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UK stadium gig rush reignites ticket price debate

Valentine’s Day marked one of the biggest mornings of UK onsales in living memory, as fans rushed to snag tickets for stadium outings for the likes of Beyoncé, Black Sabbath and Kendrick Lamar & SZA.

The shows have added to an already jam-packed summer schedule of outdoor shows in 2025, with superstars such as Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Imagine Dragons, Guns N’ Roses and Sam Fender also lining up to perform at the biggest venues.

The latest scramble has reignited fan and media chatter about the price of entry for major concerts, with some ticket types for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter Tour seeing hikes of up to 50% from her last outing two years ago.

The superstar returns to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (cap. 62,850) this June for a six-show run in support of the Award-winning album, with ticket prices ranging from £71-£950. Beyoncé sold out five shows at the same venue two years ago during her Renaissance World Tour (RWT), the second highest-grossing tour of 2023 after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The run grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 56 shows in North America and Europe, according to Billboard Boxscore. That venture took the Grammy Award-winner to 39 cities across 10 countries, while the upcoming trek will only visit eight cities in three countries, seeing Beyoncé play 29 total shows.

While the touring route has tightened up, ticket prices have predictably risen from her outing two years ago. Prices for seated tickets have risen by at least 20%, with the cheapest option available for these dates starting over £71.

Standing tickets took a greater hike, rising by up to 50% from 2023 prices. Fans looking to stand at the Cowboy Carter Tour can expect to pay a minimum of £220, and almost £500 to stand nearer the stage in the ‘club’ option. General standing tickets for RWT ranged from £106.80-£177.50.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences”

Ticket prices are on the rise across all levels of touring, with Pollstar reporting average ticket prices rose 3.91% in 2024 to $135.92 (£107.80), and momentum is showing no signs of slowing.

“This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences fuelled by flagship concerts and residencies of global superstars and the proliferation of large-scale events in general,” said FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt in a recent interview with IQ.

Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) boss David Martin credits past research by former Spotify economist Will Page for signalling the direction of travel.

“Even back in 2022, it was evident that much of the ‘boom’ that was being witnessed in live music was due to high value, major, large-scale shows,” Martin tells IQ. “Add inflation which impacts both artists’ costs and fans’ wallets, along with the lasting audience impacts of the pandemic and the trend for the biggest artists to host their own events and residencies and it’s easy to see the drivers of increased prices.

“While it is positive to see demand at that level, I’m concerned about the impact on mid-level and grassroots artists. If fans are spending huge sums on one-off events, it appears that there is a real danger that they’ll attend fewer shows elsewhere.”

Some artists are seeking ways to keep costs down for fans. Coldplay have offered a limited number of Infinity Tickets, priced at £20/$20/€20 each plus taxes and fees, across their record-shattering Music of the Spheres World Tour. For their return to Wembley Stadium for a historic 10-night stand in autumn, the band’s second London stint on the same tour, fans could score standing tickets for £112.75.

The rise in general ticket prices for top stadium shows has also been more than matched across premium offerings — Beyoncé’s VIP pit sections in front of the stage come at the price of £850, while Black Sabbath fans seeking a side-stage premium experience could fork out just under £3,000.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now”

The cheapest tickets available for the “greatest heavy metal show ever” start at £197.50, while general admission standing starts at £262.50. The July reunion will see Black Sabbath’s original lineup – Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – top the bill, marking Osbourne’s final performance and the first time the quartet have played together in 20 years. More than 150,000 fans reportedly joined the queue for tickets when they went on general sale at 10am today.

Meanwhile, those looking to see Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s UK/EU outing this summer can expect to spend £75-£750 for tickets, with GA standing starting at just under £160. Other tours set to descend on stadiums across the UK this summer include Linkin Park, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, and Robbie Williams, to name a select few.

“Clearly there’s some quite fascinating trends in our culture right now,” observes Martin. “On one level, there’s an inexhaustible supply of new music, film, video, podcasts, books, substacks, and a whole mass of interesting niches and genres. It’s a complete cultural sprawl. On the other hand, there’s also that kind of ‘Barbenheimer’ effect, where audiences want to participate en masse for events by the likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. And they’re prepared to pay a premium for those experiences, even if it’s at the cost of others.”

 


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Singapore credits mega gigs for record tourism

Concerts from the likes of Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran helped drive tourism in Singapore to record heights last year.

Singapore’s tourism spending in 2024 is projected to surpass $29 billion, breaking the pre-pandemic record of $27.7bn in 2019, according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

The spend category with the biggest year-on-year growth was Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming, up 25% compared to 2023.

International visitor arrivals also increased by 21% year-on-year to reach 16.5 million, with the STB crediting the island’s country’s “year-round calendar of lifestyle events and concerts”.

Concerts by Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift “generated substantial economic benefits and enhanced Singapore’s global brand, with spillover effects to adjacent tourism industries such as retail, dining and hotels.”

Indeed, 2024 was a standout year for live music in Singapore, with rafts of major artists performing to sold-out crowds.

