Women of Live Hall Of Fame: Susan Rosenbluth

Susan Rosenbluth
Former Senior Vice President | AEG Presents

“Susan has had an extraordinary career. The kind that we all aspire to when we start in this business. She’s done it all and was at the forefront of breaking down borders on so many genres that people might have said ‘American audiences aren’t ready for.’ But she proved them wrong. And absolutely led a major change in pop music in the process.” — Jay Marciano, Chairman & CEO, AEG Presents

When AEG Presents Senior Vice President Susan Rosenbluth retired Dec. 20, 2024, after 46 years in the live business, she was lauded as a key figure in bringing two now-massive genres to American audiences. Both K-pop and Latin music — powerful and moneymaking forces now — surged into the mainstream during her tenure, in part because she had the foresight that they’d find purchase among U.S. fans.

“Susan has had an extraordinary career. The kind that we all aspire to when we start in this business. She’s done it all and was at the forefront of breaking down borders on so many genres that people might have said ‘American audiences aren’t ready for.’ But she proved them wrong. And absolutely led a major change in pop music in the process,” AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano told Pollstar.

Rosenbluth’s career began in 1978 in facilities management at the famed Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, then booked by Nederlander. Three years later — at the age of 24 — she became the legendary venue’s general manager.

Over the next 13 years she managed concert presentations at the Greek Theatre, Pantages Theatre, Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California, and the Honda Center in Anaheim for the Nederlander Organization. 

In 1995 she became a talent buyer at Nederlander, with the primary responsibility for programming of the Greek Theatre, Honda Center and Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California. During the next eight years, she became proficient at booking concerts of all genres, including those featuring Asian, Persian and Latin performers.

Rosenbluth moved to Goldenvoice as SVP and General Manager in 2003, buying talent for concerts throughout California, Alaska, Hawaii and Arizona, including programming at Staples Center, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, and, starting in 2006, the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live. 

She formed the Latin concert promotion division of Goldenvoice/AEG Presents in 2005 and promoted her first K-pop concerts in 2010 and has since promoted multiple North American tours of K-pop artists including BLACKPINK, BTS and Monsta X. 

In 2015, she was a founding member of AEG’s groundbreaking Women’s Leadership Council, which advised company’s human resources department on policies for, among other items, parental leave and for leadership training to help women move into leadership roles and C-suite positions.

“I get emotional when I think about this,” Christy Castillo Butcher, senior vice president of programming at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park and who was also on the WLC during her tenure at AEG, told Pollstar in January. “And I know she did that not just for me, but for so many people. She didn’t have the support that we all have now. She wasn’t protective of what she knew, her knowledge or contacts. And she treated everybody the same whether you’re the highest-level executive or like me. What she has is a legacy in the hundreds, if not thousands, of people she touched, mentored and befriended.”