Ticketing platforms claim market-firsts
Amsterdam venue Paradiso and TicketSwap are claiming the first 100% face-value price cap for ticket resale in the Netherlands.
The new partnership ensures that tickets for Paradiso events can only be resold at their original purchase price (excluding service costs) or less, preventing price inflation and “supporting Paradiso’s mission as a non-profit organisation to make arts and culture accessible to a wide audience”.
To make the buying and reselling of tickets as seamless as possible, TicketSwap is integrating with Paradiso’s primary ticketing provider See Tickets Benelux.
“With rising costs for artists to go on tour and a possible VAT increase in 2026, ticket prices are under pressure. Visitors can only spend their money once and increasingly have to make
choices,” said Erik Luyten, Head of Ticketing, ICT & Data at Paradiso.
“Our partnership with TicketSwap ensures that we can keep prices low on their platform, while sellers can still earn back the full price they paid. Through TicketSwap’s SecureSwap technology, we can also guarantee that tickets resold on their platform are valid for admission. Tens of thousands of tickets per year for Paradiso events have already been sold via TicketSwap, from now on safer and more fairly priced than before.”
“With rising costs for artists to go on tour and a possible VAT increase in 2026, ticket prices are under pressure”
Elsewhere, Platinumlist says it is introducing the Middle East and North Africa’s first fan-to-fan ticket resale on its app.
The feature – which is already live in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – allows users to securely buy and sell tickets within the app marketplace.
In October, Platinumlist moved to combat fraud by transitioning from traditional PDF tickets to QR code technology called SafeTickets. The two new offerings have now been integrated.
Elsewhere, CTS Eventim and TikTok have rolled out their ticketing feature in Spain after launching the partnership in Germany earlier this year.
The feature will enable fans to discover live events and buy tickets through Eventim Spain’s platform Entradas.com from within the TikTok platform.
Any artist or content creator with more than 1,000 followers will be able to promote tickets to concerts, plays, musicals, festivals, exhibitions or sporting events in their TikTok videos.
“We seek to connect users with artists through the language of social media,” said Susana Voces, Managing Director of Eventim Spain. “This collaboration represents a step forward in the innovation of the ticketing sector, uniting technology, social media and live entertainment to offer fans a more direct and simple experience.”
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Finland’s events industry braced for VAT ‘disaster’
Finland’s events industry is bracing for a VAT “disaster” that could cause the industry “an additional bill of millions”.
The Finnish government announced earlier this year that VAT on tickets for cultural and sports events will rise from 10% to 14% from 1 January 2025.
It has now emerged that such organisers may have to pay the higher VAT rate for tickets sold at the end of 2024 before it even comes into effect.
The country’s Tax Administration says the tax rate applied to tickets would be determined according to the settlement date agreed between the ticket sales company and the event organiser. If ticket money does not reach the event organiser before the turn of the year, the 14% tax rate will be applied.
Increased VAT may not be requested from the customer, as the tax rate must be based on the applicable law, it added.
“In terms of ticket sales, the end of the year is the best season of the whole year. At the turn of the year, ticket sales companies have up to two or three months worth of ticket money in their customer reserve accounts. It is completely unreasonable that for that sale one would have to pay almost half more value added tax than what the customers have paid for their tickets,” states Mirva Merimaa, CEO of the ticketing company Tiket.
“It is completely unreasonable that for that sale one would have to pay almost half more value added tax than what the customers have paid for their tickets”
“In practice, when there is a delay in the payments received through different payment intermediaries, we should close the ticket office at Christmas, so that the payments can reach our own accounts with certainty before the turn of the year.”
Juhana Stenbäck, CEO of the ticketing company Lipppupiste, backed by CTS Eventim, adds: “As a ticket sales company, we would be taking an absolutely huge business risk if we billed the organisers for all the ticket money before the event, contrary to the normal practices of the industry. We act in our role to protect consumers and their money. It is contrary to common sense and legal sense that this protection of consumers’ interests is causing the industry an additional bill of millions.”
