Musical patriotism is on the rise in many markets, but Italy still makes for a remarkable case study. Last year, according to FIMI, the local recorded music industry association, Italian releases claimed 84% of the country’s Top 100 album chart. That included, not for the first time, all top ten albums and all top ten singles, where big-selling stars of the moment included double Sanremo Music Festival winner Mahmood, Roman rapper Tony Effe, Neapolitan rapper Geolier and, among a general increase in female representation, female rappers Rose Villain and Anna.

Inevitably, the live industry has prospered in kind, with summers full of stadium shows and victory-lap tours from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of young Italian talent. Prominent stars including Ultimo, Lazza, Sfera Ebbasta, Elodie, and Gazzelle compete with Coldplay, Zucchero, and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for dates at Milan’s San Siro stadium.

Since lockdown, the gold rush has scarcely abated for a second. Italy’s concert industry was worth almost €1bn to the country’s economy in 2023, according to FIMI, using data from IFPI, Deloitte, Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE), DISMA, and GfK.

The concert sector was the biggest driver of the country’s wider €3.1bn music industry, generating €967.4m from more than 36,000 events that attracted 23.7m spectators. Combined with dance and musical entertainment (€780.5m), the segment was responsible for 56.8% of direct contributions.

“The pre-pandemic numbers of 2019 have doubled – data that testifies to a constantly growing music scene and a professional and dynamic supply chain, capable of organising high-impact events in absolute safety,” Carlo Parodi, president of trade body Assomusica told Milan Music Week in November.

“This year, we have 53, 54 stadiums or open airs, and 39 of them will be local artists”

If 2024 wasn’t quite the year that 2023 was, in some eyes, with a marginally smaller number of stadium tourers on the move, then 2025 promises big things.

“This year, we have 53, 54 stadiums or open airs, and 39 of them will be local artists,” says Roberto De Luca, president of Live Nation Italy. “In ’23, the big international artists toured a lot. In ‘24, they toured a bit less. In ’25, they will tour extensively.”

With a heavy slate of hot young Italian acts, many of them from the fertile trap and rap world, Clemente Zard, CEO of CTS Eventim’s Vivo Concerti, likewise sees only growth. “From what I’ve observed, the Italian music market is buzzing, with growing opportunities in live events, especially as fans return to concerts with enthusiasm,” he says. “The competition is definitely heating up as more emerging artists enter the live industry. International players are also showing increased interest in the Italian market, driving local companies to innovate and stay competitive.”

Longstanding rock promoter Andrea Pieroni of DEAG joint venture MC2 endorses the sentiment. “These are good times, I would say,” he says. “2022 was very challenging after Covid. Then 2023 was a record year, even better than 2019. And 2024 was even better than 2023, for us. People are buying tickets, although the prices have gone up dramatically because of the rise in costs.”

That is not the only challenge in a market bedevilled by concert caps, venue availability, and that Italian speciality: red tape.

“One of the main issues we face as promoters is bureaucracy, which keeps growing every year,” says Di & Gi CEO Mimmo D’Alessandro. “Organising events requires compliance with a lengthy list of regulations and rules, which often vary not only from region to region but even at the municipal level.”

“If you want to have a big success in Italy, you have to sing in Italian”

The length and depth of the pandemic lockdown was a profoundly sore point among Italian promoters, and the perception of limited support grumbles on. In his address to Milan Music Week, Parodi noted that profit-making music companies are not able to access the FNSV [National Fund for Live Performance], locking them out of the “art bonus” tax credit available to individuals, institutions, and companies who support Italian cultural heritage. There are also issues with the availability of larger venues, usage of which is capped and, some say, not always equitably distributed.

For Italian talent, however, this is a golden age of a sort, and there is even a potentially promising export picture. In 2023, revenues from Italian music consumed abroad rose to €26m, according to FIMI. Chief among the international growers, by some distance, is Vivo act Måneskin, the Roman rockers whose global exploits have set a bar for Italian exports that seems unlikely to be beaten soon.

“It’s basically a power trio, at the end of the day, which you don’t really find in pop music anymore,” says Milan-based staging and production specialist Delamaison Productions’ Vittorio Dellacasa, who was production manager on the band’s recent world tour. “I’ve been lucky enough to go around the world with this band that is basically the only Italian band that has had huge success. Last year, we went everywhere. We played all the biggest festivals all over the world. I was shocked by the success they had in Japan. We did four arenas, sold out. It was like The Beatles.”

And yet, while the success of Måneskin might seem to point to a breakthrough for Italian pop, there are also straightforward reasons why such a thing is fairly unlikely.

