The live music world is coming to terms with US president Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, amid fears of an impending global trade war.

Stocks took a hit and the dollar plunged to a six-month low in the wake of the American commander-in-chief’s announcement of a “baseline” 10% tax on all imports into the US, to be applied on every country from this Saturday (5 April).

The European Union faces a 20% tariff, while higher rates of up to 50% will be imposed on dozens of other countries dubbed the “worst offenders” by the president. Trump declared yesterday (2 April) as “Liberation Day” when confirming his plans – which he insists will make America rich again – during a 50-minute speech at the White House.

Meanwhile, with Trump having raised levies on Chinese imports to 20% last month, China’s new 34% rate means it will now face a combined total tariff of 54%.

Although the full implications for the international touring business remain to be seen, there are expectations the tariffs will impact equipment manufacturers and production equipment in particular, with  increased costs for goods such as building materials, as well as technology, F&B and merchandise.

“This ‘tariff war’ just started – let’s see where it goes and how long it lasts”

Agent Jarred Arfa, EVP, head of global music, for Los Angeles-headquartered Independent Artist Group (IAG) admits to concerns.

“I do worry that tariffs here in America will lead to further inflation on basic goods and services, leaving less discretionary income for entertainment like concerts,” he tells IQ. “There is just a lot of uncertainty in the economy now, which will have a negative impact on consumer sentiment. Hopefully, this is all short lived.”

Phil Rodriguez, boss of Miami, Florida-headquartered Latin music promoter Move Concerts, argues it is too early to gauge the impact on touring.

“Common sense would dictate that if prices go up, this will result in less disposable income and this may have a detrimental impact on fans buying tickets,” he surmises. “But it really is way too early to be certain of anything. This ‘tariff war’ just started – let’s see where it goes and how long it lasts.”

President of Toronto-based BAM! Baird Artists Management Consulting Robert Baird observes that Trump’s tariffs “have sent the world economy reeling”.

“That cannot be good for the arts,” says Baird, a former president of North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA). “A depressed economy will mean less disposable income and that will hurt the box office. Global tariffs will result in higher prices and higher prices will mean that global touring will be more expensive. And the profit margins for most artists are slim already, so decreased touring is imminent.

“Add all of this to the political climate in America and we see a narrowing of the possibilities for touring to North America for foreign artists.”

“I fear that a global trade war will affect the amount of US bands that tour Europe”

Offering a European view, Esben Marcher, director of Danish live music trade body Dansk Live, points to several potential results of the tariffs.

“Production costs, which have been on the rise since after Covid, will most likely grow, making it more expensive for all organisers and promoters to set up shows or festivals,” he contends. “The way US bands tour will probably be affected in some way, too. To my knowledge the Trump administration is aiming for tariffs on goods, not services, but I fear that a global trade war will affect the amount of US bands that tour Europe.”

Marcher adds, however, that his greatest concern is how the tariffs will affect the overall economy and the purchasing power of the audiences.

“In a situation with rising tickets prices as a result of higher production cost and high inflation, I fear that the positive development we have experienced in the last couple of years will come to a end,” he contends.

Last month, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projected the tariffs would lead to global growth slowing to 3.1% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, while revising its inflation forecast upwards by 0.3 percentage points to 3.8%, compared to its Economic Outlook in December.

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A record year is projected for the Danish touring industry, as venues and festivals are tipped to welcome 2.65 million fans.

The forecast from Copenhagen-based research institute Voxmeter is based on findings from a recent survey, which showed the number of fans planning to attend a concert this year was up three percentage points on the previous year, while interest in festivals was up by seven percentage points.

In addition, Statistics Denmark’s report on live music notes that the total number of guests at festivals from 2022 to 2023 increased from 2.39 million to 2.47m.

Moreover, trade body Dansk Live reports that several of its members say ticket sales have continued on an upward trajectory and are even higher than expected in some cases, with a number of 2025 events already sold out.

“It is very positive that concerts and festivals are something that Danes will also prioritise in 2025”

“Several of our members say that ticket sales are going really well, both at the festivals and at many of the concert venues, which have otherwise had a bit more difficulty getting ticket sales going after the decline in connection with corona and the energy crisis,” says Dansk Live director Esben Marcher. “Overall, we can see that Danes are currently spending more money on experiences than before, and it is very positive that concerts and festivals are something that Danes will also prioritise in 2025.”

Nevertheless, with production costs, artist fees and general operating costs having increased drastically in recent times, Marcher suggests the business is not out of the woods yet.

“Economically, the market is probably still in an imbalance after the two years of cancellations. And a market with increasing demand for concert and festival tickets naturally results in a correspondingly high demand for equipment and artists, so it is only natural that the costs of subcontractors increase.

