Market Report: Estonia
Despite being small, this is a highly competitive market, with a multitude of ticketing companies operating without the challenge of secondary ticketing.
Primary ticketing
There are ten or so key ticketing companies. With a 60% share, AS Piletilevi Group is comfortably the biggest individual player.
“The rapid growth in competition among ticketing companies has significantly contributed to the introduction of numerous new products in the ticket presales market,” says Sven Nuutmann, CEO of AS Piletilevi Group.
“The rapid growth in competition among ticketing companies has significantly contributed to the introduction of numerous new products in the ticket presales market.”
Other local players include Piletikeskus, Piletimaailm, OnlinePilet, and Fienta.
Distribution of sales
Around 90% of tickets in Estonia are sold digitally (60% mobile and 40% desktop/email).
Value of market
The live market is expected to be worth $23.9m in 2024, according to numbers from Statista, rising to $25.8m by 2028.
“Ticket prices have increased alongside inflation,” says Nuutmann. “The rise in ticket prices has not impacted the number of cultural consumers.”
“The rise in ticket prices has not impacted the number of cultural consumers.”
Secondary ticketing
According to Nuutmann, the secondary market is “practically non-existent.”
International/domestic splits & genres
In terms of total ticketing, Nuutmann says that the market is split about 50/50 between local and international acts. However, when the total volume of tickets sold is looked at, domestic acts account for around 70% of all tickets sold. International acts sell fewer tickets but at a higher average price.
Cultural analysis
“Consumers increasingly prefer a single trusted and familiar environment to find and purchase tickets,” says Nuutmann.
“Promoters have become more conservative in the number of events they organise.”
He warns that a lack of risk taking is holding the market back. “Promoters have become more conservative in the number of events they organise,” he says. “While the quality of events has increased, the supply has decreased. Yet demand remains strong.”
Taxes & charges
VAT has increased from 20% to 22% this year.
Country Profile: Estonia
While only a few promoters have the reach and clout to cover the entire Baltic region of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, many operate exclusively within Estonia, the bloc’s smallest territory.
Live Nation, Baltic Music Group (based in Estonia), L Tips Agency (based in Latvia), and Lithuania’s M.P.3 fall into the former category. Others, such as PS Music Agency and Shiftworks, play significant roles in Estonia only, catering to a diverse range of genres and artists.
“Additionally, independent promoters such as UCE Agency and Damn.Loud are making their mark by collaborating with international artists, contributing to Estonia’s vibrant and eclectic music scene,” says Tanya Korenika, founder and CEO of UCE.
“These promoters ensure a rich and varied musical landscape, accommodating everything from mainstream concerts to niche performances.”
“These promoters ensure a rich and varied musical landscape, accommodating everything from mainstream concerts to niche performances.”
Due to Estonia’s relatively small size, international artists typically hold one major event in Tallinn or Tartu rather than embarking on extensive tours. Economics are proving challenging for tours and shows of all sizes, though. “The economic landscape in Estonia has shifted dramatically, leading to the closure of several venues and narrowing opportunities for touring artists,” says Korenika. “This has also dampened audience turnout.”
Taxation is also a challenge. “In Estonia, VAT on tickets is the highest in the bloc, currently at 22%, and it will increase to 24% starting in 2025,” says Lauri Laubre, founder of the Baltic Music Group. “So promoters operating across the three Baltic states must have a range of different capabilities and a proper legal structure.”
Laubre also notes the difficulties in catering to Estonia’s relatively large Russian-speaking communities, whose events market is entirely different, and losing their status as a convenient stopover for tours headed to or leaving Russia. “This is unlikely to change in the next decade, and it is our new reality,” he adds.
With rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, Estonians are spending less on entertainment. Coupled with those venue closures, “this creates difficulties for promoters in finding suitable event spaces and for artists in attracting large crowds,” says Korenika.
“Today, nearly 90% of all concerts are some form of tribute. So, the paradigms have indeed shifted, and I see this trend continuing and deepening.”
“This has led to a completely new trend – tribute artists,” adds Laubre. “Today, nearly 90% of all concerts are some form of tribute. So, the paradigms have indeed shifted, and I see this trend continuing and deepening.”
Despite these challenges, the music scene is also ripe with opportunities. There’s a growing interest in diverse music genres, such as electronic and alternative, providing new audience segments for promoters to target. Moreover, the rise of digital tools has become a game-changer.
“Also, Estonian music is making waves internationally, with artists from various genres touring globally and gaining recognition,” says Korenika. “This success in exporting music is a clear sign of growth and potential in our market.”
Laubre agrees. “Productions are becoming bigger and more impressive, and tickets are selling. It’s no longer so rare for a local artist to fill an arena or stadium.” Plus, he adds, “There is a vibrant concert-going audience in the Baltics, and we could host many more international acts than we currently do. So, bring on the artists – come and tour!”
Arena Market: Estonia
Estonia’s most famous oddity is one of Europe’s most unique venues: the legendary Linnahall.
This iconic Soviet Modernism structure was built as part of the Moscow 1980 Olympics, the sailing events for which were held in Tallinn (then part of the USSR). The roof of the incredible waterside structure served as a giant viewing platform, while the hall below hosted all kinds of events. Various plans from refurbishment to demolition have been mooted as the central area around the Linnahall is up for redevelopment, and the waterside real estate is prime. But this is a one-of-a-kind venue.
Estonia is a small country, though, with a total population of just 1.4m. “Due to the size of the country, the market is not very big. We are very dependent on tours visiting our neighbouring countries and therefore reaching us as well.
“Due to the size of the country, the market is not very big. We are very dependent on tours visiting our neighbouring countries and therefore reaching us as well.”
Geographically, we are at the corner of Europe, so it requires us to do much more convincing to get these acts to come to Estonia. It’s a shame because Estonian music fans are very passionate. I wish we’d get to bring them much more music,” says Siim Ammon of the Unibet Arena, one of two key venues in the country and the biggest in the capital.
Unibet is a 10,000-cap venue situated near the city centre that has recently welcomed Louis Tomlinson, Måneskin, and Swedish power metallers Sabaton.
For Ammon, “2024 looks about the same as 2023, so we don’t have either much growth or decline. We see that legacy/ retro acts that used to sell very good are starting to lose their following. People are more interested in newer modern music, which I’m very happy about. Local artists are gaining a lot of popularity as well – for the first time ever, 50% of our visitors were coming to see local artists.
“We’re working hard on modernising the venue – technology is moving so fast, and we’re trying to keep up. Signage with LED screens, automatic entrance gates, and ordering food through the app … are just a few examples.” Additionally, it has invested in making 25% of energy usage green, with a plan to ramp that number up to 50% by summer. Reusable cups and food packaging are also part of the green solutions rolled out at the venue.
“In Estonia, there are no venues with capacities around 2,500–5,000 people. Until someone fixes that, we’ve created a “blackbox” concept.”
There is perhaps space for more venues in the market. But until then, innovative solutions have been found. Ammon explains: “In Estonia, there are no venues with capacities around 2,500–5,000 people. Until someone fixes that, we’ve created a “blackbox” concept.
This means we cover the arena 360° in black curtain, meaning there are no seats visible at all. This gives a more intimate place for standing-only shows, and it’s always going to be visually a full house as we can move the curtain according to ticket sales. This project is slowly getting more popular, and we’re hoping to utilise it much more in the future.”
Tallinn is also famed for Tallinn Music Week, a festival so much a part of cultural life in Estonia that even the president of the country, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, turned up to DJ at the festival’s opening bash one year.