“If you want to have a big success in Italy, you have to sing in Italian,” says Dellacasa. “The huge success today in Italy is made by all this new trap, rap, and hip-hop stuff. Everyone loves the lyrics, which are all Italian slang, but that is also the reason why I don’t see so much international potential for the big Italian acts. Måneskin became immediately global, but that is because they sing in English.”

Promoters
Give or take a few independents, the Italian live market is a slugfest between heavyweight corporate groups Live Nation and Eventim.

“Italian promoters are investing heavily in their rosters, which has made the market more competitive”

In the Eventim corner is Vivo Concerti – which has cornered the market in the young domestic stars often to be found filling Italian stadiums – along with Di & Gi, Friends & Partners, and Vertigo, which between them cover a wide variety of old and new Italian talent and prominent international names.

Vivo’s youthful cutting edge has seen it rapidly grow its business in recent years, and it remains the live force behind such headline-grabbing homegrown stars as Lazza, Ultimo, Elodie, and Gazzelle – all of whom play Italian stadiums this summer – along with numerous others.

“We’ve recently announced Måneskin’s Damiano David’s world solo tour, which is set to kick off next autumn. The tour will see him take over Europe, Australia, North America, South America, and Asia,” says Zard, who notes that, at home, the rush among promoters to build their domestic business has changed the game a little.

“Italian promoters are investing heavily in their rosters, which has made the market more competitive,” says Zard. “However, Vivo Concerti remains a top choice for emerging acts thanks to our track record of nurturing talent and creating career-defining moments. Many of today’s arena and stadium artists started their journey with us, and we take pride in growing alongside them and building lasting relationships.”

Di & Gi had a strong 2024, from which D’Alessandro highlights Taylor Swift’s two concerts at Milan’s San Siro and David Gilmour’s six shows at the Circus Maximus in Rome. “It was a true honour to host his only concerts in mainland Europe,” he says.

The promoter’s two major festivals, Lucca Summer Festival and La Prima Estate, are once again key areas of focus this year. “We are also excited about hosting major events, starting with The Rolling Stones’ concert at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome,” says D’Alessandro. “Additionally, we will have incredible artists performing on various stages across Italy, including Lenny Kravitz, Tyler, The Creator, Rod Stewart, Nile Rodgers, Nick Cave, and many others. We’re also excited to produce four shows with the great conductor Riccardo Muti – his first tour outside classical theatres.”

“The international artists have higher ticket prices, and the local artists have slightly lower ticket prices, though, of course, they are rising”

In the opposite corner is Live Nation Italy, whose big attractions this year include Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the San Siro (with Barley Arts), Ed Sheeran at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, a dozen stadiums for Marco Mengoni, and similar numbers for Vasco Rossi and Cesare Cremonini, as well as the Firenze Rocks and I-Days festivals. The latter two hoover up large amounts of international talent, while the stadium market is more typically – though not exclusively – the preserve of the local superstar.

The international and domestic markets operate in slightly different ways, according to De Luca. “The international artists have higher ticket prices, and the local artists have slightly lower ticket prices, though, of course, they are rising,” he says. “But the international artists come one year and then they don’t come back to Italy for another three years. Big local artists play every year – 10, 12, 15 stadiums, selling out every time. The stadiums in ‘25 have been sold out since July last year. But that’s one reason why the local artists have a cheaper ticket price – because they play more often.”

Other international operators are scaling up in Italy, too. Vertigo veteran Andrea Pieroni departed the company – and the group – for his own DEAG-backed MC2 venture at the end of 2023 but continued to fulfil outstanding Vertigo bookings throughout 2024.

“The last show happened a couple of weeks ago,” he told IQ just before Christmas, “so I no longer have any commitment with Vertigo or Eventim. Finally, I can focus totally on MC2 and the new venture with DEAG.”

MC2 specialises in rock and metal, with ambitions to go broader over the next few years. Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson, Dream Theater, Lindemann, King Diamond, and Pantera are all on the 2025 calendar, along with the less metallic Skunk Anansie, Steven Wilson, and Hooverphonic.

“Not only do we aim to maintain our current positions, which are already satisfactory, but we also want to expand our market share,” says Pieroni. “We are already leaders in the rock and metal sector, and our goal is to grow into other areas of the market as well.”

