Last Tour partners with discovery platform Fever
Spanish promoter Last Tour has formed a strategic alliance with live entertainment discovery platform Fever.
According to Last Tour – the promoter behind Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas, BIME and Kalorama – the alliance will enable the company to “reach more and new audiences, in addition to promoting its expansion in LATAM, where Fever has experience in several territories”.
In addition, the agreement will allow Last Tour to “create synergies to expand its productions around the world”.
Fever is based in Madrid, Spain and New York, US and is led by Spaniards Ignacio Bachiller Ströhlein, Alexandre Perez Casares and Francisco Hein.
The platform makes personalised recommendations for users to enjoy unique, in-person local experiences such as immersive exhibitions, interactive theatrical experiences and festivals.
“It offers us the opportunity to carry out our activities more efficiently, to exchange knowledge, generate new opportunities”
The company is reportedly valued at $1.8 billion after its last funding round in February 2023, which was led by Goldman Sachs.
“This alliance is excellent news, as it merges the best of two outstanding companies: technology and entertainment,” says Alfonso Santiago, CEO of Last Tour.
“It offers us the opportunity to carry out our activities more efficiently, to exchange knowledge, generate new opportunities and the international development of both organisations.”
Francisco Hein, CMO and co-founder of Fever, adds: “This agreement is a significant step for us. Not only does it allow us to offer very high-quality musical content, but it also helps us to continue positioning ourselves as technological partners within the industry.”
Last Tour’s stable of events also includes Azkena Rock Festival, Donostia Festibala, Goxo, Navia Suena festival and Festival Santas Pascuas.
Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME last year became the first festivals in Europe to receive B Corp certification.
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BIME Bogotá showcases more than 50 artists
Organisers of BIME Bogotá say the second edition of the Latin American conference and festival surpassed expectations after attracting more than 2,000 industry professionals from 30 countries.
The event, which serves as a bridge between the European and American music industries, returned to the San Felipe Creative District in Colombia from 3-7 May.
Held at the Ean University of Bogotá, BIME Bogotá featured representatives from the likes of Amazon, Billboard, Bizarro Live, Ditto, IFPI, IQ, Loud and Live, Netflix, Ocesa, Rolling Stone, Spotify, TBA Agency, TikTok, Vydia, Warner, WiZink Center and YouTube. Delegates included artists, producers, start-ups, students and industry executives of all levels, while virtual attendees were also able to tune in via bime.org and the BIME app.
The associated BIME Live showcases, meanwhile, hosted more than 50 concerts on five stages at venues including Longo’s, Parque La Araña, Tejo La Embajada and The Ghetto Project, with artist highlights including Jimena Amarillo (Spain), Maiguai (Colombia), Amaia (Spain) and Conjunto Media Luna (Colombia).
BIME director Rubén Irisarri tells IQ the gathering – a sister event to the long-running BIME Bilbao – marked a step forward from last year’s debut.
“We have taken an important leap to become a benchmark for the Latin music industry with base in Colombia”
“In this second edition we have taken an important leap to become a benchmark for the Latin music industry with base in Colombia – a key country in the development of the LATAM region,” says Irisarri. “There was representation from more than 50 countries, including online and face-to-face attendees.
“We opened BIME to the city welcoming thousands of attendees at the showcases taking place at San Felipe along with 250 accredited press to complete the equation for what has been an enormous success for us.”
Key topics discussed during the conference included gender equality, sustainability, representation of Afro-Latin artists and diversity. Other activities included a vinyl market with exclusive releases, and concerts and daytime DJ sets at Parque La Araña.
“At BIME we see our events and online platform as a resourceful tool for all levels of individuals who make up the music industry, which is why keep evolving is key and constant like the industry itself and the challenges we face,” adds Irisarri. “In addition to the hot topics that must be addressed, we want to extend our content to other disciplines that somehow influence the music industry. Cutting-edge studies that go from sustainability to monetisation and, of course, consolidate that bridge that we have opened between America and Europe for a greater internationalisation of music in Spanish, which right now is at its best moment in history.”
Next on the agenda is the flagship BIME Bilbao 2023, which will run from 25-28 October.
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Q&A with BIME director Ruben Irisarri
BIME director Ruben Irisarri tells IQ that Colombia is “such an inspiring country for the music business” as the long-running Bilbao conference and showcase prepares for the second edition of its Bogota spin-off.
