Usher announces Paris residency
Usher has announced a forthcoming mini-residency in France at Paris’ La Seine Musicale.
The US star will perform the four-night Rendez-Vous A Paris stint – his only confirmed European dates – from 24-25 and 27-28 September 2023, presented by Live Nation.
Fans are promised “never-before-seen costumes, state-of-the-art lighting and special effects” along with a catalogue of hits from Usher’s near 30-year career.
Tickets range from €100.50 to €441.50, and go on sale this Friday (21 April).
The R&B singer is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM
The 44-year-old R&B singer, whose last European played Europe as part of his 2014/15 UR Experience Tour, is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM, which runs until October.
“I like the idea of what I’ve found in Las Vegas,” Usher told GQ earlier this year. “It gives me an opportunity to settle. I have children now. I got a life, so [I like] being able to have a few days in certain places and being able to celebrate those places and enjoy them. At this age, you try to hold on to the moments.”
Usher also headlined J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, earlier this month and will star in the second edition of hip-hop and R&B event Lovers & Friends, which returns to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 6 May.
Other acts slated to perform at the 6,000-cap La Seine Musicale in the coming months include Norah Jones, 5 Seconds of Summer and John Fogerty.
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City focus: Lyon
Lyon’s international touring profile has undoubtedly gone up a notch or two as the city awaits its new LDLC Arena, but the historic city – the second largest metropolitan area in France, and the focal point of the south-eastern region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – has long had a claim to be France’s second most important market.
“Outside Paris, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has always been the leading ticketing market in France,” says Rémi Perrier of veteran promoter RPO, based in nearby Grenoble and a frequent client of Lyon’s venues. “Lyon is the capital of this region and has always been a stronghold for all types of music and also culture in general. The LDLC Arena will further strengthen this position of strength.”
As well as the city’s 520,000-strong population and its broader metropolitan total of more than 2.3m, Lyon’s catchment stretches across more than one border. “Lyon serves many nearby cities as far as Geneva or Turin,” says Thierry Pilat, director-general of La Halle Tony-Garnier, the historic 16,800-capacity concert hall. “It is a very beautiful city with prestigious cultural facilities and original events such as the Biennale de la Danse and the Nuits Sonores festival for electronic music. It is internationally renowned for its gastronomy, too, so it attracts a lot of city-breakers.”
“It is a great city,” concurs AEG Presents head Arnaud Meersseman, once a student at Lyon’s Sciences Po university. “It’s big but not too big. It is one of the big regional markets.”
“Our objective is to book 60 musical shows each year”
Olympique Lyonnais Groupe (OL Groupe) signed a deal with Live Nation in 2021 to develop the new 16,000-capacity LDLC Arena in Lyon, extending the pact that began in 2016 with the opening of the Groupama Stadium, which provides a home for football club Olympique Lyonnais and can contain crowds of up to 73,000 in certain configurations.
The new arena is scheduled for completion towards the end of 2023 and will host around 100-120 events a year including concerts, sporting events and eSports.
“We have chosen to work on a U-shape design with our architect agency, Populous, to give priority to a premium fan experience on live music shows,” says Xavier Pierrot, OL Groupe deputy general director, in charge of the Groupama Stadium and the LDLC Arena. “So far, we have booked a few French artists in 2024: Slimane, Shaka Ponk. Our objective is to book 60 musical shows each year. We are aiming to work on a large range of musical shows, with our non-exclusive partner Live Nation and all the major bookers.”
Artists such as Rihanna, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran have all visited the Groupama in recent years, with Muse, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode and Mylène Farmer coming between May and July.
“This summer is a bit special with no international sport events scheduled, apart from the World Supercross Championship in July,” says Pierrot. “So, we have this very large window allowing a total of six concerts. This is truly a busy season, and we have one more international artist to be revealed in the coming days.”
