Wikipedia

Marsha Vlasic

Marsha Vlasic is an American talent agent. She is president and vice chair, music, at Independent Artist Group. [1]

Marsha Vlasic
Born1946 (age 79–80)
Brooklyn, New York
OccupationTalent agent
Employer(s)Vice chairman, Music, Independent Artists Group
Awards
  • Billboard Women In Music Executive of the Year (2025)
  • Billboard Power 100
  • Pollstar Women of Live Hall of Fame

Early life

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Vlasic was born and raised in a poor family in Brooklyn, New York. She described her childhood as unhappy, citing her father's illness and financial difficulties.[2]

Career

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Vlasic began her career in the music industry as an assistant to two men who represented go-go dancers and bands. She subsequently assisted two agents for live music at American Talent International. Both agents were men.[3] Later in her career she frequently addressed the gender disparity in the music industry and the difficulties women faced.[4][5][6]

In 1993, after a brief stint at William Morris, she launched MVO, an acronym for both Marsha Vlasic Organization and My Very Own. Between 1993 and 2008, when the agency was acquired by ICM, she represented Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Moby, Muse, Ozzy Osbourne, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Ben Folds, the Strokes and Regina Spektor, among others. She helped to pioneer the practice of packaging genre-diverse artists for festivals and tours with Moby’s Area One and Area Two tour, Ozzfest and the Horde tour, among others.[7][8][4]

ICM acquired MVO in 2008, and Vlasic became a senior executive in its concerts division. She was appointed president of Independent Artist Group in 2014, where she expanded her roster to include artists including Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, and Metallica.[9][10]

Philanthropy and advocacy

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Vlasic helped to create the Bridge School Benefit and held a key role in the annual benefit concert for 30 years.[9] She served as an advisory board member for the Global Poverty Project.[9]

She has been an advocate for women since early in her career. In 2019, in an open letter signed by a small group of senior women in the music industry, she called for Neil Portnow's resignation as president of The Recording Academy after he stated that to be nominated for Grammys, women needed to "step up." [11]

Recognition and selected awards

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  • Billboard Women in Music Executive of the Year (2025)[12]
  • Billboard Power 100 (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026).[note 1][13]
  • Women of Live Hall of Fame, Pollstar, 2024 [2][14]
  • International Agent of the Year and Most Powerful Women in Live Music, Canadian Live Music awards [15]
  • Keynote speaker, Midem (2019)[16]
  • Variety Impact list [17]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Vlasic was also included on the Billboard Power list, which preceded the Power 100, for several years.

References

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  1. ↑ "CALL MY AGENT: MARSHA VLASIC". www.hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  2. 1 2 King, Ariel (2024-03-11). "Women of Live Hall Of Fame: Marsha Vlasic - Pollstar News". Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  3. ↑ Williams, Nick (2018-10-18). "Veteran Music Executives Discuss Where Their Careers Were In Their 20s, 30s and 40s". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  4. 1 2 Lockett, Dee (2018-10-16). "Marsha Vlasic Told Lou Reed, 'I Just Can't Do This Anymore'". The Cut. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  5. ↑ "Marsha Vlasic, President, AGI". www.pollstar.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  6. ↑ Turman, Katherine; Turman, Katherine (2019-03-26). "The Sexist Metal Scene in 'The Dirt' Is Painfully Accurate, Say Veteran Female Execs". Variety. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  7. ↑ Waddell, Ray (2008-09-09). "ICM takes the stages with Vlasic". The Hollywood Reporter via Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  8. ↑ Staff, Billboard (2014-09-05). "ICM Music Agent Marsha Vlasic Exits". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  9. 1 2 3 Waddell, Ray (2014-09-09). "Exclusive: Veteran Marsha Vlasic to Bring Deep Client Roster to Artist Group International". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  10. ↑ "Marsha Vlasic, Michele Bernstein look to 2021". IQ Magazine. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  11. ↑ Aswad, Jem (2018-02-02). "Female Executives Call for Grammy Chief Neil Portnow's Resignation". Variety. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  12. ↑ Bain, Katie (2025-03-20). "These Women Are Five of the Most Powerful Agents in Music". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  13. ↑ Staff, Billboard (2022-01-26). "The 2022 Billboard Power List Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  14. ↑ Rys, Dan (2026-01-28). "Agencies". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
  15. ↑ Bliss, Karen (2024-06-07). "Marsha Vlasic Honored At Canadian Music Week - Pollstar News". Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  16. ↑ Gottfried, Gideon (2019-06-07). "Best Of Agent Icon Marsha Vlasic At MIDEM 2019 - Pollstar News". Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  17. ↑ Rossi, Paula (2025-06-18). "New York Women's Impact Report 2025". Variety. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
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