‘Simply the best’: Tina Turner remembered
Michael Rapino, Mick Jagger, Andre Bechir, Beyonce and Max Lousada have joined the chorus of voices mourning Tina Turner following the pop icon’s death aged 83.
The legendary American vocalist died yesterday (24 May) at her home near Zurich, Switzerland following a long illness, sparking a flood of tributes from across the world.
“Tina always sparkled with strength and joy,” Swiss promoter Bechir, who staged around 30 concerts by Turner, tells Blick. “Despite all the drama and strokes of fate that she had to experience, she never let the negative get to her, she always valued the good as bigger and higher. I have and will always admire that about Tina Turner, this great talent and this wonderful woman.
“Even when she faced major health challenges, where she withdrew, we were in contact by phone, I was with her and Erwin [Bach, Turner’s husband]. Even then, she remained confident that everything would turn out well. She never lost her sense of humour either.”
Live Nation CEO Rapino tweets: “Simply The Best. RIP Tina Turner,” while Spain’s Doctor Music posts: “Tina Turner passed away yesterday but her powerful voice will never fade. She will now forever be the queen of rock and roll. We’ll miss you. Tina, you are simply the best.”
“I am so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way”
Turner’s 11th and final tour, the 90-date Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour, was attended by 1.2 million fans from October 2008 to May 2009 and grossed US$132.5 million at the box office.
Her previous Twenty Four Seven Tour in 2000 generated $122.5m from more than 2.4m ticket sales. According to Pollstar it was the year’s highest-grossing tour in North America, netting $80.2m. During her Break Every Rule World Tour in 1988, she reportedly set a then-Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience for a solo performer when she drew 180,000 people to the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Beyoncé, who duetted with Turner at the 2008 Grammy Awards, writes on her website: “My beloved queen. I love you endlessly. I am so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way. You are strength and resilience. You are the epitome of passion and power.
“We are all so fortunate to have witnessed your kindness and beautiful spirit that will forever remain. Thank you for all you have done.”
Mick Jagger posts on social media: “I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”
“Tina will be remembered most through the sheer joy of her music”
Dionne Warwick writes: “Not only will I miss that eternal ball of energy named Tina Turner but the entire world will also find this void in their lives.”
Born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee in 1939, Turner first found fame alongside her first husband Ike Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before going on to huge success as a solo artist in the 1980s with songs such as What’s Love Got to Do with It, Private Dancer, We Don’t Need Another Hero and The Best.
A 12-time Grammy Award winner, she was signed to Warner Music, whose CEO, recorded music, Max Lousada says: “All of us at Warner Music are deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Tina Turner. A global icon and trailblazer, instantly recognisable by her incredible voice and inimitable style, she was one of the greatest stars of all time.
“Even after the countless awards, the 180 million album sales, the record-breaking tours, and unforgettable acting roles, Tina will be remembered most through the sheer joy of her music. So powerful is her extraordinary, universal appeal that there is no doubt she will continue to influence generations to come. She stands as the epitome of artistic self-empowerment.
“We offer our heartfelt condolences to her husband Erwin Bach, family, friends, and countless fans around the world.”
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Global Promoters Report 2022: Spain
Spain is a remarkably fertile market, with about 1,000 music festivals a year, including globally renowned names such as Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and Sónar, Madrid’s Mad Cool, Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, and Bilbao BBK Live. It has plenty of sturdy promoters and some flourishing live destinations, led by Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao.
In terms of promoters, Spain has a broad range of both hardworking indies and heavyweight corporates. The former camp includes the increasingly intrepid Primavera organisation, Producciones Animadas, Concert Studio, Houston Party Music, and The Project in Barcelona; RLM, Get In, Just Life Music, and Ground Control in Madrid; Valencia’s Serious Fan Music; Last Tour in Bilbao; Zaragoza’s Siamm Producciones; and Murcia rock specialist Madness Live!.
Joining the corporates in recent years has been the veteran Doctor Music, which sold a 63.5% share to CTS Eventim in May 2018, 35 years after staging its first shows. It remains a go-to for international and superstar acts. In partnership with Live Nation Spain, it was among the local promoters on AEG/ Concerts West’s Rolling Stones tour for its stop at Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, with Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, and Rammstein coming up in 2023.
“Although times are challenging, after two miserable years of Covid, I see lots of people wanting to enjoy live music again and going to concerts is a key part of this vital experience,” says Doctor Music CEO Neo Sala. “So yes, I see a big cause for optimism not only for the next year but also for the forthcoming ones.”
