Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds tour sets new bar
ATC Live agent Alex Bruford has spoken to IQ about Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ ongoing Wild God Tour, as it lights up arenas across Europe.
Their most extensive tour to date is being organised by promoter Simon Jones at AEG Presents, with the help of a host of local partners around the continent.
“The 2017 tour was across 29 dates and sold 250,000 tickets, and we were due to tour the Ghosteen record in April 2020, which got pushed back to 2021 and was then eventually cancelled due to Covid, but that would have been across 32 dates,” Bruford tells IQ.
“For the current Wild God Tour, we announced 27 arenas and added second shows in Amsterdam, Berlin, Antwerp, Copenhagen, London, and Dublin, taking the total number of shows to 33.”
Now more than 40 years into their career, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have armies of fans around the world, but Bruford – who plotted the band’s 2022 UK and EU festival headline tour – reveals that ATC is utilising all its powers of research to strategise routings for the band.
“We’ve sold over 100,000 more tickets on this run than in 2017”
“When we started working with Nick in 2018, we did a deep dive into the data from all social and streaming sites, album sales, and ticket sales to analyse where the audience are located,” he explains. “We compared this to when he’d last played some of these locations, and we had some interesting results. For example, Lisbon, one of the highest performing cities, had not been visited for over a decade. The show was added to the tour and was one of the fastest selling arenas when we went on sale.
“We used this approach to refine the list of cities and continue to grow the audience, and we worked closely with Nick’s management, tour production team, and promoters, AEG, to deliver the most efficient and effective routing possible.”
And the results have been seismic.
“At the mid-way point of the tour, we had passed the 350,000 sales mark, meaning we’ve sold over 100,000 more tickets on this run than in 2017,” finishes Bruford. “It’s the band’s biggest tour to date by quite some way, and the show is phenomenal.”
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UK industry figures warn of decline in tour length
The UK has seen a gradual decline in the length of domestic tours across the last four decades, according to new figures from Music Venue Trust (MVT).
Artists are playing 11 shows on an average tour on the UK grassroots circuit this year, compared with 13 shows in 2014, 18 shows in 2004 and 22 in 1994, according to the findings.
“I would absolutely concur with these figures – the majority of artists we have playing grassroots and mid-level tours are playing shorter tours than ever before,” ATC Live’s Alex Bruford tells IQ.
“Touring is significantly more expensive and the four or five largest shows on the run will often cover the deficit generated from adding additional dates. The artists are often faced with the difficult choice of playing a longer tour to more people and losing money, or playing a shorter tour to fewer people but covering costs and perhaps making a profit. Many just have to choose the latter.”
With an increasing number of artists opting for shorter tours that focus on major cities, fans in regional markets are missing out on seeing their favourite artists.
As DHP Family promoter Scott Kennedy points out, this trend could have a profound impact on the diversity and accessibility of the UK’s music scene.
“The decline in grassroots touring hits working-class artists and regional working-class towns particularly hard,” he tells IQ. “With fewer shows, especially in smaller towns, it becomes much harder for working-class bands to build a following organically and reach new audiences. Rising costs and fewer gig opportunities mean that only those with financial backing can afford to take the risks involved in touring, while others are left out.
“Artists are often faced with the difficult choice of playing a longer tour to more people and losing money”
“As a result, the music scene risks becoming less diverse and more exclusive, shutting out voices that have traditionally driven the most innovative and authentic movements in music. It’s a threat to the cultural fabric of the UK music scene.”
Runway Artist’s Matt Hanner says that while MVT’s figures ring true, his agency is trying to buck the trend of shorter tours where possible.
“We believe investment in these markets can be what eventually contributes to being able to tour sustainably across the UK, even if you are not doing big numbers,” he tells IQ. “Developing a ticket and merch-buying audience in a wider range of cities and towns should be part of the big picture but of course we understand that not everyone has the financial capability to speculate to accumulate.
“Many promoters are still vary wary of pushing up ticket prices for fear of pricing out ticket-buyers, sometimes even if it’s only a couple of extra pounds, so fees remain relatively static while costs have increased. Of course, it’s a vicious cycle and after a couple of campaigns of not playing outside of London and Manchester your audience in the wider regions is likely to decline so there’s then no incentive to expand an artists’ touring.”
Associations such as LIVE have been lobbying for changes that could make touring more financially viable for artists and more accessible for music fans up and down the country.
“Touring in the UK has had to deal with post-lockdown shortages in talent and kit driving up costs, the illegal invasion of Ukraine fuelling inflation in the supply chain, and the disastrous mini-budget spiking interest rates,” LIVE CEO Jon Collins tells IQ.
“Soaring costs while the public has reduced disposable income has forced artists to focus on markets that give the best likelihood of a financial return. Inevitably that means the major cities. With a government committed to the principle of universality, LIVE is firmly of the view that a reduction in the 20% VAT rate on tickets is the quickest way to add liquidity into our market and allow artists, venues and promoters to programme more shows in more towns and cities to the delight of millions.”
“Soaring costs have forced artists to focus on markets that give the best likelihood of a financial return”
While the decline in touring has been mapped in smaller venues, the figures also “reflect what we’re hearing about the mid-capacity and arena level tours,” adds Collins.
The decline at GMV level is further evidenced by the 18.7% decrease in ticket sales in the last two years, per MVT’s research. Ticket sales per GMV in 2022 averaged 22,547, then increased in 2023 to 23,796, before dropping in 2024 to 18,331.
The sharp downturn in ticket sales has resulted in 14.1% decline in gross ticket income from live music 2023 (£134,123,094) to 2024 (£115,206,209).
Meanwhile, the cost of presenting live music at UK GMVs has increased by 11.1% year on year, from £248,936,880 in 2023 to £277,267,285 in 2024.
In more positive news the number of GMVs in the UK remained broadly steady in the last 12 months, where previous years had seen significant falls.
Some artists have vowed to do their part to support the sector, with Coldplay recently pledging to donate 10% of the proceeds from their Wembley and Hull shows to the Music Venue Trust. Last year, Enter Shikari donated a portion of ticket sales from their UK arena tour to MVT.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the Beyond the Music conference in Manchester on Friday that the government is “deeply concerned about the closure of live music venues and the huge challenges that face existing venues right now”, and said the issue is “absolutely at the top of our agenda”.
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The legacy of late ATC Live agent Chris Meredith
Friends and former colleagues of the late ATC agent Chris Meredith have reflected on his legacy on the fifth anniversary of his death.
The much-loved Meredith passed away at the age of 37 in September 2019 after suffering from depression. He worked with artists including We Are Scientists, Sleeper, Fazerdaze and the Veils in his role at ATC Live, and was also festival director at Kent’s Neverworld.
The Christopher Meredith Foundation (CMF) was set up by his family in his memory.
ATC Live founder and MD Alex Bruford tells IQ the organisation’s work, which sees it partner with specialist charities and organisations within the music industry to support those facing mental health challenges, is a fitting tribute to Meredith, whose desire to help others was “so strong”.
“Chris taught me the biggest lesson in life, for which I thank him regularly, about what is important and what is not,” says Bruford. “Too often in our business hard-working, well-intentioned people are chastised for small lapses or mistakes that were out of their control, or for simply doing their job. If they are doing their best that’s all you can ask – the health and well-being of all is so much more important.
