CMA seeks changes from Ticketmaster after Oasis row
The UK’s consumer watchdog says Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law during last year’s Oasis ticket sale.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation following widespread complaints about last August’s sale for the band’s first shows since 2009.
The onsale was infamously marred by a “dynamic ticketing” row after ticket buyers who had queued for several hours were offered tickets for more than twice the advertised face value.
Setting out its concerns, the CMA – which says it is now consulting Ticketmaster on changes – highlights potential breaches by the firm. These include “labelling certain seated tickets as ‘platinum’ and selling them for near 2.5 times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without sufficiently explaining that they did not offer additional benefits and were often located in the same area of the stadium”.
“This risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better,” it adds.
Furthermore, the body has flagged up that consumers were not informed there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices, “with all of the cheaper standing tickets sold first before the more expensive standing tickets were released, resulting in many fans waiting in a lengthy queue without understanding what they would be paying and then having to decide whether to pay a higher price than they expected”.
“We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns”
“Fans reported problems when buying Oasis tickets from Ticketmaster and we decided those concerns warranted investigation,” says Hayley Fletcher, interim senior director of consumer protection. “We’re concerned that Oasis fans didn’t get the information they needed or may have been misled into buying tickets they thought were better than they were. We now expect Ticketmaster to work with us to address these concerns so, in future, fans can make well-informed decisions when buying tickets.”
The regulator acknowledges that Ticketmaster has made changes to its ticket sales process since the opening of its investigation, but it “does not currently consider these changes are sufficient”.
It has provided Ticketmaster with details of further steps required, and is seeking changes to its processes including to the information it provides to customers, when it provides that information, and how it labels some of its tickets. The CMA declined to give more details of changes required from Ticketmaster when asked by IQ.
“All ticketing websites should check they are complying with the law and treating their customers fairly,” continues Fletcher. “When businesses get it right, consumers benefit – and that’s the best outcome for everyone.”
A Ticketmaster spokesperson says the company welcomes the input.
“At Ticketmaster, we strive to provide the best ticketing platform through a simple, transparent and consumer-friendly experience,” says a statement to IQ. “We welcome the CMA’s input in helping make the industry even better for fans.”
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StubHub files for IPO, acknowledges risks
Following months of rumours, secondary ticketing marketplace StubHub has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York.
The company, which operates as Viagogo outside North America, originally planned to go public last summer with a target valuation of US$16.5 billion only to later postpone the move, reportedly due to unfavourable market conditions.
But it has now pressed ahead with its SEC filing, which sets out its “mission” to be the “global destination for consumers to access live events and experiences”.
“We believe we operate the largest global secondary ticketing marketplace for live events,” reads the prospectus. “Our business model has achieved scale with high growth and generated significant revenue, profit and cash flow. We connect fans around the world with sellers who use our marketplace to reach passionate fans and price tickets efficiently.”
The firm says that buyers from over 200 countries and territories purchased more than 40 million tickets from over 1m sellers on its marketplace in 2024, reporting that its revenue rose 29.5% year-on-year to $1.77 billion. It posted a net loss of $2.8m – attributed to increased costs and expenses – compared to a net profit of $405.2m in 2023 and a net loss of $261m in 2022.
“We believe the international secondary ticketing market represents a $23 billion opportunity over the medium term”
“We believe we are the leader in the $18 billion North American secondary ticketing market based on our GMS [gross merchandise sales] for 2024 as compared to similar metrics of our largest competitors for 2024,” it continues. “We believe the international secondary ticketing market represents a $23 billion opportunity over the medium term as these markets continue to be penetrated by global digital commerce.
“We are also growing in the $132 billion global original issuance market and believe we can help enable the distribution and recovery of approximately $22 billion in unsold tickets through our marketplace.”
Viagogo announced its acquisition of StubHub for US$4.05bn in 2019 in a landmark deal that brought together the world’s two largest secondary ticket sellers, and placed Viagogo founder and CEO Eric Baker back in control of the company he co-founded in 2000.
The sale was approved by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after Viagogo was forced to sell its international business due to competition concerns.
In its IPO filing, StubHub acknowledges that its business is subject to a “number of risks and uncertainties”.
“Our business depends on supply and demand for and continued occurrence of large-scale sports, concerts, theatre and other live events, and any decrease in the number of such events or the willingness of consumers to attend such events could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations,” says the document.
“This indicates a recovering US IPO market with owners seeing a window of opportunity to go public”
StubHub also notes that “changes in internet search engine algorithms and dynamics, or any limitation or discontinuation of support by such search engines for our paid search results, could have an adverse impact on traffic for our sites and ultimately, our business, financial condition and results of operations”.
Viagogo was banned from advertising on Google globally in July 2019 after the latter came under fire from lawmakers for allegedly accepting advertising money from sites listing tickets fraudulently. The ban was quietly lifted four months later.
