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Ethical ticket resale platform Twickets has announced the appointment of Martin Fitzgerald as its first non-executive director.
Fitzgerald has extensive experience from senior leadership roles at See Tickets and Eventim UK, where he helped steer various commercial and strategic developments.
The appointment has been confirmed as the business prepares for its next phase of expansion in the live entertainment sector.
Twickets reported a 30% increase in revenue and a 25% rise in tickets sold in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The platform also welcomed over five million users in the first six months of the year.
“Twickets have managed to turn ticketing into a good news story and I’ve long admired their commitment to putting fans first and disrupting the inflated resale market,” says Fitzgerald. “I’m thrilled to join Richard and the team to support the next phase of growth.”
CAA has announced two hires in its marketing and brand partnerships divisions
CAA has announced two hires as the agency continues expanding its marketing and brand partnerships divisions.
Adrian Ayala has been added to Global Touring’s Marketing team and joins CAA from CHIVALR, an independent operator of music venues in Southern California.
During his time at the company Ayala led marketing strategy for some of Los Angeles iconic venues such as Catch One, El Cid, and Don Quixote.
His ten-year career in marketing also includes spearheading promotions for Live Nation’s North American tours including Bon Jovi, Ariana Grande, and Coldplay and negotiating brand partnerships with Tinder, 1-800-Flowers.com, & Urban Outfitters.
In the record industry, Ayala has experience with leading digital marketing at Warner Records for artists including Bebe Rexha and Kylie Minogue.
Swansea Building Society Arena has appointed Matt Blackhouse as venue director
Ben de Ayora has joined Global Touring’s brand partnerships team at CAA and will focus on the agency’s electronic and dance artists. Most recently at AEG, de Ayora has more than a decade of experience working in music, entertainment, and technology, while connecting “global brands with cultural moments and audiences.”
Last year, he founded BRAND/PRIX, a boutique brand partnerships collective that has “collaborated with more than 30 of the most influential music venues and festivals across the U.S.” He’s also worked at Discogs, DoStuff Media, and Viacom.
Swansea Building Society Arena, the Swansea Council-owned and ATG Entertainment-operated venue in Wales, has appointed Matt Blackhouse as venue director.
Blackhouse will take on the role from 2 June at the 3,500-capacity venue, which opened in March 2022. He takes over from Lisa Mart, who in March was hired by AEG Presents as regional general manager of indigo at The O2 and the Watford Colosseum.
Blackhouse was previously senior events project manager at YTL Arena Bristol, where he was involved in development plans for the yet-to-be-opened entertainment district. Other previous roles include deputy GM and senior events manager at Utilita Arena Cardiff (cap. 7,500).
Tickets for Good has announced a new global chief operating officer
ATG said Swansea Building Society Arena has welcomed nearly 750,000 people through its doors since it opened. Artists to have performed there include Fontaines D.C., Manic Street Preachers and Katherine Ryan.
Tickets for Good, a social profit organisation that offers healthcare workers affordable access to music and sports events, has announced the appointment of Derek DeVeaux as Global Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Reporting to Tickets For Good CEO Steve Rimmer, U.S.-based DeVeaux is tasked with leading key partnerships, overseeing day-to-day operations, and the platform product delivery. With more than 20 years of experience in technology and operations, he previously served as Head of Technology at Sports Business Journal and worked at AmerisourceBergen, Passport, and Citibank. He is the Founder of Chasm Analytics, a consultancy enabling scalable technology and business solutions.
With this phase of significant international growth at Tickets For Good, further senior global appointments include Jess Nesbit in Ticketing Operations and Alex Deadman in Communications.
Additionally, the company has expanded its UK-based staff with hires in key roles: Aaron Taylor as New Business Lead, George Webb as Ticketing Operations & Customer Service Lead, and Laura Harmer as Community Partnerships Lead.
