Impact NextGen: Ashley Ventura

MAC Agency’s Ashley Ventura couldn’t help but be proud watching client Kodak Black onstage at The Novo in Los Angeles on Super Bowl weekend, just as his track “Super Gremlin” was riding high on the charts, and just months after helping one of her college favorites, K CAMP, through a successful fall 2021 tour.

Starting in 2011, Ventura learned the ropes as a concert promoter in Albany, N.Y., booking more than 300 concerts in about eight years. She also booked small and regional tours for local and developing artists before making the transition to becoming an agent in 2019.

Under the tutelage of MAC Agency CEO Andrew Lieber, she is poised for agency stardom. And she’s not going to have it any other way.

“I’m going to be one of the greatest booking agents to ever do it,” Ventura says. “Why? Because I’m the realest one in the game. I don’t sell these artists this big picture of the stars and the moon and promising them everything they ask, to then just put them on a shelf and not make them a priority. I keep it honest, real and let my hard work do the talking. I’m in the trenches with my artists developing them, sometimes rebuilding them. I’m hungry, passionate and work harder than everyone.”

Ventura cites Lieber as her biggest mentor and career influence, and it’s easy to see why.

Andrew is a great mentor because he never sugarcoats anything. He gives me the hard truth no matter how much I don’t want to hear it, he helps me self-analyze and work on my weaknesses but also acknowledges my strengths,” she says. “The way Andrew does business and treats his clients is extremely admirable. He pushes me to my greatest potential and is a great role model and mentor.”

Her advice to the next generation of young agents? “Just be YOU,” Ventura says. “Don’t let this cutthroat industry change who you are. Focus on what you’re best at and don’t be afraid to try new things. Now is the time to discover your talents in the industry and double down on those.”