State Champ Radio Touring
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AEG Presents is finally planting its flag in Austin.
While the city has long been the home of Messina Touring Group — AEG Presents’ highly successful global touring outfit — the live music giant hasn’t held any real estate in the fast-growing metroplex.
That changes now that AEG has announced plans to open a 4,000-capacity indoor venue in the so-called “live music capital of the world.” The 65,000-square-foot, yet-to-be-named venue will anchor River Park, a 109-acre mixed-use development in East Austin that will combine residential housing with office space, retail and restaurants.
“Designed for both world-class performances and unforgettable events, the venue will feature state-of-the-art sound and lighting, luxury suites, VIP seating, and best-in-class hospitality — all with a front-row feel no matter where you’re standing,” a press release announcing the project reads. “The artist experience is just as carefully considered with spacious, artist-friendly dressing rooms, green rooms, and top-tier production capabilities.”
AEG Presents attorney Shawn Trell explained that the company has “always wanted to build a venue from the ground up in Austin, but we wanted to make sure the timing and location were right, and we had partners aligned with our vision.” Those partners include Texas developers Presidium and Partners Group.
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Austin has seen a number of new venues open in recent years, dating back to the opening of ACL Live at The Moody Theater in 2011. A year later, Live Nation and the Formula 1 racing association opened the Circuit of the Americas, which features auto racing and large-scale concerts. And in April 2022, Oak View Group opened the Moody Center, an 18,000-capacity arena that is regularly listed on Billboard Boxscore’s chart of top venues with a capacity of over 15,000.
“We’re thrilled to bring a new venue to Austin, a city that lives and breathes live music,” said Robin Phillips, vp of AEG Presents Southwest, in a statement. “Our mission is to bring something new to the city that both honors the legacy of Austin and feels completely unique. Whether it’s a headlining show from a national touring act, or a local artist’s breakthrough moment, we want this space to feel like home for musicians and fans alike.”
In a changing of the guard at one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, UTA says that David Kramer will take over as CEO in June, succeeding longtime leader Jeremy Zimmer.
Zimmer, the UTA co-founder who has been CEO of the talent agency since 2012, is shifting to a role as board member and executive chairman. Paul Wachter will remain chairman of the board of UTA.
“We are thrilled to announce David as UTA’s next CEO. He is stepping into this role at an exciting time of growth, with UTA at the center of some of the most pivotal cultural moments across media, sports, and entertainment. We are confident that his leadership and client-centric approach will position the Company for continued success,” said Wachter in a statement. “I’ve known Jeremy and UTA for almost 30 years and have been impressed with Jeremy’s entrepreneurial nature and vision. It’s been remarkable how much the Company has grown and succeeded over that period. Jeremy’s years of dedicated service have left a strong and dynamic foundation for the Company’s future.”
The new role for Kramer is not completely unexpected, with the company describing the move as part of a long-planned succession process. Kramer was elevated to president of UTA in 2022.
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“These 35 years at UTA have been so incredibly rewarding,” said Zimmer in a statement. “While transition is never easy, this particular moment feels very right. David has been my chosen successor for many years and I’m certain that he will continue to uphold our great culture, support our amazing colleagues, and honor the privilege of serving our clients.”
“I am honored to be named UTA’s next CEO. We are all deeply grateful to Jeremy for his passion and dedication to this team and for helping to make UTA into one of the premier global talent agencies in the world,” Kramer added. “His vision and guidance were key to building our foundation and broadening our business to offer clients world-class capabilities across filmed entertainment, music, sports, the creator economy, and advisory services.”
Zimmer led UTA through a significant expansion period, completing some 19 acquisitions, per the company, and partnering with companies like Klutch Sports Group. UTA also secured private equity investment from EQT, in a bid to further turbocharge its growth.
In a note to staff obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Kramer indicated that he intends to continue following that path.
“UTA has consistently taken chances, entered into new spaces, and defined categories with our work,” Kramer wrote in a memo to staff Monday. “Our focus will continue to be on nurturing and empowering that entrepreneurialism, and the unique strengths and capabilities that have allowed us to win in each category. Together, we will make sure that we foster real collaboration across our platform so that we can leverage our ability to see what’s next in culture to unlock greater opportunity for both our clients and the company as a whole.”
As for Zimmer, he will continue as executive chairman through 2025, telling employees in a note that “for the next several months I will be completely available to help transition divisions and relationships to the colleagues who will assume new responsibilities. I will also be available for lunches, laughs, and any sort of questions or concerns that I can be of help with.”
Though he added that he won’t be leaving the entertainment business entirely.