Singapore’s tourism spending in 2024 is projected to surpass $29 billion

Coldplay broke Singapore’s record for the most tickets sold by an artist in a single day (200,000) for their six-night stand at the National Stadium in January 2024. Shows for Bruno Mars, Olivia Rodrigo, Imagine Dragons and viral sensation Laufey were also snapped up in record time.

Ed Sheeran also delivered a concert at the National Stadium, followed by an intimate concert at the 1,000-cap Capitol Theatre. But it was Swift’s six sold-out shows at the 55,000-capacity venue that garnered the most attention for the island nation.

Singapore’s government drew criticism from neighbouring countries over a reported exclusivity deal with promoter AEG to make Singapore Swift’s only stop in the region.

However, tourism experts said Singapore’s success benefits the entire region, rather than detracting from it.

“The media buzz and the publicity surrounding Singapore’s apparent hijacking of her shows have woken up these countries to the rewards available in this market segment (high-end concerts) and their respective infrastructural or organisational shortfalls,” said Christopher Khoo, managing director of MasterConsult Services, a Singapore-based tourism consultancy company.

In fact, the exclusivity deal has prompted South East Asian nations such as the Philippines to step up, announcing plans to build a ‘Taylor Swift-ready’ stadium by 2028.

STB expects 2025 international visitor arrivals to reach between 17.0 to 18.5 million, bringing in approximately $29.0 to $30.5 bn in tourism receipts.

 


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Indian PM pushes ‘concert economy’ potential

India’s prime minister has spoken of the country’s need to improve its infrastructure to maximise its concert economy in the wake of Coldplay’s huge shows.

The band set the record for the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century after drawing 111,000 fans a night to their two Music of the Spheres World Tour concerts at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 25-26 January.

The group also played three 55,000-cap dates at Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium earlier that month, while Ed Sheeran is currently in the midst of his biggest ever run in India, visiting Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Shillong and Delhi.

But with its population exceeding 1.4 billion, PM Narendra Modi suggests the limitations of India’s existing venue network mean it has only been able to scratch the surface of its potential.

“Big artists from around the world are attracted to India,” says Modi, as per Mint. “I expect the state and the private sector to focus on developing necessary infrastructure and skills for the concert economy.

“A country that has such a rich heritage of music, dance and storytelling and a huge pool of youngsters who are big consumers of concerts, there are many possibilities in the concert economy. You have witnessed that in the last 10 years, the demand and trend for live events have increased. You must have seen the beautiful pictures of Coldplay concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. This proves that there is a massive scope for concerts in India.”

“Infrastructurally speaking, we’re not there yet”

IQ‘s 2024 Global Promoters Report also provides an insight into the evolution of India’s “extremely healthy live scene”.

“Thanks to the internet, the walls have come down,” says Owen Roncon, chief of live events business for ticketer and promoter BookMyShow. “Ninety percent of our formal education is in English, and some of the world’s largest Spotify numbers are coming out of India. Before, we were 20 or so years behind a trend, but thanks to constant exposure to content from outside of India, we’ve now caught up with the rest of the world.”

Music business veteran Jitin Abraham, who has nearly 20 years of experience working with local live event promoters, as well as setting up VH1 in India, says he has never seen such a massive demand for international music.

“Thanks to the booming usage of platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, entire generations have been exposed to a wider range of music than ever before,” he says. “Back in the day, you’d have to give away free tickets or have people on the guestlist to guarantee attendances, but nowadays, fans don’t think twice.”

Nevertheless, he acknowledges that infrastructure remains a major issue.

“We don’t have a string of venues that are designed for performances that have a capacity of around 5,000 in multiple cities,” adds Abraham. “Even at a grassroots level, there aren’t enough 500-capacity spaces in teeming metropolises such as Mumbai or Delhi. You can literally count them on one hand. Infrastructurally speaking, we’re not there yet.”

Ed Sheeran made the headlines this week after his surprise street gig in Bengaluru was shut down by police

On a related note, Shillong’s state government has announced it is investing in tourism infrastructure ahead of upcoming high-profile events including tomorrow’s (12 February) concert by Ed Sheeran at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is expected to draw around 26,000 punters.

India Today reports the city has become a significant player on India’s touring scene, drawing scores of tourists for shows by the likes of Bryan Adams, Akon, Clean Bandit and Nick Carter. The state government is expanding Shillong’s airport runway to accommodate larger aircraft from major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, as well as investing in the development of new hotels and event spaces.

It is also supporting  local talent through the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP), which facilitates performance opportunities and financial assistance for regional acts.

Sheeran made the headlines earlier this week, meanwhile, after his surprise street gig in Bengaluru was shut down by police.

 


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Indian police close Coldplay ticket investigation

Police in India have closed an investigation into promoter BookMyShow (BMS) over the ticket sale for Coldplay’s recent concerts in Mumbai after finding “no irregularities”.

The band played three 55,000-cap dates at Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium on 18-19 & 21 January as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.

Tickets, priced between 2,500 rupees (€27) to 12,000 rupees (€129), sold out within 30 minutes last September, only to quickly reappear on secondary ticketing platforms at up to 40x face value.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police launched a preliminary inquiry after lawyer Amit Vyas filed a criminal complaint against BMS and others, accusing the company of using bots to manipulate the sales process and colluding with resale sites to scalp tickets on the black market.