“I’m particularly proud of the record-breaking AC/DC show at the beautiful open-air RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia”

Independents in Italy need to be smart to stay alive, and there are strong examples, old and new. Claudio Trotta’s Barley Arts, a mainstay of the business since 1979, last year staged around 400 events, the largest of them involving 100,00 tickets for AC/DC in Reggio Emilia, as well as street-food festivals, musicals, and comedy.

“I’m particularly proud of the record-breaking AC/DC show at the beautiful open-air RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, less than an hour away from Milan, where unfortunately the quality of the open-air venues is very low,” says Trotta.

Barley Arts head of booking Marco Ercolani namechecks Loreena McKennitt’s comeback with two sold-out theatres in spring and six further shows in the summer, and Garbage and Alice Cooper’s only Italian shows.

“We also had The Hives Day, a festival we created in Bologna, obviously headlined by The Hives, with The Interrupters and Scowl playing before them,” says Ercolani.

“We also had Wolfmother’s first time in Sardinia, Xavier Rudd in the middle of the Apennines, Therapy’s sold out 30th anniversary show in Milano, and an awesome solo tour of Peter Hammill, with five full beautiful theatres and churches, almost 50 years after his first Italian run.”

“Our market is in an extraordinary state of excitement”

2025 promises to be equally rich and varied, with confirmations including two dates at the San Siro Stadium in Milan with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (in collaboration with Live Nation Italy); Sam Fender and Tamino with shows already sold out; the highly anticipated returns of Ryan Adams; The The, James Blunt, Europe, Joe Bonamassa, Fantastic Negrito, and The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band; as well as its STREEAT® Food Truck Festival.

“As the main independent promoter in Italy since 1979, we can guarantee a quality of care and attention to detail that is a real value and often makes the difference,” says Trotta. “The main attitude of Barley Arts over the years has been its big variety. We love developing new acts and genres of many different nationalities, and we are very good at doing big shows, according to the feedback we have from audience and artists, but we also do lots of small and medium shows every year.

“We like producing and promoting musicals like We Will Rock You, comedy and food events, too, like Streeat, the main national event dedicated to food truckers, and we are leaders in all these fields on the Italian market.”

In October 2023, Italian music group Artist First – already a record company, distributor, management stable, publisher, and more – launched its live music promotions division, Artist First Live, positioning it as the market’s first 360-degree operator. A little over a year in, Artist First CEO Claudio Ferrante remains enthused.

“Our market is in an extraordinary state of excitement,” he says. “Ticket sales are high, and public interest in concerts is growing more and more. I’d say the interesting part is that, in our view, despite the big players like Live Nation and Eventim, there is still space for other companies.

“Of course, all of this is extremely challenging, but we don’t focus on making million-dollar offers to artists. We focus on the quality of our work, on the integration of the processes – repertoire, promotion, distribution, and live shows – for artists who require special attention. We don’t want to sign 80 of them.”

“I come from an era where you start from the club. Now, if you do X Factor, you might do a stadium next”

The plan, says Ferrante, is “to grow organically, without rushing. Without fake sell-outs announced to the media that only risk harming careers. We don’t believe in artists who, just two years after their first single, announce stadium concerts.”

Initial successes include UK artist Blue, who sold 40,000 tickets in Italian arenas, and breaking singer and rapper Alfa from Genoa, who sold out dates at the Unipol Forum in Milan in 2024, as well as shows in Padua, Rome, and Florence.

“We are the only Italian company with a 360-degree model,” says Ferrante. “If an artist like Alfa hadn’t been managed according to this model, where everything – from song selection, to production, promotion, marketing, distribution, and finally, live shows – is handled, I don’t think he would have turned out the way he did.”

There are certainly those who believe the current thirst for stadium shows is a phenomenon that may be hard to sustain.

“Stadium shows for Italian artists are a different scenario from the past,” says Dellacasa. “In the past, what happened was that there was a San Siro Stadium or a Rome Olympic Stadium. You had your stage, your gear, your stuff. Now, because of the concentration of promoters, they basically put one stage and they do five shows in a row for five different acts. I come from an era where you start from the club. Now, if you do X Factor, you might do a stadium next.”

“Live performances are the best way to build a career, starting from the very beginning”

Ferrante evidently shares some of the same misgivings but is also convinced that live is the sharpest tool at the disposal of promising new acts.

“Live performances are the best way to build a career, starting from the very beginning,” he says. “In an era where artists pop up everywhere, it’s essential to think concretely about proximity to the fans, even in small clubs.

“Of course, there needs to be an initial core of fans, there needs to be some level of interest in an artist. But I see that it’s increasingly important for people to leave their homes and go see a small artist perform; that’s also the value of a discovery.”

