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‘We don’t have borders’: ESNS programming preview

Ahead of next week’s ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), head of programme Robert Meijerink has told IQ there is “magic” in helping emerging artists launch onto the European scene.

The annual music showcase festival and conference is set to take place between 15–18 January in Groningen, the Netherlands. It will include over 300 emerging acts from 24 European countries across its festival lineup, alongside more than 500 industry professionals in panel discussions, workshops and keynotes.

Though all programming has traditionally been staged in venues across the city, this year’s edition will see showcases in de Oosterpoort, the main conference centre, for the first time on Wednesday (15 January).

Centralising programming not only helps control venue and staffing costs, Meijerink says, but also brings the final part of the day’s schedule into one primary location, making it practical for delegates and festivalgoers alike. Over 50 artists will perform across the evening.

“Everything is under one roof, so it makes it very convenient for all the visitors to see the artists they want to see,” he explained. “Normally, it’s in the city and you have to walk, or sometimes cycle or get a cab, to make it in time to see the next band.

“Eurosonic is about music first, but it’s also about networking. People want to see each other. It’s quite important for many music professionals to check in with each other, and that’s very convenient and easy on that Wednesday evening.”

The 14th edition of the European Festival Awards are set for the same night in de Oosterpoort.

“It’s always our general focus to promote talents from all corners of Europe”

For 2025, Eurosonic has selected Italy as its focus country as part of its ongoing effort to showcase musical diversity across Europe. Sixteen emerging Italian acts will be featured across the four-day festival, including Bassolino, BigMama, Daniela Pes, Kharfi, and Kyoto.

Meijerink says the global success of the Eurovision-winning Italian band Måneskin was a big push to spotlight other developing talent in the southern European country.

“The business in Italy became more conscious of the opportunities outside Italy, so we were in talks with our partners there. They all felt like, to kick in these doors and to make everyone aware, in the slipstream of success not only about Måneskin, that more and more artists are from Italy.”

“This seems to be the right year to not only kick in these doors but also make people aware of the huge diversity and relevancy of the Italian music scene,” he says.

In addition to a one-country spotlight, Meijerink says Eurosonic has honed in on an overall European focus and how the team can help non-EU countries flourish: “We don’t have any borders. We consider live music should include everything that is relevant.”

“It’s always our general focus to promote talents from all corners of Europe, including the UK, Switzerland and Norway, which are not part of the EU as well.”

Recently, ESNS’s European Talent Booking Exchange revealed the top five most-booked artists of 2024 hailed from the UK and Ireland. To date, the scheme has supported nearly 2,300 European artists — including Stromae, Fontaines D.C., The XX, Sam Smith, and Hozier — to perform at over 5,600 shows across 197 partner festivals in 44 countries.

Helping support artists to expand their horizons and audiences outside their home country, who are likely performing internationally for the first time, is a key highlight for Meijerink.

“To bring artists from their home country where they built a fan base already into Groningen, where they literally don’t know anyone, to perform in front of a professional audience also consisting of many music lovers who buy tickets to discover these artists — It’s all about that. There’s magic in it.”

 


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Top dogs: Fat Dog lead ESNS Exchange bookings

UK and Ireland acts are leading the way on Eurosonic Noorderslag’s (ESNS) European talent exchange programme in 2024, securing festival slots across the continent this summer.

British band Fat Dog top the ESNS Exchange chart with 15 bookings for festivals outside their home country including Winterthurer Musikwochen (DE), Poplar Festival (IT) , Electric Castle (RO), Siren’s Call (LU), Bad Bonn Kilbi (CH), Lowlands (NL), Pukkelpop (BE), Eurockéennes de Belfort (FR) and Colours of Ostrava (CZ).

Next is English Teacher (ENG) with 10 bookings, Kingfishr (IRE) and Lambrini Girls (ENG), with eight each, and Chalk (IRE) and Picture Parlour (ENG), both with seven. The top 10 is completed by Leila (CH), Nusantara Beat (NL) and Freekind (SI) on six bookings each, while Ireland’s CMAT and Yunè Pinku are tied on five alongside Loverman (BE), UTO (FR) and YĪN YĪN (NL).