“Chris was part of a generation of agents who prioritised values – respect, support, inclusivity and partnership were so important to him. These are values that we and many others now prioritise within their businesses.”
“His battle with depression highlighted to me the struggle many in our industry face to be able to step away from the job and not feel like you are losing part of your identity”
Ex-ATC agent Matt Hanner, who founded independent UK booking agency Runway Artists in 2020, says he often wonders what path Meredith would have taken had he still been alive through the pandemic.
“He was the entrepreneurial type that would have undoubtedly managed to forge something positive from within the challenges our industry faced,” notes Hanner. “I like to think that he may have joined Steve [Backman] and I on the journey Runway was embarking on and hopefully we have managed to hold onto the values Chris had of working hard particularly for emerging artists and embracing people from all walks of life.
“His battle with depression highlighted to me the struggle many in our industry face to be able to step away from the job and not feel like you are losing part of your identity, and emphasising work-life balance is a key part of how we work as a company – making sure they know they can take breaks and get the support they need when the time comes.
“The work his family are doing to highlight and support mental health challenges is invaluable and I hope that Chris’ legacy continues to be centred around having a positive impact on people as individuals, as he did.”
Jess Kinn of One Fiinix Live remembers Meredith as “funny, witty, charming, kind and generous to a fault”.
“I miss Chris tremendously,” she says. “He was completely committed to everything he did, would drop anything to be there for his friends and family, and found endless joy in the success of others. He was one of the most interesting and inquisitive people I’ve ever met – a deep thinker, extremely intelligent and someone who truly did it for the right reasons.
“I still remember how proud he’d be when he booked a band for the first time, signed a new artist or launched a new venture. Chris had a wicked sense of humour, was a master of the one-liner and his stories would often leave me crying with laughter.
“The music industry can be a tough and lonely place and that’s something that Chris struggled with. This should be a reminder for us all: look after those around us, check in on friends and do the thing most of us neglect – look after ourselves.”
“It is amazing to see the work being done by the Christopher Meredith Foundation to continue his legacy of care for artists and fellow music professionals”
Big Life Management’s Kat Kennedy first encountered Meredith after taking on We Are Scientists as clients.
“He quickly became one of my favourite people thanks to his sense of humour, enthusiasm and creativity and I admired the deeply thoughtful way in which he strategised for his artists,” reflects Kennedy. “It was Chris’s energy and belief that inspired us to achieve We Are Scientists’ biggest London headine show in over a decade in 2019, although he sadly wasn’t there to see it.
“I miss Chris and think of him often. It is amazing to see the work being done by the Christopher Meredith Foundation to continue his legacy of care for artists and fellow music professionals.”
The Pad Presents’ Gareth Barber, director and head booker for Esquires in Bedford, says Meredith was “one of the very good guys”.
“With Esquires being his home venue and Chris being an agent, he’d always send us stuff that we really shouldn’t have had, but I was always really grateful for,” he laughs. “I think about him often and always find myself wondering, ‘What would Chris think about this?’ I just wish I could still ask him.
“His legacy lives on with me in those moments and to now see CMF set up in his name to support his passions is a beautiful thing. I just wish more agents were like Chris and the way he was so personable with everyone he came into contact with.”
Ed Pearson of Academy Events recalls introducing Meredith to Sleeper after their reunion.
“Attending their headline show at O2 Institute Birmingham together, he was so excited to be there, to see his teenage crush Louise [Wener, singer] who he had a poster of up on his bedroom wall as a teenager,” smiles Pearson. “He subsequently became their agent, and we had many more brilliant shows together.
“For me, his legacy reminds me that you can be kind and warm in this business, it doesn’t need to be so ‘dog eat dog’. And what the foundation is doing now is amazing: supporting young underprivileged musicians who need a leg up, as well as giving support to anyone in the music industry who is struggling with mental health issues.
“It has opened up the conversation around mental health and constantly reminds me that no one should ever suffer alone. It’s certainly taught me that I should find the help I need at every opportunity.”
“When I think about Chris, the first thing I see is his mischievous smile and a twinkle in his eyes, and then I immediately remember his kindness and generosity”
In the months after Meredith’s passing, Sleeper, Shame, Ider and Whenyoung performed an intimate memorial concert at O2 Academy Islington in support of two mental health charities: Calm (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) and Mind. Nick Gaunt, the CMF’s head of marketing, says that Meredith’s positive impact on the industry is clear to see.
“From going above and beyond to make sure the artists he was working with could perform, to supporting local venues and maintaining a beautifully unassuming nature with everything between, Chris simply loved music and people,” he says. “The Christopher Meredith Foundation seeks to continue this, as Chris’ legacy, whilst also addressing the industry’s mental health challenges in the hope that one day we will have a music industry where everyone thrives.”
“When I think about Chris, the first thing I see is his mischievous smile and a twinkle in his eyes, and then I immediately remember his kindness and generosity,” adds Bruford, in closing. “He would help anyone out, anyway he could. We recently caught up with his Mum, Sadie, who reminded us, with laughter, how often he’d bring random international bands and their crew back to stay at the family home when they couldn’t afford hotels – this was Chris through and through.
“Amy Taylor, the brilliant lead singer of Amyl and The Sniffers, gave the keynote speech at the Big Sound Conference in Brisbane last week. She ended with ‘Bitch, this is the entertainment industry. Don’t think about it too much.’ Chris would have loved that.”
- Click on the links for more information on the Christopher Meredith Foundation’s key partners Tonic Music, Music Support and Music Minds Matter.
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IFF conference and showcase programme complete
With just two weeks to go until the 2024 International Festival Forum (IFF), the event’s conference and agency showcase schedule is now complete.
Organised by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and held in association with TicketSwap, the invitation-only gathering returns to Omeara in London Bridge between 24-26 September, with 950 delegates now signed up.
The conference programme is doubling in number this year, with the opening The Festival Season 2024 panel to begin with a short presentation of ROSTR x IQ’s analysis of the European festival summer, hosted by ROSTR co-founder and CEO Mark Williamson.
Speakers this year include Matt Bates (Primary Talent), Dusan Kovacevic (Exit), Fruzsina Szép (Good Live), Summer Marshall (CAA), Jana Posth (DreamHaus), Jan Quiel (Wacken Open Air), Mark Williamson (ROSTR), Hannah Shogbola (UTA), Sharon Richardson (K2 Agency) and many others, capped by a keynote interview with the team from Primavera Sound.
Booking agency partners on this year’s IFF are CAA, WME, Solo Agency, Primary Talent, ATC Live, Wasserman Music, ITB, One Fiinix Live, and Pure, with the final partner showcases at the event now confirmed for IFF’s 10th edition.
Since launching in 2015, IFF has brought the industry’s principal buyers and sellers together each autumn
Two up-and-coming artists from Pure Represents’ roster, Forest Claudette and Tokio Myers, who will kick off proceedings on 25 September, followed by One Fiinix Live’s JC Stewart, JERUB, RØRY and Walt Disco.
ATC Live artists Ebbb, Lambrini Girls, Loverman and Ugly will then take the spotlight on 26 September.
Showcases by Solo Agency, ITB, Primary Talent International and X-ray Touring have already been revealed. In addition, Dutch Music Export and The Spanish Wave will present emerging acts from the Netherlands and Spain, respectively, for this year’s International Showcase.
The final night of IFF will also see a Rising Metal night presented by Doomstar Bookings, Catch 22, Napalm Events and The Link Productions.