Former Live Nation exec Martin Alsop has joined Clay GBP/NFP
The announcement comes as the company reaches the one million milestone for tickets distributed and approaches 500,000 registered users on its platform across its UK, EU and US businesses.
Martin Alsop has joined Clay GBP, a full-service business management consultancy firm based in the UK, recently acquired by NFP.
Clay GBP is part of Ground Control Business Management (Ground Control), an NFP company providing a variety of business management solutions, including strategic tax services, for high net worth individuals, entertainment industry executives, entertainers and professional athletes, among others.
Ground Control recently expanded into the UK through NFP’s acquisition of Clay GBP, which will be integrated into Ground Control’s operations and ultimately rebranded as Ground Control.
Reporting to Chris Bucci, CEO of Ground Control, Martin Alsop will develop and manage the company’s UK music industry practice.
Alsop has over 20 years of experience advising UK and international touring artists and productions of varying scale. Prior to NFP, he worked at Live Nation Entertainment as vice president, Operations and Finance, EMEA region. He previously worked at Dales Evans & Co. Ltd., a leading UK accountancy firm, as a business manager.
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WME has promoted 15 individuals to agent across multiple departments and offices.
The newly minted agents in the music department include Lauren Cunningham, who works in the country genre out of Nashville. Cunningham started at the agency as an assistant in 2019 and rejoined in 2021 as an agent trainee.
Yolande Poitras and Jake Wilk, two contemporary music-focused executives working in the Beverly Hills office, have also been promoted to agent.
Poitras has spent over five years in the California office, first as an agent trainee and then as a music agent assistant. She previously worked as an intern at C3 Presents.
WME global co-head of music Kirk Sommer recently gave IQ his verdict on the touring business in 2024
Wilk has been at the agency since 2019, working in a variety of roles including music central floater, agent assistant and agent trainee.
Ella Fox has a similar journey, starting in WME’s Los Angeles office in 2021 and working her way up through music central floater, music agent assistant, music central trainer and agent trainee. The newly minted agent will now be based out of New York City.
In London, Matt Fayers and Crosby Stewart have risen in the ranks to agent. The pair also came up through the agent trainee programme after beginning at WME as assistants – Fayer in 2018 and Stewart in 2021.
WME global co-head of music Kirk Sommer recently gave IQ his verdict on the touring business in 2024 – and predicted his top trends for next year. Read more here.
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Talent agency Wasserman Music has announced the promotion of nine team members, as well as the creation of a dedicated orchestral division.
Promotions include London-based agent Holly Rowland, who started out at Wasserman precursor Coda in 2014, and serves clients including Louis Tomlinson, Rag’n’Bone Man, INJI and Liang Lawrence.
Other promotions include New York-based Alex Christie (agent), Annie Cole (manager, touring), Owen Hynes (manager, tour marketing) and Noah Plotnicki (agent), Nashville-based Anna Kathryn Groom (manager, brand partnerships), and Los Angeles-based Kara Klein (manager, brand partnerships) and Lindsay Roblesi (agent).
In addition, Miami-based agent Brittany Miller, who joined Wasserman precursor AM Only in 2014, moves to the agency’s global festivals department as director, festivals, focusing on electronic music events around the world.
“Nurturing and advancing the careers of talented members of our global team is central to our culture of support and empowerment, so we’re proud to announce these well-earned promotions,” says Lee Anderson, Wasserman Music EVP and managing executive. “Continually creating new ways to super-serve our clients is our core mission, and it’s most gratifying when we’re able to do that by elevating exceptional Team Wass colleagues to serve them even better.”
“Emily has been able to see the enormous opportunity in the live symphonic space beyond just talent booking”
Meanwhile, in a “first-of-its-kind” move for a major talent agency, Wasserman has also announced the creation of a new dedicated orchestral division headed by VP Emily Threlfall Yoon.