“In 2023 and 2024, the outlook is good, with a large volume of French artists”
Local promoters are well aware of their good fortune. “In 2022, we had the pleasure of working on four concerts at Groupama Stadium: Indochine, Soprano, Rammstein, and The Rolling Stones – two postponements and two normal tours,” says Perrier. “In 2023 and 2024, the outlook is good, with a large volume of French artists, mainly in urban music.” As for the new arena, says Perrier, “we are incredibly lucky. It will change the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes market.”
Outside Paris, France’s touring business depends on scores of local and regional promoters working hard on the ground, and those operating in and around Lyon also include Totaal Rez, Eldorado & Co, Les Derniers Couchés, and Arachneé Concerts.
For such promoters, keeping regional cities top of mind for bigger touring acts is a skill unto itself.
“The challenge for us is to maintain a very good relationship with the agents of major artists,” says Perrier. “We are fortunate to have established a relationship of trust. We must keep it and be attentive to newcomers to this market, which is also changing because new players are arriving, which is a very good thing.”
No city cements a musical reputation without its fair share of grassroots venues. In addition to renowned clubs such as the Transbordeur and the new Marché Gare, Lyon is the birthplace of French micro-brewery and entertainment chain Ninkasi. Its flagship Ninkasi Gerland, in Rue Marcel Mérieux, is a serious live music draw, with two venues: the 735-cap Kao and the 400-cap Kafe.
“The Lyon scene is really huge. We have a lot of good bands and DJs, a lot of nice venues and festivals”
“The Lyon scene is really huge,” says Fabien Hyvernaud, director general of Ninkasi Musiques. “We have a lot of good bands and DJs, a lot of nice venues and festivals. In September 2022, our friends at Marché Gare opened their new venue and it’s awesome. In 2023, the famous electronic festival Nuits Sonores are going to celebrate their 20th birthday. We still have a lot of small venues like Sonic, Periscope and Farmer, who have a lot of gigs in jazz, punk, and experimental music.”
Ninkasi’s own 2022 was reasonably strong, though Hyvernaud notes that there are headwinds for smaller venues. “A lot of gigs from 2020/2021 were postponed to last year, so when we could start to have standing concerts again, we had a lot of bands – mostly national and local ones because travelling was still difficult for foreign bands.
“2023 seems to be more difficult. A lot of big artists will not travel and a lot of them are postponing their albums. So, our first trimester looks like a desert, but we will have a lot of artistic residencies for our Ninkasi Musik Lab project, where we help local bands to be more professional.”
Hyvernaud also has a bombshell: “We’re going to destroy Ninkasi Gerland at the end of October 2023,” he says. “Ninkasi Gerland and the Kafe stage will be rebuilt but without the biggest room, Ninkasi Kao. We are working on another project close to Lyon, which should be open in 2026. That’s a huge decision for us, and it will have a huge impact on our local cultural landscape.”
In this era of bonanza sales for bigger shows, it goes without saying that Lyon has been filling its boots, not least at Halle Tony-Garnier.
“2022 was a big year with more than 450,000 spectators, and 2023 will also be very busy,” says Pilat. “At this stage, it is mainly acts from the French scene who are filling the halls. Stromae will perform four concerts to more than 60,000 spectators in our hall, and [revived French-Canadian cyberpunk rock opera] Starmania will play eight complete performances. The schedule is full, although from this point on, we also expect more international tours.”
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Prodiss backs ‘landmark’ Google resale verdict
Prodiss has hailed a “landmark decision” after Google failed in its appeal against a ruling banning the purchase of adverts promoting tickets sold by unauthorised secondary ticketing platforms in France.
The French live music association brought the lawsuit against Google France and Google Ireland after noticing advertisements for tickets to shows by Rammstein, Drake and Metallica on sites including Viagogo.fr, StubHub.fr and Rocket-Ticket.com at, or near, the top of Google’s search results.
In France, it is illegal to sell tickets without authorisation from the event organiser.
The Judicial Court of Paris found Google liable for reputational damage to live entertainment professionals back in 2020, noting that by accepting advertising from ticket resale sites, it may have given fans the false impression that rightsholders benefit from inflated secondary market prices.
