The UK live music sector contributed a record £6.1 billion (€7.2bn) to the economy for the first time last year, according to freshly published data from trade body LIVE.

LIVE’s annual UK Live Music report shows live music achieved a year-on-year uptick of 17% since 2022 and an increase of 35% on the last pre-pandemic year of 2019. Live music also supported jobs for nearly 230,000 people last year – an increase of 9.4% since 2019.

The data analysis from research agency CGA by NIQ covers more than 55,000 gigs, concerts, festivals and events. It reveals the growth in the sector last year was driven largely by concert revenues, which jumped by 19% year-on-year and accounted for nearly three quarters (73.5%) of the total, boosted by major tours by acts such as Beyoncé and Coldplay.

Despite the positive headline figures however, LIVE warns that significant challenges remain for grassroots music venues, small festivals, and up-and-coming artists, with 36 festivals cancelled and 125 grassroots music venues closed permanently last year.

“2023 delivered significant growth for many sections of the live music ecosystem,” says LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “We had some of the biggest names in music sell out tours and festivals across the UK, but we also saw pressure build up across our industry, leading to grassroots music venues and festivals left with no choice but to close down in the face of rising costs.”

“With a lower rate of VAT on tickets, we could see the sector grow further”

In response, LIVE is calling on the government to reduce the current rate of 20% VAT on tickets. It also supports the recommendation in the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on Grassroots Music Venues that government should introduce a temporary cut to VAT to stimulate grassroots music activity, while undertaking a comprehensive economic analysis of the impact of a cut to VAT on all concert tickets.

“We welcome the commitments made by the government to put the creative industries at the centre of the UK’s economic growth plan,” adds Collins. “Reintroducing a lower rate of VAT on tickets would bring the UK into line with international competitors and would be pivotal in unlocking the economic potential of our industry. With a lower rate of VAT on tickets, we could see the sector grow further, supporting more jobs, generating more investment, and putting on more gigs, festivals and tours for people to enjoy.”

On a regional basis, the data shows that London accounted for nearly a third (30.6%) of 2023’s total live music revenue, followed by Manchester at 7.4%. Glasgow took the lead in Scotland with 5.5% of the UK’s share, while other cities in the top 10 included Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Belfast.

“Our live music sector is world-class offering concerts, festivals, gigs and more to suit every music taste,” adds LIVE chair Steve Lamacq. “Last year, we saw much of the live music sector triumph over adversity; faced with a spike in costs as a result of inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and labour shortages, fans had more concerts and festivals than ever to enjoy.

“However, we cannot forget that urgent action is needed to support the many grassroots venues, artists, and festivals which continued to struggle last year.”

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Italy’s live music market generated €894 million at the box office last year, up 33% on the previous 12 months and almost doubling pre-pandemic levels, according to new figures.

The latest Italian Society of Authors and Publishers’ (SIAE) Report shows that concerts attracted 23.7 million spectators in 2023, a rise of 13.6% on 2022 and a 88% jump on 2019.

More than 36,000 events were held – an increase of 16% on 2022 and 98% on 2019.

“The data emerging from the SIAE 2023 Report highlight the great success of contemporary popular music events and live shows,” says Assomusica president Carlo Parodi. “We are pleased to note the significant increase in concerts throughout the country which has also positively involved Southern Italy and non-metropolitan municipalities.

“Assomusica members are committed daily to organising music events to enhance the territories and combat cultural desertification, and this data confirm this.”

Trade body Assomusica was founded in Florence in 1996. However, a raft of Italy’s leading promoters split from the organisation last year to join breakaway live music association Assoconcerti, which subsequently installed renowned artist manager and promoter Bruno Sconocchia as president.

“The major events of this summer are a clear example of the important impact of the events produced by our members on the cities and regions involved”

Sconocchia, who has worked with top Italian artists such as Fabrizio De André, Gino Paoli, Ornella Vanoni, Zucchero, Pooh and Lucio Dalla, previously led Assomusica from 2005-09.

“We welcome with great pleasure the data emerging from the report which demonstrates, with numbers, the vitality of our sector,” notes Assoconcerti president Bruno Sconocchia. “After the dark years of the pandemic that marked the total closure of our activities, with tragic consequences for our companies and personnel, 2022 already recorded a recovery path and [2023] presents numbers that have even more than doubled compared to 2019.

“We like to underline that, without ever having had access to public resources – until now, reserved for other sectors of the entertainment world – our work produces wealth for the state and for the territories where large concerts take place.
The major events of this summer are a clear example of the important impact of the events produced by our members on the cities and regions involved in terms of employment and tourism.”

Speaking in IQ‘s 2024 Global Arena Guide, Daniele Donati, general manager of Turin’s Inalpi Arena, said: ““Live shows are in a great growth period, and Italy is always a good market for international tours.”

Italy’s long-running Lucca Summer Festival, promoted by Di & Gi, concluded its 2024 edition last week after attracting more than 220,000 people – a record for the event.

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Spain’s Association of Music Promoters (APM) has revealed the domestic live music sector generated more than €578 million in 2023 – the highest figure ever recorded.

Ticket sales revenue was up 26% compared to existing record of €459m, set in the previous year, thanks to successful tours by artists from at home and abroad.

In the foreword of the newly published Live Music Yearbook 2024, APM president Albert Salmeron applauds an “exceptional moment” for the business, while stressing the importance of safeguarding the country’s emerging music scene.

“In the artistic field, we can affirm that it’s been a great year,” he says. “We have enjoyed more stadium concerts than ever in our history; we have an ecosystem of festivals that is increasingly broader and diverse, and we have emerging talent that assures us a promising future.

“We also have a fabric of small and medium rooms necessary for the development of that talent that must be protected. Every time a city closes a room, we stay without a unique and irreplaceable space.”

