Gary Richards

Almost a year ago, Gary Richards was about to put on his most eagerly anticipated HARD Summer fest; its 10th anniversary show was being headlined by Snoop Dogg reprising his classic Doggy Style album. Suddenly, just days before the event, Richards announced his abrupt exit from the company he founded. One month later, he was named President of LiveStyle, a concert promotion firm that not only holds a bevy of EDM fests across the country, but multi-music genre events such as Mamby On The Beach in Chicago and the All My Friends festival in downtown L.A. Here, Richards talks about his new duties in a changing and competitive musical landscape.

Your last Power Player interview preceded the HARD Summer featuring Snoop Dogg, among others, which turned out to be your final festival with that company. Did you know beforehand that this was going to be your last hurrah with HARD?

I somewhat knew at that point what was going to happen. It was just time for a change. After 10 years at one place, it was time for me to move on.

Were you already looking for your next opportunity and was LiveStyle already in your sights?

I talked to a bunch of different people for a short while until I felt LiveStyle would be the right fit for me. In my mind, it seemed that I needed them as much as they needed me. And it's really been a great nine to 10 months so far. I feel like I'm being utilized to my full potential.

LiveStyle seems to offer you more opportunities to put on shows than you had at HARD.

Much more opportunity. Just this year alone, we're doing thousands of shows, big and small. We just produced the annual Spring Awakening festival in Chicago, which sold over 100,000 tickets for the festival. Memorial Day was the Sunset Music Fest in Tampa. This weekend, we'll be holding Mamby On The Beach by Lake Michigan back in Chicago. Later this year we'll have the Electric Zoo in New York and a really big one called Freaky Deaky on Halloween weekend in Houston. We're producing a new music cruise called FriendShip, and we've got the All My Friends music festival this August in downtown L.A. There's a ton going on here; we have companies in Holland and Germany, with offices in New York, Chicago, Miami and Denver. So for me, not only is it a much bigger role, but a better fit.

Mamby On The Beach, which is coming up next weekend in Chicago, features artists in a variety of music genres. Do you see more multi-music genre events in LiveStyle's future, or are they an exception to the EDM "rule?"

We are already looking to expand into more multi-genre music festivals like Mamby On The Beach in Chicago and All My Friends in Los Angeles. We want LiveStyle to be known as a live music company that includes many genres of music and artists.

There have been those who are concerned that the EDM/Dance movement may be a bubble that's about to burst. Have you noticed any evidence of that?

I haven't seen that at all. All of our festival sales are up. We're putting on more events in more markets and sales are still going really well. We're feeling really good about where we're going.

So you're not worried that superstar EDM/dance headliners such as Calvin Harris will become more integrated with Pop acts and radio, which could dilute your brand?

That's not really for me to decide. Whatever way the acts go, they go. If they have success on their own, yet still have success in the festivals we're producing, it's all good. We'll still book them if they continue to appeal to our audience. But for some reason, there are always people who like coming from a negative perspective ... that artists or things aren't as good as they used to be. But the proof is in pudding - and the numbers speak for themselves.

Even with the hectic event schedule you currently have, are you looking to add more big events around the country?

It's not really about quantity but quality. What's missing on the landscape? What are people not getting at the fests? How can we make them better? So it's not really a number, but what makes sense.

Do you think we're getting closer to a time where the EDM/dance presence on radio goes from specialty and satellite/online shows to a full-fledged format on terrestrial radio?

I think there should be more EDM on the radio because they're missing out on a big, young audience, but I've always felt that way. To this day, I have no idea why radio does what it does and I've stopped trying to figure it out. That's been an enigma to me for a long time.

Has the EDM/Dance festival competition between you and Live Nation, among others, fueled bidding wars for the top acts?

Not necessarily. I don't think the answer is to outbid everyone; the answer is to do better A&R. What we're doing is that we have about 10 bookers in the company. We had a bookings summit where we all came together and figured out who we should get behind in 2019 and 2020. We're always looking for new things.

It's definitely competitive out there, with all the big players and small ones, too, but I think there's room for everyone. Some promoters try to block out the mixers they book from other promoters, but at the end of day, I look at our job as promoting the guys who play our events, trying to build them up and promoting them as artists, to help build their careers.

How do you keep up with deluge of young, up-and-coming mixers that are all over SoundCloud and YouTube?

One: I DJ, so I have to stay current with my live and radio shows. Plus: People send me music; Beatport tells me things that are popular; the labels send me stuff and I'm in on these producers who are making their own stuff. Other bookers tell me about who's breaking through, and of course, there's always Spotify and iTunes. I'm always on the hunt for new talent.

In your search for new talent, have you noticed any new trends in EDM? Are there specific regional differences?

It's kind of hard to tell. It depends on the producer. I definitely see specific artists rising to the top. There are definitely local DJs who are popular in specific markets and certain things work better in certain parts of the country, but the most popular ones break nationwide.

Are you working international festivals as well?

As I noted earlier, we have offices in Holland and Germany, and both divisions do really well. We're looking to expand into other territories such as Australia and Asia, such as our Life & Color fest in China last weekend. But I'm personally focused on North America. We're producing shows in Orlando, Tampa, Columbus, St. Louis and New Orleans, as well as bigger markets such as Boston, Miami and Philly. If the music is good, people will come.

How has the transition to LiveStyle impacted your career as a DJ, Destructo?

I feel like it's definitely getting better. I'm refining my sound and I've been recording with Yo Gotti, Busta Rhymes and Snoop. Just trying to get into the studio can be a little tough with everything else that's going on. I love working on collaborations and my DJ residency at Drai's in Las Vegas. I just keep pushing forward to keep the party going. I feel that the DJ part of my life keeps my head in game; as I said, it helps me find new music and stay up on it. If I didn't DJ, I probably would not have my head in the game as much musically.

Who would be your dream collaboration?

Dr. Dre. I've sampled one of his records and he cleared it for me, but that's about it so far. A Dre collaboration would be pretty great.

Has your future, be it a five or 10-year plan, changed since moving to LiveStyle?

For starters, I'm still just trying to figure out all the pieces of the puzzle here ... what's everyone doing, what's working and not working. I'm making sure I don't make any mistakes in growing the company. It has definitely been a whirlwind over the last 10 months, but I feel great to head in the right direction with great people to work with and successful properties to work. It all feels like it's coming together.

If you want more information or are interested in attending Mamby On The Beach, please click here.