Partners for this year’s event include CTS Eventim, See Tickets, Tysers Live, FKP Scorpio, All Things Live, iTicket Global, TVG Hospitality, LMP Group and production partners John Henrys.
Since launching in 2015, IFF has brought the industry’s principal buyers and sellers together each autumn, when conversations about the following year’s festival lineups are well underway. Past editions have included early performances from Lewis Capaldi, Tom Grennan, Yonaka, Bob Vylan, Sam Ryder, Slaves, Raye, Black Midi, Loyle Carner, Dermot Kennedy and Shame.
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The New Bosses 2024: Cerys Vaughan, ATC Live
The 17th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, in association with Futures Forum, was revealed in IQ 129, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business.
To get to know this year’s class a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2024’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.
Cerys Vaughan began her career as a show rep in Leicester, as a teenager, running the shows at small venue, Firebug, while also stage managing at Handmade Festival in Leicester. While at the University of West London studying for a foundation degree in Events Management, she interned at the Association of Independent Festivals, helping to organise and run their Festival Congress event in Cardiff in 2014.
Post degree, she returned to Leicester, show repping once again, before landing a job as a promoter assistant at DHP Family, assisting Dan Ealam in London and working across acts like Ed Sheeran, Mystery Jets, The Growlers, and Calum Scott.
She moved to ATC Live six years ago, initially as agent assistant to Chris Meredith, but has since moved across lots of rosters to her current role as Will Church’s assistant working on a roster that includes Big Thief, Japanese Breakfast, Julia Holter, Snail Mail, Whitney and more. She also assists Alex Bruford on Fontaines D.C.
You’ve been involved in live music since you were a teenager – was someone else in your family involved in the business, or was there something or someone else who prompted your interest?
I grew up in a family that loved music, but no one in our family or life worked in the arts, so I had no connections to that world at all (and hadn’t even considered the potential of a career in it). I finished school and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life, deferred university for a year (Events Management at UWL), and was working in a bar in Leicester that had a venue attached. The venue booker, John Helps, asked one day if I’d like to try out show repping to get some events experience before going to university. It turned out that I loved it and ended up repping all the gigs and running the door before, during, and after university.
You were very successful at getting your foot in the door at the start of your career. What advice would you have for others who are looking to forge a career in the music industry?
Approach your local music venue and ask if they need anyone to run the door or if you could assist a show rep some nights – working on the ground at gigs is such valuable experience. You’ll learn so much about what it actually means to run a show, and it’s a great way to meet people in the industry and start to build a network.
You were on the promoting end of the business to start off with. What prompted you to move to the agency side?
I was still trying to work out what I wanted to do with my career, and a job coming up at ATC felt like a good opportunity to try something different. The idea of getting to work on shows taking place all across the world was really exciting, so I made the leap haven’t looked back since.
IFF, The Great Escape, and Futures Forum are great events to attend early in your career
In terms of expanding your network of contacts, are there any events, platforms or forums you attend that you would recommend to others?
IFF, The Great Escape, and Futures Forum (the young person’s day at ILMC) are great events to attend early in your career. Many of the international industry professionals travel to these, giving you the opportunity to put some faces to your ever-growing network of email addresses.
You work across quite a number of clients. What has been one of the biggest highlights of your career, so far?
I’ve worked with Fontaines D.C. for five years, and watching their growth has been incredible. A standout moment was at the end of their Hammersmith Apollo shows when they played ‘I Love You.’ Everyone was singing along, and red confetti with ‘I Love You’ written on it fell through the air. That moment was pretty magic, and I’ve kept a piece of that confetti on my dressing table ever since.
Is there anyone in your life that you see as a mentor, or who helped you learn the ropes?
Alex Bruford – he’s the busiest man I’ve ever known but he’ll always find the time to answer your questions, to guide you through a tricky problem or to give you a shout-out for doing a great job on something.
“It’s our duty to make sure every person along the way feels safe, comfortable and fully able to enjoy themselves”
As a new boss, what one thing would you change to try to improve the live music business?
We still need further diversity in the workforce across race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability and socio-economic backgrounds. Not only for the artists we are representing but also for the fans we are putting the shows on for. It’s our duty to make sure every person along the way feels safe, comfortable and fully able to enjoy themselves, and that’ll only be possible when all corners of society are represented in the planning.
Further understanding and care of mental health in the industry. It can be a highly stressful career, and even small improvements in employee care can prevent burnout and keep people feeling supported and valued. ATC Live provide an EAP (employee assistance program) that offers a 24/7 helpline, counselling sessions, and access to expert advice. Knowing that your employer is committed to providing this support feels incredibly reassuring.
What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?
Continuing to work alongside amazing artists and their teams, being a part of their journey as their careers grow feels very special. You never stop learning in this career so hopefully I’ll be wiser too.
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Loud and Proud 2024: IQ’s pride playlist now live
IQ Magazine’s fourth annual Pride takeover edition heralds the return of the Loud & Proud playlist, for which our partner agencies have spotlighted fast-emerging queer artists to note.
This year, IQ has extended the Loud & Proud profiles to include a dozen acts represented by ATC Live, CAA, Earth Agency, Midnight Mango, One Fiinix Live, Playbook Artists, Primary Talent, Pure Represents, Queer Artists Agency, Solo, UTA, and WME.
Artists included in Loud & Proud 2024, along with their agents, are:
Asbjørn (DK) Frederik Diness Ove, Queer Music Agency
Beth McCarthy (UK) Jess Kinn, One Fiinix Live
Brimheim (DK) Paul McGivern, Playbook Artists
Evangeline Gentle (CA) Rich Quarterman, Midnight Mango
Fletcher (US) Bilge Morden, CAA
Gia Ford (UK) Caitlin Ballard, ATC Live
Girlband! (UK), Charly Beedell-Tuck, Solo Agency
Liz Lawrence (UK) Hayley Morrison, Simon O’Neill & Angus Baskerville, Pure Represents
Lucky Love (FR) Christina Austin & Jules de Lattre, UTA
Reneé Rapp (US) Lucy Dickins, Ben Totis & Dvora Englefield, WME
She Drew The Gun (UK) Claire Courtney, Earth Agency
Tom Rasmussen (UK) Sally Dunstone, Primary Talent International
Listen to the full Loud & Proud playlist below:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5U1Wb37yhJT9XuYeLfO8cR?si=dc38b05ef6a346cc
The full Loud & Proud feature, including all 12 profiles, is available here for subscribers of IQ Magazine.
Click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below.
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ATC Group revenues soar 156% post Sandbag deal
London-based music company All Things Considered (ATC) Group has reported revenues of £24.1 million (€28.3m) for 2023.
The total, revealed in ATC’s newly released financial results, represents a year-on-year increase of 156% on 2022’s £9.4m, fuelled by a £16.2m contribution from its “transformative” acquisition of merchandise firm Sandbag in July last year.
ATC’s divisions include booking agency ATC Live, ATC Management, ATC Services, ATC Experience and livestreaming company Driift. Its artist representation segment was up slightly from £6.57m in 2022 to £6.65m in 2023.
ATC Live, which operates a strategic partnership with Arrival Artists in North America, saw a 4% decline in revenue during 2023, “with a small number of key clients between touring cycles”. Its roster includes acts such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Fontaines D.C., PJ Harvey and Jungle.