“I see lots of people wanting to enjoy live music again and going to concerts is a key part of this vital experience”
As well as its own activities, Live Nation holds a majority stake in leading Latin promoter Planet Events. As well as a joint venture with Mercury Wheels, Live Nation also operates a strategic partnership with Andalusian promoter Riff Producciones aimed at growing Spanish acts in overseas markets. Among the highlights of 2022 in the Live Nation camp were Planet Events’ Marc Anthony tour, postponed since 2020, and Live Nation’s own 27-date tour for Fito & Fitipaldis, which became Spain’s most popular tour of the year.
“2022 was the most challenging year I remember in my career, but it was worth it,” says Live Nation Spain president Robert Grima. “And now 2023 is looking to be possibly the best year for us. And the demand for shows and ticket sales keeps growing, which is a very good signal.
“We have big tours coming up next year for Coldplay, Harry Styles, Muse, Blink-182, Louis Tomlinson, and Lewis Capaldi, but we are also putting a very strong focus on local talent with national multiple tours of artists like Hombres G, Beret, El Kanka, and Rels B.”
Elsewhere, artist management company RLM, whose CEO Rosa Lagarrigue was the force behind Planet Events before its sale to Live Nation, has returned to promoting in recent years, taking on tours for Ricardo Arjona, Alejandro Sanz, Raphael, and Rozalén.
“It will be a great year in Spain, for the artists and for the public, who will be able to enjoy a wide offer of concerts”
Concert Studio chalked up record attendances at its summer festivals – the Festival Jardins Pedralbes in Barcelona and the Cerdanya Music Festival in the Pyrenees – and now looks towards the 25th edition of the Banco Mediolanum Festival Mil·lenni, which takes place across Barcelona and will run from October 2023 to May 2024, and the boutique Icónica Sevilla Fest, which in 2023 marks its third edition.
“It will be a great year in Spain, for the artists and for the public, who will be able to enjoy a wide offer of concerts. However, we see indications of a possible market saturation that will affect the work of all promoters,” says Concert Studio’s Carlos Perez.
Murcia-based promoter Madness Live! launched the new rock- and metal-focused Rock Imperium Festival in the city of Cartagena in June, headed by Scorpions, Europe, and others, and it will return next year across three days with Helloween and Deep Purple headlining. Madness Live! also has forthcoming shows with the likes of Iron Maiden, Bullet For My Valentine, Cannibal Corpse, and plenty of others.
Of Spain’s mighty festivals, 2022 was a big year for Primavera Sound. It closed the biggest edition in its 20-year history in June, welcoming nearly half a million people to the Spanish city of Barcelona after a two-year hiatus.
“We see indications of a possible market saturation that will affect the work of all promoters”
For its 20th anniversary celebrations, Primavera held its maiden US edition in Los Angeles in September, and November saw events in São Paulo in Brazil, Santiago in Chile, and Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as the Primavera Weekender in Benidorm.
“There is a Primavera Sound community all over the planet,” Primavera Sound director Alfonso Lanza told IQ in the wake of the festivals’ South American debut, which drew more than 300,000 across the three editions. “It was very different in each country, but it was definitely the most passionate audiences I have ever seen.”
Since launching in 2016, the Live Nation-produced Mad Cool Festival in Madrid has grown rapidly from an overall capacity of 45,000 to 80,000. In July, the festival added a fifth day, and headliners included Muse, The Killers, and Metallica.
Andalucía Big Festival, a new event from the team behind Mad Cool, debuted on 8–10 September at Malaga’s Feria Ground, with acts such as Muse, Jamiroquai, Years & Years, Glass Animals, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, Franz Ferdinand, and Aurora.
“There is a Primavera Sound community all over the planet”
However, the Mad Cool Sunset Festival in September was called off after organisers were unable to find a “suitable” replacement for Rage Against The Machine, who had recently cancelled all forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe.
Bilbao BBK Live, meanwhile, returned in July with more than 100,000 in attendance and LCD Soundsystem, The Killers, J Balvin, and the Pet Shop Boys on stage. Its organiser Last Tour International also stages the Kalorama and BIME Live events, as well as the new Cala Mijas Festival on the Costa del Sol in Malaga and diversifications into Portugal (MEO Kalorama festival) and Colombia (BIME Bogotá).
“This year, we feel that we are recovering the normal rhythm, although we predict a difficult year due to the social and economic situation,” says Last Tour director of communications Eva Castillo.