Part two of the Italy market report will be published in the coming days.

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.

Barley Arts’ Comfort Festival is set to move to Milan for its fourth edition this July, with the first batch of national and international artists already announced.

The five-day festival, which takes place on 4-5, 9-10 and 13 July, will transition from its previous location in Ferrara to Milan’s historic Villa Casati Stampa in Cinisello Balsamo. Organisers plan to stage the expanded festival inside the seventeenth-century noble residence’s garden.

“The years from 2021 to 2024 have seen three wonderful editions of the Comfort Festival, as well as the passionate and memorable concert by Bruce Springsteen [in Monza in 2023],” says Claudio Trotta, Barley Arts and festival founder. “The bond is solid, sincere and concrete, and I am sure that we will see each other again soon in Ferrara.”

The first artists announced include the Warren Haynes Band, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Fink, Wolfmother, Blackberry Smoke, Treves Blues Band, and the Satchvai Band featuring Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. More artists will be announced in the coming months.

The Italian promoter is set for a busy year, with two stadium shows from Bruce Springsteen in Milan

The event, staged in 2021, 2023 and 2024, has grown from two days to five and featured acts like Jack Johnson, The Gaslight Anthem, Gary Clark Jr. and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, along with Italian acts like Edoardo Bennato and Gianluca Grignani.

National promoter Barley Arts is set for a busy year, with two stadium shows from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Milan’s San Siro Stadium (cap. 80,018) in July, along with performances from Joe Bonamassa, Soccer Mommy, Lovesick, and others.

Single-day tickets for the event are on sale now and range from at €35-€65 + fees and are available exclusively through TicketOne.

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.

The mayor of Ferrara has defended Bruce Springsteen after the star was criticised for not cancelling his show in the northern Italian city, amid devastating floods in the surrounding region.

Springsteen and The E Street Band performed a sold-out 50,000-cap concert at Parco Urbano Giorgio Bassani last night, promoted by Barley Arts, the group’s first of three dates in the Italy as part of their 2023 world tour.

However, there had been widespread calls to postpone the concert out of respect for the flooding in the Emilia-Romagna area, which has left 13 people dead and thousands homeless, and has been described by one politician as the worst disaster in a century. This Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at Imola was called off earlier this week due to safety concerns.

But speaking ahead of the Springsteen show, Ferrara mayor Alan Fabbri argued that cancelling the gig would not solve anything and only contribute to “more economic damage”.

In a Facebook post, he said: “I’m sorry if anyone might have thought that Ferrara was insensitive to the tragedy in Romagna just because they didn’t cancel The Boss’ concert. But I can assure you that as a former mayor of Bondeno, who lived the 2012 earthquake, on the front lines, I have never asked Italy or the region to stop championships, events and production of companies in solidarity with us.

“Firstly, because it doesn’t solve anything, except to create more economic damage to territories, workers and companies that have invested large sums for the event. Secondly, because it’s a level of demagogy that doesn’t belong to me.”

“I believe that all music, and especially at these levels, has the great power to unite people and sensibility from all parts of the world”

He added: “In Italy, there’s still a part of the public opinion that thinks that the world of events is not a sector equal to others, which one can safely do without, and because of this can be sacrificed at any occasion . In reality, it’s businesses and people who have suffered the burden of two years of Covid restrictions more than any other category, and it’s a shame that someone today has already forgotten that.

“I believe that all music, and especially at these levels, has the great power to unite people and sensibility from all parts of the world… May tonight’s music reach the flood affected populations with a single big hug.”

Barley Arts’ Claudio Trotta also discussed the decision to press ahead with the concert, saying the flooding had not hit Ferrara as badly as other cities, while the weather forecast was improving.

“It was not a red zone but an orange one,” he said, as per Radio Freccia. “We have had a great experience of people, companies and a lot of passion and love for one’s work which have allowed us today to be in a position – from the point of view of the show and the preparation of the arena – to be safe and rest assured that tomorrow, when we open the doors, the public will be adequately served and the show will take place regularly.”

Springsteen, who is represented by CAA, also plays Rome’s Circus Maximus on Sunday (21 May), returning to Italy on 25 July to perform at Monza’s Prato della Gerascia.

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.

Italy’s Communications Regulatory Authority AGCOM has fined Viagogo more than €12 million for breaking the country’s laws on secondary ticketing.

Preliminary evidence found that the secondary ticketing platform had listed tickets for 68 events held in 2022 at prices 10 times above their face value.

Events included concerts for artists such as Måneskin, Blanco, Renato Zero and Cirque du Soleil.