“Scalping and black marketing of tickets is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice”

BMS, which said 13 million people attempted to buy tickets, denied any association with unauthorised secondary ticketing platforms and lodged a formal First Information Report (FIR) with law enforcement agencies.

“Scalping and black marketing of tickets is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice,” it said at the time. “We have not only filed a complaint with the police authorities but are also proactively working with them to provide complete support in the investigation of this matter in any manner that may be required.”

The Hindustan Times reports that the EOW has now dropped the case, having found no evidence of ticket manipulation.

The week after their three Mumbai dates, Coldplay performed to 111,000 fans a night – the biggest shows of their career –at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on 25-26 January. The two gigs also set a record as the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century.

 


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Coldplay claim biggest stadium gig of 21st century

Coldplay have set the record for the largest stadium concerts of the 21st century after drawing more than 222,000 fans across their two concerts in India.

The band brought their Music of the Spheres World Tour to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on 25-26 January, pulling in crowds in excess of 111,000 for each date – the biggest gigs of their career.

Fans in India were also able to watch the Sunday night show from their homes via the Disney+ Hotstar livestream.

Coldplay’s two-night Ahmedabad stand, which was presented by BookMyShow Live in partnership with Live Nation, came on the heels of their three 55,000-cap dates at Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Stadium on 18-19 & 21 January.

Prior to that, the group, who are booked by Wasserman Music in the US and Canada and WME for the rest of the world, completed a record-breaking four-night run in Abu Dhabi, achieving the largest and longest series of ticketed shows in the UAE.

More than 12 million tickets have now been sold for the Music of the Spheres World Tour

The Music of the Spheres global trek is firmly established as the biggest-selling tour of all time, having now sold over 12 million tickets across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania since kicking off in 2022.

It resumes in April with four shows at Hong Kong’s new 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. Operated by ASM Global, the venue hosted its first trial concert last week – a charity event featuring domestic artists  Jay Fung, Cloud Wan, Jace Chan and Dear Jane – for which capacity was capped at 18,000.

The tour will then stop for six nights in South Korea at Seoul’s Goyang Stadium before heading to the US and Canada from May to July. UK dates will then follow, comprising two gigs at Hull’s Craven Park Stadium (18-19 August) and an unprecedented 10-night residency at London’s Wembley Stadium (22 August-8 September).

Read IQ‘s interview with Coldplay production manager Chris Kansy, who was recently crowned The Gaffer for the second time, here.


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Chris Kansy: The Gaffer 2024

Currently steering Coldplay’s record-breaking Music of the Spheres Tour around the globe, production manager Chris Kansy is helping to establish new best practices for acts trying to minimise their carbon footprint. His efforts, over a career that now dates back more than 40 years, see Kansy become the first person to collect the Arthur Award for top production guru (aka The Gaffer), twice. Adam Woods caught up with him during the band’s recent Australia leg…

In the great twisted saga of concert tours, one line plots an unusual course across the past four decades or so, joining dots you didn’t realise were connected at all – from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts through Milli Vanilli, Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Mary J Blige, Roger Waters, all the way to Coldplay.

That line – which also takes in White Zombie, The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Jane’s Addiction, Mötley Crüe, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Tool, Muse, Beck, The Flaming Lips, and many more – is the trajectory of Chris Kansy: storied production manager, much-admired gentleman of the road, and first-ever double recipient of The Gaffer award.

Last time Kansy was Gafferised, it was 2012, and he was 14 months into The Wall Live, Waters’ arena- and stadium-sized resurrection of his 1979 Pink Floyd masterpiece – a show the production manager has nominated, in one of his many Radio Check podcasts with his brother Matt, as perhaps the greatest of all time.

This time around, however, he is behind the wheel of another show that may prove equally significant, in entirely different ways: Coldplay’s $1bn-grossing, consciously decarbonising Music of the Spheres Tour, which set out with a goal to reduce emissions from show production, freight, and band and crew travel by at least 50%, and has had great success in doing so.

“I went through this period of time where I had this reputation of being this guitar tech who could do production and everything else”

When Kansy checks in with IQ in late October, he’s on Australian time as the band prepare for eleven shows in Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland. They haven’t played live since Dublin in September, and after Australia and New Zealand, it will be six more weeks before a pocket of dates in the UAE and India in January; then a couple more months before Hong Kong and South Korea in April. At 63, Kansy has developed a fondness for this superstar touring pace, and he freely admits it.

“They’re all family men,” he says of Coldplay. “They’re in their late 40s. They’ve got kids. They’ve got this expectation of a personal life. So, we don’t go out for four or five months straight. We go out for three weeks, and then we take a break, and I’ve learned to really appreciate that.

“Coldplay’s kind of wrecked me for touring. I’m not so sure that I could go and load in, do a show, load out the same day you loaded in, get on a bus, sleep for four-and-a-half hours, get up, and do it all over, which is what I have done my entire 40-plus years of touring. We’ll see if I’m able to do that again.”

