2023 Women Of Live: Rhea Roberts-Johnson
VP, Operations & Community Engagement| Goldenvoice
Rhea Roberts-Johnson is the vice president, operations & community engagement at Goldenvoice, where she oversees business operations and works closely with executive leadership to establish and implement initiatives to carry out the company’s goals and objectives.
She has served as a senior leader at Goldenvoice for several years and served as Vice President of Ticketing where she led ticketing strategy and operations for Goldenvoice concerts before transitioning into her current role.
Roberts is a founding member of Goldenvoice’s GV BLACK program, an employee-led resource group that guides conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion and steers Goldenvoice and AEG Presents forward in the mission to expand on racial justice. In her words, “Every educational experience, work experience and personal relationship that I’ve developed, has led me to my present circumstances – and I’m continuing to grow and achieve in my career and personal life.”
“We shouldn’t become complacent in our efforts to promote more diversity in this industry,” Roberts said. “At Goldenvoice and AEG Presents, we are continuously working on building more pipelines to attract more BIPOC talent and vendors as well as partnering and collaborating with local creatives and businesses. Currently, Goldenvoice and GV BLACK are working with a non-profit organization out of Inglewood, CA called OUR OWN to engage more talent from underrepresented communities that have interest in the live music business. We also have some things stirring for 2023 Coachella, that will be announced fairly soon.”
She says she fell into ticketing by accident.
After graduating from John Muir High School in Pasadena, California, she earned a journalism degree at Hampton University in Virginia and wanted to work in radio. Her first post-college job was at Los Angeles country radio station KZLA, sister station to hip-hop outlet Power 106.
In 2012, she helped launch marketing for Stagecoach, the country cousin of Coachella, also created and run by AEG Presents’ Goldenvoice.
“I tend to look at Goldenvoice not only as being a promoter, but also in the artist development business, so I truly enjoy catching artists in the earlier stages of their careers,” she says. “One of my favorite shows this past year was Symba at The Roxy Theater. He’s an up-and-coming artist out of The Bay Area and definitely someone to keep your eye on. I also really enjoyed Hiatus Kaiyote at The Hollywood Bowl and can’t wait to see them at Coachella!”
Already deep into 2023, the new normal is putting pressure on the industry to keep up with demand but in a calculated manner.
“High demand presents great opportunity. However, it also creates pressure,” she says. “With 2023 expecting to be a record-breaking year for the industry as far as show volume, we must be careful to not oversaturate the marketplace. In 2023, consumers may not have as much discretionary income, so instead of selecting two concerts to attend in a three-month period, they may be faced with having to choose between the two. With all the discussion around ticketing fees and secondary market sales, it’s also a great time to continue focusing on keeping inventory on primary ticketing platforms, undercutting the brokers and building more trust with the consumer.
