While parts of the festival business took a hammering, and touring mid-tier and club-level shows proved tricky, contributors to IQ‘s end-of-year issue have cited numerous highlights from the past 12 months.

Detailing the evolution at DEAG, CEO Detlef Kornett points to different areas of expansion. “We’ve seen significant development in spoken word – in particular, literary and personality events,” he says. “Spoken word and literary events got ‘entertainment-ified’; they became a production with lights, sounds, and video, and they have become very attractive for consumers. We ran more than 300 events in Germany, more than 500 events in the UK, we doubled our business in Australia, and we even did our first tours in the US. So, for us, that has become a major development that I was hoping for but did not foresee – it was a bet that we took.”

At Live Nation, John Reid says, “2024 was a landmark year for live music across EMEA. [For instance], Tons of Rock in Oslo had a great year and also became Norway’s largest festival, which was a real highlight for the team. And of course, Adele’s Munich residency was a standout moment for us, breaking records across ten nights with 730,000 tickets sold, the world’s largest temporary stadium and LED wall, and an innovative 75,000-square-metre Adele World that drew over 500,000 visitors.”

That Munich residency won admirers everywhere.

“I was fascinated with what Adele’s team and Marek Lieberberg and his team pulled off,” admits Move Concerts founder Phil Rodriguez. “The whole concept of a temporary venue and residency was ambitious, but the execution was flawless. I have no doubt this will be a model that may be duplicated in different ways and/or scale in the future.”

From a ticketing perspective, Ticketmaster UK’s Andrew Parsons notes, “Residencies are reaching new heights and proving their staying power. From Adele’s groundbreaking run in Munich, the Eagles’ standout week at Co-op Live, Bruno Mars’ residency in Brazil, and Coldplay set for ten nights at Wembley Stadium next year, this trend opens doors for acts to stay on the road longer.”

“I thought we would be in trouble. But whoever said entertainment booms in leaner times was right”

Highlighting “two successful shows with Andrea Bocelli at Pula’s Roman Arena” that Charmenko’s head of promoting, Sara Gigante, organised, company founder Nick Hobbs reveals that the indie is also getting in on the stadia action. “Next year, we’re part of, most likely, four stadium-level shows, which I can’t reveal as they’re still TBC,” he says. “Generally, we seem to have plenty of work and are already deep into ’26. To what degree the work will be profitable remains to be seen; our margins were squeezed severely this year, and I’m trying to figure out what we can do about it.”

In the UK, industry veteran John Giddings, promoter of the Isle of Wight Festival, admits to being pleasantly surprised by the demand for tickets. “When I was reading about the cost-of-living crisis last year, I thought we would be in trouble. But whoever said entertainment booms in leaner times was right. After Covid (and Brexit), people are living for today.”

Reviewing 2024, Age Versluis at Dutch promoter Friendly Fire comments, “We’ve seen some artists that have been growing organically to hit their biggest shows ever here. Personally, I always look forward most to seeing what new things rise. If I see the lineups for the showcase festivals for next year taking shape, it’s going to be a year with some beautiful new music and live shows.”

Over in Miami, Move Concerts’ 2024 included tours with Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Keane, and Karol G.

“But the biggest thrill was to see the sales we had with Iron Maiden,” says Rodriguez. “We had stadium dates selling out in 30 minutes – they are bigger than ever! We’ve worked together for decades, and they are huge in our markets, but the speed and volume of sales for this tour were totally unexpected.”

That experience is being mirrored in Germany, where DEAG’s Kornett reveals, “Next year, in the UK, we’ve got the Stereophonics in Cardiff for two sell-out stadium shows. And in Germany, we have a fantastic Iron Maiden stadium tour. I haven’t seen Iron Maiden sales at this level in the last ten years.”

Catch up on part one and part two of IQ‘s 2024 Wrapped! feature.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

In the second part of IQ’s 2024 Wrapped!, we reflect on the fortunes of the ticketing and venue sectors over the past year…

Ticketing
Perhaps fuelled by the many national elections that took place during 2024, parliamentarians and policymakers were only too happy to pontificate their views in a number of ticketing controversies, and with many new regimes emerging from the polling booths, it could be a busy year ahead when it comes to new legislation being introduced to govern ticketing rules.

