Touring
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When thousands of fans couldn’t get tickets for megastar Taylor Swift’s summer stadium tour, some diehards paid upwards of 70 times face value to see their favorite artist in person — an outrage that prompted Congressional hearings and bills in state legislatures to better protect consumers.
After 10 months, Swift’s U.S. tour is finished, but so are most of the meaningful reforms consumer advocates and industry groups had hoped to pass this year. A proposal has so far failed to advance in the U.S. Senate. Legislation in Colorado was vetoed by the Democratic governor at the urging of some consumer groups.
In California, home to iconic recording studios like Capitol Records and influential clubs like the Whiskey A Go Go and Hollywood Bowl, what started as a robust array of legislation has been watered down to a single bill banning hidden fees, something New York and Connecticut have done and most major industry players have already committed to do on their own.
“That’s it? That’s all that California, the leading state in the nation on so many consumer protection issues, that’s all we’re going to do?” said Robert Herrell, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California. “That’s an embarrassment. It’s not enough.”
The slow progress over changing how tickets should be sold and resold highlights not just the strength of industry opposition, but the regulatory difficulties in a market upended by technology. Gone are the days of standing in line at a box office to find out what seats were available and how much they cost.
Today, nearly all tickets are sold online and downloaded to phones or other devices. Consumers often don’t know how much they will pay until just before they click the purchase button and fees and charges, which can sometimes be almost as much as the ticket price, are applied.
Venues often don’t say how many seats are available for a specific event, according to consumer groups, but instead release tickets in batches, making consumers spend more out of the mistaken fear they’ll miss out.
Some bad actors use software to quickly bulk-buy tickets for resale at much higher prices. They will even sell tickets before they have them, a practice known as “speculative ticketing” that consumer groups say is dangerous and does not guarantee the ticket. Some go so far as to mimic venue websites so consumers believe they are buying tickets directly.
Sharp disagreements among venues, ticket sellers, consumer groups and artists have muddied what may seemingly straightforward consumer rights issues.
Artists and venues want to restrict how fans can resell tickets, an attempt to crack down on “the secondary market to sweep the inventory, inflate the price and price gouge our fans,” said Jordan Bromley, who sits on the board of the Music Artist Coalition, an advocacy group representing artists.
Consumer groups argue buyers can do what they want with their tickets, including upselling. That disagreement is partly why Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a bill earlier this year, despite the bill also containing consumer-friendly policies like banning hidden fees, price increases and speculative ticket sales.
In California, consumer groups have mostly focused their ire on Live Nation Entertainment, the company that owns Ticketmaster and controls the bulk of ticket sales and venues in the U.S. for touring music artists. But the debate is spreading to artists, major men’s professional sports teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco 49ers, and independent venues with capacity for 1,000 people or fewer, including more than 600 in California alone.
Most people are being vocal about “how this is an attempt to shoot at Ticketmaster and Live Nation,” said Julia Heath, president of the California chapter of the National Independent Venue Association. “What’s actually happening is they are aiming at them, but they are hitting everybody else, too.”
The biggest disagreement was over whether to allow teams, venues and artists to restrict how fans could resell tickets they purchased.
A bill to allow teams, venues and artists restrict how fans can resell tickets passed the Senate but failed to pass the Assembly this year after drawing concerns from consumer groups. State Sen. Anna Caballero, the bill’s author, promised to hold a hearing on the issue once the Legislature adjourns.
A bill by Assemblymember Laura Friedman would ban venues and artists from restricting resales. The measure also would have required venues to disclose how many tickets were available for an event to prevent “holdbacks.” Ultimately, the bill was changed to remove both of those provisions after attracting strong industry opposition.
“It’s been very difficult. It had a very strong and concerted effort from the very beginning lobby against this bill,” said Friedman, who added she was disappointed the bill was not stronger.
Industry groups also are disappointed. Heath, who represents independent venues, called it a “do-nothing bill.”
“A lot of the things we took issue with are gone, but we also see it as a missed opportunity,” she said. “There are issues in the ticketing world right now that need to be addressed.”
Not everyone is disappointed. Jenn Engstrom, state director for the California Public Interest Research Group, said while it would be great to solve all of those problems, banning hidden fees is still a win for consumers.
“I’m just all about incremental change,” she said. “This is a good first step.”
Accomplished talent buyers and entertainment executives Jenn Yacoubian and Stacy Vee have been appointed executive vps at Goldenvoice, the AEG Presents-owned concert and festival promoter behind marquee events like Coachella, Stagecoach, Just Like Heaven and more. Vee and Yacoubian will oversee the booking department, headquartered at Goldenvoice’s offices in Los Angeles, while continuing to act […]
Were David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross adapted for the music industry, Tom Windish’s mantra — “Keep booking” — could replace the play’s motivational line “Always be closing.”