The new division represents IP-driven symphonic properties such as SQEX’s Final Fantasy VII REBIRTH World Orchestra Tour and the dozens of titles produced by Disney Concerts, including Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga Concert Experience, as well as a group of conductors, orchestrators, and arrangers.
The division will also partner with artists across Wasserman Music’s client roster, such as John Legend, Melissa Etheridge, Laufey, and Zedd, to conceive and produce new popular programming symphonic projects.
“Emily has been able to see the enormous opportunity in the live symphonic space beyond just talent booking,” adds Anderson. “By working as a creative partner with artists and IP-driven properties – whether movies, TV, video games, or pop music – Emily and our new orchestral division are taking the music that people love in their everyday lives and presenting it in exciting new ways to fans of all kinds.”
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Global talent firm Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has announced a trio of promotions in its music touring department.
Lola Castillo Murphy, Hugh Parsons and Matthew Rutledge have each been elevated to agents at the company.
London-based Murphy began her career as an intern in The Agency Group (now UTA) a decade ago before joining CAA in 2015 as a general department assistant. She worked with Jon Ollier, Rebecca Nichols, Ben Coles, Emma Banks, and Mike Greek prior to being promoted to coordinator in 2022, before being accepted to the agency’s trainee programme Elevate in 2023.
CAA’s Elevate programme is designed to nurture the talents of its agents and executives in training
Parsons, who is also based in London, started out at Island Records in 2016, where he worked in their Marketing team. In 2017, he joined CAA as an assistant to Laura Newton, and subsequently to Ben Kouijzer and Jen Hammel. He was accepted into Elevate in 2022 and promoted to coordinator in 2023.
Nashville-based Rutledge, meanwhile, held positions at The Agency Coalition and Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) before joining CAA as an assistant to Brian Waymire in 2021. He was upped to booking professional for the agency’s country fairs and festivals division within the music touring department last year.
CAA Elevate is the firm’s next-generation training and practical development curriculum with “an emphasis on entrepreneurialism, inclusion, curiosity, collaboration, service, and a growth mindset”. It is designed to cultivate best practices, encourage innovation, foster global strategic-thinking and nurture the talents of CAA’s agents and executives in training.
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AXS has announced the creation of two leadership roles to help manage its rapid growth both domestically and internationally.
The AEG-owned ticketing company has promoted COO Tom Andrus to president, North America, focusing on expanding revenue streams and cultivating client relationships within the market.
In addition, Blaine Legere, formerly SVP of corporate strategy & emerging markets, is upped to the role of president, international. He will focus on the worldwide expansion of AXS’ global platform and managing the company’s existing international portfolio. The pair will report directly to AXS CEO Bryan Perez.
“AXS continues to experience explosive growth both in North America and abroad, and with no signs of stopping, it’s essential to structure our business to effectively handle this growth and delivery of our global platform,” says Perez. “Tom and Blaine have been instrumental in the building of AXS from the beginning, and I’m excited to work with them in these new roles as we continue to expand.”
“It’s a pivotal time for AXS in our journey to expand our best-in-class system and products outside of North America”
Legere joined AXS as its inaugural employee when the company launched in 2011. Since 2020, as SVP of corporate strategy & emerging markets, he has managed the company’s expansion in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s a pivotal time for AXS in our journey to expand our best-in-class system and products outside of North America,” says Legere. “I’m grateful to lead the charge, and I’m inspired to be working with our talented leadership and our dedicated teams across the globe who are rising to the occasion. The growth opportunities we’ve realised in Europe, combined with our footprint in Asia and most recent launch in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, really set the table for an exciting run ahead.”
Andrus initially joined the leadership team alongside Perez and Legere as general manager in 2012 shortly after AXS’ establishment, returning to the firm in 2018 as COO.
“I am looking forward to leading the AXS North American business,” adds Andrus. “It has been a highlight of my career to build AXS with Bryan, Blaine and the rest of our team. Our innovation and dedication to our employees, clients and customers have led to our success and will fuel our continued growth. I fully expect the changes in our organisation to take us to new heights.”
