Oak View Group and IAG Partner for Artist Brand Sponsorships

Oak View Group (OVG) has announced a new agreement with Independent Artist Group (IAG) to provide sponsorship and brand partnership opportunities to the agency’s music and comedy touring artists.

Why it matters:

• IAG represents some of the world’s biggest artists, including Metallica, Neil Young, The Smashing Pumpkins and deadmau5.

• OVG is one of the largest venue management companies in the live events industry, with a portfolio that includes Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, The University of Texas’s Moody Center, and New York’s UBS Arena, among others.

• The partnership gives IAG an opportunity to leverage OVG’s established relationships with brands it doesn’t currently work with, while giving OVG access to marketable acts it can pitch beyond sports.

• The agreement marks OVG’s first brand partnership with a booking agency.

The deal:

• Operating as an independent contractor, OVG will provide sponsorship and partnership services to IAG artists, identifying cross-promotional prospects and branding deals on behalf of IAG-booked tours.

• OVG’s sales team will work closely with IAG’s agents, artist managers and artists to evaluate assets, deliverables and touring activations for brands.

• OVG will utilize its large network of sponsorship sellers across the US and Canada to make touring and music assets available from IAG artists to OVG’s existing and new brand relationships.

• Opportunities include title sponsorships, artist sponsor presales, brand engagements, on-site fan activations and meet-and-greets.

• OVG will operate on commission for the partnerships it secures for IAG artists.

What they said:

• Dan Griffis, President, Global Partnerships, Oak View Group: “OVG’s sponsorship sales team is nationally recognized for forging groundbreaking, collaborative partnerships with top tier brands, teams and talent, to maximize awareness and impact. Music is a natural fit for OVG, and we’re excited to combine our sales expertise with the power of IAG’s unmatched roster of artists to create strategic alliances that benefit all partners and brands involved.”

• Jarred Arfa, EVP and Head of Global Music and Peter Pappalaordo, EVP, Head of Global Touring for IAG: “Oak View Group has always been a valued partner of the agency, and we look forward to enhancing our relationship to the benefit of our artists. Building upon OVG’s extensive preexisting brand relationships and expertise to further our artists' marketability makes a great deal of sense and we can’t wait to get started.”