The Music Republic, owned by brothers David and Toño Sánchez, promotes festivals such as Arenal Sound, Viña Rock, Granada Sound, and Madrid Salvaje, and also acquired Benicàssim Festival from Madrid-based Maraworld in 2019.
The Global Promoters Report is published in print, digitally, and all content is also available as a year-round resource on the IQ site. The Global Promoters Report includes key summaries of the major promoters working across 40+ markets, unique interviews and editorial on key trends and developments across the global live music business.
To access all content from the current Global Promoters Report, please click here.
Springsteen tour ticket sales top one million
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have already sold more than one million tickets for their recently announced 2023 European tour dates, it has been revealed.
The European leg kicks off at the 60,000-cap Estadi Olímpic in Barcelona on 28 April and winds up on 25 July in Italy at Prato della Gerascia, Autodromo di Monza.
Spanish promoter Neo Sala at Doctor Music reveals that demand for the shows helped set a new sales record in the country. “We went on sale on Wednesday (8 June) with one Estadi Olímpic, but it sold so fast that in less than an hour we had to add a second show which continued selling equally well,” says Sala, explaining that Doctor Music exclusively used the entradas.com-Eventim ticketing system for the onsale. “By 12 noon on Wednesday we had sold more than 100,000 tickets which is an absolute record in Spain. No other act in the history of Spanish concerts has sold so many tickets that fast.”
The concerts mark the band’s first run since 2016/17’s The River Tour
Due to demand, extra shows have now also been added in Dublin, Oslo, Gothenburg, Paris, Amsterdam and Hockenheim. The tour currently comprises 26 dates, with additional cities and shows in the UK and Belgium set to be announced at a later date.
The tour kicks off in February 2023 with a series of still-to-be-announced US arena dates, with a second North American tour leg scheduled for August.
The concerts mark the band’s first run since 2016/17’s The River Tour, which was the highest grossing worldwide tour of 2016, earning $268.3m over 76 shows.
Springsteen, who is represented by CAA, reprised his 2017/18 Springsteen On Broadway residency last summer to help reopen New York City theatres. Broadway World reports the acclaimed residency generated $113,058,952 from 236 shows at the Walter Kerr Theatre) and 31 at St James Theatre.
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Spanish promoters react to sweeping restrictions
Spain’s live music sector is reckoning with a whole host of new restrictions imposed by the Spanish government and its various communities.
Earlier this week, prime minister Pedro Sánchez and his cabinet declared a six-month state of emergency, set to remain in force until 9 May, with periodic reviews.
The decree will allow Spain’s regional governments to order an overnight curfew to run from 11 pm to 6 am, or to begin and finish an hour earlier or later.
Yesterday (29 October), Catalonia went one step further, ordering the suspension of cultural activities for 15 days, starting from today.
“After some months of lockdown, postponing or cancelling all shows, we had a slight restart with many restrictions and reduced capacities,” says Albert Salmerón of Producciones Animadas.
“And now with the current situation, we have to postpone again the new shows we were programming following all the health and safety rules of the new normality. This means that we will have to keep our companies without any income for a very long time. This is a terrible situation and it’s essential that the Spanish government makes a plan to save the live music industry providing enough budget to cover costs of this lockdown and of the cancellations of shows.
“The expectations were not good but now they are even worse”
Juan Antonio of rock and metal promoter Madness Live agrees, adding that the new measures present a “very hard situation”.
“The expectations were not good but now they are even worse. For Madness Live and so many other companies in the music industry in Spain, which only work with international artists, it’s almost impossible to do anything. Since 11 March we were not able to organise any concert and unless the situation changes drastically, we think it would take much longer,” says Antonio.
“In the end, I think the governments will have to allow us to work coexisting with the virus… How? I don’t know. Maybe when the vaccine is out there for the most vulnerable part of the population, with the fasts tests or a cure. But until then, many employments will be – are being – destroyed, many venues will close and many promoter/booking/management offices will close. Unfortunately, the light at the end of this long tunnel is still far for us.”
Robert Grima, president at Live Nation Spain, however, is determined to charge ahead, working around the restrictions.
“The curfew does not affect the current situation for shows with reduced capacities at seated clubs and theatres, and therefore we will keep working on shows at that level. I am optimistic as concerts and events have not been a point of transmission and we are working with health authorities for test shows to certificate and create protocols to get back to the business asap,” says Grima.