“I have been an agent for 45 years, and it’s now or never to see what else I will do. I’ve always been a builder, and I want to take the time to create something meaningful in this next chapter of my career,” he wrote. “Let’s be honest, the chances that I’m going to start an aluminum company in Alaska or a cement company in Cleveland are pretty slim. So this is not goodbye. I will remain on the board, and I will always be a friend, a supporter, and a fiercely loyal champion of this great company we’ve built together and that I love.”
You can read Kramer’s full email to UTA staff below.
TO: All Employees
FROM: DK
SUBJECT: Leadership Update
Team,
I’d like to start by saying that I am honored to be named UTA’s next CEO. We are all deeply grateful to Jeremy for his passion and dedication to this team and for helping to make UTA into one of the premier global talent agencies in the world. His vision and guidance were key to building our foundation and broadening our business to offer clients world-class capabilities across filmed entertainment, music, sports, the creator economy, and advisory services.
There is a reason that UTA has been my home for my entire career – I am incredibly fortunate to work alongside such a talented and dedicated team, and experience the impact our work has for our clients.
UTA has consistently taken chances, entered into new spaces, and defined categories with our work. Our focus will continue to be on nurturing and empowering that entrepreneurialism, and the unique strengths and capabilities that have allowed us to win in each category. Together, we will make sure that we foster real collaboration across our platform so that we can leverage our ability to see what’s next in culture to unlock greater opportunity for both our clients and the company as a whole.
UTA’s greatness isn’t just defined by the strength of our individual contributions or our ever-expanding scale; it’s our shared commitment to putting clients first and our relentless pursuit of discovering, creating and sustaining opportunity for great talent and brands. This will always be the foundation of our success and what differentiates us.
I’m excited to collaborate with each of you as we leverage the strength of the businesses we’ve built and guide this company into a new era of growth and innovation.
I look forward to spending time over the following weeks meeting with all of you and talking further about priorities ahead.
Please join me once again in thanking Jeremy for his incredible vision and leadership. And thank you for all you do to make UTA the company it is today.
Regards,
DK
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Austin’s annual SXSW conference and festival is set to scale back its 2026 edition. Next year, the event will run from March 12-18 — two days shorter than this year’s event — with its interactive, film/TV and music programs running concurrently. The news was first reported by the Austin American-Statesman. “A shorter SX gives attendees […]
Music fans are amping up for 2025 to be the biggest year ever in stadium touring and leading the pack is Beyoncé, whose Cowboy Carter Tour has posted impressive sales after a month of ticket availability. The “Texas Hold ’Em” singer initially faced significant criticism when early presales revealed aggressive ticket prices for the now-31-date stadium tour through nine major markets — L.A., Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Houston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Some fans criticized Bey’s high prices — tickets in her stageside Club Ho-Down section cost $1,795 a piece — but they also bought a lot of tickets. Beyoncé sold more than 1 million tickets during the fan and sponsor presales and today two-thirds of the stops on the tour — all of the dates in Houston, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Chicago and three of her five nights in New York — are effectively sold out, with Live Nation announcing that 94% of all tickets have already been sold.
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The Cowboy Carter Tour likely won’t outgross her 2023 Renaissance Tour — which ran 55 dates compared to 30 for Cowboy Carter — but she will earn far more on average than Renaissance thanks to higher ticket prices. It’s an impressive feat considering the number of A-list stadium tours competing for fan dollars this summer, including Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Shakira, The Weeknd and BlackPink.
The Beyoncé tour’s economic prowess is derived from its high ticket prices, priced to match what scalpers would sell the tickets for on the secondary market. Fans got their first glimpse of ticket prices on Feb. 11 for the Beyhive presale, the first of a handful of ticket presales for Beyoncé. Fans were required to register in advance for the presale and then wait to receive an email notifying them when it was their turn to try and purchase tickets for the high-demand outing.
Once the sale opened, they were given access to a wide range of tickets and prices, with nosebleeds as low as $102 while floor seats and tickets inside Beyoncé’s standing-room fan areas starting at $877 and rising to several thousand dollars per seat.
For example, tickets in the 500s section at SoFi Stadium in the upper seating area were among the least expensive for Los Angeles, priced at $166 apiece, while tickets on the floor started at $878 per ticket. The most expensive tickets at SoFi Stadium were priced at $1,422 for floor seats, while many floor tickets were priced between $1,000 to $1,200.
The tickets were aggressively priced — according to Billboard’s own non-weighted analysis, the average ticket price during the presale was $670 per ticket. The range in pricing also did cause some confusion among fans, many of whom accused Ticketmaster of using surge-pricing tactics during the ticket sale process, a practice the company denies. While Ticketmaster uses algorithms to help set prices ahead of a ticket sale, it does not adjust prices after they go on sale nor does it engage in surge pricing during periods of high demand.
