André Béchir to operate new Eventim Live company
André Béchir will operate a new company under the Eventim Live umbrella, in collaboration with Swiss-French promoter TAKK.
Béchir was acting as a senior advisor to CTS Eventim-backed Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG under a three-year contract that ended last year.
He will continue to co-operate with Gadget abc on shows such as Bruce Springsteen, Herbert Grönemeyer and Eros Ramazzotti.
With his new company, Béchir will stay part of Eventim Live promoter network and collaborate with TAKK, using its infrastructure and team for the new shows to come.
Sebastien Vuignier’s TAKK and Gadget abc have collaborated for the last five years on concerts for Muse, Sam Smith, Bon Iver and others.
“I am very proud to now work side by side with André, a pioneer and internationally recognised market leader”
“I have known Seb since he was at Paleo Festival,” says Béchir. “Through his passion for music and his sense of business, he could establish his name and his company TAKK as a leading international promoter. I am very happy to be collaborating with him, with Théo and the whole TAKK team.”
Vuignier adds: “I met André Béchir more than 20 years ago. I was his local partner in the French-speaking part of Switzerland while I was working at Paleo Festival. I learned a lot and could always count on support from André, working on my first arena and stadium shows at that time. I am very proud to now work side by side with this pioneer and internationally recognised market leader.”
Théo Quiblier, who joined TAKK last September, comments: “When André promoted The Rolling Stones in Lausanne in 2007, little did he know 11 years old Théo was attending his very first show with his father and fell in love with the magic of shows. André has always been an inspiration for me and I cannot wait to work with him and learn from him. Nothing but huge respect on my side for his illustrious career. Bring on the shows!”
Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS Eventim just a month or two before the pandemic hit. The newly formed Gadget abc Entertainment Group is 60%-owned by Eventim, with the rest held by the Swiss partners.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS launches Singapore-based Eventim Live Asia
Leading international promoter and ticket agency CTS Eventim has announced the launch of Eventim Live Asia, an expansion of its European promoter alliance Eventim Live with a focus on China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The new company, headquartered in Singapore, is led by CEO Jason Miller, who, as senior vice-president of international and emerging markets for Live Nation, led that company’s touring activity across its Asia and the Middle East offices until he stepped down last year.
In addition to Eventim Live Asia, Eventim Live, formed in early 2019, includes 36 promoters in 15 countries, the most recent addition being Matt Schwarz’s DreamHaus in Germany. The launch of Eventim Live Asia, a joint venture with Miller, follows a similar tie-up with promoter Michael Cohl in North America, first announced last year.
“Following on from our joint venture with Michael Cohl in the US market, the launch of Eventim Live Asia marks another key milestone in achieving our strategic objective of offering tours and ticketing around the world,” says Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of Bremen-based CTS Eventim. “This is a further sign that, as announced, CTS Eventim will emerge from the coronavirus crisis with renewed strength.”
Frithjof Pils, managing director of Eventim Live, says: “We’re delighted to welcome Jason Miller to the team. He has extensive experience in our industry in Asia at the highest level and has an excellent network of contacts. He will enable Eventim Live Asia to bring amazing concerts by leading international artists to fans in this major world region. We also want to intensify our work with local artists going forward.”
With Live Nation, Miller produced 80% of the highest-grossing Asian tours for western artists in the past decade, including Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Madonna, Maroon 5 and U2. Prior to joining LN Nation, Miller was an agent at CAA, where he worked with high-profile clients including Beyoncé, Jimmy Fallon, Kanye West and Stevie Wonder.
“The pandemic has created unprecedented global demand for live music and shared experience. With Asia representing over half of the world’s population and its fastest-growing middle class, there is no better time or place to be launching an event promotion company,” says Miller.
“Eventim Live’s tremendous resources, vision, experience, and respect across the live event industry make it the perfect joint venture partner.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS Eventim bolstered by €102m government aid
CTS Eventim will receive “extraordinary” Covid-19 financial aid from the German federal government for the months of November and December 2020.
The Munich-based, pan-European live entertainment confirmed that it would be receiving €102 million in government funding “to strengthen the result for the current financial year and the company’s liquidity”.
The federal government set up financial aid in order to compensate companies, institutions and self-employed people for lost sales during the months in which Germany went into lockdown.
Grants of up to 75% of sales from November and December 2019 were granted proportionally for the number of days of closure during the same months in 2020.
The funding for CTS comes after the company reported that group revenue in 2020 fell by 82.2% year-on-year to €256.8m (2019: €1,443bn). Ticketing and live entertainment were the hardest hit.
“CTS is superbly positioned when live shows return to concert halls and our business revives”
Revenue in the company’s ticketing division for the whole of 2020 was 73.7% lower year-on-year, at €126.6m (2019: €481.6m).
