Country Profile: South Africa

In South Africa, the recovery of the live music sector has been hampered somewhat by the relatively late easing of Covid restrictions – only in the second half of 2022 have things returned to normal. And the effects still linger.

“Most importantly, the entertainment sector is open,” says Tony Feldman, managing director of longstanding promoter Showtime Management. “However, the global hangover of Covid is still affecting us in terms of shipping routes, shipping costs, energy costs, and the brain drain of key supply chain people etc.”

“However, the global hangover of Covid is still affecting us in terms of shipping routes, shipping costs, energy costs, and the brain drain of key supply chain people etc.”

Showtime are one of the main promoters working with international acts in the market and will be bringing the likes of Gregory Porter and We Will Rock You: The Musical (it also runs various festivals, family entertainment, and events such as Monster Jam) to the country.

Big Concerts International, which was acquired by Live Nation back in 2016, is the other major player – in 2022 it brought The Lumineers, Foreigner, and David Gray to the country for multiple sold-out dates, while next year will see shows by Sting, Imagine Dragons, and Counting Crows.

“We are seeing the live market return now that Covid restrictions have begun lifting for the second half of the year,” says Live Nation South Africa’s Justin Van Wyk, “and we promoted some of the most notable shows this year.” Other promoters include Glen21 Entertainment, who specialise in hip-hop, and Impiconcept Events, which is behind a couple of notable South African Festivals (Splashy Fen and the Music at the Lake Series).

“We are seeing the live market return now that Covid restrictions have begun lifting for the second half of the year,”

Damon Forbes of Breakout has recently promoted shows with The Waterboys, (“just over 8,500 tickets across Cape Town and Durban”), Calum Scott (“about 12,000 tickets across three shows”) and has dates with Bonobo coming up, among other things. “Artists now see South Africa as a viable routing on their way to Australia or as additions to a European tour because it doesn’t take too much out of your schedule if you fly down from and back up,” he says.

“There’s a great niche in the 1,000- to 15,000-capacity shows that we as a business are working well in. Some other companies have traditionally sat in the arena space, and now there are new opportunities at a smaller level. It’s exciting that bands can see us as a touring stop or a routing solution, and that’s where we see our strength is.”

“There’s a great niche in the 1,000- to 15,000-capacity shows that we as a business are working well in.”

Besides Covid, Feldman notes that the country is somewhat hampered by having “a very limited number of venues, and they’re all pretty busy. The deteriorating exchange rate is also having a negative effect.” But overall, he’s optimistic – he says that new ticketing technology has entered the market, and digital marketing tools are becoming increasingly more prominent.

“And the calendar seems to be full, and sales across the board are pretty good, so things do seem healthy,” he adds. Van Wyk agrees: “2023 looks bright – international tours are returning, ticket sales are strong, and we have a very busy calendar through to next summer.”