x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Bridge Conference unveils first wave of speakers

Bridge has unveiled the first wave of speakers for its inaugural conference, set to take place this May on the Adriatic coast of Croatia.

Presented by Serbia’s EXIT Festival and a board composed of some of the top European music executives, Bridge is aiming to become the leading event at the intersection of the music and tech industries.

Among the first confirmed speakers for the exclusive event are Folkert Koopmans (CEO, FKP Scorpio), Maria May (Head of electronic, CAA), Indira Paganotto (DJ, Producer, and Founder, ARTCORE), Matthias Strobel (President, MusicTech Germany), Steve Hogan (Senior Agent, WME) and Greg Parmley (Head, ILMC).

Also joining the speaker lineup are Cindy Castillo (Deputy Director, Mad Cool), Juan Arnau (Founder & CEO, Elrow), Dušan Kovačević (Co-Founder and CEO, EXIT), Julie Pilat (CGO, FYI.AI, and former Apple Music exec), Ivan Milivojev (Co-Founder, EXIT), Turo Pekari (Founder, MusicTech Finland), Ruud Berends (Co-Founder and Head of Agenda, IFF), Nick Mathews (Senior Agent, Wasserman Music), Jess Kinn (Senior Agent, One Fiinix Live) and more.

“This is where future-defining partnerships are forged, where innovation meets opportunity”

“We are delighted to unveil the first wave of incredible speakers for the Bridge Conference,” says Jennifer Cochrane, CEO of Bridge Conference.

“This is where future-defining partnerships are forged, where innovation meets opportunity, and where the Adriatic coastline provides the perfect setting for both business and creativity to thrive.”

In addition the exploring the future of the music industry, the conference will also explore how technology is reshaping live entertainment.

Leading tech pioneers and companies will contribute to discussions on the latest technologies in the space like AI, blockchain, and Web3, highlighting their impact on industry growth. Attendees will gain insider insights, forge strategic partnerships, and uncover new income streams in an environment built for meaningful interactions.

Bridge will take place between 20–22 May at the five-star Kempinski Hotel in Istria, a Croatian region renowned for its rich history, culture, and world-class gastronomy. For passes, packages and more information, visit Bridge Conference.

EXIT founder & director Dušan Kovačević recently spoke to IQ and Yourope’s European Festival Report ahead of the event’s 25th anniversary edition. Read the full interview here.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Leading Croatian ticketing firms merge

Two of Croatia’s leading ticketing platforms, Entrio and Ulaznice.hr (aka Dekod), have merged ownership in the hopes of becoming ‘the leading ticketing group in Southeast Europe’.

The consolidation comes months after Entrio raised €9m in funding in a round led by Invera Equity Partners with a plan to expand in Southeast Europe.

The newly established group will operate in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, issuing over four million tickets annually for more than 13,000 sports, music, cultural, and business events.

Ulaznice.hr and Entrio will continue their operations under separate brands, managed by their current leadership teams.

Darko Čošić and Branko Šilta will remain at the helm of Ulaznice.hr, while Berislav Marszalek and Sonja Trajanovski Marszalek will continue to lead Entrio.

“With the combined strengths of Entrio and Ulaznice.hr, we are pursuing robust organic and inorganic growth in existing and new markets”

Founded in 2011, Entrio is the second-biggest primary ticketer in Croatia after CTS Eventim, according to the International Ticketing Report 2024.

Marszalek, founder and CEO of Entrio, says the tie-up is “not merely a business move but an opportunity to raise standards in the ticketing industry, providing event organisers and users with innovative solutions and premium experiences. We are now aiming to become the leading ticketing group in Southeast Europe.”

Čošić, director Dekod/Ulaznice.hr, adds: “By combining our expertise, technologies, and service range, we are strengthening our market position and creating an environment where event organisers and attendees receive the best in one place.”

Sabolović, Invera Equity Partners, comments: “We continue our investment in the industry, focusing on improving and expanding services for both event organisers and end users, the ticket buyers. With the combined strengths of Entrio and Ulaznice.hr, we are pursuing robust organic and inorganic growth in existing and new markets.”

Read more about Croatia’s ticketing business in the International Ticketing Report 2024.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Bridge Conference to unite music & tech leaders

As part of its forthcoming 25th anniversary celebrations, EXIT Festival has unveiled a new multidisciplinary music conference. Bridge will take place from 20-22 May in Umag, Croatia with the aim of bringing together business leaders from the music and technology sectors.

