The concert industry’s biggest stories of 2024
With the end of 2024 in sight, IQ presents a look back the biggest live music industry stories from the past year. Revisit the most notable moments from the last 12 months below – and there is only one place to start…
A $2bn juggernaut: Taylor Swift wraps up Eras Tour
After 149 shows, five continents and an unprecedented box office gross, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour came to an end in Vancouver, Canada, in December.
The epoch-defining 21-month trek garnered an all-time record US$2,077,618,725 (€1.96 billion) at the box office after selling more than 10.1 million tickets, with the economic benefits of staging an Eras residency for host cities even earning its own term – “Swiftonomics”.
The run’s 80 shows this year raked in $1,043,421,552 (€993.4m) from 5.2m ticket sales at an average ticket price of $200.27 (€190.68). IQ explored how Swift captured the zeitgeist like no other artist in decades upon the conclusion of the tour’s European leg at London’s Wembley Stadium in August.
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour was a distant second in the tour rankings – grossing $421.7m, having moved 3.3m tickets for 54 concerts (average ticket price: $128.05). The ongoing run has also made history after claiming the overall record for tickets sold on a single tour, shifting 10.3m tickets since commencing in March 2022, and is already the second highest-grossing ever.
The top 10 list was completed by P!nk (367.3m), Luis Miguel ($261.5m), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($251.3m), the Rolling Stones ($235m), Bad Bunny ($210.9m), Zach Bryan ($199.2m), Metallica ($179.4m), and Madonna ($178.8m).
Global investment firm buys Superstruct for €1.3bn
American global investment firm KKR acquired festival giant Superstruct Entertainment from Providence in a €1.3 billion deal.
Fellow private equity firm CVC also went on to secure a stake in the firm, which owns and operates over 80 music festivals across 10 countries in Europe and Australia, including Wacken Open Air, Parookaville, Tinderbox, Sónar, Øya, Benicàssim, Kendal Calling and Boardmasters.
Superstruct was launched in 2017 by Creamfields founder and former Live Nation president of electronic music James Barton and Roderik Schlosser while at Providence.
IQ charted the increasingly close links between the international touring industry and PE here.
Meanwhile, Superstruct’s Barton will give his first interview in the company’s history at next year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC).
Oasis confirm 2025 reunion tour
Legendary British rock band Oasis confirmed they are reuniting for a 2025 world tour.
The Gallagher brothers last performed together in August 2009, when they split following a backstage bust-up at France’s Rock en Seine.
The Oasis Live ‘25 Tour was the biggest concert launch ever seen in UK and Ireland, with more than 10 million fans from 158 countries attempting to buy tickets for the group’s first shows since 2009.
However, the unprecedented demand soon gave way to a dynamic ticketing controversy that has prompted multiple inquiries. There was widespread media coverage of fan anger after customers were offered “in demand” tickets for more than twice the advertised face value under surge pricing after queuing online for several hours.
Dynamic pricing was subsequently not employed for the group’s other tour dates in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, which have all sold out.
Adele’s Munich run ‘a milestone in music history’
The team behind Adele’s historic German run hailed acclaimed show as “a milestone in music history”.
More than 730,000 tickets were sold for the singer’s 10-night stint at a giant pop-up stadium in Munich, held between 2-31 August. The “bespoke” outdoor venue boasted a 220m x 30m LED screen, supplied by Solotech, which has been certified by Guinness World Records as the Largest Continuous Outdoor LED Screen (temporary) ever built.
Alongside the venue, the 75,000-square-metre Adele World – which included an authentic English pub, a fairground wheel, karaoke, Farmers Markets, merchandise and a typical Bavarian beer garden with live entertainment – attracted 500,000 visitors.
“We could not simply use a blueprint of another project – we had to start from scratch,” said Live Nation GSA CEO Marek Lieberberg, who co-promoted the residency with Klaus Leutgeb, CEO of Austria’s Leutgeb Entertainment Group.
“Before this started, I said: ‘Never before and never again.’ Now, I would say, ‘Never before but maybe again.
“It’s a milestone in music history, for sure. And it seems too good to waste. But if we ever did something like this again, it has to cater to the specific vision of the artist, like this one has.”
Co-op Live Manchester bounces back
A whirlwind first six months for Manchester’s Co-op Live (cap. 23,500) saw the UK’s largest live entertainment rebound from its delayed opening.
The £365 million facility hosted prestigious events including the UFC and the MTV EMAs, as well as indoor shows by Paul McCartney, the Eagles and Pearl Jam.
NEC Group veteran Guy Dunstan joined in October as its new general manager and SVP, with Rebecca Kane Burton, formerly of The O2, LW Theatres and Sodexo Live, becoming EVP of venue management for OVG International.
Originally slated to join the OVG fold over the summer, Kane Burton was parachuted in as interim boss of Manchester’s Co-op Live in April, as the venue’s launch was pushed back two weeks following a series of hitches. It ultimately launched on 14 May with a triumphant hometown concert by Elbow.
“I think any of us now, if we hear any Elbow music, will cry tears of joy, because that’s the moment we finally got the doors open and ready and away,” Kane Burton told IQ. “And then June just was amazing, because it was just literally back-to-back gigs and you start becoming a very well-oiled machine.”
CTS Eventim wins race to acquire See Tickets
CTS Eventim acquired Vivendi’s festival and international ticketing businesses in a €300 million deal.
The agreement included See Tickets and a portfolio of 11 festivals including the UK’s Love Supreme and Kite, as well as Garorock in France. Vivendi concert halls including L’Olympia concert hall in Paris, plus See Tickets France and Brive Festival, are not part of the deal.
The French firm’s ticketing and festival activities acquired by CTS collectively produced €137 million in revenues in 2023.
“With See Tickets and its festival operations, Vivendi has established two notable players in the ticketing and live entertainment sector,” said CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg.