The best-selling tours by Spanish artists were Manuel Carrasco (promoted by Riff Producciones) with 365,652 tickets sold for 28 dates, Melendi (Riff Producciones), who sold 308,258 tickets for 37 concerts and Joaquín Sabina (The Project, Get In, Riff, Camerino Triangular AIE, in collaboration with Berry Producciones) with 253,809 tickets sold across 31 shows.

“There has been an enormous offering of concerts and tours by national artists throughout the territory”

The top 3 international tours, meanwhile, were Coldplay (Live Nation) with 221,140 tickets sold for their four consecutive shows in Barcelona, Harry Styles (Live Nation) with 120,534 tickets sold for two concerts, and Bruce Springsteen (Doctor Music) with 115,850 tickets sold, also for two nights.

“The long-awaited performances by countless artists for their audience and the consolidation of Spain as an essential stop for major international tours have made headlines, especially in the second half of 2023,” reads a press release.

“Additionally, the vibrant health of Spanish music has also been a protagonist. As evidence of this, there has been an enormous offering of concerts and tours by national artists throughout the territory, with the audience response matching expectations.”

In the festival sector, the top 3 comprised Arenal Sound Festival (Burriana, The Music Republic) with 300,000 attendees, Primavera Sound Barcelona (Barcelona, Primavera Sound) with 243,000, and Viña Rock (Villarrobledo, The Music Republic) with 240,000.

In terms of provinces, Barcelona (Catalonia) took top spot with revenues of €132.5m – a huge 70% uptick on 2022. Madrid (Community of Madrid) came in second with €94.6m (down 8.9%), followed by Málaga (Andalusia) in third with €24.5m, an increase of 72% on the previous year.

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As we prepare to wave goodbye to 2023, IQ offers a snapshot of the biggest live music business stories from the past 12 months. From Taylor Swift’s record-shattering Eras Tour to mergers and acquisitions, catch up on some of the year’s most newsworthy moments below…

Taylor Swift’s Eras becomes first $1 billion tour

Taylor Swift’s planet-conquering Eras Tour officially became the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue. The American superstar came out on top in an unprecedented year for the concert industry, with business up double-digit percentages in virtually every metric, according to Pollstar’s 2023 Year-End charts.

Total grosses for the Top 100 Worldwide Tours were up 46% to a $9.17bn (2022’s total was $6.28bn) and attendance was up 18.38% in total tickets sold to 70.1 million (2022’s total was 59.2 million). Swift took in an estimated ticket gross of $1.04 billion, with 4.35 million tickets sold from 60 shows, with Pollstar projecting that Eras Tour ticket sales will again hit $1 billion in the next box office year, taking its overall total to more than $2 billion.

The run dominated the conversation right from the start of the year, with Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold defending Ticketmaster’s practices in a US Senate antitrust panel in January, spurred by the fallout from 2022’s Eras presale.

The list of 2023’s Top 10 Worldwide Tours was completed by Beyoncé (No. 2), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (No. 3), Coldplay (No. 4), Harry Styles (No. 5), Morgan Wallen (No. 6), Ed Sheeran (No. 7), P!nk (No. 8), The Weeknd (No. 9), and Drake (No. 10).

U2 launch Las Vegas Sphere to rave reviews

U2 ushered in “a new era in live entertainment” with the premiere of their 40-night U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere residency.

The Irish legends opened Sphere Entertainment’s $2.3 billion Sphere in Las Vegas to rave reviews in late September. The futuristic venue features a 160,000 sq. foot LED display inside the main venue, which wraps up, over and around the audience for a fully immersive experience in cutting-edge 16K x 16K resolution.

American rock band Phish are the next major act to be confirmed and will deliver a four-show run from 18-21 April,

However, plans for a London replica hit the buffers when London Mayor Sadiq Khan rejected the proposals on the basis they “would result in an unacceptable negative impact on local residents”. Levelling-up secretary Michael Gove has since ordered a six-week pause as he considers whether to call in the application for the development.

In the meantime, Sphere Entertainment/Madison Square Garden boss James Dolan is reported to be in “serious talks” to build a second Sphere – this time in Abu Dhabi.

Legends announces acquisition of ASM Global

Legends confirmed its long-rumoured acquisition of venue management giant ASM Global in November, creating a premium global live events company.

Founded in 2008, premium experiences specialist Legends – which is backed by global investment firm Sixth Street – provides venue planning and project management, premium sales, sponsorship, hospitality and merchandise services.

ASM, which was formed in 2019 following a merger between arena operators AEG Facilities and Onex’s SMG, operates buildings including ICC Sydney Convention Center, Avicii Arena in Stockholm and OVO Arena Wembley.

The reported $2.4 billion deal is designed to enhance Legends’ services portfolio, positioning it to “meet the expanding needs” of sports organisations, venues and attractions around the globe, while “supporting its vision to deliver exceptional live experiences for fans in the digital age”.

Supernova attack ‘the biggest ever disaster at a music festival’

At least 364 people were killed and dozens of others abducted at Israel’s Supernova Sukkot festival 7 October in what is believed to have been the deadliest-ever assault on a music event.

Staged under the Universo Paralello brand, the Brazil-hailing festival was being held in Israel for the first time. Acts included Artifex, Aladin, Astral Projection, Flare, Jackalon, Jumpstreet, Kido, Libra, Man With no Name, Noface, Protonica, Rocky Tilbor, Shove, Spectra Sonics, Swarup and Wegha.

The psy-trance gathering was being attended by around 4,000 people in the desert near Kibbutz Re’im, not far from the Gaza Strip, when Hamas stormed the event on motorcycles, trucks and paragliders as part of a surprise offensive.

More than 1,400 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks, leading Israel to formally declare war on the organisation the following day.

