– Ali Harnell

In Her Own Words: Silver Linings Playbook

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President and Chief Strategy Officer, Live Nation Women  

The Business Philosophy Ali Harnell Lives By: 

Think win-win! 

The Biggest Accomplishments In Harnell’s Career:

• Surviving and thriving and being here in 2021 where I get to wake up and work exclusively on finding ways to advance and advocate for and amplify more women from this LIVE NATION WOMEN platform!

• Country2Country Music Festival – Helping create the international footprint for so many artists to be able to expand their reach to so many new corners of the globe was an amazing time and the team I worked with was amazing.

• Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour: truly the best professional and personal experience; so much joy and impact and good vibes.

What Harnell Has Been Up To & What’s Next:

• Strategic planning and development with external advocacy organizations and internal networks to help drive racial and gender equity. Organizations include Diversify the Stage, Music Forward Foundation, SoLa Impact, We Are Moving the Needle, She is the Music, and many others.

• “Beautiful Noise” – A song and campaign I commissioned by all female songwriters and artists including (and performed by) Brandi Carlile and Alicia Keys in celebration and commemoration of women’s suffrage and the ongoing fight for social justice, which was used to drive voter turnout in 2020. 

• Live Nation Women internal programs and panels for Women’s History (& Futures) Month throughout March 2021. Rolled out MILES, the outline of the areas we aim to solve for gender equity through: Money, Intersectionality and Intention, Leadership, Education and Empowerment, and Storytelling (Representation).

• In the pipeline: tours with some badass women! 

On Seeing The Silver Linings: 

My positive takeaways from this past year are how important resilience, gratitude and positive mindset are and that when we center ourselves in those spaces, we can navigate almost anything. Community and relationships are really the most important things (beyond our health) and nurturing the ones that help us be our best selves is critical. Working in an environment where you feel supported and your values are reflected is something not to take for granted. Going forward I’ll continue to embrace and build on these truths.

On Inclusivity In The Live Biz: 

Well, hope is a discipline and change is hard work. We are hopefully improving. I’m taking an optimistic approach while not being naïve. We are absolutely having cultural conversations en masse around combatting structural racist systems and driving gender equity.  ubstantive progress is still much slower than I’d like to see but I also acknowledge that we are coming out of a pandemic that financially devastated our industry and that we are solving for multiple things at once. Accountability is key and so long as leadership at companies across our industry stay committed to the change, we can continue to make progress. 

Hot Takes

Which music artist or band has most helped you get through this year?

Brandi Carlile – how she gets shit done is truly an inspiration. She was my co-manifester on Beautiful Noise and her XOBC wines got me through the last year. Her integrity around her activism and never-ending fight for social justice is a constant teacher to me. Not to mention her music and her newly released memoir, “Broken Horses,” giving me hours of entertainment!

The artist you would most like to see live when touring and festivals return?

If I can only pick one I’d have to say my queen Stevie Nicks. 

When it’s safe to do so, will you go back to the office, work remotely or   a combination of both? Why?

All of the above….I commute between Nashville and LA and get so much benefit out of being in the offices, collaborating with teams face to face but I also think there’s a lot of value to hunkering down at home, avoid commuting time and costs, and getting focused.

How do you think livestreaming will or won’t be integrated into your business going forward?

 I think it will be a big part of what we do going forward as a complement to the live show. It will allow fans from all over the world be able to experience their favorite artists and it will allow the artists to monetize their shows in new ways. 

Your favorite music documentary – recent or old? 

 I loved that Bee Gees doc!

Zoom, Clubhouse or TikTok? Why?

 Zoom for me. I like connecting face-to-face with people and having real conversations.

 

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