Agency Intel: UTA’s ‘Mike G’ Talks The Kid LAROI, ‘Going For It On Fourth Down’

“The Kid LAROI playing Reading and Leeds, third to close, without ever selling a ticket in London is something that doesn’t really happen,” says Mike “Mike G” Guirguis, who joined UTA in 2017. “When you get a chance to live those types of moments, you have to appreciate it.”

Mike G represents the red-hot 18-year-old Australian artist, whose chart-topping hits during the pandemic have created crazy demand yet very few opportunities to perform. To go along with the high-profile 2021 festival plays, UTA elected to do some last-minute pop-up shows to gauge fan interest and build excitement, with a London gig in front of 500 fans before the Reading and Leeds play and more high-profile moments in the U.S.

“It really started when we announced his pop-up at the Palladium on the rooftop. I believe there were about 8,000 people that went on Verified Fan to register, and I believe 2,500-plus showed up at the parking lot. That’s really where we started conceptualizing how to build the excitement for LAROI. We did the same thing at Irving Plaza [in New York]. That was literally one of the most memorable shows ever. It was so good. I mean, he threw [Columbia Records head] Ron Perry into the crowd!” 

Video from the Sept. 9 Irving Plaza gig shows fans going wild, with seemingly every single cell phone recording and every fan singing along to every word – and industry observers noting the next big thing transpiring before their eyes. 

When the time came to announce LAROI’s first tour, which includes large clubs and theaters as well as arenas in his native Australia, it was an instant hit, with UTA saying nearly 190,000 tickets were sold and the North American shows went clean in less than 5 minutes. The artist has a multi-year touring deal with Live Nation now, according to UTA. 

“We had that tour planned for quite some time and were always in the mindset that we were going to skip the 1,000-seaters when it comes to traditional tours,” Mike G says. “We would rather use those venues, like Irving Plaza, as pop-ups, but when it came to his actual tour we did our research in the marketplace, spoke to all the local promoters and major promoters and we felt going into the Palladiums, the Hammersteins, the Aragons was the right play for him, anywhere form 3,000 to 5,000 seats. It’s the same concept in London and Europe, where we’re playing two Brixtons. He’s sold over 8,000 tickets in London. We did our research, the record hit, we saw what he did at Reading and Leeds – all good signs that he was able to do this.”

The “End Of The World Tour” kicks off in late January in Arizona, with the UK/Europe leg launching in March and Australia in June. 

“Not only are we doing arenas in Sydney and Melbourne and Brisbane and Perth, but we’re doing multiples in Sydney and Melbourne,” Mike G says. “He’s sold nearly over 100,000 tickets. We were really aggressive. He’s going to deliver some new music and the strategy continues as far as building him into the arena act we believe he will be, and we’re excited about that.”

Additional clients that Guirguis works with alongside UTA colleagues were busy despite the challenges in 2021, with major moments from Afrobeat star Burna Boy including a just-announced Madison Square Garden headliner following his summer sellout of the Hollywood Bowl, as well as 100,000 tickets sold for fellow Afrobeat artist WizKid’s “Made In Lagos” headline tour. That one included three shows at The O2 arena in London and 21 markets in North America. 

Young Thug also had major appearances, including stepping in after DaBaby was taken off of one of Lollapalooza Chicago’s top slots, and major plays at Outside Lands, Life Is Beautiful, Governors Ball, and Rolling Loud. UTA signings during the pandemic include Demi Lovato, Lil Wayne, The Kid LAROI, Romeo Santos, and Malu Trevejo. He credits UTA’s resources in branding, sponsorships and other media departments for creating opportunities for artists, adding, “It’s one thing to pitch it and another thing to actually do it.”

Before joining UTA, Mike G managed high-level artists such as Chris Brown and Akon, which he says gives him valuable experience and the ability to see management’s side while representing artists at UTA. 

His mindset is aggressive, joking that “we go for it on fourth down” despite any uncertainty in the touring sector. But he adds that “it’s important to operate from faith, not fear.” 

“If we have an idea, and a plan to get a tour up, it’s going to go up,” he says. “We’re going to figure out how to clear those dates.” Mike G adds that the next couple of years look extremely busy on the touring side and that he’s already in discussions about festival slots for 2024.

“I’m very optimistic that touring will continue to grow, and that better days are ahead.”