Market Report: Norway

When it comes to ticketing, Norway is often lumped together with its fellow Nordic countries, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.

The national markets typically operate hand-in-hand with one another, as multinational firms typically cover all Northern Europe/Scandinavia markets.

Primary ticketing
Multinational entities Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim are the frontrunners of the Norwegian marketplace.

Eventim has been focusing on its EVENTIM.Pass and fanSALE technology in recent years, “to ensure ticket-buyers a fair and safe experience to reduce secondary ticketing,” says Jens B. Arnesen, CEO of Eventim Scandinavia.

The EVENTIM. Pass, which found good traction with Ed Sheeran’s ongoing +–=÷× Tour, is a digital ticketing solution designed to provide security to promoters and ticket-buyers alike. Tickets purchased with this option are delivered straight to the app, closing the loop for fans to provide a seamless buying experience. “This gives peace of mind to both the promoters and the genuine fans,” Arnesen says.

“This gives peace of mind to both the promoters and the genuine fans”

Other important players are Tixly, primarily operating in B2B performing arts sales, and TicketCo, which is more sports focused.

Distribution of sales
Similarly to its Nordic neighbours, Norway is a near- exclusive digital market, with physical tickets almost extinct. Digital tickets stored on company-exclusive apps are commonplace with ticketing firms offering secure solutions to keep tickets in fans’ (digital) hands.

Value of market
Following the pandemic, Norway got off to a slow restart but is now in full swing. Concerts and festivals are increasingly popular, with the Live Nation-promoted Tons of Rock festival seeing a 50% increase in visitors for a record- breaking 150,000 attendees this July – making it the largest festival in Norway, organisers report.

Secondary ticketing
When discussing the secondary market, it’s important to note that Norway prohibits price markups for resold tickets.

Ticketmaster and Eventim also operate in the secondary market. Eventim’s fanSALE platform is a fan-to-fan resale option designed to give a legitimate avenue for genuine fans to turn over their tickets.

With resale options fairly limited due to national restrictions, Eventim hopes to provide its customers with a “trustworthy and transparent experience,” Arnesen says. Tickets purchased with the EVENTIM.Pass delivery option can only be transferred and resold through official channels, dependent on the organiser’s allowance.

Eventim hopes to provide its customers with a “trustworthy and transparent experience”

TicketSwap launched its Norwegian operations in 2022, and Viagogo and StubHub also exist here.

International/domestic splits & genres
Beyond traditional pop and rock, Norwegians love metal, traditional folk music, Schlager, and electronic music. Country music has also blossomed post-pandemic, with Live Nation Norway’s Vegard Storaas telling IQ the genre is reaching new heights.

“After Covid, the willingness of American artists to invest in coming to Norway really changed…”

“After Covid, the willingness of American artists to invest in coming to Norway really changed. It’s gone from two or three per year to 20-30, including neighbouring genres like bluegrass and Americana,” he explained.

Genre superstar Luke Combs made a stop in Norway last year, and Morgan Wallen will play the 10,300-capacity Spektrum arena in late August.

Cultural analysis
National leadership lifted the country’s pandemic restrictions after 561 days in September 2021. Though inflation lingered through late 2022, all seems well in the current Norwegian market. While other music markets around the world are reporting stagnation after two years of non-stop activity, the country is seemingly still on an upward trajectory.

Ed Sheeran will return to the country on the same tour, playing two nights at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion, signifying fans are hungry for A-list talent.

Taxes & charges
In a country with a national VAT rate of 25%, cultural services, including theatre, opera, ballet, circus, and dance performances with live music are exempt from VAT.