September, 2026.- Stan Ross has always believed that transparency is not just a brand value—it is a business strategy. In an industry where the Ticketmaster/Live Nation monopoly verdict has exposed deep consumer distrust, Ross has built Kustom Entertainment to operationalize trust. That means no hidden fees, but that is just the beginning. Beyond their ticketing platforms, Kustom Tickets and TicketSmarter, they create their own content and produce live entertainment experiences. Their vision is for every event they produce to leave fans feeling genuinely rewarded.
In this interview, Ross discusses the record-breaking Country Stampede, which shattered attendance records with over 42,000 fans for its 30th anniversary—10,000 more than projected. The main draw were the musicians, and they had an amazing lineup featuring Treaty Oak Revival, Wyatt Flores, Zach Top, Rascal Flatts, and more. Multiple classes of tickets sold out ahead of the festival, and overall their entire ticket inventory nearly sold out.
Ross also reflects on the pivot from tech to entertainment. He convinced investors and his board that pivoting a public company into live entertainment—where margins are thinner and risk is higher—was the right move. He had been involved in music his entire life, making his first guitar amplifier at age 10 and starting a business at 12. His passion was undeniable.
On vertical integration, Ross explains that it is not more expensive to do it their way. What is actually more expensive is fixing problems outside of your control. When operations are more integrated, they can have more control and address concerns before mistakes happen. At the end of the day, they can do everything on their part to make sure everyone has a great time and gets their money’s worth.
Rebuilding Trust in a Broken System: You’ve described transparency as “not just a brand value; it’s a business strategy” . In an industry where the Ticketmaster/Live Nation monopoly verdict has exposed deep consumer distrust, how do you actually operationalize trust in a ticketing platform when the default expectation is that you’re going to surprise people with hidden fees?
Transparency has always been at the root of what we do, so of course that means no hidden fees, but that’s just the beginning of what we want to offer our customers.
First off, it’s important to us as a company to keep overhead down and not be greedy when we make our deals, so we don’t even need higher fees built into the tickets we sell to operate. There are still standard transactional fees, but people get to see exactly what they are before they make their purchases.
Beyond our ticketing platforms, Kustom Tickets and TicketSmarter, we create our own content and produce live entertainment experiences. We aim for these experiences to deliver on every level, from the stellar artists performing, to amenities and hospitality, to accessibility and seamless logistics, to specialty offerings that are unique to each festival, and more.
By doing all this, we can earn customers’ trust consistently, fair and square. They can see they’re getting a fair price each and every time they choose to engage with our platforms and our events. Our vision is for every event we produce to leave fans feeling genuinely rewarded. We want to continuously raise the standard for what fans should expect from live experiences and ticketing platforms.
The 42,000-Person Milestone: Country Stampede shattered attendance records with over 42,000 fans for its 30th anniversary—10,000 more than projected . What’s the single most important decision you made leading up to that weekend that made the difference between 32,000 and 42,000 people showing up?
This was a big year for Country Stampede in more ways than one. The festival has long been a regional favorite and staple, and this year we commemorate that tradition by celebrating Country Stampede’s 30th anniversary. We really leaned into that messaging of longevity, going three decades strong. Plus, we drew a lot of eyes and ears by announcing a new multi-season partnership with Gilley’s Park City, which includes a new home for Country Stampede in 2027, along with additional festivals that Kustom will produce throughout the spring, summer, and fall beginning in 2027, as well as select events planned for fall 2026. To gear people up for next year while still creating memorable moments for the present, we gave folks attending this year’s Country Stampede Kansas a first look at what the future festival experience at Gilley’s will include.
Other factors contributing to the record-breaking attendance included last-minute traffic and walk-up demand that exceeded our expectations; this was a pleasant surprise that resulted in Country Stampede’s highest gate count since 2019. Multiple classes of tickets sold out ahead of the festival too, and overall our entire ticket inventory nearly sold out.
And at the end of the day, the main draw were the musicians, and we had an amazing lineup. Our main stage featured Treaty Oak Revival, Wyatt Flores, Zach Top, Rascal Flatts, and more. People were super engaged and having a blast.