The festivals to have booked the most ESNS artists in 2024, meanwhile, are the UK’s The Great Escape (23), Germany’s Halden Pop Festival and Reeperbahn (12 each), Hungary’s Sziget (11), Slovenia’s MENT Ljubljana (9), Estonia’s Tallinn Music Week (7), the Netherlands’ Best Kept Secret, Iceland Airwaves, France’s Le Printemps De Bourges and Festival Europavox Clermont-Ferrand, and Germany’s Winterthurer Musikwochen (all 6).

Helen Sildna, founder of Shiftworks Company and Tallinn Music Week (TMW) says: “ESNS Exchange is an important building-block of TMW’s music programme, offering an opportunity to book the most exciting talent that Europe has on offer in a given year. ESNS programme choices provide a high-quality guarantee that is valued by promoters, also reflecting the wide geographical diversity of the EU and giving a spotlight to artists that otherwise might not end up on bookers’ radars.

“We hope the programme can continue – it’s a smart tool for both the artist and the bookers”

“The combination of high-standard pre-selection and a support mechanism, helping to cover part of the costs – is a smart incentive to make sure fresh European talent has more opportunities to break borders and enhance their international careers. We hope the programme can continue – it’s a smart tool for both the artist and the bookers.”

Co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, ESNS Exchange facilitates the booking of European acts at festivals outside their home countries and works with the EBU, Yourope export offices and local media to generate media exposure for those artists.

For more than two decades, ESNS Exchange and its partners have supported 2,159 European artists from 37 countries in performing 5,336 shows across 192 partner festivals in 44 countries. Artists to have benefited from the scheme via formative festival slots include Editors, The xx, Iceage, Anna Calvi, AURORA, Kae Tempest, Phoenix, Shame, Fontaines DC, Sigrid and Priya Ragu.

“Making circulation of new European artists on festivals easier. That’s what it is all about,” adds Andraž Kajzer, artistic director and festival manager at MENT Ljubljana. “ESNS Exchange is an important pillar for new talent supporting our cause and making it viable.”

 


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ESNS 2024: Touring heads unpick ‘new normal’

Leading European live executives have advised that ticket pricing is “more important than ever” as the business navigates its current challenges.

The subject was pored over during today’s Touring In ’24: Are There Bumps In The Road? session at the Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) conference in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Moderated by IQ MD Greg Parmley, the panel featured agents Beckie Sugden of CAA and UTA’s Carlos Abreu, as well as Mojo Concerts head promoter Kim Bloem and FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt.

Netherlands-based Bloem reported the market appeared in rude health at all levels from her viewpoint.

“Tickets are flying out,” said Bloem. “It’s not just the blockbuster shows, it’s the club shows too. We’re not struggling.”

Thanscheidt, who is based out of Germany and is also FKP’s head of festival booking, painted an overall positive if more mixed picture.

“We have so many artists touring. But there are also shows that are not doing so well. It depends on demographics, genre and level of act”

“As a company, we don’t have a problem,” he said. “We have so many artists touring. But there are also shows that are not doing so well. It depends on demographics, genre and level of act.”

Sugden, whose roster includes artists such as Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, GloRilla, Noname, Chronixx, implied it was a constant work in progress.

“It’s a supply and demand market,” she said. “As agents, we have to make sure artists aren’t touring too much. And they’re going to other regions. It’s a constantly changing and dynamic market.”

Thanscheidt argued that show calculations were “more challenging and complicated than before”, triggering a debate around the impact of rising costs on ticket prices.

“Getting ticket prices right is more important than ever,” stressed Abreu, who works with the likes of Rosalía, Bad Bunny, Anitta, Morad, Tokischa and Ayra Starr. “There are also creative ways to structure deals with artists who are looking to do meet and greets or VIP packages, etc. You have to understand the demographic you’re selling to.”

Sugden said it was necessary to analyse the market “with forensic detail and check that your ticket prices are competitive”.

“It’s the perfect storm. Everyone’s prices are increasing”

“VIP doesn’t work in every market, so you have to know what works for each market,” she added. “It’s the perfect storm. Everyone’s prices are increasing. But actually with K-pop fans, they’re willing to stick their hands in their pockets. In times of crisis, people want to be entertained.”

