Market Report: Netherlands
One of Europe’s busiest live music markets, thanks to its enthusiastic audiences and pivotal location in the continent, the Netherlands is a regular stop on global tours.
Eventim (thanks to its acquisition of See Tickets) and Ticketmaster dominate here, but there are many upstart challengers.
Primary ticketing
CTS Eventim acquired See Tickets in June through its acquisition of Vivendi’s international ticketing businesses, though both will retain their identities and management. “We will be able to offer even more seamless services on a global scale,” said CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg earlier this year.
“We will be able to offer even more seamless services on a global scale”
Henk Schuit, managing director of Eventim Netherlands, says the multinational firm is expanding its in-house marketing operations, while growing in theatre, family entertainment, and exhibition opportunities.
Meanwhile, See has recently “introduced server-side tracking solutions to adapt to the changes in cookie policies by major browsers, ensuring better data accuracy and marketing effectiveness,” says the company’s Marijke van den Bosch.
“We also implemented a pre-queue account registration system during peak sales to gather data from all interested fans, not just the primary buyers and their friends.”
Ticketmaster is also seeing growth in its offerings: “We’re seeing more opportunities to diversify the range of live events, from smaller niche concerts to larger festivals, with more international audiences making their way to the Netherlands for these events,” says Jakob Lund, Ticketmaster’s regional VP of Northwest Europe.
Distribution of sales
Digital is the way to go in the Netherlands, and more and more ticketing solution platforms are cropping up, offering organisers a comprehensive ticketing solution.
“All-in-one” platform Stager saw 40% growth last year from 2022, says Mike van Gaasbeek, founder of the online ticketing system, detailing how organisers can sell tickets, produce schedules, catalogue crew, promote events, integrate platforms, and automate emails with their newly launched tool. A new Spotify partnership allows users to buy tickets straight from the streaming platform.
“You can be in control of your own data and your own audience”
Marketplace solution Eventix also offers a curated ticketing platform for organisers: “You can be in control of your own data and your own audience,” says Joost Aanen, the company’s co-founder and CEO.
The platform also boasts cross-sale integrations (for example, with merchandising) and an organiser-chosen resale price cap.
Secondary ticketing
There are currently no laws relating to the secondary market, but some resale platforms have placed limits on secondary sales, like TicketSwap’s 120% price cap. Tightened corporate policies on resale may have led more international buyers to travel for shows like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour due to resale prices being higher in their home markets.
There are currently no laws relating to the secondary market, but some resale platforms have placed limits on secondary sales…
In order to keep the ticketing loop closed, TicketSwap and other primary partners have begun delaying fulfilment, poised to “decrease the window of opportunity to commit fraud,” a representative says.
Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Eventim and Viagogo also operate in the secondary space.
International/domestic splits & genres
Dance and electronic music continue to flourish. The Netherlands has been a popular destination for major tours from Taylor Swift, P!nk, and AC/DC this summer.
Cultural analysis
Dutch DJs continue to enjoy international success, with superstars like Tiësto, Martin Garrix, Afrojack, and Sam Feldt leading the way.
Value of market
Statista says the market is due to surpass €650m by 2028, up from a projected €595m this year.
Taxes & charges
The most pressing development in the Netherlands is the proposed tax hike on the cultural and creative sector. Plans from the country’s newly elected right-wing government are set to raise the VAT rate for concert, festival, and sports tickets from 9% to 21% from 2026.
The industry response is dismay, and ticket prices are expected to rise as a result.
Country Profile: The Netherlands
For as long as shows keep coming through Europe, they’ll be coming through the Netherlands, which has a strong claim to being the continent’s crossroads: next door to Germany, a short hop from the UK, adjacent to Belgium and its neighbour France, and no distance from the Nordics.
Mojo Concerts pioneered the market and remains very much the dominant player, though competition has increased greatly over the last few decades, as rivals including FKP Scorpio’s Friendly Fire, the independent Greenhouse Talent, and the All Things Live-owned Agents After All have scaled up.
Nonetheless, the Live Nation promoter – under the management triumvirate of Kim Bloem, Ruben Brouwer, and Ronny Hooch Antink since the departure of CEO John Mulder at the start of this year – reports that conditions remain good.
“Business for international, as well as domestic artists, has again been great,” says Bloem. “North Sea Jazz, Down the Rabbit Hole, and Lowlands have all sold out way in advance. R&B from the ’90s is having a real comeback, with the success of Usher (five shows at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam), and Janet Jackson selling out [the same venue], as well as Ms. Lauryn Hill & The Fugees.”
“Business for international, as well as domestic artists, has again been great”
Mojo has made a priority of building its domestic business in recent years, and it is seeing the difference, says Bloem. “For domestic acts on our roster, we see that they are growing from clubs to AFAS Live (6,000) as well as to arena level. The last couple of years, we have really been building our roster and with hiring a new promoter in that area, we are very proud that this is bearing fruit.”
Greenhouse Talent is the biggest independent promoter in Benelux, its headline successes in 2024 include Taylor Swift at Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam and two Rammstein shows.
“I think it’s actually one of the biggest years we have had,” says COO and head promoter Wouter de Wilde, whose slate has also included the summer Zuiderpark Live show series in The Hague and the returning C2C: Country to Country festival in Rotterdam in March, with arena shows for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Bryan Adams coming up.
“And then we launched Spoorpark LIVE Festival in Tilburg, with Massive Attack headlining a day, and we ended up selling 22,500 tickets, which was great for the first year, and it’s looking great for next year as well,” says De Wilde.