The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) – which is dedicated to the promotion of face-value ticket resale across the continent – has said that it is estimated that Google is responsible for driving two-thirds of traffic to Viagogo.
Meanwhile, the UK government launched a consultation into the secondary ticketing market in January, with measures being considered including a new cap on the price of resale tickets, alongside plans to limit the number of tickets resellers can list to the maximum they are allowed to purchase on the primary market. Various other legislative initiatives relating to resale are also already in place in other territories.
Alluding to the state of play, StubHub notes: “We operate in international markets and are subject to risks associated with the legislative, judicial, accounting, regulatory, political and economic conditions specific to such markets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.”
Furthermore, it states: “We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to remedy these material weaknesses, experience additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to continue to design, implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our Class A common stock.”
Nevertheless, Josef Schuster, CEO of financial institution IPOX, describes StubHub as “one of the most closely watched IPOs this year”.
“StubHub’s filing follows on the recent filings of other high-profile deals set to go public soon, including CoreWeave and Klarna,” he tells Reuters. “This indicates a recovering US IPO market with owners seeing a window of opportunity to go public.”
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Spotify rolls out Concerts Near You playlist
Spotify is rolling out personalised playlist Concerts Near You to help listeners discover upcoming concerts in their area.
The list is updated each Wednesday with 30 songs from artists performing nearby, inspired by users’ listening habits.
The function also includes full event details and ticket links directly from expandable track rows in the playlist, with both the playlist and the event info designed to be easily sharable, so friends can plan to attend a concert together.
“There’s nothing worse than realising that your favourite artist played your town last week,” says Charlie Hellman, VP, global head of music product at Spotify. “Concerts Near You solves for that. This new playlist not only makes it easier for fans to find shows nearby, but it also gives artists a powerful new way of selling more tickets and filling venues with the audiences who love their music most.”
To find their playlist on their own personalised Live Events feed, fans just need to search for “concerts” on the Spotify app.
The streaming platform recently declared that it had paid the music industry US$10 billion in 2024
The streaming platform recently declared that it had paid the music industry US$10 billion (€9.2bn) in 2024, amid the ongoing row over royalty rates.
Live Nation boss Michael Rapino confirmed during the company’s earnings call last month that the promoter had held talks with Spotify, as well as streaming rivals Apple and Amazon, over potential ticket presale deals.
“They’ve approached us all,” he said. “We’ve talked to them all about ideas if they wanted inventory. There’s a cost to that and we would entertain and look at that option if it made sense for us in comparison to other options we have for that presale, which is a very valuable asset.
“We do deals for the artists, but ultimately the artist has control of it and that artist’s job is to maximise the revenue from it. They’re not giving that away to anyone for free. So whether we partnered with them and found sponsors, or we paid for it, it’s valuable.
“It’s always the easy go-to, ‘Let’s give them presale access.’ The hard part about presale is just scaling it. Everybody wants Beyoncé presale and that’s hard to scale. So we’ve been working with all three of them, trying to find a model that may work for us and them and I assume that they’re talking to others also.”
Last December, The Weeknd starred in Spotify’s first-ever Billions Club Live concert in Los Angeles, held exclusively for his top fans on the service, to celebrate having the most songs with more than one billion streams on the platform.
The company also expanded its its Mi Primer Escenario (My First Stage) scheme, which launched in Mexico last year, to Argentina, offering up-and-coming artists a slot at one of the country’s top rock festivals.
The streaming giant previously courted controversy in December 2023 when it announced it was withdrawing its financial support from two French festivals – the Francofolies de La Rochelle and the Printemps de Bourges festivals – in response to a new tax imposed on streaming services in the country. It went on to increase its subscription prices in France last year due to the “additional costs” of the tax.
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Lady Gaga Singapore presales attract 1m+ fans
More than 1.6 million fans attempted to secure tickets for Lady Gaga’s Singapore shows according to local media.
The superstar will return to the island state this spring for the first time in 13 years with a four-night stand at National Stadium.
The 18, 19, 21 and 24 May shows are the star’s only confirmed concerts in Asia and are expected to draw more than 200,000 local and international fans.
Pre-sales opened on Tuesday morning for Mastercard cardholders with queue numbers soon going well above 1.6 million.
Fans battled for tickets in the Mastercard pre-sale on 18 March and within 10 minutes the queue reached over a million people.
Ticket prices on the official ticketing platform, Ticketmaster, ranged from S$148 to S$368 for general admission and S$648 to S$1,348 for VIP packages.
As noted in the International Ticketing Report 2024, ticket scalping is not illegal in Singapore
New Straits Times noted that minutes after pre-sales kicked off, VIP tickets priced up to S$38,888 appeared on the online marketplace Carousell while tickets priced up to $12,000 (€8,200) appeared on Viagogo and StubHub.
