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10 Questions with ... Evan Harrison
February 26, 2017
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Evan Harrison began his music industry career in the mail room in the San Francisco branch of BMG Distribution, where he was promoted, and eventually became the company's first head of Digital Marketing. In 2001, Evan joined AOL, where he became the head of Music and Radio and developed the AOL Sessions and First Listen programs. After that, Evan joined then-Clear Channel, where he helped to build the iHeartRadio platform. Harrison is now the CEO of HUKA Entertainment, one of the world's most visionary creators and producers of large-scale destination-location music festivals. Huka is behind the Pemberton Music Festival, situated on 300 pristine acres at the base of Mt. Currie in British Columbia and the Tortuga Music Festival, held annually on the white sandy beaches of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They are also co-producers of the Buku Music + Arts Project in New Orleans, the original architects of the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, AL, and run an expanding touring division that produces hundreds of shows every year across North America.
1. Evan, thanks for taking the time for All Access "10 Questions." Let's start by getting a sense of what your day-to-day responsibilities are as CEO for HUKA Entertainment.
It's unlike any job I've ever had. I have worked for multi-billion dollar organizations in music for quite some time. I'm the CEO of a 30-person independent music festival promotion and concert and touring company, and my job in the day-to-day ranges from the typical leadership role of a CEO - overseeing day to day operations; speaking directly with turtle activists for our Tortuga Music Festival; and better understanding the cost of shipping materials across a border. Every day is a unique challenge, and there is no task too small. There is also the ongoing challenge of being independent and fighting companies with endless means and responsibilities. It's about being scrappy.
2. You mentioned Tortuga Festival, which in the Country genre is a well-known festival. What inspired this event - which is coming in April?
The inspiration of Tortuga really goes back to the HUKA story. My partner, A.J. Niland, and a high school friend, Bennett Drago, met in Mobile, AL. They started HUKA, because there wasn't much art and there weren't many artists coming through town. They started a local small promotion business, and they started convincing clubs to let them fill the room and convincing agents to take a shot on them. They went to the great music festivals, and A.J. really pioneered the beach festival concept. He realized that seeing a music festival is a much different experience. It's definitely a youth movement, which is different than going to see a band in the club or a theater. He went out looking for beaches that could possibly host a music festival, and he created his first beach music festival in Gulf Shores, AL. We met right as I was leaving iHeartRadio. I was introduced to A.J. by a mutual friend. He had a real hunger to take his concept for creating music festivals in underserved destination locations to new locations, and he learned just how hard it is to build a music festival on the beach. From there, we moved on to Tortuga, which is on the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale.
3. How have you managed to wrangle the big names - like Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan?
A.J. had a little bit of a track record from delivering the first music festival he created, and we had a direct relationship with Kenny's camp and with Luke's camp. They came out for the first time, and they looked out to the right and saw the ocean and saw fans in bathing suits having a great time. I like to think it also has something to do with the fact that we pay attention to every little detail, making sure that right when they roll in, there is an unprecedented artist compound experience - from food to all sorts of luxuries that make it more enjoyable. The vibe in general, from the fans to the artist compound to the entire staff working - everyone is at a special place, and there is a special feeling in the air that just sets a tone and a vibe. Once we've proven to the artists what we do, it becomes easier to get them to come back. Frankly, the artist community and fans have been coming back. Artists are asking their managers and their agents to make sure they get to play Tortuga again.
That's a pretty nice position to be in.
Well, it's a position I don't take for granted. We work hard to make sure we deliver and keep that tradition going. We're going into year five now.
4. Let's talk about the festival business in general - how is it holding up? I spoke to another promoter last year who shared concerns about too many of them - and that was before the format cooled somewhat - how can these events remain sustainable?
I can speak from the experience of our events; the marketplace has certainly gotten more competitive. From a pure survival stand point, I think we started to see an adjustment last year, and I think that adjustment is going to continue to a certain degree. From a fan perspective, it's incredible, because fans have more choices than ever not only to experience music on demand - and hear what they want, when they want - but as far as seeing their favorite artist - whether it's a hard ticket show or at a music festival. Fans are driving to music festivals. They're choosing the festival that best speaks to them, and they're driving hundreds of miles to get there. Every year, we see our audience base travel from farther and farther. For instance, this year more than 50% of the fans coming to Tortuga are traveling from outside of Florida. For Tortuga in particular, it's a differentiated experience. It's an underserved destination location. People have been heading to South Florida beaches for many years for vacation, and we have created a community with the artists and the festival that allows fans to travel not only for a beach location, but also, as a fan called it, "Country Music's Biggest Beach Party," - and it is.
5. Don't organizers of these big festivals need to brace themselves for a year or two of pain? What's the point where a large festival becomes profitable?
Everybody has a different approach. The HUKA model is a proven model, and it's worked across different destination locations where we've created music festivals. That is, our real marketing spend is on the fan and artist experience. First and foremost, we're choosing a unique destination location, so the space becomes a massive part of the brand. From there, we have to have a differentiated lineup that is within voice of the music festival. What we've seen is, every year we tend to get 50% growth, year over year, until we get to sell out.
6. In your bio, you said, "Music festivals plus digital and social media are the new radio and record store combo as it pertains to artist discover. The energy in today's music business is alive and well - at festivals." How are you and your team feeling about radio these days, as a way to help your business and familiarize fans with acts?