“The acquisition supports our internationalisation strategy and will also benefit artists and their managers, as we will be able to offer even more seamless services on a global scale. We look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues on shaping the future of live entertainment.”
DOJ sues Live Nation over alleged ‘monopoly’
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an explosive lawsuit which could seek to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster after alleging the company has violated antitrust laws.
LN and Ticketmaster, who merged in 2010, are accused of using their “power and influence” to “insert themselves at the centre and the edges of virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem”.
The suit, which was filed in May in the United States District Court Southern District of New York, claims: “Through a self-reinforcing ‘flywheel’ that Live Nation-Ticketmaster created to connect their multiple interconnected businesses and interests, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have engaged in numerous forms of anticompetitive conduct.”
The defendants vigorously contest the claims, with the case set to go to trial in 2026.
Live Nation’s share price rocketed to an all-time high in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory in November, and the company has said it is “hopeful” the imminent administration change will have a positive impact on its antitrust battle.
Second Sphere venue location revealed
The world’s second Sphere venue is to be built in Abu Dhabi, it was revealed.
Sphere Entertainment and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi confirmed the longstanding rumours, announcing they will work together to bring the next-generation project to life in the UAE capital.
Since opening the $2.3 billion Sphere in Las Vegas, US, in September 2023, Sphere Entertainment has pursued plans to develop a global network of Sphere venues, with the expansion expected to provide “significant growth potential and drive new revenue streams”.
“The vision for Sphere has always included a global network of venues, and today’s announcement is a significant milestone toward that goal,” said Sphere Entertainment executive chair and CEO James Dolan. “Sphere is redefining live entertainment and extending the reach of its transformative impact. We are proud to collaborate with DCT Abu Dhabi to develop Sphere in their city.”
The partners say the venue will be located in a “prime spot” in Abu Dhabi and echo the scale of the 20,000-cap Las Vegas original, which has so far hosted residencies by U2, Phish, Dead & Company and the Eagles’ ongoing run, as well as the Darren Aronofsky-directed immersive production Postcard from Earth.
CAA trio appointed co-heads of global touring
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) announced senior agents Emma Banks, Darryl Eaton and Rick Roskin as co-heads of global touring.
The trio, all long-time senior members of the firm’s leadership team, will oversee the department’s continued international growth and build upon the work of predecessor Rob Light, who was named CAA MD earlier in the year after a quarter of a century as head of global touring.
“With the most talented team of agents ever at one agency, and serving the most influential artists in the world, we see unlimited opportunities ahead,” said Roskin, Eaton and Banks. “The live business has never been stronger nor had more momentum, and artists have never had more ways to express themselves and grow their careers, making this an absolutely incredible time to help chart CAA’s path for the future.
“We’re fortunate to have shared in the success, stability and uniquely strong culture that the department has enjoyed under Rob’s outstanding leadership. Our vision, and commitment moving forward, is to foster cutting-edge ideas that drive the market and ensure that CAA remains the most exciting and empowering agency for the industry’s best agents and artists to thrive.”
Live legends remembered
SJM Concerts director Chris York, one of the UK’s leading and most respected promoters, died in July aged 55 following a long illness.
Over the course of 30 years, York worked with artists including Oasis, Foo Fighters, Green Day, The Chemical Brothers, Lily Allen, Massive Attack, Robert Plant, Underworld, Lorde, Morrissey, Placebo, Suede and Stereophonics.
In a statement, SJM said it was “deeply saddened” at news of his passing. York joined the Manchester-based company in 1993, forming a “solid and unshakeable partnership and friendship” with founder Simon Moran.
“We have lost a leader, a mentor a force of nature and a friend,” said the firm. “His loss will be felt keenly by all the staff at the company and by many industry professionals and artists around the world. His influence and personality will live forever within SJM Concerts.”
The music world also lost Mean Fiddler founder and festival pioneer Vince Power in March, aged 76. The Irish promoter helped change the face of the music industry, working across festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Phoenix, The Fleadh, Madstock and Spain’s Benicassim,
Power opened the Mean Fiddler venue in Harlesden, London, in 1982, which formed the springboard for his Mean Fiddler Group empire.
“Vince’s passing is a massive loss to the music industry and to me personally,” said Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “A visionary with a willingness to take risks to enable his vision but always with a humbleness that belied his importance. We had an amazing 20 years together that helped shape the music industry as we know it now.”
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The Guvnor: Chris York in his own words
In November 2018, IQ spoke to Chris York about the promoter’s integral role in the rise of the SJM Concerts empire and the chance encounter that changed his career trajectory forever. Following the sad news of his passing this week, IQ is republishing the article in full below for those who might not have met Chris in person, or want to remind themselves of his astonishing career…
The first time that Chris York recalls meeting Simon Moran was at a Levellers concert at London’s Brixton Academy in 1993, promoted by Moran’s company SJM Concerts. “I was there purely as a punter and this man came up to me and berated me for trying to steal his acts,” remembers York with a smile. “I pointed out, probably not as eloquently as I might have done, that that was actually my job seeing as I didn’t technically work for him. He retorted, ‘Well, you should do then.’”
A few months later, York made the 200-mile journey up the M1 from London to Manchester to take up Moran’s offer and join SJM. Back then, there were five of them working out of a nondescript workspace shared with post-punk band The Fall, where the “much-missed” Mark E Smith could regularly be seen “swaying in the lifts in the mornings.”
Fast-forward a quarter of a century to today and SJM employs 65 people, puts on around 2,500 concerts and events a year, and proudly stands as the UK’s biggest independent promoter, with The Stone Roses, Take That, Coldplay, Muse, Robbie Williams, Peter Kay, Adele, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, The Courteeners and Little Mix just a few of the many acts it has worked with in recent years.
