Pollstar’s 2023 Year-End Executive Survey (Part 1)

The past year saw live music pushed even further into the stratosphere with Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, P!NK and Elton John all out on the road. Not to mention U2’s residency at Sphere in Las Vegas. Throughout 2023 the industry experienced massive highs including Taylor and Beyoncé grossing more at SoFi Stadium than most music festivals do over a single weekend, along with challenges like severe weather stranding thousands in the desert as well as inflation, ticketing and a glut of tours.

Pollstar reached out to many of the industry’s top executives to get their take on 2023, with promoters, agents, managers and venue execs taking stock of this year’s successes and failures. This is the first installment of Pollstar’s annual Year-End Executive Survey, which will be included online throughout the coming weeks.

Participants

Bobby Dee
Founder/CEO, Bobby Dee Presents

Alex Hodges
CEO, Nederlander Concerts

Heather Kolker
Founder/Manager, Dreamshop Management

Cara Lewis
Owner/CEO, Cara Lewis Group

Mitch Rose
Co-Head of Contemporary Music, CAA

Jen Sandstrom
VP of Programming and Booking, SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and Hollywood Park

Josephine Vaccarello
Executive Vice President Live, MSG Entertainment and Sphere

What were you and your company’s greatest successes in 2023?
Bobby Dee: Producing Peso Pluma’s U.S. tour, witnessing his rapid ascent to international superstardom, and achieving significant success with the music collaboration featuring Ice Cube and Banda MS on “¿Cuáles Fronteras?” bringing together two distinct musical genres.

Alex Hodges: It was great for us. The second-best year ever for several of our venues, including City National Grove of Anaheim. Pantages, where availability for concerts is rare, had a phenomenal concert year with three sold-out shows for Jackson Browne and for Taylor Tomlinson, two sold-out shows with Chelsea Handler, and sold-out shows for both Daryl Hall with Todd Rundgren as well as Heather McMahan.

Heather Kolker: My personal greatest success was founding Dreamshop in July 2023. We watched the release of Nanna’s (from Of Monsters and Men) gorgeous debut solo album with a super special tour with sold-out dates and festivals. MUNA had career highs such as their unforgettable Coachella performance, a sold-out headline tour, support dates on Taylor’s “Eras Tour” and the boygenius tour, finishing with two sold-out, L.A. hometown shows at The Greek Theatre in October.

Cara Lewis: Bryson Tiller’s first headline tour in five years; Don Toliver’s “Thee Love Sick” tour, as well as joining Future for nine dates on the “One Big Party’’ tour; GloRilla’s “Anyway’s … Life’s Great Tour;” Travis Scott’s “Utopia” tour, including a stadium show at SoFi stadium, which sold out on the on sale. Erykah Badu’s “Unfollow Me” headline arena tour with Yasiin Bey; Jill Scott’s “Who is Jill Scott?” tour, as well as headlining the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Pouya’s “All But 6” tour.

Mitch Rose: Having more stadium shows than ever before!

Jen Sandstrom: We are very proud of our record-breaking year at both SoFi Stadium and YouTube Theater. Hollywood Park hosted its first-ever festival with three sold-out days of Rolling Loud California. YouTube Theater hosted a record 98 events.

Josephine Vaccarello: Opening Sphere in Las Vegas with the world’s biggest rock band – U2.

What were the greatest challenges this year, and what strategies did you implement in response?
Dee: The most significant challenges we faced were competing with big headliners such as Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Beyoncé.

Hodges: BMI’s victory in federal court increased their rates with penalties going back to 2014. Fewer shows were available at the beginning of the year, but the show counts caught up.

Kolker: Empathy is the strategy when navigating both the ups and downs of an artist’s career. And also knowing when to say no.

Lewis: The sheer amount of events being put on, leading to fewer and fewer avails. To combat this, we had to be extra diligent to try to create a perfect routing.

Sandstrom: The high volume of events and the welcoming of the artists’ super fans. Early merchandise sales, VIP packages and after-show parties which created longer days for our team members and quicker turnarounds for the venue.

Vaccarello: We’re educating fans on what’s different about the experience at Sphere, and artists on how to think differently about the new opportunities for creativity that Sphere presents.

How did the glut of tours and events in the marketplace impact your business?
Dee: It forced us to be more creative, think outside the box and give ticket buyers an amazing, enhanced experience.

Hodges: Remarkably, the biggest tours did not soak up all the consumers’ and fans’ wallets.

Kolker: We had very positive touring experiences this year and found our artists benefitting and being a part of so many great things that were going on.