“ATC Live’s relationship with Arrival Artists in North America continues to bear fruit as the combined offer of ‘global live representation’ assists in winning new clients,” says ATC Group CEO Adam Driscoll. “A number of ATC Live’s key clients are active in touring during 2024. Given the lead times involved in touring, ATC Live has already contracted 90% of its financial forecast for 2024 so we are encouraged about the likely financial outturn for the business for this year. One of the key clients, Fontaines D.C., for example, has recently announced a tour which has generated substantial ticket sales far in excess of the previous touring cycle.
“In an indication of the breadth of artists that are being attracted to ATC Live’s roster, two recent signings include legendary classic band Devo alongside brand new artist Good Neighbours, whose first single release has, with the aid of TikTok fan interaction, already delivered over 175 million Spotify plays.”
“This position will be reversed in 2024 with bigger clients out on the road again and a strengthened roster as a result of recruiting new agents and clients”
The division, which is said to be now ranked as the seventh largest agency globally, generated £2.14m of revenue in 2023, compared to £2.22m in 2022.
“This position will be reversed in 2024 with bigger clients out on the road again and a strengthened roster as a result of recruiting new agents and clients in 2023,” says the filing. “ATC Live is forecasting materially increased turnover for 2024 and has already contracted nearly 90% of its budgeted figure so we remain confident about the continuing pattern of growth for the business.”
ATC Group, which also has offices in New York and Los Angeles, declared a loss before tax of £3.04m for the year “substantially impacted by share of results of Driift, a minority interest, as expected”. Its operating EBITDA showed a loss of £0.46m (2022: Operating EBITDA loss of £0.10 million before profit of £0.83m from one-off services transaction), “reflecting continued investment in managers and agents”.
ATC Management’s recent acquisition of a 55% stake in Raw Power Management cost £1.41m, according to the filing, while it also acquired 50% of Mckeown Asset Management in February 2024, extending its revenue streams into festival management, live music promotion and venue assets. ATC raised £2.3m through a share subscription earlier this year.
“The material developments realised in 2023 following a period of strategic investment have substantially enhanced the Group’s position to capitalise on the multiple revenue opportunities within the disrupted and growing global music industry,” says Driscoll. “The value in the music market lies with the artists and the way in which they engage directly with their fanbases. We have put together a collection of assets that sit at the heart of that strategic shift.
“Following this year of consolidation, we believe we have the right building blocks in place, including a larger, more diversified client base, a broader service offerings and a robust financial position. This, together with positive trading momentum into 2024, leaves us excited about the remainder of the year and the opportunities that lie beyond.”
“I am delighted that we are in business with Modern Sky”
Yesterday (23 May), ATC Group announced a new cooperation agreement with leading Chinese independent music company Modern Sky. The deal seeks to expand the global presence of the Modern Sky brand and its talent and events portfolio worldwide, with the initial focus being on the UK market.
“I am delighted that we are in business with Modern Sky,” adds Driscoll. “As one of China’s leading independent music companies, they offer a significant opportunity for ATC to expand its reach into a growing market for the benefit of our clients. And we are excited to work with the team in Beijing to bring Modern Sky events and talent into the markets in which we operate.”
Modern Sky will help to cultivate the growth of artists from the ATC talent roster in China, with the companies to leverage their mutual resources across management, live representation, merchandising, marketing and digital, to drive artists’ business forward in their respective markets.
“I am very much looking forward to cooperating with ATC Group,” says Modern Sky founder and CEO Shen Lihui. “I hope that through this cooperation, we can open up the connection between the two markets and jointly provide more complete services and more development for talented artists around the world.”
ATC listed on the Aquis Growth Market in London in December 2021 after raising £4.15 million in its initial public offer.
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ATC’s Alex Bruford on Fontaines DC’s arena ascent
ATC Live founder and MD Alex Bruford has given IQ the inside track on Fontaines D.C.’s live progress ahead of their biggest run of shows to date.
The Irish post-punk band, who release their fourth album Romance on 23 August, have a packed summer in store, with slots at festivals including Sideways (Finland), Hurricane & Southside (Germany), Fuji Rock (Japan), Sziget (Hungary), Pukkelpop (Belgium), Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds (UK), among others.
They will then visit the US & Canada in the autumn, followed by a European tour in November/December, stopping at venues such as the WiZink Center in Madrid, Verti Music Hall in Berlin, two shows at Alexandra Palace in London, a three-night stand at The Factory in Manchester and arena dates in Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds and Glasgow.
The outing will then conclude in their native Dublin, Ireland, with two concerts at 3Arena on 6 & 7 December.
In the following Q&A, Bruford, their agent, talks IQ through the story so far…
“Working with Fontaines D.C. has been a joy, primarily because of the bands remarkable drive, determination and prolific output”
How have you managed the band’s growth on the live scene up to this point?
“Working with Fontaines D.C. has been a joy, primarily because of the bands remarkable drive, determination and prolific output. The band released their first three albums in the space of three years – Dogrel in 2019, A Hero’s Death in 2020 and SkintyFia in 2022. Each album pushed the band forward musically and creatively, and the momentum they were able to build with this pace of releasing has been crucial to their growth live.
“Managing the growth has come down to long term planning, building of multiple territories simultaneously, reacting quickly when necessary and working with promoter partners who are as dedicated to ensuring the band achieve their goals as we are. In particular, Dan Roberts at Metropolis Music in the UK has been instrumental to the UK touring success.
“It’s not all been plain sailing – on the first album campaign the band’s career acceleration was so fast that there were too many demands on the band members, and we all had to learn what pace of touring worked best for them. Now we have a good balance and a fantastic production team, led by PM Marcus Haughton, who takes care of the band globally. Marcus and myself work closely together from the inception of tour plans to ensure all routings are as strategic and logistically efficient as they can be, whilst ensuring the necessary rest is built in for the guys to be at their best on the road.”
What is the strategy around the coming campaign?
“Working closely with the band’s management, Ian McAndrew, Emma Greengrass and Trevor Dietz, and Cerys Vaughan at ATC Live, we started working on the strategy for the Romance campaign two years ago.
“The band’s last show in Europe was 2022 so it feels like the right time to hit the stage again. The first shows back will be at select festivals in the summer of 2024 that don’t clash with our November headline tour plans, allowing us to announce the tour in April 2024 around the release of the new single Starburster.
“We’ll headline the Park Stage at Glastonbury and then release the album with XL records on 23 August, the day before the band hit the main stage at Reading & Leeds, two key media moments.
“We’ve added headline shows in markets we won’t get to on the album tour around the 2024 festivals”
“We’ve added headline shows in markets we won’t get to on the album tour around the 2024 festivals, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Slovenia, reaching more fans and further building the band’s touring footprint. The 2024 headline run will be the band’s biggest shows to date, and a springboard to extensive UK and European touring in summer 2025.
“The strategy laid out relied on one key factor – the band delivering the new record on time to release the first single in April and album by the end of August. Whilst we never want to put pressure on the creative process, the fact is that artists that can deliver music on time and in a planned window have a huge advantage over those that can’t.
“In the interim period [vocalist] Grian Chatten released an acclaimed solo record, which received much support at press and radio. Grian had the option to tour the record, but made the wise decision to focus on writing and recording the next Fontaines D.C. album, a decision which is paying dividends now.
