[INTERVIEW] 'Eventim Live Asia will bring the world's biggest stars to Korea'

Jason Miller, the CEO of Eventim Live Asia / Courtesy of CTS Eventim

By Dong Sun-hwa

U2, Coldplay, Lady Gaga and Maroon 5 are only a few examples of the prominent pop stars who were brought to Seoul by Jason Miller to play engrossing concerts in front of massive crowds. And Miller, the CEO of the Singapore-headquartered ticketing and live entertainment company, Eventim Live Asia, says there are more A-listers he plans to invite to Korea, once the country turns the corner on the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

Eventim Live Asia was recently launched by Germany-based concert promoter CTS Eventim, with the purpose of "bringing some of the best entertainers in the world to the rapidly growing live entertainment markets in Asia, including Korea, China and Japan." CTS Eventim, one of the most sought-after concert promoters in the world, has 36 promoters based in 15 countries. In 2019, its revenues stood at 1.4 billion euro ($1.65 billion).

Although its newly established company, Eventim Live Asia, is only starting to have conversations to set up plans for Seoul concerts, Miller hinted that "world-class events" will soon take place here.

"If you look at my work history, I think that you will get a good sense of the scale of the shows that Eventim Live Asia plans to put on," Miller told The Korea Times, Tuesday. "We want to bring the biggest and best artists in the world to Korea."

Miller, the former senior vice president of the Asia region for global concert promoter Live Nation, is known to have produced nearly 80 percent of the last decade's highest-grossing Asian tours for Western pop stars such as Madonna and Bruno Mars. Prior to joining Live Nation, he worked at talent agency powerhouse Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and played a pivotal role in developing the careers of Beyonce, Stevie Wonder and Kanye West, among many others.

Legendary Irish rock band U2 performs during its first Seoul concert in 2019. Yonhap

In an interview with The Korea Times, Miller explained why Korea is a crucial market for his company.

"From my experience, Seoul is not only a massive city but also a place full of some of the most passionate and educated music fans in the world," he said. "It is also one of the global cultural hubs with the ability to dictate what is happening around the world in music, culture, fashion, film and TV. I think K-pop's explosive success, in particular, has put the city on the radar of Western stars in a whole new way."

Although Eventim Live Asia might face stiff competition from rivals such Live Nation and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) ― which made headlines for promoting Michael Jackson's "This Is It" concerts in 2009 ― Miller believes that his company can still stand out from the rest.

"Previously, I and my team did things that had never been done before, like bringing iconic artists to the continent or specific markets for the first time," he noted. "One such example is U2's 2019 concert in Seoul. Succeeding in Korea or anywhere else in the world requires experience and relationships, when it comes to live entertainment. You really need to know what you are doing and who the best partners are to build the best events. Now, I am excited to use my experience."

Adding that the pandemic has created unprecedented global demand for live music and shared experience, Miller said that there is no better time or place to launch Eventim Live Asia.

"Asia represents over half of the world's population and its fastest-growing middle class… We want to bring the biggest artists in the world to Seoul and elsewhere in Asia. And we would love to bring the biggest Korean artists to the rest of the world. Eventim is uniquely positioned to help make that happen around the globe."

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