Goodlive taps FKP Scorpio Norway’s Kedist Bezabih
Germany’s Goodlive has recruited Kedist Bezabih to lead the international rap and R&B booking department.
Bezabih will join Goodlive Artists, the touring division of the company, effective immediately.
In her new role, she will take over the artistic curation of Goodlive’s splash! festival – one of Europe’s biggest hip hop and reggae events – and oversee tour bookings for international artists that fall within the genre.
Bezabih previously worked for FKP Scorpio Norway, and was recognised as part of The New Bosses 2020, IQ’s annual celebration of the brightest young talent in the live business.
“I look forward to continuing to strengthen the Goodlive Artists portfolio”
She says of her new role: “I am very excited to join Goodlive Artists and to lead the international rap and RnB booking department. When I first met the team, I immediately felt that it fits well together. I admire the company’s values, which align very well with my own. I have great respect for what Goodlive has built over the years and I look forward to continuing to strengthen the Goodlive Artists portfolio.”
Lea Francesevic and Ali Jaafar have also joined Goodlive, both of whom are tasked with booking German-speaking acts for splash! festival.
At the beginning of the year, Goodlive announced a strategic partnership with the London-based company Live Base. Led by Amer Nawaz and Patrick Alcide, Live Base will “curatorially support” Kedist Bezabih’s team with international bookings.
Alongside splash!, Goodlive’s portfolio of festivals includes Heroes, Superbloom, Melt, Full Force, Feel and Artlake.
Goodlive Artists expects around 1,000 concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2023.
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Ticketing platform Dice expands to Germany
Ticketing and discovery platform Dice has announced its expansion to Germany.
Dice now has more than 350 shows now available in-app in Germany, including concerts with Bicep, Little Simz, Years & Years and Marc Rebillet.
To support its growth, Dice will partner with artists, promoters and venues across the country, including Goodlive Artists, Zart Agency and Hamburg’s Uebel & Gefährlich.
“We invest heavily in making it easy for fans to buy tickets, discover more amazing events and invite their friends,” says Dice founder and CEO Phil Hutcheon. “Our mission is to get people out more and I’m proud that Dice is partnering with the brilliant Goodlive Artists and Zart from launch.”
Dice has become the primary ticketing partner for hundreds of Goodlive Artists’ events across major cities like Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and Munich, already teaming on sold-out shows with PinkPantheress, Fred Again.. and Marc Rebillet.
It’s all about bringing artists and fans together as well as bringing new fans to artists”
Dice will also work with Berlin-based music promoter Zart Agency, promoter for acts such as Sam Fender and Ben Howard, ono events such as the Sacred Ground Festival.
“The love for music, technology and innovation is what excites us most about Dice,” say Max Wentzler, managing partner, and Hauke Steinhof, MD at Zart Agency. “It’s all about bringing artists and fans together as well as bringing new fans to artists. The Dice team has the same spirit that Zart Agency has. The Waiting List is the best answer against the secondary ticket market we’ve ever seen.”
In addition, upcoming concerts at Hamburg’s 900/200-cap Uebel & Gefahrlich by the likes of Animal Collective, Ibeyi and Ben Klock are now available via the Dice app.
“Life is about creating memories and nothing beats the energy you get from a live show”
Germany is Dice’s sixth global market, following successful launches in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the US.
With Germany being a key market for growth, the company has opened its new office in Berlin with four senior individuals focusing on venues and promoter partnerships. It plans to recruit more team members over the coming months, with 60 in place by the end of the year.
“People have asked for years what would it be like if everyone lived their lives digitally,” adds Hutcheon. “Well, with the pandemic, we just experienced it and it’s not good. Life is about creating memories and nothing beats the energy you get from a live show. We make it easy to get people away from screens and into shows.”
Dice recently bolstered its leadership team with the appointments of Falko Mortiboys as VP of fan experience, Ali McCloud as VP of partner relations, Antony Jackson as head of expansion, Europe and Leon Sherman as head of artist partnerships, UK & Europe.
