Zafris Lecture: Live Nation COO Gerry Barad

Berklee College of Music has selected Gerry Barad, COO of Live Nation Global Touring, to give the 17th annual Zafris Distinguished Lecture for Music Business/Management. Barad will discuss the recent merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the business of touring, new uses of technology, and the secondary ticket market, among other subjects. Following his talk, Barad will be interviewed by music business/management professor Jeff Dorenfeld.

The event takes place Friday, February 26, 2010, 1:00 p.m., at Berklee's David Friend Recital Hall. This event is NOT open to the public.

Barad has worked in the music industry for more than 35 years. As COO of Live Nation Global Touring, he has been an integral part of the acquisition, production, merchandising, budgeting, sponsorship affiliation, and execution of tours by U2, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, the Police, David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, the Who, Shakira, and Joni Mitchell, to name a few. 

Prior to joining Live Nation, Barad was a founding partner of the Next Adventure (TNA), the global touring company responsible for Pink Floyd's Division Bell tour, and vice president of Client Acquisition for Brockum, which serviced some of the biggest tours of the '80s and '90s. 

The annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture Series for Music Business/Management is Berklee's first endowed visiting lecture series, founded by the college's board of trustees in 1992 and named for James G. Zafris, founding member and longtime chair of the board. Zafris lecturers have included Destiny's Child manager Matthew Knowles; former CBS Records head Walter Yetnikoff; award-winning producer Arif Mardin; Terry McBride, cofounder of the Nettwerk Music Group; Bruce Lundvall, president and CEO of the Blue Note Label Group; and Hilary Rosen, then president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).