French tycoon secures majority stake in CAA

Artémis, an investment firm led by billionaire French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, acquired TPG’s majority stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in September. Financial details were not disclosed but Bloomberg previously reported the deal would value CAA at US$7 billion.

Private equity company TPG upped its 35% stake in CAA to 53% for a reported $225 million in 2014.

Pinault is chairman and CEO of Paris-headquartered luxury goods company Kering, owner of brands such as Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. He has been president of Groupe Artémis – the Pinault family’s investment company – since 2003.

CAA’s Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett remained as co-chairs in the wake of the agreement.

The 1975 cause uproar in Malaysia

The Malaysian concert business united in its condemnation of The 1975 after the band’s controversial Good Vibes Festival headline set resulted in the event’s cancellation by officials. The British band’s opening night performance was cut short just 30 minutes in after frontman Matty Healy launched into an expletive-laden tirade against Malaysia’s strict anti-LGBT rules and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald on stage.

Organiser Future Sound Asia described the festival’s cancellation as a “catastrophic financial blow” and demanded £2 million in compensation from The 1975. The promoter claims it was reassured by The 1975’s management team that Healy and the band “would adhere to local performance guidelines” prior to the group’s set.

Healy addressed the controversy in a 10-minute, pre-written speech at the band’s October concert in Dallas, Texas, alleging that “the Malaysian authorities… briefly imprisoned us” and criticised the backlash against theband.

In the wake of the fiasco, promoters in Malaysia were ordered to install a “kill switch” to end performances by international artists that breach government regulations, but authorities stopped short of issuing a blanket ban on overseas acts.

American agencies merge to form Independent Artist Group

US talent agencies APA and Artist Group International (AGI) merged in June to form Independent Artist Group (IAG). New York’s AGI was founded in 1986 by Dennis Arfa and is owned by the Yucaipa Companies, the private-equity group controlled by billionaire investor Ron Burkle, which also made a strategic investment in LA-headquartered APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) in 2021.

The merger announcement saw Arfa appointed chair of IAG’s music division, with AGI president Marsha Vlasic named vice-chair and APA president Jim Osborne becoming CEO. The new full-service agency promised to intensify competition in the international live music agency landscape, which had been largely consolidated by just four companies – CAA, Wasserman, UTA and WME.

The deal brought AGI’s roster, which included the likes of Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park, Metallica, Noel Gallagher, Motley Crue, The Strokes and Iggy Pop, and APA clients such as 50 Cent, 2 Chainz, Fetty Wap, Deep Purple, Mary J Blige and Lauryn Hill, under one roof.

“We wanted to be able to offer our artists a full suite of services beyond our touring expertise in TV, film, lit and branding in order to help facilitate their interests in other artistic outlets and further enhance the value of their brands and intellectual property,” Independent Artist Group (IAG) EVP, head of global music, Jarred Arfa told IQ.

Primary Talent returns to independence

Primary Talent International returned to being an independent music talent agency following a management buyout. Primary was sold to ICM Partners in 2020, which was subsequently acquired by CAA. The deal to re-establish Primary’s independent status was led by managing partner and CEO Matt Bates along with former ICM founding partner and COO Rick Levy.

The UK-based booking agency, whose roster includes almost 460 clients including The 1975, The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Noel Gallagher, Jack Harlow, alt-J, Dropkick Murphys and Patti Smith, has continued to operate from London while maintaining a presence in Los Angeles and New York.

“The pandemic changed the landscape of the music touring business, and we felt it was beneficial to return to our roots as the UK’s largest independent music talent agency,” said Bates.

Former Primary MD Peter Elliott recently announced his retirement and will depart at the end of the month after 28 years with the company.

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Once again, it’s been an eventful 12 months in the global live entertainment business worldwide. And while challenges abound, it’s set to be a record year for many. Whether you took a 12-month sabbatical to a Wi-Fi-free island or were just so busy trying to get through 2023 that you hadn’t noticed the business around you, here’s how the live business changed in 2023…

2023 WAS A MAMMOTH YEAR FOR LIVE MUSIC
While 2022 was the biggest year on record for live music, incredibly it seems like 2023 is on course to be even larger, both in terms of tickets sold and box office revenues, driven in no small part by a packed calendar of stadium and arena tours. Elton John’s epic Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour came to an end, setting a new world record for box office grosses – $939.1m – as 6m people witnessed the 330-show run over a five-year period, thanks to the coronavirus postponing the majority of those dates.

However, with Beyoncé generating $579m from just 56 dates of her Renaissance tour, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres at 7.5m ticket sales and $550m and counting, and Taylor Swift’s remarkable Eras Tour earning an estimated $900m just from its run through the Americas, Sir Elton’s will not remain the record holder for long. Meanwhile, the industry’s biggest companies all reported impressive financials.

“This is an industry that’s going to grow for a long time,” said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino in a recent interview, on the back of his company reporting its strongest ever quarter, with revenues of $8.2bn. Ticket sales across its events during the first nine months of 2023 topped 140m, meaning Live Nation has already outstripped last year’s record-breaking sales of 121m tickets throughout the entire 12-month period. “We believe demand on a global basis for the next decade is going to be very strong,” added Rapino.

CTS Eventim revealed revenues of €729.3m for Q3 2023 – up 5% year-on-year – and €1.75bn for the year to date, which marks a 23% increase on the same period last year.

And to quote ticketing expert Tim Chambers: “Against a post-pandemic background of challenging global market conditions – high inflation and growing interest rates, slowing economic growth, and violent geopolitical disputes – the sector seemingly operates in contradiction to one of the basic rules of economics i.e. that as the cost of living goes up, discretionary spending goes down.”