“In order for the company to keep progressing and be relevant to new challenges, you’ve got to find people who aren’t doing exactly what you do”
“I’ve always felt at home at SJM,” says York, who recently celebrated 25 years at the company that he has played a key role in turning into a promoting powerhouse. “It’s always had the right ethos. We’ve always been artist-focused and tried to develop talent, and I think Simon and I share the right attitude about how we want to take things forward. Certainly, whenever we’ve been recruiting new staff we are always keen to add people who aren’t identical to ourselves. In order for the company to keep progressing and be relevant to new challenges, you’ve got to find people who aren’t doing exactly what you do.”
“Chris has been a huge part of the SJM story over the last 25 years,” says Moran. “He’s made a massive contribution in all facets of the business – clients becoming bigger, getting and retaining new clients, growing the business and gaining people, [investing in] buildings. He’s a very, very bright guy. He works hard. We’ve become really good friends and we’ve got implicit trust.”
“I think Simon’s style and my style are distinctly different, but they work well together, and I guess the biggest barometer of that is that we have gone on to be a very successful company,” reflects York, whose personal clients include Noel Gallagher, Foo Fighters, Massive Attack, Stereophonics, Lily Allen, Smashing Pumpkins, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, Green Day, Placebo, Lorde, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Kraftwerk, Swedish House Mafia, and The Chemical Brothers, among others. York is also one of SJM’s four directors alongside Moran, Rob Ballantine and Glenn Tyrrell.
“Chris is, if not the best, one of the best promoters that I have ever worked with in the world. He is loyal and sticks with his artists”
Respect and admiration for the 49 year old extends throughout the industry. “Chris is, if not the best, one of the best promoters that I have ever worked with in the world,” says Underworld manager Mike Gillespie, who has known him since the mid-1990s. “He is loyal and sticks with his artists. Whereas a lot of promoters are naturally very cautious and hedge their bets, he is a bold and confident risk taker and is always looking at what the next step can be.
“At the same time, he can be stubborn, belligerent and awkward, but that’s part of what makes him brilliant. He will tell it you like it is and he doesn’t hold back. When you have an act that is doing well people tend to tell you what you want to hear. Chris isn’t one of them, and I really like and respect that. He understands that you’re only as good as your last gig and he’s not afraid to say to the manager or the artist, ‘That’s not good enough.’”
By way of an example, Gillespie turns the clock back five years to when “Underworld had reached a ceiling” in terms of how many tickets they could sell. Through working closely with York over a series of releases and tours they rebuilt momentum and were able to sell-out two nights at London’s 3,000-capacity Roundhouse.
“Chris’s response off the back of that was, ‘Now we do the (10,000-capacity) Ally Pally,’ which really knocked me out,” recalls the manager. The gig sold out six months in advance and Underworld are now selling more tickets in the UK than ever before, he states. “A huge part of that is down to Chris’s willingness to take a risk, his determination to be bold, and his clear vision.”
“It was a steep learning curve initially, but through that I developed good friendships”
York-shire
The Roots of York’s promoting career can be traced back to his childhood in Yorkshire where he developed an “unhealthy interest” in music from a young age and became immersed in Leeds’ post-punk and goth scenes as a teenager. To earn some extra cash while studying chemistry at Warwick, he began crewing and stage managing bands that visited the university. That led him to being elected cultural affairs officer in 1989, booking gigs by The Sundays and De La Soul, and gaining a first real taste of how the industry operates.
“It was a steep learning curve initially, but through that I developed good friendships with people that I still work with today,” says York, who moved to London after finishing his studies and spent 18 months as a booker at punk and indie club The Venue in New Cross.
“It was a really exciting time in music and we put some great bands on,” he says, listing memorable shows by Lush, Pulp, Suede, PJ Harvey, New Model Army and Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. The job also saw him establish with Steve Lamacq the inaugural NME On Nights with On For ‘92, which ran at The Venue from 1991 to 1993, later evolving into the NME Awards Brat Bus tours.
A brief stint working for John Curd (“a legendary promoter with a brilliant handle on street promotion and what’s important in the job: tell people that it’s on”) followed, which saw York put on a series of now legendary gigs by Suede (who he still promotes) at London’s Africa Centre and 100 Club. After that came a short-lived solo endeavour, Sunrise, putting on shows by Radiohead, The Auteurs and Aphex Twin in the capital. “It was the beginnings of something that could have gone somewhere, but then I met Tim Parsons at MCP, which I thought was a better horse to back at the time.”
“As a promoter, doing the ‘same old, same old’ sometimes isn’t the right approach”
Although his time at the Midlands-based company (later acquired by SFX and incorporated into Live Nation) lasted only six months, the experience proved hugely beneficial in teaching him how a high-level national promoting company operates, along with the value of not resting on your laurels.
“Tim had a very cerebral approach to promoting, in that sometimes he saw it almost as a challenge to do things in a more difficult, unconventional or circular way, just to see if it could be done. That was very influential in terms of thinking outside of the box. As a promoter, doing the ‘same old, same old’ sometimes isn’t the right approach. Great agents are the same. You have to start with a blank sheet of paper and think, How can we do this differently and not be constrained by previous bad thinking?”
Working at MCP also gave him hands-on experience of working on U2 stadium shows. “Seeing the scale of the stadium operation stood me in good stead for when I ended up doing things like Oasis later down the line because it didn’t seem as difficult a proposition when you’ve already seen it on the ground.”
It was in the autumn of 1993, while York was working at MCP, that Moran approached him about joining him in business. “I’d noticed the stuff he was doing and he was obviously making some waves,” remembers the SJM founder and owner. “Plus he came with some great recommendations from people like Charlie Myatt, who I’d worked with on The Levellers.”