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Leading agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has announced a flurry of promotions across multiple departments.
The company has elevated 16 staff members to agent or executive, including Megan Glendinning, Evan Greenberg, Alex Hubert and Ashley King, who have each been promoted to agent in the music touring department. They will be based in Los Angeles.
Glendinning, Greenberg and Hubert all began their careers as clerks in CAA’s mailroom, while King started out with the firm as a receptionist.
Glendinning later served as an assistant to Jared Martin, Andrew Simon, and Ryan Harlacher before being upped to booking professional in 2022. She was accepted into CAA Elevate – the agency’s training and practical development curriculum – in July 2023, alongside Greenberg and Hubert.
Greenberg was an assistant to Alex Becket, Matthew Kingsley, and Hunter Williams, before being elevated to coordinator in 2022.
Hubert, who previously assisted Lee Goforth, Brett Steinberg, Jared Martin, Brian Greenbaum and Ken Ashley, and King, who had a stint as assistant to Cameron Kaiser and Marlene Tsuchii, were both promoted to booking professionals in 2022.
CAA is headquartered in LA, and has offices in New York, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Miami, London, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Shanghai and Beijing
In London, Gabrielle Fetters and Peppa Mignone have also been promoted to agent, and Khalil Roberts to executive, within CAA’s books department, while Sarah Phillips is appointed executive in CAA Search, which specialises in recruiting C-level and senior executives, non-executive directors, and board-level executives around the world.
Based in New York, Justin Gorkowitz has been promoted to agent in the comedy touring department, with Leilani Houston promoted to agent in the commercial endorsements division and New York-based Kyle Margolis upped to agent in television news.
In addition, Los Angeles-based Hannah Kaiser has been promoted to agent in the television scripted department, Max Miller is appointed agent in the motion picture talent department and Cami Potter is named agent in television talent.
Finally, New York-based Jack Upton has been promoted to agent in the Talent department and Los Angeles-based Connie Yan is elevated to agent in the motion picture literary department.
Founded in 1975, CAA is headquartered in LA, and has offices in New York, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Miami, London, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Shanghai and Beijing, among other locations. Artémis, an investment vehicle led by billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, acquired TPG’s majority stake in the agency in September.
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Wasserman Music has announced the promotion of seven members of its global team to agents, and has elevated two veteran employees to executive positions.
The agency’s newly-promoted agents include responsible agents Eli Gelernter, Logan Handelsman, Lindsay McDowell and Yitzi Peetluk. It has also expanded its artist service teams with Fairs & Festivals agent Jess Bumsted and tour marketers Mary Kate Carragher and Kaela Ismael.
“Our two biggest priorities at Wasserman Music are the ongoing efforts to super-serve our clients and the continued career growth of our staff. These well-deserved promotions help us achieve both,” says Lee Anderson, Wasserman Music EVP & managing executive. “We could not be prouder of each of these employees and look forward to their continued success and contributions here at Wasserman.”
Additionally, Sara Pullman is upped to VP, operations, and Chappel McCollister steps up to become SVP of business development.
Pullman started her career as an assistant at dance agency AM Only before climbing the ladder to agent and then moving to operations. She leads all of Wasserman’s branded events during SXSW, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and Miami Music Week, and cultivates festival relationships.
“I have seen the future of music, sports, business development, and brand partnerships. Its name is Chappel McCollister”
McCollister, meanwhile, is devoted to leveraging synergies between the company’s music, sports, film, marketing and social media divisions. In his four years with Wasserman, his campaign highlights include an award-winning brand collaboration for Kacey Musgraves with candle maker Boy Smells; a partnership between Musgraves and Chipotle featuring the brand’s short animated film that went on to win three Clio Awards and five Cannes Lions Awards; the design of the global Blake Shelton x Land’s End collection.