The court prohibited Google Ireland, which operates Google Ads (formerly AdWords), from allowing the purchase of advertising keywords relating to the sale of tickets for shows in France, unless the purchaser can prove that they have written authorisation from the rightsholder.
“This is another step in the right direction to ensure a fair, safe, and legal process for ticket sales in France”
That judgement, which applies to all live shows taking place in France, has now been upheld, with the company also fined €300,000 in damages.
“This is a landmark decision for us,” says Prodiss CEO Malika Séguineau. “We are very pleased that the court of appeal has ruled in favour of protecting the rights of the producers and the rights of the audience. After several previous decisions against illegal platforms over the last years, this is another step in the right direction to ensure a fair, safe, and legal process for ticket sales in France.”
Sam Shemtob, director of the Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), adds: “This is a big win for those of us who want to see tickets in the hands of fans and not sold on by price-gouging touts. Rightfully, a lot of fans’ anger gets focussed on the resale platforms themselves, but Google is a major player in steering people away from face value tickets sold by the primary seller, even when there are still tickets available. The clearer Google’s role becomes for all to see, the better.”
Google began accepting advertising from Viagogo once more in November 2019, having previously banned the site from its AdWords platform.
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Global Promoters Report: France
The Global Promoters Report, a first-of-its-kind resource that highlights the world’s leading promoters and the 40 top markets they operate in, is now available to subscribers of IQ.
In an excerpt from the guide, IQ delves into one of Europe’s most influential markets: France.
As one of Europe’s major international touring markets, trends in France have repercussions across the continent. The market prognosis in 2022 is very much a mixed bag. Recovery from Covid after long periods of shutdown was beginning to happen only to crash headfirst into growing energy costs and a mounting economic crisis in the country. There are plenty of things to be optimistic about in the sector, but the severe challenges impacting live music cannot be ignored.
As in most European markets, the international heavyweights in France are Live Nation and AEG Presents. Live Nation runs Lollapalooza and Afropunk festivals in the capital, as well as I Love Techno Europe and Main Square. International touring acts it brought in during 2022 included The Rolling Stones, Jack Harlow, Sting, Chainsmokers, and Lil Nas X, with Bring Me The Horizon, You Me At Six, The Vamps, Lizzo, and Sam Smith booked for 2023 as well as stadium shows in Paris with Beyoncé, Metallica and The Weeknd.
AEG Presents runs the Rock en Seine festival, and acts it booked for 2022 included Suede and Olivia Rodrigo. Acts confirmed for 2023 include Tom Brennan, Yungblud, and Celine Dion.
Take Me Out is a new local entrant in the French market, launching in February 2022. Bookings this year include The Amazons, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and The Libertines, with We Are Scientists, North Mississippi Allstars, Circa Waves, and The Slow Readers Club booked for next year.
Corida Group (incorporating Corida, Super!, The Talent Boutique. and Pi-Pôle) is the live music arm of the Because Group and acquired a 50% stake in the Pitchfork Paris festival promoter Super! in 2018. Super! also runs the Villette Sonique festival.
“Unlike other countries, we were lucky enough to benefit from government subsidies during most of the pandemic”
Alias Production brought acts such as Courtney Barnett, Mogwai, Confidence Man, Franz Ferdinand, and Youssou N’Dour to play in 2022. Its bookings for 2023 include dEUS, The War on Drugs, Yo La Tengo, Lewis Capaldi, and Robbie Willims.
“Unlike other countries, we were lucky enough to benefit from government subsidies during most of the pandemic, which has protected companies and saved many jobs, so there hasn’t been too much damage across the industry,” says Emma Greco, promoter at AEG Presents in Paris.
“However, the French political climate is heated as we’re facing new challenges with the rise of energy prices, shortages of gas, and the high cost of living, all causing new waves of protest and strikes.”
She says touring costs are shooting up, with transportation costs in particular up 20% this year. There is also a skills and equipment shortage, caused in part by the pandemic, as infrastructure companies closed/downscaled and skilled workers were forced to leave the business and seek work elsewhere. As more acts race to get back on the road in France, there is still not enough staff or enough equipment to go around.