“Unfortunately, the light at the end of this long tunnel is still far for us”
Neo Sala, founder and CEO at Doctor Music, suggested the new restrictions may even have a “positive effect”.
“The current state of emergency is much softer than the one applied last spring as it does not allow the government to lock down the population at home. It does not make any difference as “real concerts” – those with full capacities and no social distancing were not allowed anyway, even without the state of emergency.
“In fact, in the long term, it could have a positive effect for the live music industry as the more contained the people have been, the more hunger there will be for live entertainment when the Covid crisis is over. Our team is going through this situation together and with good spirit, ready to rock as soon as we can,” Sala concludes.
Es Música, the national federation, estimated that the losses in the live music sector due to the pandemic could exceed €1.2m after a year. While The International Monetary Fund recently said that Spain will be one of the developed countries worst affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
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Neo Sala presented with lifetime achievement award
Neo Sala, founder and CEO of promoter Doctor Music, has been presented with an award by the Spanish music industry to recognise his four-decade career in the live business.
Sala, who founded Doctor Music in 1982, was given by the award by Albert Salmerón, president of the Association of Music Promoters (APM), at the sixth Premios Fest awards in Bilbao yesterday (30 October).
Nearly 40 years after its founding, Doctor Music, still led by Sala, remains one of Europe’s leading independent promoters, working with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Katy Perry, REM, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes and Greta Van Fleet. It also launched Spain’s first-ever major music festival, Doctor Music Festival, in the mid-1990s.
“Neo has played a fundamental role in the formation of the national music scene”
Last May, the company sold a majority stake to Germany’s CTS Eventim, becoming Eventim’s first controlled promoter in the Spanish market.
According to APM, Sala is “the greatest exponent of the music industry in our country”. “Neo has played a fundamental role in the formation of the national musical and cultural scene, helping Spain to become a must-stop destination for any world-class tour,” says the association.
The Premios Fest (‘Fest Awards’) take place annually ahead of the BIME Live conference. Other 2019 winners included Bilbao BBK Live, which picked up best large festival, and Cruïlla Festival, which won the innovation award.
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Doctor Music Festival forced to move by flood threat
Spain’s Doctor Music Festival (DMF) has been obliged to change sites for its comeback edition this summer, after the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) warned that the event’s original site in the Pyrenees was at risk of flooding.
Neo Sala, the founder of promoter Doctor Music, confirmed today that Doctor Music 2019 will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Formula 1 track in Montmeló, near Barcelona, from 12 to 14 July. The festival was originally planned to take place over four days at Escalarre, in the Àneu valley, from 11 to 14 July, with the change meaning that Smashing Pumpkins will play on 14 July rather than the 11th, as originally planned.
Smashing Pumpkins will now play before Sunday’s headliner, the Strokes, after agreeing to “accommodate the date and time change for the sake of the festival, their fans and the other bands”.
Doctor Music Festival took place in Escalarre in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Festival organisers said they considered the ACA’s warning to be an exaggerated interpretation of the theoretical risk of flooding, in a valley that hasn’t flooded in summer for as long as records exist.
In a press conference to announce the change of venue, Sala talked of ecologists and “eco-opportunists”, criticising those who felt the valley was “theirs, and untouchable”.
“In the festival’s opinion, there has been a very over-exaggerated and destructive interpretation of the regulations surroundings theoretical flood risks in the valley, which has never before flooded in summer (at least as far as current data shows),” says DMF in a statement.
“We have found Montmeló, which is a fantastic place”
“The stringency levels which have been applied in this case far surpass the norm and we have therefore been forced to abandon the originally planned location in order to ensure that all artistic commitments made are complied with, and make sure that the festival goes ahead as per originally designed for this new edition.”
All of the artists confirmed for DMF 2019 will still perform, with the exception of Chris Robinson Brotherhood and the Prodigy, who cancelled all their live dates following the death of Keith Flint.
All tickets remain valid, though a refund policy has been implemented for those who no longer wish to attend. Ticket prices have also dropped, in reflection of the new three-day nature of the event, and promoters will reimburse those who already bought passes at the old, more expensive rate. Full information is available from www.doctormusicfestival.com.
Sala said he hasn’t considered the future of DMF beyond the 2019 event. “We are not even thinking about it,” he said. “We have found Montmeló, which is a fantastic place. And we are concentrating on having the best possible festival in Montmeló.”
Doctor Music today also announced new names for the festival, including Empire of the Sun, Johnny Marr, Texas, Kamasi Washington and Luciano. Swiss DJ Luciano will play in Force Field, an open-air stage dedicated to electronic music curated by DJ Damian Lazarus.