“Knowing that we could rely on the band to make the timeline work enabled us to secure the best nights of the week for every key show – so we went up with Friday and Saturday in London, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Manchester and Friday and Saturday in Dublin, crucial to the success of the tour launch. They hit the target, delivering their best record to date and on schedule.”
“Demand has exceeded expectations by some way – it’s clear that the band have made a major step forward”
There is a “reduced price ticket” option for certain tour dates, what was the thinking behind that?
“The band have always been keen to ensure there is an opportunity for those on lower incomes to come to the shows, and not be priced out, so we made sure some reduced price tickets were available for this purpose.”
What are your expectations for the group in 2024?
“Demand has exceeded expectations by some way – it’s clear that the band have made a major step forward. To sell out two Alexandra Palaces (20,000 tickets) in London and three Aviva Studios in Manchester (15,000) tickets in one weekend is phenomenal business.
“In addition, we sold out the band’s first arena show in Ireland at the 3 Arena Dublin in a day, with a second date immediately added. My expectation is that all 2024 headline shows in the UK and Europe will be sold out.”
How would you compare their live popularity in the UK & Ireland with the rest of Europe?
“The UK and Ireland are the biggest markets for the band, but thanks to their hard work touring internationally many markets are a close second. In Amsterdam we sold out one AFAS arena (6,000 tickets) and added a second the morning of onsale. We had strong starts at our first arena shows in Madrid, Brussels and Paris. In Rome we have already sold out our summer show at the iconic Auditorium Parco della Musica, and our two summer headline shows in Poland are sold out.
“Further afield, Australia is a strong market for the band, with a very successful tour around the Laneway Festivals in 2023, and the band will return to Japan to play Fuji Rock Festival this summer.”
“The number of markets we can play arenas will continue to grow”
What’s the plan for Fontaines D.C. from here?
“The band are already an arena band, playing arenas in many markets on the 2024 tour. The number of markets we can play arenas will continue to grow. After the headlining their first festival at Green Man in 2021, we will see more festival headline shows.
“With four albums of material and extensive touring experience to draw on, the band will take the show to another level in 2024. The exciting part of where we are at now is that we are only 1 single into the new album campaign, with a phenomenal record to come.
“Fontaines D.C. are not here to tick off achievements, but to consistently challenge themselves and their audiences, which I have no doubt they will continue to do. We look forward to seeing where that takes us!”
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Young execs place bets on 2024’s breaking acts
Young and emerging executives shared their predictions for 2024’s breaking acts, during last week’s Futures Forum.
Gurj Summan (Live Nation, UK), Kerem Turgut (All Things Live, UAE), Niklas Magedanz (Goodlive Artists, DE) and Caitlin-Finn Ballard (ATC Live, UK) swapped artist tips during the increasingly popular session, Now That’s What I Call 2024.
The panel, moderated by Midnight Mango’s Louise McGovern, shared three tracks each with the audience, as well as information on the artists’ journey, live careers and more. See a full breakdown below.
Double Back – Coco Jones
Gurj Summan, Live Nation, said: “I loved her voice. She came up through Disney and signed to Def Jam in 2022. This year she got nominated for five Grammy Awards and won Best R&B Performance over the likes of SZA and Victoria Monet, so she’s having a great year. We promoted a show for her at KOKO in Camden last year and it sold out.”
Poolside – Gia Ford
Caitlin-Finn Ballard, ATC Live, said: “I started working with Gia this year and she signed to Chrysalis a few months ago. That song is an allegorical story about a pool boy working in the Hollywood Hills and building up resentment against the people he works for… She’s taken a very cinematic direction, it’s very dark and broody. She’s an amazing live vocalist and is about to go on tour supporting Marika Hackman.”
Ainda Bern – Marisa Monte
Kerem Turgut, All Things Live, said: “In the UAE, we have over 200 nationalities and the Brazilian population is around 10,000. So we decided to book [Brazilian singer and composed] Marisa Monte. She’s going to play in Dubai at the end of November for two days because we are very confident she could sell over 2,000 tickets.”
www she hot – UCHE YARA
Niklas Magedanz, Goodlive Artists, said: “She is 20 years old, we started working with her when she was 19. She’s a talent that I have rarely seen… such an aura on stage and a unique sound. I describe her sound as Little Simz meets King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. We’re doing the Germany shows for her first headline tour, this spring all across Europe. The best is yet to come.”
N.L.S (Nach Le Soniye) – Raf Saperra
Gurj Summan, Live Nation, said: “He is UK-born, from Lewisham. British-Asian and represents the culture. He has had an enormous trajectory in the last year. We had a sold-out tour and he recently got signed to Mass Appeal which is Nas’s imprint. Releasing a new album next week. He’s a mixture of two worlds, hip hop and Bhangra. In the Asian scene, he’s one of the most exciting acts to come out of the UK, selling out shows pretty much everywhere; America, Canada and Australia.”
Candyman – Loverman
Caitlin-Finn Ballard, ATC Live, said: “This is one of my newest signings, an Anglo-Belgium artist. I got a tip from Live Nation Belgium, they told me he was selling out his first tour after releasing his debut album. He had two sold-out ABs in Brussels and they invited me along to one of them. I completely forgot I was there for work, I had hairs standing up on the back of my arms… he’s got one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.”
The City Holds My Heart – Ghostly Kisses
Kerem Turgut, All Things Live, said: “She’s from Canada and I had a chance to work with her in 2019 before Covid in Istanbul. She sold almost 1,000 tickets in Turkey and 2,000 tickets in Egypt. In 2022, we brought her to Dubai Opera House and sold over 1,300 tickets which is an amazing number for this kind of emerging act. The following year, she visited Bahrain and Kuwait and did very well. In 2024, she’ll come back to the region again.”
Follow Don’t Follow – orbit
Niklas Magedanz, Goodlive Artists, said: “We are all very excited about him in our office. He’s a special and introverted artist who makes music with his childhood friends. All that started to develop well during the pandemic, he gained millions of streams on his first singles and did a DIY tour in people’s backyards all over Europe. We have him on 1,000-capacity level in Germany. His debut album hasn’t even been released yet. He has a very active and strong fanbase and makes electronic music for indie kids and vice verse. He currently doesn’t have an international agent in place!”
Normal – Skrapz
Gurj Summan, Live Nation, said: “Skrapz has been around for a while but he’s a solid rapper. We just announced his headline show a few weeks ago and it sold out pretty much on the day. His album is out today (Friday 1 March), it’s called Reflections. He’s signed to UTA and he’s doing really well… really excited future ahead.”
Backseat Baby – Cosmorat
Caitlin-Finn Ballard, ATC Live, said: “It’s the first single they’ve released. They’re two introverted, nerdy sound engineers who are geniuses when it comes to recording and writing. It’s been a heartening experience working with them; I’ve realised that word of mouth is still so powerful because they had no team or money behind them. Attention has picked up bit by bit to the point that we’re now doing a big festival summer. Now, they’ve got a team in place and we’ve got some fun shows lined up for their EP launch.”
Pasoori – Shae Gill, Ali Sethi
Kerem Turgut, All Things Live, said: “This video has more than 700 million views on YouTube. The artist is from Pakistan but he lives in New York. We had the chance to host him in 2023 in Dubai, which sold over 2,000 tickets. In Dubai, we have almost two million Indians, and one million Pakistanis, so the South Asian community is very strong. And then we put him on our programme and the show was great. We are going to bring him to the region again in January 2025. I think he’s a great artist and he’s very strong in our market.