“All the sound and lighting providers were out of stock in recent months, meaning we have sometimes had to turn to our EU neighbours,” explains Greco.
“All the sound and lighting providers were out of stock in recent months, meaning we have had to turn to our EU neighbours”
Jean-Louis Schell, promoter at Take Me Out, believes there is also an oversaturation in the market. He says that 20 years ago, around 150 international acts were touring in France each year; now it is over 1,000.
“We have the same number of venues, maybe more small clubs with free entry, but there are the same number of people buying tickets and inflation is increasing; even if it is less than in other territories, 5.6% is still huge,” he says. “Students and young people generally have less money.”
Arnaud Meersseman, general manager of AEG Presents and programmer at Rock en Seine, says increases in ticket prices and acts touring too frequently are causing severe problems in the market.
“Large venues with more than 5,000 capacity have seen ticketing go up by 19% compared to 2019, but small venues have seen a drop of 38%, and medium venues have seen a drop of 26%,” he says. “Those medium and small bands that are in the middle, they’re all touring at the same time. They are probably not that new, they’ve probably been around for a while, people have seen them, and they’re on their second or third record. If you miss them this time around, well, that’s fine; you can see them the next time they come around.”
Pascal Bernardin of Encore Productions lays out the scale of the challenges as he sees them. “I’m lucky that my business is outside France,” he says of the state of the domestic market. “If I look at promoters, it’s been hard, and I’m not sure when it will come back. Festivals did okay, and the big ones did very, very well. A lot of smaller festivals did not do so well. A lot of people complain about the cost, which is getting higher.”
The average ticket price for major shows in France is €120-130 so consumers cannot afford to go to more shows more frequently
What this all means is that smaller acts and acts in the middle are struggling the most, with Schell suggesting audiences are increasingly waiting until the last minute to buy tickets. “It forces the promoters to increase their promo expenses, so the breaking point becomes more difficult to reach,” he says. “Stadiums and arenas are filling – or at least most of them are.”
And, of course, the impact of Brexit on British acts touring in France (and elsewhere in Europe) remains an issue. “The ATA carnets are a pain for young bands,” says Schell, “so we mainly look for venues and festivals providing backline.”
For the biggest acts, their popularity insulates them to an extent. Meersseman points to Blackpink and other K-pop superstars as creating their own centre of gravity in the French market. “We find that it is doing exceptionally well with very high ticket prices,” he says, especially with regard to upsell options. “If you get the full VIP package and you’re two people, you can be spending up to €2,000 on the show.”
Meersseman also suggests the average ticket price for major shows in France is €120-130, and that means big acts scoop most of the money, and consumers cannot afford to go to more shows more frequently. “Once you spend that times two, you’re not going to be spending much on tickets for the rest of the month,” he says.
Meersseman also feels there is something of a touring arms race happening at the upper levels at the moment that will greatly impact on the future shape of the market.
“To bring in a bigger show costs a fortune, therefore you raise ticket prices”
“The competition is so intense because of the volume of touring that acts need to bring in bigger and bigger shows – but everything costs more and more,” he says. “To bring in a bigger show costs a fortune, therefore you raise ticket prices. Other acts think they should raise ticket prices and bring in a bigger show. It’s a vicious circle, and I don’t think it’s leading to anything very good.”
The processes of breaking acts across France are, however, beginning to change, even amid the market uncertainty outlined above. “We start off with a club show or a tastemaker event,” says Meersseman. “Agents love putting all their acts through Primavera and then having a soft launch for all the acts at the same time in June. We try to avoid that if we can. From there on, we’ll usually give them a good slot at our festival, Rock en Seine, to try to build them up from there. Then we’ll try to get them back in for a bigger Paris show. After that we will try to get them back for some regional shows and regional festivals. France is such a centralised country, that if you don’t break Paris, you’ll never be able to venture into the regions. Paris is the key to opening up everything.”