Sami Kerman, CEO of the Event Industry Association, says: “Considering the small margins of the industry, this one technical tax interpretation will have a catastrophic effect on the profitability of the entire next year. In addition, the tax increase itself will cause a decrease in demand, which is apt to plunge the industry into recession.”
The Event Industry Association (Tapahtumateollisuus) – which represents companies including Fullsteam Agency, Live Nation Finland, Warner Music Live and Lippupiste – has been lobbying the government to revoke the tax increase.
Failing that, the association has asked for the increase to be postponed “until the VAT Act has been reformed to take into account the established, consumer-friendly practices of the events industry”.
The Dutch event industry recently claimed a partial victory after a proposed tax hike for the cultural and creative market was shelved for the time being.
The government this year announced plans to raise the VAT rate for the sector by 9% to 21% from 2026, which would lead to a €350 million annual loss in income for the sector.
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CTS Eventim revenues top €2bn, profits dip
CTS Eventim reported revenues in excess of €2 billion for the first nine months of 2024, but its stock took a tumble amid mixed Q3 results.
The German-headquartered live entertainment and ticketing firm generated €2.027bn (up 16% year-on-year) and adjusted EBITDA of €322.7m (+12.1%) – both record highs for the first three quarters of the year.
In Q3, group takings increased 13.1% y-o-y to €825m, with its ticketing segment up 18.3% to €206.6m and live entertainment rising 11.4% to €628.4m. Top-selling shows included Ed Sheeran, Iron Maiden, Gilberto Gil and Vasco Rossi.
However, adjusted EBITDA for the group was down 8% to €120.6m in the quarter, compared with the same period in 2023. Ticketing grew 2.1% to €84.1m by the same measure, but live entertainment fell 25% to €35.6m.
“While CTS reported good top-line growth, profitability in the third quarter was disappointing, particularly in live entertainment,” analyst Oliver Wojahn, of mwb research told Reuters.
For the full nine-month period, its live entertainment division advanced 13.6% to €1.494bn. But adjusted EBITDA dipped 3% to €82.1m. CTS cited factors including “persistently high cost pressures for promoters”, as well as “integration expenses” related to its See Tickets deal, for the decline. The ticketing segment climbed by 22.9% year-on-year to €564.6m “primarily attributable to a diverse content portfolio”, while adjusted EBITDA rose by 18.4% to €240.7m.
“CTS Eventim is continuing to deliver stable growth in an increasingly volatile political and economic environment”
The pan-European giant saw its share price – which topped €100 for the first time last month – slide as much as 14% today (21 November) after opening at €85, before rallying to €82.35 (8% down) at press time.
Nevertheless, the stock is up 32% for the year to-date, and the company says it remains on a “stable growth trajectory” despite “increasingly challenging” economic conditions, describing upward pressure on costs as “still stubbornly high”.
“CTS Eventim is continuing to deliver stable growth in an increasingly volatile political and economic environment,” says CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “The strategy of boosting rapid expansion and making the portfolio more financially resilient has proved to be key to our Group’s long-term performance.”
“In the third quarter, factors such as the acquisition of See Tickets, the merger of two strong event companies and the performance of both our Eventim Group and our venue activities enabled us to lay strong foundations for our Group’s long-term success.”
In addition, CTS notes that presales for the 2025 anniversary editions of Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have “made an exceptionally strong start”, and says the expansion of the Eventim Live Group in Asia is “continuing to progress”.
Furthermore, it adds the recent merger of Peter Rieger Konzertagentur with DreamHaus “will create substantial synergies” and also references its arena projects in Milan and Vienna.
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CTS Eventim installs eBay Europe co-founder as CTO
Ticketing and live entertainment giant CTS Eventim has appointed eBay Europe co-founder Karel Dörner to its management board as chief technology officer (CTO).
