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Live Nation has historically dominated the Czech market, and the company has upcoming performances from Billie Eilish, Twenty One Pilots, and Melanie Martinez in 2025.
Despite this, independent event organisers like Fource Entertainment, Colour Production, Ameba Production, and D Smack U still play a key role here.
Founded by Anthony Jouet in 2011, Fource Entertainment works with emerging and established artists worldwide. In the past year, it’s promoted shows by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Cigarettes After Sex, and James Arthur, plus club nights.
Colour Production has enjoyed similar success this year, with shows by LP (Laura Pergolizzi) and its festival Colours of Ostrava, which saw Lenny Kravitz, Sam Smith, and James Blake perform in July.
“We have shown our professionality, hospitality, unique venue, and great audience at Colours of Ostrava. It is always about trust.”
Head of booking and artist liaisons Pavla Slívová believes the company’s authenticity keeps artists coming back. “We have shown our professionality, hospitality, unique venue, and great audience at Colours of Ostrava. It is always about trust.”
Czechia’s central location in Europe also makes it ideal for international artists undertaking tours in the region. “It is pretty easy to tour through Czechia. We are an EU country in the Schengen area and the middle of Europe, close to Vienna, Berlin, and big Polish cities,” says Slívová. However, she says outside Prague and Brno, things get more “complicated.”
“Inflation in the Czech Republic has been one of the highest in Europe since Covid,” states Jouet. This has come to the detriment of fans, who have limited purchasing power, and major acts and their teams, due to increased “pressure of labour and production costs.”
“Inflation in the Czech Republic has been one of the highest in Europe since Covid”
As a result, Jouet posits the need for diversity within the live entertainment market, not only in terms of music genre but also in different types of event, such as club nights and more intimate concerts to cater to a wider audience, not just the regular arena concert attendees.
To broker successful partnerships with managers and artists wanting to break into the market, Slívová says, “Fees and conditions need to be reasonable. Czech promoters are loyal and happy to work on artist development.”
This sentiment is echoed by Jouet, who urges the managers of emerging artists to add Czechia to the European legs of their tours. “For instance, with Imagine Dragons, we co-promoted the show with Live Nation, and we sold 120,000 tickets over two shows, which I think was one of the biggest headline shows they had ever done.”
“Fees and conditions need to be reasonable. Czech promoters are loyal and happy to work on artist development.”
Jouet says trust is key to creating long-lasting relationships with artists and their management, citing the success of Fource Entertainment’s partnership with Cigarettes After Sex. “Last October, we sold 9,000 tickets, and they’re going to come back next year to perform at the 02 Arena in Prague [max cap. 18,500].”
In the future, Jouet hopes that an association to protect and represent the sector’s interests will be implemented, so that both big arena bookers and small alternative promoters can receive government support and keep the industry thriving in the face of unpredictable crises, such as Covid.