Supersonic
For York, the opportunity to join a fast-growing, although still young and relatively small operation like SJM was too good to turn down. “I felt there was a lot of room for growth and a lot of room to have an input into the direction of the business.” Relocating to Manchester (where he knew only one person other than Moran) just as Britpop was simmering over proved to be a case of being “in the right place at the right time” and brought him into the orbit of local guitar band Oasis, who he promoted from the start of their touring career.
“It sounds ridiculous now, but when we put Knebworth on sale there was only me and one other person in the office”
Within a few short years the group went from playing 500-capacity rooms to being the biggest band in Britain, selling out huge era-defining shows at Manchester City’s Maine Road Stadium and two nights at Knebworth that York co-promoted with MCP and famously saw 2.5 million people apply for tickets.
“It sounds ridiculous now, but when we put Knebworth on sale there was only me and one other person in the office. We sold 220,000 tickets in a day – all of them over the counter, or through people calling ticket offices and all of them in ticket books, which is utter lunacy when you look back on it now. There were people queuing for tickets in Portsmouth, Plymouth – all over the country. To be around that was extremely exciting,” he states.
Promoting Oasis also gave York – who moved back to London in 2001 – one of his toughest days at the office when the generators failed on the first of three sold-out nights at Manchester’s Heaton Park in June 2009 (co-promoted with Metropolis). “Instead of living the dream, we were all of a sudden living the nightmare,” recalls Oasis manager Marcus Russell. “[There were] 75,000 restless and anxious fans and ‘gaskets were blowing’ backstage in both dressing room and production offices.
“Chris, however, was calmness personified in amongst the ensuing panic,” he explains. “Considerable contingencies had to be arranged with local authorities, police force and transport, as, if the show were to still go ahead, it would now be finishing well after the agreed curfew. Chris oversaw all of these rearrangements, as well as ensuring that the fans were fully informed. What he couldn’t do was personally fix the generator, but he did seem to do pretty much everything else that needed attending to in order for the show to still go ahead. Eventually, some 60 minutes later, the ‘gennies’ were fixed and the gig went ahead. Everyone went home happy and safely, if a little later than planned.”
“Most of the acts that I promote I’ve worked with since they began and I like to have an ongoing developing relationship with people who share that creative mindset”
For his part, York identifies the creative side of the job as the aspect he finds most rewarding. “Most of the acts that I promote I’ve worked with since they began and I like to have an ongoing developing relationship with people who share that creative mindset. Managers, labels and agents all have a massive input into the decision-making process but it’s nice to be able to offer an insight into things that they probably haven’t thought of. I think one of our main roles as a live producer is to be able to throw those ideas into the mix and make it happen for them.”
Touring the country
One project that called upon all his creative and promoting skills, not to mention his vast experience, was helping devise and launch Country 2 Country (C2C), a multiple-night country festival at London’s O2 Arena that was far from a guaranteed success when it debuted in 2013. “I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and say that in 2012, I was somewhat of a country outsider,” admits York, who was approached by AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano (then head of AEG Live) to help deliver the marquee event. Nearly seven years later, the festival has become a tent pole fixture in the British music calendar with C2C events also taking place each year in Dublin and Glasgow.
“To go from a standing start to effectively creating a touring market for country outside the US is one of the things that I’m proudest of. The UK is now regarded as proper touring market by Nashville and part of that is down to us approaching it and developing it in a modern way, reaching fans through social media and partnering with BBC Radio 2 to make country accessible to new audiences.”
Another source of immense personal pride and satisfaction for York is his long-term involvement with Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual concert series, which he has promoted since 2006, working with live producer Des Murphy and The Who’s Roger Daltrey to bring the world’s biggest artists to London’s Royal Albert Hall. “I really love doing that. It’s a week of my life in the Albert Hall working with great people for a great cause.”
To date the concerts have raised over £29 million (€33m) for the charity – an achievement that Murphy says wouldn’t have been possible without York’s tireless commitment and hard work. “His support is incredible and he’s always a calm influence who is ready with a sensible solution to any potential problem. It’s a pleasure working with him and I’m glad to count him as a friend.”
“It’s a very competitive market out there and we’re not in the same landscape of promoting that we were 20 years ago”
You gotta roll with it
Looking ahead, York says the biggest challenge for SJM will continue to be competition from rival promoters, but calmly notes, “that’s always been the case, and competition evolves and changes in the same way that we constantly evolve and change.
“It’s a very competitive market out there and we’re not in the same landscape of promoting that we were 20 years ago. We’re now in a world of giant, multinational promoting companies and that presents both challenges and opportunities for a company like ourselves that is independent.”
Ongoing relationships with AEG on C2C; and Live Nation/MCD over many years on V Festival, T In The Park and Academy Music Group, the UK’s leading venue operator (which SJM has shares in), illustrate how the business can continue to thrive in a dynamic, highly competitive market, he says. “We have a very productive relationship with both of our main rivals. The secret to being independent in the market at the moment is understanding our strengths and understanding their strengths and how those work together. That model will hopefully continue to grow.”
Technology, too, will play a big role in determining how SJM, like every company in the live business, operates in the future. Gigsandtours.com, its own ticketing platform, was launched in 1999 – a market-leading innovation, instigated by York, that’s since been adopted by numerous other promoting companies.
“It’s an old adage that you always need to surround yourself with the most intelligent people in the room, and I think we’ve done that over the years”
“Obviously, everybody has got one now, but that’s the way of the world and it was good to be first. It’s been a very useful and well-received tool. When opportunities like that come along with new technology, you need to be open-minded enough to embrace them at the right time.” He identifies the “big black hole” of secondary ticketing as a particular problem that blockchain technology should “hopefully” eradicate in the next few years “and we can focus on what’s really important, which is putting on great events and delivering for our clients.”
It’s a philosophy that exists at the heart of SJM and flows through York’s three decades in the live business. Yet to turn 50, he envisages “many more years” at the touring coalface and says he remains just as committed, driven and focused on developing SJM as he was when he first joined 25 years ago.