Dörner, who previously led McKinsey Digital Labs in Western Europe, will take up the newly created position on 1 January. His responsibilities will include the ongoing digitalisation of the ticketing company’s business processes and the further development of its data-driven business models.
He will also oversee the technological evaluation and integration of new Group members, as well as the “extensive implementation of generative AI as a key component of the company’s future success”.
“I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Karel on behalf of the entire management board,” says CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “I’m very much looking forward to working with him. With his proven expertise and his entrepreneurial skills, Karel is a valuable addition to our management team. He will bring fresh impetus to the company and, together with all our employees, ensure that thousands of promoters and millions of fans worldwide will be able to continue relying on our ticketing services every day.”
Dörner will assume responsibility for the Group’s technology-focused units: IT, product, and information science, with his addition to the board part of the firm’s “dynamic national and international growth trajectory”.
“CTS Eventim is a global player with big ambitions”
“I’m grateful to the supervisory board for putting their trust in me, and to Klaus for his support,” says Dörner. “I’m excited to get started in this new role. CTS Eventim is a global player with big ambitions. Together with my future team, I’ll be working to further strengthen the technological foundation for the company’s continued growth, to bring innovative ideas to market, and to make our systems more user-friendly for both our B2B customers and the fans over the long term.”
The German-headquartered company adds that with the expansion of the top management team, COO Alexander Ruoff, who is currently responsible for IT and product, will have “more time to intensify his focus on the company’s extensive international development”.
“I’m delighted that Karel is joining CTS Eventim as the new CTO,” adds supervisory board chair Dr Bernd Kundrun. “He will help strengthen our technological foundation for even more dynamic growth.
“The supervisory board thanks Alexander Ruoff for his outstanding work overseeing technology these past years. Through his leadership, the CTS Eventim system landscape has become the industry’s undisputed benchmark for performance and reliability. Now relieved of these duties, Alexander will be able to once again focus his energy fully on other crucial areas such as expanding our global activities.”
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CTS Eventim awarded Vienna arena contract
CTS Eventim has been awarded the contract to build and operate a planned new multipurpose arena in Vienna, Austria – more than a year after Oak View Group’s (OVG) successful bid to helm the project was overturned.
The opening of the 20,000-cap arena in St Marx was originally planned for 2024, but the City of Vienna began looking for a partner in 2021 due to escalating costs. The venue is now not expected to open until 2030 at the earliest.
OVG was identified as the ‘best bidder’ in July 2023 following a tender process staged by government-owned corporation Wien Holding. However, later that year, the award was “declared void for formal reasons” by Vienna Regional Court after an objection by rival bidder CTS.
According to Der Standard, the Official Journal of the EU now states the contract has been awarded to “the best bidder identified in the tendering process, CTS Eventim”.
A spokesperson for German-headquartered CTS tells IQ the firm is unable to comment as the “standstill period” – a 10-day stretch in which losing bidders can contest the decision – is still running.
The cost of the CTS design is reportedly almost €800 million
The estimated cost of the 100,000 square metre CTS design reportedly comes to almost €800 million – more than double that of the smaller, €384m OVG scheme. It also requires a significantly higher contribution from the city of €145.9m, compared to €55m.
OVG has been approached for comment. Speaking when the original decision was vetoed last year, OVG CEO Tim Leiweke told local press: “Of course we are very disappointed with the result. This beautiful city has always been the jewel in Europe’s cultural landscape, but it had no arena to match it.
“We are pleased that the court assessed our offer in such a way that we meet all the tender requirements and also require the least amount of effort for taxpayers.”
Vienna’s biggest existing indoor arena is the 16,000-cap Wiener Stadthalle.
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DreamHaus CEO hails ‘fantastic’ Rock am Ring sales
Twin German festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have reported “fantastic” ticket sales for their anniversary editions in 2025, which are selling at a record pace.
Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring has shifted over 70,000 tickets for its 40th instalment while Zeppelinfeld’s Rock im Park has sold 50,000 for its 30th, according to the organisers.
