Q’s With UTA’s Cheryl Paglierani: Post Malone Smokes Out The (Hollywood) Bowl

null – Cheryl Paglierani
with Post Malone

United Talent Agency’s Cheryl Paglierani has been along for quite a ride with Texas-born rapper Post Malone, who has gone from likable “White Iverson” curiosity to bonafide superstar, constantly churning out hits and with touring chops to match.

Post Malone was already a growth story on the road, with his “Stoney” tour of last fall requiring major upgrades and his manager, Dre London, saying they could have sold out the whole tour twice.

Now he’s just wrapped an April-June shed tour with fellow Paglierani client 21 Savage (who is featured on “Rockstar,” the No. 1 song in the world for eight weeks), and Pollstar cover artist SOB X RBE. 

That run grossed $22.4 million on 31 shows according to Pollstar data, good for No. 18 on the Mid-Year Top 100 North American Tours (No. 41 Worldwide). Highlights from that run include two nights at the Hollywood Bowl June 27-28 (32,045 tickets, $2.62 million grossed), Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., June 24 (21,531, $1.09 million) and a personal highlight for Paglierani in her hometown market of Boston, with 19,518 tickets sold to Xfinity Center May 24, which grossed $831,111.

A few additional impressive reports include three nights in Post’s home state of Texas, with Austin360 Amphitheatre ($689,270) Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion ($1.05 million) and Toyota Music Factory in Irving ($510,494) all sold out. 

All in all, for Mid-Year he averaged 12,647 tickets sold per night, with an average gross of $771,559 and 366,775 total tickets sold. 

The tour is also United Talent Agency’s highest on either Mid-Year chart.  While his headlining has exploded, Post is not shying away from festivals, with major slots at American events including Governors Ball in New York, Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati and Beale Street in Memphis, and recent European appearances including Rock Werchter in Belgium and Wireless in London. He’s also just announced his very own, brand-new Posty Fest in Dallas Oct. 28, which is already on sale without a lineup yet announced. 

Paglierani told Pollstar about what’s next for Post, her other clients and a smashing story involving Fender guitars.

Frances Sealy / ConcertLivewire.com – Post Malone
Post Malone pours it on during the Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tenn., May 6.

Cheryl Paglierani: Things will definitely get bigger, we’re just getting started! Going from our North American tour straight into summer festivals in Europe meant we couldn’t do a proper European headline tour this year. 

We have plans to build out arena tours in Europe, North America and Australia in 2019. Our last European headline run was in 700- to 1,000-cap rooms and to see a jump from that straight into arenas is astounding.

The original plan was to book Post on a solo run in boutique amphitheaters across the U.S., but with “Rockstar” holding the No. 1 spot for eight weeks, there was so much synergy between Post and Savage that the package made sense despite them being very different artists. We were able to bump up into the larger sheds in most markets and create a bigger look for both artists, so it became a win/win.

Prior to the tour, we did a deal with Fender for them to supply guitars for Post to smash on stage every night. A few shows in, he and Savage were smashing guitars together when they played “Rockstar.” The fans loved it. 

The Boston show at Xfinity Center was also a great highlight for me personally, as it’s my hometown. Our last Boston show he played was at the House of Blues. Going from 2,500 tickets to blowing out 19,000 tickets at home was a career moment I won’t forget.

The goal for 21 Savage with this tour was all about opening him up to a new audience and gaining new fans. We realized that the average Post Malone fan might not be someone who would typically buy a ticket to a 21 Savage show and vice versa. Putting him on that stage gave him the opportunity to expand his fanbase to a much wider demographic.

Every show we book has a purpose and is a building block to get us to the next level. Three years ago, Post was playing the Skate Stage at Made in America and this year he’s headlining. Everything in between has been about growth and taking the necessary steps to ensure longevity.   

– Cheryl Paglierani
UTA

I’m excited for 21 Savage’s album coming out later this year as well as SAINt JHN’s headlining tour this fall. 

One-thousand percent. He is the most fun, likable and humble person I know.