Matt Prieshoff
Executive Vice President of Fan & Artist Services | Venue Nation / Live Nation
Who came first, the artist or the fan? Matt Prieshoff knows you can’t have one without the other, and it’s his job to make the experience top-notch for both, which includes everything from the box office to the backstage.
“I’m so proud of how my team creates memorable and unique experiences for artists backstage at our venues,” said Matt Prieshoff, EVP of Fan & Artist Services for Live Nation’s Venue Nation division. “Our team works hard with touring personnel to curate different experiences in each market to make the road a bit more enjoyable for artists, their families and their touring crews.” This includes introducing local flavors to green rooms such as coffee carts, taco trucks, local baked goods and more.
“We also make the backstage areas a fun place to hang out by providing onsite barbers, free socks from our friends at Stance, Pelotons, golf simulators and more,” he added. “We even get our four-legged friends in on the backstage fun with puppy play-time moments and All Access passes for touring dogs.”
A challenge has been keeping up with the flurry of events taking place across the country, which Prieshoff said had him traveling often, sometimes frantically.
“We had a run of several weeks this summer where Live Nation venues hosted multiple weeks with a million-plus fans in attendance,” he said. “It was a challenge to determine where to be and when to provide the right support for my colleagues and staff while still finding time with my family. I focused on grouping travel regionally and hitting as many shows as possible with short drives or short flights and praying the flights were on time.”
On the consumer side, Prieshoff says tech advancements lead the way toward faster transactions, shorter lines and happy customers.
“I love cashless technology, which Live Nation rolled out in all outdoor venues in 2021 and continues to roll out in the indoor rooms,” he said. “This gets fans out of lines and back to the show. Couple that with Live Nation’s Venue Nation focus on creating the best experience for fans at every location in the venue, from entering the facility to merchandise and food and beverage sales, we’re evolving to a point where fans almost never stand in line.” — Ryan Borba
