MyTicket appoints Lukas Goy as COO
Lukas Goy, who previously worked as operations manager at MyTicket, has been promoted to COO of the German ticketing company.
As reported by MusikWoche, Goy will join the management team at MyTicket, headed up by CEO Moritz Schwenkow. Prior to his position at MyTicket, Goy worked for River Concerts, a subsidiary of MyTicket owner Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG).
“Last year, together with Lukas Goy, we laid the foundation so that MyTicket can be further developed as a premium ticket provider,” says Moritz Schwenkow.
The MyTicket CEO adds that new partnerships with Swiss white-label service Secutix and For Sale Digital, which enable MyTicket to use technologies including blockchain and dynamic pricing, offer “the perfect package to implement the next growth phase of MyTicket”.
“I am convinced that we can continue MyTicket’s successful course in 2020 and that we can continuously expand our market presence”
Goy comments: “I am pleased with the trust placed in me and I am convinced that we can continue MyTicket’s successful course in 2020 and that we can continuously expand our market presence,” says Goy.
MyTicket recorded a successful year in 2019, with strong sales for large events including concerts by Iron Maiden and Böhse Onkelz.
According to DEAG, MyTicket will becomes its “fastest-growing business segment and an important earnings driver in 2020”.
The German live entertainment powerhouse also acquired stakes in promoters I-Motion, C2 Concerts and Live Music Production/Live Music Entertainment, as well as UK ticketing company Gigantic last year.
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DEAG plans further EU expansion for strong H2
German live event powerhouse Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) forges on with its buy-and-build strategy, after reporting a decline in sales for the first half (H1) of 2019.
Despite reporting a strong start to 2019, sales in the first half of the year are down, with operating earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITDA) also decreasing, from €4.2 million in 2018 to €3.1m.
In its 2019 H1 financial report, DEAG attributes the decline in sales of almost 46%, from €118m in H1 2018 to €63.9m, to the “’seasonal postponement’ of certain events”. For example, DEAG organised twelve high revenue-generating Ed Sheeran shows in the second quarter of last year, whereas the company’s six Sheeran concerts in 2019 fall in the third quarter.
DEAG attributes the decline in sales to the “seasonal postponement of certain events”
Q3 2019 is forecast to be successful all round, with concerts by Böhse Onkelz, Foreigner, Stereophonics, Limp Bizkit and Toto expected to contribute to revenues of €55m, 60% more than the same period last year.
DEAG also says it plans to continue its 2019 buying spree, adding to recently acquired controlling stakes in Stuttgart-based C2 Concerts, Swiss concert organisers LMP and LME, LiveStyle’s German arm I-Motion and Schlager powerhouse Mewes Entertainment.
Finally, the use of the DEAG-owned MyTicket platform to distribute more than half a million tickets will also contribute to “one of the strongest fourth quarters in company history”.
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DEAG takes control of Christian Doll’s C2 Concerts
Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has revealed the first of its in-the-works European investments, today (3 June) announcing the acquisition of a majority stake in Stuttgart-based C2 Concerts.
The stake in C2 Concerts, a musical producer, tour operator and local promoter in southwest Germany, rounds off DEAG’s regional coverage in the country. The live entertainment company also has representation in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, North Rhine-Westphalia and Frankfurt/Main.
The move marks the continuation of DEAG’s “buy-and-build” strategy. In its recent Q1 financial report, the German promoter alluded to the C2 acquisition as one of a number of ongoing investments expected to generate sales growth in its core markets of Germany, England and Switzerland.
Founded by Christian Doll and Christian Ludewig in 2010, C2 Concerts has expanded from its origins as a mainly local outfit to become a national tour operator. The company achieved turnover of €7 million in 2018, selling around 400,000 tickets for 200 events. By acquiring a stake in the concert promoter, DEAG aims to boost the ticketing side of its business via MyTicket, which the live entertainment company fully acquired in January.
DEAG has worked with C2 Concerts for a number of years. In 2018, the promoters launched the Christmas Garden in Stuttgart, attracting over 125,000 visitors. The format will be rolled out at two further locations in southwest Germany over the coming years.
“With DEAG, we are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with a first-class partner in the live entertainment business. Both sides will benefit from this”
Due to past collaboration, the DEAG management board expects rapid integration of C2 Concerts into its group.
“The even closer cooperation with C2 Concerts in the future will give us the opportunity to continue growing profitably with an extended value-added chain,” says DEAG chief executive Peter Schwenkow.
As well as securing the company’s regional presence, Schwenkow also notes that the C2 Concerts investment offers “significant synergy potential in the live entertainment and ticketing business.”
“With DEAG, we are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with a first-class partner in the live entertainment business,” comments C2 Concerts managing director and co-founder Doll. “Both sides will benefit from this.”
The DEAG executive board believes that, as part of the DEAG Group, C2 Concerts can realistically expect medium-term sales growth to over €10m.
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