Country Profile: UK

“The year 2024 has been an excellent year in terms of ticket sales and demand,” says Live Nation UK and Ireland chairman Denis Desmond. “And we’re looking forward to another brilliant year for artists and fans alike in 2025.”

This assessment is a good summary of the UK market at the moment, although it’s not without its challenges. Like all markets, the top end of the business is seeing record-breaking sales and grosses, but the costs of touring mean promoters need to be careful and strategic when it comes to the majority of shows.

The key companies working with international acts include Live Nation, AEG Presents, SJM Concerts, Marshall Arts, TEG Europe, and DEAG-owned KMJ Entertainment companies including Kilimanjaro Live.

There’s also Eventim-owned FKP Scorpio Entertainment, which specialises in touring exhibitions and family shows, and Academy Events, the promoter arm of Live Nation-owned venue company Academy Music Group, which runs the string of O2 Academy spaces around the nation. A healthy independent scene also exists, including DHP Family, Eat Your Own Ears, Communion ONE, and Crosstown Concerts.

“He’s turning the traditional ways of selling shows – that you need a certain amount of time between announcing and the show – on its head. It’s all about creative moments. And it’s totally refreshing, because it means there are no rules.”

Live Nation’s aforementioned excellent year included stadium shows with AC/DC, Green Day and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, plus its blockbuster festivals division, which includes Reading/Leeds, Latitude, and Wireless.

AEG Presents UK had a bumper year, not least due to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, which sold some 1.2m tickets in the market and saw her become the first solo artist to play eight shows at Wembley Stadium.

Among its other successes this year were performances by Robbie Williams, Kylie, and others at its British Summertime Hyde Park festival, while Sabrina Carpenter, Mitski, and many others are drawing in new live music fans.

“We also had Fred again.. at Alexandra Palace, which was announced on his socials 24 hours before going on sale and sold out in minutes,” says CEO Steve Homer. “He’s turning the traditional ways of selling shows – that you need a certain amount of time between announcing and the show – on its head. It’s all about creative moments. And it’s totally refreshing, because it means there are no rules.”

“Ticket sales are very strong at all levels indoors”

Across the UK, “ticket sales are very strong at all levels indoors,” says KMJ Entertainment CEO Stuart Galbraith. “Sales in stadiums are also strong, and outdoor sales in established mid-level venues like Edinburgh Castle and Kew Gardens are also very good. Sales in less established venues and greenfield sites are variable as that market has too many competitive shows.”

He notes that demand for higher price tickets in arenas is also strong, and the company saw its best-ever sales for its Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival in 2024, “and sales for 2025 [are] already great,” reports Galbraith. “I think 2025 will be a very busy year for Kilimanjaro and KMJ Entertainment overall.”

However, there remain challenges – not least the globally familiar tale of costs and the high value of the US dollar against the pound, as Homer notes: “We’ve had quite a few international artists coming in but there’s some that haven’t been able to for economic reasons – the cost of touring has become quite restrictive for some artists. The big acts can afford to do it because they have far more available funds, but smaller and mid-sized acts are finding it difficult.”

Homer says he talks to managers and agents about offering VIP packages to help fund tours. “Uber-fans are sometimes prepared to pay more for the opportunity to get closer to the artist, which is an option to raise revenue while keeping prices at a level suitable for 90% of the audience.”

“Uber-fans are sometimes prepared to pay more for the opportunity to get closer to the artist, which is an option to raise revenue while keeping prices at a level suitable for 90% of the audience.”

In Scotland, DF Concerts is the dominant promoter, while Regular Music (part of KMJ Entertainment) and others do excellent business here, too.

“Appetite is very high at the moment with plenty of US acts coming into the UK to tour in 2024, and the first half of 2025 is very strong, with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, and Gracie Abrams all playing,” says DF CEO Geoff Ellis.

The company is promoting Oasis’s shows – “the biggest demand ever seen in Scotland for a concert among established fans but also young fans who have never seen the band live,” says Ellis. It’s also seen success with Stevie Nicks, Chappell Roan, Shania Twain, Catfish & the Bottlemen, and Green Day at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. The company’s TRNSMT festival sold out all three days in advance.

In Northern Ireland, key promoters include Aiken, MCD, and Shine, which owns venues including Limelight and The Telegraph Building, and runs outdoor events Belsonic (20,000), Emerge Music Festival (60,000), and Custom House Square (5,000).

“Appetite is very high at the moment with plenty of US acts coming into the UK to tour in 2024, and the first half of 2025 is very strong.”

“Northern Ireland has the downside at times of the logistical challenge of getting here, but the upside of that is that it’s an underserved market with a huge catchment area of 2m people, plus probably a fair few from the Republic of Ireland, as well,” says Shine director Joe Dougan. “There’s a very strong lineage of rock and heavy metal here, and the market for electronic music is very strong, so a lot of American and international DJs come here. The big standout success recently is US country music.

“Irish audiences are very good audiences. They’re incredibly enthusiastic [and] loyal as well. So people that come here tend to build up a following and hold onto it.”

Ellis says that in Scotland, “Country music, which has always been strong in Glasgow, is stronger than ever and has massively crossed over. Female solo artists are doing incredible business. It’s encouraging to see strong sales at club level, with emerging artists as well as arenas and outdoors having a bumper year, too.”