At a time when agencies are consolidating and many agents are concentrating on their next career move, Windish remains focused on the core purpose of his job as head of A&R and business development at Wasserman Music: building an impressive roster of promising acts and established stars and helping them graduate to larger and larger stages. That roster includes alt-J, M83, Tove Lo, First Aid Kit, Rina Sawayama, Bartees Strange and superstar Billie Eilish, whom Windish helps route with Wasserman Music’s Sara Bowinkle. And this year, he signed one of his first management clients, activist and attorney-turned-artist Danielle Ponder.
“I like finding bands really early and rolling my sleeves up and figuring out every opportunity we can for them,” says Windish, 50. “When I’ve got an artist that’s already established at a certain level, I like going out and finding shows for them.”
The Schenectady, N.Y., native has worked for over three decades as an agent — first as an intern at WMA, where he was fired after three weeks for not being “William Morris material,” he says. After a stint at Billions, he opened The Windish Agency, which he sold to Paradigm in 2017. Wasserman Music launched in 2021 after acquiring Paradigm’s North American live music division. In 2023, the agency earned the distinction of booking the most acts at Coachella.
Windish recently relocated from Vancouver to New York, where he lives with his wife, film producer Emma Ludbrook — actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto married the couple in 2017 — and two children.
For Windish, discovery and development remain a large part of what drives him. “I probably take on more new things than almost anyone at the company,” he says. “I’m not necessarily saying that’s a good thing, but I tend to find artists that develop slower.”
How are your artists doing post-pandemic?
Last year was hard for artists because of supply chain issues. Just getting the gear that some artists needed was difficult. But this year sales have been very strong, especially in the United States, which has been very beneficial for agents that have international rosters. In Europe, things are much messier, and you see more acts coming to the U.S. a little more often than they used to.
What is your agenting style?
I’m pretty dry. My main responsibility is to send people music and have a conversation about what’s going on and why I’m excited about it. If they react to it or they don’t, I don’t take it personally. I’ll still call them about the next thing. I look for people I can build some history with that are passionate and take chances early.
Do you rely on data to make the case for your artists?
In the last decade or so, I do look at data a lot, especially global data. I have my ear really close to the ground in America and Canada. But I might not know something that’s happening in the Philippines or Korea or Australia because I’m not talking to the people there as frequently. What Spotify for Artists can reveal is interesting, and it’ll lead me to reach out and just ask other people, “Are you seeing this? What does it mean to you? Who is reaching out about it? What type of promotions are going on there? Should we have a tour strategy there? Should we go there?” I’ll also reach out to promoters at the same time.
Shows are being scheduled further and further in advance — deep into 2024. How do these long lead times affect the routing of tours?
I’m usually booking shows before new music is out. Often it’s nine months before it’s out, and I have no way of knowing how people are going to react or how likely they are to buy tickets. But one of the age-old rules of this business is don’t skip steps. So if you sold 500 tickets the last time, maybe you’ll try to sell 1,000 this time. You’re not just bumping up to 2,000 because you have this data that’s indicating there might be more [demand]. One of my strategies to deal with that is to hold a second night or a [venue] upgrade in case it goes really, really well.
Why sell to Paradigm?
I felt like the bigger we got, and the bigger the artists got, the harder it was to compete with these agencies that had a lot more resources. I felt I needed to compete and offer these things so that I wouldn’t lose out on clients. Paradigm had achieved its scale by bringing together independent agencies that all had similar backgrounds to me. Marty Diamond started in the coat closet booking bands in vans. Paul Morris started in the back of a record shop booking Tiësto.
What was that experience like for you, to sell Paradigm to Wasserman?
The sale was prompted by the pandemic. I didn’t know if the business was even going to come back. It was brutal — a lot more brutal for people in our business than others. It was an existential crisis. In terms of what it meant for the agency, I was in the dark about what was going on. There weren’t many people that I could ask because I think we were all in the dark because of the state of the business at the time. No one knew when shows were coming back. No one knew when there was going to be revenue coming back.
How does Wasserman compare with Paradigm?
They’ve been really helpful and great partners. I met [chairman/CEO] Casey Wasserman a few times over the years before it happened and while the transition was happening and was really excited about it. I mean, I was reading books about his grandfather Lew Wasserman for years because I’m a geek for that kind of stuff. I’ve read, like, every book about agents and Hollywood.
There have been complaints that labels are no longer developing and breaking acts. How does that affect the live business?
It’s hard to put it all in one bucket. I do think artist development is falling on the shoulders of the artists themselves and their managers. Labels are looking for artists to make an impact on their social media and to develop their own streaming. The labels get involved after things are moving. It’s “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
Have you ever signed an artist that hasn’t played a live show?
