Pollstar Live! Panel Preview: Breaking New Artists – The First Tour Cycle

Pollstar Live!, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, returns to Los Angeles April 14-16 and will be held at Loews Hollywood Hotel. The three-day conference is a flagship event for Pollstar magazine with compelling keynotes, panels, roundtables and the Pollstar Awards, celebrating the best in the business, along with plenty of opportunities to network and engage in insightful discussions.

Pollstar Live! kicks off with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features panels on all topics related to staging live events, including lighting, video, stage management, sound technique, concert production, regulations, security and more.

Click these links for the Production Live! and the Pollstar Live! schedules. Register for Pollstar Live! here.

Moderator
Bruce Flohr, Chief Strategy Officer, Red Light Management

Speakers
John Chavez, Vice President & Agent, Ground Control Touring
Adam Sylvester, Tour Promoter, Live Nation
Olivia Mirabella, Agent, Creative Artists Agency
Nate Sokolski, Vice President, THE·TEAM
Nick Storch, Global Head of Artist Development, Independent Artist Group

Breaking New Artists: The First Tour Cycle promises a behind-the-scenes look at how agents, managers, and promoters collaborate to build sustainable touring careers from the ground up, from signing to strategy to maximizing the first live shows upon album release.

The conversation will be moderated by Bruce Flohr, who serves as Executive Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President at Red Light Management. He is also a partner at ATO Records as well as the FIMI Group, a company that assists events and marketing teams in booking celebrity talent for music performances, speaking engagements, and bespoke experiences. At Red Light, he works with artists like Dave Matthews Band, OAR, Allen Stone and Switchfoot, as well as developing artists Sons of Legion and Ellery Harper.

“This open conversation will focus on meaningful ways to create ticket demand in each market. From digital marketing to grassroots tactics. What still works and what are you not doing – that you should be!” Flohr told Pollstar.

Joining Flohr as speakers are agents from four of the top agencies in the live industry, along with Adam Sylvester of Live Nation, offering a perspective from the promoter side.

Nick Storch, Head of Global Artist Development at Independent Artist Group, represents artists including Ghost, Sleep Token, Limp Bizkit, Spiritbox, Gojira, Volbeat and Slayer, among others. He adds, “As for up and coming acts, I’m very excited about Castle Rat, Cenobia, Untitled and Imminence.”

Ground Control Touring Vice President and agent John Chavez works with more than four dozen artists including Frankie Cosmos, Nick Waterhouse, Wavves, Whitney and Titus Andronicus. He points to recent agency signings he’s particularly excited about, including First Day Back, Otto Benson, Mikaela Davis, Mark William Lewis and Chanel Beads.

The roster for CAA music agent Olivia Mirabella includes Mariah the Scientist, Muni Long, Cruza and SadBoi and Zara Larsson, among others. Her latest signings include Chanpan, Devon Again, and Bella Kay. 

The panel also includes Nate Sokolski, VP and agent at THE·TEAM whose roster includes Role Model, Joji, Caroline Polachek, Suki Waterhouse, Oklou, Kettama, Bunt. and Shaquille O’Neal.