ILMC’s annual state-of-the-nation opening session delved into the stadium boom, ticket pricing and the industry’s evolution following a huge year for live music.

Chaired by CAA’s Maria May, The Open Forum: Setting the Course brought together DF Concerts’ Geoff Ellis, Samantha Kirby Yoh of UTA, FKP Scorpio’s Folkert Koopmans and Ashish Hemrajani of India’s BookMyShow.

In her introduction, May noted it had been a “great year for some” but a “hard year for others”, and questioned whether the business needed to refresh its ideas.

“We’re seeing the massive disparity between the top end of the business and the lower end of the business needing much more support,” she said. “We’re seeing lots of ideas coming out with the levy on venues, and I feel like there’s a real need for innovation.”

However, UTA partner and co-head of global music Kirby Yoh reported positive results from the last 12 months.

“Ticket sales are doing good,” said Kirby Yoh. “I think that the headline shows are doing great. The number one thing for me is understanding the artist’s audience and then, in partnership with the local venues… understanding what is happening in each of the local markets and how we tap into the local media partners.”

“The business is as strong as it’s ever been and the appetite is there at all levels”

Kirby Yoh observed a shift in the tastes of the younger demographic.

“The audience is moving away from wanting the festival experience, and they want to actually go more to have the full two-hour-plus experience, seeing their favourite artists for £100, versus going to the festival for £500,” she said.

Glasgow-based DF chief Ellis said the business is “as strong as it’s ever been”, with the appetite for live music evident “at all levels”, and stressed the need for government support for grassroots venues.

“We have more shows this year than we did last year,” he said. “It’s not easier, because the costs are higher so the margins are tighter, but we’ve seen an appetite for ticket sales as strong as it’s ever been and lots of sold out shows, even in January with just local bands. So that appetite is there for grassroots artists, but also for the big artists as well.

“We’re seeing great sales for outdoor shows like Kendrick & SZA, which was a very high ticket price. The average ticket price isn’t huge. It’s significant, but it’s not huge. It can be £150 to buy a ticket on the floor but there’ll be tickets in the seats for £45/£55, so you’re getting that spread across the levels.”

“We’ve got to get better – and we are getting better – at pricing the house”

In response, May asked whether the industry is becoming “smarter” at pricing tickets.

“Artists want their tickets to be affordable for the mass market and that’s understandable,” said Ellis. “So we’ve got to get better – and we are getting better – at pricing the house. You’ve got an entry level ticket and a premium price ticket, so you might be paying £150 for the best seats but those people would go onto the secondary market otherwise – if you price the whole house at £75, you’re underpricing them and the artist should be getting that money.

“This secondary market shouldn’t exist, but it exists because we don’t always price it properly. You don’t price everybody out because you want the working class people to still go to live music – that’s where most of the audiences come from – but charge a premium for the small section of the house and that helps fund the cheaper tickets.”

FKP CEO Koopmans suggested that although ticket prices on headline shows were “reaching a ceiling”, there were still “enough people to pay those high ticket prices”, but raised concerns over the festival market.

“I think on festivals, there is a big problem,” he warned. “People don’t want to spend €250-300 for a festival ticket anymore. I think it’s also got to do with the change in the community, that during the pandemic… we kind of lost the generation.”

Koopmans said the situation facing grassroots venues in Germany was similar to that in the UK.

“It’s the same story,” he said. “There is hardly any subsidy from the government. You can’t make a penny playing a grassroots venue, and the venues itself are suffering. There are countries like Holland where the grassroots venues get [subsidies]. Therefore, you have a lot of shows and bands get a decent fee to play there. So from my point of view, that’s the way to go.”

“The Indian market’s going to go 10x in the next five years”

Moving onto emerging markets, Hemrajani, who is founder and CEO of Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited, which operates India’s leading online entertainment platform BookMyShow, referenced its recent successes including Coldplay’s record-breaking Ahmedabad concerts and Ed Sheeran’s six-city Indian tour.

“Ed Sheeran was unique, because as a top tier artist, we went really deep into the country,” explained Hemrajani. “It was heartening to see that we could do an end stage format produced by us. It wasn’t easy, but it was historic. The average ticket price was about $100.”

Hemrajani predicted the Indian market would balloon “10x in the next five years”, despite acknowledging shortcomings with its current infrastructure. And said its first fully-fledged arena was in the works for Mumbai.

“Arenas is very loose word in India because we have… mostly festival grounds,” he said. “‘We don’t have arenas in India. And we have a six-month window where we can do outdoor events, because our weather permits us to do events between October to April, or at best May.

“The need of the hour is actually to have indoor venues with real air conditioning and 18-20,000 capacities. We’re building an arena in Mumbai, which will be the first hard arena.

“Infrastructure continues to be a challenge, and we’re trying to solve that as you build more routing around Middle East and Southeast Asia, because the timing works. It’s the same time of the year, from October to March, April, when you can tour in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I think anchoring around those markets is a good segue to actually building volume into that market.”

“Electronic music isn’t dead, but nightclubs have to adapt their model”

May brought up statistics showing decreasing alcohol consumption among young adults in the EU and US, plus a reduction in binge drinking in the UK, and queried whether venues in the UK needed to change their business models as a result.

“Clearly everybody needs to innovate and adapt. We’re always needing to do that as business,” offered Ellis. “You’ve just got to adapt constantly, because the market doesn’t stand still.

“The rise of country music is phenomenal, particularly in the UK. It’s always been big in Glasgow, but it’s exploded now. If any promoters out there are going, ‘I’m not going to do country music,’ they’re going to miss out big time, so we always have to evolve and adapt.

“Electronic music isn’t dead, but nightclubs have to adapt their model because, as we said, people aren’t coming in and drinking. Not everybody wants to be out until 3am anymore.”

Kirby Yoh pointed out that LCD Soundsystem had added a successful afterparty element to their New York residency.

