2025 Women Of Live: Milly Olykan

Milly Olykan
SVP of Global Touring & Artist Development | Live Nation

IN HER HOF | “Ali Harnell — she is relentless in championing women in the music industry, from executives to artists. A visionary and fantastic promoter, she brings immense experience, builds strong relationships, nurtures artists and constantly pushes new ideas forward.”

Globalization is a word thrown around by executives when talking about the key to growing the music business, and Milly Olykan is all about it — as a matter of fact, it’s her job.

As Live Nation senior vice president of global touring and artist development, Olykan is helping acts expand their reach and connect with audiences in ways their predecessors never could.

“I’m developing a new role here at Live Nation focused on expanding international touring opportunities for country artists,” Olykan said. “Having played a key role in launching the C2C Country Festival in London with AEG and later leading international industry relations at CMA, this feels like the perfect opportunity to bring my experience full circle. Country music is exploding around the world and there is so much opportunity for artists to develop their audiences globally now — my job is to help them do that!”

Country music is one of the most successful genres in North American touring with acts like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen selling out stadiums, and Olykan, who joined Live Nation in January, is on a mission to especially help female artists ascend to such levels.

“It’s been inspiring to witness the success of Lainey Wilson, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney, and Ella Langley among many others — especially seeing their young fanbases show up and connect with them at their shows,” Olykan said. “To continue fostering growth for women in country we need to achieve more mainstream crossover to help create a pathway for others — similar to how we saw artists like Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and others do in the ’90s and early 2000s.”

Artists establish those connections through authenticity and it almost becomes a brand on its own. Just look at Dolly Parton, whom Olykan sees as a role model and tries to emulate by carving her own path rather than following someone else’s. “There is no formula — to life, and to our jobs,” Olykan said. “That’s also advice I give myself whenever I get cornered by my own self-limiting beliefs. If there is one lesson we can all take from the music business, it is that there is no formula — people of all backgrounds and walks of life find success in this business through various avenues.”