Rebecca Kane Burton
Executive Vice President Of Venue Management |OVG International
Rebecca Kane Burton has been an operator all her career, working inside some of the UK’s most popular buildings, including Alexandra Palace, The O2, and, most recently, Co-op Live.
She said getting the new Manchester arena up and running amid a slew of challenges as interim general manager and assisting the team in reaching the finish line was a big success.
“Hats off to the whole team for the work they did, and what a privilege to be asked to come in at the very last minute, and help nudge it over the line,” she said. “That was a huge honour for me.”
A delayed opening of three weeks due to construction not being complete in time took a toll on everyone involved, she said. When it’s your job and passion to deliver a great event for fans, artists, and their teams, few things are more painful than announcing a show isn’t happening. Co-op Live had to deliver that message a few times before opening its doors in May, and some people did not take it lightly.
“People, even my friends and family, find it very hard to understand, but there’s a great passion that exists for our industry,” Kane Burton said. “That passion is what sells out stadiums and arenas.
When that passion goes wrong, it can flip to something very dark. So for me, the biggest, single focus was to get this building up and running, and to celebrate the hard work that team put into it. We’ve now done over 40 events, and to watch the team start to celebrate and enjoy the fan engagement, to see thousands of people having the best time of their lives was the reward the team got for seeing it through, and putting that place where it deserved to be.”
After fulfilling her interim role at Co-op Live, which was developed by VenuesNow parent company Oak View Group, Kane Burton was appointed executive vice president of venue management for OVG International in September.
“I’m excited to share OVG’s history of innovation and different ways of thinking with the UK and European markets and to see how venues can operate differently, more profitably and overall better for the fans,” she said. “I hope I can put myself in the shoes of the operators I’m going to sit with, and help them do what they need to do in a world that is more risk-averse since COVID, given the challenging economic environment that we now work in. Touring has changed, especially at the arena level, you can’t just sit back and wait for tours to come your way. Collaboration is going to be key for an industry that is deeply rooted in competitiveness.”
According to Kane Burton, the live industry is misunderstood by many, including politicians who may think an event is “just a night out.” However, in the UK alone, more than 1 million people work in the live entertainment sector, many of them freelancers. The lack of recognition of the sector’s social and economic importance means there wasn’t a lot of government support during the COVID shutdown, forcing many to leave the industry for other work.
“The fight to get this industry back off the ground has been tough and relentless,” Kane Burton said. “I have lots of people thinking what we do is very glamorous. It couldn’t be less glamorous. Sure, there are many privileges, and many wonderful moments where you get to meet some of the most inspiring people on the planet. But it’s tough. It’s why I chose to join OVG, because the passion that Tim (Leiweke), Francesca (Bodie) and Jessica (Koravos) have for our business is unrelenting.”
She’s proud to work for a company with strong female representation, she says
“Francesca is our COO, Jessica is my boss. I’ve been given a significant role and I take that responsibility very seriously,” said Kane Burton, who’s says some women seeking a career in live entertainment still face misogyny. “I attended an event in Manchester called Beyond the Music, where I had the privilege of listening to Zelda Perkins, who runs an organization called Can’t Buy My Silence. It was very thought provoking, and stirring, to listen to women talking on stage about their experiences of misogyny in this industry.”
“As someone who’s been doing this for 27 years, I think back to when I started, and I think back to some of the things that I would have let slip, that I wouldn’t have challenged, that I just assumed were normal,” she added. “Now, when I listen to young people who are joining our industry, who talk about similar experiences as being wrong and needing stamping out, I think, ‘Thank goodness these people exist.’ We need to support them, because they shouldn’t have to live in an industry like that. I guess my rallying cry would be that we need more men to join and add their voice to this. This isn’t a female-versus-male or a gender-specific fight. It’s not them or us. This is about all of us, whoever we are, whatever our gender, however we identify. It’s about a collective voice going, ‘Enough!’”