Scalpers also took advantage of Taylor Swift’s six Eras Tour shows at National Stadium, selling tickets up to 10 times the original price.
Ticket scalping is not illegal in Singapore, as noted in the International Ticketing Report 2024. The Consumers Association of Singapore has raised concerns that scalping could lead to price distortion and make tickets unaffordable for many.
However, terms and conditions on tickets mean if a concert organiser discovers that a ticket-buyer has resold their ticket, they can seize or void it without providing a refund. Ticketmaster has taken steps to combat and curb this malpractice in the form of its Resale scheme.
Mega gigs from the likes of Swift, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran helped drive tourism in Singapore to record heights last year.
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Our 2025 policy platform can empower the UK’s live industry
2025 is shaping up to be an exciting and impactful year for LIVE as we establish the LIVE Trust (more on that below) and see our partnership with the Labour government deliver policy advances that address concerns and unlock opportunities for all in live music. Advances that will supply the economic growth for which the government is so desperate and send a clear message to the global live music industry that the UK remains the best place to tour.
To truly have an impact and deliver the best possible trading environment for us all, we need to focus our efforts where they matter most. The groundwork was laid in our 2024 manifesto, so now, our 2025 policy platform can empower the UK’s live music industry. And we do this work knowing we have a UK government that values our sector as an economic powerhouse, bringer of
joy, and source of soft power on the global stage. A government that believes in the power of music and wants to see more opportunities for more shows and festivals in more towns and cities across the UK.
The LIVE 2025 policy platform has six focus areas:
Kickstarting growth – Strengthening the sector and wider economy
LIVE will leverage its strong relationship with government and its plans for a new industrial strategy (launching this spring), to put live music at the heart of economic policy for the first time. This is an opportunity to push forward on reforms to VAT, tax, and business rates while also seeking export support, planning reform, improved skills provision, and investment to accelerate the green transition.
LIVE is committed to working closely with government to continue to improve and strengthen Martyn’s Law prior to it going live in 2027
Breaking down barriers to opportunity – Addressing the damage to EU touring post-Brexit The government is committed to delivering improved touring arrangements and access to more economically viable live performance opportunities. Negotiations with the EU will commence in the near future, and LIVE will play a pivotal role in ensuring government understands the required outcomes and has the most compelling data and evidence available with which to argue its case.
Ensuring a safer Britain – Making Martyn’s Law work for everyone
Live music has always prioritised its audiences and the public, with venues and events placing great emphasis on staffing, training, and procedures to deliver engaging and safe experiences. Martyn’s Law is an important new piece of legislation that needs to be implemented in a way that works for everyone. LIVE is committed to working closely with government to continue to improve and strengthen Martyn’s Law prior to it going live in 2027.
Making the UK a clean energy superpower
LIVE is committed to helping build a sustainable live music sector by accelerating its transition to net zero through increased funding and technical support and continuing to shape a unified vision for climate action in the UK’s live music sector. Delivering robust regulation of the secondary ticketing market, LIVE has worked closely with government on their plans for ticketing with a view to countering touts and secondary platforms while ensuring steps to increase visibility around pricing are appropriate.
“There is so much more we could be doing if the climate was right”
Establishing the LIVE Trust
In response to the crisis in grassroots music, the LIVE Trust has been created to deliver vital funding in support of grassroots venues, festivals, and the artists that play them and promoters that work with them. LIVE, alongside its members, has been at the forefront of developing the LIVE Trust and will play a key role in overseeing these efforts to safeguard the grassroots, boost the wider economy, and strengthen relationships with government.
Separately and together, the component parts of this policy platform show our values as a sector – partnership, inclusion, progression. Our sector generated over £6bn for the UK economy in 2023, but there is so much more we could be doing if the climate was right. And the crisis in grassroots music shows that interventions are needed to relieve the pressure on the venues, festivals, artists, and promoters that drive this critical layer of our ecosystem. LIVE will continue to act as a critical friend that will hold those in power to account while seeking to galvanise policies that align with the government’s own missions to kickstart economic growth, break down barriers to opportunity, ensure a safer Britain, and make the UK a clean-energy superpower. There are so many positive wins to be secured off the back of this partnership approach. I look forward to writing about them in IQ this time next year.
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Ticketmaster warns of Dublin-based scammer
Ticketmaster has issued a warning over fraudulent ticket sellers falsely claiming to represent the company.
It said a Dublin-based fake ticket seller is promising fans advance tickets and/or tickets for last-minute collection from the venue on show night that do not exist.
“Unfortunately, some fans have already lost large sums of money to this individual,” the company said in a statement, also signed by 3Arena, Aviva Stadium, Croke Park, FAI, IRFU, MCD Production and Festival Republic.