BIME Bogota, which debuted in 2022, will take place at the San Felipe Creative District from 3-7 May. Attendees will include professionals from organisations including Amazon, Billboard, Bizarro Live, Ditto, IFPI, Loud and Live, Netflix, Ocesa, Rolling Stone, Spotify, TBA Agency, TikTok, Vydia, Warner, WiZink Center and YouTube.
Hot topics on the programme will include Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence, ticket sales challenges and initiatives around the development of music cities.
“For us, it was always important to build some sort of bridge between Europe and America”
“For us, it was always important to build some sort of bridge between Europe and America,” explains Irisarri. “Making Bogota the second venue for BIME is a direct response to one of our main objectives since we began our journey with this international music meeting point. In the music industry, like in other cultural industries, language is a common element that facilitates relations between countries, cultures and scenes.
“During the last 10 years, we have been working on developing the network for the Spanish-speaking music industry and nowadays, after years of BIME Bilbao, the challenge has been to host the event in one of the most relevant Spanish-speaking music hubs.
“Bogotá has demonstrated that its richness in talent and creativity is now spreading around the world, beating charts and creating an incredible ecosystem for artists. So it became clear that Colombia would be the perfect place to host BIME thanks to its great cultural infrastructure and its location geographically as it represents the mid point for both South America and North America, allowing us to welcome a big number of international guests.”
“Changing the format to what we are doing now with the showcases across the city has been very successful”
The gathering will also include an extensive BIME Live programme, including live music, a vinyl market and the Open San Felipe x BIME festival. The concerts, which will feature 50 artists from 10 countries, will take place across five stages: three of them located in the Creative District and two night stages in The Ghetto Project venue.
“BIME originally had a bigger live section,” adds Irisarri. “This used to work like a traditional music festival with really big performances. However, changing the format to what we are doing now with the showcases across the city has been very successful. This is the way we want to define ourselves as a music meeting point, giving priority to the city where we are hosting the event and giving back to the music industry players today and tomorrow.”
Acts will include Ácido Pantera (CO), Amaia (ES), Briela Ojeda (CO), Cero39 (CO), Conjunto Media Luna (CO/AU), Delfina Dib (AR), Felipe Orjuela and the New Electronic Estudiantina (CO), Lika Nova (CO), Lucía Romero (UY), Lucio Feuillet (CO), L’Xuasma (CO), Los Bulldozer (CO/FR), Los Cotopla Boyz (US/AR), Motherflowers (VE), Mr. Bleat (CO), Nicolás y Los Fumadores (CO), Paula Pera and the End of Times (CO), Sobre Ondas (PY), Soul Bit (CO) and Susana Cala (CO).
‘We want BIME Bogota to be a bridge between continents but we also want it to be a useful resource for the music industry at all levels”
Here, in the following Q&A, Irisarri maps out his goals for the event, reveals the inspiration behind its Colombian expansion and discusses the country’s vibrant live music scene…
What are your main objectives for BIME Bogota?
“As I mentioned before, we want BIME Bogota to be a bridge between continents but we also want it to be a useful resource for the music industry at all levels, whether you are a senior industry professional or a student. BIME is the place where you can meet new agents of the sector and strengthen the relationships between professionals, find spaces for networking, but it’s also a space where you can be trained by watching panels, attending workshops and masterclasses, and enjoy live shows from some of the hottest up and coming artists.
“Elsewhere, innovation and trends in the industry are the main focus, but the feedback that we get from the attendees is the most valuable information for planning the next edition’s content curation. For senior professionals and entrepreneurs, panels and workshops are always useful and networking key for growing this ecosystem. This second edition of BIME Bogotá will be the next step to consolidate the event in Colombia and we are very happier working with such talented and creative people.”
What made you choose Colombia to host the conference?
“Colombia is such an inspiring country for the music business, music is everywhere, and there are incredibly talented and creative people and new music executives that are changing the game and scaling the business to the US as we have never seen before for Spanish-speaking music.”
“The previous edition in Bogota last May gathered 2,800 music industry professionals, with similar figures expected for the 2023 Bogota edition”
How did the first edition go last May?
“It was incredible, we can say that it was better than expected beating expectations we had. Both professional meetings and the live showcases had much higher attendance than the initial forecast. It was very rewarding to have the total support from local organisations like the Colombian Ministry of Culture and other local important institutions.
Mixing music live shows and professional content has been an absolute success and highlighted the vision that we have and the way we want to show our identity. The previous edition in Bogota last May gathered 2,800 music industry professionals, with similar figures expected for the 2023 Bogota edition.”
What synergies will there be between your Bilbao and Bogota events?