“For many organisers, however, it can be a challenging time with great uncertainty in budgeting, and although there is fortunately great support among the audience, as an organiser you must act with great caution in budgeting.”

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Danish trade body Dansk Live has praised the country’s government for easing regulatory burdens for festivals.

The government is launching eight initiatives aimed at removing bureaucracy for associations as part of its “first blow” against unnecessary regulations, the Ministry of Culture has announced.

One of the goals under the scheme is to enable festivals to obtain multi-year permits for events, rather than the current system of applying for the same permit every year.

Dansk Live director Esben Marcher hails the announcement as “really good news” for the sector.

“It is an area that has caused many problems, especially for the many volunteer-run festivals, and we are very happy that we have been listened to,” he says. “We have met great responsiveness and understanding of the problem from the Minister of Culture, and it is positive that he has stuck to limiting regulatory burdens as one of his focus areas.”

“Organisers will hopefully be spared unnecessary trouble and will be able to focus more on creating good cultural and musical experiences”

The proposal also focuses on more technical challenges, while an initiative for joint guidance will help organisers navigate complicated building regulations more easily.

“It may not sound like a big deal with such a guide, but it will make a huge difference for the organisers and especially their cooperation with the municipalities and authorities, where a guide can facilitate the interpretation of the complicated legal requirements,” says Marcher. “This means that the organisers will hopefully be spared unnecessary trouble and will be able to focus more on creating good cultural and musical experiences.”

The initiatives are the first wave of a larger government effort to challenge the current “troublesome and bureaucratic” rules  and make it easier to be active in an association.

“The associations and the volunteer zealots form the foundation of our democracy,” adds culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt. “That is why it is shocking that the amount of counter-paving and paperwork has become so violent that it threatens the commitment of the volunteers.

“We have been talking for far too long that we must do away with the many rules that strain the voluntary work. Now is the time for action. That is why the government is launching a broad and significant effort to break down the tyranny of rules. We are already starting to, among other things, make it easier to hold, for example, markets and small festivals and clear out permits and paperwork for events held every year.”

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The majority of Danish ticket buyers make their purchase when sales start, according to a new survey, bucking a post-Covid trend of fans buying at the last minute.

This stat was revealed in a newly published survey of 15,929 ticket buyers, conducted in summer 2023 by Ticketmaster and Dansk Live.

It found that 55% of respondents purchase tickets to concerts as soon as they go on sale, while 24% do so a few months before the concert and 15% answered “as soon as I can afford it”.

For festivals, 34% buy their ticket 10-12 months beforehand, 24% said less than six months prior, 21% said between 6–9 months ahead and another 21% said the same week as the event.

“The reality of the individual organisers is of course very different, as is their audience. Still, it is interesting to see the overall results,” says Esben Marcher, director of Dansk Live.

“It surprises me, for example, that so many people buy tickets when the tickets become available”

“It surprises me, for example, that so many people buy tickets when the tickets become available. It nuances a trend that many in the music world have noticed, namely that the audience in the post-corona period generally bought their tickets much later than before the corona.”

The survey also found that 53% of respondents deemed the current price level for events as “too expensive,” though 87% said they were willing to pay extra for their ticket to get the best seat.

The majority (64%) said that the economic situation (mid-2023) does not hugely impact their consumption of live events.

For event discovery, the survey found that Facebook and Instagram are the most used social media platforms.

Over half of the ticket buyers surveyed attend one-three concerts a year. More than half (58%) of respondents are women and 41% men.

“The survey is interesting for everyone who organises concerts, festivals and other events,” says Marcher. “A nuanced look at the audience’s habits is always welcome, and with the many responses, the survey provides new, broad knowledge that can help the organisers better target potential ticket buyers. At Dansk Live, we are pleased with Ticketmaster’s work with the survey, and we have started planning a comprehensive audience survey.”

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The Danish concert business has bounced back to near pre-pandemic attendance levels according to newly released figures, but several venues say they have suffered a drop in ticket sales.

The latest publication by Statistics Denmark reveals the number of concertgoers reached 7.4 million in 2022 – close to the 7.5m and 8.2m reported in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The total had dipped to 2.8m in the Covid-ravaged years of 2020 and 2021, according to data registered with national collection society KODA.

While trade body Dansk Live welcomes the positive momentum, it notes that several of its members have reported a downturn in ticket sales, with the situation remaining unchanged as of spring 2023.

“It bodes very well for the future in the live sector and shows that we have come back well after a few years which hit the organisers hard”

“It is very good news that the figures for 2022 are so positive,” says Dansk Live director Esben Marcher. “It bodes very well for the future in the live sector and shows that we have come back well after a few years which hit the organisers hard. However, we must not forget that there are still venues that experienced challenges in ticket sales as recently as spring 2023.”