After announcing their long-rumoured reunion, Oasis hit the headlines when promoters used a dynamic pricing system for the UK on-sale of the tour – a decision that had politicians scrambling to voice their opinions following Keir Starmer’s Labour Party sweeping to victory in July. Starmer’s party had already pledged to introduce new legislation to cap resale as part of its election manifesto.

Ticketmaster UK managing director Andrew Parsons states, “The focus from the Labour Government on taking on touts – particularly those who use illegal bots to steal tickets from fans – is great to see. We’re confident that robust measures can disrupt the financial incentives behind this behaviour, for the benefit of the whole industry and live music fans.”

And on the Oasis onsale, he adds, “Months of meticulous planning saw our UK and Irish team deliver one of the most sought-after ticket sales of all time. Managing a queue of over 10 million fans while blocking 250 million suspicious actions was no small feat. It’s a proud milestone for everyone involved – in moments where pressure could have broken us, the team rose to the occasion.”

Noting the political reaction to the Oasis onsale, AEG Presents UK boss Steve Homer comments, “It highlighted the need for us to be much clearer in how we promote the [ticketing] options and what they mean to the customer.”

But Homer is looking forward to the knock-on effect. “I’m really pleased to see the resurgence of guitars and bands,” he says. “It’s been [for] too long all about solo artists. To now see so many bands getting the plaudits is refreshing.”

The introduction of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in February was hailed as a landmark moment for Europe’s live events sector

Down under, Green Day found themselves in similar waters when “in demand” tickets offered for their show in Sydney next March reached almost AU$500. As a result, the Australian government said it would move to outlaw dynamic ticket pricing as part of a bigger crackdown on “unfair” trading practices.

Elsewhere, the introduction of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in February was hailed as a landmark moment for Europe’s live events sector.

“There’s usually a period of up to two years for a law to be transposed into member state legislation but that didn’t happen with the DSA – it came into force immediately – so that requires quite a lot of enforcement and administration, and that has led to the need for Digital Services Coordinators to be created in every member state,” explains Sam Shemtob, director of Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing. “Having spoken to a number of them, we’ve found quite a lot of variation in terms of how well set up they are.”

Further afield, the Chinese ruling party launched a year-long campaign to stamp out ticket touting, with the Ministry of Public Security encouraging severe punishment for organised criminal groups of “professional” scalpers.

And in India, a huge row erupted after tickets for Coldplay’s Mumbai concerts next January, priced between €27 and €132, sold out within minutes of going on sale, only to quickly reappear on secondary platforms for up to €10,000, prompting criminal complaints against ticketing giant BookMyShow and others, who insist they have no association with any unauthorised resellers. Nevertheless, a public interest lawsuit has since been filed in the Bombay High Court, seeking guidelines to curb ticket touting at major events.

Talking of lawsuits, in the United States, the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission, alleging widespread violations of the BOTS Act by ticket resellers. Backed by dozens of live music industry signatories, NITO detailed how multiple technology companies allegedly provide tools that enable touts to circumvent ticket-purchasing limits.

“We would love for resale to be regulated in some sense; cap it at 20%”

And weighing in on the secondary business, Live Nation boss Michael Rapino spoke out in favour of regulating the resale market during an interview at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference. “We would love for resale to be regulated in some sense; cap it at 20%,” he said. “You shouldn’t have a middleman that has nothing invested in the business, make any money from it.”

Venues
With the mammoth Legends ASM Global takeover dominating the venue sector in recent times, 2024 saw a slew of newbuilds and redevelopments making their mark on the touring landscape.