“It is the continual that actually gets a whole new crowd that comes in later,” she said. “Secondly, they have also taken one of the bars at the back and made it an organic wine bar, bringing in local vendors. I know that’s harder, but it’s another way that has encouraged people to come back.”

On the subject of diversification, Koopmans said he was most excited by FKP’s expansion in the exhibitions world under its FKP Scorpio Entertainment (FKPE) umbrella.

“We invested quite a lot in that,” he said. We are building a [new exhibition] venue in Oberhausen. There’s a lot to be done in that area.”

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FKP Scorpio Belgium has cancelled its Antwerp-based festival Live is Live for 2025.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that Live is Live will not take place this year,” organisers said in a press release.

“Over the past three years, we have built a festival that has acquired a permanent place in the rich Belgian festival calendar. After careful consideration, we have decided that we cannot fully meet our own high standards this year.

“Despite the tireless efforts of our team and the desire to create something special, we cannot offer a programme this year that fully reflects the vision of Live is Live. That is why we choose to skip an edition. This is not a farewell, until 2026.”

Live is Live launched in the summer of 2022 as a three-day affair on the beach of Zeebrugge, Bruges, and has since undergone many changes.

For its second edition, Live is Live moved to Park Middenvijver in Antwerp in a condensed format as organisers “were able to offer a strong programme for only two days”.

“We cannot offer a programme this year that fully reflects the vision of Live is Live”

This year, the festival returned to Park Middenvijver with a three-day format, headlined by The National, The Smashing Pumpkins and Paulo Nutini.

Other acts that have performed at the festival include Gossip, Interpol, Sheryl Crow, Ben Howard, Passenger and Mogwai.

Despite the absence of the festival, Park Middenvijver will still host live music this summer with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran becoming the first artist to perform a solo show.

Live is Live is the largest and best-known Belgian festival to be cancelled in 2025 after a number of smaller events were axed.

Rock Ternat, a two-day festival that was launched in 1993 and has hosted both national and international acts, has come to an end.

Organisers said rising costs and pressure on volunteers had become untenable for the festival. The Ternat-based festival has hosted international acts including The Used, Trivium, CKY and Arch Enemy.

Elsewhere, it was recently announced that two-day domestic festival Buikrock in West Flanders had gone bankrupt after issues with its payment system Bancontact.

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The European Festival Report (EFR) 2024, a packed annual summary of the biggest trends, happenings, and initiatives on the continent’s festival scene, was published last month.

In this excerpt from this indispensable guide, FKP Scorpio Germany team leads Janina Zeller and Karen Jessen review the 2024 summer season and discuss prevailing challenges, sustainability measures and DEI initiatives…

How was last summer’s festival season for you?
Speaking for the company, this season has been highly successful. On a personal level, it was filled with great memories and remarkable shows, both big and small. All but one of our summer open-air festivals sold out, which is quite an achievement considering the challenging times our industry is currently facing. The reactions from the crowds on-site, our post-festival surveys, and a record-breaking presale all indicate that our guests were very pleased with this year’s lineups.

On a more personal note, we’d like to emphasise that, beyond being a great place to spend time with our team, artists, and other partners, a festival also offers an opportunity for personal growth. You simply cannot anticipate every little detail; something always requires immediate attention, improvisation, and problem-solving skills. Still, after two challenging post-pandemic years, we consider ourselves fortunate to once again find enough time to observe how our guests were receiving the acts we curated. This reality check is always an integral part of our work.

Lastly, it’s noticeable that everyone we work with has regained the confidence we were used to seeing before the pandemic. After the turbulent 2022 season, filled with uncertainties, the industry has found its rhythm again. That’s great to see and very much needed for the trials ahead.

“We’re constantly striving to improve the gender balance of our lineups and have successfully increased female representation year after year”

What challenges does the festival industry face? And how are you aiming to address them?
The rising costs for virtually everything is a well-known issue across the industry, putting pressure on festival promoters because it’s no longer enough to simply be successful – you need to sell out to achieve any kind of margin.

In addition, we’re constantly striving to improve the gender balance of our lineups and have successfully increased female representation year after year. While we’re very happy with showcasing a not only musically diverse lineup, finding headline acts that fit our musical identity and play festivals in general, remains a challenge. That’s why we’re firm proponents of fostering female talent in all our business areas.

What trends do you think we will see play out in the next few years at festivals?
It doesn’t feel right to call sustainability a trend, but we’re glad to see that this topic has moved from the fringes of society to centre stage. When we started our sustainability programme for festivals in 2013, we were more or less alone. Today, our guests actively demand progress in this field, which more and more people finally recognise as the most vital challenge of our time. While any real impact on global climate change won’t be decided on in the live sector, our industry has the power to spark awareness. That’s why we’re giving NGOs a lot of space at our festivals, while also leading by example through the combined sustainability measures across all our events.

We also observe ongoing advancements in stage production. Many artists aim to enhance their music with art, effects, or a cohesive narrative, resulting in a more immersive concert experience for their fans. This is no small feat considering the short set-up times at festivals.

“Festivals remain crucial for a vibrant and diverse music scene”

Can you share some of the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) measures or initiatives you have in place to ensure the festival is a welcoming place for everyone?
As mentioned, more diversity on our stages is a vital measure in this regard, flanked by promotion of young talent through
our band contest Gamechanger. In regard to our guests, our Panama initiative makes festivals more accessible and welcoming for everyone. The core idea is that people who are feeling unwell or uncomfortable get immediate help without having to explain themselves. Furthermore, measures to improve accessibility are constantly being reviewed and developed.

What role do festivals play in the cultural landscape?
Festivals remain crucial for a vibrant and diverse music scene. For artists, they offer a chance to perform in front of large audiences who might not otherwise attend their concerts – yet. For fans, a well-curated festival is a great place to discover their next favourite band. As places for joyful discovery and open-mindedness, festivals play a pivotal role in the cultural landscape.