In 2019, Denmark’s regional venues had 700,000 fans for 4,600 concerts, compared to 530,000 guests at 3,900 gigs last year. The same trend applied to the country’s other venues, where there were 850,000 concertgoers at 6,900 shows in 2019, which fell to 630,000 guests at 4,400 concerts in 2022.

The country’s music festivals fared better, however, attracting 1.3m guests in 2022, up slightly from 1.2m in the last pre-pandemic year.

“We hope that the concertgoers really return to the places that have experienced the number of visitors as sluggish”

“We hope that the concertgoers really return to the places that have experienced the number of visitors as sluggish, and that they too can again reach the same level as before corona,” adds Marcher. “In any case, we will follow developments closely.”

A previous Statistics Denmark study indicated the number of young people attending concerts in the country has increased significantly on pre-pandemic levels. The Culture Habit Survey showed that one in four of the population attended a gig in the second quarter of 2022, with 38% coming from the youngest age group (16-24 years) – up from 25% in 2019.

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Denmark’s live music association has partnered with one of the country’s leading ticketing services to provide its members with key insights into ticket sales and marketing.

CTS Eventim’s Billetlugen will deliver knowledge about spending habits, social media trends and audience insights to Dansk Live in order to help its 120 members boost ticket sales.

“We are looking forward to starting a closer collaboration with Dansk Live and all the members,” says Jens B Arnesen, managing director at Billetlugen.

“In recent years, we have worked purposefully to convert our extensive data into knowledge about trends and marketing. With that as a starting point, we look forward to contributing with analyses, insights and concrete sessions that can support ticket sales.”

“We look forward to both us and the members being able to learn something new that can promote and develop ticket sales”

Esben Marcher, head of secretariat at Dansk Live, adds: “We are happy to enter into cooperation with Billetlugen, and we look forward to both us and the members being able to learn something new that can promote and develop ticket sales. In addition, it is also a great asset to have access to the knowledge Billetlugen shares with us when we speak for the organisers as part of our political work.”

Dansk Live’s membership includes some of Denmark’s biggest and best-known festivals such as Roskilde, Northside, Smukfest and Tinderbox.

Billetlugen’s parent company, CTS Eventim, is Europe’s leading ticketing provider in 21 countries and also operates venues & manages events worldwide.

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Danish trade body Danish Live is launching a climate calculator to help event organisers reduce their environmental footprint.

The innovation allows users to make calculations in the areas of waste, water, transport and energy, measuring consumption and optimising potential solutions from year-to-year.

“There are now many different climate calculators out there, but they are often very complicated or based on international emission factors,” says Søren Stochholm of developer World Perfect. “Dansk Live’s climate calculator is made very simple, and it is based on the Danish emission factors. This means that it is much easier for the smaller players to start measuring, and that the results are more accurate.

“Over time, the climate calculator can of course be developed so that it will give an even more accurate picture, but for now it is a bid for a common and simple way to learn more about the industry’s total CO2 footprint.”

“This calculator, which can be used freely by members of Dansk Live, makes it easy to get started with the absolutely necessary work”

Stochholm ran a webinar for Dansk Live members last week, giving an introduction on how to use the climate calculator.

“Several larger organisers in the membership have developed their own monitoring methods, but not everyone has the opportunity to have their own made or has the resources to acquire one,” says Esben Marcher, head of secretariat at Dansk Live. “This calculator, which can be used freely by members of Dansk Live, makes it easy to get started with the absolutely necessary work. The calculator is targeted at all types of organisers and can also be used by the venues.

“Now the organisers have to start using the calculator, but it could be exciting if we could create an overview of the industry’s overall climate impact in the various areas and the potential for improvements across the industry.”

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Dansk Live has announced a new chair, following the resignation of longtime board member Lars Månsson Sloth.

A unanimous board has voted Rikke Andersen as the new chair of the Danish live music association.

Andersen is the day-to-day manager at Herning-based live music venue Fermaten and became a member of Dansk Live’s board in April 2021.

She will be supported by deputy board leader Søren Eskildsen, who is the spokesperson for Smukfest.

Commenting on her new position, Andersen says: “Dansk Live is a strong and important organisation in the Danish live industry. In particular, the time with corona shutdowns has shown how important it is that we can work together across festivals and venues, geography and size. Therefore, I am looking forward to continuing the good development of the organisation together with the rest of the board of Dansk Live.”

“The shutdowns showed how important it is that we can work together across festivals and venues, geography and size”

Eskildsen adds: “I look forward to continuing as deputy board leader in a strong group on the board. Rikke has a fantastic commitment and I am looking forward to her taking up the position as board leader. It has always been a pleasure for me on the board that the representatives of the festivals and venues have such a strong collaboration for the common good of members.”

Anders Mortensen of Copenhagen-based live music venue, VEGA, joins the board after Månsson Sloth’s resignation.