An amendment to Italian legislation, introduced to Italy’s 2017 budget law to criminalise ticket touting, prevents tickets being sold for commercial purposes or for above face value.

Since 2020, Switzerland-headquartered Viagogo has been sanctioned three other times in Italy for breaking the law against ticket touting.

“The time has come for the EU’s own Consumer Protection Cooperation Network to take action”

Commenting on the ruling against Viagogo, Barley Arts promoter and prominent anti-secondary ticketing campaigner, Claudio Trotta, says, “Anyone in the entertainment business should be more than happy. However, I hope this [fine] will be paid and not cancelled for a second time by other institutions, as already happened in previous cases of fines in Italy.

“Secondary ticketing is a crime, thanks to the law obliging the use of nominal tickets. If controlled seriously by security and ushers, it’s is a win-win situation for all.”

Telling IQ he remains concerned about what impact dynamic pricing might have if it is introduced in the Italian market, Trotta adds, “The future is unwritten but it depends on us all – artists, promoters, managers, agents and the audience. I am still, and always, a true believer in the strength of human beings – if we are able to keep our humanity, of course. Let’s see…”

Sam Shemtob, director of Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), adds: “It’s encouraging to see this action in Italy, which is proof positive that it’s possible to both adopt and enforce a tough stance on uncapped ticket resale. With over 40 major ticket resale cases taking place across the EU since 2016, the time has come for the EU’s own Consumer Protection Cooperation Network to take action.”

The president of Italy’s National Consumer Union, Massimiliano Dona, comments: “It is incredible that tickets continue to be sold with prices even 10 times higher than the actual ones, despite the numerous condemnations by the Authorities and the intervention of the legislator who has however put a stop to these intolerable and hateful speculations. Anyone who goes to a concert has the sacrosanct right to pay the right price for the ticket, without unjustified and illegal top-ups.”

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.

Renowned Italian promoter Barley Arts has announced the first edition of a brand new festival centred on the idea of comfort.

The inaugural Comfort festival will take place between 3–4 September 2021 in Ferrara, northern Italy, at the Parco Urbano Bassani – an ancient hunting reserve surrounded by lakes and meadows.

The festival will comprise two stages: the Comfort stage, which will offer live music performances, and the Armonia (harmony) stage by Slow Music, which will host acoustic, literary and theatrical performances.

Comfort will invite around 4,000 attendees each day to enjoy the performances, either from the comfort of ‘the blanket area’ in front of the stage, a deckchair, table, or seat.

The line-up boasts more than 20 Italian and international acts including Lovesick Duo, Filo Graziani, The Cyborgs, Paolo Benvegnù, Matthew Lee quartet and Rinky Tinky Jazz Orchestra.

Barley Arts founder and Slow Music president Claudio Trotta – who has produced and promoted a plethora of concerts from international artists all over the world – says the idea has been years in the making.

“The ingredients are all there: the prestigious signature of Trotta, the unique area of Parco Bassani, many great acts”

Comfort festival is co-produced with Teatro Comunale di Ferrara (opera house) and sponsored by the municipality of Ferrara.

“Comfort festival is a great novelty this year and it will further enrich the large calendar of events during this summer of recovery,” says the mayor of Ferrara, Alan Fabbri.

“Parco Urbano is a new venue that will be animated by music of national and international artists, which the audience will listen to surrounded by greenery, in a large, evocative, equipped area. A unique place on which we are working to make it more usable and make it a setting for major events. We are happy to collaborate with Claudio Trotta, whose name and history are linked to international artists of the highest level.”

Council member Marco Gulinelli added: “Comfort festival has all the prerequisites to become one of the most qualifying events at a national level during this summer of recovery. The ingredients are all there: a prestigious signature like that of Claudio Trotta, the unique area of Parco Bassani, many great singers and bands on stage and a very wide offer that ranges from different musical genres to literature.”

Tickets for the festival are on sale on Ticketmaster, Ticketone and Vivaticket. A one-day ticket costs €25, a two-day pass costs €40.

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.

Italy’s live industry has admonished the government for failing to recognise ‘the cultural, economical and social importance’ of live music in its new recovery plan.

The ‘National Recovery and Resilience Plan’ (PNRR), totaling €222 billion, was presented to parliament on Monday (26 April) by president Mario Draghi.

Of the €222 bn, €6.7 bn has been allocated to culture with the aim to “increase the level of attractiveness of the country’s cultural and tourist system through the modernization of both tangible and intangible infrastructures”.

