What’s the biggest single threat facing the live music business?

The rise in costs for young touring artists trying to break on the road and for fans who may not be able to afford concert tickets.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

Jackie Karlsson (operations manager for Laufey at Foundations) and Kaylee Barrett (management coordinator at Foundations). They are so passionate and dedicated to the work they do every single day and, more importantly, are incredible people.

What’s the biggest single threat facing the live music business?

Rising costs of touring (which then get passed on to the fan), and scalpers/bots taking tickets from real fans and driving up costs in the secondary market.

You’re at a show. A 13-year-old fan with a piercing voice, seated right next to you, is singing along very loudly to every song. What do you do?

Laugh and remember when you got told to “keep it down because you are ruining it for everyone else” at a festival with 100,000 people.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from

theaters to arenas, and one who’s ready to make the leap from arenas to stadiums.

Theatres to arenas: Audrey Hobert. Arenas to stadiums: Tate McRae.

What’s the biggest single threat facing the live music business?

Mediocrity. One hit doesn’t make a career.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from arenas to stadiums.

Rauw Alejandro is a huge, stadium-sized talent, and he’s shown on his last arena tour he has the showmanship, star power and ambition to make the leap to bigger audiences.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

Sara Schoch is a UTA partner and co-head of music brand partnerships for the agency. She’s such an incredible collaborator and partner for me, the other agents and for our clients. She is thoughtful, creative, strategic, her relationships in the brand space are second to none and she understands artists and what moves them.

Name an artist who you think is ready to make the leap from arenas to stadiums.

I think Don Toliver is ready for stadiums. His live show is incredible.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story of seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

I saw J. Cole after his first mixtape dropped in front of 100 students at NYU.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

A British sex toy inventor called Jason Regler approached me in 2011 with a crazy idea for live concerts: LED wristbands synced with the music. You see this crazy idea at arena and stadium shows all around the world now.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Chris Martin and I grew up in the same corner of England as Muse, and they came up at exactly the same time as Coldplay, so I was lucky enough to see them play many times before they went supernova. Even as teenagers, they were scarily good.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from theaters to arenas, and one who’s ready to make the leap from arenas

to stadiums.

Jessie Murph will have new music next year, and it feels like her time to head toward arenas. Forrest Frank recently sold out three stadium shows on this last arena tour. He’s a superstar with a tremendous future.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

My assistant, Jordan. I love that assistants in the industry are getting some shine through platforms like Assistants vs. Agents. Assistants are the future of this business.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Noah Kahan at The East Room in Nashville in front of like 30 people in 2017.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story of seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

My childhood friend Bill Gerber (who was also DEVO’s manager), Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO and I went to see Prince on March 31, 1981, at Flippers Roller Boogie Palace during his Dirty Mind tour. Prince played on the stage in the middle of the roller rink.

You’re at a show. A 13-year-old fan with a piercing voice, seated right next to you, is singing along very loudly to every song. What do you do?

I was that kid once, and the adults next to me cheered me on instead of being annoyed. Today, I’d probably upgrade their seats and buy the family merch.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Seeing The Red Clay Strays at Grey Eagle in Asheville in 2022, playing for about 45 people. I went straight home, tracked them down and started offering them support slots for my artists and telling everyone I knew about them. I was obsessed.

Wearing the T-shirt of the artist you’re seeing in concert: Fitting homage or kinda cringe?

I’m cynical but not that cynical. Of course you should wear your shirt to the show. Dress yourself in band merch top-to-bottom and show no shame! (I would never do this, of course.)

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

I have lots of these. Who in this business doesn’t? Sufjan Stevens with 30 people at Subterranean in Chicago right after Michigan came out. Post Malone opening the Phoenix Mad Decent Block Party to like 20 die-hards. Black Eyed Peas at Rasputin Records in 1999. Billie Eilish at the Windish Agency office. Oasis, Radiohead, No Doubt and Garbage in my high school auditorium in 1995.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story of seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Iser: Lady Gaga in 2008 at Highline Ballroom in NYC for CMJ.

Yim: Kendrick Lamar would do small pop-up shows around L.A. in 2011–2012. We knew he was going to be big.

