Live Nation Announces ‘Women Nation’ Investing In Female-Founded Live Music Businesses

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Live Nation today announced the Women Nation Fund, an early stage investment fund focused on female-led live music businesses. 

Live Nation will provide access to the company’s resources and capital for underrepresented female entrepreneurs in concert promotions, events and festivals. 

“As the leader in live entertainment, we want to meaningfully address this issue, change the dynamic and widen the playing field,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino stated. “The Women Nation Fund is a first step towards empowering new entrepreneurs and creating more opportunity for women in this sector of the live music business.”

The Women Nation evaluating team includes Live Nation executives such as Live Nation Sweden’s Anna Sjolund, C3’s Amy Corbin, touring VP Lesley Olenik, Live Nation chief communications officer Carrie Davis, Ticketmaster COO Amy Howe, G Major Management founder Virginia Davis, Front Gate Tickets President Maura Gibson, and touring VP Kelly Chappel.

 The announcement says it will fund and grow the pool of female-led events and companies “on a worldwide basis.” Potential entrants must be female-founded and oriented around concert promotion, festivals or venue management. 

Businesses selected by the fund will be given access to Live Nation resources such as strategic advisory, industry contacts and mentorship across lines of business and functional areas.

The announcement comes as festivals and booking agencies take clear steps toward better inclusion in the live music market, with a group of festivals in particular pledging to field gender-equal lineups in the next couple of years.