The milestones come 226 days in advance of the festivals, which will take place from 6-8 June and feature 100 acts – made possible by a fourth stage introduced especially for the anniversary editions.
Speaking to IQ, Matt Schwarz, CEO PRK DreamHaus & eventimpresents, says: “The great feedback and strong ticket sales for The Rocks are truly fantastic. We are happy about the billing, including exclusive EU performances by Bring Me the Horizon and Sleep Token.”
The June presale for the festivals was also strong with Rock am Ring selling 30,000 tickets and Rock im Park selling 20,000 in the first 24 hours.
The news comes as Rock am Ring/Rock im Park add dozens of names to the lineup including The Prodigy, In Flames, Spiritbox, Rise Against, Imminence, Nothing More, Stray From The Path, Boston Manor, an Electric Callboy DJ set and more.
They join headliners Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot, as well as previously announced performers Sleep Token, Jinjer, Powerwolf, Lorna Shore and more.
“We are happy about the billing, including exclusive EU performances by Bring Me the Horizon and Sleep Token”
Thirty acts are yet to be announced for the German festivals, including two headliners whose identity will remain a secret until the shows begin.
The unnamed artists have been described as “two highly sought-after top acts who regularly headline the biggest festivals”.
Weekend passes for Rock am Ring start from €219 and camping tickets for Rock am Ring start from €278, with prices set to increase on 1 November.
Rock am Ring was founded by Marcel Avram and Marek Lieberberg’s Mama Concerts in 1985, while Rock im Park took place for the first time in 1995 under Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK). The twin festivals are now promoted by DreamHaus, eventimpresents and FKP Scorpio, after the firms formed a strategic collaboration.
Last month, it was announced that DreamHaus and CTS Eventim’s Peter Rieger Konzertagentur (PRK) are merging to form a combined company, PRK DreamHaus. CTS announced its German subsidiaries are pooling their strengths to “create additional synergies, optimise management structures and drive growth even more effectively”.
The new firm will be led jointly by Klaus-Peter (Matze) Matziol and Matt Schwarz, the current managing directors of Cologne-based PRK and Berlin-based DreamHaus, respectively, with Tobi Habla to be appointed as an additional MD. The sites and existing teams will remain unchanged.
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AXS, CTS grow ticketing businesses in France
AEG-owned ticketing firm AXS has established its first office in France, in the capital city of Paris.
Lucile Genest, former head of ticketing at Accor Arena in Paris, has been appointed head of strategic operations for the office.
She will spearhead the company’s strategy, development, operations, account management and marketing throughout France.
Previous to AXS, Genest spent 25 years at the 20,300-capacity Accor Arena where she oversaw primary, secondary and VIP ticketing, revenue growth, the digital transformation of the arena and ticketing systems for the biggest international concerts and sports events.
When Accor’s owner, Paris Entertainment Company, acquired the Bataclan Theater and Adidas Arena, Genest added those two venues to her purview serving as head of ticketing for all three venues.
“Lucile is a veteran ticketing executive with an impeccable track record in live events”
“Lucile is a veteran ticketing executive with an impeccable track record in live events,” says Blaine Legere, president, International. “Her expertise and knowledge of the French live event market will be invaluable as we build our portfolio in the country.”
Genest adds: “My career in ticketing started while I was in college, working at the box office of Accor Arena. Over the years, ticketing has only grown more complex and I’ve had the privilege of being at the center of major transformation in my many venue ticketing roles. I am delighted to join AXS and lead their efforts in France to partner with the most iconic French events, concerts, teams and venues.”
News of AXS’s France office comes weeks after AXS announced its expansion into Germany via partnerships with two major arenas.
The firm’s presence in Europe also includes UK partners such as The O2, OVO Arena Wembley, Venues South Wales, BST Hyde Park and All Points East festivals. In Sweden, AXS is the exclusive ticketing provider for Stockholm Live! and Swedish Elite Football.
Elsewhere in the French ticketing market, CTS Eventim has been given the green light to acquire a further 17% of the share capital of France Billet.
