Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists: Michael Martin, founder and CEO of Effect Partners and r.Cup


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Getting To Know Your Pollstar Live! Panelists
Michael Martin, founder and CEO of Effect Partners and r.Cup
Panel: “How the Next Era Of Music Festivals Will Be Safe, Sustainable and Sold Out”
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 10:30 a.m.  
Michael Martin
Courtesy of Michael Martin – Michael Martin

The public remains enamored of the music festival experience worldwide, and the festival boom continues from massive destination festivals to regional and boutique events. But the festival equation has changed, and festival producers must consider a paradigm shift not only in terms of how festivals are booked, but how they impact the environment and, in the wake of the Astroworld strategy, an increased focus on crowd management. The stakes are higher than ever in the festival business as producers find the balance between profitability, safety, and sustainability. Leaders in the festival world will discuss this challenging next era here.

Moderator:
Scott Weiss, CEO, Atomic Music Group 

 
Speakers:
Adam Bauer, Partner and Agent, Madison House  

David Beame, Vice President, Global Events & Experiences, Global Citizen  
Morgan Margolis, CEO, Knitting Factory Entertainment
Michael Martin, CEO/founder, Effect Partners & r.Cup
Denise Melanson, Director of Social Impact, Wasserman Music  
Cory Meredith,President, Allied Universal Event Services 
Michael Martin is the Founder and CEO of Effect Partners and r.Cup. As an innovator in the merging of business, and social change impact, he has been at the forefront of the environmental movement, climate change, single-use waste reduction, and music industry greening since 1990 – starting with the non-profit Concerts for the Environment.

Michael introduced many of the greening practices currently being used in the live event industry today. He has worked with hundreds of the music industry’s leading artists and tours including U2, Roger Waters, Jack Johnson, and Rolling Stones. He has produced multiple nationally broadcast Earth Day events on the National Mall and stadiums. Michael has developed the sustainability/marketing strategies for brands including Live Nation, AEG, Toyota, UPS, Target, Clif Bar, and Apple Computer.

In 2017, Michael founded r.Cup – the award-winning turnkey reusable cup system built on r.Turn™ technology – to target the more than 4 billion single-use and disposable cups used at live events in North America each year.

Michael sits on the MIT Environmental Solutions Board. In addition, he recently helped catalyze the formation of the Music Sustainability Association— a hyper inclusive member driven association by and for the music industry to collaborate, facilitate and expedite systemic solutions to the biggest environmental challenges that threaten the music industry and humanity.

 

Pollstar Live! is set for Feb. 7-9 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton. The 2022 event marks the return to the conference’s traditional February calendar slot following the 2021 edition, which was pushed to June in light of the pandemic. The conference is the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals and the flagship event for Pollstar magazine, the leading trade publication for the global live entertainment industry. 
With some of the best talent and minds in the business gathering once more in Los Angeles, you won’t want to miss the networking opportunities, insightful discussion and, of course, the Pollstar Awards honoring the best from the live entertainment world. 
Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features insightful panels and discussions from industry professionals on all topics related to staging live events including lighting, video, staging and stage management, sound technique, concert production, video, regulations, security and more.

Click these links for the Production Live! schedule and the Pollstar Live! schedule. 

 
Register for Pollstar Live! here. All registrants will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to gaining entry to the conference. 
What tent poles are you most proud of in your career? 
Introducing the concept of live event greening of 30 years ago; launching the first-ever national climate change campaign by creating a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor with Dave Matthews Band; and helping to develop sustainability strategies and programs for Live Nation, AEG, Apple Computer, the leading sustainability-focused artists and dozens of others.

Why must everyone go to this panel?
There is nothing more important to the long-term success of the industry than safety, and nothing more important to the long-term success of humanity than sustainability. 
What story will you tell during the panel?
How you can save and make money by doing the right thing for the environment.
What’s the story you won’t tell?
Which managers and artists have been the most visible about sustainability but have not really done anything. 
 
What was the best part of your 2021?
Staying alive during COVID, both me and my companies!
Can you give us a prediction for a highlight of 2022?
The live event world will start to embrace reuse systems at scale. The Music Sustainability Association will become a critical tool for system sustainability change in the music industry.

Editor’s Note:  
Ahead of the Pollstar Awards, the Music Sustainability Association is hosting a meet up on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. at the pool bar at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton. Michael Martin extends a welcome for “anyone interested in sustainability attending or in the area.”