“The day you stop having that inquisitive attitude, you start going backwards. Our goals are to keep progressing, stay relevant and keep competing at the highest level. It’s an old adage that you always need to surround yourself with the most intelligent people in the room, and I think we’ve done that over the years and will continue to do so. You should always try and employ somebody who will ultimately replace you,” he says with a hearty laugh. “That’s the sign of a healthy business.”
Further diversification into non-music areas is likely to be a growing part of the business going forward, he predicts. “I think now you’d probably say we’re an entertainment company because the spectrum of what we do isn’t just music. We’re always very opened minded about diversifying into new things, be it sport or TV-related or comedy, and we take on people to reflect areas that we think are going to grow, which aren’t necessarily areas that Simon and I specialise in.”
“The greatest pleasure has been working alongside Simon for the last 25 years. He is singularly the best music business leader of this generation”
Outside of SJM, York is the guvnor of a Cotswolds pub, where his skills have helped the hostelrie win numerous awards. But even The Royal Oak hosts an annual music festival so it’s clear that promoting remains his principle passion. Asked to pick some personal highlights from the last quarter century, York reels off a long list of names, events and artists – Oasis, Jeff Buckley and Morrissey among them – but reserves a special mention for the man that brought him to SJM.
“The greatest pleasure has been working alongside Simon for the last 25 years. He is singularly the best music business leader of this generation,” declares York. Standout memories from this summer’s touring schedule, meanwhile, include Foo Fighters’ gigs at London Stadium, which York describes as “two of the best rock shows I have ever seen.”
“There’s nothing better than seeing a live gig when it has that level of excitement around it,” he says. “It’s very intoxicating and it’s that excitement that keeps me inspired and coming back for more.”
WORDS: Richard Smirke
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SJM Concerts director Chris York passes at 55
SJM Concerts director Chris York, one of the UK’s leading and most respected promoters, has died aged 55 following a long illness.
In a statement, SJM said it was “deeply saddened” at news of his passing. York joined the Manchester-based company in 1993, forming a “solid and unshakeable partnership and friendship” with founder Simon Moran.
“We have lost a leader, a mentor a force of nature and a friend,” says the firm. “His loss will be felt keenly by all the staff at the company and by many industry professionals and artists around the world. His influence and personality will live forever within SJM Concerts.”
In a career-spanning 2019 interview with IQ, York recalled meeting Moran at a Levellers concert at London’s Brixton Academy in 1993, promoted by SJM.
“I was there purely as a punter and this man came up to me and berated me for trying to steal his acts,” remembered York. “I pointed out, probably not as eloquently as I might have done, that that was actually my job seeing as I didn’t technically work for him. He retorted, ‘Well, you should do then.’
“I think Simon’s style and my style are distinctly different, but they work well together, and I guess the biggest barometer of that is that we have gone on to be a very successful company.”
Over the course of 30 years, he worked with artists including Oasis, Foo Fighters, Green Day, The Chemical Brothers, Lily Allen, Massive Attack, Robert Plant, Underworld, Lorde, Morrissey, Placebo, Suede and Stereophonics.
Since 2006, working alongside fellow SJM director Rob Ballantine, The Who’s Roger Daltrey and live producer Des Murphy, York was the lead talent booker for the annual Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which have raised more than £30 million for the charity.
He also helped launch and develop the annual Country to Country (C2C) festival, leading to him being awarded the Jo Walker Meador International Award by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 2021.
“I came to know him as a lovely human being – and I will really miss him”
“Chris and I got to build Country to Country together as partners,” CMA executive Milly Olykan tells IQ. “His knowledge – gained through an incredible career, determination and willingness to take risks were attributes I really admired. I came to know him as a lovely human being – and I will really miss him. My heart goes out to his loved ones and his wonderful team at SJM.”
Prior to SJM, York served stints with John Curd at Straight Music and later Tim Parsons at MCP Concerts, having begun his career at the Venue in New Cross.
His contribution to the business was recognised at the International Live Music Conference’s Arthur Awards in 2022, where he was presented with the Bottle Award for lifetime achievement by longtime friend Lucy Dickins of WME.
Speaking to IQ, Dickins sums up York as “the most exceptional man”. “Your friendship and advice will be dearly missed but my fond memories will last forever. RIP CY,” she adds.
Tributes have poured in from artists such as Liam Gallagher, Shed Seven and Stereophonics, as well as York’s industry colleagues. CAA’s Emma Banks says that York has been a “constant” in her life since she started out as an agent.
“He’s been a truly great friend, a fantastic promoter and a great mind”
“He’s been a truly great friend, a fantastic promoter and a great mind,” says Banks. “We had some quite intense discussion at the end of the football season about the relative merits of Notts Forest (his team) and Luton (my team) as we both floundered at the bottom of the table. Although he was so very ill he was still fired up and passionate about that and so many other topics.
“I am going to miss him massively and the music business is worse off without him. RIP Yorkie xx.”
Live Nation UK & Ireland chair Denis Desmond says: “Very sorry to hear of Chris’s untimely passing, a fighter to the end, his legacy will live on. Our thoughts are with his family and his colleagues at SJM at this very sad time. May Chris rest in peace.”
WME agent Russell Lewis Warby, who represents artists such as Foo Fighters, says: “Chris was a loyal friend and trusted ally from when we first met at the New Cross Venue back in the late 80s. He helped navigate many thrills and a few spills over the years.
“Chris was often pragmatic and I learned many useful lessons from him, more often than not delivered with his shrewd sense of humour. Chris loved music, artists, all the characters in the business and touring. We all benefited from his support.
“The continued success of TCT remains a testament to his hard work for them over many years. My thoughts are with Alice, his family and his very many friends.”
