We round up the latest movements from the ticketing sector and associated industries…
Veeps, the Live Nation-owned streaming platform has named Eileen Mercolino as its first chief marketing officer.
Mercolino worked most recently at SPIN, where she served as CMO and has held a number of senior marketing and partnership roles at leading entertainment brands including The Walt Disney company.
Mercolino will take over stewardship of the Veeps brand which will continue championing concert streaming with artists, their fans, and the wider music and entertainment industry that serves them.
“We are living in a pivotal moment in the live music space, where enhanced streaming technology gives artists and performers the ability to reach new audiences beyond traditional concert goers,” Mercolino said. “Veeps is at the forefront of that movement, having methodically built the company and product offerings with a grassroots approach, harnessing the ability to produce new forms of immersive live performances with high production value and a seamless fan experience.”
Kevin Brennan has been re-elected as the chair of the influential All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music.
MPs and peers chose Brennan to continue his leadership of the group, which brings together parliamentarians and the music industry to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
Fellow MPs Sharon Hodgson, Alex Sobel, Pete Wishart and Sir Greg Knight remain as co-chairs, while Conor McGinn remains as secretary for the group.
Wicket, the facial authentication platform provider, has announced the appointment of Alastair Partington as president.
Partington joins Wicket as part of the US-headquartered company’s investment in growth in its core sports & live events sector, while expanding into broader facial authentication applications across other industries.
Partington was a co-founder and chief executive of biometric identification company Tascent, which developed and deployed tailored biometrics solutions in travel, border control, workplace access, and other sectors worldwide.
“Incredibly rapidly, Wicket has established itself as the preeminent provider of facial authentication technology in the sports industry,” said Partington. “I am excited to join Wicket at this significant juncture in its growth, to help the company deliver on the immense opportunity that high-performance, responsible, cost-effective facial authentication can bring to all industries.”
Finland-based promoter Fullsteam Agency has recruited Marko Kivelä, Selmu’s long-time executive director and provincial chief executive. Kivelä will become an agent and promoter at Fullsteam.
Aino-Maria Paasivirta becomes the new promoter for the Province festival, and will take responsibility for its programme planning and booking. Paasivirta has been a part of the Province’s programming group since 2016.
Artemi Remes, a long-time promoter for Fullsteam, has been promoted to senior promoter following his success with the Sideways festival’s music programme.
Tuomo Tähtinen, chief executive of Fullsteam, said: “After an extremely successful last year and recovering from the pandemic, it is a natural time to look to the future and update Fullsteam’s organisation and responsibilities. The reorganisation of the Province is also going well and we will hopefully soon be able to share more news regarding that as well.”
Darcy Silver, the co-founder and chief executive of ticket resale marketplace LuvSeats, has been appointed as the new chief investment officer for esports stadium and venue company Glytch.
Silver’s primary focus will be to drive investor growth and capitalisation activities to support Glytch’s ambitious vision of constructing 32 esports stadiums/entertainment destinations throughout the US and Canada.
Silver said: “We see the opportunity for creating the entire esports ecosystem, and have put on our hard hats to pave the path forward to become the leading ‘alternative’ primary ticketing experience built specifically for the younger generation. Our partnership with Glytch will launch a new era in US-based ticketing solutions that will benefit fans, artists, and esports teams in a market that’s still fairly new and growing.”
Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@theticketingbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.