Gary Gersh steps down at AEG Presents
Gary Gersh, president of global touring at AEG Presents, plans to step down after eight years at the company.
His departure was announced by AEG Presents chairman Jay Marciano, who broke the news to AEG staff in a memo.
Gersh’s former role will be filled by Rich Schaefer, who is currently the company’s senior vice president of global touring.
In his own letter addressed to staff, Gersh said: “I have made the very difficult choice to step away from my position here at AEG Presents. This was not a decision I came to lightly, as working alongside everyone at this company these past eight years has been a career highlight for me, but I’m excited about the prospects ahead and look forward to us crossing paths again in the future… I couldn’t be more proud to place the global touring division in the very capable hands of my longtime friend and partner in business Rich Schaefer.”
“This was not a decision I came to lightly, as working alongside everyone at this company has been a career highlight for me”
Marciano added: “Gary played a vital role in the development and growth of global touring; his energy, passion and initiative helped nurture an embryonic idea into a powerhouse team that has made a substantial impact on both our business specifically and the industry as a whole.”
Commenting on Schaefer’s new role, Marciano said: “Rich, who has been SVP of the division since joining the company in 2018, has an extensive resume and years of experience beyond his current duties here. He started his career in artist development at a record label before moving into management, where he spent two decades working across all aspects of artists’ careers while also developing a speciality in touring. He brings a thorough understanding of our business to the job and is looking forward to hitting the ground running and executing at the highest level on behalf of both global touring and AEG Presents. Rich will continue to be based out of New York, but we should all expect to be seeing more of him in Los Angeles.”
Gersh joined AEG in 2015 but he began his career in the 1980s, serving as an A&R exec at Geffen Records, where he played a key role in signing artists such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana to the label.
During the 1990s, Gersh led Capitol Records and launched G.A.S Entertainment with John Silva. A veteran talent manager, Gersh also led The Artist Organization, representing artists such as Lenny Kravitz and John Legend.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Q&A: AEG’s Gary Gersh on talent development
Ever-changing best practice and technological innovation are impacting the live music industry like never before, while important issues such as diversity, equality, and sustainability are being embraced by every sector of the business. In the most recent issue of IQ, we talk to some of the architects who are helping to shape the industry of the future, to quiz them on their blueprints and predictions for how we may all be operating in a few years’ time. This excerpt from the feature sees AEG president of global talent Gary Gersh discuss the importance of talent development, the rise of non-English-speaking artists and the role of streaming.
IQ: What does the live music business look like in 2030? How do you see things changing?
GG: I think the live music scene will be more globally based – we’ll be doing tours all over the world and in countries that we may not have gone in as regularly before. I believe more artists will be coming from countries that we didn’t imagine. And I think streaming will continue to just level this playing field. It’s super exciting.
While the top end of the business is enjoying record numbers, the middle and lower end of touring acts are struggling. What more can be done to support and develop new talent?
We’re in the development business, and we have to continue to take artists from the beginning all the way through the middle and to headliners. If we do it the other way, top-down, you end up not developing talent, and you end up not having the future we all want to have.
Bottom-up is the way we look at it because most artists that are going to be around a long time will not start in the middle or at the top. Even though they may have hits, the lasting power comes from building your audience, market by market, globally. We, as an industry, have to spend more time, money, and resources to be able to develop talent from its earliest days. Or else I think we end up having no middle, which will mean fewer artists getting to be superstars.
“We, as an industry, have to spend more time, money, and resources to be able to develop talent from its earliest days”
As president of AEG’s global touring, where do you see opportunities for growth in the next three years?
Geography and musicality are going to go hand in hand, and we’re going to see music come from all different places in the world. We’re moving toward a situation where alternative music will come from places where English isn’t the most important thing. We’ve just finished sold-out tours with Rammstein, Blackpink, and Karol G, and there’s not a word of English in
any of it. So, I think that’s where we’re going to see opportunities coming from.
What’s the greatest threat to the business currently, and how do we solve it?
I’ve been doing this since I was a young teenager, and I’ve never looked at things as threats to our business. If you look at all that’s going on right now, you can see that there’s a levelling of the playing field around the world through streaming. For example, Karol G puts on a show for Coachella and doesn’t use it anywhere else, but her growth around the world from the stream is gigantic. At the same time, Anitta is playing and Grupo Firme is playing and they’re widening their audiences because the opportunity is just so powerful. The threats that we may perceive are actually opportunities. There is some great new music around, so I think the biggest threat is that people become complacent.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AEG promotes Cody Lauzier to SVP of global touring
AEG Presents has announced that Fredrick Lauzier – better known as Cody – has been promoted the senior vice president of its global touring and talent division.
