Country Profile: Chile

Chile has long been one of South America’s most dependable markets, but it has seen struggles in recent years. After deadly riots over living standards in October 2019, Covid hit Chile hard and led to lobbying from the live industry over the lack of government support, with the warning that the crisis could result in the loss of $250m and 160,000 jobs in Chile’s live industry.

Most recently, the country has seen further riots and a failed attempt at a new constitution, and it is no surprise that, as Move Concerts CEO Phil Rodriguez notes, “Chile has slowed down from the peak it had years ago.”

“Chile has slowed down from the peak it had years ago.”

But there are still plenty of promoters in the market and plenty of shows this year. Carlos Geniso’s DG Medios sold a majority stake to Live Nation in December 2019 and Geniso reports strong ticket sales for 2023 concerts from the likes of Imagine Dragons, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Big Time Rush, and Backstreet Boys.

Famously Santiago-centric, the concert market also shows signs of expanding geographically, if only slightly – the Backstreet Boys’ February show at the Sausalito Stadium in the city of Viña del Mar, northwest of Santiago, challenges the capital’s claim on significant shows. Among Chile’s other native promoters are Movistar Arena operator Be Live Group’s Bizarro Live Entertainment, which operates across the Andean region.

Its long list of shows this year has included artists such as Luciano Pereyra, Mon Laferte, and J Balvin at the Movistar, and both Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee at the Estadio Nacional – the last of those resulting in well-publicised uproar when 4,000 ticketless people forced their way in.

Lotus Producciones handles the Chile leg of Lollapalooza, coming around again in March with Drake, Billie Eilish, and Blink-182 heading the bill.

Lotus Producciones handles the Chile leg of Lollapalooza, coming around again in March with Drake, Billie Eilish, and Blink-182 heading the bill. As 2022 turned into 2023, Lotus’s calendar included Jack Johnson, Juanes, and Eros Ramazzotti at the ever-busy Movistar. Meanwhile, relative newcomer Rock Stgo took on the Chile edition of Primavera in November and its Road to Primavera Sound shows in October, while Move Concerts regularly moves tours through Santiago, including Liam Gallagher in November.

Other Chilean promoters include The FanLab Producciones (Metal Fest with CK Concerts this coming April, Guns N’ Roses at Estadio Nacional with Mercury Concerts in October just gone); Transistor (recent and imminent shows include Bring Me The Horizon, Pantera, and the Rock Out and Frontera festivals); La Oreja (Chilean artist Young Cister at the Movistar in January); and Venezuelan specialist La Sordera.