In the live entertainment division, revenue in the whole of 2020 was 86.1% lower year-on-year, at €136.8m (2019: €985.8m).
Despite the sharp drop in sales during 2020, Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim said the company is “superbly positioned when live shows return to concert halls and our business revives”.
“In view of the increasing availability of vaccines and rapid tests, and the progress of vaccination campaigns, there are good prospects that our industry can start getting back to normal over the next few months,” he added.
Throughout 2020, the company continued the international expansion of its Eventim Live promoter network, establishing the Gadget abc Entertainment Group in Switzerland, partnering with legendary US promoter Michael Cohl, and acquiring a majority stake in the Barracuda Group in Austria.
In 2021, CTS acquired Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus, led by Matt Schwarz, taking the network up to 36 promoters in 15 countries.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS Eventim acquires new Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus
German ticketing and promotion giant CTS Eventim has acquired a majority stake in new Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus.
DreamHaus will be led by Matt Schwarz as CEO and managing partner, following his departure from Live Nation GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) as COO and MD in February 2020.
From 1 April, Schwarz will be joined by former Live Nation GSA executive Ioannis ‘Pana’ Panagopoulos, who joins the management team alongside Marc Seemann, Claudia Schulte and Tobias Habla.
Schwarz joined forces with CTS Eventim as head of eventimpresents in January this year, tasked with “acquiring attractive national and international tours and shows,” on behalf of Eventim Live, CTS Eventim’s promoter network.
Under the Eventim Live umbrella, DreamHaus will be responsible for organising and programming the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, starting from the 2022 editions, along with eventimpresents.
The CTS-owned festivals have been co-promoted with Marek Lieberberg, now CEO of Live Nation GSA, since 2016.
“Even in the face of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Eventim Live continues to grow its network and strengthen both its market position and potential,” says Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim. “We have always claimed that CTS Eventim will emerge stronger from this crisis.”
“I am grateful to CTS Eventim for the confidence the company has shown in jointly implementing our visions within this partnership”
Matt Schwarz added: “I’m very pleased about the partnership between CTS Eventim and DreamHaus, which offers our team all manner of opportunities for a successful future. I am also grateful to CTS Eventim for the confidence the company has shown in jointly implementing our visions within this partnership and thus offering artists the best possible service and the ability to reach the greatest possible audience.”
With a combined attendance of 150,000, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park take place concurrently from 11 to 13 June at Nürburgring race track and Zeppelin Field in Nüremberg respectively.
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).
Schwarz was formerly VP of touring and festivals at MLK, before becoming MD and COO of Live Nation GSA when Lieberberg sold MLK to Eventim’s live music subsidiary Medusa Group in 2015. Schwarz resigned his position at Live Nation GSA in February this year.
The acquisition of DreamHaus expands Eventim Live’s pan-European network to 35 promoters in 15 countries.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
European leaders join forces for Solutions for Festivals
Yourope, the European festival association, is working with the continent’s leading festival operators on a new initiative that aims to ensure outdoor events are able to return as soon as it is safe to do so.
At Yourope’s invitation, AEG Presents, Eventim Live/FKP Scorpio, Goodlive, Live Nation and Superstruct Entertainment have partnered for Solutions for Festivals, working to bring back “full-capacity outdoor live events at the earliest opportunity”.
To that end, the Solutions for Festivals work group is consulting with senior figures in production, the supply chain, and festival health and safety, as well as medical experts.
According to the association, the group’s focus is on “reviewing and coordinating efforts to implement best practices for the health and safety of fans as festivals return”.
More information about the work of Solutions for Festivals will be revealed soon.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS boosts revenue, earnings for another record year
German live entertainment powerhouse CTS Eventim reported record revenue and earnings for the 2019 financial year.
Group revenue rose by 16.2% in 2019 to a total of €1.44 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also grew substantially, increasing 25.6% from €228.1 million in 2018 to €286.5m in 2019.
Ticketing and live entertainment both contributed to the growth, with live entertainment revenue increasing 21.3% to 985.8m – over €170m more than in 2018 – and ticketing growing 7.7% from the year before to €481.6m.
Earnings in both sectors saw strong growth, with EBITDA more than doubling in live entertainment, increasing from €32.3m in 2018 to €66.1m last year. In ticketing, EBITDA increased 12.6% to €220.4m.
The company puts its growth down to major tours by the likes of Ed Sheeran and to the activities of those in its fast-expanding Eventim Live promoter network, which has grown from an initial 26 promoters across 9 countries to 34 tour operators in 15 markets.
Most recently, Eventim partnered with global touring pioneer Michael Cohl, signalling its intention to expand outside of Europe.
“We continued to grow significantly over 2019, while at the same time enhancing our market position at both national and international level”
Improvements to the company’s ecommerce operations facilitated a 5.6% increase in the number of tickets sold by webshops operated by the CTS Group, with 57.3m tickets sold over the year.
