Cancel culture and the ethical decisions confronting the touring business were tackled head on in ILMC 37’s gripping Ethics & Activism: Adapting to Artist & Fan Views panel.

Chaired by Media Insight Consulting chief Chris Carey, the session at London’s Royal Lancaster ran the rule over some of the thornier questions facing the industry in 2025.

Ola Krakowska of Poland’s largest independent promoter Alter Art, organiser of Open’er Festival, spoke of the “moral backbone” that guides the company’s decision-making on everything from sponsorship partnerships to its artist lineup.

“It’s about integrity, honesty and also fairness,” she said. “We all know how difficult it is to navigate, but we really stick to this. We always double-check everything that we’re doing, and we really dig into it. Each year we say no to several sponsors. We have cases of companies that we dropped because of moral reasons.

“We do the same with the artists. I’m sorry, but we’re checking you guys…. We really focus on the lineups and we really check the backgrounds.”

Asked whether its policy made it hard to balance the books, Krakowska responded: “No, I think that when you’re good, the good people come to you.”

She also expressed her admiration for Dua Lipa for speaking out against performing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar due to the country’s human rights record.

“We really admire those artists who just say no,” said Krakowska. “I love the quote [from Dua Lipa]. She basically said, ‘I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.'”

“Where and when possible, we should all be amplifying our voices and supporting one another”

Music and culture executive Amanda Maxwell considered the pitfalls artists can encounter by taking a stand publicly, thereby putting themselves at risk of being “immediately shut down and immediately cancelled”.

“That is the tightrope that everybody is very concerned about at the moment,” she advised. “It feels particularly hot – or has done over the last 18 months – with various different things that we’ve seen going on in the world, so it becomes really difficult. But I think where and when possible, we should all be amplifying our voices and supporting one another.”

Artist manager Bradley Kulisic of Singing Light Music pointed out that some artists “self-censor”.

“If people want to be agnostic about what they say on the stage and to their audiences, they should be allowed to,” he added. “And if people want to confront and put opinions forward and, in turn, accept the accountability for that, I would support them as well – as long as they’re not being disgusting or exclusive.”

However, he acknowledged that by sticking their head above the parapet, acts left themselves open to criticism down the line.

“If you are putting yourself in various activist conversations, you will be held to a certain standard,” he said. “And if, for whatever reason, you’ve crossed the picket line on a certain issue that that community feels strongly about, you will be held to a harder account. And whether or not I think that’s fair… if you get in the ring, you’re going to get hit.”

“More and more artists are  probably going to just disengage… because they think, ‘Is it worth me facing the criticism?”

Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton brought up the recent backlash to Stormzy’s partnership with McDonald’s.

“I think if an actor or musician who had no history of activism had done a brand partnership with McDonald’s, they wouldn’t face as much criticism as Stormzy did,” he said. “I don’t know how you protect artists in an age of social media because, of course, the democracy of social media is that everybody has the same voice. You can write a tweet at an artist and that tweet has just as much relevance as any other tweet that was sent that day to that artist.

“Sadly, I think more and more artists are probably going to just disengage, not look at their social media, not put their hand up and stand up for good causes, because they think, ‘Is it worth me facing the criticism? Do you want me to lose fans over this? Maybe I’m just going to kind of keep my head down, stay in my seat and just make music,’ which I think is a pity.”

Unger-Hamilton suggested that several issues were “peaking at once” in the current climate, creating a dilemma for musicians.

“The cost of touring crisis for artists is really, really hard,” he said. “Artists are more than ever struggling to pay the bills go on tour. And I’m not just talking about grassroots artists, I’m talking about artists who might be perceived to be at the top of their game, and therefore, where corporate partnerships and endorsements might well be a way to actually balance the books.

“Unfortunately, that is coming at a time of greater than ever scrutiny and a feeling perhaps that people are either perfect or completely terrible. There’s not much nuance in the views of people in that way.”

“Where is the line between approving of a regime by going to a place, or going there and bringing new perspectives and a new message?”

Unger-Hamilton admitted to personal regrets over playing in certain territories in the past.