However, in the spending plan for culture, music venues (or theatres, as Italy prefers to call them) are only referenced once as part of a €300m bid to “promote eco-efficiency and the reduce energy consumption” in cultural venues.

Roberto De Luca, president of Live Nation Italy, told IQ: “I am very pleased about this PNRR but unfortunately, I do not find a single line regarding live music industry. This a terrible mistake as live music is a fundamental part of our culture, as well as an industry that has a huge economic impact on every territory where live music is happening.

“I do not find a single line regarding live music industry. This a terrible mistake as live music is a fundamental part of our culture”

“Live music has both direct and indirect effects. As an example, let’s look at what the FirenzeRocks festival means for Firenze. In 2019, it generated an economic impact of more than €40m as our audience spent between €300–500 per person on hotels, museums, restaurants and so on. Not just in Italy, summer live shows are happening in historic squares, castles, Roman and Greek amphitheaters, so I truly believe that is a driver for our own culture.”

Claudio Trotta, founder of Barley Arts and Slow Music, expressed similar disappointment to IQ: “I don’t see at all in this plan the recognition of the cultural, economical and social importance of live popular music and its industry. I don’t see any investment at all in new venues for music nor attention to professional training for the future generation.

“According to this plan, culture is important only if connected to the benefits that it creates for tourism and not for the citizens and the people. Culture is important by itself, not just when it’s used to draw tourism.

“On another note, I would love to see in this full plan a real and accurate attention to the biodynamic balance and not only some generic references to a digital, ecological and green transition.”

Vincenzo Spera, president of Italy’s live music association Assomusica, tells IQ he is particularly concerned about how the measures will affect the next generation.

“According to this plan, culture is important only if connected to the benefits that it creates for tourism”

“We currently do not know if and how the €6bn envisaged by the PNRR will be allocated to the live music sector. We are therefore very worried, especially because we believe that this could be a fundamental opportunity for socio-cultural aggregation at the European level.

“Obviously this does not concern, or should not only concern Italy, but all European countries, considering that music is the tool for the greatest socialisation and aggregation among young people. It is no coincidence that there is a measure called Next Generation. By continuing in this way, however, there is a risk that future generations will not derive any benefit from the envisaged measures but rather pay the price.

“We think that there is no better opportunity than this to realize some fundamental points which, especially following the pandemic, become particularly urgent: the first point [in the spending plan] concerns technological innovation, of which we are carriers and experimenters; the second point refers, instead, to the eco-sustainability of the live entertainment system and its ability to always attract new audiences to the territories, to discover new realities and to generate ‘green economy’, helping to enhance sites that are important from the point of view historical-architectural.

“The third point concerns the possibility of finally creating premises, structures and spaces of the future, conceived as they should be today, multifunctional, interactive and synergistic between the various genres of entertainment. The time has also come to create a physical and not just a virtual platform that can allow various European cultures to circulate in different countries.”

“The government propaganda is telling everyone that Italy is slowly getting back to a sort of normality but we still have restrictions”

Fabrizio Pompeo, Radar Concerti, tells IQ: “Yes, the headline of the news is great but going deeper into it, there is no such great news for the music business as nothing is coming directly to our industry. The €6bn is going to feed a very wide range of activities and not going to the music industry.

“The government propaganda is telling everyone that Italy is slowly getting back to a sort of normality but we still have restrictions which are making impossible arranging a concert. Not only the distancing procedures but we still have a curfew on from 10 pm to 5 am.”

As of Monday (26 April), eleven of the twenty Italian regions have been permitted to reopen music venues for capped and socially distanced concerts.

The eleven regions – including Lazio, Veneto, Piedmont, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna – have been dubbed ‘yellow’ under the country’s colour-coded system of coronavirus restrictions and are now allowed to partially reopen.

Venues in the yellow zone can now reopen at 50% capacity, with no more than 500 people inside and 1,000 people outside – all of whom must observe one-metre social distancing. The 10 pm–5 am curfew is still in place.

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.

Italian promoter Claudio Trotta has been officially recognised by the city of Milan for his 40-year service to music.

The Barley Arts founder and Slow Music president has been awarded the gold medal of the Ambrogino d’Oro – only one of 15 given out by the municipality each year.

The Bureau of Milan City Council which decides the winners has commended Trotta for his ongoing fight against secondary ticketing; his “visionary” to launch iconic festivals such as Sonoria and organise Italian tours with the likes of Bruce Springsteen; and his promotion of sustainability which earned Barley Arts a Greener Festival Award.

