2025 Impact 50 Honoree: Rich Schaefer

RICH SCHAEFER
President, Global Touring
AEG Presents

LAST JOB NOT IN THE LIVE BIZ: ”Boston Market, 1996.”
FAVORITE MEETING SPACE: ”In my seats at Brooklyn Nets games.”

In an interview for a recent Pollstar executive profile, AEG President of Global Touring Rich Schaefer said listening to the Grateful Dead is what “keeps (him) sane every day.” We all need ways to regulate and, considering the amount of work and responsibility on Schaefer’s plate and the volume of his team’s 2025 accomplishments, he should drop all the “Sugar Magnolia” or bootlegs of Cornell ’77 and Fillmore West ’69 he needs.

“We started the year with a massive sold-out stadium run with Luke Combs in Australia/New Zealand,” Schaefer says, “and have had successful first tours launch or play off with some incredible artists like Benson Boone, Ethel Cain, Haim, Jennie, Kylie Minogue, Laufey, Megan Moroney, The Red Clay Strays, Wu-Tang Clan and Zayn Malik. We’ve also seen some big global stadium onsales with ATEEZ, G-Dragon, Robbie Williams and Zach Bryan. Kelsea Ballerini wrapped up her first arena tour in 2025, sold out every show and put on an incredible show for her fans. Hugh Jackman is in the middle of a 24-show-residency at Radio City Music Hall. There’s honestly so many more highlights, it’s hard to only mention some.”

In terms of strategic planning with uneven political and economic headwinds, such as tariffs, trade wars, artist visa challenges and ticketing reform impacting the live business, Schaefer says he and his team are constantly monitoring market conditions with his steady hand on the tiller.

“We’re staying the course,” he says about the volatile economy. “We believe that correctly pricing tickets and playing the right venues can help artists manage external factors that may have impact. No one is immune but our recent onsales (Lorde, Benson Boone, Sleep Token, etc.) have proven that smart venue choices and pricing can help you rise above.”

“(The political situation) is very fluid,” he continues. “Internally, we regularly discuss all of the ongoing changes. We’re dealing and working through solutions on a daily basis. In particular, these are early days in a shifting ticketing landscape, given the FTC’s junk fees rule taking effect. We take very seriously our responsibility to stay informed and to work collaboratively with artists and their teams for our shared benefit.”

Schaefer’s business acumen and holistic industry perspective emanate in part from his many years in the business working as a manager under the tutelage of Randy Hoffman and Gary Gersh. There he helped manage a wide variety of major acts, including Soundgarden, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Lenny Kravitz, Animal Collective, The Counting Crows, Jessica Simpson, Gaslight Anthem and Lord Huron, among others.

With so much agita and stress these days, Schaefer says he puts a premium on his team’s mental health: “AEG, from the top down, is supportive of a work-life balance and gives our team the freedom to figure out how to achieve it. Our group genuinely loves hanging out with each other outside of the office and morale is always higher when we’re together.”

That’s good news, because Schaefer and his team’s plate shows no signs of ebbing.

“There are lots of exciting projects coming, many of which aren’t announced (sorry, can’t break those yet),” he says. “Of course, we’re very much looking forward to Sept. 27 when Zach Bryan is the first artist to play the Big House (SOLD OUT) at University of Michigan in front of a lot of people!” Not just a lot of people, but it’s expected to be the largest U.S. stadium show of all time.

In his profile, Schaefer said his first concert was a hair metal spectacular with Poison, Britny Fox and Lita Ford at the Westchester County Center. That was followed by phases where he was heavily into Dave Matthews Band, The Dead and Phish (seeing 101 Phish shows between 1994 and 2000). When asked here what concert changed his life, the hardcore music fan said many come to mind, but it was The Bard who altered his career trajectory. “Bob Dylan at SUNY Albany on April 18, 1997, was a turning point in my life. I wouldn’t be working in this business if it wasn’t for that concert.”