Concert execs talk 2025 hopes, trends & challenges

As we enter what could be a historic year for international touring, the challenges faced by those in the live music industry are growing exponentially.

“The development with the greatest impact on our daily business remains the increase in costs for virtually everything we do,” states FKP Scorpio’s Stephan Thanscheidt, who contends that such constraints may be thwarting some promoters from rolling out new festival formats and touring concepts.

“Nowadays, events need to be sold out to be successful, so there is little room for experimentation and error,” he continues, stating that many other festival organisers are “suffering.”

However, noting that Scorpio’s success allows the company to push ahead with new ideas, he adds, “We are excited about the continued success of event formats such as family entertainment and exhibitions. We have numerous exciting projects in the pipeline and are eager to develop this sector across Europe.”

Looking ahead to 2025, optimism abounds, with nearly everyone that IQ spoke to for this report predicting a blockbuster 12 months.

“There’s going to be a ton of great traffic next year,” says Wasserman Music EVP and managing executive Marty Diamond, citing the growing fanbases of Raye, Tyla, Isabel LaRosa, Zach Templar, Tom Odell, and Alex Warren as some of the most exciting projects going into 2025. “In the context of the big stadium and arena tours, obviously, the success and comeback of Oasis is incredible, and I think it might ignite a resurgence of great rock music again, as there are certainly some really great rock bands emerging.”

Move Concerts’ Rodriguez concurs, “2025 is looking good for us. So far, we have a solid number of shows lined up. Those announced include Katy Perry dates – that kicked off strong – and we’re also partnering on Ado with Concerts West, who quite frankly, convinced us to take the risk with them, and sales kicked off beyond our expectations.”

“Within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive”

However, noting the scarcity of availabilities, given the volume of tours next year, Diamond warns, “You have to really be purposeful about who’s on the road, why are they on the road, and what vehicles of support are out there for them on the road. Because, within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive.”

Identifying some of the trends that the industry might want to keep an eye on in 2025 progresses, Live Nation’s John Reid says, “The growth of Latin artists across Europe is clear, with Spain acting as a gateway to the rest of the continent. Karol G’s record-breaking sold-out shows at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium is a perfect example of the appetite for Latin music.

“Country and Americana genres are also gaining in popularity across the globe, with multiple headliners selling out arenas, and I’d expect that growth to continue through 2025 and beyond.”

That rings true with Christian D’Acuña, senior programming director at The O2 in London. “One of the most exciting trends in recent years is the rise of various genres of music from all over the world, with Afropop, Latin, K-pop, and South Asian artists performing and selling out shows at The O2,” he reports. “In 2025, I expect that to continue, with the likes of Ateez, Maluma, and Ado all confirmed in our diary, with more to come.”

Reid also points to responsibility for the environment becoming more prominent. “Sustainability is a top priority for many of today’s artists and fans. Through our Green Nation initiative, we are focused on helping preserve the live music experience for generations to come – leveraging our festivals and venues to power events with renewable energy, rolling out reusable cup schemes, or working with partners to deliver environmental education and awareness programmes on site for concertgoers, to name a few.”

D’Acuña is on the same page, stressing that sustainability has become a major consideration for venue operators. “Earlier this year, we hosted the world’s first carbon-removed events with The 1975,” he recalls. “The pilot events saw the extraction and removal of 136.46 tonnes of residual carbon per show, equating to 545.9 tonnes across the four-night residency – the equivalent yearly electricity usage of 395 average homes! As a venue, we are now in a position to offer out the model to other artists, so my hope is that we get a good uptake for carbon-removed shows in 2025 and beyond.”

“Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations”

While the cost of touring will continue to be a significant obstacle for many acts at the mid-tier and emerging talent level in 2025, the opportunities for AAA-list talent have never been better, with stadia operators cashing in on the many megatours confirmed for the year ahead, and new markets, such as Saudi Arabia and cities in Asia, putting together offers that further enhance the revenue streams for those at the top of the talent food chain.

Mathieu Jaton at Montreux Jazz Festival believes the industry is “at a decisive turning point, marked by an increasingly clear divide between two economic models: the traditional live music business and the big entertainment business.”

He explains, “Fans from all over the world travel to experience ‘Taylor’s experience’ or ‘Adele’s experience.’ This economic model is now more akin to major international sporting events like the World Cup, the Olympics, or Formula 1. Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations.

“In contrast, some artists, such as Massive Attack, have taken a different direction: prioritising an eco-conscious approach. They strive to drastically reduce the environmental impact of their tours, recognising that audience travel remains the heaviest ecological factor. However, this approach inevitably limits the economic returns generated, unlike the strategies adopted by artists like Taylor Swift or Adele.”

ASM Global’s Marie Lindqvist is one of many to pick up on concerts as a destination trend. “I think we will see more shows being the reason to go to a destination or a city,” she says. “We can tell from our ticketing data that the share of fans travelling in from other countries or regions to Stockholm has increased. Concert tourism is strong.”

UTA’s Obi Asika frames it in a different way.

“There’s lots of high-profile artists with stadium shows lined up for next summer. The elephant in the room –and the question the industry is asking – is how are all these tickets going to be sold? I’m fascinated to see whether the industry has got it right,” he states.

“We’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger”

Outlining some of the trends he has noticed for his Rockhal venue, whose location helps to attract fans from its native Luxembourg and neighbouring France and Germany, among others, EAA president Olivier Toth notes that there appears to be some evolution in the popularity of genres. “Hip-hop in our market is slowing down. But now we’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger.”

He also reveals that artists are returning to markets quicker than what was once the norm. “It used to be two or three years between shows, but now we’re down sometimes to just one year. And then obviously you also have an evolution in cost structure and cost volume, where ticket prices year-on-year increase, and that can make it tricky to promote the follow-up show.”

Forecasting 2025, John Giddings says he is looking forward to, “The sun shining all summer long (fingers crossed)… There are now more open-air shows than ever, and there were too many cancellations this year.”

And on a more practical note, Age Versluis at Dutch promoter Friendly Fire admits to being delighted that a proposed VAT lift (9 to 21%) no longer seems to be happening. “After Covid setbacks, staffing issues, and rising costs, we are all very happy [about that],” he tells IQ.

For his part, AEG global touring president Rich Schaefer says, “I think we’ll see shorter tours – more multiple-night runs, for sure. I also think we’ll see a slight market normalisation continue in 2025, which makes pricing and venue choices more important than ever before.”

“The largest metric for success is the box office”

Analysing ticket trends, AO Arena’s Gemma Vaughan reports, “2024 saw a reduction in [ticket] transactions but an increase in average transactional value. I think as we move into 2025, we will see more ticket ballots, fair ticketing, face value resale restrictions, and the continued rise of the experience economy across all events.”

Sales are a top priority for Kirk Sommer, global co-head of music at WME, who opines that nurturing artists who catch the public’s imagination has become a real skill. “The largest metric for success is the box office,” he says. “The rate at which some artists are making rapid ascensions at scale has required more focus on making the right strategic developmental decisions while being sure not to miss the moment.”

Sommer’s 2024 highlights included The Killers, Adele, and Billie Eilish. Next year, he says, “I am looking forward to the continued growth of Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, and Lola Young.”

UTA’s Asika concludes, “I’m just interested to see where we’re at as an industry come October 1, after festival season is over. With so many shows and so many tickets in the market, it will be fascinating to see how we did as an industry.”

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