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Germany’s Goodlive Artists announces restructure
Goodlive Artists, the booking and touring division of Berlin’s Goodlive (Lollapalooza Berlin, Melt Festival), has announced a restructure.
As part of the reshuffle, Goodlive Artists agencies Melt! Booking (international rap, R&B, pop and alternative music) and Nitelive Artists (dance/electronic and pop music) will merge.
The restructure sees Nitelive Artists MD Florian Hauss assume the role of managing partner, responsible for the strategic international development of Goodlive Artists.
Hauss, who joined Goodlive in 2020, takes with him his team and roster, which includes the Fantastischen Vier, David Guetta, Justice, Fritz Kalkbrenner and Boys Noize.
Meanwhile, Justus Mang will continue as managing director and, as before, will take care of the operative business and the further development of the team.
Goodlive Artists’ roster includes Bonobo, The xx, Robyn, London Grammar, Bicep, Skepta, Stormzy and Roisin Murphy.
“The merger of the two agencies was the logical, homogeneous step”
“I’m really looking forward to the new tasks and the joint management with Justus,” says Florian Hauss. “We have a fantastic team with enormous potential and expertise. The merger of the two agencies was the logical, homogeneous step.”
Justus Mang, managing director of Goodlive Artists, adds: “I very much welcome the decision to standardise our structures, communication and management. The exchange with Flo Hauss over the past few years has shown that our visions, values and operational business complement each other very well. I am very much looking forward to working with him in the future.”
Goodlive Artists’ other agencies include Der Bomber der Herzen (German rap and indie-pop) and Full Force Concerts (hard rock and heavy metal).
The division claims to bring a “profound understanding of subcultures and trends” to the booking of the Goodlive festivals Melt, splash!, Superbloom, Heroes, Full Force, Feel and Artlake.
Goodlive Artists also has a presence in Austria, after opening another office in Vienna last year.
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Germany’s Goodlive announces reshuffle
Germany’s Goodlive has announced a new management structure “in preparation for ‘the roaring 20s’ of the post-pandemic live entertainment industry”.
Co-founders and managing partners Stefan Lehmkuhl and Thomas Resch have announced their departure from the company, leaving Fruzsina Szép, Julian Gupta and Justus Mang with greater responsibility.
Gupta, alongside his role as managing director of Ferropolis-based festival splash! (cap. 30,000), will also assume responsibility for the festival booking team at Goodlive.
In addition, he will also take over the management and booking of Freiburg-based festival Heroes, which Goodlive partnered with in early 2020, working alongside the festival’s founder Lukas Apfelbacher.
Szép, who was appointed MD of Superbloom in 2019, will be primarily responsible for the Munich launch of the festival.
“[Fruzsina, Julian and Justus] have one of the best teams in the world at their disposal”
Meanwhile, Mang heads Goodlive Artists, the company’s touring arm (description), which recently expanded to Austria.
In the future, all three will actively support the management of Goodlive, alongside the remaining confounders and managing partners at the company Marko Hegner and Mirko Roßner. The fifth cofounder of Goodlive, Matthias Hörstmann, left in 2017.
Stefan Lehmkuhl says: “I am incredibly proud and delighted that trusted friends like Fruzsina, Julian and Justus will play a more leading role in shaping the future of Goodlive. They have one of the best teams in the world at their disposal, and many of the people I’ve worked with over the years are taking on more responsibility for some of the projects I’ve had the pleasure to help shape over the past 20 years.
“Personally, I long for a period of pause and reflection on whether and in what capacity I see my future in the live entertainment industry after the pandemic, and I am happy to have the privilege of taking a longer break after more than two decades of never standing still.”
“We feel well-positioned to further expand our role as an independent alternative in the festival and touring market”
Thomas Resch adds: “When I stumbled into the live entertainment industry 25 years ago at the young age of 18, I could not have imagined where this journey would lead. It was a very exciting time with many challenges and even more unforgettable moments.
“During the last years, Julian Gupta has firmly shaped splash! and achieved a great deal. I am sure that under his leadership, our strong team will master all other challenges and that Goodlive will continue on its successful path.”