And speaking of open-mindedness, not only are festivals ideal places to leave worries and day-to-day life behind but they also constitute a unique forum for togetherness, which is sorely needed in a time that sees societies across the world becoming increasingly divided. We use this very consciously. For example, at this year’s instalment of Highfield Festival, we reminded attendees through various means that they should vote for democratic parties in the state election.

The third edition of the European Festival Report, from IQ and festival association Yourope, is available to read online for free.

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As we enter what could be a historic year for international touring, the challenges faced by those in the live music industry are growing exponentially.

“The development with the greatest impact on our daily business remains the increase in costs for virtually everything we do,” states FKP Scorpio’s Stephan Thanscheidt, who contends that such constraints may be thwarting some promoters from rolling out new festival formats and touring concepts.

“Nowadays, events need to be sold out to be successful, so there is little room for experimentation and error,” he continues, stating that many other festival organisers are “suffering.”

However, noting that Scorpio’s success allows the company to push ahead with new ideas, he adds, “We are excited about the continued success of event formats such as family entertainment and exhibitions. We have numerous exciting projects in the pipeline and are eager to develop this sector across Europe.”

Looking ahead to 2025, optimism abounds, with nearly everyone that IQ spoke to for this report predicting a blockbuster 12 months.

“There’s going to be a ton of great traffic next year,” says Wasserman Music EVP and managing executive Marty Diamond, citing the growing fanbases of Raye, Tyla, Isabel LaRosa, Zach Templar, Tom Odell, and Alex Warren as some of the most exciting projects going into 2025. “In the context of the big stadium and arena tours, obviously, the success and comeback of Oasis is incredible, and I think it might ignite a resurgence of great rock music again, as there are certainly some really great rock bands emerging.”

Move Concerts’ Rodriguez concurs, “2025 is looking good for us. So far, we have a solid number of shows lined up. Those announced include Katy Perry dates – that kicked off strong – and we’re also partnering on Ado with Concerts West, who quite frankly, convinced us to take the risk with them, and sales kicked off beyond our expectations.”

“Within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive”

However, noting the scarcity of availabilities, given the volume of tours next year, Diamond warns, “You have to really be purposeful about who’s on the road, why are they on the road, and what vehicles of support are out there for them on the road. Because, within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive.”

Identifying some of the trends that the industry might want to keep an eye on in 2025 progresses, Live Nation’s John Reid says, “The growth of Latin artists across Europe is clear, with Spain acting as a gateway to the rest of the continent. Karol G’s record-breaking sold-out shows at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium is a perfect example of the appetite for Latin music.

“Country and Americana genres are also gaining in popularity across the globe, with multiple headliners selling out arenas, and I’d expect that growth to continue through 2025 and beyond.”

That rings true with Christian D’Acuña, senior programming director at The O2 in London. “One of the most exciting trends in recent years is the rise of various genres of music from all over the world, with Afropop, Latin, K-pop, and South Asian artists performing and selling out shows at The O2,” he reports. “In 2025, I expect that to continue, with the likes of Ateez, Maluma, and Ado all confirmed in our diary, with more to come.”

Reid also points to responsibility for the environment becoming more prominent. “Sustainability is a top priority for many of today’s artists and fans. Through our Green Nation initiative, we are focused on helping preserve the live music experience for generations to come – leveraging our festivals and venues to power events with renewable energy, rolling out reusable cup schemes, or working with partners to deliver environmental education and awareness programmes on site for concertgoers, to name a few.”

D’Acuña is on the same page, stressing that sustainability has become a major consideration for venue operators. “Earlier this year, we hosted the world’s first carbon-removed events with The 1975,” he recalls. “The pilot events saw the extraction and removal of 136.46 tonnes of residual carbon per show, equating to 545.9 tonnes across the four-night residency – the equivalent yearly electricity usage of 395 average homes! As a venue, we are now in a position to offer out the model to other artists, so my hope is that we get a good uptake for carbon-removed shows in 2025 and beyond.”

“Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations”

While the cost of touring will continue to be a significant obstacle for many acts at the mid-tier and emerging talent level in 2025, the opportunities for AAA-list talent have never been better, with stadia operators cashing in on the many megatours confirmed for the year ahead, and new markets, such as Saudi Arabia and cities in Asia, putting together offers that further enhance the revenue streams for those at the top of the talent food chain.

Mathieu Jaton at Montreux Jazz Festival believes the industry is “at a decisive turning point, marked by an increasingly clear divide between two economic models: the traditional live music business and the big entertainment business.”

He explains, “Fans from all over the world travel to experience ‘Taylor’s experience’ or ‘Adele’s experience.’ This economic model is now more akin to major international sporting events like the World Cup, the Olympics, or Formula 1. Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations.

“In contrast, some artists, such as Massive Attack, have taken a different direction: prioritising an eco-conscious approach. They strive to drastically reduce the environmental impact of their tours, recognising that audience travel remains the heaviest ecological factor. However, this approach inevitably limits the economic returns generated, unlike the strategies adopted by artists like Taylor Swift or Adele.”

ASM Global’s Marie Lindqvist is one of many to pick up on concerts as a destination trend. “I think we will see more shows being the reason to go to a destination or a city,” she says. “We can tell from our ticketing data that the share of fans travelling in from other countries or regions to Stockholm has increased. Concert tourism is strong.”

UTA’s Obi Asika frames it in a different way.

“There’s lots of high-profile artists with stadium shows lined up for next summer. The elephant in the room –and the question the industry is asking – is how are all these tickets going to be sold? I’m fascinated to see whether the industry has got it right,” he states.

“We’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger”

Outlining some of the trends he has noticed for his Rockhal venue, whose location helps to attract fans from its native Luxembourg and neighbouring France and Germany, among others, EAA president Olivier Toth notes that there appears to be some evolution in the popularity of genres. “Hip-hop in our market is slowing down. But now we’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger.”