Ticketmaster is calling on “all concert, sporting, theatre and festival goers to be extra vigilant for fraudulent ticket sellers falsely claiming to represent the authorised ticket agent (Ticketmaster)”.
It says it’s working with An Garda Siochána (the national police and security service of Ireland), adding that enhanced security and ticket verification arrangements are being implemented for all forthcoming events.
The statement has also been signed by 3Arena, Aviva Stadium, Croke Park, FAI, IRFU, MCD Production and Festival Republic
Anyone who has bought fake tickets as a result of the situation or who has any information about it is encouraged to report it to Gardaí.
A similar warning about ticket fraud was issued earlier this year by The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
The police said that individuals had lost hundreds of pounds after paying for what they believed to be genuine Oasis and Coldplay tickets from third-party retailers.
PSNI described ticket fraud as “a continuing problem” and that “fraudsters will try everything to lure people into falling for their scams”.
Almost £300,000 was lost to ticket fraud in Northern Ireland in 2023. Data from Action Fraud showed £6.7m was lost to ticket fraud across the UK in the same year.
In an effort to discourage people from buying tickets listed on secondary platforms, Oasis announced that thousands of tickets sold on resale websites will be cancelled ahead of their upcoming reunion tour.
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Crying out for a-more: Italy market report
Musical patriotism is on the rise in many markets, but Italy still makes for a remarkable case study. Last year, according to FIMI, the local recorded music industry association, Italian releases claimed 84% of the country’s Top 100 album chart. That included, not for the first time, all top ten albums and all top ten singles, where big-selling stars of the moment included double Sanremo Music Festival winner Mahmood, Roman rapper Tony Effe, Neapolitan rapper Geolier and, among a general increase in female representation, female rappers Rose Villain and Anna.
Inevitably, the live industry has prospered in kind, with summers full of stadium shows and victory-lap tours from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of young Italian talent. Prominent stars including Ultimo, Lazza, Sfera Ebbasta, Elodie, and Gazzelle compete with Coldplay, Zucchero, and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for dates at Milan’s San Siro stadium.
Since lockdown, the gold rush has scarcely abated for a second. Italy’s concert industry was worth almost €1bn to the country’s economy in 2023, according to FIMI, using data from IFPI, Deloitte, Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE), DISMA, and GfK.
The concert sector was the biggest driver of the country’s wider €3.1bn music industry, generating €967.4m from more than 36,000 events that attracted 23.7m spectators. Combined with dance and musical entertainment (€780.5m), the segment was responsible for 56.8% of direct contributions.
“The pre-pandemic numbers of 2019 have doubled – data that testifies to a constantly growing music scene and a professional and dynamic supply chain, capable of organising high-impact events in absolute safety,” Carlo Parodi, president of trade body Assomusica told Milan Music Week in November.
“This year, we have 53, 54 stadiums or open airs, and 39 of them will be local artists”
If 2024 wasn’t quite the year that 2023 was, in some eyes, with a marginally smaller number of stadium tourers on the move, then 2025 promises big things.
“This year, we have 53, 54 stadiums or open airs, and 39 of them will be local artists,” says Roberto De Luca, president of Live Nation Italy. “In ’23, the big international artists toured a lot. In ‘24, they toured a bit less. In ’25, they will tour extensively.”
With a heavy slate of hot young Italian acts, many of them from the fertile trap and rap world, Clemente Zard, CEO of CTS Eventim’s Vivo Concerti, likewise sees only growth. “From what I’ve observed, the Italian music market is buzzing, with growing opportunities in live events, especially as fans return to concerts with enthusiasm,” he says. “The competition is definitely heating up as more emerging artists enter the live industry. International players are also showing increased interest in the Italian market, driving local companies to innovate and stay competitive.”
Longstanding rock promoter Andrea Pieroni of DEAG joint venture MC2 endorses the sentiment. “These are good times, I would say,” he says. “2022 was very challenging after Covid. Then 2023 was a record year, even better than 2019. And 2024 was even better than 2023, for us. People are buying tickets, although the prices have gone up dramatically because of the rise in costs.”
That is not the only challenge in a market bedevilled by concert caps, venue availability, and that Italian speciality: red tape.
“One of the main issues we face as promoters is bureaucracy, which keeps growing every year,” says Di & Gi CEO Mimmo D’Alessandro. “Organising events requires compliance with a lengthy list of regulations and rules, which often vary not only from region to region but even at the municipal level.”
“If you want to have a big success in Italy, you have to sing in Italian”
The length and depth of the pandemic lockdown was a profoundly sore point among Italian promoters, and the perception of limited support grumbles on. In his address to Milan Music Week, Parodi noted that profit-making music companies are not able to access the FNSV [National Fund for Live Performance], locking them out of the “art bonus” tax credit available to individuals, institutions, and companies who support Italian cultural heritage. There are also issues with the availability of larger venues, usage of which is capped and, some say, not always equitably distributed.
