Vanessa Picken has been named global director of music strategy at Ticketek Entertainment Group's live entertainment arm, TEG Live, marking an "important evolution" for the company's touring business. The appointment comes as part of a major overhaul aimed at driving growth across various genres, with a focus on country, electronic, and other hot markets.
Picken brings a wealth of international experience to the role, having previously served as chair and CEO of Sony Music Australia and New Zealand from June 2022 until late last year. During her tenure, she modernized the company's organizational structure, enhanced its digital capabilities, and fueled new growth through experiential and licensing ventures.
Joining Picken at TEG Live is a team of high-profile recruits, including Sam Sharma as head of South Asia & Desi touring, Alex Kelsey as head of country touring, Chris Watson as head of electronic, Asia Pacific, Toby Leighton-Pope as global advisor from TEG Europe, and Clay Doughty supporting Kelsey in strategy. The appointments are part of a larger push to revamp the company's live entertainment arm into a platform business that empowers talented promoters.
TEG Live is expected to ramp up its ambitions in country music by opening a Nashville office later this year, focusing on artist relationships, touring partnerships, and long-term pipeline development. The move aims to strengthen connections between the US and Australian markets and capitalize on the growth of live music globally.
According to TEG's global head of touring Tim McGregor, the new-look TEG Live is designed to accelerate growth across established and emerging genres while supporting the next generation of live entertainment leaders. Major expansion plans are expected in Asia-pop and rock/metal, with further announcements pending.
The company has also recently announced significant success with UFC 325, becoming the highest-grossing indoor arena event in Australian history with A$14.4 million ($10 million) in ticket sales.
Picken brings a wealth of international experience to the role, having previously served as chair and CEO of Sony Music Australia and New Zealand from June 2022 until late last year. During her tenure, she modernized the company's organizational structure, enhanced its digital capabilities, and fueled new growth through experiential and licensing ventures.
Joining Picken at TEG Live is a team of high-profile recruits, including Sam Sharma as head of South Asia & Desi touring, Alex Kelsey as head of country touring, Chris Watson as head of electronic, Asia Pacific, Toby Leighton-Pope as global advisor from TEG Europe, and Clay Doughty supporting Kelsey in strategy. The appointments are part of a larger push to revamp the company's live entertainment arm into a platform business that empowers talented promoters.
TEG Live is expected to ramp up its ambitions in country music by opening a Nashville office later this year, focusing on artist relationships, touring partnerships, and long-term pipeline development. The move aims to strengthen connections between the US and Australian markets and capitalize on the growth of live music globally.
According to TEG's global head of touring Tim McGregor, the new-look TEG Live is designed to accelerate growth across established and emerging genres while supporting the next generation of live entertainment leaders. Major expansion plans are expected in Asia-pop and rock/metal, with further announcements pending.
The company has also recently announced significant success with UFC 325, becoming the highest-grossing indoor arena event in Australian history with A$14.4 million ($10 million) in ticket sales.
I mean, she's got some serious chops from her time at Sony Music and it'll be sick to see what they come up with. That Nashville office opening is a big deal too - country music fans in Oz are gonna love that. And I'm curious to see how the new team is gonna shake things up, especially with all these high-profile recruits. Asia-pop and rock/metal expansion plans sound like a good start - fingers crossed they can bring some fresh acts to the scene! 
! I'm also loving the focus on empowering talented promoters – that's gonna be key to driving growth in the live entertainment space. It's all about diversifying and expanding into new markets, if you ask me 
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! bringing someone like vanessa picken on board who has experience in modernizing a company is definitely gonna help them ramp up their touring business. and opening a nashville office later this year to focus on country music? that's a smart play 
She's all about shaking things up and driving growth, which is exactly what the company needs to stay ahead of the game 
#MusicToMyEars #NewChapter #TEGLive #VanessaPicken #Ticketek
And hey, who doesn't love a good country music party? 
and opening a Nashville office later this year is gonna be amazing for US-Australia connections 
meanwhile, TEG Live's already crushing it with UFC 325 
. They really need someone like her to bring some fresh ideas to the table. The fact that they're setting up a Nashville office for country music is a great move - it's all about building those artist relationships 
. I hope this revamp pays off for them, especially with UFC 325 being so successful 
. And Nashville office? 
that's like the ultimate power move for country music fans everywhere! Vanessa Picken is straight fire as global director of music strategy too, her skills are straight outta Sony Music Australia and New Zealand 
can't wait to see what TEG Live has in store for us 
TEG Live needs to tap into those US artist relationships ASAP. It's all about growing those long-term pipelines, you feel? 
With Clay Doughty supporting Alex Kelsey, they're gonna crush it in country music 
another huge merger between Ticketek Entertainment Group and Sony Music Australia... yikes... think about all the artists who gotta deal with these corporate shakeups now 
OMG u guys TEG Live just leveled up! 
about it! She's got the skills to bring country, electronic, and other hot markets under one roof 
. And can we talk about the team she assembled? 
Sam Sharma, Alex Kelsey, Chris Watson... they're all rockstars in their own right 
! Nashville office coming soon and I'm all for it 
. They've already got some sweet wins under their belt with UFC 325 
. And let's be real, country music is about to get a whole lot more lit in Nashville - TEG Live better bring the noise (or should I say, the twang? 
). All these new recruits are like, bringing the heat...or at least, they should be 
And those team recruits? Sam Sharma, Alex Kelsey, Chris Watson... they're like the dream squad for TEG Live! 
. The Nashville office move is a solid play, gonna be interesting to see how that shakes things up in the country scene 
. The new team looks pretty stacked too, especially with Sam Sharma on board for South Asia & Desi touring 
... I mean, what's next? are they gonna announce some fancy rebranding and expect everyone to be all jazzed about it? 
and what's with the Nashville office? just more of the same old country music elitism 
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. Also, $10 million from UFC 325 doesn't exactly scream "live music" success 
. They need to focus on one thing before trying to be a platform business 
. Can't wait to see how this all plays out tho