Live industry leaders on 2024’s ‘best bits’
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.
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