Thought Leaders Think Ahead: Louis Messina, Shawn Gee, Lucy Dickins, Kenneth Feld, Henry Cárdenas (Part 1)

Dilok Klaisataporn / EyeEm –

2020 was a year like no other. That, we all know. What we may not know is how this year has personally affected, impacted and motivated top execs in the live business. Here, Pollstar presents Part 1 of Pollstar’s Thought Leaders Think Ahead Survey with Louis Messina, Shawn Gee, Lucy Dickins, Kenneth Feld and Henry Cárdenas who give their insights into this year, how they adapted to the many challenges and opportunities and what lies ahead. (Look for this multi-part series to roll-out over the next week.)

Louis Messina
Founder/CEO, Messina Touring Group

in terms of its scale and impact, how would you describe 2020 and the current crisis, its impact on your business, and the biggest challenge or challenges our industry faces?
Louis Messina: 2020 started off great. Then March came and then, what was that Mellencamp song?  “When the walls come tumbling down…”  It was a disaster. The  live business came to a halt. No one has been working since March. That goes from employees in my office to artists that I work for. Artists at least, have the luxury of creating art. People with no talent, like myself, we do nothing. I create stars. But when the stars can’t be on the road…  The only upside of this thing, there was a time where I’m going, “I’ve been doing this for 48 years, maybe it’s time to start slowing down and having that retirement talk with myself. Maybe I should pass the torch.” But one thing that has come out of this is that retirement is nowhere in sight these days. That’s the upside. The downside is it’s been terrible. It’s depressing. I hate to be on phone calls because everybody’s depressed. I’m a rainmaker type of a song-and-dance guy. Man, when there’s no audience to do your thing, it’s not fun. But it’s been a good month. The orange man is leaving Washington, I don’t know when, but I’m hoping by mid-end of summer, we’ll be back in business.
 
What strategies have you and your business implemented, or are you considering implementing to address these challenges?
I am not looking for any new artists. I want to concentrate on the artists I work for. I’m going to go back to how I started MTG by working with just a handful of artists. I just want to work with the artists that want to work with me. How do I help Kenny Chesney, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, be what they are and really focus in on them.  There was a moment I wanted to grow my company. Now  I want to focus on what I have and I’m excited about that. And really, I’m going back to my basics.
 
With vaccinations reported on the near horizon, better testing technology, new accrediting organizations, industry sanitation protocols, safety protocols, a new presidential administration, , when and how do you anticipate the industry coming back?
I’m hoping by spring we’ll be putting shows on sale. Hopefully by the mid-summer, end of summer, we’ll start doing shows. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. There’s positive signs out there. I have plan A and plan B and plan C for every artist I work for. If I don’t start here, then I’ll start there. But I know that everyone is anxious to play their music to their fans. I just don’t want anybody to jump the gun, to be so anxious to get out there and it’s not the right time. To me, it’s just being smart.
 
I was on the phone yesterday with a bunch of my teams, because that’s how I work, every artist has a team that’s assigned to them. I said, “Okay, get your uniforms out and send them to the dry cleaners. Because it’s time to get ready to play, to get back into the game.” For me now, I’ve got to get everybody out of pandemic stay-at-home mode, too. I’m not telling anybody to go to the office by any means, but I’m telling everybody to start getting their game face back on and to start gearing up and mentally tuning up. Because when we go back, we’re going to hit the ground hard. I mean, that’s my game plan. I sure hope that the vaccine is so positive that everyone is going to take it. I know I’ll be first in line. As soon as I have a chance to get vaccinated, I will do it. I encourage everyone to do it.

–

Shawn Gee
President/Partner, Live Nation Urban/Maverick

In terms of its scale and impact, how would you describe 2020 and the current crisis, its impact on your business and the biggest challenge (or challenges) our industry faces?  
Shawn Gee: I’m blessed to be involved in several areas of the music business, as President of Live Nation Urban, I am heavily involved in live music industry and as manager and business partner with The Roots and Jill Scott, I am heavily involved in artist management and all of its business tentacles.

On the live side, our business was probably ground zero with respects to industry impact of COVID in 2020. Never before has the business seen a disruption of this magnitude, so the challenge is to build a bigger, stronger business coming out on the other side. Safety is paramount and the main focus, however innovation is important as well.  The world in which we live has forever changed and we need to make sure we study and understand both the technological and consumer engagement behavior changes, and adapt and implement those into our new business model.

On the management side we’ve obviously been impacted as well as live is a significant part of music artists overall revenue stream. The biggest challenge has been to diversify our clients business interests so that they are not as dependent on live revenue and build both short term as well as medium / long term value and opportunities.
 
What strategies have you and your businesses implemented and/or are you considering implementing to address these challenges? 
 The word pivot has probably been the most popular word over the past 7 months, But however you categorize it….. adapt to change, pivot, innovate, hustle, time to grind….that is how you address the challenges.
 