Lewis: There is a massive silver lining to the influx of shows and events being put on – the live business is absolutely thriving.

Sandstrom: The volume of events at both venues helped our overall strategy as the team galvanized around the demands of multiple events each week and continued to refine and streamline their approach from one event to the next.

Vaccarello: We continue to focus on booking multi-night runs and residencies to give fans even more opportunities to see their favorite artists at their favorite venues.

Ticketing was a hot-button topic with the issues of transparency, access, pricing and secondary market widely discussed and legislated. Did any of this impact your business?
Dee: It’s affected everyone’s business. We elevated our shows and gave more back in the experience to compensate for the changing factors we didn’t have control over.

Hodges: It’s impossible to avoid some impact, but our prices for a midsize venue space remain reasonable and acceptable to the fans. Even though tickets are not inexpensive, the scalper and broker prices are more costly and often not selling the seat as advertised. Fans should buy from the primary provider!

Lewis: The secondary market has affected the business greatly. One of the ways it impacts our business is in how we judge putting up multiples of shows. When a show sells out quickly, that is usually an indication that there is great demand, which could call for multiple nights in the same venue.

Rose: No; people want to see live shows and are willing to pay to get into the buildings. In my opinion, this issue is magnified beyond reality.

Sandstrom: The ticketing industry continues to evolve and 2023 was no different. While there was a spotlight on ticketing this year, our partners at Ticketmaster and promoter partners are great collaborators with our ticketing team, and together we strive to resolve challenges swiftly and adapt to industry trends.

Vaccarello: Our priority is getting tickets directly into the hands of fans and working with artists to find the best mechanisms to do that. The experience for both fans and artists is always our top priority.

Inflation dropped to 3.6% this year but was still felt acutely by many. How did that impact your business strategies?
Dee: Even though inflation had dropped, consumers were still feeling the effects of it from the year prior. We had to be strategic with our ticketing prices because consumers were still price-conscious. Our shows had strong lineups that made the consumer want to attend the show, buy the VIP packages and merchandise, and attend our after-parties.

Hodges: I was surprised that gasoline prices and inflation didn’t have a greater impact. Even with fuel and other inflationary increases, we’ve found our ticket pricing successful. There is still an incredible demand for live concerts at every level, and we’ll only find out if it continues to be strong.

Kolker: We always think about this when setting pricing whether it be tickets or merch or budgeting our own tours, etc. We try and always remember that our fans are likely having to make big decisions when it comes to where they spend money on entertainment.

Lewis: I always try to think about ticket pricing and how delicate a balance between high demand and fan accessibility is. Scaling tickets in a way that makes sense for the artist but also the fan is always a complex dance, but it’s something that we in the live business must always consider – price resistance can kill even the best of shows.

Rose: The proof is in the fact that more live tickets were sold in 2023 than any other year. Clearly, the uptick in ticket prices was not a deterrent!

Sandstrom: We continue to manage budgets, streamline processes, and work with our promoter partners to scale events appropriately and offer multiple ticket options at all price levels.

What tour, festival and/or show meant the most to you this year?
Dee: Peso Pluma’s “Double P Tour.” We were the first promoters to bring Peso Pluma to the U.S. for his first show. The show we created with Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and Mario turned into an international tour, a highlight for me.

Hodges: Every show! Especially where we did multiple cities with the same artist or multiple shows in one venue, such as Ringo Starr, Hasan Minhaj, Natalia Lafourcade, Bonnie Raitt, Chicago, Tyler Henry, Anjelah Johnson and Neil Young.

Kolker: MUNA being on Taylor’s “The Eras Tour” was unbelievable. Obviously, it’s an incredible opportunity for any artist to be a part of her shows, but also for us as a company, to watch an operation like hers – it’s truly on another level and it was so exciting to have the opportunity to observe that level of production up close and behind the scenes.

Lewis: I would have to say the Ice Spice Dunkin Munchkin drink commercial this year in collaboration with Ben Affleck and the team at Artists Equity. It was the perfect pairing, and more than that, the perfect timing, with the commercial airing for the first time immediately following Ice’s win as Best New Artist at the VMA’s.

Rose: Harry Styles’ last show in Reggio Emilia in front of 100,000 adoring fans!

Sandstrom: 2023 was “The Year of the Women,” which was remarkable and will leave a lasting impression on the industry. SoFi Stadium hosted a record 19 concerts, 12 of which were headlined or co-headlined by women.