More recently, he helped launch Nashville Soccer Club’s brand-new Man in Black Kit, honouring Johnny Cash, a partnership that was spearheaded by McCollister. He is also a co-leader of Wasserman Music’s country and Americana genres.
“I have seen the future of music, sports, business development, and brand partnerships. Its name is Chappel McCollister,” says Jonathan Levine, Wasserman Music EVP & managing executive. “Hard pressed to find anyone who out-thinks, out-shines, or out-hustles Chappel. He’s best in class and provides tremendous service to our clients across a broad array of creative opportunities.”
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APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) has ramped up its touring division with six promotions.
Jon Moss and Griffin Perkiel have been upped to music agents while Becca Wilson becomes head of tour marketing.
In addition, Paul O’Loughline, Max Rosenfield and Nina Swift were named to music department coordinator positions.
The promotions come as APA continues to grow its music department since CAA’s acquisition of ICM Partners.
In the last six months, a number of senior music agents from the latter two companies have moved to APA, bringing extensive rosters with them.
Mitch Blackman, Mike Hayes and Chris Smith switched from ICM, Steve Kaul from CAA, as well as Josh Lanham and Sam Sauerhaft who came over in comedy touring from ICM and from management, respectively.
Those agents brought with them more than 200 artists including, Aly and AJ, Jon Bellion, blackbear, Belinda Carlisle, Cypress Hill, Go-Go’s, JAX, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Theory of a Deadman, Kamasi Washington, and comedy touring acts including Martin Lawrence, Mike Epps and Felipe Esparza.
“We have greatly enhanced our music touring footprint over the past six months, by signing over 200 exciting artists who come to us through the many established agents from major agencies that we brought to APA,” says Bruce Solar, APA’s head of music.
“We have greatly enhanced our music touring footprint over the past six months”
“The promotions today of Jon and Griffin to agents, Becca to Head of Marketing and Paul, Max and Nina to coordinators, are richly deserved and gives us the added people power we need to smoothly handle our growth, while rewarding a strong group of diverse young executives who have earned their promotions by making it happen for our clients.”
Moss began his career in 2015 in management at Frank Salomon Associates in New York. He joined APA in January 2020, assisting Christianne Weiss, VP & head of adult contemporary and later Craig Newman, VP & head of performing arts.
With Weiss and Newman, Moss worked with clients such as Smokey Robinson, Frankie Valli, Micky Dolenz, Marie Osmond, Bachman Cummings, STARSHIP, The Fab Four and more. Moss is responsible for booking Fairs and Festivals for the Concerts Department, and currently works with clients Al Olender, Isabel Pless, and Mikaela Davis.
Perkel, upon graduation, was hired into the mailroom of APA, where he worked for Guy Richard. Perkiel briefly moved to Live Nation but quickly returned to the agency world at ICM Partners to work in the contemporary music department.
As an assistant to Mike Hayes, Perkiel focused on developing younger artists, coordinating tours for national artists and handling festivals. During the ICM/CAA [Creative Artists Agency] merger, Griffin joined Hayes at APA as department coordinator. Now promoted to agent, Perkiel is heavily involved developing his own clients while supporting a wide range of businesses within the APA Music Department. He currently works on BabyJake, Riz La Vie, Ayleen Valentine, The Lagoons and Skizzy Mars, among others.
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German concert promoter Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion (KJK) has entered a new era following the retirement of long-time head of ticketing & sports Anja Schwencke.
The Hamburg-based company has appointed Jessica Hübner and Stefanie Gräßler as heads of ticketing, with the dual leadership to be responsible for ticketing for all KJK’s tours, as well as local concerts.
In addition, Sönke Schal will take over the main responsibility for the newly created people & culture department. Hübner and Gräßler started out in PR & marketing at the Hamburg-based company, switching to ticketing in 2016, while Schal was previously booker with the firm for acts such as Sticky Fingers, Hinds, Men I Trust, as well as heading up Way Back When Festival.