Spoorpark Live teamed Greenhouse with another leading independent, the Schijndel-based This Is Live Group, which draws more than 600,000 visitors annually across 80 festivals and other events, including Paaspop, Extrema, Solar Weekend, WiSH Outdoor, SMÈRRIG, and Elektrum.
“I think it’s actually one of the biggest years we have had”
Of the other key promoters, Friendly Fire was founded in 2009 and became part of FKP Scorpio three years later. Like its Dutch competitors, it operates across the board, from clubs to stadiums, also operating in booking and management. Its festivals include Indian Summer in Geestmerambacht, Hit The City in Eindhoven, and Best Kept Secret in Hilvarenbeek.
Double Vee Concerts is another busy indie, promoting/ booking/co-promoting 400 to 500 mostly club shows per year.
New on the scene, meanwhile, is booker and promoter Echo Live, founded by Hugo Berends and Bart van Haare, formerly of rock and metal agency Doomstar Bookings.
“We saw a gap in the market for an independent agency that could truly cater to the evolving needs of artists and fans alike,” Berends recently told IQ. “The Dutch live music industry is thriving, with over 1,200 large- and mid-scale festivals, countless arena shows, and a robust network of grassroots venues. We wanted to create an agency that could navigate this landscape effectively while maintaining a personal touch.”
And in the touring entertainment space, global giant Feld has its European base in the country. Denis Sullivan, vice president of international tours, says: “The Netherlands is a key market for us. We play Utrecht for multiple weeks each year with Disney on Ice in the Christmas time period, which is our busiest time of year. Additionally, we have a long history of playing Monster Jam at the GelreDome in Arnhem. We’re fortunate to have great, long-standing venue partners in both those markets.”
Arena Market: The Netherlands
The Netherlands has long been a priority stop on European tours for international acts because of its geographical positioning (close to a variety of key territories), but it has also got a very strong domestic touring market.
The Ziggo Dome (16,800 standing, 12,950 seated) in Amsterdam is the country’s biggest arena and is a major music venue, with 95% of its annual bookings being music-related.
Acts playing this year include Diana Ross, Justin Timberlake & Olivia Rodrigo, and Lenny Kravitz. It also hosts comedy, sport, and family and corporate events.
Irene Peters, business director at Ziggo Dome, says this heavy demand for music is both a blessing and a curse. “The challenge facing the venue sector is scarcity of dates due to high demand, both internationally and domestically,” she says. “In the domestic market, it becomes more and more challenging to organise profitable events. Not only is the increase of costs a factor in this but also the wide offer of events in the Netherlands. This is also traced back to a decrease in ticketing sales for some events that used to be very successful.”
“The challenge facing the venue sector is scarcity of dates due to high demand, both internationally and domestically”
Ronald Fiolet, operations director at Ziggo Dome, says the venue is continually being modernised and its offerings expanded. “We are looking at implementing a QR-code-based pre-ordering system for food and beverages, and we have recently renewed the CCTV system,” he says. “Besides technological updates, we have realised multiple infrastructural changes such as the opening of a brand-new restaurant above our entrance.”
While the venue’s bookings are 50/50 international and domestic, they are experiencing a particular boom around local acts. “We see an increase in the popularity of Dutch artists – both young, new talent as well as well-known artists from the 1990s who are making a comeback,” says Fiolet.
AFAS Live (6,000), part of Live Nation, is the other competing arena in the capital. Acts playing in 2024 include Pulp, Sean Paul, Fontaines D.C., and Itzy. It also offers the Black Box, an adaptable and scalable events space that can work for audiences of 250 to 6,000 people.
The other major arena in the country is the Live Nation- owned Ahoy (16,426 standing, 11,787 seated) in the country’s second-largest city, Rotterdam. Within the venue is the newer RTM Stage (7,842 standing, 4,398 seated), which opened in autumn 2020 and is described as the Ahoy’s “little brother.”
“Rotterdam Ahoy is the only Dutch venue that has two arenas, six event halls, and a convention centre all under one roof”
The Ahoy itself also serves as a nightclub and can be converted to host major tennis tournaments. Events at the Ahoy this year include the North Sea Jazz Festival, Bryan Adams, Jason Derulo, Sting, and The World of Hans Zimmer, while the RTM Stage has Star Wars: A New Hope, Arijit Singh, and Trevor Noah.
Arnaud Hordijk, head of entertainment and sports at the Ahoy, says that dance music and domestic acts perform particularly well at the venue. He adds that having two major venues together gives the venue a unique advantage in the market and also allows acts to scale up or scale down their show depending on demand.
“Rotterdam Ahoy is the only Dutch venue that has two arenas, six event halls, and a convention centre all under one roof,” he says. “When available, an artist can change from the arena to the RTM Stage and vice versa depending on ticket sales.”
Hordijk notes an interesting post-Covid audience trend where “we see that seated tickets sell better than standing tickets,” suggesting venues will have to become more flexible in how they can toggle between seated and standing shows. He also reveals that audiences “are willing to pay more to get an extra experience like VIP treatment and better seats,” showing how upsell options should work today.
He does, however, note that this is only for certain audience members and that price sensitivity for audiences as a whole is paramount, even if wider event costs are rising.
“A challenge is inflation and rising costs for producing large events – materials, labour costs etc.,” he notes, before cautioning. “You cannot keep [increasing] ticket prices.”