“We’ve played in Russia two or three times – of course, before Ukraine was invaded – and at the time, I think the view we took was, ‘Where do you stop with scrutinising a country’s ethical record?’ You can’t really say where the line is,” he argued. “Everybody talks about the boycotts of South Africa that went on in the 80s. That’s generally agreed to have been a very good thing, but it’s hard to say now what that equivalent is.

“Let’s not forget that Russia was under a lot of quite correct international criticism for its treatment of LGBT people – it wasn’t like invading Ukraine was the first bad thing Russia had done in the 21st century. We played in Ukraine as well, I’m happy to say, and would like to play there again if we could.”

Unger-Hamilton pondered whether playing in a country automatically represented an endorsement of its government.

“I suppose there seems to be a consensus that the answer to that question is yes, but I’m not sure if that is true every time,” he said. “I do think that there is a validity in the viewpoint that perhaps by going to a country with a repressive regime and bringing in music which people might not have heard before – which might have a message in it that would counter what those regimes are saying to their people – could be a good thing.

“It is really hard to know where the line is. Where is the line between approving of a regime by going to a place, or going there and bringing new perspectives and a new message to that place?”

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The International Live Music Conference (ILMC) returned to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel last week for its 37th edition, with conversations set to shape how the industry operates over the next year.

The sell-out event, attended by over 1,600 professionals, sparked discussions on topics like headliner booking strategies, festival innovations, emerging markets, venue versatility, balancing wellness on the road, and much more.

While the conversations were wide-ranging, here are five of IQ‘s top takeaways from the week…

How can the business support the grassroots level?
From the kickoff of ILMC, the gap between the ends of the industry was a hot topic.

“We’re seeing the massive disparity between the top end of the business and the lower end of the business needing much more support,” said CAA’s Maria May during The Open Forum. “I feel like there’s a real need for innovation.”

During his opening message, UK culture minister Chris Bryant shared that championing the grassroots scene remained a priority for the national government and stressed its importance to the wider music ecosystem.

“You only get the Paul McCartneys and the Elton Johns, if you also have the people right at the start of their career coming on in every single generation,” he said. “There’s nothing more special than seeing somebody in a tiny venue who then goes on to be an enormous success. We want to make sure that we’ve got that mixture of massive venues and small venues where you can have the intimacy of the experience.”

“We’ve seen an appetite for ticket sales as strong as it’s ever been”

The demand for music is apparent across the board, said DF Concerts’ Geoff Ellis.

“We’ve seen an appetite for ticket sales as strong as it’s ever been [at King Tut’s] and lots of sold-out shows, even in January with just local bands,” he noted. “So that appetite is there for grassroots artists, but also for the big artists as well.”

Panellists on Grassroots Touring: Early-stage strategies opened the conversation on how we keep artists on the road across different markets and, while all acknowledging challenges, spoke about some grounds for optimism.

Fans’ festival desires are evolving: can organisers keep up?
During Festival Focus: Survive & Thrive, panellists dug into how to overcome the myriad issues that are impacting festivals: rising artist fees, steep production costs, severe weather impacts, intense market competition, and a potential headliner drought.

Curating strong branding was a core message from the session, with AEG Present’s Jim King – who promotes festivals such as All Points East, BST Hyde Park and Lido – arguing that there is space for single- and multi-day festivals, so long as there’s a distinguishable identity.

“They’re two different things and they’re both relevant but they should be marketed differently,” he said. “You’re trying to create a different environment, and I think it’s important to achieve that.”

Slam Dunk’s Ben Ray echoed this, citing that their pop-punk/emo brand keeps attendees coming back: “Being a specialist festival, people that are really into that music attend year after year. They will go to Slam Dunk a lot older than they would do a camping festival.”

“We have made a conscious decision to contemporise our lineups”

Camping sites have had to modernise to keep audiences in the fields, with Rock am Ring’s Jana Posth confirming that “expectations for camping are a lot higher now, it has to be more than a tent and some grass.”

A key challenge to the market cited by panellists was the “festivalisation” of concerts, which have built up infrastructure and entertainment to bulk out the traditional show experience.

Rock am Ring’s Jana Posth used Adele’s blockbuster residency in Munich as an example: “It wasn’t just a concert – you could spend the whole day there like you would with a festival. People obviously really like this in-between of festival and concert.”

Despite many A-list acts turning toward headlining shows, young stars are helping fill the gap of festival bill-toppers.

