Market Report: Taiwan
Being a predominantly one-city territory hasn’t stopped Taiwan from attracting scores of international artists at venues like the Taipei Arena, having already seen major Asian acts such as Korean pop idol IU, K-Pop girl band ITZY, and Hong Kong balladeer Jacky Cheung take the stage in 2024.
With the grand opening of the 40,000-seater Taipei Dome last December, it’s expected that the “Big Egg” will balance being a major sporting venue with large-scale concerts in the coming years.
Primary ticketing
TixCraft (which has been acquired by Ticketmaster) is the territory’s largest ticketer, with KKTIX and ibon (managed by 7-Eleven) not far behind.
While technological innovations and schemes such as dynamic pricing have yet to be incorporated, transportation companies have collaborated with music festivals to sell ticketing packages – Kaohsiung’s Megaport Festival being the most prominent example, allowing ticket-buyers to get discounts on Taiwan’s High Speed Rail network.
Distribution of sales
Due to partnerships between ticketers such as ibon and FamiTicket with convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and Family Mart, respectively, an overwhelming majority of live event tickets sold in Taiwan are in physical form.
“This enhancement offers greater flexibility and convenience in ticket management, perfectly meeting the evolving needs of our customers”
However, tixCraft aims to encourage the use of digital tickets with a recently launched initiative called Ticket Transfer. “This enhancement offers greater flexibility and convenience in ticket management, perfectly meeting the evolving needs of our customers,” explains KT Chiu, MD of Ticketmaster Taiwan.
Value of market
According to a report published in February by the Taiwan Cultural Content Agency, the entertainment industry is projected to have achieved sales of $58.69m in 2022.
Secondary ticketing
Despite legislation in which anyone caught reselling a ticket for profit faces three years in prison and a fine of up to 50 times the original ticket price, scalping remains rampant.
“Ticket resales are common on social media”
“Ticket resales are common on social media,” says Shinichiro Honda, VP of music hall operator Zepp, which owns the 2,245-cap Zepp New Taipei. “The most notable use of scalping was the BLACKPINK tour in March last year, where 16.2% of the scalpers’ tickets were sold at ten times face value,” he adds.
International/domestic splits & genres
“Last year, there were 271 international acts and 272 homegrown talents who performed in the Taipei metropolitan area,” Honda says. “As of 2024, there have been more global tours and pitstops than domestic performances, though,” stating that there have been 217 and 167 shows, respectively.
Taiwanese pop, K-Pop, and J-Pop are the country’s most popular concert genres.
Cultural analysis
Despite Chiu’s excitement at the potential of the Taipei Dome, he recognises the value of what homegrown talent can offer. “While we celebrate these large venues, we’re also committed to supporting our grassroot venues, which are the heartbeat of our vibrant local music scene,” he says.
“While we celebrate these large venues, we’re also committed to supporting our grassroot venues”
Honda points out that venues and promoters alike have benefitted massively from ticketers sharing customer and artist data. “By analysing the info we receive from ticketers like tixCraft, domestic and international promoters can understand the trends shaping the Taiwanese market,” he says.
Taxes & charges
Business tax is 5%, entertainment tax ranges from 1% to 10%, ticketers charge 5% to 6%, and withholding tax is 20%.
Country Profile: Taiwan
The grand opening of the multi-purpose Taipei Dome last winter – able to adjust its capacity from 40,000 to a maximum of 50,000 for music concerts – should prove to be a massive boost for Taiwan’s live events market in the near future, despite the island continuing to be a predominantly one-city territory for large-scale events.
Despite the gargantuan presence of the newly unveiled “Big Egg” and the Taipei Arena in the capital, the festival industry in Taiwan remains a popular alternative to stadium shows. Megaport, which took place in March, is heralded as Taiwan’s largest outdoor festival, and EDM-centric multi-day showcases Eden Hill (which mostly features local DJs and musicians) and Ultra are scheduled to take place later this year, though no lineup has been announced for the latter as of yet.
Meanwhile, Wonderful Asia’s So Wonderful Festival is yet to announce its 2024 schedule – though event organiser and company co-founder Steven Lin aims to put the island on the map as a viable destination for international performers in a mostly domestic market. “Compared to other festivals here, we want to stand out more by adding a Western flavour into this year’s lineup,” he says. “Japan has Fuji Rock, Hong Kong has Clockenflap, and California has Coachella. We want the So Wonderful festival to be an IP that’s internationally recognisable.”
“Superstars like Usher and Taylor Swift will sell out, but others in the tier below don’t have much of a presence here even if they have massive profiles on a global scale.”
However, Lin admits that the landscape is pretty polarised, with domestic artists able to sell out quicker than their more famed international counterparts due to a strong local fanbase. “Superstars like Usher and Taylor Swift will sell out, but others in the tier below don’t have much of a presence here even if they have massive profiles on a global scale.”
That outlook hasn’t stopped Live Nation from booking pop acts such as Dua Lipa, LANY, Stray Kids, Take That, and Charlie Puth for this year’s calendar. AEG Presents Asia have adopted a different approach for the rest of their 2024 schedule, with shows by South Korean rapper I.M and Japanese boyband Official Huge Dandism on the books before the end of the year.
ULC Presents, another player in the market, who brought Slowdive over in March to a sold-out Zepp New Taipei, has adopted a different approach when it comes to overcoming certain challenges. “We’re currently focusing more on boutique festivals and independent artists,” explains founder Orbis Fu. “By staying small and developing our own talent locally, we can contend with giants such as Live Nation.”
Arena Market: Taiwan
Four years ago, Taiwan made global headlines by being the first Asian country to showcase a live arena show while the rest of the world was still in a Covid-enforced lockdown. Eric Chou’s jam-packed two-day August 2020 shows at the Taipei Arena weren’t just a testament to the country’s effective handling of the virus but also the ever-booming demand for live entertainment on the small island.
While being a mainly one-city territory presents its own challenges, a plethora of international acts have been stopping off at the Taipei Arena since it opened to the public 19 years ago. In recent years, the 15,000-capacity venue, which is divided into the main hall and the ancillary ice rink, saw Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Celine Dion perform to sold-out crowds. IU and and Hong Kong crooner Jacky Cheung already stopped off there this year, with the latter performing seven of ten scheduled shows in June (with three cancelled due to illness), as well as a summer show by K-Pop girl group ITZY.
The other major entertainment venue in Taiwan is the K-Arena, located in the city of Kaohsiung on the south of the island. Nicknamed the ‘Big Egg’ due to its striking oval design, the venue (which holds up to 15,000 spectators) is mainly used for sporting events but has also welcomed local talents such as Zhang Qing Fang, Rene Liu, and A-Lin over the past 12 months. The Big Egg has also showcased several K-Pop acts, including STAYC, BOYNEXTDOOR, ZEROBASEONE, (G)I-DLE, and more, as part of the one-night Golden Wave in Taiwan, heralded as a coup for the venue given its small stature compared to its counterpart in the country’s capital city.