Organisers emphasise that the event will connect global promoters, artists, managers, and agents with tech leaders to explore how technologies like AI, blockchain, Web3, and VR can elevate the music industry and unlock new income streams.

“In a time of rapid change and an uncertain economic environment, staying updated with the latest industry developments is crucial for competitiveness and growth” says Jenni Cochrane, CEO of Bridge conference.

Alongside Cochrane, the Bridge board features prominent figures such as EXIT founder Dušan Kovačević and Ivan Milivojev; head of Networking Music International AB and IFF co-founder Ruud Berends; and Tixbase founder Emil R. Ljesnjanin.

“The concept behind Bridge is ‘La Dolce Vita – bridging business and pleasure’.”

The advisory board features Maria May, Head of Electronic at CAA, Steve Hogan, senior agent at WME, Julie Pilat, former Apple Music exec and President of Music at Invisible Narratives, Greg Parmley head of ILMC/IFF, Holger Jan Schmidt General Secretary of YOUROPE, and Sarah Jane Nicholson, MD of Paradise Worldwide.

The event will take place on the Adriatic coast at the 5* Kempinski Hotel in Croatia’s Istrian region. Alongside the bridging music and technology, Bridge will serve as a networking hub for music industry leaders from key regions worldwide.

“The conference promises not just business insights on the future of the music industry, but also a taste of the region’s famed gastronomy,” says Cochrane. “The concept behind Bridge is ‘La Dolce Vita – bridging business and pleasure’. Bridge will foster key relationships and conversations and set to a unique culinary and cultural backdrop.”

The conference will directly precede the seventh edition of the EXIT-backed Sea Star Festival, set for 22-25 May in Umag. Previous editions of Sea Star has featured artists including Prodigy, Wu-Tang-Clan, Paul Kalkbrenner, Amelie Lens and Fatboy Slim.

EXIT has twice been the recipient of the best major festival gong at the European Festival Awards. “We’re planning a quantum leap for EXIT with numerous new features and projects for the 25th anniversary,” Kovačević told IQ following this year’s edition. “We’re gearing up for the strongest and most exciting year yet.”

The programme for Bridge Conference will be released early in 2025, and invites are being sent to selected individuals. Attendance is limited to just 200 participants and interested parties are encouraged to pre-register.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ IndexIQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Indie fests fear financial impact of severe weather

Organisers from Pohoda Festival (SK), Art Rock (FR) and InMusic (HR) have discussed the perils of maintaining independent festivals in the current climate.

“Unexpected things happen all the time,” Ivana Jelača, programming director for InMusic, told delegates at the recent SHIP conference in Croatia.

“No one predicted the pandemic. No one predicted a war in Europe in the 21st century. Organising a festival is a year-long job and things can dramatically change in that time. There are a lot of factors at play such as political factors, social factors, health and safety factors, weather factors and climate factors. There are a lot more dangers that have appeared in recent years.”

A primary danger for these organisers is inclement weather, as well as the resulting hike in insurance premiums.

Pohoda booking manager Barbora Bodnárová discussed the most recent edition of the three-day festival in July, which was curtailed after a thunderstorm caused a large tent stage to collapse and injure 29 people.

“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen”

“I have never experienced such a storm [as the one this year] and we have storms at the festival almost every year and ways to deal with them,” said Bodnárová. “But we were in a situation where you couldn’t do anything. The policy we have in place wasn’t applicable for 20 minutes because you just had to take care of yourself and the people around you.”

“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen. We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves the best we can in advance and assess it year by year.”

Though the Slovakian festival doesn’t have insurance for cancellation or inclement weather, it does have some cover.

“We have materials and structures insurance,” said Bodnárová. “Fortunately, we had a really good policy that was not that expensive… though I don’t think it’s going to be [that cheap] anymore.”

InMusic’s Jelača says she’s seen insurance fees for inclement weather “go through the roof” in recent years and points out that it’s a “security issue as well as a very big financial issue”.

“Insurance companies say that they will stop covering climate-related events because it’s becoming systematic and it’s not economically viable for them”

Carol Meyer, director of the French non-profit festival Art Rock, reiterates the point, adding that the cost of a severe weather event could end the long-running festival.

“Insurance is a huge issue in France,” she said. “Now, we hear from the insurance companies that they will stop covering climate-related events because it’s becoming systematic and it’s not economically viable for them. This is a real danger because if what happens at Pohoda happens and you’re not covered, you can kill a festival that is 42 years old.”

Bodnárová says that Pohoda is still weighing up the financial impact of the cancelled 2024 festival.