“It’s been tough but we managed to secure a really strong lineup of young artists this year [including Chappell Roan and Charli XCX] and I’m really happy to see them reaching this level already,” said Sziget’s Virag Csiszar.

King added to this: “We’ve got our youngest-ever BST lineup this year and I struggle to think of a time that there were so many young headliners – Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan. We have made a conscious decision to contemporise our lineups.”

“Infrastructure continues to be a challenge”

New, versatile venues will transform the global touring circuit
The development of new venues across markets like Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America was a notable dialogue during ILMC.

BookMyShow’s Ashish Hemrajani spoke about how India’s market could balloon in the next five years and highlighted how a new arena in Mumbai could help alleviate the country’s indoor infrastructure shortcomings.

“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.”

Live Nation is investing in several projects worldwide, working with Oak View Group on an arena in Lagos, Nigeria and with DF Entertainment on operating the historic Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina with DF Entertainment.

Tom Lynch of Live Nation EMEA spoke about The Dome project in Johannesburg, South Africa, citing how the city’s sizable population was a draw. The entertainment firm’s first permanent venue in Africa, The Dome will offer various configurations to best serve its performers and audiences.

“Johannesburg’s somewhere we see a huge future”

“It’s a huge market with a massive population,” said Lynch. “It’s an emerging market, not without its challenges to build new venues, to open venues, etc, but we’re seeing international artists starting to play there… Johannesburg’s somewhere we see a huge future.”

In the Middle East, changing trends in consumer behaviour are prompting new solutions for organisers to stay tapped into demand.

“Because of a shift in working culture compared to a decade ago, there are less people leaving in the summer as you’re expected to work all year, so we’re focusing on building more indoor venues and showcasing more Arabic content during the summer so that families will have something to do even during a normally quiet off-season,” said Paul Pacifico, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission.

For venues of all sizes, versatility is now of utmost importance.

“We can configure [the] venue for the amount of people that we expect,” said Ignacio Taier of Argentina-based Grupo Quality. “Therefore we can make sure the fan experience is at its best, and the artist also is performing to a full venue, even if that venue is not really full. We can host general admission ticket shows like parties or [club events to] fully seated shows.”

How will health and wellness disrupt industry standards?
To drink or not to drink? The question has plagued many live music attendees, with discussions about how to supplement slipping bar revenues at venues becoming a focus over the week.

In the Open Forum, CAA’s Maria May raised that young adults across the board are reducing their drinking, and asked whether venues in the UK – where binge drinking has reduced greatly – need to change their business models.

“You’ve just got to adapt constantly because the market doesn’t stand still”

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

“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,” he added.

Late nights are a core component of touring acts and crews, who are constantly on the road to make it to their next destination. In Wellness vs The Industry, panellists spoke about the mental and physical toll that touring takes on those working on and off the stage.

The question for the future is: how will the industry change alongside a growing work/life balance alongside a decrease in alcohol consumption for fans and workers alike?

Coldplay may have the answer. In a session dedicated to their record-breaking Music of the Spheres world tour, production manager Chris Kansy said the band and team prioritise the wellbeing of their crew.

“The level of respect that they give to everybody on their team, and the amount of care and emotional work that they do in regard to making sure everything is fine, I just couldn’t be more happy to work for Coldplay. I respect them greatly, and I respect management greatly, and their vision for the band, so having this kind of job is incredibly rewarding.”

“The power of the network starts to bring everybody up”

Superstruct reveals its secret to success
To close out Wednesday’s programme, Superstruct Entertainment co-founder and chairman James Barton shared how the firm scaled to become the world’s second-largest festival promoter in just six years, emphasising the value of partnership and collaborative networks.

“The core philosophy of the business is that it’s about the festivals. It’s about the owners of the festivals. It’s not about us. That’s why we haven’t done an interview. We do our best never to talk about ownership, we talk about partnership. It’s about the brands, and it’s about the people behind the brands.”

“When you get enough scale, and enough good people in the room, you can share information, data and good practices. So then the power of the network starts to bring everybody up.”

Despite their sizable portfolio of festivals — the company owns and operates over 80 across Europe and Australia — Barton’s message stresses collaboration over control as a means of success.