Galbraith succinctly sums up the market: “Book carefully and avoid unnecessary risks.”

“Book carefully and avoid unnecessary risks.”

Among the independent promoters, Communion ONE was founded in March 2024 when the team of promoters from FKP Scorpio’s UK office merged with Communion Presents. Scorpio is a minority shareholder in the firm, which is led by managing directors Daniel Ealam, Mazin Tappuni, and Scott O’Neill. It has recently had successes with shows by Jungle, The War on Drugs, and Noah Kahan.

“There was a gap in the market for a promoter at our level, one that can offer an alternative to the multinational- dominated landscape,” says Ealam. “We’re not just competing; we’re offering something different – something that feels fresh but also has the size and scale to do anything at any level.”

He says a key change in the UK market recently has been the speed with which artists can progress from smaller venues to arenas. “Acts are blowing up quickly. A good example is Noah Kahan – we went from two nights at The O2 Forum Kentish Town to two nights at OVO Arena Wembley and then two nights at The O2 in just over a year. It’s amazing how fast things can escalate now.”

O’Neill adds: “Some mid-level acts struggle because they’re touring too frequently or not making their shows feel special. When we work on an event, we make sure it’s something unique. You have to create a real sense of excitement around it. We promoted The Reytons doing a hometown show and it sold 20,000 tickets.”

“Acts are blowing up quickly. It’s amazing how fast things can escalate now.”

Ticket sales have now returned to the familiar sales patterns of pre-Covid, with a notable difference – that there’s a slight uptick towards the end if tickets are still available.

“In terms of genres, the 80s and 90s acts now are seeing really solid sales – we had real success with OMD this year, selling more tickets than they’ve ever sold,” says Homer. “And acts like Squeeze, ABC, Level 42, are seeing a real renaissance. Equally, 90s R&B and the ‘new jazz’ genre, with acts such as Ezra Collective [who play OVO Arena Wembley in November] are looking very strong.”

Indeed, what is loosely called jazz is having a major resurgence, as the UK’s leading jazz promoter Serious can attest. The company promotes more than 600 shows a year, including 350 that make up the annual EFG London Jazz Festival (100,000+ ticket sales each November). Director Pelin Opcin says acts such as Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, and many other British acts are leading the way across Europe and have crossed over into the ‘mainstream’ in the UK.

“We are going through very exciting times,” says Opcin. “The jazz boom is now really appealing to wider audiences. What’s important is that we ensure the people who are passionate about these genres put the expertise and care towards it, because if it’s presented in the same formulaic way as much of Western contemporary music, there’s a chance that it is not going to satisfy either party.

“The jazz boom is now really appealing to wider audiences. What’s important is that we ensure the people who are passionate about these genres put the expertise and care towards it”

“That’s how Serious differentiates itself – we have significant expertise and passion around doing the right thing for the music, the musicians, the audiences.”

While things are booming at the top end, when it comes to the grassroots level, the number of venues is in decline, with around 10% closing in 2023, according to Music Venue Trust. It says 125 venues abandoned live music last year, with half of those closing, due to cost pressures.

For success at this level, Galbraith advises: “Be smart about assessing digital data and social channels before committing to developmental shows. You have to be more selective and cautious about show choices. Increased costs mean we have to avoid poor-selling development shows.”

However, embarking on the correct strategy means acts are still breaking through. “Choosing the right venues for that first tour is critical,” says Communion ONE’s Ealam. “We like to do multiple shows on the first visit to give the artist a strong presence. For example, we have a band called flipturn coming, and we sold out three shows months in advance. It’s important to create buzz and make the early shows feel special.”

“Choosing the right venues for that first tour is critical.”

His colleague Tappuni agrees: “It’s all about fan and artist experience. We work hard to tell the artist’s story through social media, ensuring that fans feel connected. Our goal is to create a community through our social channels where people discover new acts that they’ll continue to follow.”

AEG’s Homer says: “The whole point of the business is looking to see what’s coming, to support it and make it as cost effective as possible. There are a number of artists that want to do very cheap tickets, and they understand what the economics of that means. And we’re fully supportive of them; we try and make sure that we maximise their social channels as much as possible to reduce marketing costs and have the biggest reach without having to spend huge sums of money; and we look at creative ways of marketing these shows to reach a wider audience.”

DF’s Ellis says the traditional model remains solid. “Don’t go too big too soon. Sell out the shows comfortably, build up the fanbase, and move up when ready. Always build the excitement and make the live show a life-affirming moment for the fans who get a ticket, then they will be with you for a career rather than just one tour.”

“Don’t go too big too soon. Sell out the shows comfortably, build up the fanbase, and move up when ready.”

In order to help artists grow, Serious runs talent and professional development programmes. “We want to help grow the grassroots sector, not only on the audience side but also on the emerging artists and industry side,” says Opcin.

It’s Take Five scheme offers acts training in the industry. Previous participants include some of the biggest names in jazz, such as Shabaka Hutchings, Hutchins, Nubya Garcia, and Soweto Kinch. It also runs a scheme for aspiring industry professionals called Milestones and recently launched Equalizer with charity Black Lives In Music, which aims to increase diversity in the production industry.

Summer 2025 is shaping up to be the biggest year ever for concerts in the UK, with more stadium shows than ever and major arena tours by some of the most popular acts in the world. AEG’s Homer concludes: “It’s going to be a great year.”