If he never does, you certainly couldn’t accuse him of not putting in the miles, across a career that nicely illuminates 40 years’ worth of musical trends, from hair metal and grunge to mainstream arena and stadium shows of all kinds.

Having started out in the late 1970s as an in-house lighting engineer, working in clubs in his native Hartford, Connecticut and then in New York City, he was drafted by Joan Jett’s LD Bryan Hartley to fill in on a tour, then persuaded to stay on as a guitar tech when a vacancy opened up.

“The guys in the crew sort of gathered around and told me, and I said, ‘Hey, I do not do guitars.’ But they said, ‘Well, the management and the band like you, so if they ask you if you know how to do guitars, just say yes, and we’ll show you how to do it. We’ll help you through.’”

“Being by [the artists’] side or over their shoulder or in front of them during this process is fascinating to me”

By Kansy’s account, the experiment was only partially successful. “I was an awful guitar tech,” he confirms – perhaps over-modestly, given that he subsequently fulfilled the role not only for Jett but for Billy Duffy of The Cult and Megadeth’s Marty Friedman. “Well, you know what, I guess I was okay. I did it on and off from, say, ‘86 to ‘95. I just never really had the passion for it. I wasn’t a guitarist; I learned just enough to play one riff, which was The Cult’s Wild Flower.” He sings the two-note riff. “How basic is that? I just never really wanted to gain any momentum with it. It’s hard, as well. Pedals are complicated things…”

But on such unpromising beginnings are careers built, and Kansy began to find a niche for himself.

“I went through this period of time where I had this reputation of being this guitar tech who could do production and everything else,” he says. “In those days, when you were a production manager, you were also the stage manager, you were also the tour accountant, head of security, you advanced all the back-of-house stuff – it was a full thing. And I suppose I was known for being able to do guitars and all that at the same time. People kind of put up with my limited guitar tech abilities because they knew what else they got out of me.

“My first production manager job without having to do guitars” was an auspicious one: Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger tour in 1991, right at the height of grunge. But it was a few years before he encountered the first in a line of uncompromising visionaries that would gradually bring an important theme to his career.

A Head Full of Dreams
“I started working for Nine Inch Nails in 1999,” he recalls. “Trent Reznor really listened to me, and I took part in the creative process, which still doesn’t happen to me very much as a production manager. Usually, there’s a creative team, and I bring their vision to fruition. But being invited into the creative team – I really enjoyed that.

“I love working for those kinds of people,” he adds. “I love working for Trent, I love working for Roger Waters, I love working for Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, because they’re auteurs – their fingerprints are on everything, and they want to be involved, and being by their side or over their shoulder or in front of them during this process is fascinating to me.”

“It is a true rollercoaster”

A latter-day entry in that roll of honour is Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who may not be generally known as a dark genius in the Reznor/Waters mould, but who is nonetheless a strikingly hands-on kind of star.

“Chris Martin is involved in every aspect of the show,” says Kansy. And the thing I really respect about Chris is he never leaves well enough alone. He always wants to try something new, always wants to experiment with something. He always wants to improve the show, improve the audience experience. He does not want to champion mediocrity in any way at all.”

Kansy credits Martin and fifth member Phil Harvey for constantly keeping the show vital, in the knowledge that most fans will have a pretty good idea of what they are going to see long before the show arrives in their city.

“They’re always looking for the next thing, trying to find another way to improve the show. They know everything’s on YouTube, and they know everything is being captured.”

The consequence, says Kansy, is a show that offers one knock-out punch after another and never seems to lose its freshness. “Lots of shows have that thing where you’re building up to the big moment – you know, where The Wall falls down or whatever. Coldplay kind of has lots of little big moments throughout the show. You know, we open the show like most bands want to close their show. By the second song, there’s balloons all over the audience, you know? And then the third song, everything breaks down. And then the fourth song, the band goes out to the B-stage and plays a couple songs. And then back to the main stage, and then there’s pyro, and on it goes. It is a true rollercoaster.”

“We’ve got lots of little things that hopefully build up to a big impact”

Global Citizen
The tour has grossed $1.06bn in revenue from 9.6m tickets across 164 dates, making it the most-attended tour of all time and the second highest grossing. But its real influence looks likely to be the effort it has made to pioneer more sustainable practices in large-scale touring, from its mobile rechargeable show battery made from recyclable BMW i3 batteries to its use of renewable resources such as hydrotreated vegetable oil, solar power, and kinetic energy.

Over the summer, the band delivered an update on their sustainability initiatives, revealing that, on a show-by-show comparison, the current tour has so far produced 59% less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016/17, exceeding their original target. On Coldplay’s initiative, more than 9m trees have already been planted around the world, with a further million to be planted before the end of the year.

Kansy himself joined Music of the Spheres when it was already off the ground, replacing Jake Berry in 2023, 50 shows in. So he carefully bats away credit for the sustainability side, whilst being fully involved in the ongoing process.

“It was all here when I got here,” he says. “Even before I knew I was going to work for Coldplay, I knew they were going to go out with an ethos of sustainability. But you know, we’re always looking for that next thing. We run the show on batteries. We’ve got solar, we’ve got energy bikes, we’ve got energy floors. We’ve got lots of little things that hopefully build up to a big impact.

