How Live Nation Set the Stage for the 2025 Forbes CMO Summit
For the fourth year in a row, Live Nation partnered with Forbes as the presenting sponsor of the Forbes CMO Summit – a week where the world’s top marketing leaders gather in Aspen to exchange ideas, debate the future, and connect with one another.
Across days of conversation, one constant runs through it all: live music. From panels to surprise performances, Live Nation brought culture into the center of the conversation and showed how live music is the connective tissue across generations, categories, and communities.
Multigenerational Growth Hacking
This panel dug into a core blind spot in marketing: brands often over-focus on youth while ignoring the massive opportunity across generations. Beauty, food, and live music share this strength — they’re not bound by age. They’re spaces where parents, kids, and grandparents share rituals, and where experiences compound over time into loyalty that lasts decades.
“Whether you’re 18 or 48, at a show you’re not a demographic. You’re a fan.”
— Russell Wallach, Global President, Media & Sponsorship, Live Nation
Zena spoke to beauty rituals passed down across generations, while Todd highlighted food traditions that sit at the heart of family connection. Russell brought it back to music: from fans across teenagers to grandparents in bucket hats at Oasis screaming the same songs to moms and daughters in cowboy boots at Cowboy Carter, live is where culture unites across age and identity. Demographics fall away, and brands can reach entire communities at once.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast
Another highlight was Russell’s conversation with Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast — a two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, New York Times best-selling author, and creative force who moves seamlessly across mediums. The discussion explored how the personal becomes universal, how different generations connect at shows, and how brands can partner with artists in authentic ways.
Michelle closed the session by performing My Baby from the recent film Materialists — a moment that brought the conversation full circle and reminded attendees of the impact only live performance can deliver, and generously shared her book Crying in H Mart with attendees.
The more personal something is, the more universal it winds up being.
Eddie Vedder at Belly Up
The Summit ended with a surprise no one saw coming: Eddie Vedder taking the stage at Belly Up. The room erupted as the Pearl Jam frontman turned an intimate club set into a night people will be talking about for years. It was a fitting finale to a week built on culture, connection, and unforgettable experiences.
More Than A Conference
From big ideas at the summit to iconic performances onstage, the Forbes CMO Summit presented by Live Nation once again proved that the most powerful way to connect with people — whether they’re fans, families, or CMOs — is through live experiences.
