#40 – From Clubs to Arenas: How Independent Promoters Are Scaling Smarter

In this episode, Matt Ford sits down with Lucas Fritz and Jessica Gordon, co-owners and talent buyers for Broadberry Entertainment Group, to explore how independent promoters are scaling from clubs to theaters and even booking arena-level shows in a Live Nation–dominated landscape. They dig into how data and AI are reshaping the way they evaluate offers and compete, from using Prism Insights and Etix to making smarter, faster decisions. Along the way, they unpack the real economics behind today’s shows—VIP packages, bar revenue, merch splits—and what it takes to stay competitive while keeping the live experience human-centered. Episode Timestamps: (00:00) • Why Broadberry Presents Joined Insights Skepticism, what changed, and how it fits into daily offer-writing workflow. Why real-time data beats legacy tools — and why independents need it to compete with major promoters. (12:36) • AI + The Future of Booking Matt on combining AI with ticketing signals. Jessica’s custom “Artist Offer Researcher” GPT and how it works. (21:04) • Origin Story: Broadberry & Trigger System How Lucas and Jessica started separately and built their partnership. (33:09) • State of the Industry Down bar sales, too many shows, ticket-price pressure, and why return plays for mid-tier acts are struggling. (40:16) • Data, Merch & Ticketing Philosophy Merch split approach, fan data ownership, and why they moved to Etix. (52:25) • Moving from Spreadsheets to Prism Change management story: initial slowdown, then big time savings once offers, holds, and settlements lived in one place. (59:04) • AI, Automation & the Human Core of Concerts What AI should and shouldn’t replace — automating hold emails, entry-level career paths, and what makes live music worth preserving. (01:10:06) • Hopes for the Industry Better data sharing, less zero-sum thinking, pricing ethics, bots, and a fairer ecosystem for artists and fans.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Please share this with anyone who might be interested in the topics, links below to subscribe and stay in the loop with the podcast and Prism: Subscribe https://www.prism.fm/podcast/ More on Prism https://www.prism.fm Follow us on Instagram (@prismfm)   / prismfm   Meet the Podcast Host/CEO of Prism   / mford3   Opening Music - Banana Bread Layton.rx (Prism Engineer!) https://open.spotify.com/track/0jD6mI...