On the management side of my business, The Roots have signed a multi year film/tv production deal with NBC, Questlove has directed his first major film, and developed a virtual DJ business that for past several months has exceeded the revenue earned on his IRL business with much higher margins, Black Thought has written and released music for projects with HBO, Universal, You Tube, and more.  They have produced content, and aggressively attacked the challenges of 2020 through a creative lens.  Jill Scott has signed a mulit year podcast deal with IHeart, invested in several early stage digital companies, looking to engage with the black female audience, she also has a full lineup of film / tv projects that has her booked through the most part of  2021.  Our goal has been diversification and we are aggressively pursuing that.

On the live side, the goal with LNU has been innovation through use and adaptation of technology, while continuing to provide opportunities for black creators, entrepreneurs and executives.
 
With vaccinations reportedly on the near horizon, better testing technology, accrediting organizations, industry sanitization and safety protocols being established, a new Presidential administration, when and how do you anticipate the industry coming back?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to when the live industry will be back.  That will be driven by science and governance, and we will follow all rules and protocols until that time presents itself.  However, my answer to HOW the industry will come back is stronger than ever.  The true innovators and leaders have used this time to strengthen their business model and refresh their ideas, and I think you will see a real entrepreneurial spirit drive record growth in the business for years to come.

(Photo: Paul Harries) –

Lucy Dickins
Co-Head of Music, WME

In terms of scale and impact, how would you describe 2020 and the current crisis, its impact on your business and the biggest challenge (or challenges) our industry faces?   
Lucy Dickins: The pandemic was catastrophic for the live business. So many people out of work, from artists to crew members. It’s going to take some time for the business to return to normal, and to rebuild everyone’s livelihoods. But, in the end, it will come back. We just need to be patient and diligent in rebuilding our industry’s infrastructure, getting money into the ecosystem – re-employing people, saving venues, etc. – so that the live business returns to its former glory and grows even more.

What strategies have you and your businesses implemented and/or are you considering implementing to address these challenges? 
We are embracing change, using our time to improve our internal systems, processes and skills. We are all trying to learn via this pandemic so that we come out better agents, better representatives and hopefully better people. One example of innovation during this time is the establishment of our Virtual Appearance Group, which helps clients navigate the livestreaming concert landscape. Throughout 2020, the team organized hundreds of hard ticket virtual events, including Dua Lipa’s recent record-breaking “Studio 2054” livestream. The stream drew five million viewers, paving the way for the future of livestreaming.  At the same time, we are constantly doing outreach to industry peers, both still employed and others not, to make sure we are ready to put people back to work as quickly as possible. We are all in this one together as an industry.
 
With vaccinations reportedly on the near horizon, better testing technology, accrediting organizations, industry sanitization, safety protocols being established, a new Presidential administration and more, when and how do you anticipate the industry coming back?
 With recent great news on vaccines I’m optimistic we will see limited, regional touring in parts of the world mid-2021, with more complete tour schedules fall onwards. But, it really won’t be until 2022 before we return to pre-pandemic, global touring in volume. But, it will be bigger than ever! The future is bright.

–

Kenneth Feld

Chairman & CEO, Feld Entertainment, Inc.

In terms of scale and impact, how would you describe 2020 and the current crisis’ challenges and impact on your business?
Kenneth Feld: The impact we saw in 2020 was unlike anything we have seen before and something that affected everyone around the world.  In March, as the pandemic shut down all our touring shows around the world, it looked doubtful that we would be back in business anytime soon. We took the 8 months we were shut down to develop a strategy to relaunch Monster Jam and Disney On Ice in a thoughtful and responsible way. As the global leaders in the live family entertainment business, we knew it was our responsibility to set new standards for our guests. In June, Supercross was the first sport to successfully complete its season and crown a new champion. Of course, the event was without fans in attendance, but in November we did relaunched Monster Jam at AT&T Stadium with a 25% capacity and did over 30,000 people in two days. We are also proud to have Disney On Ice successfully touring in the Midwest and Texas. As we continue to learn more in this new environment and work closely with our trusted venue partners and local authorities, we anticipate putting more entertainment options on tour in 2021 for families around the world.

What strategies have you and your businesses implemented and/or are you considering implementing to address these challenges?
 We have created The Feld Wellness Program that includes working with our venue partners, local authorities and health experts to ensure a responsible return to live events for our fans, performers, athletes and touring staff. Face coverings and Pod Seating were a big part of our relaunch strategy. We worked closely with a variety of state and local leaders, health organizations, and local arena and stadium management to develop new protocols for the wellness of our guests and hired an epidemiologist to consult on our mitigation plans.  Back of house testing was crucial for us to tour successfully. We are testing our staff, performers and our consumers products team multiple times a week.

We also reimagined the live event guest experience with VenueNext and contactless shopping options. We have created new touch-free payment and digital purchasing options for guest convenience and wellness.   Fans can now skip the line by pre-ordering items prior to arriving at the venue and have their purchase ready upon arrival at the event. During the live event, fans can also order merchandise from the comfort of their seat and pick up their merchandise at select locations within the venue. This was something we were working on prior to the pandemic, so we were quickly able to adapt this program to the current climate.

With vaccinations reportedly on the near horizon, better testing technology, accrediting organizations, industry sanitization and safety protocols being established, a new Presidential administration and more, when and how do you anticipate the industry coming back?

–

Henry Cárdenas