After a difficult start, OVG opened Co-op Live – the UK’s largest arena, boasting a maximum capacity of 23,500, while the Denver-based corporation recently broke ground on a new $100m arena in Lagos, Nigeria. Other ongoing OVG projects include Arena São Paulo in Brazil, FirstOntario Centre Arena in Canada, a new arena in Cardiff (UK), and in the US, CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore and an entertainment district in Las Vegas.

“The most exciting development for our company this year was the opening of Co-op Live,” OVG’s Francesca Bodie tells IQ. “We’re so proud of the experiences we’ve created for our guests and artists. The feedback has been amazing.

“Next year promises to be equally exciting for OVG. We will launch our seventh owned-and-operated arena when we open in Hamilton [Ontario], and we anticipate announcing other developments in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. We’ll have more clients coming online for our venue and hospitality services globally as well. It’s a lot to accomplish, but we couldn’t be more eager to jump into 2025.”

The Legends deal might see a complete rebrand of the company’s venue portfolio in 2025, when the choice of arenas in particular is set to grow yet again, thanks in no small part to construction projects in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East helping to expand potential tour routes by introducing a number of state-of- the-art concert venues to the existing facilities in those regions.

“All of a sudden, you have stadium shows everywhere, and artists big enough to do them and an audience willing enough to buy tickets”

At the European Arenas Association, president Olivier Toth is equally as enthusiastic about the sector’s prospects, including Co-op Live as a recent membership addition.

Indeed, celebrating the fact that EAA added its 40th member during 2024, Toth says, “We’ve been able to welcome our oldest building with the Festhalle in Frankfurt, and also our youngest, with the Roig Arena in Valencia, which is yet to open, so it’s incredibly exciting because we are now at a position where arenas want to join the EAA because they see the value of the association.”

With investment in new entertainment complexes ensuring a bright future for the business, one big difference in Mexico’s touring landscape has been the refurbished Foro Sol, which this year was transformed into a unique stadium – Estadio GNP Seguros. “People are embracing it,” reports OCESA’s Parra. “For example, Paul McCartney sold more than 110,000 tickets in November of 2023. He came back in November this year and sold another 110,000 tickets in Mexico City, more than 50,000 in Monterrey, and he headlined Corona Capital. So, twice what he sold last time, and it’s only a one-year difference. Bruno Mars is the same. In August, he sold out three Estadio GNPs, and he could easily have done five.”

The phenomenon fascinates DEAG’s Kornett. “It doesn’t really influence my day-to-day work, but what surprised me [this year] was the number of stadium shows,” he comments. “All of a sudden, you have stadium shows everywhere, and artists big enough to do them and an audience willing enough to buy tickets. That has been a very important change in the industry.”

But while the record books were continually rewritten at arena and stadia level in 2024, the situation at the other end of the spectrum is far less encouraging. With energy, rates, staffing and more all having increased post-pandemic, smaller venues running on smaller margins are hard hit.

A recent report in Germany by LiveKomm, found that over half of grassroots venue members would be unable to continue operating without state support due to “the acute cost pressure”.

The challenges at club level have led to calls for a ticket levy on arena and stadium shows in the UK, as well as other markets

In the Netherlands, venue association VNPF’s 2023 report found that venues achieved an average positive financial result of just 0.7%, with 38% of them reporting a negative financial result.

The challenges at club level have led to calls for a ticket levy on arena and stadium shows in the UK, as well as other markets. In the UK, artists including Coldplay, Sam Fender and Katy Perry announced contributions from ticket sales to support Music Venue Trust, with the topic currently a subject of discussion by the UK Government.

Gemma Vaughan, acting general manager at AO Arena, agrees. “The grassroots ecosystem is not only vital for the communities they exist in, and for talent development, but they are also vital for supporting future audiences and promoting safety at large-scale concerts when acts breaks through,” she says. “It will take work across a multitude of stakeholder groups to achieve this, along with a broader partnership approach within the industry to make sure everyone (including the artist) is aligned with the outcome.”

Revisit part one of 2024 Wrapped! here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

When the clock ticked into 2024, the live music industry was bracing itself for a big year. The biggest grossing tour in history, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, had finished its triumphant journey from the United States south to Mexico and then to Brazil and was about to hit Japan, Australia, and Singapore before continuing its record-breaking spree around Europe and the UK.