Oh, yeah. I remember a time when it was sacrilegious to sign an artist who hadn’t played a show. But if I didn’t sign artists before they had played a show, I wouldn’t be booking Billie Eilish. I wouldn’t be booking Lorde. And that’s the way it is now, and it’s OK.
What’s your perspective on Ron Burkle’s merging of the AGI and APA agencies?
When you look at all the changes that have happened in the last three or so years, it’s pretty wild. There’s a lot of things moving around, and I think that the biggest thing it shows is that we are all still trying to figure it out. We’re not done. Right now, everyone’s trying to perfect the model maybe, or at least improve their model.
What do you think of the emergence of companies like Firebird?
The interesting thing about Firebird is that we’re seeing now how much managers need to do. A lot of it is stuff that labels used to do. One of the more interesting things about Firebird is going to be how management companies evolve the services that they provide. Will there be more big management companies that are backed by groups like Firebird? Or will a bunch of different management companies share resources, like Artist Nation, where they all shared layers of infrastructure?
What genres are doing well on the road?
The thing I’m most interested in right now is just how global things are. I’ve been a student of that for a long, long time. In the old days, I was looking for artists from other countries because my competitors weren’t. So it was easier for me to sign them. There was an extra layer of a pain in the neck because of the visas and all that kind of stuff, but I was just like, “It’s fine. I’ll do it.” I signed Os Mutantes from Brazil and it was harder than booking an American rock band, but I love them. And now everybody’s signing stuff from all over the world in a lot of different genres. That is the way we now find fans. We kind of ignored these fans in the past because they liked acts we never expected. A lot of artists have been ignored because an agent decided they would never work. And looking back, many of them turned out to be wrong.
Entertainment consulting company Venue Coalition has hired veteran entertainment executive Steve Kirsner as vp of booking. In his new role, Kirsner will focus on servicing the company’s 150+ member venues across North America, assisting them with national and regional booking as well as doing advocacy work for the national touring industry. The addition of Kirsner […]
Demi Lovato has made the move to CAA. The Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and actress, who was most recently with UTA, is now represented in all areas worldwide by CAA.
Lovato rose to fame as a Disney star in roles on Camp Rock and Sonny with a Chance. The artist released her first album Don’t Forget in 2008, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and has since received two Grammy nominations, four Billboard Music Awards nominations and three Brit Award nominations for her work. All seven of Lovato’s studio albums have appeared on the Billboard 200 chart and reached the top 10.
Lovato has accumulated 36 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including four top 10 titles: “This Is Me,” with Joe Jonas (No. 9 in 2008); “Skyscraper” (No. 10 in 2011); “Heart Attack” (No. 10 in 2013); and “Sorry Not Sorry” (No. 6 in 2017). Eight of her singles have been top 10 hits on the Pop Airplay chart, from 18 overall chart titles. Two singles, 2012’s “Give Your Heart a Break” and 2017’s “Sorry Not Sorry,” reached No. 1 on that chart.
Throughout her career, Lovato has earned 9.7 million equivalent album units, sold 23.9 million song downloads and her songs have collectively registered 7.7 billion U.S. on-demand streams in the U.S., according to Luminate.
Next month, Lovato will release Revamped, featuring rock versions of the artist’s hit songs. With all new vocals and production, the 10-track album will allow Lovato to reimagine her career-defining songs with a fresh perspective that reflects her current artistic vision.
Lovato has also been celebrated for her deeply personal documentaries, 2017’s Simply Complicated and 2021’s Dancing with the Devil. She currently serves as Global Citizen’s official ambassador for mental health, with a special focus on vulnerable communities around the world and, in 2013, Lovato became a New York Times best-selling author with a book of affirmations titled Staying Stong: 365 Days a Year.
Lovato will next be seen on MTV’s Video Music Awards where she’s nominated for two awards and will perform.
Billboard recently reported that Lovato parted ways with manager Scooter Braun in July. Lovato signed with Braun and his SB Projects firm in 2019. She was previously managed by Phil McIntyre of PhilyMack. One source close to the situation told Billboard it was time for Lovato to go in a new direction, even though she was thankful for her time with SB Projects.
Lovato will continue to be represented by Rob Cohen at Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian and align Public Relations.
WME has acquired Austin, Texas-based True Grit Talent Agency, signing its entire roster including Cody Jinks, Charles Wesley Godwin, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, Ward Davis, Dexter and The Moonrocks, Bart Crow and Mitchell Ferguson.
True Grit’s team, including agents Mike Krug, Carrie Creasey and Shelby Vanek, have also joined WME and will continue to work out of Austin.
“We are very excited that what we do caught the eye of a company like WME,” Krug said in a statement. “We are proud of all we have built here in Austin and know that joining WME will create exponentially more opportunities for our clients.”