“He had all the essential components of a great promoter: honesty, integrity, reliability and I always trusted him. His word was his bond”
ITB co-founder and CEO Rod MacSween describes York as “a lovely man”.
“I’m very sad to hear this news,” says MacSween. “He had all the essential components of a great promoter: honesty, integrity, reliability and I always trusted him. His word was his bond. He was devoted to his clients and had the kind of infectious enthusiasm that makes our work so satisfying.
“My condolences to Chris’s family, his many close friends and of course the SJM team. He will be missed much.”
National Arenas Association (NAA) chair John Drury, VP and general manager of OVO Arena Wembley, says: “Chris was a giant of our industry, whose leadership, passion and commitment will continue to be an inspiration to anyone in live music.
“We were proud to be able to present him with the National Arenas Association award for 2021 – with Liam Gallagher’s help – for his outstanding commitment to the live industry. All of us have benefitted from his vision and skills over the years and we are deeply saddened by his loss. Our thoughts and love go to the family, friends and many colleagues Chris has left behind.”
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SJM’s Chris York honoured at 2022 Arthur Awards
SJM Concerts’ Chris York took home the Bottle Award for lifetime achievement as the cream of the international live music industry turned out in force for the 2022 Arthur Awards.
The awards and Gala Dinner returned in-person to its old stomping grounds, Grade II-listed ballroom Sheraton Grand Park Lane in London, for the first time in two years.
Hosted once again by Emma Banks of CAA, the biggest ever Arthurs paid tribute to a dozen of the industry’s trailblazers, in front of 400 industry professionals.
Rounding off the night, York name-checked SJM boss Simon Moran for changing the course of his life and paid tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in a moving acceptance speech after being presented with the evening’s top honour by WME agent Lucy Dickins.
York is one of SJM’s four directors alongside Moran, Rob Ballantine and Glenn Tyrrell, and has worked with the likes of Oasis, Foo Fighters, Massive Attack, Stereophonics, Lily Allen, Smashing Pumpkins, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, Green Day, Placebo, Lorde, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Kraftwerk, Swedish House Mafia, and The Chemical Brothers across his 30-year career.
Other winners at the Oscars of the live music business included AEG Presents’ Simon Jones (Promoters’ Promoter), FKP Scorpio chief Folkert Koopmans (Festival Organiser’s Organiser), Mike Malak of Paradigm (Second Least Offensive Agent), Ticketmaster’s Sarah Slater (Golden Ticketer) and LIVE co-founders Phil Bowdery and Stuart Galbraith (Unsung Hero).
In full, the Arthur Awards 2022 winners are…
FIRST VENUE TO COME INTO YOUR HEAD
The O2, London
MOST PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL
Sarah Martin, WME
THE PROMOTERS’ PROMOTER
Simon Jones, AEG Presents
THE PEOPLE’S ASSISTANT
Claire Macleod, X-ray Touring
FESTIVAL ORGANISER’S ORGANISER
Folkert Koopmans, FKP Scorpio
THE GOLDEN TICKETER
Sarah Slater, Ticketmaster
SECOND LEAST OFFENSIVE AGENT
Mike Malak, Paradigm Agency
SERVICES ABOVE & BEYOND
TAIT Towers
THE UNSUNG HERO
Phil Bowdery & Stuart Galbraith, CPA/LIVE
TOMORROW’S NEW BOSS
Dan Roberts, Live Nation (UK)
THE WINNER TECHS IT ALL
LIVENow
THE BOTTLE AWARD
Chris York, SJM Concerts
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SJM’s Chris York awarded for ‘outstanding contribution’
SJM Concerts’ Chris York has been presented with the National Arenas Association’s 2021 award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Live Entertainment Industry’.
York was presented the award by the NAA and Liam Gallagher at the artist’s show for NHS workers, which took place at the O2 in London last month.
The award was given to York in recognition of his influential work in the music industry, and longstanding relationship with Liam Gallagher, as well as many other chart-topping artists.
John Drury, VP & general manager at The SSE Arena Wembley, on behalf of the NAA says: “It’s fitting that Chris York should be given his NAA Award by Liam, one of the UK’s biggest artists. The 2021 award honours Chris for the huge contribution he’s made to live music in the NAA arenas.
“His passion and commitment to the industry have always been reflected in the very high regard in which he’s held by everyone he works with – it’s an honour to recognise that now.”
“His passion and commitment to the industry have always been reflected in the very high regard in which he’s held by everyone”
Chris York, SJM Concerts added: “I was genuinely touched to receive the NAA award in recognition of the decades of toil in live music, with the great team of SJM Concerts behind me. It means a lot. It’s a great business and one I hope to see bounce back strongly again. Thank you for thinking of me.”
York has worked with the likes of Noel Gallagher, Foo Fighters, Massive Attack, Stereophonics, Lily Allen, Smashing Pumpkins, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, Green Day, Placebo, Lorde, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Kraftwerk, Swedish House Mafia, and The Chemical Brothers, among others.
He is also one of SJM’s four directors alongside Moran, Rob Ballantine and Glenn Tyrrell.
The National Arenas Association (NAA) brings together 23 arenas across the UK and Ireland.
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C2C announces 2020 return after record year
Following its best-ever year in 2019, Country to Country (C2C) will return for its eighth outing next March, the festival’s UK and Ireland promoters have announced.
C2C 2019, headlined by country music superstars Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Chris Stapleton, took place from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 March. It welcomed 80,000 fans across three venues – the O2 in London, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow and 3Arena in Dublin – in what SJM Concerts’ Chris York, whose company co-promotes the event with AEG, calls its “busiest year yet”.
The festival also expanded to Germany, holding its first German event at AEG’s new Verti Music Hall in Berlin on 3 March, and the Netherlands, with the first C2C Amsterdam, co-promoted with Greenhouse Talent, taking place at AFAS Live (6,000-cap.) the following night.