He also reveals that artists are returning to markets quicker than what was once the norm. “It used to be two or three years between shows, but now we’re down sometimes to just one year. And then obviously you also have an evolution in cost structure and cost volume, where ticket prices year-on-year increase, and that can make it tricky to promote the follow-up show.”

Forecasting 2025, John Giddings says he is looking forward to, “The sun shining all summer long (fingers crossed)… There are now more open-air shows than ever, and there were too many cancellations this year.”

And on a more practical note, Age Versluis at Dutch promoter Friendly Fire admits to being delighted that a proposed VAT lift (9 to 21%) no longer seems to be happening. “After Covid setbacks, staffing issues, and rising costs, we are all very happy [about that],” he tells IQ.

For his part, AEG global touring president Rich Schaefer says, “I think we’ll see shorter tours – more multiple-night runs, for sure. I also think we’ll see a slight market normalisation continue in 2025, which makes pricing and venue choices more important than ever before.”

“The largest metric for success is the box office”

Analysing ticket trends, AO Arena’s Gemma Vaughan reports, “2024 saw a reduction in [ticket] transactions but an increase in average transactional value. I think as we move into 2025, we will see more ticket ballots, fair ticketing, face value resale restrictions, and the continued rise of the experience economy across all events.”

Sales are a top priority for Kirk Sommer, global co-head of music at WME, who opines that nurturing artists who catch the public’s imagination has become a real skill. “The largest metric for success is the box office,” he says. “The rate at which some artists are making rapid ascensions at scale has required more focus on making the right strategic developmental decisions while being sure not to miss the moment.”

Sommer’s 2024 highlights included The Killers, Adele, and Billie Eilish. Next year, he says, “I am looking forward to the continued growth of Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, and Lola Young.”

UTA’s Asika concludes, “I’m just interested to see where we’re at as an industry come October 1, after festival season is over. With so many shows and so many tickets in the market, it will be fascinating to see how we did as an industry.”

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With massive tours from the likes of Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Shakira, Ed Sheeran and Guns N’Roses in the pipeline, 2025 promises to be the biggest year yet for stadium concerts.

Following a relatively quieter season in 2024 (in part, due to the Paris Olympics), Live Nation chief Michael Rapino declared that 2025 would be a “monster stadium year” – and it’s not hard to see why. While no single act is likely to come close to the financial might of Taylor Swift’s $2 billion-grossing The Eras Tour, the combined talent sitting at live music’s top table should more than make up for it.

Artists including Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, Billy Joel, My Chemical Romance, Olivia Rodrigo, Robbie Williams, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Stereophonics, System of a Down, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Stray Kids, Sam Fender and Iron Maiden are all set for next summer’s circuit. But despite the intense competition, demand remains strong.

“We can already see it with the various success stories and there are some more impressive tours to be announced,” AEG Presents SVP of international touring Simon Jones tells IQ. “Our stadium business has grown significantly over the past few years and we have some huge wins on the board for next year, which is very exciting.”

Like AEG, German-headquartered FKP Scorpio worked on the Swift and Sheeran tours. FKP announced additional dates for Sheeran’s 2025 European +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour after selling more than 600,000 tickets in an hour.

“The live music industry in general is poised for significant growth in 2025”

“With stadium shows of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, our 2024 was surely something very special, but 2025 is shaping up to be very successful regardless – another set of well over 20 stadium shows with Ed Sheeran in Europe will continue our success in this area,” says FKP CEO Stephan Thanscheidt.

“The live music industry in general is poised for significant growth in 2025, and the stadium business will surely be no exception from this. This expansion is driven by increasing consumer demand for live experiences fuelled by flagship concerts and residencies of global superstars and the proliferation of large-scale events in general.”

Other recent case studies for the industry include Lana Del Rey shifting more than 300,000 tickets for her 2025 stadium tour, Dua Lipa’s first show at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London selling out in five minutes and Shakira selling out 13 stadiums with nearly 700,000 tickets sold in less than two hours.

Demand for these mega concerts isn’t limited to the usual markets either – A-list artists are being pulled to all corners of the globe. Next year, Coldplay will perform their biggest-ever show at the 100,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in India, Sheeran will become the first-ever international artist to perform in Bhutan and Guns N’ Roses will play their first-ever shows in Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

Venues are evidently keen to capitalise on the demand. In the UK, Anfield, home to Liverpool Football Club, has been gradually increasing its live music programming since 2019 following a successful redevelopment.

In previous years the ground has hosted performances from the likes of Bon Jovi, Take That, Elton John and The Eagles but 2024 set a new benchmark for concerts. A three-night stand from Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour and two concerts from P!nk on her Summer Carnival Tour drew over 250,000 visitors to England’s fifth-largest stadium.

“To have the biggest solo artist in the world arriving for three nights at Anfield”

“To have the biggest solo artist in the world arriving for three nights at Anfield was amazing and exactly the type of event we wanted when we started concerts back in 2019,” says Phil Dutton, VP of ticketing and hospitality at Liverpool FC.

“This summer was a perfect opportunity to showcase what Anfield has to offer as a concert venue and we look forward to building on that again in 2025.”

With six concerts confirmed for the summer of 2025 – including Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel – Anfield is gearing up for its biggest-ever year.

“Concerts are a very important part of the club’s strategy now. Anfield is an iconic stadium and we are keen to see it used throughout the year – not just for football but to host the world’s biggest artists,” Dutton adds.

“It is certainly something that a lot of venues are looking at more aggressively now. Since Covid it is clear that the music industry is on an upward curve so of course stadiums want to be part of that growth.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s city rivals Everton FC are currently building a new stadium that promises to provide “the very best visitor experience” for both football matches and concerts.