“Backstage, we don’t have plastic bottles. We all have our own water bottle. We fill up at bubblers. We try to be sustainable about the way we recycle. We’re sustainable about the way we order food and go through our food. We try to limit the waste. We’ve got a company called Hope Solutions that work with us, and we are always in contact with each other. Live Nation has a sustainability officer out on the tour with us to make sure that all the things you say they’re going to do come to fruition. It’s a constant thing.”

“We’re going to start doing these residencies, starting with ten Wembleys next year and then around the world”

Forty years into his touring career, Kansy is evidently energised by the new challenge of doing it all again but this time, as cleanly as possible.

“It’s a thing that I always believed in, even before Coldplay. I eliminated plastic bottles on Roger Waters and on Tool and on Massive Attack and all these other shows that I did. But it is a continuum. There’s no, ‘Okay, we’re sustainable now. What’s next?’

“We’re going to start doing these residencies, starting with ten Wembleys next year and then around the world. And when we start doing those, we’re going to try to make an even bigger impact. We’ll get involved with how the audience gets to the show, how they are fed and watered, all these things. Maybe we can bring in more solar, since we’re there for a while, and bring in bigger impact items to help make those special events even more sustainable than we do on tour, where there’s only so much you can do before you load out again.”

Clearly, Music of the Spheres is being watched carefully by other tours, and its innovations will inevitably trickle down across the business. This is meaningful work. But the important question is: How cross was Roger Waters when Kansy told him he was leaving him for Coldplay after 18 years?

Wish You Were Here
“Yeah,” says Kansy. “I remember the first time I saw him after he knew. I came in and he’s like, ‘Ah, so you finally got a real job.’ But I tried replacing myself, and they wouldn’t let me. I said, ‘I’m gonna find somebody to come in and take over.’ They’re like, ‘What do you mean, take over? No, no, no, we want you here when you can be here. Just make sure it’s covered when you’re not.’ And I was honoured to be considered in that way.”

As a result, Kansy remains the go-to man for both Coldplay and Waters, and, as he mentioned on his podcast, still touts Waters’ revived The Wall Live production as a high-watermark of arena entertainment.

“Coldplay is more of an extravaganza – it hits you in the face.”

“Well, that show was absolutely unique,” he says. “The technology was great, though there was not a lot of whiz-bang. It was rock & roll, performance, art, theatre – every angle of the entertainment world was there, you know. Drama. You know, it just had it all.

“There’s a story. You follow it all and it gets dark. It might have been different if The Wall record had just come out and we did a tour for it. But, you know, it had all this lore to it, all this reputation and expectation. We did 219 performances of that show, and I watched probably 85% of all of it. And I would only get called away to do other things. It was just a kinetic show in every way. Coldplay is more of an extravaganza. You walk in and it’s just smiles and eye candy and then bam – it hits you in the face.”

In the years between his two historic Gaffer Awards, Kansy has continued to finesse a remarkably high-end career, and it is safe to say he has continued to add plenty of tricks to his arsenal.

“I did a couple of campaigns with Muse, which were really, really interesting,” he says. “There was a lot of good high technology on the Drones Tour [in 2015-16], where we were flying helium-inflated objects around the arena – that was an incredible experience in the round. I’ve done two more Roger tours in the past decade, including the Us + Them Tour [in 2017-18], where we recreated the Battersea Power Station over the audience, which was absolutely fascinating.”

In 2019, heading into the pandemic unawares, Kansy was focused on an array of shorter jaunts. “I started the year with Massive Attack, and then went through the Smashing Pumpkins, and ended it with the Black Keys and then into Tool. I think [Tool guitarist] Adam Jones might be in that same category I discussed, with Trent and Roger and Robert. He’s got a huge vision for how Tool should be presented. One of my favourite bands to work for – I really, really like those guys.”

“I’m part of that overlapping generation… who kind of showed the industry how the future could be”

If Kansy’s career seems increasingly focused, that’s partly a function of big clients and an indication of not needing to grab any job going. “I guess I’m at the point in time now where, if I get a call about something I don’t want to do or I’m not interested in – and I get them – my response is always, you know, ‘Hey, thank you very much, it would have been an honour to work for you, unfortunately, I’m busy.’ Some of it is bullshit, some maybe not, but I’m too old and too far along to trudge across the country on something I’m not interested in doing. And there will be somebody else who would be interested in doing that.”

Kansy remains passionate about the business and a keen student of its evolution. A question about whether today’s regimented concert circuit is as fun as the crazy old one is met with an entertaining digression that charts the progression of touring productions – from Jimi Hendrix playing under a single spotlight, via Bill Graham’s decision to transport sound and lights for the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street tour, to today’s eye-popping spectacles.

“Bill Graham is the godfather of production managers – the first one to really do what we do,” he says. “After that, guys like Michael Ahern and Joe Baptiste and these other production managers started figuring things out in a different way and developing how we tour, and then it really got ramped up when guys like Jake Berry got involved and really showed the industry how to tour properly.

“And then I’m part of that overlapping generation, with Jake and Opie [Dale Skjerseth] and Mark Spring, and that list just goes on and on, who kind of showed the industry how the future could be.”

