Italian live music events up 70% since 2019

The number of concerts held in Italy last year represented a 70% increase on 2019 figures, according to national trade body Assomusica.

Referencing Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE) data, the organisation said that more than 31,000 concerts took place in Italy in 2022 compared to 18,000 in the last pre-pandemic year.

Speaking during a panel at Milan Music Week, Assomusica president Carlo Parodi credited the rise of smaller performances, which take place mainly outside the large metropolitan centres, with boosting the total.

“This panel is the natural continuation of a social campaign by Assomusica on the impact and positive consequences that concerts and live shows have on the territories, especially in villages and small towns,” said Parodi, as per the Ticketing Business.

“These numbers demonstrate how live shows and contemporary Italian music satisfy the primary need for culture and sociality in the territories.”

Bergamo Mayor Giorgio Gori pointed out that 50 concerts had been held in the city over the past three summers as part of the NXT Station project, while the city has also funded the opening of a second venue, the Lazzaretto.

“We are happy to have become part of the large family of Italian entertainment”

Mantua Mayor Mattia Palazzi also discussed the rise of the Mantova Summer Festival in attracting tourists. The event has confirmed Greta Van Fleet and Diana Krall for 2024, with the city previously having hosted the likes of Sting, OneRepublic, Sigur Ros, Kasabian and Placebo.

Assomusica was founded in Florence in 1996. However, a raft of Italy’s leading promoters split from the organisation in June to join breakaway live music association Assoconcerti, which subsequently installed renowned artist manager and promoter Bruno Sconocchia as its first president. Sconocchia, who has worked with top Italian artists such as Fabrizio De André, Gino Paoli, Ornella Vanoni, Zucchero, Pooh and Lucio Dalla, previously led Assomusica from 2005-09.

Billboard Italia reported the group’s formation was sparked by the appointment of 30-year industry veteran Parodi as Assomusica president, which was supported by local promoters but caused friction with the larger organisations, who considered Sconocchia a better fit for the role due to Parodi’s independent background.

Parodi is founder of the Collegno’s Flowers Festival and the Hiroshima Mon Amour live music club. He became the sixth president of Assomusica, succeeding the late Vincenzo Spera, who passed away in a road accident earlier this year.

The presidential office of AGIS (Italian General Association of Entertainment) approved AssoConcerti’s membership earlier this month, reports iMusicFun.

“We are happy to have become part of the large family of Italian entertainment,” said Sconocchia. “The strength of AGIS lies precisely in its ability to bring together within it a plurality of realities that represent the entire Italian entertainment sector.”

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