Tony Merino Email and Phone Number

I was recruited into the 150-person organization for a dual role as an Event Producer & Talent Buyer. I was responsible for producing events from conceptualization to execution in addition to developing strategic partnerships with artists and booking talent to perform at our domestic and international festivals. As an Event Producer, I executed 50+ immersive experiences annually for 2,000 - 25,000 attendees. Responsible for managing budgets, sourcing production vendors, negotiating venue agreements, and conceptualizing brand activations. During my time with the company, I built one of the company's most profitable concert series by creating tailored experiences for a unique audience and cultivating a community around the brand. I managed a team and worked cross-functionally across departments to drive events from conceptualization to execution. In addition to supporting the growth of all festivals in our portfolio, I executive-produced a new festival, leading creative direction, working with production vendors to customize the look and feel, and developing marketing strategies.In my role as a Talent Buyer, I managed relationships and led negotiations with artists and talent agents from major agencies such as UTA, WME, Wasserman, CAA, and others. In addition to driving successful partnerships with world-class talent, I identified emerging artists and developed relationships with their management teams to support artists' long-term success. I was responsible for negotiating deals, reviewing contracts, and working with legal to execute. I collaborated with production, marketing, and accounting to ensure we provided everything agreed-upon, payments were issued, and production was executed as promised.

I was asked to do a joint venture with an investor to produce music events across Southern California. I managed budgets, monitored financial projections, scouted and negotiated venues, and booked talent with up-and-coming artists.To market our brand, I built a large team of brand ambassadors who spread the word of our events on social media which led to consistently sold-out events. I was responsible for managing a designer and production coordinator. We were very effective and were approached by major promoter, Goldenvoice to co-promote several events. We successfully sold out venues with up to 5,000 capacity, including The Fonda Theater, Pomona Fox Theater, and The Shrine Auditorium.

After spending many years working for local event brands and learning about the industry I launched an independent event company with a network of investors. I learned about finance, event planning, leadership, and grassroots marketing strategies. I sold out my first show with 1,500 people at the Nucleus Event Center in the LA Arts District.

I worked the evening shift in customer service and sales, where I solved problems for customers and sold new banking products. This job allowed me to attend college during the morning and provided me the financial stability to produce and promote my own events at night which led me to get into the business of event production.