Aspiration – Zaho de Sagazan
Niklas Magedanz, Goodlive Artists, said: “We booked her to Reeperbahn festival in Hamburg last fall and I have never received so many festival offers for an artist in the first year, especially in Germany. In France, it’s going even better for her. She’s playing the Zenith in Paris already. We really hope that this great potential comes over to Germany sometime soon.”
See the full playlist for Now That’s What I Call 2024 below.
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Alex Bruford: Transforming the industry landscape
Having toured globally with indie-electro headliners Infadels, Alex Bruford has first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be a working musician and has used that experience to establish and develop ATC Live as an agency that puts its clients front and centre. Gordon Masson speaks to Bruford as he celebrates 20 years in music…
When ATC Live launched in 2011, its founder and managing director Alex Bruford set out to create an agency that would be markedly different from existing companies. And 12 years later, that goal continues to be central to the London-headquartered operation.
“Our number-one priority is delivering for our artists. That’s why this company started, and it will continue to be the case,” states Bruford. “We’re not interested in volume. We’re focused on ensuring we can provide our artists with everything they need to build the career they desire. We’ve proven that we can take artists from small clubs, like [London’s] The Shacklewell [Arms] or the Hoxton [Square] Bar & Kitchen and turn them into festival headliners.”
While the agency started out with one employee and just five client acts, today there are 35 staff across offices in London, Glasgow, and Paris, representing close to 500 acts. Bruford’s personal roster includes Amyl and The Sniffers, Baxter Dury, Black Pumas, Fontaines D.C., Metronomy, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Julia Jacklin, Sleaford Mods, and The Lumineers, among others.
“The goal is to continue to grow ATC Live but at the same time to make sure we have the infrastructure, capability and services we need to deliver for our artists,” adds Alex.
“When we created ATC Live, we wanted to do something different, and I think we’ve achieved that. Historically, a lot of the agency landscape was dominated by a small number of men who wanted to retain control over the industry, whereas I’m much more in favour of supporting the next generation to come through and be successful, as well as introducing more diversity into the music industry – diversity of thought, diversity of background, diversity of people – and just trying to make it a more representative place.”
“When you’re growing up going to big arenas and on American tours, it obviously has an influence on your path in life”
His journey to this point has been a storied one, but with his father, Bill Bruford, acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest drummers and percussionists, a career in the music business always seemed a likely path for Alex.
Early Years
Born in London, Alex grew up near Guildford in Surrey and from the cradle was surrounded by music, often being taken on the road to see his father performing with the likes of King Crimson and Yes.
“When you’re growing up going to big arenas and on American tours, it obviously has an influence on your path in life,” notes Alex. “At school, I was definitely into music – I did my piano theory and learned the drums. And in my early teen years I started getting into bands and playing outside of school.
“My parents very much tried to persuade me not to follow in Dad’s footsteps, but I specifically remember a day when I said to my dad, ‘I think I know what I want to do: Iwant to be a drummer,’ and him turning around and saying, ‘Well, you better start practising because you’re not very good.’”
Unperturbed, Alex threw himself into his music. “My first gig was in 1996 at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden,” he recalls. “But it took about seven years from then to get it right and for it to become something that I did professionally.”
“A lot of the festivals and promoters that I met through the band, I still work with today”
In 2003, Bruford found himself behind the skins for newly formed quintet Infadels. “Our first gig was at the Betsey Trotwood [pub] in London, and while we only got paid £40, it felt good – we knew we were onto something. We got signed to Wall of Sound and then PIAS and Sony fairly soon after that. We were championed by Eddy Temple-Morris who hosted XFM’s The Remix Show. Eddy was really the man – he put us on his club nights and played us on the radio all the time.
“It was an exciting time. […] We were going out on tour as support for bands like Prodigy, Faithless, Chemical Brothers, all those kinds of acts, which was great: we learned the ropes through them before eventually doing our own headline tours.”
As a group of lads in their mid-20s, Infadels made the most of their moment in the sun and enjoyed close to a decade of making music together. “We went everywhere,” says Bruford. “We toured around Europe multiple times, as well as America, China, Australia, Russia, South America. In total, we played about 500 gigs around the world.”
Bruford contends those experiences were a fundamental learning curve for his future career as an agent. “I understand what it’s like to be on the stage as an artist; what it feels like to be driving in the wrong direction on your day off, and things like that. These are the memories that I look back on and use every day to try to make life for my clients as easy and comfortable as possible.”
Being on the road with Infadels also introduced Alex to a wide range of industry personalities – many of whom he still works with in a professional capacity, two decades later. “A lot of the festivals and promoters that I met through the band, I still work with today. I remember Barnaby Harrod in Spain coming to meet us at the Moby Dick in Madrid, where he promoted our show – and I still work with Barnaby now. That goes for a bunch of other people as well.”
“I remember teching for Calvin Harris at V Festival when the backing track went down. The trauma of being partly responsible for that technical failure was absolutely horrendous”
Getting Behind
Recalling how he first became involved backstage, Bruford tells IQ, “The band was quite successful, and we had our own crew. But when things started on a downward spiral, we couldn’t afford the crew anymore, so I took over a lot of the tour managing side, and I’d be settling the shows. That’s how I met the network of promoters that sort of kicked off what I do now.
“Infadels did three albums – all great in their own right. The first record was when it was really hot and going really well. But by the time that we got to the third album, I was thinking, ‘Okay, what are we going to do next because I don’t think I’m going to be doing this in 15 years’ time.’”
Having tour-managed Infadels, Bruford explored that side of the business with a number of acts. However, he was soon looking for another avenue. “I remember teching for Calvin Harris at V Festival when the backing track went down. The trauma of being partly responsible for that technical failure was absolutely horrendous. So, I realised that was not the path for me. But as a result, I have huge respect for the production crew and professionals that put our shows together. Witnessing how they assemble and tear down shows with military precision is incredible.”
Looking back at his time in the band, he confesses, “I loved being on the road, to start off with anyway. The first time around, visiting all the cities and the festivals is incredibly exciting and a wonderful experience. But when you go around again and there’s a few less people at the gig than last time, then it doesn’t feel so great.”
Nonetheless, Infadels enjoyed some stellar highlights. “Playing Glastonbury, Coachella, playing shows in Moscow and then going straight to touring Australia. China was a highlight as well, as was playing great European festivals like Roskilde and Eurockéennes and those kinds of events. We were lucky that we got to do most of them.”
“I was an agent with no experience and no roster, and I worked at a DJ company, so persuading live acts to join my roster was a bit of a tough sell”
And it could have been even better but for the intervention of Belgian festival gremlins.
“We had a memorable show on the main stage at Pukkelpop, where it was the biggest show of our career – 40,000 or 50,000 people there to see us. And all the power went down in our second song. It was the show that was supposed to be the one to break us in Europe, but sadly, no. We managed to get the power back, but it took a long time and the momentum had gone.”
Special Agent
Searching for a long-term career solution, in 2010, Bruford applied for a role at Reprise Agency, which specialised in the electronic and DJ world. “I saw they had an admin position, and I needed a job and thought I could probably do music admin. The company founder, Howard Gray, gave me the job, but he pretty quickly asked if I’d like to work as an agent and try to bring some live acts to the roster.”
