ASM Global supports expanded ILMC bursary scheme
ASM Global and the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) are joining forces to dramatically expand the conference’s Alia Dann Swift Bursary Scheme.
The scheme, which was founded in 2018 and named after ILMC’s late longstanding producer, promotes and encourages the next generation of young executive talent.
The expanded programme, backed by ASM Global’s corporate social responsibility platform ASM Global Acts, will see 30 young executives given a free place at this year’s ILMC.
The invitation-only event, taking place in London from 26–29 April 2022, has been the foremost meeting place for live music professionals worldwide for over 30 years, and welcomes 2,000 top professionals across the week.
In addition to the free place, the selected young executives will have a dedicated industry mentor and additional networking opportunities taking place at ILMC, via the ASM Global family.
“Through ASM Global Acts, we’re able to take action and create real opportunity for the next generation of industry leaders”
Chris Bray, executive vice president, Europe at ASM Global, says: “After a difficult two years for live events, it’s exciting to be looking to the future and supporting young executives as the industry recovers from the pandemic. At ASM Global we are committed to investing in people and strengthening communities all over the world.
“Through the company’s ASM Global Acts platform, we’re able to take action and create real opportunity for the next generation of industry leaders, so we are delighted to be partnering with ILMC on the Alia Dann Swift Bursary Scheme and look forward to meeting with the chosen delegates at this year’s event.”
ILMC head Greg Parmley added: “ASM’s shared passion for supporting and developing the next generation of business leaders allows us to supercharge the bursary scheme this year. At a crucial time for the global live music industry, developing a new and diverse range of executive talent is a vital step in both its recovery and future success.”
To apply to the Alia Dann Swift Bursary Scheme, applicants must already be working in the live music business and not have previously attended an ILMC.
The scheme is open to applicants internationally. The closing date for applications is Friday 1 April 2022. Full details of the bursary scheme and an application form are available 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.
2017: The year in review
Missed our regular news updates this year (or recently emerged, Brendan Frasier in Blast from the Past-style, from a nuclear fallout shelter)? Team IQ are logging off for Christmas – so here, in no particular order, are some of the key stories that shaped the year in live music…
#UsToo
In a story that’s set to continue into the new year and beyond, the final few months of 2017 have seen #MeToo – the campaign to stamp out sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood, spurred by the allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein – cross over into the music business, with a growing number of female musicians and execs reporting similar behaviour in our industry.
IQ asked in October if live music has a “Harvey Weinstein problem”, and a number of prominent international female industry figures told us they, too, have been subject to, or witnessed, inappropriate behaviour or sexual assault while working in the live business.
Since then, organised movements campaigning against sexual misconduct in music have sprung up in Sweden (#närmusikentystnar, ‘when the music stops’), Australia (#meNOmore) and the UK (Stop 2018), while the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) has launched a dedicated, confidential helpline for victims of sexual harassment in the electronic music business.
In the agency world, meanwhile, reps from all major multinational agencies told IQ last month they are intensifying their efforts to ensure the safety of their employees and clients – and CAA has confirmed to IQ it has cancelled its annual Friday pre-Golden Globes party in order to establish a legal defence fund for sexual harassment cases.
Annus terror-bilis
The Manchester Arena attack, the shootings at Route 91 Harvest and BPM Festival, the Reina nightclub bombing and other attacks on innocent fans of live entertainment this year will forever live in infamy – and remain a stark reminder that, despite increased security and the willingness of fans to keep coming to shows, they remain attractive targets for terrorism.
What should also be remembered, however, is the way the industry responded to the evil of these attacks: From the One Love Manchester and We are Manchester charity concerts to the candlelit vigils and fundraising for victims of the Route 91 Harvest attack, those working in live music, just as after the Bataclan attack, stepped up to plate to lend a hand to the victims and all those affected.
Those working in live music stepped up to plate to help to victims of terror
Festival FUBARs…
Who could forget Fyre Festival? Cancelled flights, limp cheese sandwiches and disaster relief tents? A festival that went so badly wrong it’s become a byword for badly organised events – the Giant Cheeseboard, for example, was only this week called “London’s answer to Fyre Festival” – and its promoter arrested by the FBI?