Global tour deals continue to become increasingly common, removing big-name artists from the potential pool of talent for independent promoters

THE MAJORS ARE EVEN MORE MAJOR
The last 12 months have also been super busy for mergers and acquisitions, with consolidation by leading players continuing as private equity-backed majors added to their portfolios.

One of the biggest deals announced – which still has to receive the green light from competition watchdogs – is Legends’ reported $2.4bn acquisition of ASM Global, which would see the premium experiences specialist (which is backed by investment fund Sixth Street) become one of the biggest global players in the venue management sector.

Global tour deals continue to become increasingly common, removing big-name artists from the potential pool of talent for independent promoters, and with the post-Covid acquisition spree continuing, fewer indies remain overall.

The influx of private equity capital into the live business also shows no sign of slowing, activity that is driven by the promise of future returns. All Things Live (backed by Waterland Private Equity) took controlling stakes in Dutch festival promoter Loveland Events; Ostend Beach Festival in Belgium; event agency All-In and festival organisers HES in Norway; Sweden’s Amaze Festival; and expanded its reach into the Middle East.

Not to be outdone, festival giant Superstruct Entertainment (funded by Providence Equity) bought majority stakes in London-based festivals Mighty Hoopla and Cross The Tracks, as well as Austria’s Snowbombing. That followed a January deal, reportedly valued at €120m, to wholly acquire The Music Republic – the promoter behind iconic Spanish festivals Arenal Sound and Benicàssim. Those deals bring Superstruct’s portfolio of events to around 90 worldwide.

And in France, Artémis, an investment firm led by billionaire French businessman François-Henri Pinault, acquired TPG’s majority stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Financial details were not disclosed, but Bloomberg reported the deal values CAA at $7bn.

2023 will be remembered for the opening of Sphere in Las Vegas

ARENAS ARE CONTINUING TO BOOM
2023 will be remembered for the opening of Sphere in Las Vegas, where at press time, Irish superstars U2 are currently in the midst of a record-breaking residency. The concept of the building, and the technology used to create the landmark building, have set a new benchmark for the phrase ‘state-of-the-art,’ and anyone who has attended one of the U2 gigs, speaks more about the venue and the visuals than they do the music.

Also making their debuts during 2023 were the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta, and the Mohegan Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea.

Looking ahead, billions of dollars of projects will see a swathe of large indoor venues opening their doors in the year ahead, including the grand opening of Oak View Group’s (OVG) Co-op Arena in Manchester, which its operators promise will raise the bar for venue development in the UK and beyond.

OVG will also open Brazil’s Arena São Paulo in 2024, while AEG Asia is counting down to opening the UOB Live arena in Bangkok, Thailand. ASM Global is looking forward to the Kai Tak Sports Park opening in Hong Kong, and also in Asia, AEG is working on a K-pop-focused arena called CJ LiveCity in the Korean capital of Seoul.

Indeed, the potential tour circuit across Asia will be transformed in the coming years, with numerous new buildings coming on stream, paving the way for international artists to build meaningful fanbases throughout the continent. Significantly, the world’s second-biggest music market, Japan, is adding at least nine new arenas as part of new basketball league rules that require each team to have a minimum 5,000-capacity home venue before a 2026 deadline.

Smaller stadium owners opened their doors to touring acts in a bid to generate more revenues out of season

Further ahead, cities like Milan and Brisbane have announced new buildings to help host their Olympic Games responsibilities, and in Saudi Arabia, where live entertainment has been flourishing in recent years, it seems certain that a fresh phase of construction will commence if, as expected, FIFA awards the Kingdom with the 2034 World Cup tournament, while ASM Global is already working on the Jeddah Arena to kick-start that building boom.

And with so many new buildings opening, many existing arenas are refurbishing and upgrading their own facilities.

STADIA ARE HERE TO STAY
Live music in stadia is obviously nothing new, after all the Beatles performed at Shea Stadium back in 1966. But 2023 seemed to herald a new era in the stadium touring business, with countless buildings announcing box office records.

Acts such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, P!nk, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Rammstein, Bruce Springsteen, and more filled stadiums around the world, with many of those acts performing multiple dates in key cities, effectively creating stadia residencies.

Elsewhere, smaller stadium owners opened their doors to touring acts in a bid to generate more revenues out of season, and that trend looks likely to continue in the year ahead, albeit many of those venues may be restricted to the number of shows they can host because of local licensing regulations.

With the likes of the Olympics in Paris and the UEFA Euro Championship in Germany taking a number of stadia out of the equation for live music in 2024, there will be fewer tours of the size witnessed during 2023. However, even though ten cities are involved in the football tournament, such is the plethora of large-scale, modern facilities in Germany, that the likes of Taylor Swift will play seven shows during July, while her four dates in Paris will take place at the indoor stadium La Défense Arena, just weeks before it is transformed into the swimming pool for the summer games.

As the sums that artists can earn from headline shows increase, so too does the thirst to seek out new markets for them to perform in

As more and more stadium management teams around the world switch on to the monetary benefits of staging concerts and other live events – and local authorities do likewise when they enviously review the financial impact studies of other municipalities – the likelihood of the stadium circuit continuing to grow in the coming years seems certain, perhaps posing greater content challenges for arena operators and festivals during summer months.

THE INDUSTRY STILL NEEDS MORE PEOPLE
While companies across the live music business report fewer vacancies than 2022, when shows returned but many skilled professionals did not, recruitment remains a hot topic.

Legendary Australian promoter Michael Chugg aptly sums up the situation by stating, “We need serious skills training […] I don’t think we are truly back on track as an industry. We need new people and some who left [during the health crisis] to come back.”

But with an ongoing drive to attract new starters into the business, HR teams have been given something of a blank sheet when it comes to addressing equality and diversity in the workplace. As the business continues to build back and compete with other industries to attract the best talent, we can expect working culture to continue to evolve rapidly.