Greco says that breaking Paris is only the start and that promoters really need to be thinking and acting locally. “I think it’s important to build an artist outside of Paris – whether it’s through festivals or regional shows,” she says. “There’s not always time for it, but I believe it’s an important step when building an artist in our market.”
“If you don’t break Paris, you’ll never be able to venture into the regions”
International acts that have performed well in terms of touring are varied. Schell mentions Peter Doherty and Kasabian as recent successes, adding that French hip-hop acts are now selling tickets on a par with some of the biggest international acts, suggesting an interesting domestic/foreign split in the live market.
Greco points to Fred Again, who sold 1,600 tickets in two minutes for his show at Elysée Montmartre, and Olivia Rodrigo’s first show in France at the Zenith in June 2022 exceeded expectations.
Meersseman says, beyond a range of K-pop acts and major international stars like Robbie Williams and Tyler, The Creator doing well, there is a revival of interest in pop-punk from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Hella Mega Tour (featuring Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer) sold out the 35,000-capacity La Défense Arena in July 2022. Meanwhile, The Offspring have sold out the Zenith in Nantes and were already close to selling out the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, with both shows not happening until May 2023.
Parts of the market are struggling and other parts of the market are over-indexing. This dynamic looks unlikely to change for a while, with suggestions that, with many postponed shows running into next year, it might not be until 2023 that the live market in France fully recalibrates itself.
The Global Promoters Report is published in print, digitally, and all content is also available as a year-round resource on the IQ site. The Global Promoters Report includes key summaries of the major promoters working across 40+ markets, unique interviews and editorial on key trends and developments across the global live music business.
To access all content from the current Global Promoters Report, please click here.
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.
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Road to the Main Stage talent showcase to return
Deezer and Firestone have announced the return of their Road to the Main Stage multi-country music talent showcase.
For the 2023 edition, tyre brand Firestone, its agency WAVE and streaming platform Deezer are searching for emerging acts in France, Germany and the UK.
The winning artists will receive opportunities including a gig on the Firestone stage at France’s Rock en Seine and Southside Festival in Germany in 2023. They will also get to record a studio recording session of their next EP at Deezer’s Paris HQ.
“We’re excited to continue our successful collaboration with Firestone and once again provide a stage for emerging artists through Road to the Main Stage,” says Mazen Abdallah, VP brand partnerships and ad sales at Deezer. “Deezer has a long tradition of supporting the growth of new artists and connecting them with a bigger fanbase. Firestone shares this ambition, and after the success of last year’s collaboration, it was clear we had to do it again.”
Road to the Main Stage’s 2022 victors were Renard Tortue (France), Jante (Germany) and Dweamz (UK)
Young artists are called upon to apply directly on the platform up to 22 March by submitting their best project (track or EP) as well as a description of their “musical universe” and a few photos. To participate, artists must not have signed a contract with a record company nor have released a full album.
Several artists will be pre-selected by Firestone and the Deezer teams to continue the competition, with the shortlisted projects then voted on by Deezer users. The winner will be announced on 15 June.
Launched last year, Road to the Main Stage’s 2022 victors were Renard Tortue (France), Jante (Germany) and Dweamz (UK).
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IQ 117 out now: Lewis Capaldi, Schueremans, France
IQ 117, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.
The March 2023 issue sees Belgian promoter Herman Schueremans look back on 50 years in the live music industry, while Lewis Capaldi’s team discuss what made the singer’s latest tour such a success.
Elsewhere, the full agenda for the 35th edition of the International Live Music Conference is revealed and the New Tech panel is previewed.
Plus, IQ editor James Hanley examines the current state of the live event insurance market and Adam Woods puts the French business under le microscope.
For this edition’s double header of columns and comments, Marcel Hunziker talks up the benefits of developing a presence on TikTok and Sheryl Pinckney-Maas outlines the reasons to consider crowdsourced data to enhance event security.
In addition, Joe Hastings highlights the work of Help Musicians in tackling mental health issues in the music industry and Chris Bray explains how the ILMC scheme to introduce young professionals to the conference fits with ASM Global’s own future leadership plans.