Bloem felt the business has been “timid” regarding raising ticket prices in the past and felt the present level of demand indicated there was room for an increase.

“Given how fast tickets are selling, I think we can increase,” she said. “We added €30 to festival tickets this year, but festival tickets can’t be pushed too quickly.”

“This is a real problem,” advised Thanscheidt. “We had sold out festivals but the margins were complete shit. It’s getting better now but you still see festivals struggling.

“Ticket prices are at the limit. Some festivals overpriced and had only 70/80% of their usual audience, which German promoters know is terrible.”

The conversation then turned to dynamic pricing, with Abreu noting it had become “the norm” in the US. “It’s the way the world is going.” he added.

“We have to think differently about how we approach first steps for artists”

Thanscheidt appeared open-minded about the prospect, but pointed out that the European industry was still some way behind its US counterpart in terms of adoption. “I think it will take time but all sauces that can add to the pot,” he said.

In closing, the panellists shared their thoughts on keeping tickets affordable for fans. Thanscheidt brought up the concept of ‘social tickets’, where a small portion of tickets are available to unwaged citizens for a lower price.

“I had a show recently where the artist did a collection after the concert and the artist ended up tripling the guarantee,” responded Sugden. “We’re getting more creative. We’ve got to keep creative with the club scene. We have to think differently about how we approach first steps for artists.”

Abreu added that some artists could afford to do underplays to “give back” to their fans, but accepted it wasn’t always possible.

“We need to think in career terms for artists,” he concluded. “Not just ‘what do we want to make on this next tour’. It’s about where are we going to be in five years.”

ESNS, which recently appointed Anna van Nunen as its new general manager, wraps up its 2024 edition tomorrow. The event also featured the 2023 European Festival Awards. Check out the winners here.

 


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Festival chiefs talk sector’s issues and solutions

The Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) conference programme kicked off this morning with an IQ panel exploring the shared challenges of festival organisers from around Europe and some of the ways in which they resolve those issues.

The Common Ground: Boutique and Major Festivals session, moderated by IQ editor Gordon Masson, saw guests Beke Trojan (MS Dockville), Codruta Vulcu (ARTmania), Eric van Eerdenburg (Lowlands) and Virág Csiszár (Sziget) tackle a variety of subjects including supply chain issues, ticket prices, timing of announcements, staffing, gender balance on line-ups, and artist booking.

“The problems we had in 22 and 23, I think are over,” said Van Eerdenburg about supply chain matters. “But the answer has been that we have to invest and pay much more for the stuff that’s coming in. And that translates to ticket prices that are rising faster than inflation, which is already high – that’s what is the most worrying issue for me.”

Noting that the price of a three-day ticket for ARTmania is just €90, Vulcu admitted that she and her team are contemplating taking the event to just two days because of other pressures on the audience. “The cost of hotels for the audience was maybe €100 per night, so for three nights practically, accommodation was ridiculous, which in the long term could kill the festival because it’s not sustainable.”

Trojan noted, “Our aim is to book a festival with a good mix of international national artists. But we are definitely struggling getting the international names because it’s January, and they’re only starting to make decisions now, which is very late for us, because rigorous planning and ticket sales really should be a lot earlier.

“We have a very young audience that buy the tickets very last minute, so we need to sell day tickets”

“Obviously we would want to sell three-day tickets, but we have a very young audience that buy the tickets very last minute, so we need to sell day tickets. But even with that, we can’t really announce like the day line-up yet, because we’re still struggling with international names. It’s a big problem, but I don’t really have a solution.”

Csiszár revealed that with Sziget’s massive audience involving more than 50% international visitors, local Hungarian acts are not really an option for the bill, even though some of them can sell out stadiums. “International people don’t really get it, so we can’t book them as headliners, but it’s the international stadium acts that we have to look at as our headliners, which is also difficult when there are so many stadium tours happening,” she said. “Stadium tours are definitely competitors for us during the summer.”