Vaccarello: “U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere” is absolutely incredible. The show they built, including the visuals, highlights the very best of Sphere and they’ve set an incredibly high bar. The band will perform a total of 40 shows through March 2, 2024 – a remarkable accomplishment and a testament to the power of an incredible band in a groundbreaking new venue.

What business or tech innovation helped you the most this year?
Dee: We still do traditional promotion and grassroots marketing, but social media continues to be an essential tool.

Hodges: Our internal tools for analyzing and researching shows have always been a large part of our booking process.

Lewis: TM1 has been extremely important. Being able to track tickets live is not only useful but has become a necessary tool. Being able to see on sales, daily counts, entry scans, real-time attendance and location, drop counts, etc., everything to know about real time inventory.

Sandstrom: SoFi Stadium has integrated Uber Eats in-venue mobile ordering. This not only reduces wait times but also enhances the overall guest experience featuring dedicated lanes to skip the lines throughout the stadium.

Vaccarello: The technology at Sphere is what sets this venue apart from any other venue in the world. From the world’s highest-resolution LED screen in the interior bowl, to Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by HOLOPLOT, which is the world’s most advanced concert-grade audio system and delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest.

If you had to sum up your 2023 in 23 words, what would you say?
Dee: The year was filled with amazing surprises, artists and various partnerships. All the venues and venue managers were terrific to work with.

Hodges: It started slow, picked up momentum and finished strong. Having strong partners and venues for our team to book is a great asset!

Kolker: Challenging and transformative. A year of incredible firsts for our team. Extraordinarily proud of the formation of Dreamshop. This is just the beginning!

Lewis: There’s nothing as gratifying as being part of an artist’s career since the beginning and helping them to become the superstars they are.

Rose: It was a great year for CAA!

Sandstrom: We hosted an unprecedented 150+ events that crossed multiple genres and generations and broke records. We learned, we grew, created memories and we celebrated.

Vaccarello: It’s been a monumental year – it was incredible to open Sphere with U2, and the interest from artists of all genres has been overwhelming.

Looking ahead to 2024, what are your predictions for the live industry in the year ahead?
Dee: One of my mentors, Michael Rapino of Live Nation, who I follow closely, predicts that live music will again surpass this year’s record in revenue and attendance. I couldn’t agree more.

Hodges: I predict 2024 will be a very busy year, and in fact, we’re already more than 50% ahead of where we were last year at this time. We have incredible booking, marketing, ticketing and production teams who are proactive and quite busy.

Kolker: That it won’t be slowing down. Big acts continue to grow and find ways to out-spectacle each other and smaller acts continue to do their best to overcome the real challenges of costs while building their live audiences and keeping their mental health intact while doing so.

Lewis: The upward trajectory of live events in 2024 will definitely supersede 2023.
Sandstrom: Another robust year of major tours, and multi-act bills with diverse lineups, and more immersive production elements. The super fan will continue to challenge us to innovate and create more bespoke experiences.

Vaccarello: There is a lot to look forward to in the new year. We will continue to focus on multi-night bookings and residencies across all of our venues. I’m personally looking forward to celebrating Billy Joel’s epic 10-year run with his 150th lifetime and final residency show at The Garden in July. And, on top of U2’s 15 2024 dates, I can’t wait to welcome our good friends Phish to Sphere for four shows, that will have completely unique setlists and visuals in April. I’m excited to see what they create for Sphere!

What are you looking most forward to?
Dee: Larger tours in new venues and more artist music collaborations.

Hodges: Seeing how busy we are next year! Not only are we busier at this time of year, but we have a new outdoor venue to open in April in Sacramento called The Backyard which is independently located behind Rock & Brews restaurant. We think we will have another successful year at Vina Robles Amphitheatre, the Greek Theatre, Hollywood Pantages, San Jose Civic, City National Grove of Anaheim, and more, and we will be a year closer to West Harbor Amphitheatre in San Pedro becoming a reality.

Kolker: Expanding Dreamshop and more exciting firsts as a company and for our artists.
Lewis: My business has always been at the forefront of new artist development, taking acts from club shows to arenas and stadiums. I look forward to continuing to discover new talent, and watching the landscape of music change and evolve.

Rose: Playing golf at Ladera!

Sandstrom: We look forward to hosting even more global events at SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater, and across Hollywood Park welcoming new and returning fans. SoFi Stadium has announced 10 major events including Illenium, Monster Jam World Finals, Luke Combs, blink-182, The Rolling Stones, Kenny Chesney, Green Day and will announce more.