“The two meetings are connected in different ways, but we love the way that conversations take place on the two sides of the Atlantic. For artists, we open options to reach as many professionals and audiences as possible both in Spain and Colombia. It happens the same with other partners in the industry – institutions, brands, indie labels, booking agents, etc – where through participating in BIME, they can open up new audiences in territories where they would normally don’t operate.
“We design global strategies including both events to achieve common objectives. The BIME team is a big family with a team in each city, we work together throughout the year to make a unique strategy and some valuable content that is online on our website, available 24/7 across the year. The digital tools allow us to reach a broader community of professionals wherever they are and having in mind that some extra value of the community that we are building is keeping them linked throughout the year.”
“Colombia is right now the country with more artists in the charts after the US and with a very strong female talent scene”
What are your expectations for BIME’s live music showcases?
“We will have more than 40 performances of which approximately 25% are Colombian artists. BIME has an international perspective so it highlights the variety of artists coming from different places. For this edition, we will have artists from 11 different countries: Chile, Argentina, Brasil, Cuba, Uruguay, Canada, France, Spain, México, and Puerto Rico. These live shows in Bogotá will take place in the creative district of San Felipe, one of the locations will be the mythical venue The Ghetto – an incredible place that perfectly suits the identity of BIME.”
How healthy is the Colombian live music scene?
“I would say Colombia is right now the country with more artists in the charts after the US and with a very strong female talent scene. Probably reggaeton is the most recognisable genre for Colombian artists but the talent goes far beyond this genre, to pop, rock, indie, electronic, psychedelia, jazz, etc, making Colombia a very rich country in terms of music and culture.”
BIME Bilbao, which was launched 11 years ago, returns from 25-28 October.
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Last Tour festivals receive B Corp certification
Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME have become the first festivals in Europe to receive B Corp certification.
The three festivals, which are part of the independent Spanish promoter Last Tour, join the B Corp community – a global movement using the power of business to tackle social and environmental issues.
Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME were recognised after implementing actions to reduce their environmental impact, raise awareness for diversity and equality, as well as implement protocols to reduce sexual attacks on their events. The recognition follows two-year evaluation process and is granted to only 4% of the companies that apply.
“The goal of Last Tour is to be a cultural and social activist, with creativity and innovation at the core, to contribute to the cultural development and co-creation of a society to which we feel committed,” says Last Tour CEO Alfonso Santiago.
“This recognition encourages us to maintain high standards where we constantly revisit our goal for social transformation”
“We stand committed to the B Corp standards while being recognised for the work we developed across the last 20 years. This recognition encourages us to maintain high standards where we constantly revisit our goal for social transformation while developing an economically viable business plan by acting proactively and responsibly in those territories where we are present.”
Bilbao BBK Live’s contribution to the community and the economic impact on the city of Bilbao were also key factors in the B Corp community, with its employment of local teams, donations for forest reforestation and aid to disadvantaged groups through the Bizkaia Food Bank, Ukraine Euskadi and other local support organisations all highlighted.
Cala Mijas was acknowledged for its social commitment and actions that include alliances with organisations such as Basic Income, promoting the development of people at risk of exclusion or the NGO Equilibrio Marino which seeks to protect the Calahonda Special Conservation Zone in the region of Mijas, Malaga.
Meanwhile, BIME, a non-profit project run by the Creative Industries Foundation was singled out for its organisational awareness in terms of horizontality, collaboration, flexibility, inclusion and parity.
In alignment with the B Corp guidelines, Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME will continue to review internal policies for constant improvement while also consolidating their commitment to the 2023 Agenda, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Global Compact.
Last Tour’s management team has also made a commitment to environmental and social performance, which is included a new clause in the company’s byelaws.
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Esmúsica: ‘collective voice’ of Spanish music biz is born
Organisations from the live, recorded and publishing sectors in Spain have joined forces to create Esmúsica, a federation acting as a “collective voice” for the Spanish music industry.
The umbrella body was formed yesterday (Wednesday 30 October) at industry conference BIME Pro, which is taking place until 1 November in Bilbao, north Spain. The organisation takes a similar model to that of umbrella groups in Britain (UK Music) and Canada (Music Canada).
Industry figures signed the agreement to launch the federation, with representatives from Acces (national association for live music venues); Aedem (Association of independent music publishers); AIE (Society for performing artists and publishers); APM (Association for music promoters); Arte (Association of stage technicians); Opem (Organisation of professional music publishers); Promusicae (Spanish music producers); SGAE (General society of authors and publishers); and Ufi (Union for independent phonographers).