For Italian talent, however, this is a golden age of a sort, and there is even a potentially promising export picture. In 2023, revenues from Italian music consumed abroad rose to €26m, according to FIMI. Chief among the international growers, by some distance, is Vivo act Måneskin, the Roman rockers whose global exploits have set a bar for Italian exports that seems unlikely to be beaten soon.
“It’s basically a power trio, at the end of the day, which you don’t really find in pop music anymore,” says Milan-based staging and production specialist Delamaison Productions’ Vittorio Dellacasa, who was production manager on the band’s recent world tour. “I’ve been lucky enough to go around the world with this band that is basically the only Italian band that has had huge success. Last year, we went everywhere. We played all the biggest festivals all over the world. I was shocked by the success they had in Japan. We did four arenas, sold out. It was like The Beatles.”
And yet, while the success of Måneskin might seem to point to a breakthrough for Italian pop, there are also straightforward reasons why such a thing is fairly unlikely.
“If you want to have a big success in Italy, you have to sing in Italian,” says Dellacasa. “The huge success today in Italy is made by all this new trap, rap, and hip-hop stuff. Everyone loves the lyrics, which are all Italian slang, but that is also the reason why I don’t see so much international potential for the big Italian acts. Måneskin became immediately global, but that is because they sing in English.”
Promoters
Give or take a few independents, the Italian live market is a slugfest between heavyweight corporate groups Live Nation and Eventim.
“Italian promoters are investing heavily in their rosters, which has made the market more competitive”
In the Eventim corner is Vivo Concerti – which has cornered the market in the young domestic stars often to be found filling Italian stadiums – along with Di & Gi, Friends & Partners, and Vertigo, which between them cover a wide variety of old and new Italian talent and prominent international names.
Vivo’s youthful cutting edge has seen it rapidly grow its business in recent years, and it remains the live force behind such headline-grabbing homegrown stars as Lazza, Ultimo, Elodie, and Gazzelle – all of whom play Italian stadiums this summer – along with numerous others.
“We’ve recently announced Måneskin’s Damiano David’s world solo tour, which is set to kick off next autumn. The tour will see him take over Europe, Australia, North America, South America, and Asia,” says Zard, who notes that, at home, the rush among promoters to build their domestic business has changed the game a little.
“Italian promoters are investing heavily in their rosters, which has made the market more competitive,” says Zard. “However, Vivo Concerti remains a top choice for emerging acts thanks to our track record of nurturing talent and creating career-defining moments. Many of today’s arena and stadium artists started their journey with us, and we take pride in growing alongside them and building lasting relationships.”
Di & Gi had a strong 2024, from which D’Alessandro highlights Taylor Swift’s two concerts at Milan’s San Siro and David Gilmour’s six shows at the Circus Maximus in Rome. “It was a true honour to host his only concerts in mainland Europe,” he says.
The promoter’s two major festivals, Lucca Summer Festival and La Prima Estate, are once again key areas of focus this year. “We are also excited about hosting major events, starting with The Rolling Stones’ concert at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome,” says D’Alessandro. “Additionally, we will have incredible artists performing on various stages across Italy, including Lenny Kravitz, Tyler, The Creator, Rod Stewart, Nile Rodgers, Nick Cave, and many others. We’re also excited to produce four shows with the great conductor Riccardo Muti – his first tour outside classical theatres.”
“The international artists have higher ticket prices, and the local artists have slightly lower ticket prices, though, of course, they are rising”
In the opposite corner is Live Nation Italy, whose big attractions this year include Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the San Siro (with Barley Arts), Ed Sheeran at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, a dozen stadiums for Marco Mengoni, and similar numbers for Vasco Rossi and Cesare Cremonini, as well as the Firenze Rocks and I-Days festivals. The latter two hoover up large amounts of international talent, while the stadium market is more typically – though not exclusively – the preserve of the local superstar.
The international and domestic markets operate in slightly different ways, according to De Luca. “The international artists have higher ticket prices, and the local artists have slightly lower ticket prices, though, of course, they are rising,” he says. “But the international artists come one year and then they don’t come back to Italy for another three years. Big local artists play every year – 10, 12, 15 stadiums, selling out every time. The stadiums in ‘25 have been sold out since July last year. But that’s one reason why the local artists have a cheaper ticket price – because they play more often.”
Other international operators are scaling up in Italy, too. Vertigo veteran Andrea Pieroni departed the company – and the group – for his own DEAG-backed MC2 venture at the end of 2023 but continued to fulfil outstanding Vertigo bookings throughout 2024.
“The last show happened a couple of weeks ago,” he told IQ just before Christmas, “so I no longer have any commitment with Vertigo or Eventim. Finally, I can focus totally on MC2 and the new venture with DEAG.”