As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.
However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ from just £6.25 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
12 injured in moshpit collapse at Paris festival
Twelve people were injured at a French music festival when part of the floor collapsed during a performance by rapper Nes.
The incident took place late on Saturday (21 January) at the Hyperweekend festival at Radio France’s Maison de la Radio et de la Musique headquarters in Paris.
According to local police, as per Le Parisien, it is believed that a slab gave way under the weight of pogoing spectators. None of the injuries were considered to be serious but the show was curtailed and the space closed as a result of the accident.
“We are in contact with the police teams and Radio France is hiring an expert to determine the causes of the incident”
Radio France, which organised the event, offers its “most sincere apologies” in a social media post.
“We are thinking in particular of the 12 festival-goers who suffered injuries,” says the statement. “We are in contact with them to get news and support them. tonight, their condition seems reassuring and we wish them all a good recovery.
“The securing of the site, the management of injuries and the evacuation of festival-goers were done immediately and calmly, thanks to all the festival-goers present. We are in contact with the police teams and Radio France is hiring an expert to determine the causes of the incident.”
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Décibels Productions acquires French talent agency
Warner Music France’s live entertainment and concert production company Décibels Productions has acquired a majority stake in French talent agency Les Visiteurs du Soir.
Founded by Olivier Gluzman in 1991, Les Visiteurs du Soir produces and promotes shows by domestic and international artists including Jane Birkin, Rufus Wainwright, Agnès Jaoui, Imany, Paolo Conte, Caetano Veloso, Angélique Kidjo, Pink Martini, Benjamin Millepied and the MC Solaar New Big Band project. It also works with artists in development, acts as a consultant to festival organisers and mounts theatrical productions as well as other live shows.
Paris-headquartered Décibels was established nine years ago and organises concerts, comedy shows and musicals.
“I’ve known Olivier for many years,” says Décibels Productions president Pierre-Alexandre Vertadier. “His relationship with artists, his passion for quality shows and his commercial sense, enabled him to create Les Visiteurs du Soir. Now we will work together and the synergies between our two companies will help us support the creation of even more innovative artistic projects both here and around the world.”
“We’ll be harnessing new synergies in this deal with Décibels. It’ll enable our artists tap into its production skills and global network”
Audiovisual company and festival organiser Morgane Production, which first invested in Les Visiteurs du Soir in 2011, will remain a key shareholder.
“Les Visiteurs du Soir is more than 30 years old,” adds Gluzman. “We’ve continuously evolved – notably when Morgane Production invested in us with the aim of creating bridges between our artists and its excellence in producing festivals and the wider audiovisual sphere.
“Now we’ll be harnessing new synergies in this deal with Décibels. It’ll enable our artists tap into its production skills and global network. I’ve always appreciated the stress Pierre-Alexandre places on the importance of relationships as part of doing business, so we are well suited to working together.”
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New 10,000-cap arena opens in France
France has gained a new 10,150-cap arena, CO’Met, which opened in Orléans over the weekend.
Owned by Orléans Metropolitan Council, the €150 million venue is operated by GL Events and forms part of a complex which already comprises a congress centre and exhibition hall, along with the existing 6,900-cap Zenith Venue.
CO’Met launched on Saturday (7 January) with a handball tournament, but is also capable of hosting concerts and other entertainment events, along with conferences and conventions.
The facility is considered a breakthrough for the French market
The Stadium Business reports the facility is considered a breakthrough for the French market as it is the first to offer a large, multifunctional space away from the Paris region.
Elsewhere in France, Live Nation signed a deal with Olympique Lyonnais Groupe back in 2021 to develop the new 16,000-capacity LDLC Arena in Lyon, which is scheduled for completion later this year. According to the companies, the new venue will host around 100 events per year including concerts, sporting events and eSports.
The deal extended LN’s relationship with OL Groupe which first launched in 2016 with the opening of the Groupama Stadium (cap. 59,186) in Lyon. The partnership has brought artists such as Rihanna, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran to the stadium.
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