Justin Nordan was so passionate about listening to music that it teetered on obsession. And the then-teenager’s father was a little worried.
“My dad used to say, ‘You have kind of a problem with music.’” Justin says. “It would dictate my emotions and things like that. He wasn’t wrong.”
Justin is still obsessed, but luckily, he’s made a successful career out of it as an adult. Lyte’s new Director of Client Services will focus on strengthening relationships with our awesome venue partners across the country.
“I love the idea of making the events that are already bonkers even better,” Justin says. “Going to a venue, seeing an artist perform… those are literally among the number one moments of people’s lives. That’s the genesis of Lyte right there, to give more fans the opportunity to experience the feeling and create memories they will never, ever forget.”
Justin lives in Sacramento. Here, he talks about his role at Lyte, FOMO, and hanging with John Legend on a rainy day. Read on.
Maggie: You are starting your third week at Lyte. Tell us about what you’re doing.
Justin: I’m one of three who share this title — Anastasia Vizcarra and Angeline Priefer are the others. I’ll be overseeing our venue partnerships. The biggest thing I’ll do is make sure I am displaying Lyte’s value; letting our partners and potential partners know who we are, what our end goal is, and really being transparent about who we are trying to help.
The thing is, we’re not just a fan exchange company. We are in the business of assisting our clients with a huge problem that exists in the industry, which is people who want to attend events and they are either priced out on the secondary market, or tickets are sold out on the primary. Fans are bummed, especially the younger generation with this feeling of FOMO; in other words, they fear that they’ll miss these potentially life-changing events.
With Lyte, venues can offer a solution, because of our exchanges. Now fans who missed the onsale have the opportunity to attend the event because someone else had something come up. It’s so simple and safe.
That’s a really cool feature for a venue to offer, and their fans will appreciate the help and will likely seek out that venue for more events, which boosts it’s business. Lyte and our venues are enabling a ticket to have a second life and now fans who can’t go can securely exchange it with someone who really wants to go. I am going to work with our venues to help them spread that messaging.
Maggie: Tell us about your background.
Justin: I’ve been blessed to have been given opportunities to be really creative. I started in the music industry in 1999. I kind of just fell into it. I’ve always had grandiose dreams about working in the industry, though.
In 1999, I began working at an event communications company. We built out large scale, temporary communications systems, for the NBA, music festivals, PGA events, and any other events that needed a huge communications infrastructure. Eventually, we signed a national deal with a company that is now Live Nation. I worked my way up into a senior manager position, but I was laid off in 2008 when the recession hit.
It was a chance to reflect and ask myself, “What the Hell am I doing with my life?” I knew I wanted to be in music. I took two years off, went back to school and got my associate’s and certificate in Applied Arts and Design. I began to create my own show flyers to market shows I promoted around Sacramento, just for fun. I fell into some great luck when I linked up with some industry acquaintances at an industry Christmas party, and I was offered a job at their fan engagement agency called ground(ctrl). I had insanely good luck there, and I spun off a startup with some of my co-workers. We create Queue, the world’s first truly integrated venue management and ticketing platform. Two years later, in February 2016, Eventbrite acquired Queue.
I still book talent for Concerts In The Park — Sacramento, and in 2018 I co-founded the boutique music festival called Sol Blume. I’m fortunate in that I’ve always fallen into these really amazing opportunities and done a lot of cool shit on the side. My wife says that I have the best side hustles ever.
Maggie: You’ve been in the industry and going to events for years. How has it changed?
Justin: Before Lyte, it was like, “Well, that sucks. The event I wanted to attend is sold out, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” When I started going to shows 20 years ago, I wasn’t thinking about the secondary market. The thing back then was scalping — you know, the disheveled dude standing outside a venue wearing a hoodie and hawking his loot on you. You knew that if you bought tickets from him you were going to get price gouged and that you might be getting fraudulent tickets. But you took the risk because you wanted to go so bad. I wasn’t about that life.
Even today, you can go to a concert and see people going up to the box office or the gates at a festival to get their ticket scanned — and it doesn’t work. Instantly, a great night they wanted to remember forever became a shitty experience. You’ve got people crying, saying, “What do you mean? I bought this ticket on Stubhub or Craigslist, so why doesn’t it work?” People are totally getting ripped off and taken advantage of. It’s great that Lyte solves that longtime problem within our space.
Maggie: You’re building a team and have some goals for Lyte. What are some of your plans?
Justin: I’ve been interviewing people since my second day on the job! I’ve got several main things I am focused on, but a big piece is skewed toward education. I want the internal team to have the knowledge to educate and empower venues, box office staff, key players, and stakeholders to know that Lyte is both an option and a huge opportunity for increased success.
Then, it’s about helping venues to educate the fans and let them know Lyte is a secure option. A venue can say, “With Lyte, we are giving you guaranteed entry.” Secure entry to an event – that is a huge statement!
Lyte is a proactive solution rather than a reactive solution. We want to be true partners with our venues, and allow them to deeply understand all of the benefits. We can build a case for why there is demand for a sold-out show in one market, as opposed to another, based on key metrics that we gather. The options are seemingly limitless, with the additional data sets that we can provide.
Maggie: Favorite live event? And why?
Justin: I can’t name JUST one! But, my top three are easy.
№1: Standing in the photo pit at the 2015 Fun Fun Fun Festival in Austin, Texas, watching Lauren Hill perform. That was pretty amazing, to see a true icon so close. And I’ve seen Adele front row, side stage, which could be on the list as well.
№2: Being in Las Vegas in 2016 and standing on stage behind Bill Stevenson while The Descendents headlined Punk Rock Bowling. He is one of the best drummers in punk rock and being able to be so close was incredible.
№3: This is kind of a weird one. I was at SXSW in 2015, working House of Vans at the Mohawk, when someone comes over and says “Wanna come to this show next door at Cheer Up Charlies? I think you’ll dig it.” So my buddy Greg and I head over and it starts to dump rain. Right there under a pop-up tent in the parking lot was John Legend. He performed for like 20 or 30 minutes. This was when “All of Me” was a massive hit. It was surreal, like something out of a movie. John Legend in the pouring rain at SXSW, in a little freaking parking lot!!? That was a crazy, once-in-a-lifetime moment for me.