Market Report: New Zealand
New Zealand’s live entertainment scene in 2024 has been characterised by a mix of record-breaking stadium tours
and challenges for smaller venues and festivals. The year saw P!nk make history as the first female artist to headline
Eden Park, New Zealand’s national stadium, and shows from the Foo Fighters, who performed across Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, and Matchbox Twenty, who returned after a decade-long hiatus.
Primary ticketing
New Zealand’s primary ticketing market is dominated by a mix of international and local players including AEG-owned AXS, TEG’s Ticketek, and Flicket. Ticketmaster New Zealand stands as a major force, with general manager Anjelica Devoe emphasising their technological focus: “We’re always enhancing both the fan and client experience. From the launch of our global app to our new Smart Queue technology, we’re dedicated to ensuring tickets are getting into the hands of fans seamlessly.”
Ticketmaster’s commitment to innovation is evident in their ongoing efforts to improve the ticketing experience. Devoe elaborates: “Biometric express entry is gaining popularity, and we’re excited to collaborate with our venue partners to introduce this technology in New Zealand, building on its success in Australia and the US.”
Local company iTICKET also plays a significant role. Sarah Cowley, chief commercial officer, notes a recent shift: “We have also seen an influx of ticketing companies and promoters self-ticketing in NZ post covid – there have been some horror stories of poor practice, refund issues, and ticket revenue being advanced to promoters.”
While specific figures are not available, industry leaders suggest the market is holding steady despite economic challenges
Flicket clients include Northern Bass, Rhythm & Alps, and Electric Avenue festivals; sporting events such as the sell-out Rugby Finals at New Zealand’s largest stadium and the ASB Classic tennis tournament; the Blues, the Hurricanes, and the Chiefs sports teams; plus the New Zealand Agriculture show.
CEO and cofounder Ben Calvert says “Flicket has successfully secured the majority of market share in New Zealand and we are rapidly growing our presence in Australia with independent rights holders and promoters. After recently opening offices in Los Angeles, the US, and Sydney, we are looking to bring our technology to larger markets and have already begun to see our white-label technology getting significant uptake.”
“Many of the events industry advocacy groups are supporting an NZ Ticketing Code of Conduct, due for release over coming months”
“As we are a promoter’s first agency, our biggest challenge in New Zealand has been around government/council venues going to tender for ticketing contracts, but these contracts have significant content elements. This reduces the chance of companies that specialise in ticketing (and may have better technology and pricing) from winning while increasing fees and risk for promoters and their fans. This has been a key driver for our expansion to international markets as well as diversifying our offering to include services such as sponsorship solutions in NZ.”
Distribution of sales
“Digital tickets remain the most common type in New Zealand, representing 90% of sales in the market,” according to Devoe. This aligns with Cowley’s observation of a “trend towards more ‘self-service’ ticketing options as promoters become more savvy in managing their own ticket sales, and the technology enables this.”
Value of market
While specific figures are not available, industry leaders suggest the market is holding steady despite economic challenges. According to Cowley, “Given the huge range (genre/pricing/event size) of content both locally and internationally, it’s actually holding its own in terms of sales. It could absolutely be stronger, but given the cost of living is the highest it’s ever been here, people are still spending on entertainment (less so on retail or high-cost purchasers).”
Secondary ticketing
Secondary ticketing remains a concern in New Zealand. Cowley notes: “Many of the events industry advocacy groups are supporting an NZ Ticketing Code of Conduct, due for release over coming months.” Ticketmaster is addressing this issue, as Devoe explains: “We’re offering initiatives to ensure buyers have the confidence to purchase and commit early, addressing any late buying behaviour. By providing options such as resale, enhanced refund rights, and ticket transfer options, we aim to create a seamless and positive experience for our fans.”
International/domestic splits & genres
New Zealand has seen a mix of high-profile international tours and strong local performances in 2024. However, Cowley notes, “NZ missed out on some of the major touring artists (Taylor Swift) but any that did come here (Foo Fighters, P!nk, Ed Sheeran) did well.”
Cultural analysis
New Zealand’s live music scene shows strong support for local talent, especially in challenging economic times. “Probably the most impacted is the tier 2-3 tours/content. We ticket a lot of smaller local productions, and they are getting huge support (low-cost tickets, ‘supporting local’ is quite strong here), but many of the festivals or high-price ticket ‘experience’ types of events are struggling to sell out, as they did in previous years,” says Cowley.
Taxes & charges
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is 15% and applies to tickets.
Country Profile: New Zealand
Aotearoa/New Zealand’s live music market has shown remarkable resilience and growth as it continues to recover from the pandemic. Global artists are once again flocking to the country; local acts are thriving.
The country has welcomed a diverse range of global talent in 2024, from pop sensations like Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo to electronic acts like Fred Again.. and Rüfüs Du Sol. Tim McGregor from TEG Live says electronic artists continue to see success, adding: “We had huge success with the recent Fred Again.. tour, which instantly sold nearly 230,000 tickets to shows [across Australia and New Zealand] that were completed within days of them being announced.”