“Becoming a live music venue is a major component of our commercial strategy”

With the ability to host events between 5,000 capacity and 52,000, the Bramley-Moore Dock ground will be the biggest stadium to come on stream in the UK since Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has hosted acts such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and P!nk. Everton FC has similar ambitions for its live music offering.

“We want it to be recognised as a ‘must play’ venue by the world’s best sports stars and the biggest music artists,” Everton’s head of events Suzie​​​​ Parker‑Myers tells IQ. “Becoming a live music venue is a major component of our commercial strategy.

“Everton Stadium will be a unique event campus – no other stadium has a footprint that is so adaptable to such a wide spectrum of events. In addition to in-bowl concerts, The Plaza in front of the stadium is perfect for outdoor music events or civic gatherings and benefits from the amenities located on the ground level concourse.”

Further afield, the Philippines has pledged to build a ‘Taylor Swift-ready’ stadium by 2028, after missing out on the star’s juggernaut tour, while Bulgaria’s top promoter has declared the market is open for stadium shows and Mexico’s biggest promoter Ocesa has opened the world’s first purpose-built music stadium.

In terms of emerging markets for stadium tours, AEG’s Jones has his eye on Asia and the Middle East.

“If the timing is right and an artist has put the work in prior, stadiums are there for the taking in Asia,” he tells IQ. “There are some fabulous stadia on the continent and on top of that, some incredible new facilities are being built. In the Middle East, demand there increasing year on year so another stadium in the area would be very much welcomed. The thirst and appetite are there for people to buy tickets to see shows!”

“Ticket prices have increased in recent years, and people tend to spend more on the big shows”

So what can the growth of stadium concerts be attributed to and more importantly, what does it depend on?

“We’re seeing fans being more selective about what they spend their money on,” suggests Jones. “Ticket prices have increased in recent years, and people tend to spend more on the big shows, with the big presentations and wanting to see them in more comfortable surroundings. Fans love a spectacular stadium show and gradually we are seeing more artists reach stadium-level business, before some may have expected them to. It’s buoyant times and great to see.”

Thanscheidt puts the surge down to several factors. “Artists increasingly rely on live performances as a primary income source, audiences seek immersive experiences, and stadium concerts offer a unique atmosphere,” he says. “Technological advancements also play a role in their success because enhanced sound, visual technologies or stage design have improved the quality and excitement of large-venue performances significantly and offer new means of expression.”

Stadium tours have also become increasingly hot commodities in cities’ efforts to boost tourism and create an economic impact.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Singapore struck an exclusivity deal with Taylor Swift and her promoters to make the island nation her only Eras tour stop in Southeast Asia. Unsurprisingly, Singapore’s investment in Swift paid off, with the government later crediting live music with helping to rejuvenate tourism in Singapore.

In another high-profile case, it emerged that the Western Australian government paid A$8 million to subsidise two Coldplay concerts.

“Everything works in peaks and troughs, but this current stadium boom could well be here to stay as long as the value is there”

“Our concerts over the past five years have helped to boost the local economy by more than £31 million and also provided thousands of jobs for local people,” says Liverpool FC’s Dutton.

AEG’s Jones believes the upward trajectory of stadium shows will rely on the continued evolution of the venues.

“I’ve had the fortune of putting shows on in some of the world’s best stadiums and also others that have proved – shall we say – challenging when it comes to staging shows. The newer venues coming online that are thinking properly about dual usage, true fan and artist experience are where we will see the most success and enable this boom to be maintained.”

Indeed, the capability to host live music has become a top priority for stadiums wanting to play a bigger role in culture and generate new income streams.

Looking ahead, both FKP and AEG expect the global stadium concert market to maintain its growth trajectory into 2026 and 2027.

“Everything works in peaks and troughs, but this current stadium boom could well be here to stay as long as the value is there for people within the price they’re being asked to pay versus the comfortability, presentation quality and overall experience for ticket buyers,” says Jones.

Thanscheidt adds: “This outlook is supported by ongoing consumer demand and the continuous evolution of live event experiences. The advantages for artists speak for themselves, but let’s not forget one big caveat: We are only talking about a slice of the live business that is solely accessible to the biggest names in the industry. That’s why we will make sure to not lose our focus on artist development and other more intimate forms of live entertainment.”

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FKP Scorpio has announced a new collaboration with War Child, an international rights organisation that supports children and young people living in conflict areas around the world.

The companies say they will combine their expertise in order to “empower concertgoers and music lovers to contribute to a better future for children in need”.

“We hope to spread awareness of the vulnerable situation of children in conflict-affected regions and collect funds to strengthen their safety, education, mental health and self-empowerment,” according to a statement.

Through the partnership with FKP Scorpio, War Child will be seen at most of FKP Scorpio’s events, with initiatives aimed at inspiring visitors to get involved and support their mission.

Ticketing companies Ticketmaster, Eventim, AXS and Tickster will support the partnership and work with FKP Scorpio to maximize awareness of War Child’s work.

“We look forward to spreading the message and supporting War Child’s work in every arena and stage”

“We are proud to partner with War Child and use our platform to make a difference for children affected by war and conflict,” says Bozo Rasic, CEO of FKP Scorpio Sweden. “Through our concerts and festivals, we can reach a wide audience and engage them in the work for a better world. We look forward to spreading the message and supporting War Child’s work in every arena and stage.”

Ranjani Srinivasan, CEO of War Child Sweden, adds: “We are incredibly excited to begin this collaboration with FKP Scorpio. For us, it is super important to be able to collaborate with the business world, especially with the music world, as music has an obvious place in War Child’s work. FKP Scorpio has a strong commitment to War Child’s work to ensure that no child ever grows up in war. This is a collaboration that inspires us! We look forward to all the fun we will cook up together in the future.”

This collaboration will involve several initiatives at FKP Scorpio’s events, including fundraising campaigns, information stations and digital activations to spread knowledge about children in crisis areas and War Child’s work.