MC2 specialises in rock and metal, with ambitions to go broader over the next few years. Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson, Dream Theater, Lindemann, King Diamond, and Pantera are all on the 2025 calendar, along with the less metallic Skunk Anansie, Steven Wilson, and Hooverphonic.
“Not only do we aim to maintain our current positions, which are already satisfactory, but we also want to expand our market share,” says Pieroni. “We are already leaders in the rock and metal sector, and our goal is to grow into other areas of the market as well.”
“I’m particularly proud of the record-breaking AC/DC show at the beautiful open-air RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia”
Independents in Italy need to be smart to stay alive, and there are strong examples, old and new. Claudio Trotta’s Barley Arts, a mainstay of the business since 1979, last year staged around 400 events, the largest of them involving 100,00 tickets for AC/DC in Reggio Emilia, as well as street-food festivals, musicals, and comedy.
“I’m particularly proud of the record-breaking AC/DC show at the beautiful open-air RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, less than an hour away from Milan, where unfortunately the quality of the open-air venues is very low,” says Trotta.
Barley Arts head of booking Marco Ercolani namechecks Loreena McKennitt’s comeback with two sold-out theatres in spring and six further shows in the summer, and Garbage and Alice Cooper’s only Italian shows.
“We also had The Hives Day, a festival we created in Bologna, obviously headlined by The Hives, with The Interrupters and Scowl playing before them,” says Ercolani.
“We also had Wolfmother’s first time in Sardinia, Xavier Rudd in the middle of the Apennines, Therapy’s sold out 30th anniversary show in Milano, and an awesome solo tour of Peter Hammill, with five full beautiful theatres and churches, almost 50 years after his first Italian run.”
“Our market is in an extraordinary state of excitement”
2025 promises to be equally rich and varied, with confirmations including two dates at the San Siro Stadium in Milan with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (in collaboration with Live Nation Italy); Sam Fender and Tamino with shows already sold out; the highly anticipated returns of Ryan Adams; The The, James Blunt, Europe, Joe Bonamassa, Fantastic Negrito, and The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band; as well as its STREEAT® Food Truck Festival.
“As the main independent promoter in Italy since 1979, we can guarantee a quality of care and attention to detail that is a real value and often makes the difference,” says Trotta. “The main attitude of Barley Arts over the years has been its big variety. We love developing new acts and genres of many different nationalities, and we are very good at doing big shows, according to the feedback we have from audience and artists, but we also do lots of small and medium shows every year.
“We like producing and promoting musicals like We Will Rock You, comedy and food events, too, like Streeat, the main national event dedicated to food truckers, and we are leaders in all these fields on the Italian market.”
In October 2023, Italian music group Artist First – already a record company, distributor, management stable, publisher, and more – launched its live music promotions division, Artist First Live, positioning it as the market’s first 360-degree operator. A little over a year in, Artist First CEO Claudio Ferrante remains enthused.
“Our market is in an extraordinary state of excitement,” he says. “Ticket sales are high, and public interest in concerts is growing more and more. I’d say the interesting part is that, in our view, despite the big players like Live Nation and Eventim, there is still space for other companies.
“Of course, all of this is extremely challenging, but we don’t focus on making million-dollar offers to artists. We focus on the quality of our work, on the integration of the processes – repertoire, promotion, distribution, and live shows – for artists who require special attention. We don’t want to sign 80 of them.”
“I come from an era where you start from the club. Now, if you do X Factor, you might do a stadium next”
The plan, says Ferrante, is “to grow organically, without rushing. Without fake sell-outs announced to the media that only risk harming careers. We don’t believe in artists who, just two years after their first single, announce stadium concerts.”
Initial successes include UK artist Blue, who sold 40,000 tickets in Italian arenas, and breaking singer and rapper Alfa from Genoa, who sold out dates at the Unipol Forum in Milan in 2024, as well as shows in Padua, Rome, and Florence.
“We are the only Italian company with a 360-degree model,” says Ferrante. “If an artist like Alfa hadn’t been managed according to this model, where everything – from song selection, to production, promotion, marketing, distribution, and finally, live shows – is handled, I don’t think he would have turned out the way he did.”
There are certainly those who believe the current thirst for stadium shows is a phenomenon that may be hard to sustain.
“Stadium shows for Italian artists are a different scenario from the past,” says Dellacasa. “In the past, what happened was that there was a San Siro Stadium or a Rome Olympic Stadium. You had your stage, your gear, your stuff. Now, because of the concentration of promoters, they basically put one stage and they do five shows in a row for five different acts. I come from an era where you start from the club. Now, if you do X Factor, you might do a stadium next.”
“Live performances are the best way to build a career, starting from the very beginning”
Ferrante evidently shares some of the same misgivings but is also convinced that live is the sharpest tool at the disposal of promising new acts.