NEW TOURING MARKETS ARE COMING ONLINE
As the sums that artists can earn from headline shows increase, so too does the thirst to seek out new markets for them to perform in. Helped by the boom in new arenas and those sites looking to fill dates, 2023 saw the touring map get even bigger…

Live entertainment in the Gulf States has been ramping up for some time, where expat workers who long to see their favourite acts have been joined by local populations who demand to see for themselves the biggest names on the planet performing in their countries. But with Saudi Arabia investing heavily in culture and most of the world’s multinationals establishing bases, JVs, and investing in the region, the growth is accelerating.

Barely a month went by during 2023 when newsreaders around the world did not report about weather records being broken

That extension, east of the main European tour circuit, is set to be augmented by the growing live entertainment sector in India, where a massive surge in the middle class is sparking a swathe of new venue builds, as well as a burgeoning festival scene and other outdoor shows.

And with live entertainment across Asia continuing at a pace that’s seeing Western companies struggling to keep up, the reality of a geographically seamless tour circuit spreading around the world in the Northern Hemisphere is starting to become a reality.

Meanwhile, artists and promoters in Latin America are reporting record numbers, year-on-year, while in Africa, there are a growing number of international acts headlining festivals and tours, with Vivendi investing heavily in its chain of CanalOlympia buildings across the continent, which now number 18 premises mixing cinemas with live performance spaces.

EXTREME WEATHER IS BECOMING MORE COMMON
Barely a month went by during 2023 when newsreaders around the world did not report about weather records being broken – hottest months on record, coldest months on record, windiest months, highest rainfall, and drought, leading to many more wildfires than ever before across countries that are ill-prepared for fire seasons.

The number of extreme weather events in Europe alone is rising rapidly every year as the world grapples with the effects of global warming. For outdoor events or open-air venues, it’s an increasing risk, while disruption for fans getting to indoor shows may well increase.

“We’ll have normal summers in the future, but the probability of normal summers is decreasing,” Professor Robert Loncaric from the University of Zadar told delegates at the European Festival Conference recently. “Continental areas of Europe are in the most danger of extreme hazard events.”

Faced with fans tightening the purse strings due to a cost-of-living crisis and costs rising across the board, the economics for many small venues no longer add up

Wacken Open Air in Germany saw first-hand the effects of inclement weather this summer, when organisers turned away 35,000 ticket holders after extreme levels of rainfall hit the site prior to the gates opening. But extreme heat is also now firmly in the minds of some promoters.

During Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour dates in Brazil, heat was blamed for the death of a 23-year-old fan, with other fans reporting second-degree burns from the stadium flooring. The situation prompted local promoter T4F to introduce a raft of measures, including hundreds of extra staff and medical facilities that ranged from first-aid stations and ambulances to mobile ICUs.

Underlining the volatility of the weather, within days, Swift was also forced to postpone a date in Buenos Aires because of heavy rain.

And with insurance companies in the United States reportedly discussing withdrawing cover for weather-related claims, if true, the risks posed by extreme weather events could increase significantly.

SOME GRASSROOTS CIRCUITS NEED MORE HELP
While some markets have public subsidies or industry levies in place to protect their grassroots ecosystems, for others, venue closures are increasingly becoming the norm. Faced with fans tightening the purse strings due to a cost-of-living crisis and costs rising across the board, the economics for many small venues no longer add up.

But the question of whether the top end of the business should support smaller venues and festivals, and if so, what shape that support takes, is unresolved. In the US, Live Nation’s On The Road Again programme has temporarily increased wages in many of its venues to a minimum of $20 an hour, with all artists performing in them receiving a $1,500 travel stipend and no merch fees charged.

A growing number of associations are fighting to keep the grassroots touring network alive

In the UK, Music Venue Trust is lobbying government for a £1 ticket levy in larger venues having reported over 120 small venues closing in the year to date. And a growing number of associations are fighting to keep the grassroots touring network alive, including the National Independent Venue Association in the United States, Sweden’s Svensk Live, Club Commission in Germany, LIVE DMA in France, and VNPF in the Netherlands, to name but a few.

And neither is the grassroots dilemma limited to Europe and the US. Our New Zealand market report earlier this year noted that the issue has become a universal dilemma for the live music sector. When the pandemic closed music rooms around that country in 2020, Save Our Venues NZ raised almost NZ$500,000, to support 30 “crucial small music venues.”

The organisation also celebrated a win in April 2023 when Christchurch City Council endorsed the commencement of planning changes and non-regulatory initiatives to protect live music venues in the South Island city. In a move that colleagues around the world are trying to copy, Save Our Venues NZ worked alongside venues to develop a solution with the council that “mitigates noise conflict with residents and ensures there is a plan for the future of live music in the city.”

Few would argue that the clubs and pubs that host live music provide the global business with a crucial platform for some of its future headliners. So, campaigners will be hoping that the year ahead will see concrete action from the broader business, or their governments, to protect these spaces.

THERE IS AN EMERGING CRISIS IN MID-LEVEL TOURING
The top end of the business has never been in ruder health. 2023 has been another record-breaking year for many promoters, fuelled by the revenues of the busiest arena and stadium tour calendars in history. But, for many, the mid-tier touring market is in turmoil.

Looking back over some of this year’s IQ market reports, a common theme has emerged of rising production costs seeing many artists tour less or choosing to simply stay home. And while A-list shows are more ‘must-attend’ than ever, for many of those mid-level acts who do venture out, ticket sales are soft.

“People will spend without limits for the flagship shows, and, of course, the middle range and the new and upcoming will completely suffer”

“The biggest events have worked better than ever, while medium/smaller bands, as well as emerging acts, have struggled to sell tickets,” Madrid-based promoter Daniel Molina told us. “That is why global numbers can’t really reflect what the situation really is.”

