artists in the middle of the day do their thing, and how the audience reacts. It’s not about hype in the 615; it’s about fan reaction outside of our area code.