Thomas Larsen, Nibe Festival, joined the board in June, after Sidse Gry Jeppesen resigned from his position at ALICE, and is thus no longer a member of the board.

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The LGBTIQ+ List 2022 – IQ Magazine’s second annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – was published in the Pride edition (issue 112) this month.

The July 2022 issue, which is available to read now, was made possible thanks to support from Ticketmaster. 

To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, we interviewed each individual on their challenges, triumphs, advice and more.

Throughout the next month, IQ will publish a new interview each day, starting with Alexander Rastén Rydberg (he/him/his), head of diversity and talent management at Dansk Live in Denmark.

Tell us about a personal triumph in your career
In 2022, I was appointed vice president of the Nightlife Committee in Copenhagen by the mayor of culture. It’s been three long years fighting for queer and minority rights in nightlife that culminated in a position from where I (and the Copenhagen Club Commission) can actually make changes to the cultural system and introduce safer spaces, awareness policies and minority positions to conventional nightlife across the city.

What advice could you give to young queer professionals?
This is your world. You’re never alone. Trust your gut. The current most progressive initiatives in the Danish live industry are started by queer and minority communities. You’re a part of that generational wave. Don’t let the heteronormative structure tell you anything else.

One thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place?
Many cultural experiences only cater to a cis- and straight-oriented crowd. This is a fact, but it’s not totally acknowledged in the live industry. In order to act on this, we have to learn and listen to the minorities that are excluded, on many different aspects. Only then can we create more inclusiveness.

“The first dance floor on which I could kiss my boyfriend without getting comments was created by Ved Siden Af”

A cause you support
Together WE PUSH. In Denmark, we have some very sad and ridiculous integrations laws that result in women and kids getting stuck in deportation camps. Together WE PUSH is helping these refugee families – organising football games for kids and so on.

The queer act you’re itching to see live this year
Lil Nas X. I absolutely love how he provokes the whole heteronormative world just by being himself. Also, he is quite handsome…

Your favourite queer space
Ved Siden Af – one of the only queer-friendly techno venues in Copenhagen. The crew that runs it have played an important role in my life as a younger queer person. The first dance floor on which I could kiss my boyfriend without getting comments was created by Ved Siden Af, and they continue to challenge the conventional majority norms in the clubbing scene.

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IQ Magazine has revealed this year’s LGBTIQ+ List – the second annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business.

The landmark list is the centrepiece of IQ’s second Pride edition, which will be available for subscribers online and in print, in the coming days.

The 20 individuals comprising the LGBTIQ+ List 2022 – as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee – are individuals that have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for an industry that we can all be proud of.

The sophomore class comprises agents, promoters, CFOs, CIOs, tour managers, marketing managers and more – all of whom identify as LGBTIQ+ and, in the face of adversity, have made enormous contributions to their respective sectors.

In alphabetical order, the LGBTIQ+ List 2022 is:

Alexander Rastén Rydberg, head of diversity and talent management, Dansk Live (DK)
Alexandra Ampofo, promoter, Metropolis Music (UK)
Can Büyükcinar, head of operations, Wizard Promotions Konzertagentur (DE)
Cloe Gregson, senior events manager, Manchester Pride (UK)
David Davies, founder and head of live, Double D Live (UK, IE)
David Jones, chief information officer, AEG Global Technology (UK)
Georgie Lanfranchi, tour manager for Years & Years, Only Helix (UK)
Hatice Arıcı, promoting director/ artist agent, Charmenko (TR)
James Fleury, marketing lead, Ticket Swap (NL)
Jill Wheeler, director of booking, Red Mountain Entertainment (US)
Joel Siviour, director & booking agent, Seismic Talent Agency (AU)
Jonas Sjödén, CFO, Live Nation Sweden (SE)
Natalie Rudland, senior promotions assistant, Live Nation (UK)
Nikos Kazoleas, agent, UTA (UK)
Nix Corporan, fan support team lead, DICE (US)
Patrick Erhardt, senior manager content & creation, Goodlive (DE)
Patrick Janssen, marketing manager, Live Nation Germany (DE)
Paul Bonham, director of professional development, MMF (UK)
Peter Taylor, promoter, Cuffe and Taylor (UK)
Troy Suda, chief product officer, Ticketmaster (UK)

Throughout the next month, IQ will be publishing full-length profiles of each person on the LGBTIQ+ List 2022.

“We work in an industry that aims to entertain the entire population. And that population is made up of extremely diverse audiences,” says Ticketmaster’s Troy Suda in his profile.

Joel Siviour, Seismic Talent Agency, adds: “I’ve witnessed plenty of virtue-signaling from within our industry, but when push comes to shove there are companies whose actions don’t align with the values they claim to hold.”

Check out last year’s cohort of queer pioneers here.

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