CTS Eventim has been given the green light to acquire a further 17% of the share capital of France Billet
The European Commission says it has no antitrust or other objections to CTS exercising the call option to increase its stake in France Billet from 48% to 65%.
The remaining 35% is owned by Fnac Darty, France’s largest retailer of entertainment products, consumer electronics and household appliances.
CTS Eventim first took a stake in France Billet in November 2019, merging its own French ticketing activities into the partnership.
France Billet, along with subsidiaries Tick&Live and Eventim France, manages 36 million tickets in France through its ticketing technology and services activities.
The company was recently named the official supporter of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games ticketing services.
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A new era: Inside TAKK ab’s blockbuster year
Swiss-French promoter TAKK ab Entertainment has hailed an “incredibly exciting” first year as a new entity.
The operation was established last year when the 15-year-old TAKK Productions, run by Sebastien Vuignier and Théo Quiblier, joined forces with CTS Eventim and Swiss concert pioneer André Béchir.
The move brought together three generations of promoters – and rosters that include some of the world’s biggest artists – resulting in a blockbuster year for TAKK ab.
“You bring all of us together and the volume of activities is crazy,” Quiblier tells IQ. “The first year exceeded all expectations. The two Taylor Swift shows at Zurich’s 50,000-capacity Letzigrund Stadium were a massive highlight and AC/DC selling out the same stadium in just eight minutes was another unforgettable moment.”
The firm promoted a further 250 shows with artists such as Sam Smith, Jungle, The National, James Arthur, Aurora, Idles, PJ Harvey, Royal Blood, Nick Mason, The Last Dinner Party and Aurora, and booked acts for festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, Paleo and Zurich Openair.
“You bring all of us together and the volume of activities is crazy”
“This is a new era,” says Vuignier. “The old TAKK was a small, family-like team and we co-promoted shows with partners. TAKK ab, though still a boutique company at heart, has grown significantly. With André’s involvement, we’ve been able to expand the team, handle much larger concerts and manage our shows from start to finish.”
Béchir – whose roster includes Taylor Swift, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Pink, Queen and Bruce Springsteen – says the idea of a three-generation team attracted him.
“With Seb (54) and Théo (28) we can cover the whole field from young bands and young agents to the established bands and agents…we form a dream team,” the 75-year-old tells IQ. “This allows me to offer the next generation the opportunity to build and grow on a secure foundation so that I can hand over my knowledge sooner or later into new good hands.”
Quiblier agrees: “We really complement each other. To have Andre’s knowledge on these big shows is amazing and Seb is so good at diplomacy.”
In addition to Béchir, the team grew rapidly in both the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, which was initially challenging for TAKK ab.
“Hiring new people and ensuring everyone worked well together across different languages and locations was challenging,” says Quiblier. “We now have a fantastic team of positive-minded individuals. None of the successes this year would have been possible without each of them working together.”
“It’s been challenging, but very exciting at the same time for our company”
Other challenges came in the form of cancellations with acts including P!nk and The Smile, as well as the collapse of Vibiscum Festival in Vevey which left some of TAKK’s acts unpaid.
Stadium availability for 2025 is another hurdle for the firm, with Switzerland set to host the UEFA European Women’s Championship.
“As a football fan it’s amazing but as a promoter, it’s terrible,” says Quiblier. “It’s frustrating because we had to pass on some amazing opportunities. The reality is that the country lacks infrastructure.”
‘The biggest stadium in Switzerland is Letzigrund in Zurich, which you can sell for up to 47,000 tickets. On a wider scale is a very small stadium. This stadium cannot be rented more than four or five times in summer due to restrictions so you can imagine the competition to get avails. It’s hard to see other markets building new arenas and know that, once again, we are 25 years behind in Switzerland.”
Fortunately, TAKK has secured Letzigrund for two Ed Sheeran shows in early August 2025 and the firm looks to promote more arena shows than in 2024.