Yes, Fyre Festival this year became the gold standard for festival disasters, but it wasn’t alone. The inaugural Hope & Glory festival – described in the NME as “Fyre Festival with none of the lols” – was called off on its second day amid reports of bottlenecking, queues for facilities and sets being cancelled or running over, while Y Not Festival was cancelled after the site turned into a mudbath as a result of heavy rain.
Canada’s Pemberton Music Festival 2017, meanwhile, was axed with less than two months to go, after its parent companies were placed into administration with debts of almost $10m.
… and tours de force
Despite these headline-grabbing disasters, however, the 2017 summer festival season was a largely successful one compared to last year, when severe weather, including lightning strikes, forced the cancellation of open-air events in Europe and North America.
The organisers of festivals as diverse as Trsnmt (UK), Haven (Denmark), Download (UK), Istanbul Jazz Festival (Turkey), Hurricane/Southside (Germany), Baloise Session and OpenAir St Gallen (both Switzerland), Lollapalooza Paris (France) and BST Hyde Park (UK) all reported healthy attendances in 2017 – and IQ’s recent European Festival Report 2017 revealed that despite increased competition, a majority of the continent’s festival operators feel optimistic about the future of their events.
A majority of Europe’s festival operators feel optimistic about the future of their events
Nation-building
By IQ’s reckoning, Live Nation/Ticketmaster made three more acquisitions than in 2016, when eight companies came under the Live Nation Entertainment umbrella, further bolstering its credentials as the world’s largest live entertainment company.
They were: Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion (venue) in December; United Concerts (promoter) in October; Strobe Labs (data platform) in August; Openair Frauenfeld (festival) in July; Isle of Wight Festival in March; Bluestone Entertainment (promoter) and Ticketpro (ticket agency) in February; and Metropolis Music (promoter) Cuffe & Taylor (promoter), Bottlerock Napa Valley (festival) and CT Touring (promoter) in January.
Rain-grey town, known for its sound…
An IQ/Songkick study revealed in September that the British capital is by far Europe’s live music capital by number of events – and the third-biggest concert market in the world, behind only New York and Los Angeles.
There were 19,940 total live music events in London in 2016 – more than San Francisco (13,672), Paris (11,248) and Chicago (11,224) – and the city is on course to hold its no1 spot in 2017.
Looking ahead to 2018, a raft of new festivals looks set to further cement London’s status as the live music capital of Europe, with AEG and Live Nation/Festival Republic both planning new events and local councils opening up more green space to meet the growing demand for live entertainment.
Live Nation/Ticketmaster made three more acquisitions than in 2016
Google to touts: Don’t be evil
Google last month dealt what could be a fatal blow to the likes of Viagogo and Seatwave, announcing that from January 2018 secondary ticketing sites would be subject to stringent restrictions on their use of Google AdWords.
Under the new measures – which come on the back of UK politicians accusing sites such as Viagogo, StubHub, Seatwave and Get Me In! of violating Google’s Adwords policies on misrepresentation, and increased scrutiny of ticket touting in Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, Ireland and more – Google will force ticket resellers to list the face value of tickets, make clear they are resale sites and stop implying they are an ‘official’ seller or lose access to AdWords.
Google’s crackdown comes as national authorities, especially in the UK, continue to make life harder for touts, with National Trading Standards last week making four arrests as part of an investigation into the “practices of businesses that buy and sell tickets in bulk”.
The end of the road for ‘industrial-scale’ secondary ticketing, or merely another hurdle to be overcome? Time will tell…
Agency turntable
The booking agency world continued to consolidate in 2017 with a number of acquisitions, mergers and partnerships. Notable was Paradigm which entered into a strategic partnership with the UK’s X-Ray Touring in April and acquired Chicago- and California-based agency Monterey International in August.
Among other moves, July saw Helsinki-based Fullsteam Agency announce that it had acquired Rähinä Live, while September saw K2 Agency swoop for Factory Music. Meanwhile, the ongoing merry-go-round of agents swapping desks between companies continued – and if rumours are to be believed, 2018 will see this trend continue apace.
The booking agency world continued to consolidate in 2017 with a number of acquisitions, mergers and partnerships
In memoriam
In addition to the beloved performers we lost in 2017 (RIP Tom Petty, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Chuck Berry, Greg Allman and many others), several equally revered live music business figures also passed away this year.