“Live performances are the best way to build a career, starting from the very beginning,” he says. “In an era where artists pop up everywhere, it’s essential to think concretely about proximity to the fans, even in small clubs.
“Of course, there needs to be an initial core of fans, there needs to be some level of interest in an artist. But I see that it’s increasingly important for people to leave their homes and go see a small artist perform; that’s also the value of a discovery.”
Part two of the Italy market report will be published in the coming days.
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TEG appoints new CEO as Geoff Jones switches roles
Australian-headquartered global entertainment giant TEG has named Brad Banducci as CEO, with Geoff Jones becoming chair.
Jones will move into the chairman role after 14 years as chief executive, while Banducci brings more than 30 years of leadership experience and was most recently CEO of Woolworths Group.
Jones is credited as the architect of TEG’s integrated model and for leading the firm’s transformation into a global leader in live entertainment, ticketing, digital and data.
“I am delighted to pass the baton to Brad, whose proven track record makes him the ideal leader to guide TEG into its next phase,” says Jones. “As chairman, I look forward to working with Brad and the team to continue to grow the business.”
“I am following both a personal passion for live events and a strong belief in the increasing importance of live experiences in general”
The TEG umbrella includes Ticketek, TEG Live, TEG Sport, TEG Experiences, TEG Dainty, TEG Europe, TEG Asia, TEG North America and SXSW Sydney, among others.
Banducci, who begins his new role on 31 March, adds: “I am honoured to join TEG at this exciting time in its journey. Under Geoff’s leadership, the company has built a strong foundation, and I look forward to working in partnership with Geoff, [COO] Cameron Hoy, our investors Silver Lake, Mercury Capital and Australian Super, and the broader TEG Team, to deliver exceptional live experiences for all of our customers and stakeholders.
“In this new role, I am following both a personal passion for live events and a strong belief in the increasing importance of live experiences in general.”
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FOCUS Wales dedicated to ‘healthier future for music’
FOCUS Wales, the country’s largest music industry event, returns to Wrexham between 8–10 May.
The conference and showcase event brings together over 400 industry professionals and more than 250 artists from across the globe.
This year’s conference is dedicated to building a healthier future for music, exploring evolving best practices, artist well-being, sustainable industry growth, and fostering a more equitable landscape for both performers and industry professionals.
Neil Ingham, executive director of Samaritans, will open Focus Wales 2025 with a keynote on the transformative impact of deep, empathetic listening in suicide prevention. Cardiff University will return to share updates on Prosiect Pūtahitanga, reflecting on music and language connections between Cymru and Aotearoa, alongside a visiting delegation from New Zealand.
Another session, led by PPL, will examine evolving priorities for labels, artists and their teams, weighing the balance between data-driven strategies and more traditional, fan-focused campaigns. Speakers will include Katherine Cantwell (Heavenly Recordings), Brad Kulisic (Lambrini Girls/Pigsx7), and Joe Howden (Dark Arts Digital). Meanwhile, Meg Devereux (Marshall) will be joined by Nova Twins and Henca Maduro (New Skool Rules Festival) to explore ways to better support grassroots musicians in building sustainable, long-term careers.
LIVE, meanwhile, will host a panel exploring what it takes for artists to break through to headliner status in 2025 and beyond, with insights from Nicklas Damkjær (Roskilde), Dev Sherlock (SXSW), Connor Cupples (Crosstown Promotions), Megan Evans (Deer Shed Festival), and Beckie Sugden (CAA Agency).
This year’s conference is dedicated to exploring evolving best practices, artist well-being, sustainable industry growth and more
British Council Wales will lead a discussion on the role of showcasing in fostering peaceful cultural exchange, with contributions from Ísleifur Thorhallsson (Iceland Airwaves), Alona Dmukhovska (Music Export Ukraine), Cecilia Soojeong Yi (DMZ Peace Train Festival), Asifuzzaman Khan (Dhaka International Folk Festival), and Login Kochishki (PIN Conference).
The Music Venue Trust will host a hands-on workshop to help attendees articulate their ethical values and demonstrate social responsibility — key factors in securing funding and building a resilient, future-proof industry. In addition, a series of panels and workshops will be presented by leading industry organisations such as PRS Foundation, PRS for Music, Sound Roots, Beacons Cymru and Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, alongside the festival’s new media partner, IQ magazine.
Beyond the conference, FOCUS Wales will facilitate international partner showcases hosted by M for Montreal, BreakOut West, Nova Scotia Music Week, Catalan Arts, Spanish Wave, CNM France, Westside Music (Sweden), Way Up North (Denmark), Wide Days (Scotland), and more to be announced.