“It’s been a challenging but very exciting time for our company,” concludes Quiblier. “What I like about my job is that there is no day like yesterday.”
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Touring powerhouses’ stocks hit record levels
Live Nation and CTS Eventim have both seen significant gains on the stock market over the past few weeks.
LN’s share price reached a 52-week high of $109.24 today (27 September), having climbed almost 12% in the last month, to give the promoter a $24.9 billion market cap.
Live Nation posted $6.02 billion revenue in its most recent financial results covering Q2 2024 – an increase of 7% on the equivalent quarter last year. It was revealed yesterday that the company plans to open a 50,000-cap seasonal stadium in Toronto, Canada next summer.
Meanwhile, stock in German-headquartered live entertainment heavyweight CTS has risen close to 7% in the same period to peak at €92.10 – representing another all-time high for the firm, which is valued at €8.8bn.
CTS raised its guidance for 2024 last month in light of its “excellent” Q2 financials, which saw its quarterly revenue rise 21.2% to €793.6m. The figures included its recently acquired festival and international ticketing businesses from Vivendi for the first time, including See Tickets.
Shares in Las Vegas Sphere parent Sphere Entertainment are up nearly 7% this week
Separately, shares in Las Vegas Sphere parent Sphere Entertainment are up nearly 7% this week to $43.99, while Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp is around flat at $42.13.
The US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time in four years on 18 September, reducing the key lending rate by half a percentage point.
Elsewhere, MENA streaming service Anghami, which owns Dubai-based event management company Spotlight Events, has improved 1% to $0.85 over the past five days.
Shares in Roblox Corp, the firm behind social gaming platform Roblox, has dipped slightly to $44.07 and live entertainment global digital media firm LiveOne is down to $1.12. Music company ATC Group, which is listed on the Aquis Growth Market in London, are at 110p.
In addition, there were big gains for K-pop businesses, with HYBE up 7.5% this week, JYP Entertainment soaring 14% and YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment rocketing nearly 19% and 17% respectively.
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DreamHaus merges with Peter Rieger Konzertagentur
CTS Eventim’s Peter Rieger Konzertagentur (PRK) and DreamHaus are merging to form a combined company, PRK DreamHaus.
CTS has announced its German subsidiaries are pooling their strengths to “create additional synergies, optimise management structures and drive growth even more effectively”.
The new firm will be led jointly by Klaus-Peter (Matze) Matziol and Matt Schwarz, the current managing directors of Cologne-based PRK and Berlin-based DreamHaus, respectively, with Tobi Habla to be appointed as an additional MD. The sites and existing teams will remain unchanged.
“The merger between PRK Peter Rieger Konzertagentur and DreamHaus will optimally position the company so that it can continue growing and sustainably strengthen its live entertainment presence within a challenging market environment,” says CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “With the combined expertise and dedication of both teams, we are ideally equipped to seize new opportunities and invest maximum energy in developing the newly merged company. I wish Matze, Matt and their teams the very best for this new phase.”
Schwarz and Matziol will work together closely to share their knowledge and continue driving future growth.
“This strategic transition should ensure that, even when Matziol steps down at a later date, the subsequent changes will occur seamlessly”
“This strategic transition should ensure that, even when Matziol steps down at a later date, the subsequent changes will occur seamlessly and in a future-focused way for the company, the artists and the partners,” adds the company.
PRK was founded in 1983 by Peter Rieger and has been led by Matziol since 2015. Rieger passed away in 2017 aged 63. CTS has been the majority stakeholder in the company – which has promoted acts such as David Bowie, P!nk, Cher, U2, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Paul McCartney – since 2000.
DreamHaus was founded by former Live Nation GSA MD/COO Schwarz in 2021 as a subsidiary of the CTS Eventim Group. It stages Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, and has worked with international artists including Green Day, Slipknot, Måneskin and Muse.
CTS share price rose slightly today (19 September) to €87.35, giving the firm a market cap of €8.39 billion.
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