2025 Ticketing Star Awards: Katie Goldberg

(Editors Pick)
Katie Goldberg
Senior Ticketing Manager | AEG Presents Global Touring

Unless you’re an aspiring musician dreaming of sharing your art with the world, not many envision themselves in the music industry as an agent, manager, promoter, tour producer or in ticketing. The same goes for Katie Goldberg, who admittedly never imagined her journey going from being on the street team for beloved Baltimore venue Rams Head Live! to her current position at AEG Presents.

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“I can’t say that ticketing was necessarily the first idea I had when it came to the music industry – but I also can’t say I really knew what I was looking for when I first got into things either,” said Goldberg.

It’s a sentiment many in the live industry share, but as a ticketing manager for AEG Presents’ global touring division, it’s safe to say Goldberg not only found her way, but her calling. After working her way up through the box office at Rams Head Live!, Goldberg developed a curiosity for other sectors of the music industry and jumped on the opportunity to intern with artist management firm Crush Music in New York.

“That was an incredibly eye-opening experience as it gave me the opportunity to see many different facets of the industry,” Goldberg said. “But ultimately, I found myself missing live and was thrilled to join Bowery Presents as a ticketing assistant – which naturally parlayed into starting with AEG Presents on the global touring team in 2018.”

The internship helped Goldberg realize how essential that experience is in people’s lives, and she devoted herself to making it “as accessible as for as many fans as we can get in the building.”

Goldberg did that as well as anybody last year, working on major tours of all genres in every kind of venue, from theaters to stadiums.

“I think the biggest takeaway for me is that there’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ tour – regardless of if you’ve sold two tickets or 20,000, there are always new challenges and opportunities to look for,” she said. “Whether it’s new distribution partners that help find a different audience you haven’t tapped yet, or new presale and delivery methods that help get tickets into the hands of fans, being open to trying new things only helps you be better prepared for the next thing.”

One has to be open to make it into the ever-evolving live business, one of many lessons Goldberg has from her mentors and colleagues at The Bowery Presents and AEG, one of whom was the late Derek Tucker, a beloved ticketing executive who taught her how to approach every show and tour. Goldberg also credits her team members Dan Cleff and Nicole Dellarocca for helping her make the best decisions, especially in a year that included the ambitious “Short ‘N Sweet” arena tour from Sabrina Carpenter, who exploded onto the scene with chart-topping hits like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.”

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“That tour was such an incredible experience to work on, with an awesome team of people around it,” she said. “Honestly, as odd as this might sound looking back on it, I approached it initially like any other tour – looking for how best to use ticketing initiatives to meet the artist and fan needs. I am always incredibly grateful to the box offices that we work with, but I don’t think I’ve ever sent as many thank-yous as I did during that presale week – just for the sheer speed at which everyone was working and adapting in real time. It was also such a great learning experience of navigating the ticketing space in the current state of social media.”