Live Nation’s VP of talent and artist development for Australia and New Zealand, Mark Vaughan, says there’s strong demand for international acts in New Zealand, citing record- breaking tours from global acts Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and The Weeknd.
“Overall, the business is strong, with New Zealand experiencing a record year for ticket sales”
“Overall, the business is strong, with New Zealand experiencing a record year for ticket sales,” says Mark Kneebone, MD of Live Nation New Zealand. “Our stadium business is having an incredible run of shows with three nights of Coldplay, three nights with P!nk, two shows with Pearl Jam, and one Eden Park stadium show for Travis Scott.”
Kneebone also points to the growing popularity of non-English speaking acts who are “graduating into arena-level tours, particularly across multiple Asia-pop genres. Success with K-pop girl group ITZY and Mandopop stars Jonathan Lee and Joker Xue has shown that this market is just getting started.”
Live Nation marked a 600% increase in Asia pop shows across Australia and New Zealand since 2015. “Music is a universal language, and fans are connecting with artists across all genres, even when they don’t speak the same language,” says Vaughan.
New Zealand’s homegrown talent is also thriving. Benee, Lorde, and Six60 continue to be standout names in the local scene. In 2024, the latter embarked on yet another stadium tour, solidifying their status as one of the country’s biggest live acts.
“Music is a universal language, and fans are connecting with artists across all genres, even when they don’t speak the same language”
And the grassroots scene is strong, says Kneebone. “Iconic clubs like San Fran in Wellington and The Tuning Fork in Auckland have had record years for ticket sales and the number of shows held.”
Despite these successes, it’s not all plain sailing. “The cost of touring is always a challenge, especially with currency exchange and the geographical spread of cities,” says Jaddan Comerford from UNIFIED Music Group. “However, there’s a significant opportunity in regional touring, and artists like P!nk have shown that by successfully hitting both urban and regional locations.”
Vaughan echoes this, acknowledging the impact of these challenges: “Production costs continue to rise, particularly in regional areas. Yet, we’ve found that the demand for live music remains strong, with fans willing to travel for big-name acts.”
New Zealand’s festival scene remains a critical part of its live music ecosystem. TEG’s McGregor says major festivals continue to thrive. “Despite the challenges facing the festival industry globally, New Zealand’s festivals like Rhythm & Vines and Laneway have seen record ticket sales, with Laneway continuing its 20+ years of success.”
“Festivals with strong brand equity, like Laneway, are thriving, but others are struggling to keep up with rising costs and competition for headliners”
Kneebone concurs. “At a time when festivals are having a tough time, our flagship festival Rhythm & Vines is set to have another sell-out year with 25,000 three-day fans attending – its fourth sell-out in a row.”
However, not all festivals have fared as well, with some smaller events facing difficulties. “Festivals with strong brand equity, like Laneway, are thriving, but others are struggling to keep up with rising costs and competition for headliners,” McGregor says.
As New Zealand’s live music industry continues to evolve, there’s optimism for further growth. Vaughan is confident in the outlook for the next two years: “We’re planning strong arena and stadium content over the next 12-24 months, and with the ongoing rebuilding of the festival sector, the New Zealand market is set to continue its upward trajectory.”
Arena Market: New Zealand
New Zealand’s small population is spread over a large country in the South Pacific, although its urban population is centred on the two North Island cities of Wellington and Auckland, which is where the vast majority of music and cultural and sporting events take place.
The Spark Arena is a 13,280-cap venue in the country’s biggest city, Auckland. It recently increased capacity by 1,000, offering a standing capacity of 4,400 and has installed a new rolling stage, which “has made a big difference to load-in and load-out times,” says GM Mark Gosling.
“The arena celebrated a record year in 2023, since opening in 2007, with a wide range of international talent. And in March alone, we broke the nightly attendance record twice,” he adds. “We are confident that the pipeline of international acts is looking consistent for the remainder of 2024 and into early 2025. The pandemic impact has largely subsided, and the touring cycle has returned back to its normal timing, with the southern hemisphere very busy from October through to April during the northern winter.”In Wellington, the 6,000-cap TSB Arena is a key venue. But there are arenas in the smaller cities, too.
Christchurch Arena comes in at 9,000-cap, whilst in Hamilton, the 6-000-cap Claudelands Arena hosted the first show of local legends’ Crowded House’s 2021 tour.
“Things look very good – particularly in the international space – a lot of enquiries from all genres, and we’re definitely seeing an upturn in the Indian, Chinese, Asian markets. I think for us there is definitely an opportunity in the Asian market for new content. Rock is doing well, drum & bass, too, and we’re particularly strong in that Bollywood show space right now,” says Simon Daly of The Trusts Arena in Auckland. It has a capacity of 1,500-6,800 and has hosted gigs by Chase & Status, Incubus, and Hybrid Minds recently. Daly adds: “Sales patterns are strange– there seems to be a lack of confidence with ticket-buyers right now; this is down to the many cancellations of shows, which is making people buy late.”