Lauzier, who previously served as vice president and general manager of AEG’s global touring arm, will take on an expanded role in all touring operations, including ticketing, production and overall global strategy.
In his new role, Lauzier will work closely with Gary Gersh, who launched AEG Presents global touring and talent as president last year, and the rest of the team, including the division’s recently appointed executive vice president Debra Rathwell.
“Cody has an incredible level of passion and commitment to his job that’s inspiring to everyone around him,” comments Gersh. “He’s a critical member of our team, and he has an unreal instinct in terms of artist development and trends. I’m so proud of him and his accomplishments, and I’m thrilled to announce his new position.”
“AEG Presents has been my home for the past 13 years, and I’ve been honoured to play a part in our growth and continued success”
“AEG Presents has been my home for the past 13 years, and I’ve been honoured to play a part in our growth and continued success,” comments Lauzier. “I can’t wait to take on this new challenge and dive in headfirst, and I’m grateful to Gary for his friendship, leadership and support.”
Since joining AEG Presents in 2007, Lauzier has helped to promote festivals and tours for Goldenvoice, Concerts West and AEG global touring and worked with artists including Katy Perry, Tyler, The Creator, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cage The Elephant, Panic! at the Disco and more.
Currently Lauzier is overseeing Sturgill Simpson’s Good Look’n tour as well as German band Rammstein’s upcoming North American stadium dates.
AEG Presents promotes festivals including Coachella, this year headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean, and British Summer Time Hyde Park, which features headline acts including Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Little Mix and Pearl Jam.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AEG Presents names Global Touring VPs
AEG Presents has appointed Alicia Karlin and Jenny Heifetz Henault as vice-presidents of its Global Touring and Talent division.
Gary Gersh, president of Global Touring and Talent, comments: “Alicia and Jenny are incredibly talented and have bright futures ahead of them. Jenny has executed some of the biggest tours in music over the past decade and Alicia is known for her ingenuity and creative artist development. I’m grateful to have them on the team and I couldn’t be happier to be announcing these two well-deserved promotions.”
Jenny Heifetz Henault has been with AEG Presents’ New York office for ten years, most recently as senior director of Global Touring, where she worked with EVP Debra Rathwell on tours including Elton John, the Who, Lorde, John Mellencamp and JoJo Siwa.
Alicia Karlin joined AEG as vice-president of talent and senior event producer in 2014, when AEG Presents (then AEG Live) acquired her previous company, Madison House Presents. She also books the four-day Electric Forest festival in Michigan, which is co-produced by Madison House Presents.
“[This is] a truly remarkable team that is redefining what it means to be a tour promoter”
Karlin, who will continue to book Electric Forest, says: “I can’t imagine a better way to start the new decade than joining the Global Touring team at AEG Presents. Working with world-class artists to elevate their vision to a global audience at a pivotal point in history is how we shift culture, and Gary has built the most qualified team with the creativity and resources to do it.”
“I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most talented, quality people in the industry, and I am beyond thrilled to embark on this next phase of my career alongside a truly remarkable team that is redefining what it means to be a tour promoter,” adds Heifetz Henault. “This is an exciting opportunity to help lay the foundation for our department and shape the vision for our future.”
Both VPs will relocate to AEG Presents’ headquarters in Los Angeles.
AEG Global Touring and Talent is promoter AEG Presents’ specialist international touring division. Headed up by Gersh, it launched in September 2018 and sits alongside other AEG-owned companies including Goldenvoice, Marshall Arts and Concerts West.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AEG Global Touring poaches Frontier, YouTube execs
Michael Harrison, former tour director at Michael Gudinski’s Frontier Touring, and David Rappaport, recently head of artist relations for the Americas at YouTube Music/Google Play Music, have joined AEG Presents’ new Global Touring division.
True to its name, AEG Global Touring and Talent is the company’s new specialist international touring division. Headed up by president Gary Gersh, it launched in September and sits alongside other AEG-owned companies including Goldenvoice, Marshall Arts and Concerts West.