While fans claimed to have seen prices change, what likely happened was that fans were comparing price points across multiple sections and seeing large variations in prices in seating sections that appeared close to one another. For example, tickets on the 100 level for Beyoncé’s June 28-29 shows in Houston saw large swings in price — the 138 section had tickets priced at $455, while just four sections over in 134, tickets were priced at $565. Closer to the stage, prices in section 102 were at $636 while tickets in section 108 were $852.
That variation in price across multiple sections confused fans who logged into the presale and had limited time to comparison shop. Adding to the confusion was that some of the least expensive tickets were first to sell during the presale, creating the perception that tickets were getting more expensive and the price was increasing, as the minutes of the presale ticked away.
Those high prices have remained strong on the secondary market, according to an analysis by Billboard. Typically, prices on the secondary market drop slightly below face value after a massive stadium onsale, but by only scheduling 30 concerts this summer, Beyoncé has created sustained demand for tickets that extended past the presale and general onsale. Tickets for her two Houston concerts, her three in Chicago concerts and two Washington, D.C. shows are effectively sold out, with only a handful of high-priced floor tickets for purchase on the primary market, while plenty of tickets are listed from secondary sellers for close to face-value prices.
Most impressive, Beyoncé has nearly sold out her first three concerts in New York (May 22, 24 & 25) and is closing in on selling out the final two concerts (May 28 & 29). Fans still hoping to score tickets will probably have the most success in Los Angeles at one her five concerts at SoFi Stadium (April 28, May 1, 4, 7 and 9).
Plenty of tickets are still available on the 500 level for as low as $105, as well as 300 level marked as VIP selling starting at $305, floor seats starting at $535 and tickets next to the stage inside the standing room only Sweet Honey and Buckin’ Honey pits.
Ticket sales for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour are off to a galloping start. Barely a month after pre-sales began and with six weeks until opening night, the world tour is at 94% capacity across all dates, according to new stats from promoter Live Nation. The Cowboy Carter Tour was announced on Feb. 3 with 22 […]
Yandel is set to take his sinfónico concept on the road.
The reggaetón hitmaker unveiled a four-date U.S. stint that will launch on May 30 in Miami and make stops in Orlando, New York and Chicago. The trek will be preceded by his special Sinfónico show in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 10, where he will be joined by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Puerto Rico, directed by Maestro Angel “Cuco” Peña.
The U.S. Sinfónico Tour, produced by Live Nation, is billed as an “innovative live experience” with a live philharmonic orchestra powering Yandel’s reggaetón hits, including “Encantadora,” “Nunca Me Olvides,” and “Noche de Entierro,” to name a few. The songs are also part of his upcoming Sinfónico En Vivo album, scheduled for release on April 3.
For the U.S. shows — directed by Javier Mendoza, professor of the FIU Symphonic Orchestra — Yandel will perform alongside local symphony orchestras. Music arrangements will be done by Rodner Padilla. The Puerto Rican artist’s band and dancers will join with each orchestra in all cities, traveling with a team of around 40 people.
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The U.S. trek follows Yandel’s concert in Miami in October, where he performed for the first time a few of his hits in a classical format, a different approach to música urbana in general fusing reggaetón and symphony.
Yandel launched his solo career in 2013 after countless hits as part of reggaetón pioneering duo Wisin & Yandel. He’s released a total of 11 solo albums, including his latest, ELYTE, which peaked at No. 15 on Billboard‘s Latin Rhythm Albums chart.
Tickets to Yandel’s U.S. Sinfónico Tour will go on sale Thursday, March 20 at 12 p.m. local time at Yandel.com. Check out the dates below.
May 10: San Juan, Puerto Rico (Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot)*May 30: Miami (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts)June 1: Orlando, Fla. (Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts)June 7: New York (SummerStage in Central Park)June 8: Chicago (The Auditorium)
*Not a Live Nation date
Martin Garrix will play a trio of nights at the the L.A. State Historic Park this summer. According to a representative for the shows, this run will make the Dutch producer the first artist to ever play three nights at the outdoor L.A. venue. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
Veteran booking agent Wayne Forte with Entourage Talent and Paladin Artists is auctioning off a private meeting to raise money for the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO). Forte is a widely respected talent agent whose clients include Duane Betts, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Joe Satriani and more. The native New Yorker has been booking artist in […]
Wizkid announced on Wednesday (March 12) that he’ll be touring North America again with his latest studio album, Morayo. He posted a Morayo Tour Hotline promotional video on his Instagram, with various operators informing Wiz’s customers that his European dates (Berlin, Rotterdam and Paris) in May are selling out fast and one operator claiming, “People […]
Legendary rock outfit Guns N’ Roses are plotting their return to India after a 12 year absence, working with Indian concert promotion company BookMyShow Live. The band’s return is scheduled for May 17 at Mahalaxmi Racecourse — typically used for horse racing — in Mumbai. Live Nation, the band’s global tour promoter, is co-producing the […]