Those sentiments are echoed by Arcadia Live managing director Filip Potocki, in Austria. “Bigger shows are doing really well, and many of our concerts with higher capacities are selling out well in advance,” he says. “Having said that, it is more difficult with smaller shows, which have become real last-minute topics.”

“People will spend without limits for the flagship shows, and, of course, the middle range and the new and upcoming will completely suffer,” states fellow Austrian promoter Alex Nussbaumer of al-x.

Clotaire Buche of booker and promoter Junzi Arts in France agrees, observing that something needs to be done to increase the pull of the mid-tier acts left behind in the surge for the biggest, hottest tickets.

“It’s hard for the middle acts that have been touring for 20 or 30 years,” says Buche. “In the States, they are used to doing co-bookings of big acts so they can keep touring and have full venues. It is an idea we have been suggesting to some acts, but it has not been accepted in France so far.”

FESTIVAL SECURITY WILL BE TIGHTER IN ’24
While live music events have been targeted in the past by terrorists – notably at Le Bataclan in Paris eight years ago, and, in 2017, the Manchester Arena bombing and the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas – the atrocities committed by Hamas at the Supernova Sukkot festival in southern Israel on 7 October were horrifying, as 364 festivalgoers were murdered and an estimated 40 were kidnapped.

“We will dance again, and that will be our victory”

The Hamas slaughter at the festival and in towns nearby claimed in total more than 1,200 lives, while Israel’s resulting war to eliminate Hamas in Gaza has claimed an estimated 15,000 more lives at press time.

Paying tribute to the victims at a ceremony in early November, Omri Sassi and Nimrod Arnin of Supernova Sukkot organisers Tribe of Nova, said, “We went through something that we had no control over; we will take care of everyone and help everyone.” They added, “We love the country. We will dance again, and that will be our victory.”

The impact on security protocols for music festivals planning their 2024 dates with licensing officials and local authorities are clear. While announcing a €5m fund for small festivals in Germany, the minister of state for culture, Claudia Roth, commented, “The barbaric attack by the Hamas terrorist group on the Supernova festival was also an attack on the values of a democratic society, because music festivals are identity-forming places of encounter and joy of life, places of diversity, openness, and tolerance.

“We also need to strengthen these values. Therefore, with our funding programme for music festivals, we not only focus on artistic quality but also on social aspects such as sustainability, educational work, and diversity. Fundamentally, this fund is also a cultural-political commitment to the social importance of popular music.”

GLOBAL CONFLICTS ARE DESTABILISING TOURING
While it seems somewhat crass to talk about concerts and festivals while lives are being lost, in the likes of the Ukraine and Gaza, the impact on anyone working not just in those territories but also neighbouring markets has been drastic, with many professionals having to look elsewhere for their livelihood.

As previously mentioned, business in Israel will be paused for the foreseeable future, but in besieged Ukraine, the resilience of those working in the local live music industry endures, with concerts being utilised to raise funds for the war effort, while at least one new venue has opened and some festivals were even held during the summer.

“Events are very much needed to keep people’s mental health and morale intact”

Talking to IQ in August, Kiev-based new boss Vladyslav Yaremchuk revealed, “Live music, stand-up, theatre are all alive and well. We even had a first couple of small festivals, one in Kyiv and another in Lviv. You have to take care of safety, make sure there is a shelter that can fit everyone nearby, and that everyone knows where to go. Curfews are a big factor: Kyiv’s curfew is midnight till 5am, for example, and events have to wrap up by 10pm. Events are very much needed to keep people’s mental health and morale intact. They unite people, and every single one serves a purpose – they fundraise for humanitarian or military needs.”

In Russia, international touring has not happened since pre-pandemic, prompting many of those working in live music to continue their careers in other countries, and with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set to enter its fourth year in February, unfortunately, any prospect for peace seems as far away as ever.

“We lost shows because of the war in Ukraine,” Depeche Mode manager Jonathan Kessler told IQ earlier this year. “Stadiums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Minsk, then there’s an indoor stadium in St. Petersburg that we had to take out, and another again in Moscow, so we lost six big stadiums in that part of the world.”

But it’s not just the warring nations who have felt the impact. Those working in neighbouring Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic States have all been affected by the hostilities, with artists touring through Europe sometimes choosing to miss out those markets or scaling back on the number of shows they might otherwise have planned.

2024 WILL SEE THE INDUSTRY CONTINUE TO EVOLVE…
As we charge towards another calendar year, the business faces many, many uncertainties. The live music business has never faced such a lengthy list of challenges in its history, but, equally, the creative souls who dedicate themselves to delivering entertainment to the masses have never failed to rise to the occasion.

So, with the thirst for live entertainment and investment into new stages continuing, and the breadth of content on offer ever wider, 2024 looks set to be another strong year for the live business, albeit set to a backdrop of ongoing challenges…

And one thing is for certain: all these topics and more will be the subject of passionate debate at the forthcoming ILMC 36, from 27 February to 1 March 2024.

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A record five tours have grossed more than $100 million (€913m) in the first six months of 2023, as the era of stadium touring takes hold of the concert business.

In an industry-first, blockbuster tours by Taylor Swift ($300.8m), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($142.6m), Harry Styles ($124m), Elton John ($110.3m) and Ed Sheeran ($105.3m) all hit the nine-figure mark in H1 2023, leading Pollstar to declare “the age of the blockbuster tour is upon us”.

Pollstar‘s Top 100 worldwide tours show double-digit increases on 2022, including a 64.7% upturn in average show gross, a 49.3% rise in average tickets sold and a 10.3% hike in average ticket price.

“You’re seeing the strength and the conviction of the consumers,” Live Nation president of US Concerts Bob Roux tells the publication. “The shift in discretionary spending to live events and experiences over things has given our industry a big boost over the last couple of years and that trend continues and is growing.”

