Market Report: Belgium
The market is dominated by Ticketmaster, but CTS Eventim’s move in April to acquire Vivendi’s See Tickets will add a whole new competition dynamic.
Primary ticketing
Despite consolidation at the upper end of the market, there’s still a wide range of smaller B2C and B2B operators, including Eventbrite, Tickoweb, Eventix, and Weezevent.
Lennard Moons, Northern Europe MD of Secutix, says the move towards cloud-based ticketing SaaS solutions, such as theirs, is a much-needed upheaval in the market.
“The ticketing industry is primed to follow the same disintermediation process that’s happened across many other sectors,” he says, noting that removing distributor fees and enabling a direct-to-fan relationship are key steps forward. “In travel, finance, and retail, we’ve seen a successful reduction in the use of ‘middlemen,’ and this change to how business is done is now well overdue in ticketing.”
“In travel, finance, and retail, we’ve seen a successful reduction in the use of ‘middlemen,’ and this change to how business is done is now well overdue in ticketing.”
Distribution of sales
Online sales account for between 65-85% here. There remains a niche market for printed tickets (10-20%). David De Wever, CEO of PlayPass, says 80% of the tickets they deliver are via mobile.
“We are seeing an uptick in digital representing around a third of all tickets,” says Jakob Lund, Ticketmaster’s VP for Northwest Europe. “We anticipate this number to rise significantly next year as more of our clients go fully digital.”
Moons suggests that secure mobile app solutions not only improve security (and cut down on touting) but also open up new income streams. “It opens an array of opportunities for diversifying revenue with Web 3.0 products, including digital souvenir tickets and other NFT collectables,” he says.
“It opens an array of opportunities for diversifying revenue with Web 3.0 products, including digital souvenir tickets and other NFT collectables.”
Value of market
Live music revenues were worth €250m in 2022 and are forecast to grow to €292m by 2027 according to PwC, with much of the growth coming from a “thriving music festival summer season.” Major acts can still handle high ticket prices, but smaller events are at the mercy of price sensitivity.
“The Belgian market can sustain these price increases to some extent, but ongoing economic pressures and competition from alternative entertainment options pose challenges,” says Moons. “Event organisers must adopt flexible pricing strategies, enhance value propositions, and continuously monitor market conditions to ensure long-term sustainability.”
“Event organisers must adopt flexible pricing strategies, enhance value propositions, and continuously monitor market conditions to ensure long-term sustainability.”
De Wever says its barometer report (based on client data) saw an 8% increase in daily ticket prices across Europe but adds that events were experiencing unprecedented sell-out rates. “There is a growing demand for premium experiences, and organisers have to capitalise on this by offering tickets bundled with exclusive perks,” he says.
Secondary ticketing
TicketSwap, Viagogo, StubHub (previously owned by Viagogo), and SeatSwap are the strongest players, but they are operating in a much more controlled sector today.
“Stricter rules around secondary sales, including markup limits and anti-scalping measures, have helped maintain a fair and transparent market,” says Moons.
De Wever says that there’s a trend towards event organisers directly managing secondary sales for their own events. “By taking ownership of the resale process, organisers can set resale prices, capture additional margins, and retain valuable resale data,” he says.
Ticketmaster has also made significant moves here. “We’ve recently introduced resale and ticket transfer, transforming how we tackle fraudulent tickets and illegal resales, nearly making these issues obsolete,” notes Lund.
“We’ve recently introduced resale and ticket transfer, transforming how we tackle fraudulent tickets and illegal resales, nearly making these issues obsolete.”
TicketSwap reports that resale prices are capped at 100% of face value, while their data shows the average resale rate is 15% of the primary tickets. And that customers are increasingly purchasing last minute.
TicketSwap is the biggest player in secondary sales in Belgium. “TicketSwap has made the secondary market a more safe, convenient, and fair place to buy and sell tickets,” argues Maxim Troch, partnerships manager Belgium at TicketSwap. “TicketSwap is always compliant with local laws.”
International/domestic splits & genres
Belgium remains an important market for international touring acts (especially at the arena level where they can control the lion’s share of ticket sales). That said, government and wider music industry support for domestic acts are helping them to grow.
Cultural analysis
Dominant genres are pop, rock, and EDM, with indie and hip-hop seeing significant growth. Ticketing companies and event organisers are increasingly having to meet broadening consumer demand across a multitude of areas.
