Live Nation Productions Makes Two Senior Hires; Division Has Produced Gaga, Imagine Dragons Films

– Matthew Stein
Live Nation Productions

Live Nation Productions, the promotion/ticketing giant’s film, TV and documentary production division, has announced two senior hires.

Producer and studio exec Matthew Stein joins as head of scripted development and production, while Emmy Award-winning producer Ryan Kroft will be head of unscripted development and production. Both will report to Heather Parry, Live Nation Productions’ president of production, film and television. 

– Ryan Kroft
Live Nation Productions

“In just two short years, Live Nation Productions has brought fans closer to live music through a diverse slate of projects, and with this stellar team in place we’ll be able to continue successfully exploring content for screens of all kinds,” Parry said in a statement. “Between Matt’s extensive film experience and Ryan’s expertise with live TV, we’re ready to ramp up even more amazing projects.”

Stein joins following a producing deal at Sony where he has various projects in development in both film and television, and previously served as VP of Sony Pictures International Productions. 

Kroft joins after 20 years at Viacom, where he served as senior VP of events and specials for MTV, VH1 and Logo, where he oversaw development and production for events such as the Video Music Awards and MTV Movie Awards red carpets, MTV Woodie Awards, VH1 Divas and others.

Founded in 2015, Live Nation Productions’ upcoming projects include the its first scripted films: “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, in which he co-stars with music superstar Lady Gaga, and “The After Party,” which stars Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Kyle and Teyana Taylor. 

The production arm’s recent projects include “Believer,” which follows Imagine Dragons’ Mormon frontman Dan Reynolds as he takes on a new mission to explore how the church treats its LGBTQ members, and documentaries about Lady Gaga, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Eagles of Death Metal’s return to Paris after the Bataclan massacre.  

“Dan Reynolds and his brother Robert, the Dragons’ lawyer, approached me in late 2016 about an idea they had for a documentary-style series they wanted to do and asked if I would be interested in putting that together,” she told Pollstar. “So that started what would then become the ‘Believer’ documentary. I approached Live Nation, our touring partner, knowing Live Nation Productions was looking for content and out-of-the-box ideas, hoping our relationship on the touring side would lead to further interest in discussing this project. It was an incredibly exciting thing to put together.”  

Christopher Martin told Pollstar the Love Loud Festival July 28, featuring Imagine Dragons, Zedd, Mike Shinoda and many others at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, sold out with nearly 30,000 tickets and raised more than $1 million for Reynolds’ Love Loud Foundation, whose mission it is to unconditionally love, understand, support and accept LGBTQ friends and family.