Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) has today made a number of new announcements focusing on the continuing evolution of its TEG Live touring business.
According to the company, the TEG Live side is evolving into a platform business which is designed to bring together leading promoters and entrepreneurial talent, "underpinned by shared strong delivery capabilities".
Leading the platform is TEG's Global Head of Touring, Tim McGregor, whose role will include strategic direction and portfolio performance as the TEG Live platform scales across genres and markets.
The announcement also includes a series of new senior appointments, including Vanessa (Van) Picken, who will serve as Global Director, Music Strategy.
Picken spent the last three years as the Chair and CEO of Sony Music Australia and New Zealand before departing in November. She assumed the role as the first woman to hold the prestigious title in 2022, taking over from Denis Handlin AO, who departed the company in 2021 after more than 50 years at the company, and 37 in the top job.
During her time at Sony, Picken oversaw numerous high-profile achievements for the company, including a worldwide deal for Sydney's Mansionair, and deals for fellow Australian acts such as Gang Of Youth, Angus & Julia Stone, and more. Her time at the company also coincided with the launch of SME’s live-music and experiential division, Sony Music Masterworks Australia and New Zealand.
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Picken’s efforts at the company also resulted in her being named one of Billboard’s Global Power Players for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025.
Sam Sharma joins TEG Live as Head of South Asia & Desi Touring to lead the continued expansion of touring across one of the world's fastest-growing live music audiences, while Alex Kelsey joins as Head of Country Touring.
Kelsey will be joined by Clay Doughty, who has been appointed Head of Strategy, Country Music. Like Picken, Doughty is a former Sony staffer who exited the company just before Christmas, having been included in a round of shock redundancies.
Doughty held down the role of Sony’s Director of Marketing since 2019 (and with a year spent as the Director of their Commercial Music Group). Doughty had first walked into Sony Music thirty-one years ago, kicking off as Epic Records’ product manager in 1994. He moved into roles at EMI and Gibson before returning to Sony in 2018.
TEG Live also announced the promotion of Chris Watson to Head of Electronic, Asia Pacific, having just launched Palm Tree Festival Singapore, which takes place in April. Meanwhile, Toby Leighton-Pope, who currently serves as Managing Director of TEG Europe, will continue to be a key advisor to the Group.
“Live music is evolving quickly, and touring models need to evolve with it,” McGregor said in a statement. “TEG Live is investing in a platform that’s built for collaboration, adaptability and one that supports today’s promoters while setting up the next generation for success.”
Elsewhere, TEG has also announced that, given the strong momentum country music is experiencing in Australia, they will open a Nashville office in early 2026, with the aim of "creating a dedicated base in the heart of the global country music industry".
Additionally, TEG Live has also detailed major expansion plans across the fields of electronic music, as well as rock & metal, and Asian pop. They’ve also teased that there is plenty more to come in the near future.