Sala also spoke on DMF’s impressive technical specs. The main stage will be 162m (531’) wide – apparently the largest concert or festival stage ever used in the south of Europe – and is designed by Ray Winkler of Stufish Architects, which has worked on stage design for the likes of the Rolling Stones and U2.
The festival’s lighting is being overseen by Patrick Woodroffe, director of Woodroffe Bassett Design, who designed recent tours by AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Adele and Black Sabbath.
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Doctor Music Festival 2019 announces first acts
Spain’s Doctor Music Festival has announced its first wave of artists for next year’s ‘reincarnation edition’, including several who will perform multiple times throughout the festival.
Both King Crimson and Underworld will perform three sets apiece, giving fans more than one opportunity to see headliners and “reduce the anxiety generated […] by the worry of missing any of the key concerts”, according to festival promoter Neo Sala.
Sala explains: “I do not want people to have the feeling that they will miss something – the famous FOMO [fear of missing out] effect that you get in those big events will be reduced at Doctor Music Festival.”
Other performers include the Strokes (who return to the road in 2019 after a two-year hiatus), Smashing Pumpkins, Greta Van Fleet, Primal Scream, the Prodigy, Sisters of Mercy and Eyellusion’s Frank Zappa hologram.
The full line-up for the festival – which takes place from 11 to 14 July 2019 at a 350-acre site in Escalarre, surrounded by the Catalan Pyrenees – will be announced early next year.
A poster showing the first wave of acts in full is below:
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Spain: 69% of resold tickets are touted for profit
Nearly three quarters of tickets placed on secondary sites in Spain are there to be sold for profit, new data reveals, as momentum builds towards regulating the Spanish resale market.
Ticketea, a Madrid-based self-service ticketer, on Monday held a press conference to present the results of a survey of 12,000 people which discovered more than one in four (26%) Spaniards has resold an event ticket online. Of those 26%, 69% of respondents admitted to “speculating” on the ticket’s price, turning a profit by reselling it for more than face value.
The Ticketea survey comes as public sentiment in Spain shifts increasingly towards legislating to regulate the secondary market, inflamed by several high-profile controversies over ticket touting. Bruce Springsteen promoter Doctor Music is taking legal action – still ongoing – against several sites it accuses of “defrauding” consumers, while in February Berry Producciones and popular singer Alejandro Sanz sued Viagogo and established the Anti-Resale Alliance, an anti-touting association along the lines of FanFair in the UK.
While a majority (55%) of those surveyed are against an outright ban on resale, as is being introduced in Italy, 67% say secondary ticketing should be a “controlled practice, regulated by the law”. Of those 67%, more than three quarters say the price of resold tickets should be capped at no more than 10% above face value.
“They hurt the fans, and they take advantage of the talent of the artists and the risk assumed by promoters”
Speaking at the press conference – also attended by Doctor Music’s Neo Sala and Springsteen fan club president Joan Colet, who is hoping to gain 500,000 signatures on a petition to criminalise for-profit resale – Ticketea CEO Javier Andres said: “The current situation with ticket resale in Spain is not caused by fans selling a ticket because they can no longer attend a concert; the problem is speculators who buy large numbers of tickets and resell them for a premium of as much as 1,000%…
“They hurt the fans, and they take advantage of the talent of the artists and the risk assumed by promoters and organisers of events.”
Other insights from the survey include that around one in three people have bought a resold ticket, of which 30% paid above face value, and that 94% of consumers would like to see the introduction of a window of time in which tickets can be legally resold – cutting out brokers who harvest tickets in bulk and immediately list them on secondary sites.
Spanish culture minister Íñigo Méndez de Vigo pledged on 8 March to “regulate” the online ticket resale market, although he ruled out an outright ban, saying it would be like “putting doors on a field” (“ponerle puertas al campo“) – ie impossible. No concrete measures have yet been announced.
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Reincarnation for Doctor Music Festival
Spanish promoter Doctor Music last night held a launch party in London for the new iteration of its Doctor Music Festival, which will return after a 19-year hiatus in summer 2019.
MCed by BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Matt Everitt, and featuring food by world-famous chef Albert Adrià, the event – held at the exclusive Groucho Club – was attended by a number of high-profile agents and managers, including representatives of Arcade Fire (CAA), Bob Dylan (ITB), Robbie Williams (ie:music), Neil Young (ITB), Muse (UTA), The Black Keys (Paradigm) and Tom Petty (ITB).