Both Csiszár and Van Eerdenburg said that they were using VIP offers such as glamping and sky boxes to help balance the books, rather than pushing general admission tickets too high in price, while with all the panellists working to improve gender balance on line-ups, the conversation moved to the timing of announcements and the various strategies employed by each festival.

The session concluded with panellists answering a question from an audience member regarding their expectations for the next generation of industry staff. Van Eerdenburg stated that when his colleagues work long hours at festivals, he compensates them with weeks off after the event. He added that when it comes to recruitment, “I always pick the [people] who are also working in a club, or running a stage, or volunteering at a festival, because they have the motivation to not only do it theory, but also in practice.”

 


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ESNS Exchange celebrates 20th anniversary

ESNS Exchange, the European Talent Exchange Programme formerly known as ETEP, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

The scheme, which facilitates the international distribution of European music, artists, and productions, is funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission and is organised in collaboration with Yourope, the export offices and the media partner EBU.

Since 2003, ESNS Exchange has supported 2,145 European artists from 35 countries, enabling them to perform at 5,288 shows across 187 partner festivals in 44 countries. Successful acts through the years have included Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Sigrid, Editors, Blood Red Shoes, The XX, Iceage, Anna Calvi, Katzenjammer, Aurora, Kae Tempest, Phoenix, Shame, Buraka Som Sistema, Fontaines DC, Sigrid, Flohio, Marina Satti & Fonés, Altin Gün, Priya Ragu and Royal Blood.

“It is an honour to support and present the diversity of the live music scene in Europe by kickstarting the careers of many new artists for 20 years by Exchange, the European Talent Exchange Programme,” says Robert Meijerink, head of programme at ESNS and booker for ESNS Exchange.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary, ESNS Exchange hosted a panel at this week’s BIME festival in Bilbao, alongside several events and panels held during ESNS in January.

ESNS Exchange has presented 315 shows by 134 acts at 82 festivals so far in 2023. The most booked act is The Haunted Youth with 13 bookings, followed by Deki Alem with nine bookings and Avalanche Kaito with eight. In addition, Sprints, Tramhaus and UCHE YARA all have seven bookings.

“With Exchange, the role of the ESNS conference and festival has been put to the next level”

The bookings of the last five festivals of the season in October-November will be included in the final results at the end of the year.

“With Exchange, the role of the ESNS conference and festival has been put to the next level,” adds Meijerink. “Exchange as a project connects all parts of Europe and helps artists grow beyond local, cross European borders and around the world.

“This is impossible without the strong cooperation with Yourope, our great partner festivals, the export offices, the partners of the European Broadcasting Union, the European Commission and of course all the amazing artists from Europe. We’re looking forward to building the future of the European music scene and ESNS Exchange’s role in it.”

CEETEP was also part of the Exchange programme with the aim to promote the circulation of artists and repertoire of Central East European countries across Europe. During the five-year project, which ran from 2012 to 2015, ESNS and co-organisers Sziget and Exit Festival created a plan to encourage the circulation of CEE artists and repertoire in Central and Eastern Europe with the support of 18 festivals and selected media partners in the CEE region.

The ESNS showcase festival and conference returns to Groningen, the Netherlands, from 17-20 January 2024.

 


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Eurosonic chief quits showcase event

Eurosonic Noorderslaag (ESNS) has announced that general manager Dago Houben has quit the organisation with immediate effect.

A statement issued by the event’s Supervisory Board says that Houben’s departure is “ due to a difference of opinion within the ESNS leadership about the way in which an organisational development considered necessary by all parties involved should take shape.”

Houben is the second senior staffer to quit in recent months following the departure of conference head Ruud Berends in May, also due to a “difference of opinion”.

Houben has run the European showcase event since 2009 and is credited by the organisation with growing its programming, media attention, budget, number of stages and visitor numbers over that time.

“It is with pride, but certainly also with sentiment, that I bid farewell to a great event and a wonderful organisation with great cultural relevance”

Antje Diertens, chair of the Supervisory Board, says that the board regrets Houben’s departure, and that, “Dago was director since 2009, a very successful period for ESNS in which it has grown into a globally respected platform for European pop music. We thank him for his commitment.”

