As president of Live Nation Las Vegas, Kurt Melien has been the man bringing music's biggest acts to the Strip.
“I consider myself an artist resident expert, an expert on how to structure a deal that will work for the artist and work for the casinos. The demographics shifted [in Las Vegas] because of the nightclub boom, so we began to present younger artists in residence. Live Nation is the largest concert promoter in the world. The local office here provides about 80 to 85 percent of the live music business on the Strip. We’re a phone call away from any artist we may be interested in. There is a push to be as diverse as possible because the Vegas customer is very diverse. It’s a global audience.”
What's Now: The president of Live Nation Nevada says female pop is “driving a lot of the buying decisions” with Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera and Janet Jackson currently enjoying residencies on the Strip. Rock is also having a good year with extended Vegas runs by Aerosmith and Def Leppard opening in August.
What's Next: There’s always a big name headliner ready to b e announced. Melien would love to see a British new wave act or a modern hip-hop ar tist do a theater-level Strip residency in the near future.
Photography by: By Tony Tran