Iñaki Gaztelumendi, founder and president of Spain Live Music and the person responsible for the new body’s strategic plan, told Spanish news agency Efe that Esmúsica will “put the demands of this sector – which is of such economic, cultural and social importance – on the public agenda, so we can improve as a collective entity.”
“Esmúsica will put the demands of this important sector on the public agenda”
Esmúsica aims to work closely with the state to aid the sustainable development of the Spanish music sector, focusing on areas of talent, creativity, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, training, innovation and internationalisation.
The association also wants to create national standards for all areas of the music industry in the country.
In addition, Esmúsica will produce a best practice guide relating to hiring in the sector and collaborate in the formation of an Academy of Spanish Music.
In terms of financing, the umbrella organisation plans to create a state fund dedicated to the development of the music industry.
The new body will also form the Observatory of Spanish Music, an analytical body looking at the current state of the Spanish music industry and working on ways to advance in the future.
Spain is the focus of the latest IQ market report, available to read online in the most recent edition of IQ Magazine here.
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Keychange 2.0 unveiled at Reeperbahn Festival
Artists Kate Nash and Peaches revealed details of the next phase of music industry gender parity project Keychange at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg today (19 September).
A presentation, hosted by Kate Nash and Peaches alongside Pitchfork editor Puja Patel, laid out the foundations for the next four-year stage of the project. A new management structure, headed up by lead partner Reeperbahn Festival, was also announced.
The news follows the recent announcement that the gender balance initiative received €1.4 million in funding from the European Commission.
Keychange 2.0 will support 216 music creators and industry professionals – 74 each year – from countries including Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The participants will take part in a talent development programme of showcases, panels, workshops, training sessions, networking events and creative labs at 13 festivals across Europe and Canada, including two full network meetups in February and September.
A global database will list all participants and the more than 250 signatories to Keychange’s 50/50 gender-balanced line-up pledge, as well as a mentoring scheme, Keychange conference, online resources, ambassadors and an expanded management team.
“Its encouraging to see all these organisations involved with Keychange because it means that things can finally start to change,” says Nash. “Music is about feeling part of a community and feeling included – it’s about being seen and heard.”
“Its encouraging to see all these organisations involved with Keychange because it means that things can finally start to change”
An open call for Keychange 2.0 participants will launch in October 2019 through the initiative’s website. “Innovative and boundary-pushing” applicants from all partner countries are encouraged to apply. Six participants will be selected per country – three artists and three industry professionals.
Reeperbahn Festival, alongside other leading festival partners from each country – Iceland Airwaves (Iceland), BIME (Spain), Oslo World (Norway), Tallinn Music Week (Estonia), Ireland Music Week (Ireland), Way Out West (Sweden), Linecheck (Italy), Liverpool Sound City (UK), Spring Break (Poland) Mutek (Canada), BreakOut West (Canada) and MAMA (France) – will each host six to twelve international Keychange participants.
“With Keychange 1.0, we have been addressing the necessity of gender equality in the music business since 2017,” comments Reeperbahn chief executive Alex Schulz.
“Phase 2.0 not only extends Pledge 2022 for balanced line-ups in festivals to other organisations and music sub-markets, but also expands our mentoring programmes and workshops as well as the European database, so that our innovators and artists can implement the transformative power of Keychange in the best possible way and carry it out into the world.”
Reeperbahn will work closely with Keychange founder PRS Founder and Sweden’s Musikcentrum Öst to lead Keychange 2.0.
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2,000+ for busiest-ever BIME Pro
More than 2,000 delegates attended the fifth BIME Pro last month, in the biggest year yet for the Bilbao music business conference.
BIME Pro 2017 took place from 25 to 27 October at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC), bringing together musicians, managers, entrepreneurs and other representatives of the Spanish, European and Latin American music industries for three days of meetings (more than 680), panels, showcases, the BIME Startup Summit and the Festival Congress.
Panel-wise, the music industry’s gender gap was one of the most hotly debated topics, while Primavera Sound director Gabi Ruiz predicted the disappearance of music festivals as we know them due to large multinational promoters; 200 Spanish festivals, meanwhile, attended the Festival Congress, many of them later receiving awards in the Premios Fest ceremony.
BIME Pro 2017 also marked the debut of BIME Campus, a one-week academy attended by 32 students selected from more than 1,500 applications.
Finally, showcase festival strand BIME City saw 41 bands from 11 countries, including Dutch acts DeWolff and Max Meser,Spanish band the Limboos, Columbian act Mitu and French artists Fakear and Agar Agar, play to a combined audience of 5,500.
BIME Pro will return in 2018.
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