What’s the single biggest threat facing the live music business?

The single biggest threat over the next couple years is what will come out of the agentic AI ecosystem. There’s going to be incredibly disruptive forces (positive and negative) to the traditional channels of business that live hasn’t seen before.

What’s the single biggest threat facing the live music business?

Forgetting who all of this is for: the fans. If fans feel priced out, shut out or treated like a data point, the business will eventually pay for it. Every decision should start with one question: Is this good for the fan? If we keep putting fans first, live music will be just fine.

Name a person you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

Colin Lewis, global tour promoter at Live Nation. Colin is a force of nature, bringing to life some of the most incredible tours on the planet today with his creativity and relentless work ethic and the first-class team that he has built around him. He is absolutely fearless while at the same time thoughtful and fair.

The other person that I’d like to shine a bright spotlight on is Jenn Sousa, my colleague in managing Backstreet Boys. This extraordinary renaissance they are having now would not be possible without her creative vision, leadership and savage around-the-clock dedication to getting everything done all the time.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Metallica. I walked into a garage in Norwalk when I was 16 years old to check out a local heavy metal band that was just getting started. The first words Lars Ulrich said to me were, “We are going to be the biggest band in the world.” He wasn’t wrong.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from theaters to arenas.

Both Tucker Wetmore and Gavin Adcock are ready to make the leap from theaters to arenas.

What’s the single biggest threat facing the live music business?

Guarantee vs. type deals.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from theaters to arenas, and one who’s ready to make the leap from arenas to stadiums.

Theaters to arenas: Sierra Ferrell. She has that rare combination of extraordinary talent, originality and authenticity that audiences recognize immediately. The audience is growing because people see her, tell other people about her and come back. That’s how enduring live careers are built.

Arenas to stadiums: Chappell Roan. She has become more than an artist with hit songs—she has created a world that people want to participate in. Stadium artists need scale, spectacle and, most importantly, a genuine sense of community among the audience. She has all three.

What’s the single biggest threat facing the live music business?

The erosion of the artist-development ecosystem. The live business has never been stronger at the top, but we should be careful not to confuse the success of established superstar touring with the health of the entire ecosystem. The future of this business depends on artists being able to build sustainable careers through clubs, theaters and sheds before they ever reach arenas or stadiums.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Katy Perry acoustic at Hotel Cafe, 2006.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

There are so many unsung heroes at CAA—in marketing, sponsorship, privates and territorial booking—that I cannot mention one without mentioning them all. But I will mention someone who has worked by my side for 25 years, my assistant Wendy Border. Everyone in the industry knows Wendy: her always upbeat and effervescent temperament, her ability to get things done quickly and efficiently and her knack to keep me on track and focused. Most of our clients love her and tolerate me.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

By now, most people know the story: an 18-year-old about to start his sophomore year in college buys a couple of tickets to a 400-seat club in New York for an artist with only two albums. In the summer of ‘75, I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at The Bottom Line. It changed my point of view on music, it inspired me, it energized me and it led me to a career in live music.
I always look back on that night as the starting point.

Name someone you either work with or do business with who doesn’t get enough credit for the great job they do.

Jaclyn Lash at Petco Park in San Diego. She and her team go above and beyond to take care of the artists, fans and promoters so that everyone has the best experience in their venue. Most recently, she and her team created a special fan pop-up experience around Pierce the Veil’s sold-out stadium homecoming show—a great example of how she works closely with artist teams to make the experience meaningful for fans beyond the show itself.

Name an artist you think is ready to make the leap from theaters to arenas, and one who’s ready to make the leap from arenas to stadiums.

Malcolm Todd is a superstar and on fire right now. He will easily be able to make the jump from theaters to arenas on his next tour. He’s 22 years old and just getting started. And after seeing a few J. Cole shows on his current arena tour, I’d love to see him tour with a stadium production. His show is incredible and his fans are all in.

Most everyone has an I-saw-them-when story about seeing a great artist in concert before they were famous. What’s yours?

Kendrick Lamar at The Illmore house party at SXSW in 2013. The crowd went so wild for him that the floor of the mansion started cracking.