Market Report: Denmark

As the home of major festivals like Roskilde, Aarhus Jazz Festival, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Denmark has a strong domestic live market and is also a growing destination for tourists, giving its music scene a unique flavour and position.

Primary ticketing
Ticketmaster Denmark and Eventim brand Billetlugen are the dominant players in the Danish market, but local operator billet.dk also has a strong foothold in the country.

Distribution of sales
Ticketmaster says that 70% of its ticket sales in Denmark are now digital.

Value of market
According to Statista, the Danish live music market should be worth $324m in 2024, rising to $341.6m by 2028.

Secondary ticketing
Secondary ticketing for profit is illegal in Denmark and the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) classifies it as “not a big issue due to regulation in this area.”

“This year, we’ve heavily focused on our resale function, ensuring tickets get into the hands of fans while combating ticket fraud.”

Jakob Lund, Ticketmaster’s regional vice president for Northwest Europe and MD for the Netherlands and Denmark, notes that his company is taking steps to ensure that tickets being resold are done within very strict parameters. “This year, we’ve heavily focused on our resale function, ensuring tickets get into the hands of fans while combating ticket fraud,” he explains.

Eventim has made similar moves here. “EVENTIM.Pass and fanSALE have increasing relevance in all of Scandinavia to ensure ticket-buyers a fair and safe experience to reduce secondary ticketing,” says Jens B. Arnesen, CEO of Eventim Scandinavia.

“EVENTIM.Pass is our digital ticketing solution that allows customers to manage their tickets via their Eventim app in a secure digital format. This gives peace of mind to both the promoters and the genuine fans. FanSALE is our fan-to-fan resale platform that provides customers with a secure and legitimate way to resell their tickets, ensuring a trustworthy and transparent experience.”

“Selling above face value is prohibited by law in Denmark, but the resale market is still there, and we have seen substantial growth in 2024.

Resale platform TicketSwap, however, adds, “Selling above face value is prohibited by law in Denmark, but the resale market is still there, and we have seen substantial growth in 2024. TicketSwap launched its Nordic office in 2022, and the feedback has been positive from users since they were missing a good option for safe and easy resale that also followed the local laws.”

International/domestic splits & genres
“In general, the Scandinavian markets have experienced an increased interest in high-quality live entertainment,” says Arnesen. “That includes a broad spectrum, from upcoming artists at minor venues to well-established artists doing stadium tours.”

Cultural analysis
“In all sectors, we find that organisers highly value our comprehensive support and services, which begin with initial market research for potential shows and extend through optimising event creation and marketing,” says Arnesen. “Our presence onsite ensures a smooth experience for ticket-buyers. By providing end-to-end assistance and acting as a dedicated partner, we see significant potential for mutual business growth with organisers in Scandinavia.”

Taxes & charges
Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics agency, reported in 2021 that price levels for basic goods and services in Denmark were 40% higher than the EU average. As a comparatively expensive country, it will not be surprising that VAT rates are high but how high is what might shock other nations in Europe.

There is a standard VAT rate of 25%.