Tim Leiweke Pollstar Live! Welcoming Remarks: 'Music Has Become Our Greatest Anchor Tenant'

Gideon Gottfried – Tim Leiweke
opening remarks at Pollstar Live! 2019 Feb. 12

In welcoming remarks officially kicking off Pollstar Live! Feb. 12, Oak View Group CEO and co-founder Tim Leiweke celebrated the state of the concert industry, which is forecast to be worth $31 billion by 2022 and has impacted the facilities business to the point that concerts can become anchor tenants for new facilities rather than sports teams.

“Music has become our greatest anchor tenant, and now the music industry — the promoters, the agents, the managers, the artists — are given a much larger voice in ultimately what they want from these venues,” Leiweke said. “You’re going to see an explosion of venues in the next couple of years, certainly the most amount of money ever spent in the facility business we’re about to witness in the next couple of years.”

He mentioned multibillion-dollar stadium projects such as the Ram/Chargers stadium and the Raiders’ new stadium in Las Vegas, and new arenas such as Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center making strong live markets out of regions that were missing modern venues. Leiweke talked of OVG’s commitment to live music as well, with billions invested into six different venues including the new $800 million-plus arenas in Seattle as well as the New York Islanders, being designed with direct input from concert promoters and producers.

For this year’s Pollstar Live! conference, Leiweke was pleased to count attendance at more than 2,000, which he said makes it the largest concert industry gathering for the most important part of the music industry.

“I think to Ray (Waddell, conference programmer)’s credit he’s outdone himself this year. The mix of artists, talent, agents and industry professionals over the next two days is the best we’ve ever had. it is diverse, not just stadiums and arenas,” Leiweke said, noting that the club and theatre level is a cornerstone of the live business and mentioning that more than 30 booking agencies are represented at this year’s gathering.

Leiweke specifically noted upcoming discussions from Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, Messina Touring Group’s Louis Messina and Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel, three of the world’s most major concert promoters in the world.

“I don’t think this industry, and the people in this room, often gets the credit, attention and the acknowledgement it deserves for its entrepreneurial spirit in creating this now-growing into-a $31 billion dollar industry.”