Rich Schaefer and Rich Holtzman to hitch Gersh in newly created world touring division
AEG is selling music business veteran Gary Gersh to president of worldwide touring and expertise for AEG Presents, the place he’ll oversee all facets of the worldwide live performance promoter’s worldwide touring operations and expertise relations.
Former LoyalT Management co-founder Rich Schaefer, who joined AEG in June, has been promoted to senior vp of AEG Presents’ world touring division, whereas Portugal. The Man supervisor and former StubHub government Rich Holtzman will probably be becoming a member of the group as senior vp of artist improvement and advertising. Schaefer is predicated in New York, whereas Holtzman lives in Los Angeles. Rounding out the senior administration workforce for the brand new world touring division are long-time AEG Presents evp Larry Vallon, svp Debra Rathwell, svp Ali Harnell, svp Bobby Reynolds, vp and normal supervisor Cody Lauzier.
Gersh joined AEG in 2015 after serving as chief government of The Artist Organization, a administration firm with purchasers that included Portugal. the Man, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Tears for Fears and Chromeo. A longtime file label government, he helped launch EMI America and is a founding accomplice at Geffen Records and later served as president and CEO at Capitol/Blue Note Records. He’s labored with bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys and the Foo Fighters and ran two profitable administration firms; G.A.S. Entertainment, which he created with John Silva in 1999 and later TAO, which he ran till the tip of 2014.
“It’s a brand new place the place we have introduced collectively plenty of our touring models to construct out a much bigger, broader and extra centered AEG Presents touring group,” Gersh tells Billboard, saying the brand new division will concentrate on worldwide alternatives for artists and will probably be making promotions and new hires sooner or later with the purpose of constructing an ”formidable, aggressive and globally centered touring group.”
AEG’s accomplice firms, like Goldenvoice, Bowery Presents, Concerts West, Messina Touring Group, Marshall Arts LTD, and Madison House Presents, will proceed to function independently, Gersh mentioned, including that the brand new world touring division seeks “to be in any respect ranges of the place artists are in their progress.”
“Whether it is a model new artist or one that’s an area or stadium act already, we’re taking a look at creating a state of affairs the place we might assist artists develop over time,” Gersh mentioned. “One of the issues AEG Presents has been good at is constructing long run enterprise relationships with artists. We wish to take a look at working with extra artists and broaden the way in which we take into consideration the connection, past North America and Europe into new territories.”
AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano mentioned the purpose of the brand new division is to work with “artists who’ve developed world fan bases,” and mentioned in a press release that Gersh’s “in depth background as an completed label president, artist supervisor and touring government made him the apparent option to spearhead the growth of our touring division,” including, “his plan to centralize tour operations to extra carefully align with our rising worldwide community of touring producers will additional set up AEG as a frontrunner in world touring.”
AEG Presents additionally introduced a number of present workers will probably be transitioning into the brand new world touring division together with Nicole Neal, who has been promoted to vp of selling, in addition to world expertise purchaser Jonny Shuman, who joins the LA workforce from AEG Presets Rocky Mountains. Global expertise consumers Rob Owens, Elliot Lefkowitz and Casey McCabe will now work throughout the world touring division together with Lindsay Dworman who has been promoted to touring coordinator.
Gersh is talking at this yr’s International Entertainment Buyer’s Association convention on Sept. 30 in a keynote Q&A that covers his lengthy profession in music and his imaginative and prescient for AEG. Learn extra at ieba.org.
