Pollstar Live! Carrie Davis, Paul Bassman Among Speakers Confirmed For “When Things Go Off The Rails” Panel

Everyone in the industry knows that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Even beyond the security issues that the live music industry must contend with, touring is still a risky business. Agents, promoters, managers and venue operators must be ready to deal with an array of potential problems, from cancellations, illness and underperforming shows, to production breakdowns and the rise of consumer expectations.

Speakers include Carrie Davis (Chief Communications Officer, Live Nation), Tim Epstein (Chair, Duggan Bertsch), Ken Fermaglich (UTA) Kasey McKee, (CAA), Paul Bassman (CEO, Ascend) and promoter/talent buyer A.J. Niland. The discussion will be moderated by Executive Editor of OVG Media & Conferences Andy Gensler.

Davis has worked as Live Nation’s Chief Communications Officer since 2015, where she leads all internal and external communications. As CCO, Davis advises on all cooperate communications topics, including financial, legal, investor, governmental affairs and crisis communications, in addition to providing strategic leadership for all divisions of the company.

She previously served as the vice president of communications at Disney Interactive, vice president of communications at Match.com and director of communications at Yahoo. 

– Carrie Davis

“Response to crisis has to be swift, transparent and authentic,” Davis told Pollstar. “With social media, the availability of data and the 24/7 news cycle, the days of spinning and ‘killing stories’ are long gone.” 

Epstein is a partner at Duggan Bertsch, where he serves as one of the firm’s top lawyers in sports and entertainment. He counsels the producers of more than 20 music festivals, including Life Is Beautiful, Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest.

Epstein, who was recently honored as one of the Law Bulletin’s 40 under 40 attorneys to watch, is also a legal analyst for ABC, FOX and WGN.

“We learn from our mistakes, but we also learn how valuable the steps we take to mitigate damage are when problems, and even disasters, strike,” Epstein told Pollstar.  “It’s good to get some bumps and scrapes in the live event space to make you better at both performing and producing in the future, but not every problem is recoverable for all people, so get some valuable insight from those of us who have taken some hard hits and lived to fight another day.”

Fermaglich works as an agent for United Talent Agency, whose roster includes Action Bronson, G-Eazy, Alice Cooper, Guns N’ Roses, Toby Keith and many others.

“I thought this was interesting because these are the very types of situations many times you can’t plan for yet have to deal with,” Fermaglich said of the panel. “These sometimes-intense circumstances require quick thinking, solution-based problem-solving methods.  I’ve dealt with a few of them over the years, so I figured I could offer some real commentary.”

McKee has worked at CAA since 2010. She previously worked as a coordinator for Rockstar Mayhem Festival and as a Sponsorship Manager at Music As A Weapon Festival.

McKee told Pollstar she will draw on her experience as an agent to discuss how to deal with artist cancellations, underperforming shows and day-of show issues that can be avoided. Her talking points will include, “Breaking bad news to promoters and fans, rescheduling, handling talent buyer request for reductions, and reasons why an artist will never want to play a venue again.”

– Paul Bassman

Prior to the insurance industry, Bassman spent 15 years working ion the music industry as an artist manager, promoter, label owner and A&R for Capitol Records.

Niland in the co-founder of Huka Entertainment, whose stable of festivals included Pemberton Music Festival, Tortuga Music Festival, BUKU Music + Art Project and Hell Yes Fest. Niland left Huka in December.

The Pollstar Live! Conference takes place Feb. 6-8 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.