Elsewhere, stadia that were not being used for the likes of the Copa América football tournament, the UEFA European Football Championship, or the Olympic and Paralympic Games, were otherwise kept busy by acts like Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, Karol G, Paul McCartney, Depeche Mode, P!nk, Foo Fighters, AC/DC, Travis Scott, Coldplay, Green Day, and Rammstein.

And with many executives telling IQ that 2025 will likely be the biggest year on record, tour announcements over the past few weeks have been coming in thick and fast as artists and their promoter partners look to secure early ticket sales on the back of festive gifting and the sheer excitement that the marketing teams behind the artists can generate so far in advance of the shows themselves.

“Demand for 2025 has been impressive: we’ve found that ticket sales for events in fall 2024 were a bit slow, but sales for fall 2025 – a full year away – have been really strong,” comments Olivier Toth, who in addition to running the Rockhal arena in Luxembourg is also chairman of the European Arena Association.

And the same fever for 2025 is being felt internationally. At press time, among the stadium acts confirmed for Mexican powerhouse promoter OCESA next year, are Shakira, 21 Pilots, Justin Timberlake, Sting, and Linkin Park, “and there’s a lot more who will be confirmed in the next few weeks,” says company director Memo Parra. “It’s going to be a huge year!”

“People are really enjoying going to live shows, so they’re spending their money on concerts instead of spending it on something else”

Indeed, Parra has reason to celebrate, as sales in his country have reached unprecedented levels. “The biggest highlight for us in Mexico this year was that acts are selling 100%, 200%, 300%, 400% more than they [did] three years ago,” says Parra. “That’s very impressive, because some of those acts don’t even have a new record.” Citing examples, he says, “2019 was the last time Shakira toured Mexico, and she did two stadiums. Next year, she’s doing seven!”

Unable to pinpoint just what is behind the phenomena, Parra reports, “The Mexican economy is not doing great right now, and there’s a lot of economic uncertainty for the next year – the peso was at 17 to the dollar two months ago, and now it’s nearly 21 to the dollar. But people are really enjoying going to live shows, so they’re spending their money on concerts instead of spending it on something else.”

While at the stadia and arena end of the spectrum, 2025 is looking very bright indeed, concerns are mounting over mid-tier and club-level tours, where it is becoming increasingly difficult for anyone to make money.
Detlef Kornett, CEO of DEAG, tells IQ, “The difficulty of smaller and mid-sized bands to do European tours will have an impact. The market share of UK-based music has decreased within Europe within the last couple of years, [and] I think we will see even more of an impact in 2025, because unfortunately, nothing has changed – costs haven’t gone down.”

That situation is aggravating the already perilous situation among the club and small venues network in the UK, with Beverley Whitrick, COO of Music Venue Trust sounding the alarm. “Grassroots touring has collapsed in the UK,” she says. “Over four decades, we have seen a decline from an average length of a tour in 1994 being 21.9 shows in 28 locations to 10.9 shows in 12 locations in 2024.

“The fact that artists cannot afford longer tours means that they are connecting with a smaller audience, visiting fewer towns and cities, and struggling to build the sort of fanbase that creates a sustainable career. Some artists are simply giving up as they cannot make a living from their music. And anyone who lives outside a major city has the most limited access to live music the UK has ever offered. Venues have fewer gigs to offer, compounding their financial challenges. The touring model needs support, or it will crumble further.”

“This year, all festivals were on a lower level ticket sales-wise, compared to 2023. But I’m hoping we can get the numbers back up next year”

Elsewhere, however, OCESA’s Parra is experiencing no such difficulty, as public demand for live music in Mexico is high across all levels of touring, including club and mid-tier shows. “Additionally, all of our 6,000-8,000-capacity shows are doing fantastically well,” he says. “Another highlight is that Latin and Mexican acts have also stepped up: acts that have been in the market for 20, 25, 30 years are now selling stadiums for the first time, while others have done progressional steps up from clubs to theatres, from theatres to arenas, and arenas to stadiums. Everyone grew. And that’s also helping our industry because the Mexican and Latin acts are becoming huge.”