The list of the top 10 live music tours is rounded off by Red Hot Chili Peppers ($91.5m), Coldplay ($65.4m), Daddy Yankee ($60.5m), Bad Bunny ($49.1m) and Luke Combs ($47.2m).

The report notes that tours by artists such as Beyoncé, The Weeknd, U2 and Metallica are expected to impact the rankings – and the bottom line – in the second half of 2023, as the gulf between the A-listers and the rest accelerates markedly.

“It’s a very select group of artists who are in the stratosphere with demand to see them on a whole other level”

Dennis Arfa, chair of the music division at the newly formed Independent Artist Group, says the results highlight how the top dozen or so acts (adding the likes of U2, Billy Joel, Beyoncé, Metallica and the Rolling Stones to the current top 10) are in a league of their own, dubbing them the “billionaire’s club”.

“It’s a very select group of artists who are in the stratosphere with demand to see them on a whole other level,” he says. “No matter what’s going on in the economy, they are as close to bulletproof as you can get.”

The top grossing promoters, meanwhile, were Live Nation ($1.66 billion), AEG Presents ($423.2m), Mexico’s Ocesa ($327.8m), and Australia’s Frontier Touring ($189m) and TEG ($143.8m).

Other European promoters to make the top 30 include the UK’s SJM Concerts at No.13 (1.6m tickets sold), Italy’s Vivo Concerti at No.14 (1.5m sales), Germany’s Semmel Concerts at No.15 (1.3m sales), FKP Scorpio at No.28 (763,935 sales) and Italy’s Friends & Partners at No.29 (560,826 sales). See Pollstar‘s full mid-year results coverage here.

Elsewhere, ASM Global recently reported the biggest year ever for stadium concerts at its venues, selling 1.8 million tickets for 41 shows at six NFL stadiums in the US so far to generate $360m, according to data provided to Venues Now by ASM EVP Doug Thornton.

Chicago’s Soldier Field and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium have each hosted nine gigs in 2023, closely followed by Houston’s NRG Stadium on eight; State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where Swift kicked off her Eras Tour, on seven; and US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on six.

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Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings says “business is booming” ahead of one of the UK’s biggest live music weekends of the year.

The 210,000-cap Glastonbury welcomes headliners Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John from tomorrow to Sunday, while AEG’s British Summer Time Hyde Park (cap. 65,000) kicks off in London tomorrow with All Things Orchestral, followed by two shows by Pink.

Solo Agency boss Giddings has worked on Beyoncé’s recent Renaissance stadium dates and Madonna’s upcoming Celebration tour for Live Nation. With Festival Republic, meanwhile, Solo is staging Dog Day Afternoon, a one-off outdoor show at Crystal Palace Park on 1 July, featuring Iggy Pop, Blondie and punk supergroup Generation Sex.

“I was really worried at Christmas about the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t seem to be evident – people want to go out and have a good time”

“Beyoncé sold out to the rafters, we’ve sold out Madonna in the autumn, we’ve got Iggy Pop and Blondie at Crystal Palace Park a week on Saturday and we’ve obviously got some acts at Glastonbury, so there’s a lot knocking around,” Giddings tells IQ. “Business is booming – booming. I was really worried at Christmas about the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t seem to be evident – people want to go out and have a good time and enjoy themselves.”

Giddings is also basking in the glory of last weekend’s sellout Isle of Wight. The 55,000-cap event was headlined by Pulp, George Ezra, the Chemical Brothers and – for the first time in his career – Robbie Williams.

“It was incredible,” says Giddings. “You always wake up on Monday morning and think, ‘How the fuck am I going to beat that?’ I mean, Robbie Williams was a different level, he was absolutely extraordinary. He told his whole life story, warts and all, and played the songs to go with it. He’s such a showman.”

“We’ve definitely established Isle of Wight as one of the Premier League festivals”

More than 22,000 tickets for this IoW 2023 were sold in the week after last year’s festival.

“That’s better than usual,” he says. “Early birds [for 2024] go on sale this Friday. And it’s interesting that as soon as we sell out, I get a million emails and phone calls saying, ‘I haven’t bought a ticket yet.’ So I said to everyone, ‘Buy one early this time!'”

He adds: “I think half the audience come because they love the event and the other half come because of the lineup. We’ve definitely established it as one of the Premier League festivals. You can’t compare Glastonbury because that’s in its own league, but we’re up there with Leeds-Reading, etc.”

“You can’t do the same thing year in, year out. It’s like a Formula One car – you have to develop it as it evolves”

Giddings revived the legendary festival in 2002 after a 32-year hiatus and has continued in his leadership role since Live Nation acquired a controlling stake in 2017. Other acts on the bill this year included Courteeners, Blondie, OneRepublic, Sugababes, Anne-Marie, Sam Ryder, N-Dubz, Niall Horan and Manic Street Preachers.

“It’s just making it better for the general public because they pay us to come, and we pay the artists to come, so in a sense the audience are more important than the artists and you have to create different areas for them to be entertained,” says Giddings. “We’ve got 15 stages and I discovered things that I didn’t even know existed. There’s a special Cabaret Club at the back of the Intoxicated Tea Rooms, and we develop new things every year.

“This year we had a drone show, which came all the way from Australia because I used it with The Corrs last November, and it had an image of the Isle of Wight Festival evolving into the needles and stuff like that. It just makes it more interesting for people.

“You have to just keep doing things to keep everybody interested and you can’t do the same thing year in, year out. It’s like a Formula One car – you have to develop it as it evolves.”

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A raft of Live Nation festivals in the US have rolled out their 2023 lineups.

Hip-hop and R&B event Lovers & Friends returns for its second edition to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 6 May.