“We introduced a pre-queue account registration system during peak sales to gather data from interested fans, not just main buyers and their friends,” says Marijke van den Bosch, MD of See Tickets Benelux. “This ensures a better understanding of our client’s audience and improves the sales process.”
“Bundling additional services or experiences can also enhance the value proposition of tickets.”
There are growing calls for greater experimentation with dynamic pricing. “This can help maximise revenue while also offering affordable options for more price-sensitive consumers,” proposes Moons. “Bundling additional services or experiences can also enhance the value proposition of tickets. For example, gig tickets could include complimentary drinks, merchandise, or exclusive access to certain areas to justify higher prices.”
Taxes & charges
Tickets are subject to a VAT rate of 6%. This was dramatically reduced in 2019 to help support the cultural sector and make live events more accessible. Commission is typically between 5% and 15%. Some, like PlayPass, go as low as a 2.5% flat fee, with VAT included, although there is a minimum fee of €0.99 per ticket.
Country Profile: Belgium
As a result of its very distinct populations – Dutch-speaking in the north, French in the south – Belgium is two markets in one, with very different tastes in music.
The Flemish half of Belgium both produces and consumes more entertainment than the French. Brussels, while French-speaking, counts as a region in its own. Overall, though, the market is strong.
“In Benelux, we can’t complain,” says Pascal Van De Velde of leading indie Greenhouse Talent, which operates across the region. “We’ve had one of the strongest years ever, and the market seems to be still strong. Most stuff is really selling very well, even above expectation, so we’re pretty happy.”
As well as two busy, accessible live cities in Brussels and nearby Antwerp, Belgium has a powerhouse festival calendar with a strong international profile, including Tomorrowland, Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Graspop Metal Meeting, Dour, and others. As much of that list indicates, Live Nation is the local kingpin, and the promoter has made hay in 2024.
“We’ve had one of the strongest years ever, and the market seems to be still strong. Most stuff is really selling very well, even above expectation, so we’re pretty happy.”
“We’ve had an incredible summer in Belgium, with sold-out festivals and headline shows,” says Live Nation promoter Sarah Schueremans. “Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, and Graspop all went smoothly and had an amazing vibe. Both Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and AC/DC sold out instantly, as did P!nk’s first stadium show in Brussels. We’re also noticing a revival of some fan favourites from the 2000s.”
Taylor Swift may have skipped Belgium in favour of Greenhouse-promoted shows in Amsterdam, but fellow touring monsters Rammstein hit both markets for the same promoter, playing two shows at Ostend’s Park Nieuwe Koers and two at Nijmegen’s Goffertpark.
Rounding out the year for Greenhouse in Belgium are Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at Antwerp’s Sportpaleis, Childish Gambino at ING Arena in Brussels, and a 50th anniversary turn by local heroes Clouseau that has sold a remarkable 200,000 tickets across 13 shows, all at the Sportpaleis.
“We had strong acts this year,” says Van De Velde. “The Gent Jazz Festival broke its attendance record in the second year [since we’ve been organising it]. We’re producing our own festivals now, where before we were more into concert distribution. It takes other skills, more creativity, different hires. That’s where we want to go in the future.”
“We’re producing our own festivals now, where before we were more into concert distribution. It takes other skills, more creativity, different hires. That’s where we want to go in the future.”
FKP Scorpio arrived in Belgium under former Live Nation man Jan Digneffe just weeks before the first lockdown. It promoted two huge Ed Sheeran shows at King Baudouin Stadium in 2022, and the same Mathematics Tour is returning next summer to Middenvijver park in Antwerp. FKP also stages its own festival, Live /s Life, which this year featured The National, Smashing Pumpkins, Editors, and Paolo Nutini.
All Things Live launched in Belgium in early 2021, through several diverse acquisitions, including domestic booking agency Busker, management organisation Musickness, and the Ostend Beach Festival. The latter, a three-day EDM and techno event, was headlined by Omdat Het Kan Soundsystem, Jamie-Lee Six & Louis XIV, and Armand Van Helden in July.
MB Presents has specialised in touring entertainment for over 30 years and recently saw success with Titanic: the Artefact Exhibition, Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo, and The Friends Experience: the One in Brussels.
“Our sector is performing healthily, despite the financial crisis”
“Our sector is performing healthily, despite the financial crisis,” says CEO Manu Braff. “There is a lot of content and creativity taking place, lots of players, sales have been consistent for most of our projects, we’re under the impression that this is the case for the rest of the industry as well.