At Frontier, Harrison promoted Australasian tours by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood, the Killers, Sam Smith, Lorde and Flight of the Conchords. He “has been bringing artists to Australia for years from Europe and bringing them through Australia to Asia,” Gersh tells Billboard. “His area of expertise brings a tremendous amount to the group, [and] his relationships worldwide are imperative for us to grow the group at the level at which we plan to.”
Rappaport, meanwhile, worked on promo campaigns with artists including Led Zeppelin, Panic! at the Disco and Camila Cabella, according to AEG.
“We are already seeing some clear direction that where we are headed is super-positive”
Other AEG execs joining the Global Touring division include New York-based Donna DiBenedetto, who has been promoted to VP of global touring, Jenny Heifetz Henault, who has been named senior director of global touring, Jessica Smith, who has been promoted to senior manager of marketing, and Derek Tucker, who has been named VP of ticketing, as well as Nashville-based Laurel Hilburn, who has been promoted to manager of touring.
“Though we only announced [AEG Global Touring] a few weeks ago, we’ve been moving in this direction for the better part of eight months,” continues Gersh. “We are just now coming above board, if you will.
“We are already seeing some clear direction that where we are headed is super-positive. I think over the course of the next 12 to 24 months, we will see a tremendous growth spurt for us in our relationships with talent and our execution.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AEG launches new global touring division under Gary Gersh
AEG Presents has announced an expansion of its global touring business under Gary Gersh, who has been appointed president, AEG Presents Global Touring and Talent.
The company – AEG’s live entertainment touring division, formerly known as AEG Live – has added Rich Schaefer, who becomes senior VP, global touring, and Rich Holtzman, who has been named senior VP of artist development and marketing, to the new division.
Rounding out the Global Touring and Talent senior management team are longtime AEG Presents execs Larry Vallon (executive vice-president), Debra Rathwell (senior vice-president), Ali Harnell (senior vice-president), Bobby Reynolds (senior vice-president) and Cody Lauzier (vice-president/general manager).
“Global touring has always been at the core of AEG Presents, and with the increase in the number of artists who have developed global fanbases, it was clear we needed to further develop this critical division,” comments Jay Marciano, chairman and CEO of AEG Presents. “Gary’s extensive background as an accomplished label president, artist manager and touring executive made him the obvious choice to spearhead the expansion of our touring division.
“His plan to centralise tour operations to more closely align with our growing international network of touring producers will further establish AEG as a leader in global touring.”
“Live entertainment is an interesting conversation for artists and audiences alike these days”
Other AEG-owned live brands, including Goldenvoice, the Bowery Presents, Concerts West, Messina Touring Group, Marshall Arts and Madison House Presents, will continue to operate separately, as part of AEG Presents.
Gary Gersh is the founder and former CEO of management company the Artists Organization (TAO), and joined AEG in early 2017. New York-based Schaefer was most recently a partner at LoyalT Management, where he helped to guide the careers of performers including Chromeo, Lord Huron, Animal Collective, Sigrid and Aurora, and formerly worked at TAO with Gersh with clients including John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Soundgarden and Tears for Fears.
Holtzman, also a manager, is best known for his 12-year collaboration with Portugal the Man, and most recently served as an executive at StubHub’s music business. He is also a former TAO colleague of Gersh’s.
“Throughout my career, my passion has always been in artist development, as well as building the teams necessary to execute on their unique vision,” says Gersh.
“His plan to centralise tour operations to more closely align with our network of touring producers will further establish AEG as a leader in global touring”
“Live entertainment is an interesting conversation for artists and audiences alike these days, as it continues to grow and morph quickly. Working closely with Jay and the entire AEG team over these past years has been an incredible experience and I am very excited by all of the opportunities that lie ahead as we assemble the best global touring team at this time of incredible opportunity.”
He adds: “I am also thrilled to be working with Rich and Rich again and look forward to their contributions within the group. Our time together at the Artists Organization proved what a great team we can be, and I am confident this will continue in our new roles.”
Several other AEG Presents staff are also moving over to the Global Touring division, including Nicole Neal, who has been promoted to VP of marketing, Lindsay Dworman, who becomes touring coordinator, and talent buyers Jonny Shuman, Rob Owens, Elliot Lefkowitz and Casey McCabe.
AEG Presents’ UK office promoted Simon Jones to senior VP of music, international, last month.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.