SAN FRANCISCO (CelebrityAccess) For anyone who says the concert industry is a male-dominated business, that’s not necessarily the case inside the operations of Another Planet Entertainment.
Nearly 10 women hold high positions in the company, and Forbes recently featured them, and the overall significance, in a recent piece.
The company itself, based out of San Francisco, is an offshoot of Bill Graham Presents when two of Graham’s most powerful soldiers, Sherry Wasserman and Gregg Perloff, exited what was then Clear Channel Entertainment to form their own company (APE is an inside joke because many would say that Perloff was from “another planet”). Since then, it has developed into the third largest-promoter in North America after Live Nation and AEG with the help of Danielle Madeira, VP of strategic alliances and Mary Conde, senior VP, among others.
Forbes focused Wasserman, Madeira and Conde in its feature, noting their work on Another Planet’s contributions to entities like Oakland’s Fox Theater, San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the Outside Lands, Treasure Island and Life is Beautiful festivals.
Madeira began her career with BGP in 1982 and noted that, although she doesn’t see gender inequalities inside the company, it’s more clear when she attends industry conferences. Back in the days of BGP, “women in the industry” equated to secretaries.
“The women that I worked with back then taught me to find voice,” she told Forbes. “I worked hard and won the respect of the men in our field.”
She offered up keys to success: “A lot of tenacity, energy and confidence because that pat on the back will not likely come if you need it,” Madeira said. “Not having an ego and doing every job to make the company, team and ultimately you successful. Learning to not take things personally—I still have to work on that on a daily basis.”
Wasserman added that promotion and venue positions are more inclusive, but she would like to see more women on the road.
“Being on the road with a traveling tour is another story,” she said. “The road is tough and even tougher for woman for obvious reasons—and those reasons are very real and challenging as a woman.”
Conde echoed Madeira’s sentiment that success comes from hard work, paying attention, and accepting the work that comes your way.
“Enjoy being a woman and don’t allow yourself to be a victim,” she said.
Madeira pointed out that none of this was intentional; the company did not set out to incorporate women for the sake of diversity.
“People were chosen for their positions because they were qualified and great to work within the company,” she told Forbes. “We have a ‘lifestyle’ job, which means we spend a lot of time together. We are very selective in who we let in and I think the roles fell to the right people. I am hugely proud that so many are women, but I think that was just a natural occurrence.”
Wasserman added that APE is extraordinarily different from most other companies.
“We are the only independent and locally-owned company that produces clubs to festivals and everything in between year round,” she said. “There is a reason we ‘are on another planet,’ so to speak.”
The full article is available here.