But there is one troubling area of business, even in Mexico. “My only concern would be festivals, where we saw a little bit of a reduction this year,” says Parra. “This year, all festivals were on a lower level ticket sales-wise, compared to 2023. But I’m hoping we can get the numbers back up next year.”

Festivals in Europe also felt the pressure, with more than 70 being cancelled in the UK, while in the Netherlands, around 50 did not have 2024 editions. And in Australia, a slew of events ran into trouble, with slow ticket sales and rising costs making some festivals untenable.

However, a number of intrepid souls also chose 2024 to launch some new festival formats, including Summer Sonic in Thailand, Rolling Loud Europe in Austria, In The Meadows (Ireland), Tomorrowland Presents Core Medellín (Columbia), Montreux Jazz Festival Miami (USA), and Untold in the United Arab Emirates, to name but a few.

Unfortunaetely, violent storms and unseasonal heavy rain also took their toll on many events around the world, with the likes of Pohoda in Slovakia, Graspop in Belgium, Slam Dunk in the UK, Australia’s Pitch Music & Arts Festival, and the USA’s Sol Blume, Lovers & Friends, Sueños, and Gazebo festivals all hit by varying degrees of severe-weather-related problems.

“A crucial element is to present a musical lineup and other programmes that align with the tastes of young people”

But FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt’s portfolio of events fared better than most, thanks to the company’s decision not to impose significant ticket price hikes.

“The whole team and I have many highlights to share,” he says. “Among them are a memorable and successful festival season with the strongest sales start in the history of Hurricane and Southside, a sold-out tour with Taylor Swift, as well as record-breaking concerts with Ed Sheeran in Poland and the Baltics, and countless successful tours over Europe.”

On the booking challenge, Tamás Kádár at Sziget Festival in Hungary believes that staying abreast of artists who are enjoying viral moments on social media is becoming part and parcel of his team’s remit. “It enables artists to build followings at an unprecedented pace, often without traditional industry gatekeepers,” Kádár says.

“Viral moments can help artists [achieve stardom quicker], leading to increased demand for their live performances,” he continues. “As a result, we are likely to diversify our programme, offering to include these stars, often appealing to younger, highly engaged audiences. This phenomenon challenges traditional promotional cycles, requiring faster adaptability in booking strategies to capitalise on current trends.”

He adds, “A crucial element is to present a musical lineup and other programmes that align with the tastes of young people, making it worthwhile for them to travel thousands of kilometres for the festival.”

“The festivals that can [offer] not just fantastic lineups but unforgettable and unique experiences, will be the ones that can thrive”

Looking at the festival side of his business, Obi Asika, co-head of United Talent Agency’s UK office, comments, “The amount of festival headliner-level artists deciding to do huge arenas/stadium tours [instead] has had a real effect across the industry. It’s undoubtedly causing challenges for festival bookers and promoters globally trying to get the right acts and festival headliners… which of course impacts agents, too.”

Nevertheless, Asika acknowledges that fans are prepared to spend big money on tickets if the experiential element is good enough. “The festivals that can [offer] not just fantastic lineups but unforgettable and unique experiences, will be the ones that can thrive… so, looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, I expect we will see more festivals and events focused on the experience.”

And that scenario is not lost on venue operators, with billions of dollars, pounds, euros, etc, being invested in newbuild and existing buildings to offer fans value-added experiences and facilities.

Oak View Group’s chief operating officer, Francesca Bodie, reveals, “We are seeing, and meeting, an increasing demand for premium hospitality. People are looking for quality experiences when they step into one of our venues, and we’ve been very focused on providing that extra-special something across the board. Whether you’re in a VIP suite, luxury lounge, or general admission seat, guests want to immerse themselves in the experience and come away remembering the food, drink, and accommodations as much as the game or show.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.