“It’s a slow process,” she said. “Many people are waiting for their money. We haven’t yet made a decision on whether to return a portion of the admission fee to those who would ask. We paid most of the artists their full fees, though some were able to settle for lower fees.”

Even without severe weather events and unaffordable insurance premiums, festivals are still struggling to balance the books.

“We are an independent festival and we’d like to stay independent”

“We almost never break even and we still need to find the ground after Covid,” says Bodnárová. “Finances are the number one concern for us as we are an independent festival and we’d like to stay independent. Plus, we need to attract younger generations so we can’t just keep raising the ticket prices.”

Meyer says that since Covid, Art Rock has to sell out to break even, and that finances are exacerbated by the concentration of major companies in France.

“Live Nation or AEG have relationships with the big artists and own the venues, the ticketing, and now they own festivals,” she said. “They can afford to lose money because the festival is a showcase.”

Croatia’s InMusic has also had its fair share of financial difficulties, some of which caused organisers to pull the plug on the 2023 edition.

Looking to the future, Jelača urged live music fans to support homegrown events and venues.

“Stick by your smaller events,” she said. “Stick by your local pubs. Stick by these grassroots movements because they do, in turn, give you bigger festivals or bigger events that will gather momentum.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Croatian biz “exceptionally strong” thanks to Euro

Croatia’s live music business has been “exceptionally strong” in 2023 so far, thanks to the country’s adoption of the Euro and an increase in international fans.

“Switching to the Euro helped in raising ticket prices and the public seems ready to follow that. Now we can come pretty close to Western European ticket prices – something that was unheard of four to five years ago,” says Mario Grdosic, managing director of Croatian independent promoter LAA.

Based in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, LAA typically promotes 50-75 shows a year with previous clients including Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, The xx, The Prodigy, The Cult, Whitesnake, Lorde, Slayer and King Gizzard.

“If someone told me three years ago I would sell a ticket for close to €150, I definitely wouldn’t have believed it”

LAA has held around 30 shows so far this year with “only three to four concerts underperforming,” Grdosic tells IQ.

The company’s biggest offerings in H1 were Florence + The Machine in Pula Arena, and two nights with Robbie Williams in the same venue. Grdosic says those shows are the perfect example of how switching from the Croatian Kuna (KN) to the Euro has helped business.

“I had the Foo Fighters in June 2019 in Pula Arena and our prices then were KN370–460, which was €49–62, and there were some complaints on socials that we were charging way too high,” he explains.

“This year, four years later and with prices in Euro, we had Florence and Robbie in Pula with tickets between €75–139 and nobody said a word.

“When super-fans plan to travel to see their favourite artists, they’re increasingly choosing Croatia”

“If someone told me three years ago I would sell a ticket for close to €150, I definitely wouldn’t have believed it. It was unimaginable here for the biggest shows some five to six years ago…”

And it’s not just domestic fans that are putting their hands in their pockets; Grdosic notes an increasing trend of international fans attending shows in Croatia.

“When super-fans plan to travel to see their favourite artists, they’re increasingly choosing Croatia. For the Robbie Williams shows, around 45% of ticketholders came from outside of Croatia,” he says.

“Even in Zagreb, which was never a particularly strong touristic destination, we now have club shows where 70% of tickets are from Croatia and 30% are from elsewhere. That was never the case some seven to eight years ago.”

“We’ll see if there is enough money in fans’ pockets to follow the trend into 2024/2025…”

While Grdosic is revelling in the market’s upswing, he does admit that 2023 may be an anomaly. “This is a bit of an unusual year, being the first year after Covid and the first with prices in Euros. When things do settle down a bit, I expect people to be more cautious with their money and for 2024 to be a bit less successful than this year.”

The market is also facing universal challenges such as inflation, staff shortages and over-saturation in the market. “But I’m definitely happy with how most things have sold this year,” he adds. “There’s so much stuff happening, so many choices for fans, and ticket prices are higher – it’s better than I expected it to be. We’ll see if there is enough money in fans’ pockets to follow the trend into 2024/2025…”

LAA’s upcoming shows include Tasha Sultana at Tvornica Kulture in Zagreb and two nights with Sigur Ros at Saint Michael’s Fortress in Šibenik.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Croatia’s INmusic pulls 2023 edition due to inflation

INmusic, Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival, has pulled the plug on its 2023 edition due to a myriad of financial challenges.

“The ongoing repercussions of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and general sense of insecurity many of us feel in our everyday lives, have resulted in conditions which do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place,” reads a statement from the organisers.

“In the current circumstances, it is not possible to deliver the best possible international live music programme for a ticket price set in accordance to the local audience’s financial limitations,” it continues.