Anyone you ask will tell you what makes Kansy a great production manager.

“Instead of looking for the next gig, he had this very Zen approach”

John Wiseman, nowadays PRG’s executive vice president for worldwide sales, has known Kansy since a Mötley Crüe tour back in the 1980s.

“I’ve found Chris to be one of the more interesting production managers that I’ve worked with, because he approaches it not just from an operational and straight-up production manager thing but really as an artist,” says Wiseman. “He has that artistic temperament, combined with the necessary ability to be pragmatic.

“I remember once, probably two decades ago, when a tour we were both working on was coming to an end, I said, ‘What are you doing next?’ And he had the most interesting answer. He said, ‘You know, John, I’m not exactly sure. I’ve got a couple of offers, but I’m going to look around until I find something that’s artistically rewarding and interesting.’

“Instead of looking for the next gig and thinking how he was going to make his house payment, he had this very Zen approach. There aren’t many production managers like that.”

eps managing director Sebastian Tobie first worked with Kansy on The Wall Live’s 2013 run through European stadiums.

“I experienced Chris as always approachable and supportive,” says Tobie. “And he was always ready to crack a joke when we met inside the last production truck to be loaded after every loadout, where he would personally push his production cases in position.

“My respect and joy working with him just grew over the years up to the current Coldplay tour and hopefully for many more years to come.”

“There’s no hierarchy with him at all; he’s one of the crew, and I think that wins other people’s respect on tour”

Brian Levine, TAIT’s president of projects, sums up Kansy as “a total legend in our industry” and suggests his second Gaffer Award is no surprise. “Chris has been a longtime client at TAIT and across all of the projects we’ve had the pleasure to work with Chris on, he’s made everyone involved feel like they belong,” he says. “Most of all, he’s created an environment where we can also have a little fun.”

Coldplay tour manager Marguerite Nguyen, meanwhile, has a personal reason for being glad Kansy didn’t come to his current role sooner.

“Chris and have known each other for nearly 20 years and have had many amazing meals around the world,” she says. “Funny story: he was up for Coldplay PM in 2008 and didn’t get the job, thank god. It went to Craig ‘Fin’ Finley, who subsequently hired me as his production coordinator. I would have to say, if that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be here today, celebrating my 16th year with the band,” she laughs. “And here we are today, TM and PM.”

Rock & roll caterer Eat to the Beat is the only original vendor remaining in the Coldplay camp, having catered every tour since Parachutes in 2000, and newcomer Kansy meets with their approval. “He’s very approachable, very charming, he’s a good communicator,” says Global Infusion Group director Mary Shelley-Smith.

“It’s a very grown-up tour; everyone knows what they’re doing,” adds the company’s head of events, Kim Joyce. “He’s got respect throughout the whole production team. He’s always eating in main crew catering with everyone else – there’s no hierarchy with him at all; he’s one of the crew, and I think that wins other people’s respect on tour.”

“I’d say I’m a guy that values communication, that trusts people to do their job properly”

Parachute
What does Kansy himself think he brings?

“Well, I’m myself,” he says. “I’m myself. I have a style, you know? I mean, shows are always a little the same: you unload trucks, you set a bunch of stuff up, a band comes in and plays, and you break it down and put it in trucks. But there are myriad ways to do that, and every production manager is different.

“I guess I don’t really know what other production managers do, other than what I hear. I can’t go and watch them do their job. But I’d say I’m a guy that values communication, that trusts people to do their job properly. We have the best of the best on this crew, so I let all my department heads, my stage managers, everybody, do their job, but we talk every day; we sit down, and we regroup.

“I mean, there’s a small aspect of me being kind of the emergency parachute. I’m there to guide, I’m there to watch, I’m there to ensure communication. But I’m also there to make the big decisions. That’s what I’m getting paid for, and I’m comfortable there. I really think that I know what the right decision is. I’m pretty sure that I am the right person to guide that scenario when things are on the line.”

 


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Coldplay deliver UAE’s biggest-ever concerts

Coldplay completed their record-breaking four-night run in Abu Dhabi last week, achieving the largest and longest series of ticketed shows in the UAE.

Promoted by Live Nation Middle East and supported by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, the sold-out Music Of The Spheres shows drew 200,000 fans across the four nights, surpassing the nearly 69,000 people who attended Ed Sheeran’s two sold-out concerts at Dubai’s Sevens Stadium last year.

The shows took place at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium which is now operated by Oak View Group and its Middle East partner Ethara.

Demand for the British band’s Abu Dhabi concerts was deemed unprecedented, with millions of fans attempting to secure a ticket.

Initially planned as a single show, the overwhelming interest led the band to add three additional dates, all of which sold out within hours.

The Middle East, one of the fastest-growing live music markets in the world, will be a key focus of this year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC), with two expert-led panels: The Venue Boom and States of Growth.

“It has been an honour to bring Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour to the UAE”

“At Live Nation Middle East, we take immense pride in creating unforgettable events for the region, and it has been an honour to bring Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour to the UAE,” says James Craven, president of Live Nation Middle East.

