Ray Waddell

Executive Director of Content and Programming for Touring and Live Entertainment, Billboard.

 NATD was very proud to welcome... Billboard reporter and the co-author of the Billboard Books/Random House publication “This Business of Concert Promotion & Touring”

Ray Waddell has covered the live entertainment business for more than 20 years. He joined the Billboard family in 1987 as a Los Angeles-based reporter for Billboard sister publication Amusement Business. In 1991, he relocated to his home town of Nashville to continue covering the live business for AB. In 2000, Waddell moved over to Billboard to spearhead the magazine’s expanded touring coverage. He authors Billboard’s weekly On The Road column, and provides features and news coverage on the global touring industry for Billboard, Billboard.com, Billboard.biz, and Billboard Bulletin. Waddell also works with the Billboard Events team in producing the annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards each year in New York City. Now in its sixth year, the Touring Conference is set for Nov. 4-5. Waddell is the co-author of the Billboard Books/Random House publication “This Business of Concert Promotion & Touring,” considered the definitive guide to staging, promoting and marketing concerts and tours. He frequently lectures and participates in panels on the concert business at professional and educational conferences and is often quoted as an expert on live entertainment in a wide range of national media. Waddell is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and lives in Hendersonville, Tenn.