Market Report: Argentina
The most remarkable aspect of Argentina’s live business is how much life remains in it, given the economic and social turmoil that could easily have brought the whole show to a standstill in recent years.
Coldplay’s ten River Plate stadiums in 2022 still stands as a record haul, but mass entertainment in Argentina has seen no particular sign of slowing down ever since.
The past year has witnessed ten Movistar Arena shows to kick off Luis Miguel’s huge 2023/4 tour, River Plate shows for Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Roger Waters, and others, as well as a local Lollapalooza that drew 100,000 a day over three days.
“In our country, the comment ‘anything you put on sale sells out’ was heard non-stop for the last two-and-a-half years,” said Esteban Mirofsky, managing director of Ticketmaster Argentina, earlier this year. “I hope the live show industry can continue at this pace. It is difficult in the current context, but without a doubt, live shows, theatre, and cinema are a refuge that people choose more and more.”
Primary ticketing
Promoters have a significant stake in the ticketing business: Time for Fun has its Ticketek arm, Live Nation’s DF Entertainment historically sells as All Access, and Move Concerts has its LivePass division, all of them with all the usual modern options.
Ticketek lays claim to the largest share of the overall market and is strong in the important mid-size segment – prior to the arrival of ASM Global’s Movistar Arena, and with the notable exception of the historic Luna Park arena, Argentina was famously a land of theatres and stadiums.
Other ticket sellers include EntradaUno, which provides ticketing to the Movistar Arena and handles events such as Creamfields Argentina and Knotfest for local promoter Fenix, as well as much comedy, sport, and family entertainment.
Tickets in Argentina are now almost entirely sold online.
PORTESA’s TuEntrada platform – born in Buenos Aires and also present in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ecuador – and the multinational Passline, which operates across the continent and also in the US, Mexico, Italy, and Spain, are also muscular competitors.
The 92-year-old Luna Park, which is said by local news sources to have recently signed a 30-year, $30m contract with Live Nation, including a complete remodelling of the building – as yet not officially announced – currently sells through its own TicketPortal platform.
Distribution of sales
Tickets in Argentina are now almost entirely sold online and largely direct to mobile via a QR code, though certain venues, including Luna Park, still operate box offices. Physical tickets are also sometimes used as a security measure, using thermal paper, holographic stickers, and reactive and ultraviolet materials.
Value of market
Statista puts the Argentinian music events market at $31.75m in 2024, which seems conservative, though ticket prices are typically lower than the international average. Last June, standing seats near the stage for Taylor Swift’s two River Plate shows in November were going for 75,000 pesos – then worth about $153.
Secondary ticketing
Secondary sales are a growing issue in Latin America, after a series of unfortunate issues at major shows. The big ticketing platforms are all on the hunt for solutions.
Along with Chile, Spain, and Mexico, Argentina was one of the territories in which Ticketmaster was last year called upon by a coalition of consumer rights agencies to guarantee better protection against fraud.
“We’ve recently introduced a verification code for credit cards, which has significantly enhanced security and reduced fraud,” Mirofsky tells IQ.
International/domestic splits & genres
The importance of spending your money before it loses its value is a key concept in Argentina. But equally, while some superstars and their promoters are clearly rising above it, the weak exchange rate is dissuading many international tours and in turn driving a modern-day boom in homegrown acts.
Recently, the country has seen stadium breakthroughs for local artists such as María Becerra and Duki (two River Plates each), plus five stadiums (three in Buenos Aires, two in neighbouring La Plata) for reformed Argentine pop stars Tan Biónica.
Cultural analysis
If inflation doesn’t slow down the Argentinian live music market, authoritarianism might. As well as presiding over a new regime of austerity, Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei recently announced the creation of a new unit that will use AI to predict future crimes – a dystopian concept that has drawn criticism from human rights organisations who fear the information will be used disproportionately against academics, journalists, politicians, and activists.
Taxes & charges
Argentina abandoned its 21% VAT on concert tickets in 2006, and they remain exempt.
Country Profile: Argentina
There’s nowhere quite like Argentina, where inflation continues to soar and more than half of the population are living in poverty under new right-wing president Javier Milei, but where large-scale entertainment has, in recent years, been a popular way to spend those shrinking pesos.
At any rate, it remains part of the key touring trinity of major cities, alongside São Paulo in Brazil and Santiago in Chile. Perhaps the country’s most prominent promoter is Live Nation’s DF Entertainment, which maintains a hotline to River Plate Stadium, with massive shows for Coldplay (ten nights in 2022), Taylor Swift (three nights in 2023), Paul McCartney (two nights in 2024), as well as the local edition of Lollapalooza and numerous relatively smaller concerts.
Last year, DF inked an exclusive multi-year agreement to promote concerts at the stadium, and Live Nation has been linked with a major plan to upgrade and expand Buenos Aires’ legendary Luna Park arena.
Move Concerts is Latin America’s largest independent promoter. Move Argentina MD Sebastian Carlomagno believes the economic situation in the country, while grievous, may yet prove to be an important course-correction.
“It is undeniable that Argentina needs a change”
“It is undeniable that Argentina needs a change,” he recently told IQ. Nonetheless, Argentina still has major promoting infrastructure and produces substantial amounts of talent. Dale Play Live is the promoting arm of Federico Lauria’s
Dale Play label that has cornered the market in Argentinian rap and trap. It is a major exporter of such artists into numerous markets, including the US.
Marcelo Figoli’s Fénix Entertainment Group is the architect, alongside Cárdenas Marketing Network, of the vast Luis Miguel tour that started with ten arena shows in Buenos Aires in 2023 and wraps in Mexico in November. Fénix’s Argentinian shows at press time include Morat, Emilia, Eric Prydz, Aventura, Travis, Roberto Carlos, and Knotfest and Creamfields festivals.