“Organising the region’s largest concert series showcased the skill and hard work of our team, and we are deeply grateful for the support of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Miral, and the dedicated team at Zayed Sports City Stadium.

“We also want to thank the local media for their invaluable role in sharing information with fans and ensuring the event ran seamlessly. We look forward to future collaborations with Coldplay and more exciting artists while continuing to deliver some of the most iconic events in the region.”

Coldplay will deliver another record-breaking show later this week when they perform at the largest stadium in the world, the 100,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in India.

The second of the two Narendra Modi Stadium concerts, on 26 January (Republic Day), will be streamed live on Disney+ Hotstar, it was announced last week.

The band’s Music Of The Spheres tour has already set records as the best-selling and highest-grossing rock tour ever thanks to 10 million tickets sold and grosses over $1 billion to date during its three-year run.

Coldplay are represented by Wasserman Music’s Marty Diamond and Larry Webman in North America and WME’s Josh Javor for the rest of the world.

 


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Taylor Swift’s Eras dominates year-end tour charts

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour earned US$1 billion-plus for the second year in succession to more than double the haul of its nearest rival, according to Pollstar‘s 2024 data.

The epoch-defining 21-month trek, which wrapped this month, grossed an all-time record US$2,077,618,725 (€1.96 billion) at the box office after selling more than 10.1 million tickets.

Eras‘ 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).

Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour was a distant second – generating $421.7m, having moved 3.3m tickets for 54 concerts (average ticket price: $128.05). Nevertheless, the ongoing run now holds 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.

“While the industry has slowed since 2023, we still saw record-setting revenues, with the top two tours of all time running concurrently”

“2024 has proven to be a historic year for the live entertainment industry, one we may never see again in our lifetimes,” says Andy Gensler, Pollstar editor-in-chief. “While the industry has slowed since 2023, we still saw record-setting revenues, with the top two tours of all time running concurrently. Taylor Swift’s powerhouse The Eras Tour shattered the all-time touring record, while Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour sold more tickets than any artist in live entertainment history. That tour also grossed over $1.3 billion and remains the second highest-grossing tour ever, with 48 more dates scheduled in 2025.”

Also featuring in Pollstar‘s top 5 rankings are P!nk, who placed third with a $367.3m gross, and veteran Latin singer Luis Miguel at No.4 on $261.5m, followed by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band with $251.3m.

The Top 10 rankings are completed by the Rolling Stones ($235m), Bad Bunny ($210.9m), Zach Bryan ($199.2m), Metallica ($179.4m), and Madonna ($178.8m).

Total grosses for the Top 100 worldwide top touring artists increased to a record $9.5bn, up from 2023’s $9.2bn.

The Top 10 in North America were the Rolling Stones (No.1), Bad Bunny (No.2), Zach Bryan (No.3), Luke Combs (No.4), Luis Miguel (No.5), Kenny Chesney (No.6), P!nk (No.7), Madonna (No.8), Aventura (No.9), and Taylor Swift (No.10).

 


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Music Venue Trust partners to launch Liveline Fund

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) is teaming with live music advocate Save Our Scene (SOS) to launch a new scheme aimed at supporting the independent music scene.

The Liveline Fund is focused on strengthening the future viability of the UK grassroots music ecosystem, with companies, organisations and artists able to make donations through a simple platform.

Coldplay’s vow to donate 10% of their proceeds from their forthcoming Wembley and Hull stadium shows to the MVT served as the first initiative under the partnership, followed by similar pledges by Sam Fender and Katy Perry.

Donations made by the concerts’ promoters (SJM Concerts, Metropolis Music and Live Nation), the band’s booking agent (WME), the venues (Wembley Stadium and Hull Craven Park) and official ticket agents (Ticketmaster, See Tickets and AXS) will also support the new fund.

“We are proud to have formed this partnership with Music Venue Trust following our introduction to Coldplay last year,” says George Fleming, who launched SOS during the Covid-19 lockdown. “The goal of Liveline is to affirm the independent live music ecosystem and ensure the future viability of our sector. A thriving music industry depends on a steady pipeline of talent, which is made possible through supporting grassroots music.

“Collaborative action is essential to ensure this fund achieves its full potential and we look forward to working alongside MVT and other stakeholders in amplifying the fund, its awardees and helping ensure proceeds are distributed in a holistic and transparent way, which benefits the entire grassroots ecosystem, including fans.”

“In George and the team at Save Our Scene, we have found kindred spirits who share our passion to protect the grassroots music sector”

UK footwear and apparel brand Kickers has become the first brand to contribute to the Liveline fund in the wake of the launch of the brand’s Stomping Grounds campaign in partnership with SOS.

Alongside investments in infrastructure, events and touring, UK grassroots venues, artists and independent promoters will be able to apply for funding through an open application process, which will be managed by MVT.

“Working with likeminded people is always inspiring and, in George and the team at Save Our Scene, we have found kindred spirits who share our passion to protect the grassroots music sector in the face of many challenges they are having to confront,” says MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “Save Our Scene has the sort of direct access to the fan community that we feel has been missing from too many of the discussions so far. By partnering with SOS we are taking a first step towards putting fans and their experiences at the heart of the conversation.”