“We have grown from 20 to 55 shows over the last couple of years. Consolidating the team, taking risks, being creative with our marketing and production – the challenges are daily, but as I always say: choose your battles.”
Other Belgian promoters include Gracia Live, which had significant touring success with local star Camille, Bob Dylan, Andrea Bocelli, and Madeleine Peyroux this year; and Shadow to Live, an agency that specialises in unconventional events, including a DJ set by Henri PFR on top of Brussels’ iconic modernist Atomium structure.
“Rising costs and increasing competition have made it so that we could only keep the show going at a high cost to our personal lives, which in the long run, just isn’t the way to go”
Any discussion of promoters in Belgium also needs to mention venues, of which the smaller ones are government- subsidised and promote many of their own shows – consequently limiting the opportunity for smaller independent promoters at club level. In a sign of the times, Antwerp-based indie MCLX, one of the relative few, closed its doors this year.
“Rising costs and increasing competition have made it so that we could only keep the show going at a high cost to our personal lives, which in the long run, just isn’t the way to go,”
said founder Benjamin Beutels.
Arena Market: Belgium
Be•at Venues, a Live Nation Belgium subsidiary, has cornered the Belgian market with its expansive portfolio of four arenas and three theatres.
The facility group’s holdings include Antwerp’s big Sportpaleis (23,000), Hasselt’s multi-hall Trixxo Arena (17,000), Brussels’ concert hub Forest National (8,400), and Antwerp’s basketball home Lotto Arena (7,500).
Also nestled in Brussels, the former Palais 12, renamed ING Arena in September 2023, boasts a capacity of 15,000 and hosts a variety of local stars along with international tours. In the Flemish region of the country, Ghent’s 13,300-cap Flanders Expo serves as the space for conferences and fairs for a variety of sectors.
Mid-sized arena Forest National is due to continue renovation projects following its 30-year licence renewal. Be•at managing director Jan Van Esbroeck says it will begin updating the ventilation system and refreshing the backstage installations over summer 2024, adding to previously completed roof and sanitary block projects.
Both local and international midsize acts are plenty and selling well
“We choose to close the venue during the summer period for several years in a row rather than one longer period,” Van Esbroeck says. “This way, we can provide maximum service to our promotors and fans. In Belgium, the summer months are mainly festival months. The other arenas get a proper refreshment during those same months.”
In the non-summer months, business is strong: both local and international midsize acts are plenty and selling well, which “gives artists opportunities to grow into the really big venues,” Van Esbroeck says. Last year, be•at sold a record- breaking 2.75m tickets across its seven venues, with plans to exceed the number of events this year.
While business is at its peak, the success is not without challenges. Massive A-list tours are beginning to falter for Belgian stops, and cancellations are becoming an increasingly frequent hiccup in the execution of shows.
“Previously, you had absolute certainty with a confirmed date for an artist; this is now much less so,” Van Esbroeck says. “Confirmed shows are moved or even cancelled, and neither the agent, the artist, nor the promoter seems to want to bear any responsibility. Nevertheless, this is detrimental to the venue operator, as they have a demonstrable loss as a result of such a cancellation.
“A tightening of cancellation rules seems imminent”
“A tightening of cancellation rules seems imminent.” Nonetheless, a variety of music, sports, and entertainment is scheduled for the venues across the next year. At the Sportpaleis, Olivia Rodrigo will play two nights, and family horse spectacular Cavalluna will gallop into the venue. Hozier, Melanie Martinez, and Glass Animals will perform at Forest National, whose calendar also includes Riverdance, Swan Lake, and Disney On Ice.
At Lotto Arena, home of the Antwerp Giants basketball team, the calendar is split roughly three ways between music, sports, and family entertainment. And over at Trixxo Arena, bigger conferences and genre-specific events, like the annual Het Schlagerfestival, find a home. And despite an average ticket price increase of 15% across the board, Van Esbroeck says demand is higher than ever.
“We see no signs of weakening, although Belgian consumers are price-sensitive, and we notice that there are limits to ticket prices,” he says. “It is also a typically Belgian phenomenon that uplifts, packages, and premium seats are comparatively less sought-after than in the US and also our neighbouring countries.”
Sandwiched between France, the Netherlands, and Germany, a variety of languages and dialects are spoken across the country. Programming is reflective of this, with regional and national artists of all backgrounds performing across the arena circuit – meaning there’s something for everyone at each arena level.