Impact: Next Gen Index Page

The Next is Now with Impact: Next Gen 2021, which honors the up and comers from the live entertainment world. This year’s feature is in partnership with Pollstar sister publication VenuesNow, combining the worlds of content and facilities for the most comprehensive feature possible.

As always, Pollstar looks at future leaders in core sectors of the live business, including talent agents, concert promoters, talent buyers and festival producers as well as road dogs, techies, data wonks and more. Along with the print feature package, this year’s Next Gen special includes a panel discussion featuring Next Gen honorees taking place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. A recording of the roundtable session will be posted online on Pollstar.com and Pollstar‘s Facebook page as a Pollstar Live! Digital Session Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET. Moderated by Creative Artists Agency’s Phil Quist, a Pollstar Impact 50 honoree, the event is sure to inspire, inform and educate previous as well as upcoming generations in the live entertainment world.

See Also: VenuesNow Next Gen 2021

While the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the live business for the past year and a half, Impact: Next Gen becomes even more important, honoring the minds behind the business who have adapted, showed resolve and stood out despite the most difficult conditions the entertainment world has sustained – and continues to navigate.

The following entries tell stories of overcoming the odds, learning on the fly, embracing the new and bringing fresh energy to an always-changing business that relies on blossoming talent and innovation to succeed. These stories include everything from signing superstar artists to putting on successful major events with little experience, such as the Vibra Urbana Music Festival in Miami, put on my childhood friends of barely legal drinking age and now expanding to multiple cities. Notably, this year’s Pollstar feature includes just three men, who have traditionally dominated the concert industry and overall entertainment industry, surely a reflection of not only changing demographics in popular music but behind the scenes as well, such as the all-woman Stagecoach team at Goldenvoice noted by brand manager Sabrina Sarmiento. While the future is always uncertain, for better and worse, it’s a safe bet the following honorees will be making noise one way or another for a while.