Peter Rieger, the founder of Cologne-based promoter Peter Rieger Konzertagentur (PRK), died on 29 January at the age of 63 – “far too young,” said friend and colleague John Giddings. “This has been a sad and dismal week,” added manager and former agent Ed Bicknell. “I’ve lost three dear pals: John Wetton of King Crimson, Asia and UK, Deke Leonard of Man, and now Peter. […] He was a total professional, a pleasure to deal with and funny – definitely funny. Which is what every promoter needs: a sense of humour.”
Another live industry veteran who passed far too young was tour manager, artist liaison and ILMC’s longtime producer, Alia Dann Swift, who died aged 57 in May. “She was the best,” said CAA’s Emma Banks. “A beautiful human being, a great friend, a smart and an inspiring woman.”
“Alia was renowned for her warmth, her tireless support of those around her, a perennial sense of humour and a no-nonsense approach,” added ILMC head Greg Parmley. “She was a widely loved and respected figure in the touring world who will be deeply and entirely missed.”
The live music world was once again rocked in August by the shock death of well-liked Primary Talent co-founder Dave Chumbley after a short illness.
“Dedicated to his artists to a fault, Dave was responsible for many hugely successful careers in the global music industry,” said manager Terry Blamey, with whom Chumbley worked for years representing Kylie Minogue. “He was a talented, wonderful man taken from us way to soon. Lynn and I loved him like a brother, dear friend, and we will miss him dreadfully.”
Other tragic losses to the business in 2017 included ShowSec founder Mick Upton, tour travel agent Mary Cleary, Israeli promoter Shmuel Zemach, Reading Festival founder Harold Pendleton, Washington, DC, promoter Jack Boyle and Live Nation Belgium booker Marianne Dekimpe.
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.
ILMC producer Alia Dann Swift passes
ILMC’s longtime producer, Alia Dann Swift, passed away yesterday at her home in Melbourne, Australia. Alia was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in early April and had spent the last few weeks being cared for by her husband, Steve. She was 57.
“She was the best,” says CAA’s Emma Banks. “A beautiful human being, a great friend, a smart and an inspiring woman.”
Prior to joining the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) as producer in 2000, Alia had worked in a variety of production roles, including tour management, production coordinator and artist liaison for artists including Paul McCartney, David Gilmour, Sparks, UB40, M People, Peter Gabriel and REM.
Alia was part of the team that brought Roger Waters and David Gilmour together for Live 8 in 2005, and she played in a key role in the inception of Lord of the Dance, a touring production that went on to tour successfully worldwide for nearly two decades.
“She was the best: A beautiful human being, a great friend, a smart and an inspiring woman”
ILMC is inviting friends and colleagues to contribute to a permanent page on the ILMC.com website. If you would like to submit a few words, memories or thoughts, please email [email protected].
“Alia was renowned for her warmth, her tireless support of those around her, a perennial sense of humour and a no-nonsense approach,” says ILMC head Greg Parmley. “She was a widely loved and respected figure in the touring world who will be deeply and entirely missed.”
Her role at ILMC was instrumental in both managing and growing the conference, and her tenure also saw the launch of IQ Magazine and the ILMC Production Meeting (IPM). She produced ILMC until 2014, and consulted on the event in 2015.
“Without Alia there would be no ILMC now,” says ILMC founder Martin Hopewell. “A handful of years into the conference’s long history, she stepped up to take on the job of making it work at a time when the organisation behind the event had fallen apart and I had almost given up hope of finding a way to continue.
“Alia was a widely loved and respected figure in the touring world who will be deeply and entirely missed”
“Alia pretty well single-handedly redesigned the way ILMC was put together, and became a major driving force in steering the conference towards the status that it now occupies. She was quite literally the mother of the conference, and every single one of us owes her a debt.
“I will miss Alia’s super-human organisational skills, her almost limitless patience, her way of gently keeping me in check, her unfathomable sense of humour – and her disturbing ability to look glamorous in a cow costume. But overall I will miss having that wonderful, caring person in my life – one of the best friends and allies I have ever known.”
David Garcia at DEAG adds: “She was the first person I ever spoke to at an ILMC many, many years ago. She encouraged me back then, not to be intimidated by all the experienced professionals and to speak up. It’s advice I have followed all those years and will now forever be linked to the memory of this beautiful soul. I am very sad.”
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.