Industry Insider: Boots ’N Beats Founder Ryan Sterne Discusses the Company’s Vision & Lessons Learned

With music and the entertainment industry, you never know what the public is going to take to, and Boots ’N Beats is a lesson in that. Co-founded by Ryan Sterne, Boots ’N Beats is a fast-growing live event brand merging Country music and electronic dance music. It is a cross-country venture (check out tour dates), with two wholly different musical worlds colliding and fans fully indulging in the concept. When it started, Sterne didn’t necessarily foresee it as a national brand, but that’s what it’s become. Boots ’N Beats has become a 100+ show touring series, selling out venues after venues. Just this year, it will sell approximately 60,000 tickets for its events by the end of December.

Working under the live entertainment company Cracked Live, Boots ’N Beats has now hit more than 50 cities across the United States and Canada. The shows are eclectic, often opening with an acoustic set of fan-favourite Country covers. Then it moves into an electronic-heavy headlining set that fuses together Country hits with massive electronic drops. It’s a unique experience that feels both familiar and fresh. In one moment, you have the audience singing along to country hits from an artist like Luke Combs, and then moshing to a Calvin Harris-type club mix. It’s an exciting approach to reinventing the live music experience at a time when live events have experienced some struggles post-pandemic.

Joining us for our latest Industry Insider interview is Ryan Sterne. We discuss the birth of Boots ’N Beats, the vision behind it, lessons learned, and where he sees the industry headed.

Boots ’N Beats logo

What’s the biggest challenge in breaking through the noise of today’s live event market — and how did Boots ’N Beats manage to stand out?

Ryan Sterne: “The biggest challenge today in breaking through the noise of today’s live event market is performance at scale. Something we pride ourselves on is our ability to merge our event marketing knowledge with system-oriented execution. The only reason we’re able to stand out is because we’re not only able to deliver high-quality events, but we also have the systems to repeat them all over North America.”

What inspired you to merge Country and EDM — two genres that rarely overlap — and what has the response been from both fan communities?

“Country and EDM are both more popular than ever today, especially with the young adult crowd. When we saw crowd responses from popular DJs combining the two genres at festivals, we realized that there was a real demand from both Country and EDM fans. The fan response at our shows has blown us away. It’s been amazing watching the two worlds collide and build a completely new kind of concert experience.”

Boots ’N Beats curates its lineups instead of booking big-name headliners. Why was that decision important, and how does it shape the experience for artists and fans alike?

“This decision was important because it allows Boots ’N Beats to be both a unique fan experience as well as a platform for emerging artist growth. Being able to pull crowds solely based on Boots ’N Beats’ brand name allows fans to enjoy the show concept itself and our resident DJs to play in front of new crowds every show. Seeing the growth of artists such as Auxshan and BG Good after they started playing shows with us, as well as how many familiar faces we see when we return to markets, has been quite fulfilling, to say the least.”

What’s one hard truth about the live events industry that no one prepares you for when you first enter it?

“One hard truth that you rarely hear people talk about is that consistency is key. Having consistent brand imaging and the ability to manage expectations at every show is important to keeping repeat fans.”

How do you balance commercial growth — selling thousands of tickets a month — with staying true to the creative vision that made Boots ’N Beats special?

“Balancing commercial growth with creative vision all goes back to the systems we built when we first started scaling. Being able to have our operations and systems dialled allows us to have the creative headspace to continually innovate our shows and the fan experience.”

How do you see the role of live performances evolving in the next few years, especially for hybrid concepts like Boots ’N Beats?

“We see the role of live performances continuing to increase in people’s daily lives over the next few years. After COVID, everyone realized how much they cared about in-person connections, and live events continue to be the answer for many people. With hybrid concepts like Boots ‘N Beats bringing different fanbases together, it’s piggybacking off of the post-COVID movement and providing common ground for fanbases that wouldn’t normally join forces. We see this trend continuing into the next few years.”

What’s the most unexpected lesson you’ve learned while scaling Boots ’N Beats from one show to a 100-city tour?

“The most unexpected lesson we’ve learned while scaling Boots ’N Beats is that it takes a village to make it happen. Like any business, you must outsource the skills you’re weakest at so you can focus on those that you’re strongest at. Our first and most important partnership was with Dan Morgan of Half Dozen Solutions. His ability to build operating and project management systems that planned for large, long-term growth allowed us to make the jump from one show to a 100-city tour.”

What’s the most innovative marketing campaign you’ve been a part of, and what made it stand out?

“The most innovative marketing campaign we’ve been a part of was our two-night run in Toronto this past September. Building enough brand awareness in a foreign country to sell out one night and nearly sell out a second night had us scratching our heads. Nonetheless, with a lot of creative thinking and coffee, we made it happen.”

What do you believe is the next big disruption waiting to hit the music industry?

“We believe the next biggest disruption will be nostalgia plays. Not only are many millennials remembering the ‘good ol’ days’ of certain music genres, but streaming platforms and Reel content have never made it easier for younger generations to appreciate musical movements they never got to live through. Live events that focus on this can target needs for both of these generations.”

What advice would you give other promoters or creators who want to build a new type of live experience in today’s industry?

“One piece of advice I would give other promoters trying to build a new type of live experience is to be comfortable with failure. Any entrepreneur, creative, or artist will tell you that before you can create something quality, you must create in quantity. Experiment with tons of new, crazy ideas and be ok with a lot of them not working out; you need to figure out what doesn’t work before you can figure out what does.”