“I have become part of a list of people, who since 1946, the City of Milan recognises as having given their city everything they could for the supreme and superior good that is the community,” says Trotta.

“Seeing my courage rewarded so publicly is a powerful incentive to continue on my path”

“Now, more than ever, it is vital to share hope, passion, affection, harmony, respect and vision of the future for those who are yet to be born and for humanity as a whole. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but I’ve always had the courage to act according to my visions, no matter the cost to myself.

“Seeing my courage rewarded so publicly and the reasons that supported my Ambrogino expressed vividly, is a powerful incentive to continue on my path.

“I would like to underline that a man alone can do nothing if he is not supported by a community; whether that be family, teamwork or even strangers who are kindred souls, they share in their daily lives my same priorities and struggles. Thank you everyone for this award, it represents real and heartfelt satisfaction.”

The official ceremony takes place every year on 7 December – the feast of Sant’Ambrogio, the patron saint of Milan – and the prizes are delivered by the city mayor.

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.

Live Nation Italy, Vivo Concerti and Friends and Partners have teamed up to organise a week of music events at the 15,000-capacity Verona Arena in support of the country’s live music industry.

From Verona We Turn On the Music (Da Verona accendiamo la musica), launched by Italian social enterprise Music Innovation Hub and produced in collaboration with Verona Arena, Gianmarco Mazzi, R&P Legal, Librerie Feltrinelli, Vertigo and Magellano, will involve the work of over 70 artist and 350 musicians and technicians.

Kicking off on 2 September with the Music Awards, the event will wrap up on 6 September with Heroes – The Future Begins Now (Il futuro inizia adesso), a five-hour concert that will be streamed live from the open-air arena.

During the week, Italian music business professionals will lead workshops and talks from the arena.

Live Nation Italy, Vivo Concerti and Friends&Partners have teamed up to organise a week of music events at the 15,000-capacity Verona Arena in support of the country’s live music industry

Tickets for the concert cost €9.90 with all proceeds from the week going to the Music Innovation Hub’s Let’s Support Music fund to support those working in Italy’s live industry. Frontline health workers will be invited to stream the event free of charge.

There is currently a capacity limit in place in Italy of 1,000 people for outdoor events and 200 for indoor shows.

Italian promoter Barley Arts has produced a set of guidelines, detailing the ways in which outdoor events may reopen for larger audiences and laying out a series of different scenarios for event organisers to utilise spaces including car parks, courtyards and public squares.

The 65-page document includes advice on ticketing, which is to be done digitally and in advance; venue entry, where sanitisation and health checks will take place; seating plans, with alternate rows and seats used where possible; audience movement, which is to be regulated by the creation of specific routes to and from seats and other facilities; artists, who should be tested 48 hours before a show and remain six metres away from the audience; and crew, who should work in pre-defined ‘bubbles’ and wear suitable protective equipment.

Photo: Claconvr/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) (cropped)

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.

Before speaking on the future of the sector in which I work, with Barley Arts and Slow Music, I would like to reflect on a wider context.

The great health tragedies, wars, hunger and poverty that have affected millions of people, even in recent decades, were always perceived as concerning “others”.

We were those “others” all the time, but we are noticing this fact only now that we are directly and indiscriminately affected by the situation.

Covid-19 is a global pandemic, but we can’t forget that today millions of people still starve and face calamities and famines of all kinds.

Today we are facing an emergency that we would otherwise have ignored.

When we get out of the global health emergency, as an optimistic man devoted to Enlightenment principles (as I consider myself) I hope that humanity can reconsider its priorities and focus again on affection, harmony and the physiological need to help others, and take our time in order to give continuity and diversity to our life without suffering too much from the inexorability of its progress.

We have no time to cry about ourselves, but only for the beloved ones lost by many of us.

We don’t even have time, nor reasons, to be afraid but only to be aware.

I hope that it can finally be understood that each individual action always corresponds to collective consequences, and that the unbridled race towards fame, power and financial and economic wealth do not make most of humanity feel good.

the unbridled race towards fame, power and financial and economic wealth do not make most of humanity feel good

In addition to thanking doctors and nurses, we must remember the hundreds of thousands of people who every day take care of everything necessary for us to continue living – cashiers, shopkeepers, cleaners, truck drivers, public transportation workers and taxi drivers, and volunteers of all categories – but also the prisoners and the many beggars who are refused accommodation in Milan in this period of emergency, and still need help.

We cannot forget people with mental and drug addiction problems, self-employed workers of all kinds, undeclared workers and the elderly alone in their homes and residences.

