Indie Spirit in NYC

This week, the Tribeca Film Festival premiered the movie, Ron Delsner Presents. For better and definitely for worse, they just don’t make ‘em like Ron Delsner anymore.

Ron was a real cowboy known for being a pioneer in promoting major music events during New York’s rock n’ roll heyday. He revolutionized the concert business more than once. During Ron’s rise, he was the epitome of an indie who built his businesses and track record with vision, grit, and his own investment. He bet on himself time and time again, understanding the power of being a good old fashioned, artist-friendly hustler.

His first big break came when he convinced the NYC mayor's office to do shows in Central Park and to bring in a beer brand to cover upfront costs. He was very early on brand-partnered music activations. The tickets were $1 and featured a who's who of rock n’ roll. It was at this point that Madison Avenue began to understand the power of live events as a marketing vehicle to bring them closer to culture.

The life of a promoter, especially in Ron’s era, was anything but secure. But by hanging in there and swinging big he found his lane and became thee guy for New York’s concert business. He had to innovate, out wit, and, most importantly, be loved by artists.

The film covers all the quirky nuances and tricks of the trade that make Ron movie-worthy. At 86, even though he’s retired, he just won’t quit.

After a few bad shows and many years of risking it all, Ron took the opportunity to sell his business to Robert Sillerman from SFX. This was during the era of roll up and corporatization in other industries. Sillerman was already doing it with radio stations, but he saw an opening with concert promoters and talent buyers, too. The market was fragmented and very much a wild, wild, west. After acquiring Ron’s business, Robert bought up a bunch of promoters, took his company public, and sold the whole package to Clear Channel for billions. That company is now called Live Nation and has continued to corporatize the concert business through its merger with Ticketmaster and other massive acquisitions of promoters, management companies, and festivals.

This weekend, Governor’s Ball boasted activations from M&Ms, Coke, Google Pixel, Verizon, Dunkin’, Red Bull, and others. With Live Nation behind the fest, it’s no longer the crafty New York Festival it once was. But that’s how things work. There’s a cycle of indie innovators who come in, shake up an industry, out hustle the competition, and then watch the conglomerates come. The creative spirit of an indie typically lights the flame before the big corporations blow things up to create standards and scale.

Which is to say, I’m excited to be in New York for Indie Week! Tomorrow night is the Libera Awards honoring the indie players at Town Hall. It’s crazy to think Nue Agency has been an indie for 15+ years. No matter what the evolution is we hope to always embody that creative spirit and hustle. I have a lot of respect for the indies, the mavericks, the impresarios, the renegades, and the people that can rub sticks together to create heat. These are the mavens that build industries and the personalities that make this business truly exciting.