From Tech to Entertainment: Kustom Entertainment was originally Digital Ally, a video solutions company . How did you convince investors and your board that pivoting a public company into live entertainment—where margins are thinner and risk is higher—was the right move?
I think they saw how passionate I am about music and live entertainment. And even though I hadn’t yet made music my full-time career, I’ve been involved in music my entire life. I made my first guitar amplifier when I was 10 and started a business when I was just 12 years old building amplifiers and speaker cabinets in my garage. This passion and interest stems from my father, Bud Ross, who was a pioneer in guitar amplifiers by founding Kustom amps, and also founded and ran Ross Musical Products and Road Electronics. He made gear for legends like Johnny Cash, Diana Ross, Lenny Kravitz, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Sheryl Crow, The Carpenters, among many others. By age 15, I was traveling the country demonstrating our sound effect devices and other products for Ross Musical Products.
So my colleagues knew I had to find my way back to music and finally put all my focus on it to be fulfilled. I said I’d either leave the company and do it on my own, or if the company wanted to be part of this journey, they could join where I was headed. They elected to do that, and that’s how Kustom Entertainment was formed.
The Founder’s Advantage in a Monopolistic Market: Live Nation controls 86% of the concert market . You’re building a challenger from scratch. What specific advantage does a founder-led, 30-person company have over a billion-dollar monopoly that actually makes you more dangerous to them than a bigger competitor would be?
Our transparency and attention to detail – from the fan experience to the artist experience – really sets us apart. We’re smaller but nimble and can oversee everything that we create, plus we work with great partners along the way. We prioritize both the artists having a great time hitting our stages and their audiences having an amazing experience. On the ticketing side, our proprietary software — some with preliminary patents filed — allows automation and AI capabilities that older platforms don’t have.
That said, we have plenty of room to grow, but we’re not going to do the things that got other companies in trouble and alienated fans. I use a rancher analogy: if I raise cattle, shouldn’t I also grow the grain that feeds them? That’s not the issue. The problem is boxing people out. We’re not going to box anyone out, but we’re definitely going to play in their league.
We also have extremely talented and knowledgeable people at Kustom who think big, share my vision for the future of live entertainment, and can take that vision to the finish line.
Vertical Integration as a Fan-First Strategy: You’ve built Kustom to be vertically integrated—event production and your own ticketing platform. Most companies vertically integrate to capture more margin. You say it’s about controlling the fan experience. What’s the trade-off, and is it actually more expensive to do it this way?
It’s not more expensive, because what’s actually more expensive is fixing problems, or attempting to fix problems outside of your control. But when a company’s operations are more integrated, we can have more control, and more of an ability to address concerns and fix mistakes – and better yet make sure mistakes don’t happen in the first place. Because it’s all our responsibility, from the fan experience to the artist experience, from the actual live event to selling tickets to that event. And at the end of the day, we can do everything on our part to make sure everyone has a great time and gets their money’s worth.
The 2025-2034 Live Entertainment Forecast: The global live music market is projected to reach $33.36 billion by 2034, while North America’s live entertainment market is expected to hit $141.92 billion. You’re expanding into new festivals, venues, and genres . What’s the biggest threat to that growth that nobody is talking about, and how are you preparing for it?
There have long been conversations concerning the future of music, the future of the music business and the future of live entertainment, but there has always been music and there have always been live shows and entertainment. So I don’t worry about the future of music and I don’t worry about an over-saturated market or even our expansion plans. We’re passionate about what we do, carefully map out our strategies, choose the right partners and stay true to our values while staying up on what’s current. And at the end of the day, we’ll continue to put the fans and artists first, and that’s how we’ll stay successful.
The music industry can be extremely challenging, but if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. What keeps us ready to keep going is our passion for it. Our goal is really to maximize live experiences, and I want that to become the norm – having people walking away from our events saying that was one of the best times I’ve ever had at a show or festival.
And at the end of the day, I believe there are many people out there like me, who truly value unique experiences and making memories with families and friends. We’d rather splurge on a concert than more materialistic things like a fancy car. Because even expensive cars don’t last forever, but that time you went with your classmates, or your spouse and kids, or coworkers, to an awesome concert, can live on in your memories and as a bonding experience for life. That’s where we find true value, and that’s why live entertainment is here to stay and continue to grow.