Davyd previously discussed Coldplay’s donation in an interview with IQ in September.

“If the biggest band in the world is telling you that they know that without the grassroots music venues, they probably wouldn’t have got to where they are – and they are going to put their own money out of their shows into a cause to save them – I think the whole music ecosystem should be listening,” said Davyd. “I can’t think of a bigger message than that for our industry.”

“While touring is the best job ever, it is currently technically what you might call a passion project for a lot of artists in 2024”

Meanwhile, British singer-songwriter Kate Nash has garnered headlines after launching an OnlyFans account selling revealing pictures to fund her tours under the campaign slogan “Butts for tour buses”.

“While touring is the best job ever, it is currently technically what you might call a passion project for a lot of artists in 2024,” she said.

Speaking to the BBC, Nash described the music industry as “completely broken” and claimed that “touring makes losses not profits”, adding that she was probably going to make more money from OnlyFans than from music over the next three months.

“I also think it’s bit of a punk protest as a woman to take control of my body and sell it to be able to fund my passion project, which is actually my 18-year career,” she continued. “I want to highlight that, and I want people to talk about it, and I want people to know the truth about what what’s happening in the music business.”

The 37-year-old, who is best known for her 2007 hit Foundations, is currently in the midst of a UK tour, stopping at venues including New Century Hall in Manchester, KOKO in London and Brighton’s Chalk, having recently completed a three-week tour of the US.

“I’m losing money from those tours,” she tadded. “The only way I could find to make a profit on the tour – you’re either going, hopefully I sell enough T-shirts to cover the debt, or you cut people’s wages, or you fire band and crew, or you travel dangerously. So that leaves me in a position where I’m not profiting from tours. So is this a job, or is it a passion project?”

Artists including Chemical Brothers, Little Simz, SantigoldMetronomy, Rachel Chinouriri, Easy Life and Roger Daltrey have previously raised concerns about the cost of touring – particularly in the States – with some axing entire tours.

 


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2025 stadium tours mount: Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo, MCR

Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo and My Chemical Romance are among the latest acts to announce stadium tours for 2025.

Coldplay have announced their biggest-ever show in the Indian city of Ahmedabad next year as part of their blockbuster Music Of The Spheres World Tour.

The band will perform at the 100,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, on 25 January.

The Ahmedabad show, promoted by Live Nation and Book My Show, is one of several Asia shows Coldplay will be playing next year on the biggest rock tour of all time, having previously announced gigs in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Seoul and Mumbai.

It will mark Coldplay’s first full-length headline touring performance in India after their 2016 appearance at Global Citizen Festival. The new dates will also see the band return to Hong Kong for the first time since 2009, Abu Dhabi for the first since 2016, and Seoul since 2017.

Later in 2025, Coldplay will head over to North America for 10 new gigs between May and July before returning to the UK for the next leg of the tour in August and September.

Coldplay have announced their biggest-ever show in the Indian city of Ahmedabad next year

“The only way to better serve the record-breaking demand for Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour in India has been to secure the country’s largest venue,” says Anil Makhija, COO, live entertainment and venues, BookMyShow.

“We’re thrilled to bring Coldplay’s monumental show to Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium as we raise the bar for live events and put India on the global entertainment map.”

Jared Braverman, SVP of Global Touring, Live Nation Entertainment, adds: “Over 20 years into their touring career, Coldplay continues to push boundaries in both scale and reach.”

Meanwhile, three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Olivia Rodrigo has announced her first-ever headline stadium shows in Brazil and Mexico.

Produced by Live Nation, the additional headline dates expand her 2024 GUTS world tour, which included 95 sold-out shows in over 60 cities across more than 20 countries, attracting over 1.4 million fans and grossing over $184.6 million, making it the highest-grossing tour by an artist born this century.

Olivia Rodrigo has announced her first-ever headline stadium shows in Brazil and Mexico

The 2025 GUTS world tour: spilled will feature major headline stadium shows at Estadio Couto Pereira in Curitiba (Brazil) on 26 March, and at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City on 2 April. St. Vincent will open the show in both cities.

The added dates surround Rodrigo’s recently announced 2025 festival performances across Latin America at Lollapalooza Chile, Lollapalooza Argentina, Festival Estereo Picnic, Lollapalooza Brasil, and Tecate Pa’l Norte next year.

The news comes days after Rodrigo was announced for the 2025 editions of London’s BST Hyde Park, Belgium’s Rock Werchter, Portugal’s NOS Alive and Italy’s I-Days.

Elsewhere, My Chemical Romance has unveiled a North American stadium tour for next summer, in celebration of their seminal album The Black Parade.

The band will perform the full album in only 10 cities across North America, with each Live Nation-produced show featuring a different hand-selected artist as the opening act.

Between 11 July and 13 September, the outing will visit Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Arlington, East Rutherford, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Tampa.

Violent Femmes, 100 Gecs, Wallows, Garbage, Death Cab for Cutie and Thursday, Alice Cooper, Pixies, Devo, IDLES and Evanescence are slated to support the US emo band.

Other acts that have previously announced 2025 stadium tours include Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Imagine Dragons, Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams and Oasis.

 


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