Among the guests heading to Wrexham this May are KEXP’s Senior Programming Advisor & Variety Mix DJ/Host Kevin Cole, journalist and podcaster Mark Sutherland, Jose Marihno and Caroline Thiévent from Radio France Internationale (RFI), Jean-Louis Brossard, co-founder of the legendary French festival Transmusicales, Michel Attia, Head of Bookings and Events at Austrian national radio station FM4, Paola Wescher, director of booking at Last Tour PT and founder of Latina in Brazil, and Anne Runge, a curator and promoter who programmes Northern Germany’s acclaimed Fusion and at.tension festivals.
The FOCUS Wales industry conference will take place alongside the festival’s 250+ strong lineup of artists performing across 20 stages in Wrexham city centre over the three-day event.
Delegate passes are on sale now via focuswales.com. Passes grant access to all conference events, private networking sessions, the pre-festival showcase, the online delegate database, and all live performances with priority entry.
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Equal pay, a seat at the table: Women demand equality
Equal pay has been named the top accelerator for gender equality by women working in the international live music business.
With International Women’s Day taking place tomorrow (8 March) under the theme of Accelerate Action, IQ asked executives to name one thing that would make the industry a more equitable environment for women.
“To create a more equitable industry for women, equal pay is essential—without it, there is little incentive to stay or advance,” says Jana Posth, festival director of Rock am Ring in Germany.
Rauha Kyyrö, FKP Scorpio’s co-president of touring & artist development, reiterated the sentiment, adding: “Regardless of an employee’s gender, the industry should pay equal wages.”
But as many executives pointed out, transparency around salaries is the first step to eradicating the gender pay gap. Wasserman Music’s Flo Noseda says that this should start early in the process, when companies are advertising a position.
“Let’s see who’s really delivering progress and who’s delivering rhetoric”
“[Adverts] that say “competitive” or “DOE” usually means “underpaid” and when there is no gauge at all it can waste people’s time and mean that people (especially women) can be underpaid from the offset,” she tells IQ.
One Finiix Live’s Jess Kinn would like the transparency to go a step further, with companies forced to publish everything from policies to promotions.
“I’d like to see a body with teeth – like the DCMS – survey the top 50 music companies in the UK with questions about how their gender equality policies are actually working in practice eg: What proportion of your promotions went to women in the last year? What proportion of your leadership team are women? What are you doing to encourage women into the industry? Make the results public, then we can really see who’s delivering progress and who’s delivering rhetoric.”
Having spent the majority of her career as “the only woman in certain rooms,” ASM Global’s Anna Sjölund has called for better representation in the boardroom.
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception,” she said, quoting Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late American lawyer and fierce advocate for gender equality and women’s rights.
“Stop defining us by our gender e.g. a female agent”
“In our industry there are still plenty of rooms where the women are the exception and the ones that have the power to change that are the men in majority,” she continues. “If you never leave your seat – no one else gets the chance to fill it.”
Sam Oldham, venue director at The O2, agrees but warns companies that it’s not enough to just have token representation at the table. “Actively seek out diverse perspectives. Make a concerted effort to ensure all voices are heard and provide a safe space to do so, in which minorities feel comfortable coming forward with their views.”
As Ticketmaster’s Sarah Slater points out, the board room isn’t the only place that women’s voices and ideas should be heard and praised. “Hype women up—especially when they’re not in the room. Create space for their voices where they’re often overlooked. Amplify their work, share opportunities, and make sure they get the recognition they deserve. No gatekeeping—just lifting each other higher.”
CAA agent Beckie Sugden, meanwhile, is keen to remind the industry that colloquial language plays a key role in gender equality.
“Stop defining us by our gender e.g. a female agent etc,” she says. “I’ve never heard anyone say male agent before so why is this defining tag necessary for women? In my example I am an agent that happens to be a woman not a female agent! I have to check myself on this also as it so deeply entrenched in how we talk about ourselves and women in general. Until the language and narrative, we use daily changes nothing will change. The tags reinforce us as second class citizens on so many levels!”
“Pay us equally, respect our boundaries, and stop expecting us to do your admin!”
As Mojo’s Kim Bloem underscored in her Q&A, flexible hours and working conditions are crucial components for women juggling a career and motherhood.
Roundhouse’s Lucy Wood echoes this sentiment, adding: “I think it would be a great thing for organisations to adopt a policy of allowing parents to expense evening/night care costs, in my case this would be covering babysitting while I’m out at gigs, but could be for anyone with caring responsibilities more generally.”
LIVE’s Gaby Cartwright, meanwhile, says that raising awareness among individuals who do not menstruate or experience menopause is crucial to making the industry a more equitable environment.
“It’s important to highlight how menstruation and menopause can significantly impact both the day-to-day lives and professional experiences of individuals in the workplace, especially within the industry,” she tells IQ. “By fostering this understanding, we can create more supportive and inclusive environments that accommodate the needs of all employees.”
Put simply by Raven Twigg, ASM Global: “Pay us equally, respect our boundaries, and stop expecting us to do your admin!”
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