The switch was challenging. “I was an agent with no experience and no roster, and I worked at a DJ company, so persuading live acts to join my roster was a bit of a tough sell. But a couple of people took a bet on me: Johnny Pinchard, the founder of music collective Off Modern, was managing a band called Fiction. And Stephen Bass at Moshi Moshi had signed a band called Teeth. And for whatever reason they chose me as their agent, for which I will always be grateful. Years later, Stephen appointed me agent for Metronomy, and we’ve had a great time working with them over the last couple of records.
“But that’s how I started my journey as an agent. I managed to get a few acts on board, and then I signed an artist called Ali Love who was blowing up at the time. We did some good work together, and he was managed by Jean Coffey, who was at ATC management.”
“A number of established agents told me that it was impossible, but that only made me more determined”
Having impressed Coffey with his carefully crafted strategy for Ali Love, Bruford was invited to meet ATC founders Brian Message and Craig Newman, and that conversation planted the seed for an ATC agency division.
Bruford reveals, “It turns out that they had been trying to persuade established agents to join them in some capacity for a while, but no one was crazy enough to do it. However, I just thought, ‘What do I have to lose?’ So, in 2011, it was agreed that I would launch a new agency – ATC Live – in partnership with ATC.”
With an initial headcount of one and a roster of five acts – Ali Love, Fiction, Teeth, The Duke Spirit, and Treetop Flyers – Bruford set about creating and building the kind of agency that he, as a former artist, would like to have been represented by.
“It was interesting,” he notes. “A number of established agents told me that it was impossible, but that only made me more determined. Immediately after the deal was done, I got on a plane to South by Southwest to start telling as many people as I could that there was a new agency called ATC Live.”
One of the first new acts to enlist Bruford and ATC Live as his reps was Baxter Dury. “He was the first artist I signed up where I thought we could have a long-term relationship,” states Alex. “He is a brilliant artist, but he was such a rough diamond at the time and was not close to being fully formed. But we supported each other as we learned our respective trades, and now, 12 or 13 years later, he’s about to play a sold-out Roundhouse – his biggest show to date. It’s been a fantastic journey with him. Those are the kinds of relationships that I love and exactly what I wanted to achieve when we established ATC Live as a home for career artists.”
“I believed there was a space in the business for an agency that was focused on artists rather than volume”
Philosophy
Given a blank sheet to create the type of agency he perceived was missing from the industry landscape, Bruford tells IQ that his years of being a touring musician, coupled with his experience of working on the crew side of things, helped shape a doctrine that exists to this day at ATC Live.
“I believed there was a space in the business for an agency that was focused on artists rather than volume,” he states. “For me, the music and the artists are at the heart of everything that we do. They have to come first.
“An artist can walk onto a stage and deliver that unique, magic moment that you get from a brilliant live performance. The whole live music industry and its infrastructure exists because of artists who are able to create those incredible moments, but I think people sometimes forget that. A major part of our job is making sure that when the artist arrives on stage, they are in the best possible frame of mind to create something special.”
He continues, “I wanted to have an agency that wasn’t high volume, high turnover. I wanted it to be focused on artists that we really believe in and who we’re going to support over their entire careers. I also felt like there was a space for an agency that wanted to create collaborative relationships with promoters and managers and artists: relationships that were much more based on partnerships working together, rather than the traditional old-school agent/promoter power dynamic.”
Delving into detail, he adds, “I wanted to have partnerships with our promoters in a way that we could talk and collectively decide the best way forward for artists to build their careers.”
“Taking on-board local advice is really important for an artist’s career”
And the result? “It’s been good, because historically, agents just told people what to do and when to do it. But actually, taking on-board local advice is really important for an artist’s career.”
Developing Talent
While Alex’s ATC ethos was – and is – to target quality over quantity, in those early days, he was aware that his personal roster needed to grow. “I needed something that was going to really make a mark,” he admits. “At South by Southwest in 2012, Henning Ahrens, who was at Four Artists at the time, tipped me off about The Lumineers. I went to see them playing in a church, and it was an unbelievable show: the song writing, musicianship, everything about the performance – the way they engaged the crowd – it was knock-out.
“I knew that nobody in the UK really knew about The Lumineers, but they would very soon. So as soon as I got home, I jumped back on a plane to Boston to see them at a regional show where they were touring with the Kopecky Family Band. They were kind enough to give me some time backstage to chat, and I shared my vision for them. And soon after they joined the roster, which was a turning point because their album came out in April of that year, and it was just a rocket ship journey.”
Indeed, as The Lumineers’ popularity grew, Bruford had to upgrade venues four times on their debut record cycle. “Within 18 months, in London alone, we played Koko, Shepherd’s Bush, two nights at Brixton Academy, and Alexandra Palace. It was a real calling card for the agency,” he states.
“Since then, the band has gone from strength to strength and are now a stadium band: this summer they played their biggest-ever outdoor shows in Europe, headlining the 20,000-cap St Anne’s Park in Dublin and the 20,000-cap Crystal Palace Park in London.
“For a long time, it was just a case of working all the hours there were to keep up with the growth of our artists”
“It’s been a brilliant journey, but for a long time, it was just a case of working all the hours there were to keep up with the growth of our artists. When they played Alexandra Palace, I came back to the office, slept on the sofa, and got up a few hours later to crack on with the next day’s work because that’s what I had to do at the time.
“But after The Lumineers’ success, it was clear things were happening here. And that’s when other people started to get onboard and join ATC Live.”
Alex’s Army
Having taken his time to establish the agency as a bespoke home for talent, Bruford’s first employee was assistant Josh Adley. “He was really important in helping me to get things going,” says Bruford. “In 2013, we were joined by Colin Keenan and shortly afterwards Will Church, Stuart Kennedy, and Bertie Gibbon came along.
“The fact that Colin, Will, Stu and Bertie are still at ATC Live ten years later is testament to the way we all worked together to establish a new approach. They are cornerstones of what we do here: Colin brought Passenger with him, an established artist; Will had the experience of being at Elastic and Mainstage and had a cool electronic-leaning roster; Stu was assisting Colin and has since become an agent in his own right; and Bertie joined us to help shape the roster from an A&R perspective.
“We’ve since added agents Clemence Renaut, Sinan Ors, Alice Hogg, Marlon Burton, Skully Sullivan Kaplan, Graham Clews and Ed Thompson, and internally promoted Sarah Joy, Roxane Dumoulin and Caitlin Ballard to the role of agent.”
“It’s those people that pick up the phone and give you the support when nothing’s going on that really stick in your mind”
Key to those appointments was Bruford’s growing reputation among industry colleagues who supported the culture he was trying to establish at ATC Live. He tells IQ, “I put the word out that I was looking for the right people and promoters and other people connected the dots and said, ‘You should speak to Colin’ or ‘You should speak to Will.’ That’s the pattern of how things happened with everyone that joined in the early days of the agency.”
Among those early industry supporters, says Bruford, were the likes of agent Natasha Gregory and promoter Steve Tilley. “Natasha was always a big support to me. She helped me a lot when I didn’t know whether someone was trying to rip me off or not. Also, very early on, Steve Tilley came and met me for a cup of tea. It’s those people that pick up the phone and give you the support when nothing’s going on that really stick in your mind.”
Another tenet of the ATC Live philosophy has been to allow agents to work outside of the traditional agency locations. “We have offices in Glasgow and Paris, and we’ve been very keen to facilitate flexible working for people and allow them to live and work wherever they needed, even before Covid made that more common.