War Child is the charity of choice for next year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC), set to take place between the 25–28 February 2025.

The charity is also the longtime beneficiary of BRITs Week, an annual charity concert series featuring intimate one-off performances from big names in some of the UK’s best venues.

Since BRITs Week’s inception in 2009, the shows have raised more than £7 million for War Child to help children whose lives have been torn apart by war.

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FKP Scorpio Sweden partners Niklas Lundell and Joel Borg have left the company after six years to launch their own promoting brand Rush Entertainment, IQ can exclusively reveal.

Joining them from FKP Scorpio Sweden are veteran promoter Johanna Beckman, Magnus Olsson (partnerships), Dino Vulic (projects) and Agneta Edgren (finance).

Operating out of Gothenburg and Stockholm, Rush (a name chosen for its “forward movement, high tempo and that rush that we create in people with live music, festivals and clubs”) will promote domestic and international artists, as well as festivals including Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm and Natura Festival, a new boutique event in Gotland.

Lundell and Borg have worked together for almost two decades, having launched their careers at Luger (now a division of Live Nation) in 2006. After 10 years at the company, the pair left to launch their own firm Woah Dad Live AB, which was acquired by FKP Scorpio Sweden in 2019.

As part of the deal, Lundell and Borg became shareholders and board members of the Hamburg-based group’s Swedish operation, which has been active since 2011.

“I’m hoping that we can maybe soften some of the power balances a little bit and create a more collaborative environment”

“We felt it was time to go back to our roots as boutique promoters,” Borg tells IQ. “We worked at FKP for six years and it’s been very good – we built the company up to half a billion euros and have organised hundreds of concerts but it’s time now to fly with our own wings.

“We saw a good opportunity for a company working internationally with many different promoters or booking agencies. In the Swedish industry, like elsewhere in Europe, major companies have a big share of the market but we could see that there’s a need for someone who can work with all of them. We don’t want to close any doors to anyone but we do want to challenge some of the old structures.”

Beckman, who is a partner in Rush, adds: “I’m hoping that we can maybe soften some of the power balances a little bit and create a more collaborative environment.”

While Rush is excited to embrace the advantages of independence, their split from FKP is amicable.

“We don’t leave FKP in bad blood,” says Borg. “It’s not always like that in our business. We are good friends and we will work on many projects together. We are here whenever they need help with bigger stuff [and vice versa].”

“Rosendal is a big part of who we are and what we want to do”

In fact, FKP has agreed to hand over the reins for Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm – a three-day festival at the heart of Stockholm’s green areas, as it’s close to Rush’s heart.

Launched in 2022 after the pandemic, Rosendal has taken place on the Djurgården island in Stockholm with acts such as Tyler, The Creator, The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, The National Aphex Twin, Grace Jones, Massive Attack and Fever Ray.

“Rosendal is a big part of who we are and what we want to do,” explains Borg. “When [Niklas and I] built Way Out West in 2007 together with the team at Luger, it took us years and years to come to the position it’s in today but after just two or three years we have found Rosendal in a very good position. We want to continue building the festival in our way.”

Beckman, who has been instrumental in the organisation of Rosendal, adds: “It’s exactly what Stockholm needs as a festival. And we know the Stockholm mindset – the type of artists and music people in our city like. So I really feel that we can’t leave that behind.”

Rush will continue to promote concerts for a roster of international artists, which has included Robyn, Smash (Post Malone, ASAP Rocky), Tyler, The Creator, The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, Keinemusik, The Smile and Fever Ray. It will also continue with the successful electronic queer club Kind People Club that Beckman has been building in collaboration with the Swedish indie promotor Studio Sven.

“I think everyone can agree, the industry is not that healthy”

At the same time, the team will continue to work with acts in the increasingly important domestic scene such as the record-breaking star Håkan Hellström and Victor Leksell, one of the most streamed artists in Sweden.

Rush is currently securing the “best possible partners” for each project from club shows to stadium concerts to festivals.

Looking to the future, Borg says the company’s ambition is to develop new business models in the live music industry that attempt to tackle ongoing challenges.

“I think everyone can agree, the industry is not that healthy,” says Borg. “The costs, the structures, the sustainability, the ecosystem, ticket prices – there must be a better way to approach these things. That’s our vision.”

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Friendly Fire co-founder Rense van Kessel has opened up to IQ as the Netherlands promoter celebrates 15 years in business.

Van Kessel teamed with colleagues Roel Coppen and Robert Swarts to launch the Amsterdam-based firm, which now stages more than 3,000 concerts a year, in 2009.

“It was basically a lot of young bravado,” reflects Van Kessel. “Roel, Robert and I were 26, and wanted to get into new events, go forward and think big, which wasn’t possible at the company we were with at the time. So we thought, ‘We’re young, let’s do something crazy and start our own business.’

“Looking back, it was probably a silly thing. You don’t know the dangers that lie ahead, so to speak, but I’m still glad we made that decision. A lot of our people have been with us for five to 10 years now – often from their early twenties or coming out of university – and have moved into higher positions. For a company that’s been only going for 15 years, that is quite an achievement.”

Over time, the trio have managed to establish the company as an alternative to Live Nation-backed Dutch market leader Mojo Concerts.

“We were part of opening the market,” suggests Van Kessel. “There’s always room for other players and it’s very healthy to have a less corporate approach. We try to be very career-focused and pride ourselves in working with certain artists for a very long time.”

“The stuff we work with is very diverse and often from the ground up”

Pertinent examples include Noah Kahan, Fontaines D.C., Dean Lewis, Black Pumas, Angus & Julia Stone, Khruangbin, Cigarettes After Sex, The 1975 and Mitski.

“We have worked with most of those artists from tiny club shows onwards,” notes Van Kessel. “I remember that first show with Angus & Julia Stone or I remember that first 1975 show, so that’s quite cool. The stuff we work with is very diverse and often from the ground up.