In turn, Houben says “It is with pride, but certainly also with sentiment, that I bid farewell to a great event and a wonderful organisation with great cultural relevance. I thank everyone who has supported and assisted me and ESNS over the past years. It was a privilege to be able to lead this organisation.”

Frans Vreeke will start as interim director on 4 July with Daniële Streep acting as deputy director temporarily. The Supervisory Board has begun the process of identifying a successor.

Eurosonic Noorderslag takes place in Groningen in The Netherlands from 17-20 January 2024.

 


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Spain confirmed as ESNS 2023 focus country

Organisers of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) have confirmed Spain as the focus country for the 2023 edition of the festival and conference, in cooperation with export initiative The Spanish Wave.

ESNS, which returns to Groningen, the Netherlands from 18-21 January next year, highlights the best rising acts from a different country every year to showcase the diversity of musical talent across Europe.

While Spain was originally set to be the focus of this year’s event, plans were pushed back a year when the emergence of the Omicron variant forced ESNS 2022 to go ahead digitally.

“The Spanish music scene has a lot to offer for the international market”

“The Spanish music scene has a lot to offer for the international market,” says ESNS head of programme Robert Meijerink. “While there is a growing interest in music in the Spanish language than ever before in Europe and beyond, we’d like to focus on all its different regions and lively scenes; from emerging electronic acts to the new wave of indie bands hailing from the big cities, the islands and everything in between.

“Together with The Spanish Wave and their partners, we look forward to getting started on bringing an eclectic selection of new music to Groningen.”

César Andión of The Spanish Wave adds: “[The focus on Spain] will bring a wide palette of young, emerging and talented acts from all over Spain to show how fresh, alive and exportable artists we have in our country.”

ESNS has also announced that artist applications for the upcoming edition are open now here to all European artists until 1 September 2022.

Each year, ESNS stages more than 350 showcases all over the city of Groningen as well as offering a conference programme of around 150 panels and keynotes, alongside multiple networking opportunities. The conference side of the event attracts more than 4,000 entertainment industry professionals from all sections of the industry, including representatives of more than 400 European festivals.

 


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Friday round-up: World news in brief 24/12/21

Welcome to IQ‘s weekly round-up of news from around the world. Here, in bite-sized chunks, we present a selection of international stories you may have missed from the last few days…

UNITED KINGDOM:

The UK government has doubled the emergency funding for arts, culture and heritage organisations made available through the Culture Recovery Fund to £60 million. The initial £30m top-up, unveiled earlier this week by chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of a £1 billion support package for hospitality and leisure businesses in response to the impact of the omicron variant, was criticised as “woefully inadequate” by live music trade bodies. The government is also extending the application window by a week until 18 January. “This new funding, alongside the new grants of up to £6,000 we announced earlier this week, will support the sector as we together face this difficult time,” says Sunak. The Music Venue Trust described the development as “very positive news”. “This second measure makes a real difference, providing grassroots music venues with time to submit,” it tweeted.

NETHERLANDS:

European Commission EVP Frans Timmermans will give the opening keynote speech at ESNS 2022. Timmermans, who is responsible for the Green Deal, will dive deeper into taking green steps going forward for the music industry. Other newly announced speakers include Mark Mulligan (MIDiA Research), Colin Benders (Kyteman), Pepijn Lanen (Faberyayo of De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig) Helen Smith (IMPALA), Marta Pallares (Primavera), Codruta Vulcu (ARTmania), Paul Reed (AIF), Christof Huber (Yourope) and Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio). The event has moved entirely online from 19–22 January 2022 due to Covid-19. Due to the continued uncertainty, some of the panels and keynotes have been moved to ESNS 2023, including interviews with Sub Pop’s Pavitt & Poneman, Peter Weening (Vera), Matt Schwarz (DreamHaus) and André de Raaff, as well as the country focus on Spain.

UNITED STATES:

ASM Global has appointed Nate Whitman as chief strategy officer. In his new role, Whitman will be tasked with developing new business opportunities, investments and strategic partnerships, as well as new initiatives to deliver revenue growth for the company’s clients. Whitman most recently served as head of strategy and finance for Pac-12’s media division.