The first 6,000 tickets for the ‘Reincarnation Edition’ festival, which will run from 12 to 14 July 2019, will go on sale from www.doctormusicfestival.com in early May – more than two years before the actual event itself.
Three-day passes are €175, although those who attended any of the previous Doctor Music Festivals – 1996, 1997 and 1998 in Escalarre or 2000 in Asturias – will be offered a €50 discount.
The festival site for the 2017 event – which returns to Escalarre, in the Catalan Pyrenees – will be spread over 140 hectares (346 acres), with five stages and general and VIP camping areas, for a minimum capacity of 40,000.
“The combination of the stars right above our heads, the greatest music legends and the most outstanding young talent will create a heavenly experience”
No performers have yet been announced, although is has been confirmed Adrià will integrate his Barcelona restaurant, Tickets, into the festival, bringing over chefs and staff to cook for festivalgoers. He says he’s “really excited to close the restaurant in Barcelona for a full weekend and move it to a wonderful mountain valley”. Albert Adrià’s ‘Tickets’ Food Experience at Doctor Music Festival can already be pre-booked through their website.
Doctor Music founder and CEO Neo Sala comments: “The Doctor Music Festival is an ecological Shangri-La, an unspoilt valley providing limitless space to roam and surrounded by mountains, where we will welcome tens of thousands of lovers of peace, music and nature.
“The combination of the stars right above our heads, the greatest music legends and the most outstanding young talent will create a heavenly experience.”
There have so far been four Doctor Music Festivals in total: in 1996 (headliners: David Bowie, Blur, Lou Reed), 1997 (Rage Against the Machine, Megadeth, Placebo), 1998 (Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and 2000 (Beck, Pet Shop Boys and the first Spanish show by Muse).
Melvin Benn’s Mean Fiddler group staged a spin-off one-day festival in Barcelona, the Metallica-headlined Doctor Music Day, in 2003, although there was no follow-up.
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Twickets eyes global launch after £1.2m funding
Face-value ticket exchange website Twickets has ended its crowdfunding campaign with £1.2m of investment – over 70% the original £700k it asked for – and founder Richard Davies is gearing up for international expansion.
The crowdfunding campaign launched in November last year with the aim of raising cash to help the business grow by bolstering its technology team and undertake its first marketing campaign. That campaign will focus on providing incentives for users of the service to help spread the word, with outbound marketing activity aimed at capturing new users coming next, Davies tells IQ. He’s currently looking for a head of marketing to oversee the project.
Twickets is available in the UK and thanks to a tie-up with Neo Sala’s Spanish promoter, Doctor Music, will launch in Spain before the end of March. Sala invested in the recent round alongside a number of promoters in Spain and Switzerland. Davies wants to roll out Twickets in other European territories as well as Australia, where they’ve already appointed someone to head up operations, and New York State in the second half of this year.
A total of 12% equity in Twickets has been given to those who participated in the funding drive, with the start-up now valued at over £11m. T-shirts, waived booking fees and tickets to parties and events were offered to funders as incentives.
“As a community-led business we felt crowdfunding was the most relevant way for us to raise funds. We have industry investors as well, but we felt it was important to allow our users to invest.”
“As a community-led business we felt crowdfunding was the most relevant way for us to raise funds. We have industry investors as well but we felt it was important to allow our users to invest,” Davies explained. Since launching in 2011, Twickets has achieved over £2.7m in ticket sales and 240k app downloads. Including the £1.2m, its total investment has topped £2m to date.
A premium service is in the works that will offer sellers “promoted tickets” at the top of the Twickets stream and a “waiting list” service that’s currently in trial will allow buyers to register for a ticket for automatic allocation once available. Twickets has been appointed as the exclusive resale platform for partners including Adele, Mumford & Sons, One Direction, QPR, Crystal Palace football club and promoter Kilimanjaro Live and parent company Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG).
Recent investors include Marcus Russell and Alec McKinlay of Ignition Management (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Catfish and the Bottlemen), Closer Artists (James Bay, George Ezra, James Morrison) and Twickets’ original founding board, which includes FanFair Alliance founders Ian McAndrew and Harry Magee, along with Richard Griffiths of Modest! Management (One Direction, Olly Murs), Chrysalis Records founder Chris Wright CBE, former EMI and BPI chairman Tony Wadsworth CBE and Crystal Palace FC’s owner and chairman, Steve Parish.
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