“With international artists, we often don’t have that much influence, but where we can, we try to think ahead and I think that sets us apart. We work with a lot of domestic artists as well, where you’re much more on the steering wheel for their careers, and we try to make long-term plans. That’s always important and exciting.”

In 2013, Friendly Fire launched its flagship festival, Best Kept Secret, which has gone on to host artists including Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, The Strokes, A$AP Rocky, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bon Iver, Kraftwerk, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Run the Jewels, Beck and The National.

“At that point, we noticed a lot of artists were not playing festivals at all,” says Van Kessel. “A lot of the bigger events seemed to be a lot about partying and less about music. We would find ourselves standing in the crowd thinking, ‘This is a great band, why are there only 100 people here? What’s going on?’ So we felt like there was a gap to have a festival that was all about music. Of course, over the years, it developed into a different festival than what it was back in 2013, but that was the basis of it.”

Best Kept Secret, which returns to Beekse Bergen, Hilvarenbeek, from 13-15 June 2025, held its landmark 10th edition this year, when it featured acts such as Disclosure, Justice, Paolo Nutini, PJ Harvey and St Vincent.

“We’re trying to be less dependent on headliners than we were pre-Covid and that’s been working out well”

“It’s a strong cornerstone event with a very loyal audience,” he adds. “Artists seem to want it on their agenda and that’s something we’re proud of. We’re trying to be less dependent on headliners than we were pre-Covid and that’s been working out well. Obviously we have great headliners, but we try to book a wider range of artists and look more at the whole bill, which is very sustainable.

“Also, a headliner for a 25,000-capacity festival is a very different thing than a headliner for Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter or Rock am Ring. We don’t have those massive artists and we never have.”

Three years after Friendly Fire’s launch, the promoter was acquired by German-headquartered touring giant FKP Scorpio.

“I think it was Folkert [Koopmans, FKP CEO] that approached us, because he bought a festival in Netherlands and was kind of like, ‘Okay, can we do more? I need people to be part of that,'” remembers Van Kessel. “I think we were the first country outside of Germany where they started cooperating with another office and, from our perspective, it was a very good move because it made us much more stable.

“We’d had some conversations with agents who were like, ‘We love you, but if this artist goes to stadium level, it’s hard to explain to management that we’re putting a few million gross in the hands of just three guys.'”

The partnership has succeeded in its goals, reckons Van Kessel.

“It’s helped us a lot in breaking open the market a bit and being more stable and stronger within that,” he says. “I don’t think we could have started a festival like Best Kept Secret and convince agents and managers at that point to bring the talent we had on the first edition, if [FKP] hadn’t been there – a very trustworthy company that had been going for a long time.

“There’s a lot of personality there; it’s a good match and going forward in the European landscape, it’s a very interesting player with a great future.”

“Despite inflation, people tend to still want to spend money on tickets and on experiences, so we can’t really complain”

Earlier this year, Van Kessel was promoted to president, touring & artist development at FKP alongside Rauha Kyyrö, founder of Finland’s Fullsteam. The duo joined the company’s international board, with responsibility for developing the group’s artist booking and promoter activities across Europe.

Van Kessel describes the arrangement as a “work in progress”.

“We have great people and great offices and there’s a lot to gain by working together, making more centralised decisions and looking at things from a European perspective,” he explains. “We’re making really good steps at the moment.”

Friendly Fire’s other festivals include Hit the City, Ginger Festival, Loose Ends and Live at Amsterdam Forest.

“The market is generally quite strong,” observes Van Kessel. “Despite inflation, people tend to still want to spend money on tickets and on experiences, so we can’t really complain. In the first year after Covid, everything sold out, it didn’t matter what it was. That is normalising a bit again now, but people are still into entertainment – maybe more so than ever. Touch wood, I think it’s a healthy market.”

Furthermore, Van Kessel has no major concerns over the talent pipeline – pointing to the number of newer artists still rising to arena level.

“Generally, a lot of the touring business is dependent on the larger artists,” he says. “I don’t think anyone’s making money from 250-cap club shows, so it’s important that artists keep growing bigger. The last couple of years have been very exciting in that sense: Cigarettes After Sex, Phoebe Bridgers, Fontaines D.C., Khruangbin, Dean Lewis, Noah Kahan and you can keep going. I’m only mentioning ones that we promote, but there are plenty more.”

“We have a great product, right? We sell happiness”

He adds: “The great thing about our business is there are always new exciting artists and ideas to work on. In pop culture, stuff changes and it’s always moving, so we’re never in a boring business. I don’t think we’ll ever have goals like, ‘We should have a 30% market share,’ we’re not that kind of corporate company. So it’s all about doing nice things with nice people, for nice people, and hopefully be able to pay the wages and make some money in the meantime. We have a great product, right? We sell happiness.”

Other concerts on the horizon for the company in the coming months include Hans Zimmer, Pixies, James Bay, Marti Pellow, Beabadoobee, Alfie Templeman, Kate Nash and Enter Shikari. While the firm has achieved many of its objectives in its first 15 years, Van Kessel is adamant it is still far from the finished article.

“A lot of our attention is on making it a better company, promoting people to higher positions and creating a middle management layer, because a lot of it has always been on mine, Robert’s and Roel’s shoulders in the past,” he says. “We’re also be a more diverse company and bring through the next generation.”

Wrapping up, Van Kessel attempts to put the last decade and a half into words.

“It’s been a great adventure,” he says. “I don’t think we ever thought we’d have a company of this size, with all these great people working here. Looking back, so much stuff has happened and I’m really proud of a lot of it. Obviously, we made a lot of mistakes: we started events that went completely wrong, we promoted shows where no one showed up and whatever, but these things happen and I would sum it up as an interesting adventure.

“Looking at the market in the future, a lot of things are moving and changing and it’s an exciting time.”