UNITED KINGDOM:

Paloma Faith will headline the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza concert on Saturday, 6 August, 2022. Also performing will be the Black Dyke Brass Band, with a further special guest still to be announced.

UNITED STATES:

Madison Square Garden Entertainment MSG Entertainment has named seasoned executive David F Byrnes as EVP and CFO, effective January 24. Byrnes will work closely with MSG Entertainment’s executive management team to support the long-term direction of the company. He will provide strategic financial insight on all facets of the business and oversee the firm’s financial matters. MSG Entertainment’s current EVP and CFO, Mark H FitzPatrick, will remain with the company through April 1 to assist with the transition.

AUSTRALIA:
The Lunar Electric music festival, due to be held in Newcastle on 18 December, was cancelled under a public health order. NSW Health said the record number of Covid-19 cases in the region presented too great a risk for the festival to take place.

MEXICO:

House of Vans Mexico City officially opened its doors with performances by Japanese Breakfast, Noa Sainz and Girl Ultra. Molotov and Hot Chip also played headline shows during its opening weekend. Located in Col. San Juan, House of Vans Mexico City is billed as “part skatepark, part music venue, part theatre, part art gallery”, and adds to the brand’s existing hubs in London, UK and Chicago in the US.

 


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Friday round-up: world news in brief

Welcome to IQ‘s brand-new weekly round-up of news from around the world. Here, in bite-sized chunks, we present a selection of international stories you may have missed from the last seven days…

UNITED KINGDOM:

Vince Power Music Group (VPMG) has announced AXS as its official ticketing partner for all its London venues after inking a new five-year deal. VPMG venues include: the former Dingwalls, PowerHaus (cap. 500), The Fiddler (cap. 120), Nells (cap. 350) and Subterania (cap. 600). AXS is the official ticketing partner for several UK venues including The O2, The SSE Arena, Wembley, Dreamland Margate, British Summertime Hyde Park, All Points East and AEG Presents’ touring business.

NETHERLANDS:

European showcase festival and conference Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen has moved entirely online from 19–22 January 2022 in response to the government’s the latest Covid-19 measures. The digital edition will include a conference programme as well as the festival programmes of Noorderslag, Eurosonic and the Music Moves Europe Awards award ceremony.

UNITED STATES: 

Foo Fighters say they have axed a 2022 tour date due to the venue’s “refusal to agree to the band’s Covid safety measures”. The band were due to play Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on 3 August, but are now looking for a replacement venue. A spokesperson for the University of Minnesota, which operates the venue, said its current measures relating to vaccines and mask-wearing were in line with state and federal guidelines, and declined to change its existing protocols for large events.

GERMANY:

CTS Eventim is acquiring regional ticketing providers in the Rhineland region, Kölnticket and Bonnticket. The companies previously belonged to media houses Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Medien in Cologne and Rheinische Post Mediengruppe in Düsseldorf, and had previously partnered with CTS on ticketing software and platform technology. The deal will give CTS Eventim a significant presence in the region as well as numerous contacts in the local entertainment scene.

UK/US:

The British Music Embassy has announced its live return to South By Southwest (SXSW) with its biggest presence yet. The intimate 250-person UK music showcase will return in 2022 with a capacity of 700 at Cedar Street Courtyard, an open-air SXSW venue, from 14-20 March. It will be the first in-person British Music Embassy since 2019 as the 2020 edition of SXSW was one of the first major festivals to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

GERMANY:

The ASM Global-managed, Arena Oberhausen in Germany is to be renamed after 20 years as the Konig Pilsener Arena. From next year, the 12,650-capacity venue will be known as Rudolf Weber Arena, in the largest naming rights deal in the Oberhausen-based venue’s 25-year history.

BELGIUM:

Five more names have been confirmed for Rock Werchter 2022. The War On Drugs will play the Festivalpark on Thursday 30 June. Lewis Capaldi and Greta Van Fleet join the line-up for Friday 1 July, Yungblud is scheduled for Saturday July 2 and Royal Blood will put in an appearance on Sunday 3 July. Headlined by Pearl Jam, Metallica, Imagine Dragons and Red Hot Chili Pepper, the festival runs from 30 June to 2 July.