It will feature more than 45 artists include Missy Elliott’s first billed performance since 2019, slots from Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Usher, 50 Cent, Nelly and Pitbull, and newer acts such as Miguel, Jhene Aiko, Summer Walker, Bryson Tiller and PartyNextDoor.

In addition, three-day camping festival Echoland Music Festival is set for 11-13 May at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, Florida. Early Access. Held across four stages, artists will include Tyler Childers, Vulfpeck, and Phil Lesh & Friends, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Tenacious D, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Noah Kahan and The Flaming Lips performing Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

Elsewhere, Sad Summer Festival will make its fourth trek across the US this summer, headlined by Taking Back Sunday. Kicking off at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida on 6 July, the 16-show run will wrap up on 29 July at the FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, California.

“We believe the bill this year will take the tour and experience to a new level”

“We are very proud to have made it to year four of Sad Summer,” says the emo festival’s management team. ”We believe the bill this year will take the tour and experience to a new level.”

The daily lineup comprises the likes of The Maine, Hot Mulligan, Mom Jeans, Stand Atlantic, Daisy Grenade, Sincere Engineer and Cliffdiver. Special guests LS Dunes, Head Automatica, Motion City Soundtrack and Andrew McMahon will also perform on select dates.

Earlier this month, Boston Calling confirmed Foo Fighters, The Lumineers and Paramore as headliners from 26-28 May in Allston, Massachusetts, while Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, set for 15-18 June on the Bonnaroo Farm, 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, Tennessee, will be topped by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza.

Last week, meanwhile, Goldenvoice revealed Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean as headliners for Coachella’s 2023 edition.

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Another spate of European festivals have announced headliners and main stage artists for their 2023 editions.

Dutch festival Pinkpop has confirmed that British pop star Robbie Williams will return to Landgraaf for the first time since 2015.

He will close out Saturday night at the festival – which is said to be “the oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world” – while P!nk will top the bill on the Friday night. English indie rock band Editors and Dutch electronic band Goldband are also on the 2023 bill.

The 52nd edition of Pinkpop, promoted by Live Nation-owned Mojo Concerts, will take place between 16–18 June, next year.

Williams is also set to perform at the UK’s Isle of Wight festival, alongside Pulp, George Ezra and Chemical Brothers. Sugarbabes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anne-Marie, Gabrielle, Blondie and Ella Henderson have also been confirmed for the event, which runs between 15–18 June in Seaclose Park, Newport.

The festival is promoted by Solo Agency’s John Giddings and Live Nation.

Lowlands: “The oldest and longest-running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world”

Elsewhere in the UK, DF Concert’s TRNSMT festival will see Pulp, George Ezra, Niall Horan, Sam Fender, Kasabian, The 1975 and Royal Blood perform at Glasgow Green in Scotland between 7–9 July next year.

Further South in the UK, Latitude will bring Pulp, Paulo Nutini, George Ezra, The Kooks, Metronomy to Henham Park, Suffolk, between 20–23 July.

In Poland, promoter Alter Art has announced Arctic Monkeys for the 2023 edition of Open’er, slated for 28 June to 1 July at Gdynia-Kosakowo in Gdynia. The English rockstars will close the Orange Main Stage on the Friday night, in support of their new album The Car.

And in neighbouring Czech Republic, Colours of Ostrava have confirmed US pop rock band One Republic as the first headliner for next year’s instalment, set for 19–22 July at Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava.

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The live business is braced for another intense year of touring amid a flurry of huge announcements for 2023.

This week has seen Pink, Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, Lizzo, The 1975 and Dead & Company all confirm major tours for next year, adding to shows already on sale by artists such as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Arctic Monkeys, Harry Styles, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Muse and Elton John.

Pink will perform two nights at the 65,000-cap BST Hyde Park in London from 24-25 June to conclude her UK stadium tour, which will also stop at the University of Bolton Stadium (7-8 June), Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (10-11 June) and Birmingham Villa Park (13 June).

Depeche Mode unveiled their first tour in five years at a special event in Berlin on Tuesday (4 October) in support of their forthcoming 15th studio album, Memento Mori. The Live Nation-presented tour will begin with a series of North American arena dates starting 23 March, before heading to Europe for a summer stadium run.

Live Nation president and chief financial officer Joe Berchtold recently detailed the post-Covid rush to return to the road.

“Next year’s shaping up to be another very big stadium year”

“Artists are like everybody else – they went without the majority of their income for a couple of years – they’re making 80-90% of their money from touring,” he told Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference. “So if you’re going to lose that percentage of your income for a few years, you obviously are going to be pretty motivated to get out and start making money again.

“What we saw was a very strong return on the supply side with artists wanting to get out. Next year’s shaping up to be another very big stadium year. We’re seeing that ’23 is looking like another great year for us.”

Meanwhile, Iron Maiden will visit arenas for their The Future Past Tour, which launches in Europe next June. The dates will showcase previously unperformed songs from the band’s most recent studio album, Senjutsu along with a focus on 1986’s Somewhere In Time.

“This combination of the two albums we feel is very exciting,” says the band’s manager Rod Smallwood of Phantom Management. “We know fans want to hear those epic cuts on Senjutsu for the first time live and we think that by combining it with an iconic album like Somewhere In Time it will make for another really special tour for fans old and new. Of course, for a new album tour in Europe and the UK we will go back largely to the relative intimacy of arenas and we know fans will be very happy about that too.”

Elsewhere, Lizzo will play 15 shows across European arenas next February/March and The 1975 have revealed Australia and New Zealand dates for April 2023, while Dead & Company have said their US 2023 summer tour, produced by Live Nation, will be their final tour since forming in 2015.

The announcements come despite warnings from European festival heads that there is “trouble ahead”, with the impact of spiralling costs, while AEG Presents UK head Steve Homer advised “the watchword is caution” for 2023.

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