C2C 2019 welcomed 80,000 fans in London, Glasgow and Dublin
C2C Australia, which has a different line-up, is staged on 28 and 29 September in Sydney and Brisbane, respectively.
The flagship C2C 2020 will take place on 13, 14 and 15 March, returning to London, Glasgow and Dublin, according to AEG and SJM, with earlybird tickets available from this Friday (15 March).
Read IQ’s recent feature on how Country to Country – along with the tireless support of the Country Music Association, radio DJs, local promoters and others – helped country music conquer the world here.
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Big country: How country music conquered the world
It’s official: country music is cool.
Long stigmatised as restrictively America-centric, country, shed of many of its unfashionable ‘country and western’ trappings, is finding a new generation of loyal fans in the UK, Europe and Australasia, playlisted on commercial radio and championed by tastemakers at Vice, i-D and the NME.
Riding on the rise of festivals like AEG’s UK-born Country to Country phenomenon (now in five countries and counting), crossover success for artists such as Florida Georgia Line, Midland, and Kacey Musgraves, European radio support and the backing of the Country Music Association, country is increasingly big business outside its US heartland – with visiting Nashville A-listers, as well as a mounting number of homegrown acts, helping to build a major new touring market.
(A slice of the) American pie
According to WME Entertainment agent Akiko Rogers, global bookings for WME’s country and Americana artists have increased 14-fold in the past decade alone. “In 2009, 27 international dates were booked out of Nashville, all comprising country artists,” says Rogers, whose roster includes both country (Thomas Rhett, Frankie Davies) and non-country artists (Greta Van Fleet, Alanis Morissette), as well as those sitting somewhere in between (rising southern rockers the Marcus King Band).
“In 2018, that number went to 400 booked international dates comprising country and Americana artists, and sometimes a hybrid of both.”
Global bookings for WME’s country and Americana artists have increased 14-fold in the past decade
“The market interest in country music only continues to grow with the demand for US acts to tour internationally,” adds US-born, London-based UTA senior agent Sean Goulding, whose country and Americana roster includes Jimmie Allen, Ashley Campbell, Logan Mize, the Wood Brothers and High Valley. “C2C [Country to Country] London, the landmark international country music festival, has been growing steadily since its inception in 2013, which is a good indicator of the genre’s impact. Having expanded to Scotland and Ireland previously, it’s now visiting Amsterdam and Berlin this year. A number of our clients have performed at it over the past few years, using it as a springboard for the international market.”
The majority of promoters, agents and managers interviewed by IQ highlighted the C2C phenomenon, as well its various international spin-offs (in addition to Britain, the Irish republic, the Netherlands and Germany, there are also two Country to Country festivals in Australia) as being key to country music’s explosive growth in new markets over the past five years.
Chris York of SJM Concerts, which created C2C in partnership with AEG, says the festival’s genesis formed part of a “conscious decision” to build and grow the market for country music in the UK. “I’d always perceived country as being promoted in a very old-fashioned way,” York explains. It was all about, ‘We’ll pay them some money, put on a show at Wembley, maybe get a tour out of it…’ They weren’t interested in building a community.”
In contrast, York continues, C2C – bolstered by support from radio DJs such as Radio 2’s Bob Harris and Chris Country’s Chris Stevens – helped to establish a tight-knit community of fans, to the point where there is also now a sizeable country touring market in the UK. “We did 45,000 tickets in London [for C2C 2018]. Four or five years ago that would have been beyond comprehension.”
“We did 45,000 tickets in London. Four or five years ago that would have been beyond comprehension”
Live Nation’s Anna-Sophie Mertens started promoting in her own right three years ago, and is now the “go-to person” for country shows in the company’s UK office, she explains. She says the number of country acts who want to play in the UK has more than doubled since then, including both big names worthy of headlining C2C and smaller emerging acts keen to stake a claim in the increasingly crowded country touring market.
Spurred on
Add hit drama series Nashville into that mix, too, suggests Milly Olykan, vice-president of international relations and development at the influential Nashville-based Country Music Association (CMA). “The contributing factors in those first five years [since the launch of C2C] were the internet, the TV show Nashville and Taylor Swift, but now we can add to that with the growth of C2C and, as a result, the volume of live touring and the radio support of the BBC,” says Olykan, who, as VP of live music at AEG Europe, set up C2C UK alongside York. “Radio 2 and Bob Harris have been long-time supporters, and this year we saw BBC Radio 1 play-listing country for the first time.
“We’ve got a momentum going now, and more and more fans are discovering they like country music.”
Anna-Sophie Mertens says the number of country acts who want to play in the UK has more than doubled in the past three years
In Germany, promoter Oliver Hoppe of Wizard Promotions also identifies Nashville as being a key driver of interest in country music – and ticket sales. “Our most successful tour so far is Charles Esten from the Nashville TV show,” he says. “1,500 tickets, five dates, all sold out.”
Hoppe, who describes himself as the main “country guy” in Germany, says the popularity of country music accelerated “six or seven years ago” after the CMA set its sights on conquering Europe. “A year or two before C2C in London started, we started to pick up shows here in Germany,” he explains. “Ossy [Hoppe, Wizard Promotions founder] used to bring Garth Brooks here in the ’90s, [but] that was a completely different animal – it was a worldwide phenomenon, and he played arenas over here that sold out instantly.
“It really picked up when the CMA put Europe on the agenda and we started doing grassroots work bringing over country and Americana acts.”
Hoppe says while the market is still “some years behind” Britain, “country is on the rise in Germany.
“It was a trickle at the beginning, but for every show we put on, more people come the second time around. We started with one country tour – the Band Perry, in 2012 – and now we’re at 25. We’ve been growing the market very organically but the interest is definitely there.”