Radio absolutely remains a tremendously impactful medium. I'm a radio fan at heart. I like the opportunity to create excitement, and radio still does a really good job doing that. We partner very closely with radio, especially for Tortuga Music Festival, because - especially in the Country genre - I think it's a very important part of the marketing mix.
7. Would you consider your time at iHeartRadio serving in terrestrial radio? You were in the digital platform there, but certainly you have an understanding of terrestrial radio during that experience?
I was an EVP of the company and President of the Digital division, where we created what is now called iHeartRadio. I very much saw my role and my involvement in terrestrial radio, as well as developing and operating multiple platforms simply to keep audiences connected with the brand that they love, regardless of what medium they use to listen.
8. You had time before this on the label side, as well, and in the digital space during your time at AOL. I was wondering on this side of the business that you're occupying now, what observations can you share about radio - its overall role? Now that you're sitting outside of it, what role do you think radio can and should have in exposing music and driving music sales? And even live event ticket success?
I think radio - and to me, every part of the music industry - has a responsibility to help develop new talent - or else we all have a problem. Developing new talent is the blood of the music business, and I've always considered that a part of what my role is, regardless of where I'm sitting. I actually spent five years at BMG Distribution before I got into the technology side. I started in the sales and marketing arm, going into record stores and going into little college campuses trying to get people to care about bands they hadn't yet heard of. I kind of always empathized from that perspective. I think radio needs to continue to help break new artists, and I think radio is a very, very impactful medium - especially now coupled with live performances. People are going to music festivals and discovering new bands, and that's a part of who we are and what we do. I think artists have to communicate and foster their own fan base through social media, and you're seeing more and more of that now. Radio still plays a massive role in that mix. I know there are a lot of programmers who care deeply about helping to break new artists.
9. These festivals have come a long way in recent years - you have to provide a lot more for attendees than just the live music component. What else must be in the mix to hold their fascination?
I think fans have come to expect a complete experience more than just a stage and a fence and a [porta-potty]. We've taken it to the extreme with Tortuga. We survey our fans every year, and thousands of fans return really long surveys telling us what they want. Year one, we set up a VIP experience that was pretty unparalleled in that we built out cabanas and a swimming pool on the beach for the VIP section. The demand every year has gotten so large, that we've increased the amenities and offerings just based on fan feedback. As a matter of fact, this year before we even announced the artists, our Super VIP section sold out. So there is a range, depending upon the band, the genre, the location - some people are okay just going to see a band play. But we've created in Tortuga a real high-end experience. Our fans have told us that they want real flushing toilets. They want faster access. These are things we've listened to and made those available.
You mentioned one of the most important parts of Tortuga - which I have never been to - that experience is sort of built right in.
Well, it's all the details in between. You've worked around artists your whole career. You know how tiring it is for an artist to go do the morning show, and then back in the day it would be the record store, but now it's probably talking to a bunch of bloggers and media outlets, and by the time they get to the show.... If the details about where to pull in have been properly communicated and there's amazing cuisine, and a really loungey, vibed-out artist compound, by the time they go on stage, they're feeling the positive energy from everyone they've encountered. And then they're able to connect with their fans, and it's just a better experience.
10. So Country has been traditionally considered a "Family Reunion" format. In the festival/live event world, how can you create an environment that a 20-something AND a 50-something so both can enjoy?
Absolutely. I have been a firm believer for quite some time now, because of my work in the digital space, that formats and genres are becoming less and less meaningful. We need to have them to conduct business, but I think from a fan perspective, more than a decade ago it was pretty odd to have a fan of one genre liking more than one or two more [other genres]. That no longer holds true. I think what we're seeing is by really delivering - we have to deliver the biggest names in Country, and we do - but we also have to discover talent on their way up and put them on the stage that's slightly ahead of where they're at during the time of booking, and we've been successful doing that. Sam Hunt has been back twice. He started off on our smallest stage, and we booked him before his song took off at radio. Last year, we booked Kelsea Ballerini before her star started to rise, and it did. This year we booked Maren Morris early on. We had Elle King out there - who got a tremendous reception. This year we're bringing in Nelly. We've got Daya, who not all of our fans know who she is, but they'll recognize her songs.
There's a little bit of crystal ball involved in there.
Our leading talent buyer, Dan Merker - he spends a lot of time in Nashville with agents [and] artist managers. We're constantly looking for what the next big thing is, and Dan is down there doing a tremendous job really keeping his finger on the pulse and taking some chances and delivering.
Bonus Questions
We've focused on Tortuga and the Country format here - tell us more about HUKA and the kinds of events you present?
We just announced last week that we're doing a bunch of shows leading up to the Tortuga Festival where we're offering those already holding a ticket to Tortuga an opportunity to cut the line and beat the crowd and get in right up against the stage. There's an Old Dominion date, and a host of other artists. We produce about 200 shows a year, primarily along the Southeast - and that's clubs all the way up to amphitheaters.
Wow, that's a lot.
It keeps us busy. We're a small and nimble company. We have three music festivals - we have Tortuga, we have Buku in New Orleans, and we have Pemberton, which is a contemporary music festival up in beautiful British Columbia. And then the concerts and touring division keeps us busy in between.
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