“[These] conditions do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place”

“Unwilling to give up either one of those principles which make INmusic festival what it is, and honouring your support since 2006 and attendance which enabled the festival to grow and develop with each edition, we have concluded it is best to focus our activities on securing the necessary preconditions for a stable continuity of INmusic festival in the future.”

The annual festival typically takes place across three days in June in the Croatian capital of Zagreb with an international-heavy lineup.

Last year marked INmusic’s 15th edition which was extended from three days to four and featured artists including The Killers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Deftones, Royal Blood, IDLES and Kasabian. Details had not been announced for the 2023 instalment.

The organisers say they are hoping to hold the 16th edition in 2024 and share dates with fans in the following months.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Outlook debuts pay-what-you-want ticket scheme

Bass festival brand Outlook has piloted a pay-what-you-want ticket scheme in response to the cost of living crisis.

Fans of the festival who cannot afford the full ticket price could apply for a discount between 10% and 100% by filling out an online form.

The scheme applied to both the festival’s flagship event in Croatia, as well as its new UK edition launching this year.

The organisers asked that fans “only apply if you genuinely cannot afford the current full price ticket,” which is currently £160/€188 for each event.

A limited allocation was available for each discount level (10%, 25%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%).

“In the current climate, we appreciate that some of our audience simply will not be able to afford full-price tickets”

“We believe in doing what we can to make music and events accessible to as many people as possible,” reads a statement from the festival.

“This year, the increased cost of living is making attending events a challenge for many people and with the launch of our inaugural year of our first UK event, hosting all of our community is more important than ever.

“As independent promoters, we are also feeling the impact of these economic challenges but believe that ensuring our audience can still come together and celebrate the music we are passionate about is crucial.

“In the current climate, we appreciate that some of our audience simply will not be able to afford full-price tickets to music events.”

The Croatia edition, which launched in 2008, will take place at The Garden in Tisno between 28 July and 2 August. Channel One, Conducta, DJ Marky, Madam X and Randall are among the festival’s headliners.

Meanwhile, Outlook Festival will debut at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire between 30 June and 3 July, with performances from acts including Skream, Ghetts, Sherelle, Ben UFO and Special Request.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Pollen Presents unveils four-day Croatia takeover

Music, travel and experiences start-up Pollen is launching four-day island takeover the Unruly Culture Splash Weekender in Croatia later this year.

Headlined by dancehall star Popcaan, the festival is being staged in collaboration with Team Unruly and will fuse Jamaican, African and UK music.

The four-day “feast of Caribbean culture” is billed as “the first travel getaway of its kind in Europe” and is set for Zrće beach, Pag Island from 1-5 September. Attractions include all day and night parties, such as themed pool parties, brunches and boat parties, spa and make up treatments and daily exercise classes, alongside live performances from Popcaan and special guests.

Pollen Presents has previously organised a number of artist-curated weekenders

Founded in 2014 by brothers Callum and Liam Negus-Fancey, London-headquartered Pollen runs two offerings: Pollen Presents, which curates experiences for customers across travel, music, and more; and Pollen+ which partners with promoters and music festivals to offer customers who book through its platforms perks at events.

Pollen Presents has previously organised a number of artist-curated weekenders with artists including Justin Bieber in Las Vegas, Diplo in Cabo, Kurupt FM in Amsterdam, J Balvin in Vegas and Bring Me The Horizon in Malta.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Alda expands to Croatia with new office and festival

Alda, the Amsterdam-based company behind leading EDM events including AMF, New Horizons and more, is expanding to Croatia.

The Dutch promoter, which is 50% owned by Live Nation-backed Insomniac, today announced it has opened an office in the capital, Zagreb.

In addition, Alda and Insomniac have also planned a new seven-day festival in the Croatian city of Pula, on the Adriatic coast.

The event, titled Secret Project Presents Pula Music Week, will take place in and around one of Europe’s oldest amphitheatres between 30 June to 6 July.

Peggy Gou, Solomon, Disclosure, Tale Of Us, Boris Brejcha, Charlotte de Witte and Black Coffee will each host their own evening. Support acts will be announced at a later date.

“Croatia will be the epic centre for the European dance industry for the foreseeable future”

Project Presents Pula Music Week is the second new festival Alda and Insomniac have launched together, after Saga festival in Bucharest, Romania.

Allan Hardenberg, director and co-founder of ALDA, says: “In the two years that the festival world has been on hiatus, we have of course not been idle. We’ve made plans for when it could all be done again… and that’s now! Earlier this month we officially opened our office in Zagreb, Croatia will be the epic centre for the European dance industry for the foreseeable future.