“In 2019 we delivered impressive proof of the successfulness and profitability of our integrated business model comprising ticketing services, live entertainment and content,” comments CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg.
“We continued to grow significantly over 2019, while at the same time enhancing our market position at both national and international level. The venues we operate also showed encouraging growth and are among the best in the world.”
Eventim’s venue portfolio includes the 18,000-capacity Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the 22,000-capacity Waldbühne in Berlin and the 5,000-capacity Eventim Apollo in London.
“CTS Eventim has long been an integrated entertainment corporation that offers its customers a full and highly diversified range of live events,” adds Schulenberg. “The company is constantly developing and changing, adapting itself to the needs and requirements of new markets and a new age.”
The full CTS Eventim annual report will be published on 17 March 2020 and will be available for download here.
Photo: GEDANKENtanken GmbH/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) (cropped)
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS goes global with Cohl partnership
CTS Eventim and veteran US concert promoter Michael Cohl have joined forces in a new partnership, as the European live entertainment powerhouse takes on global touring.
Both parties will hold 50% of the shares of the new company, which will be based in New York and headed up by Cohl and Glenn Orsher, CEO of Cohl’s production company S2BN Entertainment.
The deal marks the next step for CTS Eventim’s promoter network Eventim Live, which launched at last year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC), as the network expands outside of Europe for the first time.
Cohl, a global touring pioneer and former chairman of Live Nation, brings his concert business and connections across North American to the partnership, while CTS will provide full access to its ticketing platforms and Eventim Live network, which now comprises 32 promoters in 13 countries.
CTS Eventim and Michael Cohl have joined forces in a new partnership, as the European live entertainment powerhouse takes on global touring
Known for paving the way for global touring as we know it today, Cohl spent a reported US$60 million on the Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels Tour in 1989 and went on to promote tours for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, U2, Prince, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand.
Cohl has also lent his hand to theatre, producing Broadway shows including Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Lion King, Spamalot, Rock of Ages, Hairspray, The Producers and Bombay Dreams.
The veteran promoter and producer joined ‘cannabis culture’ brand Civilized Worldwide in 2018 as a board member and investor.
Eventim, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, has quietly evolved into a live entertainment powerhouse over the past three decades with CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg at its head. In the past year, the company has added numerous promoters to its Eventim Live network and acquired a stake in Fnac Darty’s France Billet.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS Eventim confirms Barracuda acquisition
CTS Eventim has made official its acquisition of a majority stake in Barracuda Music, formerly the largest independent promoter in Austria.
As reported last month, the German ticketing and concert giant planned to acquire 71% of Barracuda, which promotes some of Austria’s biggest concerts and festivals. The deal has now been approved by the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (BWB), with Barracuda becoming part of the Eventim Live European promoter network.
CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg comments: “We want to offer artists not only powerful ticketing services, but also international touring opportunities. Strengthening our market position in Austria is therefore an obvious step.
“Barracuda is one of Europe’s most creative concert promoters and ideally complements the portfolio of our Eventim promoter network. I am delighted that Ewald Tatar and his management team will continue to drive forward the development of Barracuda in their proven manner.”
Strengthening our market position in Austria is an obvious step”
Formed in 2016 as the result of a merger between leading indies Skalar, Red Snapper and NuCoast, Barracuda was the biggest player in both concerts and festivals in Austria last year, according to a 2018 IQ market report, although competition from leading multinationals was growing.
“To be the only, big independent player is not easy when Live Nation, DEAG and CTS all have offices in Vienna,” Barracuda’s Ewald Tatar told IQ for the report, adding that business remained “very, very good” for Barracuda.
The acquisition by CTS adds festivals including Nova Rock (55,000-cap.), FM4 Frequency (120,000-cap.), Electric Love (70,000-cap.) and concert series FM4 Indiekiste and Beat the Fish to the Eventim portfolio.
Upcoming Barracuda-promoted shows include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Santana, Avril Lavigne, Parkway Drive and the Kaiser Chiefs, while the company has previously worked with Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Robbie Williams. Since 2012, Barracuda has also been the exclusive organiser of concerts at the historic Clam Castle, one of Austria’s most popular and prestigious venues.
CEO Ewald Tatar (pictured), who will continue to manage Barracuda’s operations from Vienna, says: “I look forward to this opportunity to continue Barracuda’s success story in the future with the support of a global player like CTS Eventim.
“Collaborating with the Eventim promoters will help us to offer artists, venues and fans the best possible solutions”
“In particular, collaborating with the Eventim promoters will help us to offer artists, venues and fans the best possible solutions. I am confident that we, and hence Austria’s concert scene as a whole, will benefit greatly from this partnership.”