Another significant player is PopArt Music, which has promoted Roger Waters at River Plate and collaborated with Cirque du Soleil. This November, it brings French duo AIR to the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, and it is behind next April’s edition of leading Argentinian rock festival Quilmes Rock.
EB Producciones operates across the region and exclusively oversees the LatAm career of fast-rising Spanish singer Ana Mena. CEO Eduardo Basagaña says: “The economic situation in Argentina has been challenging, with a 40% drop in ticket sales. Despite the crisis, 2024 has been remarkable for us, selling out most of our events. Fabiana Cantilo’s sold-out Luna Park performance was also a highlight. Our success stems from prioritising quality over quantity, conducting deep research, and being strategic in handling concerts amidst tough competition.”
“The economic situation in Argentina has been challenging, with a 40% drop in ticket sales.”
Foggia Company, run by former Fénix man Marcelo Dionisio, is also a busy local promoter, whose shows this year include the The Vaccines and The Magic Numbers, Colombia’s Greeicy, and Freestyle Master Series rap tournament.
In Córdoba, José Palazzo and Marcelo Oliva’s En Vivo Producciones operates Cosquín Rock, the longest-running Argentine music festival, which focuses largely on local and regional rock talent with international headliners, including Slash and Steve Aoki. En Vivo takes Cosquín Rock to other Spanish-speaking markets and has promoted shows in Córdoba by Paul McCartney, Madonna, Metallica, and others.
Also in Córdoba, Grupo Q owns the Quality Arena, Quality Espacio, and Quality Teatro venues, as well as promoting shows across Argentina. COO Ignacio Taier says among the company’s 300 concerts in 2024 were Air Supply, Harry Potter in Concert, and stadium dates with Luis Miguel.
“Despite the crisis, Argentinians set apart a little bit of money to attend [events],” he says. “Because money is tight, they’re being more selective … and we have to be cautious about ticket prices.” He adds that working with a local promoter is key to success, but that once Argentinians have taken an artist to their hearts, they’re passionate fans.
Arena Market: Argentina
It’s been said many times that the arrival of Grupo La Nación- owned, ASM Global-managed 15,000-capacity Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires was a vital piece of the puzzle for the South American touring circuit, and Covid or otherwise, the popularity of the arena in the years since its November 2019 debut only underscores the business case.
This year, the arena has been booked solid – take your pick from a local, regional, and international cocktail of Jonas Brothers, Ana Gabriel, Luciano Pereyra, Megadeth, Tom Jones, Laura Pausini, La K’onga, Maná, Slash, David Guetta, Babasónicos, Emilia Mernes, Tan Biónica, and others, plus a heavy dose of Disney On Ice’s Into The Magic! in July.
The arena is closing in on 190 shows in 2024, compared to 150 last year – a remarkable result, given the ‘shock therapy’ austerity measures of new president Javier Milei, which have slowed the country’s notorious inflation levels while sending wages and consumer spending tumbling.
All the same, there has been some reaction. Movistar Arena general manager Gabriel Dantur notes that international shows are thinning out a little and local shows increasing and that buying habits have changed.
“Last year, 90% of our shows were sold out on the first day or first two days,” he says. “And now, we’re back to a pattern where, typically, you sell 60% or 70% of the show in the first two days, and you have some kind of reaction on the two days before the show. But that being said, it’s incredible that we will be doing more shows this year than last.”
“Last year, 90% of our shows were sold out on the first day or first two days”
“Some of those have been phenomena, such as the ten dates of local star Emilia Mernes, singer, model, and girlfriend of Argentinian trap star Duki. “She did ten shows in May, which were sold in November last year – ten arenas in ten hours,” says Dantur.
And if the Movistar might have been expected to put the antique Estadio Luna Park out to pasture, that hasn’t happened either – though the loss of Disney On Ice, a Luna Park staple for 15 years, has undoubtedly been felt.
Otherwise, the 92-year-old, 8,400-capacity arena in the downtown San Nicolás neighbourhood remains formidably busy. Placebo, Interpol, and 5 Seconds of Summer have been among the Anglo minority over the past year or so, with Abel Pintos, Airbag, Khea, and Don Osvaldo among the multi-night Argentine stars.
But the indications are that times are changing at the legendary venue, which since 2013 has been owned by two branches of the catholic church. Local newspaper reports last year alleged ructions among the shareholders and claimed that Ernst & Young had been appointed to invite development proposals, though a winner has not yet been announced.
“Costs have gone up and the prices of the tickets haven’t because we don’t want to impose really expensive tickets on people that won’t allow them to attend shows.”
In the second city of Córdoba, Grupo Q last year put a roof on its Quality Arena to create an 8,000-standing, 4,200-seated, indoor venue. Combined with its 1,500/3,500-cap Quality Espacio venue and 300/400-cap Quality Teatro, the complex represents the largest and most versatile events centre outside the capital.
While acknowledging that consumer spending is being squeezed everywhere in Argentina, Ignacio Taier, COO of Grupo Q, suggests that as the beneficiary of the largest share of previous governments’ subsidies, Buenos Aires has suffered the most from their removal.
“We are selling the same number of tickets that we sold last year, which is a good thing,” says Taier. “Of course, costs have gone up and the prices of the tickets haven’t because we don’t want to impose really expensive tickets on people that won’t allow them to attend shows. But, of course, inflation is still going hard. And people are still trying to spend their money as quickly as they get it in order to take the best profit out of it.”
The phenomenon can easily be seen in Argentina’s stadium business, where Taylor Swift (three nights in November) and local trap star Duki (two nights in December) demonstrated once again that economic tremors are no barrier to a big crowd at Buenos Aires’ legendary Estadio River Plate.