UNITED KINGDOM:

Two internet ticket touts sentenced to a combined six-and-a-half years in prison following a landmark court case have failed in their appeals against their conviction for fraudulent trading. Peter Hunter and David Smith, who operated as the company BZZ Limited, were jailed for four years and 30 months, respectively, in February 2020 following an investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, and trail at Leeds Crown Court. The pair committed offences between May 2010 and December 2017, making a net profit of £3.5 million in the last two years of fraud alone, buying and reselling tickets to concerts by artists including Ed Sheeran, McBusted, Taylor Swift and Coldplay. On the appeal Smith and Hunter raised a large number of legal and procedural grounds. They appealed the verdict, alleging the judge wrongly directed the jury on the law and “acted unfairly and prejudicially in his conduct of the trial”, arguing the restrictions attaching to the sale of the tickets were “void and invalid”. However, the Court of Appeal rejects their appeals, upholding the conclusion of the judge at trial that the restrictions imposed by event organisers were valid, adding the judge “acted properly in all relevant respects and that the convictions are safe and lawful”.

IRELAND:

Irish-headquartered Tixserve has partnered with UK ticket agency Gigantic to provide a “secure and interactive digital ticket fulfilment service” for its live entertainment ticketing. The partnership will see Irish-Headquartered Tixserve provide Gigantic with a white label digital ticketing app – delivering via a full API technical integration, a sophisticated and seamless fulfilment service for Gigantic clients and customers.

UNITED KINGDOM:

International booking agency Midnight Mango has announced four new agents – Nigel Morton, Addison Paterson, Sam Bryant and Hanna Bright – after initiating an Agent Freelancer Platform in the early days of the pandemic. After delivering training and guidance to four agents back in the spring, the firm took on a further four new agents in September. The new appointments work with acts such as Gretchen Peters, Bicurious, Dom Martin and The Kakatsitsi Master Drummers, expanding the agency’s roster to more than 150 artists, represented by a 15-strong workforce.

 


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ESNS bolsters 2022 programme

ESNS 2022 is taking shape after organisers confirmed a keynote interview with DreamHaus CEO Matt Schwarz and inked a long-term deal with See Tickets.

Eurosonic Noorderslag, which returns to Groningen, the Netherlands from 19-22 January 2022, will also feature talks from Urgenda director Marjan Minnesma, Dutch music entrepreneur André de Raaf and psychologist Anne Löhr of Mental Health In Music.

See Tickets will handle all ticketing for the conference and festival as part of a new four-year partnership.

“ESNS is always on the lookout for new possibilities to take the customer journey to a higher level,” says Dago Houben, CEO of ESNS. “Especially in this time, smart data interpretation and personal communication with our visitors are key. We’re looking forward to building a strong partnership with See Tickets.”

This partnership fits in perfectly with the experience we have in the dance industry and our ambitions in live music

Under the agreement, all products will be selectable in one single transaction and ESNS will also be one of the first partners to benefit from the new See Tickets CRM-tool Identity.

“The combination of history and heritage of the festival/conference and our scalable e-commerce solutions promises a lot for our joint future,” adds See Tickets Benelux MD Marijke van den Bosch. “This partnership fits in perfectly with the experience we have in the dance industry and our ambitions in live music.”

Meanwhile, 60 up-and-coming European acts have been added to the ESNS line-up, including 10 new Spanish acts (Marta Knight, Marina Herlop, Mundo Prestigio, Pódium, Biznaga, Gabriela Richardson, Santa Salut, Maika Makovski, Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba and Dora) for Eurosonic, along with five Dutch acts (Don Melody Club, Flemming, Hang Youth, Kuzko, and Son Mieux) for Noorderslag. Spain has already been announced as the focus country

“[The focus on Spain] will bring a wide palette of young, emerging and talented acts from all over Spain to show how fresh, alive and exportable artists we have in our country,” says César Andión, of The Spanish Wave and Live Nation Madrid.

The 2021 edition of ESNS was held entirely online and welcomed nearly 4,000 people from 124 countries to its digital conference and festival platforms.

 


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