“The recent promotions… say more about the KJ company DNA than any glowing speech ever could”
“The recent promotions of Jessica Hübner and Stefanie Gräßler as head of ticketing dual leadership and Sönke Schal to the newly created position of head of people & culture say more about the KJ company DNA than any glowing speech ever could,” says KJK CEO Ben Mitha. “All three of them not only completed their training at our company, some of them have remained loyal to us for decades and have already worked in several departments within the company. In my eyes, there is no better fit for their current leadership positions and I look forward to working with the three of them to further develop and advance KJ’s fortunes.”
Schwencke, who celebrated her 20th anniversary with the promoter in 2020, has been associated with the company since her student days, starting out as an external box office clerk.
“Anja undisputedly had the greatest expertise in ticketing within the industry and continuously developed this area for our company over 20 years and adapted it to the current market conditions,” adds Mitha. “Along the way, she was extremely successful in helping to build up the sports events area in our portfolio. We are very reluctant to let her go, but are happy for her that her well-deserved retirement will now provide her with even more time for traveling, golfing and attending the odd handball match with her husband Karsten.”
“I thank Anja Schwencke from the bottom of my heart for her outstanding commitment to our company”
Schwencke retired last month, having joined KJK full-time in 2000, taking over the ticketing division from Margret Kosanke.
“I thank Anja Schwencke from the bottom of my heart for her outstanding commitment to our company,” adds KJK founder Karsten Jahnke. “Although she was ‘only’ employed with us for 22 years, she has been associated with our company for well over 40 years as the daughter of our long-time financial accountant and personnel manager Monika Diers, as well as her commitment to ticket service and as a box office employee.
“In February 2000, she took over our ticketing as successor to my sister Margret Kosanke and has not only continuously modernised it, but also made our ticket service the most popular ticket provider in Germany. Thanks to her outstanding expertise, Anja is highly respected within the industry and has constantly championed the interests of us independent concert promoters against the big ticket providers. As if this were not enough, she has also established the sports events division in our company.
“She has worked tirelessly for her team and has built up two extremely competent successors in Jessica and Steffi. I wish her all the best for her new phase of life and hope that she will be able to work successfully on her golf handicap together with her husband Karsten from now on and that they both will enjoy many beautiful travels”
Subscribers can read IQ‘s recent 60th anniversary feature on Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion here.
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Talent agency UTA has announced two major promotions, elevating David Kramer to president and Jay Sures to vice-chair.
The US-based duo have served as co-presidents of the company since 2017.
In an internal email seen by Deadline, UTA co-founder and CEO Jeremy Zimmer says Kramer’s promotion “acknowledges the important role he serves as my close strategic partner, leader of a large part of UTA’s operations, and forward-thinking business builder”.
“Again and again, David has been a trusted ally to clients and a passionate champion of our people and our culture,” says Zimmer. “Having David as our president underscores my confidence in the future direction and stewardship of our business.”
Sures, meanwhile, is hailed by Zimmer as “the ultimate power player”.
“We will rely even more on Jay’s unique blend of instincts, intelligence, deep connections, and external relationships”
“He has played a major role in systematically building our television group, including literary and talent, into an industry leader while representing a wide roster of clients,” he says. “He also oversees, and continues to grow, our news, speakers, and culture and leadership groups. As vice-chairman, we will rely even more on Jay’s unique blend of instincts, intelligence, deep connections, and external relationships to continue to drive our business forward across many dimensions.”
Earlier this summer, Kramer led UTA’s acquisition of UK agency Curtis Brown and played a key role bringing in global finance firm EQT as UTA’s largest outside investor.
Sures, meanwhile, has helped build the agency’s TV group and oversees UTA’s news, speakers and culture and leadership businesses.
will enable both executives to focus on their respective strengths. were confirmed days after UTA announced the hiring of veteran music agent Scott Mantell, who most recently served as a partner and co-head of international touring at ICM.
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