Marko Hegner, MD, Goodlive, says: “We feel well-positioned to further expand our role as an independent alternative in the festival and touring market from 2022 onwards and are incredibly excited to finally tackle projects that had already been planned before Corona, such as Superbloom Festival in Munich, Heroes Festival in Freiburg and the launch of Goodlive Artists in Austria.
“I have a lot of respect for Thomas’ and Stefan’s decisions to put their own needs first after a pandemic that was demanding for all of us, and I am grateful that together we have succeeded in optimally positioning Goodlive for the future in terms of personnel during a longer preparation phase.”
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Germany’s Goodlive Artists expands to Austria
Goodlive Artists, the booking and touring division of Berlin-based Goodlive, has launched Goodlive Artists Austria in Vienna.
Headed up by Silvio Huber, formerly head of booking for Arcadia Live, and Philipp Maly, co-owner of Czech promoter Selection and formerly part of the management team at Colours of Ostrava festival, Goodlive Artists Austria will focus on creating “new concepts and visions in the Austrian market”, according to an announcement from the new company.
Huber brings his own roster to Goodlive Artists Austria, having promoted shows by George Ezra, Tame Impala, AnnenMayKantereit, Conan Gray and more, while Maly’s Selection has worked with acts including Lewis Capaldi, Jamie Cullum and Woodkid.
“Above all, we would like to thank Goodlive Artists for the trust they have placed in us in such turbulent and unusual times, and so we are looking forward to a positive industry relaunch in a strengthened, motivated and hopeful manner,” say Huber and Maly in a joint statement.
“Philipp and Silvio fit perfectly into our team … With this step, we will be able to expand our touring services for our artists”
“Although we have only had a few and limited opportunities to get to know our new colleagues, we feel more than welcome and part of the family after only a short time.”
Goodlive Artists sits alongside other Goodlive companies including Melt! Booking, Der Bomber Der Herzen, Full Force Concerts and the recently launched Nitelive Artists, and Goodlive Artists Austria says it plans to take advantage of the synergies between the firms “in the best possible way”.
Justus Mang, managing director of Goodlive Artists, comments: “Philipp and Silvio fit perfectly into our team, both personally and professionally. With this step, we will be able to expand our touring services for our artists and act more strategically.
“In our talks beforehand, we all quickly realised that we share the same views on many things, that our visions are similar and that we could draw great motivation from this exchange. I’m incredibly excited about this collaboration and more Wiener melange in my life.”
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Germany’s Goodlive launches Nitelive Artists agency
Goodlive Artists, the booking and touring division of Berlin’s Goodlive (Lollapalooza Berlin, Melt Festival), has grown with the launch of a new agency, Nitelive Artists, focusing on dance/electronic and pop music.
Headed up by managing partner Flo Hauss, Nitelive Artists will focus on tour booking and artist management, as well as consulting for festivals and clubs. Hauss brings a roster that includes German hip-hop pioneers Die Fantastischen Vier, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Boys Noize and Digitalism.
Hauss – who will also continue working as the German promoter for the Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta – will work with alongside fellow booking agents Tobias Klose and Torsten Rettert.
Hauss, who was most recently managing director of Four Artists, comments: “I look forward to bringing my many years of national and international touring and booking experience to Goodlive, and I am very happy to have found a new home with my team after these challenging months.
“I am very happy to have found a new home with my team”
“I am particularly proud that my entire roster has decided to join me on this new path; loyalty and trust are not exactly commonplace in our business. We’ve got some very promising synergies with the structures at Goodlive Artists, not to mention a self-confident market position that suits my ambitious personal goals very well.”
Stefan Lehmkuhl, managing partner of Goodlive, adds: “Flo Hauss has terrific musical competence, [and] I am quite sure that he will be a valuable asset for touring and also give terrific new impetus to the Goodlive festival business.
“We very much look forward to working with and his team.”
Goodlive Artists’ other agencies are Melt! Booking (international rap, R&B, pop and alternative music), Der Bomber der Herzen (German rap and indie-pop) and Full Force Concerts (hard rock and heavy metal).
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