Barracuda becomes the 29th member of CTS’s pan-European promoter network, Eventim Live, following the addition of number 28, Russia’s Talent Concert International (TCI), in October. The acquisition brings the number of Austrian promoters in the network to four, along with Arcadia Live, LSK and Show Factory Entertainment.
“The Barracuda Group is the first point of contact in Austria for countless outstanding local and international artists. It also has an exceptional portfolio of festivals that bring together hundreds of thousands of fans from home and abroad year after year,” says Frithjof Pils, managing director of Eventim Live.
“We very much look forward to being able to benefit from Ewald Tatar and his team’s experience and network at Eventim Live from now on.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS Eventim shares up 60% in 2019
German entertainment behemoth CTS Eventim has enjoyed a profitable 2019 so far, with the creation of promoter network Eventim Live and expansion of online ticket sales driving “significant growth” in live entertainment and ticketing respectively.
The company’s share price has risen by 61.5% since January, climbing from €33.8 to to €54.6, following a “successful” first half of the year and strong third quarter results. Earlier this month, Eventim traded at an all-time high of €55.5.
At the time of writing, the company’s market capitalisation sat at €5.2 billion, a significant increase from the €3.9bn recorded in the first half of 2019, indicating an acceleration of growth as the year has progressed.
Group revenue surpassed €1bn for the first time in a nine-month period, up 16.5% from the same period in 2018 to €1.1bn. Normalised EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) also saw an increase from the previous year, rising 26.5% to €177m.
According to Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, the company has “significantly improved” its online ticketing volume in 2019. The company has sold 36.8m tickets through its online channels so far this year – a 9.2% increase year-on-year – which has helped drive ticketing revenue up by 11% to €306.9m.
“Our aim is to offer international tour opportunities to artists from all over the world”
Schulenberg adds that the increasing number of tickets sales through digital channels “has positive and long-term impacts” for the company.
Live entertainment revenue “exceeded expectations” rising 19% to €781.4m, whereas normalised EBITDA grew “disproportionately” by 52.7% from the first nine months of 2018, reaching €57.8m. Eventim puts the growth down to “major tours” put on by Eventim Live promoters in Germany, as well as by newly acquired promoters abroad.
Russian promoter Talent Concert International (TCI) was the most recent addition to the pan-European promoter network, with Austria’s Barracuda Music potentially joining in the near future.
“CTS Eventim is on course to achieve the targets for the 2019 financial year,” comments Schulenberg. “The establishment of our promoter network, Eventim Live, is opening up additional avenues for us in the [live entertainment] field. Our aim is to offer international tour opportunities to artists from all over the world.”
The CTS boss adds that “by taking a stake in France’s market leader, France Billet, we have also achieved a major and strategic step forward in the ticketing segment. In this way, CTS Eventim is extending and reinforcing its market position in a commercially attractive and culturally diversified market.”
Read IQ‘s anniversary feature on 30 years of CTS Eventim below.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
CTS Eventim sets sights on Austria’s Barracuda Music
German live entertainment powerhouse is looking to expand on its growing European promoter base, as plans emerge for a potential acquisition of a majority stake in Austrian promoter Barracuda Music.
According to Pollstar, the deal would see Eventim take a 71% stake in the promoter, the largest remaining independent player in the country.
“A possible transaction is currently being reviewed by Austria’s Federal Competition Authority,” an Eventim spokesperson tells IQ. “We do not wish to anticipate the outcome and cannot currently provide any further information regarding a possible collaboration with Barracuda.”
The acquisition would add festivals including Nova Rock (55,000-cap.), FM4 Frequency (120,000-cap.), Electric Love (70,000-cap.) and concert series FM4 Indiekiste and Beat the Fish to the Eventim portfolio.
Upcoming Barracuda-promoted shows include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Santana, Avril Lavigne, Parkway Drive and the Kaiser Chiefs.
“A possible transaction is currently being reviewed by Austria’s Federal Competition Authority”
Formed in 2016 as the result of a merger between leading indies Skalar, Red Snapper and NuCoast, Barracuda was the biggest player in both concerts and festivals in Austria last year, according to a 2018 IQ market report, although competition from leading multinationals was growing.
“To be the only, big independent player is not easy when Live Nation, DEAG and CTS all have offices in Vienna,” Barracuda’s Ewald Tatar told IQ for the report, adding that business remained “very, very good” for Barracuda.
If the acquisition were to take place, the Austrian promoter would join CTS’ pan-European promoter network, Eventim Live, which currently comprises 28 companies, following the addition of Russia’s Talent Concert International (TCI) last month. The deal would bring the number of Austrian promoters in the network to four, adding to current members Arcadia Live, LSK concert agency and Show Factory Entertainment.
Eventim finalised its acquisition of a minority stake in France Billet, the largest ticketing platform in France, last week.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.