“We’ve long admired the business and roster that True Grit has developed, and we are excited to bring their artists and the team into the WME family and expand WME’s footprint in Austin,” Jay Williams, WME Partner and Nashville office co-head, added in a statement.
The move deepens WME’s presence in Texas, following its acquisition of Red 11 Music earlier this year.
Jinks, known for songs including “Loud and Heavy” and “Hippies and Cowboys,” has been opening shows on Eric Church’s Outsiders Revival Tour. Jinks will headline Red Rocks Amphitheater this fall, and will be among the openers on Luke Combs’ Growing Up and Getting Old Tour next year. Meanwhile, Big Loud artist Godwin is gearing up for the release of his album Family Ties next month, and is opening shows on Zach Bryan‘s Burn, Burn, Burn Tour; Godwin also recently inked a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.
WME represented all three headliners at Stagecoach in 2023; in 2022, WME clients represented over 60% of all headlining slots at the top-country music festivals. Meanwhile, the company’s country music clients have earned the most categories at the ACM Awards and CMA Awards for multiple years.
Killswitch Engage‘s tour bus collided with an elk as the rock band was driving to an appearance at In Flames’ Dalhalla Brinner festival in Rättvik, Sweden, on Friday (Aug. 25). Frontman Jesse Leach took to Instagram shortly after the terrifying experience to share a video of the large vehicle’s shattered windshield and pen a deep […]
The Latin music world has been abuzz about the reunion of Mexican pop band RBD, who played their last show as a group in December 2008 in Madrid. Since that day, fans have been clamoring for a reunion, but the likelihood of that happening had seemed far. Now, five of the original six members — […]
Liam Payne has been hospitalized and is postponing his tour, the former One Direction member announced on his social media accounts on Friday (Aug. 25). “It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America,” the singer wrote. “Over the […]
Late last year, Ben Gibbard was staring down a pair of significant milestones: Death Cab for Cutie’s breakthrough album, Transatlanticism, would be turning 20 in 2023, as would Give Up, the lone full-length that Gibbard and electronic artist Jimmy Tamborello released as The Postal Service. Death Cab’s management suggested separate 20th-anniversary tours, but Gibbard envisioned a two-for-one nostalgia jamboree.
“I was like, ‘People are going to lose their minds if this is one tour,’ ” he recalls. “And I think the initial response and ticket counts were certainly a vindication of my approach.”
Indeed, the Give Up/Transatlanticism joint tour will bring both indie touchstones to arena and theater crowds beginning Sept. 5, with stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden and two hometown gigs at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena among 31 scheduled dates (up from 17 when the tour was announced in December). Gibbard will naturally pull double duty — performing Transatlanticism front-to-back with Death Cab and all of Give Up with Tamborello and Jenny Lewis, who provided backing vocals on six album tracks.
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For Gibbard, the tour will revisit the most pivotal year of his career. Death Cab, which formed in 1997, famously came close to breaking up in late 2001 after touring and recording at a breakneck pace. The subsequent downtime gave a then-25-year-old Gibbard the space to craft the foundation of Transatlanticism, as well as work with Tamborello on an indie-pop side project by mailing CD-Rs to each other (hence the name The Postal Service).
“All of a sudden, I found myself with a lot of time to meander creatively,” recalls Gibbard, now 47. “I felt very confident, and maybe a little bit cocky. I could musically wander and explore the space, and it was very fruitful for me.”
Give Up turned into a blog-adored cult classic, while Transatlanticism took Death Cab “from indie-rock popular” to “popular popular,” as Gibbard puts it. Although Give Up peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard 200 and Transatlanticism at No. 97, they’ve earned 1.8 million and 1.1 million equivalent album units, respectively, according to Luminate.
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Looking back, Gibbard is grateful that his breakthrough with both albums occurred a half-decade into his career. “We had [already] gone through some very difficult times together, and come out the other end,” he explains. “I can’t say with any certainty that if things were like they are now — a band puts out a three-song EP and is selling out shows and has people putting cameras in their faces — there’s no way we would have survived that.”
While Death Cab was just on the road in support of its 10th album, 2022’s Asphalt Meadows, the upcoming tour will mark The Postal Service’s first concerts in a decade, since Give Up turned 10. For Gibbard, these Postal Service shows will be slightly different — unlike in 2013, Give Up will be played in order, without B-sides or covers — but performing again with Tamborello and Lewis will be just as fulfilling.
“These are two of my best friends, that I get to spend extended time with on this trip,” says Gibbard. “We get to celebrate this record that we made, that became this kind of lauded moment in indie rock — but also, it’s a celebration of our friendship.”
A version of this story will appear in the Aug. 26, 2023, issue of Billboard.