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FKP Scorpio CEO Stephan Thanscheidt tells IQ that the company “couldn’t be any happier” with how its year has panned out amid a challenging year for the industry.

Standout moments for the German-headquartered promoter have included a string of sellout shows by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran over the summer.

Its festival portfolio also remains robust, with Thanscheidt pointing to the “unprecedented demand” seen for next summer’s events.

“We couldn’t be any happier with how 2024 has turned out so far, especially given the challenges our industry continues to face,” says Thanscheidt. “Two of our highlights were five sold out stadium shows by Taylor Swift as well as record-breaking concerts with Ed Sheeran in Poland and the Baltics.

“Our festival business was also going strong: four of our five major festivals in Germany were sold out or very close to being sold out, and the ticket sales launch for Hurricane, Southside, Deichbrand and M’era Luna each started with unprecedented demand, the first two alone selling 60,000 tickets in just 24 hours.”

“We consider ourselves fortunate to have had this success, because the challenges remain unchanged for the most part”

He continues: “We consider ourselves fortunate to have had this success, because the challenges remain unchanged for the most part: The costs for virtually everything are still on the rise, and margins are melting fast.

“We cannot and will not pass these costs on to our visitors, so being economically viable in different areas helps enormously in achieving stability and planning security for all our business segments.”

The first artists confirmed for Hurricane & Southside’s 2025 lineup include Green Day, AnnenMayKantereit, SDP, Alligatoah, Electric Callboy, Nina Chuba, Biffy Clyro, 01099, Yellowcard, Von Wegen Lisbeth, Wet Leg, Amyl & The Sniffers, Berq, Blond and Ikkimel.

FKP also announced extra tour dates for Sheeran’s 2025 European +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour after over 600,000 tickets were sold in an hour.

“We’re busy curating our festival line-ups for 2025 and have just announced the first acts for Hurricane and Southside,” adds Thanscheidt. “We’ll also be promoting another Europe tour with Ed Sheeran that is already really close to selling out all 22 dates.”

“While big shows continue to draw large crowds, not all events are performing equally well”

He adds: “We have a lot of great shows still coming up, for example Planet Earth III – Live in Concert. This unique cooperation with BBC Studios offers breathtakingly beautiful videos and great music composed by Hans Zimmer. I’m sure this concept will resonate with our audiences in Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands.

“In addition to a packed tour calendar, November will keep us extra busy due to our three indoor festivals at the Baltic Sea.”

As for the wider market, Thanscheidt sees positives and negatives with the current state of play.

“While big shows continue to draw large crowds, not all events are performing equally well,” he says. “The same applies to the festival sector: It’s no longer just smaller brands that are forced into closure but well-established names as well. That saddens us because all competition aside we’re all in the same boat as colleagues and music-lovers.

“This development has many reasons outside of our influence that, paired with the already mentioned skyrocketing production costs, is making many people in our industry uneasy, and rightfully so. At FKP Scorpio, we consider ourselves very fortunate to still be enjoying the kind of success we currently have.”

Revisit IQ‘s career-spanning 2023 feature on Thanscheidt here.

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Germany’s Hurricane and Southside festivals have unveiled the first wave of acts for 2025, following a record-breaking presale.

The first confirmed artists for the twin festivals are Green Day, AnnenMayKantereit, SDP, Alligatoah, Electric Callboy, Nina Chuba, Biffy Clyro, 01099, Yellowcard, Von Wegen Lisbeth, Wet Leg, Amyl & The Sniffers, Berq, Blond and Ikkimel.

In June, Hurricane and Southside shifted 60,000 tickets for the 2025 events in less than 24 hours and before a single act was announced. The first advanced sales run of 10,000 tickets was sold out in just 17 minutes.

Demand for the 2025 events exceeded that of last year’s presale when 50,000 tickets were sold on the first day.

The twin festivals, which are organised by FKP Scorpio and DreamHaus, will return to Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck between 20–22 June 2025.

The first confirmed artists for the twin festivals are Green Day, AnnenMayKantereit, SDP, Alligatoah, Electric Callboy, Nina Chuba

The two promoters, along with eventimpresents, recently revealed the 2025 bill for their other twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.

Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, Biffy Clyro, KIZ, A Day To Remember, Beatsteaks, Lorna Shore, The Warning, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Idles, Jinjer, Powerwolf and The Ghost Inside are among the first confirmations.

Both events will mark significant anniversaries from 6-8 June next year, with Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrating its 40th birthday and Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turning 30.

Elsewhere, FKP and DreamHaus recently celebrated the successful premiere of 6PM festival, which took place as part of Germany’s IFA Sommergarten – the centrepiece of leading technology and industry trade fair IFA Berlin.

The one-day event, organised in partnership with streetwear brand 6PM and TwoSlides, saw 10,000 fans flock to see performances from German-language rappers or Deutschrap.

Luciano, Pashanim, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Reezy, Ski Aggu, Juju, Yung Hurn and surprise guest Central Cee delivered performances at the inaugural event.

Elsewhere, FKP and DreamHaus recently celebrated the successful premiere of 6PM festival

Many of these artists are at the forefront of the Deutschrap boom, as reported in IQ‘s recent Germany market focus.

When half-Mozambican, Saxony-born Luciano tours late next year, it will be in the finest arenas in Cologne, Hanover, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Berlin.

Another DreamHaus-promoted act, Apache 207, born in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, of Turkish extraction, recently concluded a 24-date tour of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and likewise hit all the biggest German arenas, typically for two or even three nights each.

“Germany is a very big market in itself,” says López. “So a lot of German hip-hop artists already have very good fanbases and a good market playing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,” said Neus López, head of export at German music funding institution Initiative Musik.

DreamHaus, All Artists Agency, and Landstreicher Booking are among those who have put a heavy emphasis on German-language hip-hop, nurturing the genre as it has exploded over the past decade. While DEAG has recently has spun off its hip-hop booking division into a standalone brand called District Live.

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