By Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner
Beijing, China-based Emma Entertainment, an operating business of Ticketmaster which acquired a majority interest in the company in May, has appointed Adam Wilkes as director of Live Events, Operations and A. Robb Spitzer as director of Live Events, Marketing.
Wilkes will oversee Emma’s event booking, logistics, regulatory affairs, and event production for concerts and touring events as well as new business development in the areas of festivals and new markets and venues. Spitzer will oversee marketing, advertising, public relations, sponsorship development, and merchandising for Emma’s concert events as well as new business development in the areas of online and mobile commerce and branded content. . .
Emma, whose ticketing client base includes major venues throughout the People’s Republic of China, currently sells tickets through distribution networks within Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and through its web service and national call center.
With the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing a year away, competition is heating up among ticketing agencies and brokers. Only two months after the Ticketmaster/Emma Entertainment deal, Tickets.com, the nation’s second largest primary ticketing company, announced its move into Singapore.
“Adam and Robb are two prominent experts in China’s rapidly burgeoning live event industry,” said Jonathan Krane, CEO, Emma Entertainment, in a statement. “Their decision to join our team at Emma at this time of tremendous opportunity here in China is a great win for Emma as well as for our current and potential clients.”
Both Wilkes and Spitzer speak Mandarin Chinese and have served as live event professionals in China for six years and five years, respectively. Prior to joining Emma, both previously held principal positions in China West Entertainment, overseeing event promotion for a wide variety of acts and attractions throughout the country. Prior to that, both served as special project consultants for Sony Music’s joint-venture partner in China.
