New WME Head Of Music Marketing
WME has promoted Sara Williams to Head of Music Marketing, She joined the agency in 2019 as a Tour Marketing Agent. Williams will continue to be based in Nashville and now reports to Kirk Sommer, WME Global Head of Music
SeatPin Adds PinAI Concierge
While it's no surprise that we're not fans of most ticket resellers, they sometimes use the gobs of money they make to build interesting things. These days most are are AI related.
Such is the case with EU reseller Seatpin's new AI-powered assistant PinAI Instead of scrolling through social fees, multiple websites and listing pages, you can type or speak things like “Front row for Ariana Grande at The O2 this August” and it will go find it.
You will likely pay dearly for the privilege, but at least you saved time doing it.
Resale Ticketing Costs Fans $11B Annually
Speaking of ticket resale, a new study released by the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator revealed that resellers and marketplaces drain $11 billion every year from U.S. live event audiences.
How to Save Audiences $11 Billion on Live Events showed how ticket brokers add $4.5 billion in resale upcharges while platform service fees add another $6.8 billion in costs. While resale advocacy groups claim secondary markets save fans money when tickets sell under face value, VPA’s data shows fans actually lose $12 to markup gouging for every $1 saved.
Read more here.
AEG adds Austin Venue
AEG Presents has announced United Heritage Hall, a new 4,000-capacity live music venue in Austin, Texas, opening in spring 2027.
Developed by AEG Presents in partnership with Westfield, Partners Group, and Presidium, United Heritage Hall will anchor River Park, the 109-acre mixed-use development in Austin's growing Riverside neighborhood.
NIVA '27 Conference Discounts
NIVA '27, the National Independent Venue Association conference is heading to Boulder, Colorado from June 27 - July 1, 2027! Discount pricing is available now through September 10, and registration won't reopen until Early Bird pricing launches in January.
Register to save here and also get access to the best hotel rates.
MRG Adds Australia
Toronto, Canada based MRG Group has launched MRG Live Australia. The new Sydney-based office will be led by veteran live music executive Graham Kennedy, who joins the company as General Manager & Senior Promoter.
He joins MRG after ten years as Head of Arts & Entertainment at Live Nation Australia. The appointment follows the successful Australian and New Zealand tour of The Next Step, which sold more than 45,000 tickets and further demonstrated the strength of the market for MRG's expanding portfolio of live productions.
Dolly Parton Live
Hypebot paid tribute to the late great Dolly Parton with two stories about her live performance career: Dolly Parton Made Every Stage Feel Like Her Front Porch and The Day Dolly Parton Gave Me a Masterclass in Touring Grace.
Get the latest Live Music & Industry News updated continuously from across the web under the Hypebot Industry News tab here.