“My attitude has always been that as long as people can do the job and we can support what they need, then we can make things work no matter where they are based. For us, having people on the ground in Scotland and mainland Europe has been a bonus because they know about what’s going on in those scenes more than we ever would in London.”
Another expectation at ATC Live is that agents will not simply sign up as many acts as possible in the hope that one or two of them will break. “Having a personal roster with 100 acts doesn’t seem fair on the clients, to be honest,” says Bruford. “I don’t think you can effectively service an artist if you have that many acts on your roster.
“We want to ensure that we have the time to build unique touring plans for every artist”
“We want to ensure that we have the time to build unique touring plans for every artist: whatever is right for them, for their album, for their journey, their music, their career path. Some of our artists want to play 300 shows a year, others want to play one show a year. And others want to tour skate parks. We want to be able to facilitate all those different wishes, and our job is to help artists build something unique around them every time they play live.”
Positive Attitude
Regarded as one of the agency world’s deep thinkers, and described by peers variously as “level-headed,” “sensible,” “intelligent,” and “approachable,” Bruford himself states that when it comes to the bad times, he tries to focus on the positives.
“We all make mistakes, and of course I’ve had moments where negative things have happened, but I’ve always just tried to put that behind me, learn from it, and move on,” he tells IQ.
But he is still deeply affected by the 2019 death of ATC agent Chris Meredith, aged just 37. “Losing Chris was the toughest time that we’ve had here as a business. He was such an incredible agent and beloved friend and colleague. Losing Chris was hard on everyone at the company.”
Rivalry
Attention to detail has served Bruford well, as he can only recall losing one act from his roster over the years. “Unfortunately, it’s part of the job, and it just comes with the territory, but I would like to think that other agents are fairly respectful. But, of course, if there’s an opportunity, they’ll go for it,” he laughs.
“We’ve had a lot of knocks at the door, but we’ve been following our path for all this time, and we will continue to do so”
The ATC Live ethos, devised by Bruford, has also attracted acquisition interest from rival agencies. “We’ve had a lot of knocks at the door,” says Bruford, “but we’ve been following our path for all this time, and we will continue to do so.”
To that end, Bruford brokered a partnership deal with Arrival Artists when the latter launched as an agency in 2020. “Erik Selz, John Bongiorno, Ali Hedrick, Karl Morse, and Ethan Berlin all came out of Paradigm in America during Covid and were setting up an agency. Erik, in particular, wanted to find an international partner, and at the same time, we wanted to have a partner in North America as well.”
Reporting on the success of the tie-up, Bruford says, “It’s three years now, and it’s going really well. Collectively, we’re the only independent agency to be able to offer global booking, which is great for us and the acts we represent. We communicate clearly, and we just provide a very dedicated and experienced service with agents in each market. We’re able to offer a personalised approach to global booking, so it’s been very satisfying to have found the right people to work with and to whom we’re very aligned in terms of the roster.”
Looking to the future, he does not rule out ATC Live satellite offices in other continents, especially as he believes that music coming out of the likes of Africa and Asia will see the emergence of new artists from those regions.
“We’ve got people in the building that represent clients from all around the world, but I think having agents that are more specialised in some of those territories will be certainly something for the future,” he comments.
“I feel very strongly that the artists need to be paid a fair share of the gross of the show, rather than just the small portion that they’re getting at the moment”
Activism
As for personal plans, Bruford tells IQ, “I’m very ambitious to continue improving our industry. I really feel as though there needs to be more transparency. We’ve had an industry that [for] too long has revolved around backhanders and rebates, and I feel very strongly that the artists need to be paid a fair share of the gross of the show, rather than just the small portion that they’re getting at the moment.
“I’d like to see serious dialogue about how we divide the revenues associated with live performance. When you get into ticketing, F&B, merch, and all the different revenue streams, we need to find a way for that to be split more fairly.”
And Alex is confident others in the industry agree. “Generally speaking, people are moving towards a more transparent business,” he says. “We’re seeing that in the States, especially with ticketing, where people want to understand where the money is going. But there are also a lot of people who like things the way they are.”
Cutting the carbon footprint of live performance is also a personal goal for Bruford. “I sit on the board of an American environmental non-profit called Sound Future, which is focused on activating tech solutions and leveraging the influence of live events to accelerate climate action.”
As a result, ATC Live provides green riders that its clients can adopt, depending how far each act wants to pursue such matters. “We want to have the tools to be able to advise them on all the possible options,” notes Bruford.
“We have to be cognisant of the wider ecosystem: we have to remember that grassroots venues are struggling, and without those grassroots venues, the talent pipeline stops”
Back To Basics Going Forward
Having successfully steered ATC Live through the Covid years, Bruford reports that the 25% of its headcount who departed during the pandemic have since returned, and employee numbers now exceed those of 2019.
“Live music is definitely back, and it’s great to see people going to shows and willing to spend money. But I think we have to be really careful about how much we charge for our tickets,” he warns.
“Lots of people are very focused on their own shows and maximising the revenue for those shows. But we have to be cognisant of the wider ecosystem: we have to remember that grassroots venues are struggling, and without those grassroots venues, the talent pipeline stops.
“Ultimately, we need to figure out a way of not just syphoning off all the money at the top but making sure that some of it finds its way into the grassroots end of the spectrum.”
That support is fundamental to the ATC Live chief, who discloses that a lot of his job satisfaction derives from breaking new talent. “Seeing an artist play their first-ever festival headline show is such a thrill,” he says. “Two years ago, Fontaines D.C. stepped on stage to headline Green Man, and the set was blistering, making it clear to everyone involved that this is a band that is going to headline many more festivals.
“Some festivals are taking risks on the next generation of headliners. Artists are getting bigger faster than they ever have”
“That moment of when you’ve taken an artist who was playing 100-capacity rooms, and you help them develop their career – the likes of Julia Jacklin springs to mind, where she recently sold-out 3,000 tickets at the Roundhouse. I started with her with 100 tickets, so it was a super-emotional evening for everyone.”
Getting Nicked
The appreciation works both ways, too. Such is Bruford’s relationship with Nick Cave that at the completion of his 32 headline festival run across Europe last summer, the artist left a signed photo album on Bruford’s desk detailing his performances with a heartfelt personal message to Alex thanking him for all he had done.
Meanwhile, the agent is genuinely excited about younger acts being given the chance to shine. “Some festivals are taking risks on the next generation of headliners,” he observes. “Artists are getting bigger faster than they ever have. Look at the likes of Boygenius who’ve gone stratospheric. So, it’s important that festivals give those artists an opportunity to headline.”
But he acknowledges that other acts – and often career musicians – are having to work hard on creative campaigns with their agents in order to entice fans back through venue doors. “If you’re hot, exciting, and new, then everybody wants to see you. But if you’re in the mid-level, where you’re used to grinding out 1,000 tickets a night, then rising costs and simply retaining the attention of fans is making life a lot more difficult than it used to be.”
Nonetheless, Bruford and his ATC Live team relish such challenges, and he concludes that he cannot imagine working in any other sector.
“It’s been a brilliant 20 years,” he acknowledges. “The interesting thing about this job is it’s all relative – a highlight can be an artist playing to 40,000 people or it can be an artist selling out to 2,000 people if that artist has slugged their guts out for ten years to get there. It’s all relevant to what that artist’s ambitions and expectations and career goals are. And we’re here to deliver on those wishes.”
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