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.”

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