“There are so many options here, especially for destination festivals. With the Pula Music Week, music lovers can enjoy not just one evening, but a week of the very best DJs in a unique location, where they are provided with everything they need.”

Alda is behind events including A State of Trance in Utrecht, New Horizons in Germany (a JV with CTS Eventim) and Amsterdam Music Festival, the Netherlands’ largest indoor music festival.

Insomniac, meanwhile, has produced more than 2,000 events since 1993, including Electric Daisy Carnivals in North America, Japan, China and Mexico, and Nocturnal Wonderland, the US’s longest-running dance music event.

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Long hot summer: Festivals expand for 2022

Wireless is the latest festival to announce an expanded format, ahead of what looks to be a bumper 2022 festival season.

This year, Europe’s biggest celebration of contemporary Black music will take place at three of its former sites over two weekends in July.

The Festival Republic-promoted festival will kick off on 1–3 July at London’s Crystal Palace Park, where it took place in 2021 for the first time in history.

The following weekend (8–11 July), Wireless will simultaneously take place at its traditional home of Finsbury Park in London and Birmingham’s NEC –  where it last took place in 2014.

Festival Republic today announced blockbuster headliners including A$AP Rocky (UK exclusive), J. Cole (UK exclusive), Tyler, The Creator (London exclusive), Cardi B (UK exclusive), Nicki Minaj (EU exclusive), Dave and SZA (EU exclusive).

Wireless is the latest in a long line of festivals to expand after two relatively festival-free summers.

“Adding the fourth festival day as inclusive for all previously bought three-day tickets was our way of saying thank you”

Tomorrowland (Belgium), Primavera (Spain), Mad Cool (Spain), Standon Calling (UK), InMusic (Croatia) and Summer Breeze (Germany), Rock en Seine (France), Splendour (UK) and Wonderbus Columbus (US) are among the existing festivals that have been extended for 2022.

Festival organisers have cited a number of reasons for extending their usual format including meeting pent-up demand, recouping losses, celebrating anniversaries and rewarding fan loyalty.

InMusic, Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival, added a fourth day as an all-inclusive for fans who had held onto their three-day ticket.

“Adding the fourth festival day as inclusive for all previously bought three-day tickets was our way of saying thank you for all the love and support,” says Ivana Jelaca from InMusic.

“We were moved by the messages of support we received after the pandemic hit and we were trying to figure out the best way to thank everyone for their understanding and patience.

“We choose to focus on the audiences that have been supportive and active in the years prior to the pandemic, as the two-year loss of live music content has had a huge impact on the quality of their lives.”

“People are hungry for live music and in need of a carefree festival weekend among friends”

Jelaca says that the festival’s 15th anniversary, which is delayed two years due to pandemic-related cancellations, is also cause for an extended celebration.

Alex Härtel from Silverdust, which promotes Summer Breeze in Germany, says the promoter has similar reasons for extending the festival.

“The reason is our 25th anniversary! Summer Breeze has been around since 1997 and despite three cancellations (two due to covid) we want to celebrate 25 years of existence with our loyal fans and many friends and bands from all over the world,” says Härtel.

Moreover, Härtel says the festival is capitalising on pent-up demand for live music: “People are hungry for live music and in need of a carefree festival weekend among friends,” he adds.

While each of the organisers says that their extended edition will benefit vendors, hotel properties and other entities who typically profit from the event, the added day won’t make a dent in the losses the festivals have suffered from the pandemic.

“Fans will expect more in 2022 than they accepted in 2021”

“If anything, an additional festival day generates greater expenses – programming and production-wise – and as an independent mid-sized festival with a limited capacity there are only so many tickets on sale,” explains InMusic’s Jenca.

Silverdust’s Härtel echoes that sentiment, adding: “The extended programme on the first day wouldn’t justify a big enough increase in ticket price to recoup what two years of covid did to the festival. We are doing this to create something special for the fans, the crew and everyone involved with Summer Breeze.”

It isn’t just increased demand festivals will have to meet this year but also increased expectations said AEG Presents CEO of European Festivals Jim King.

“The emergence from multiple lockdowns created a unique demand that is unlikely to repeat in the same way,” he explains.

“Fans will expect more in 2022 than they accepted in 2021. We will see an increasing upturn in expectation from fans as the year plays out and they have been to more and more shows and there will be a need for the industry to up its game to keep fans attending and buying more tickets in the later part of the year.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.