“Country is one of the few genres of music where radio airplay can definitely move the needle”
The growth of country festivals such as C2C and CMC Rocks in Australia has been “instrumental in swinging the pendulum” towards country music outside the US, maintains Rogers. “Artists who historically did not want to travel outside of the US are standing in a queue to bring their music across the pond, to share experiences and life stories… I always love it when they return to the US with their stories of fans in Germany, Sweden, Belgium or Denmark singing all their songs back to them.
“It is so gratifying when a country artist plays a support slot on a festival, goes back in six to eight months and plays a headline club tour, goes back in another six to eight months after that and headlines a theatre tour, and then ends up headlining that same original festival.”
Like York, Rogers sees radio, as well as record label promo, as being a “huge factor” in country’s rise in Europe. “Country is one of the few genres of music where radio airplay can definitely move the needle,” she says.
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SJM’s Chris York: becoming the guvnor
The first time that Chris York recalls meeting Simon Moran was at a Levellers concert at London’s Brixton Academy in 1993, promoted by Moran’s company SJM Concerts. “I was there purely as a punter and this man came up to me and berated me for trying to steal his acts,” remembers York with a smile. “I pointed out, probably not as eloquently as I might have done, that that was actually my job seeing as I didn’t technically work for him. He retorted, ‘Well, you should do then.’”
A few months later, York made the 200-mile journey up the M1 from London to Manchester to take up Moran’s offer and join SJM. Back then, there were five of them working out of a nondescript workspace shared with post-punk band The Fall, where the “much-missed” Mark E Smith could regularly be seen “swaying in the lifts in the mornings.”
Fast-forward a quarter of a century to today and SJM employs 65 people, puts on around 2,500 concerts and events a year, and proudly stands as the UK’s biggest independent promoter, with The Stone Roses, Take That, Coldplay, Muse, Robbie Williams, Peter Kay, Adele, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, The Courteeners and Little Mix just a few of the many acts it has worked with in recent years.
“I’ve always felt at home at SJM,” says York, who recently celebrated 25 years at the company that he has played a key role in turning into a promoting powerhouse. “It’s always had the right ethos. We’ve always been artist-focused and tried to develop talent, and I think Simon and I share the right attitude about how we want to take things forward. Certainly, whenever we’ve been recruiting new staff we are always keen to add people who aren’t identical to ourselves. In order for the company to keep progressing and be relevant to new challenges, you’ve got to find people who aren’t doing exactly what you do.”
“In order for the company to keep progressing and be relevant to new challenges, you’ve got to find people who aren’t doing exactly what you do”
“Chris has been a huge part of the SJM story over the last 25 years,” says Moran. “He’s made a massive contribution in all facets of the business – clients becoming bigger, getting and retaining new clients, growing the business and gaining people, [investing in] buildings. He’s a very, very bright guy. He works hard. We’ve become really good friends and we’ve got implicit trust.”
“I think Simon’s style and my style are distinctly different, but they work well together, and I guess the biggest barometer of that is that we have gone on to be a very successful company,” reflects York, whose personal clients include Noel Gallagher, Foo Fighters, Massive Attack, Stereophonics, Lily Allen, Smashing Pumpkins, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, Green Day, Placebo, Lorde, Robert Plant, Morrissey, Kraftwerk, Swedish House Mafia, and The Chemical Brothers, among others. York is also one of SJM’s four directors alongside Moran, Rob Ballantine and Glenn Tyrrell.
Respect and admiration for the 49 year old extends throughout the industry. “Chris is, if not the best, one of the best promoters that I have ever worked with in the world,” says Underworld manager Mike Gillespie, who has known him since the mid-1990s. “He is loyal and sticks with his artists. Whereas a lot of promoters are naturally very cautious and hedge their bets, he is a bold and confident risk taker and is always looking at what the next step can be.
“At the same time, he can be stubborn, belligerent and awkward, but that’s part of what makes him brilliant. He will tell it you like it is and he doesn’t hold back. When you have an act that is doing well people tend to tell you what you want to hear. Chris isn’t one of them, and I really like and respect that. He understands that you’re only as good as your last gig and he’s not afraid to say to the manager or the artist, ‘That’s not good enough.’”
“Chris is, if not the best, one of the best promoters that I have ever worked with in the world. He is loyal and sticks with his artists”
By way of an example, Gillespie turns the clock back five years to when “Underworld had reached a ceiling” in terms of how many tickets they could sell. Through working closely with York over a series of releases and tours they rebuilt momentum and were able to sell-out two nights at London’s 3,000-capacity Roundhouse.
“Chris’s response off the back of that was, ‘Now we do the (10,000-capacity) Ally Pally,’ which really knocked me out,” recalls the manager. The gig sold out six months in advance and Underworld are now selling more tickets in the UK than ever before, he states. “A huge part of that is down to Chris’s willingness to take a risk, his determination to be bold, and his clear vision.”
York-shire
The Roots of York’s promoting career can be traced back to his childhood in Yorkshire where he developed an “unhealthy interest” in music from a young age and became immersed in Leeds’ post-punk and goth scenes as a teenager. To earn some extra cash while studying chemistry at Warwick, he began crewing and stage managing bands that visited the university. That led him to being elected cultural affairs officer in 1989, booking gigs by The Sundays and De La Soul, and gaining a first real taste of how the industry operates.
“It was a steep learning curve initially, but through that I developed good friendships with people that I still work with today,” says York, who moved to London after finishing his studies and spent 18 months as a booker at punk and indie club The Venue in New Cross.
“It was a really exciting time in music and we put some great bands on,” he says, listing memorable shows by Lush, Pulp, Suede, PJ Harvey, New Model Army and Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. The job also saw him establish with Steve Lamacq the inaugural NME On Nights with On For ‘92, which ran at The Venue from 1991 to 1993, later evolving into the NME Awards Brat Bus tours.
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