I believe it is necessary to suggest a collective qualitative leap in the ways of compulsory staying at home during these months.

I believe that civil society can, and should, make itself available in a rational and coordinated way by using its consolidated expertise and network of professional relationships to support and sustain all those activities that support the people who need it most.

For example, specifically concerning my field, the knowhow of more than 40 years of show set-up and production, often in makeshift locations and even in extreme conditions, can and must be a useful resource in setting up temporary structures of any kind.

Music, art, theatre and literature can help and comfort, and can contribute to the economic reconstruction of the country.

With Slow Music, we are creating (from home) ‘Slow Club’, a sort of many-voiced magazine that will be online this week.

We must reconsider our priorities: they must go back to being the well-being of people

Finally, it will be necessary to reflect on the production methods of mass gatherings for next few years.

We must reconsider our priorities: they must go back to being the well-being of people, from the moment they purchase the ticket until they return home at the end of the show, rather than those of numbers, turnover, records, ubiquity instead of participation, and the satisfaction of the egos of those on stage.

It will be necessary to think of new forms of assistance; to distance the audience in the right way; to recalculate the capacities and review the methods of entry and exit flows; and in general, allow everyone to enjoy the soothing power that culture, and of course music, have for the psycho-physical balance of people.

Perhaps we are at the end of a second Middle Ages, and nature is sending us a kind of ‘last call’ – either mankind corrects the route or we will have no more alternatives if not to succumb to all kinds of calamities, like the one we are going through.

Perhaps we can contribute to a new Renaissance, if not for us, at least for our sons, grandsons and great-grandsons.

There is a time for everything, and all we can now do is reschedule what has to be interrupted and what cannot be achieved for a few months. But it is certain that in due course, and at a necessarily international forum, many things will have to be reviewed, putting the essence that is ‘music’ back to the centre and giving up everything that is useless and often mystifying in this industry superstructure.

And anyway, with 2.6 billion people at home, Mother Earth is feeling much better. Once the health emergency is over, it will be a starting to point to reflect on changing our way of being.

Claudio Trotta is founder and CEO of Barley Arts.

As I said at the time, when I received word of Viagogo’s plans to acquire StubHub, it was one of the worst pieces of news I had received in my more than 40 years in the business.

First of all, the fact that Viagogo can spend US$4 billion in cash is very worrying. Secondly, that Viagogo has bought a competitor that operates in most countries means we are still really far from winning the battle against this cancer – and I do truly believe it is a cancer – which has been eating away at the live music industry for far too long now.

I am sure Viagogo has made this deal because they absolutely know it means they can carry on doing secondary ticketing in the majority of countries in the world and circumvent the laws in place. This is very bad for the future of the industry; for music, for punters and for overall quality. Music is in danger of becoming only for rich people and hardcore fans – the only people capable of or prepared to pay inflated secondary prices.

We need to do something to combat this, otherwise live music as we know it will die. Hugely inflated prices would mean no new acts either, which means no future for the business.

I truly believe the audience and the industry needs waking up from a long sleep. The music business has clearly been “drugged” by this system, which has inflicted damaged on the audience, who are, ultimately, our main shareholders.

What’s at stake, in fact, is not just the chance for punters to buy tickets at a decent and sustainable price, or attend several different shows, or even for newcomers to the live music industry to freely decide whether they want to be an independent entrepreneur or an employee of one of a few major companies… What’s at stake now is the future of our kids and, ultimately, their relation to culture and live music and the role it plays in their lives.

The future should depend on our own talent, courage, respect, work ethics and professionalism

With the dawn of dynamic pricing, which uses software to price tickets automatically based on popularity, we have taken yet another step towards the algorithmisation of the live music industry. Are audiences of the future going to be able to grow their identities and personal tastes organically, rather than artificially following algorithms that decide – what they listen to, what they see, what they buy and so on – for them?

The music business has to walk to the beat of its own drum, the way it has always has.

This means making your own choices based on whether you believe in an artist and like their material, not because an algorithm tells you that a particular song is what ‘X’ amount of people will love or that this is how much a ticket should cost.

It means challenging convention and creating our own future based on our own feelings. What really scares me is that if we don’t act now, in the very near future people will no longer trust their own feelings and make their own decisions.

The future should not be dictated by a computer. The future should depend on our own talent, courage, respect, work ethics and professionalism.

The huge personalities that have influenced the industry, like Bill Graham, certainly didn’t use algorithms, and we are all in the industry because of their talent and charisma. Maybe it’s time we remembered that.

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.