The London-based festival firm helps facilitate operations for events including Wacken Open Air, Parookaville, Tinderbox, Sónar, Øya, Arenal Sound, Kendal Calling and Boardmasters.

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The International Live Music Conference’s annual deep dive into the venue sector delved into new markets, capital city residencies and the impact of 2025’s huge stadium summer on arenas.

Oak View Group (OVG) International’s Rebecca Kane Burton, Marie Lindqvist of ASM Global Europe, Live Nation EMEA’s Tom Lynch and Ignacio Taier of Argentina-based Grupo Quality convened for ILMC 37’s The Venue’s Venue: Anchor Topics session at London’s Royal Lancaster, chaired by James Drury.

Kane Burton brought up OVG’s investment alongside Live Nation in Lagos, Nigeria, while Lynch discussed LN’s new live entertainment space, The Dome, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“It’s a huge market with a massive population,” said Lynch. “It’s an emerging market, not without its challenges to build new venues, to open venues, etc, but we’re seeing international artists starting to play there. We’ve got Tems in a few weeks and Central Cee’s going down there, but then a huge domestic talent pool as well. So Johannesburg’s somewhere we see a huge future.”

Lindqvist spoke of ASM’s projects in Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as the UK.

“Italy is a very interesting market for us,” she said. “We’re involved in two new builds outside Milan: one in Bergamo, which will have its first show in a couple of weeks, and another project in Cantù, also in the Milan district. Here in the UK, it’s such a big market if you compare it to the rest of Europe, so we’re opening up in Derby in just a few weeks.”

“There’s been an increase in the amount of tickets that we’re selling and the amount of shows that we’re promoting, so there’s definitely an audience”

Taier, meanwhile, referenced Live Nation and subsidiary DF Entertainment recent 40-year agreement to operate Buenos Aires’ Luna Park.

“There’s a need for more venues everywhere, and Latin America in general,” he says. “We have seen more venues in Colombia, Brazil and other places, so I think that’s a constant.”

He added: “There’s been an increase in the amount of tickets that we’re selling and the amount of shows that we’re promoting, so there’s definitely an audience. The thing is, all costs have gone up, ticket pricing has come down, so there’s a problem there. But in general, tickets are selling, so there’s an opportunity.”

However, Lynch suggested the market was still currently under-served in terms of mid-size venues.

“I sat on [the ILMC] stage on the old hotel five years ago and talked about that gap in 4,000-5,000 cap rooms, and we’ve not really moved on a huge amount,” he observed. “And when we look across Europe, actually, there’s that huge gap still. We’ve got plenty of large scale clubs here in the UK, the US is coast to coast and France is okay. But in every other country, you tend to have 2,000-cap theatres and then an arena, so artists are trying to do two, three, four, night runs to fulfil the needs of their fans and that’s not necessarily very efficient.

“We’ve got a venue in Amsterdam, AFAS Live, and if I could pick AFAS Live up and put it in every major city in Europe, I would do. It’s intimate enough that you’re playing to maybe 2,000-3,000 fans, but you’ve got a big production, you’ve got high ceilings, you’ve got a good PA and it feels like an arena show.”

“A capital city without an arena just doesn’t make sense”

Taier agreed that being able to offer a level of versatility was ever-more important.

“That’s really key nowadays, because we can configure it venue for the amount of people that we expect,” he said. “Therefore we can make sure the fan experience is at its best, and the artist also is performing to a full venue, even if that venue is not really full. We can host general admission ticket shows like parties or [club events to] fully seated shows.”

Lynch also revealed his excitement at Live Nation’s mission to restore Finland’s Helsinki Halli to the arena international touring map. Live Nation has taken on a 20-year long-term lease to operate the venue, which is scheduled to reopen this spring after being mothballed for the past three years due to sanctions on its previous Russian ownership.

“A capital city without an arena just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Wherever the touring goes, artists want to play in capital cities.”

Be that as it may, the panel raised concerns that certain regional markets were being neglected as major tours increasingly focused on the capitals. Taier said the trend was particularly noticeable in Argentina.

“Many shows go to Buenos Aires, the capital, and they just stay there,” he said. “They don’t come to B-markets or C-markets and that is something that really affects us, but we can understand it. There are a lot of artists that prefer to travel less and do more nights at the same place.”

“You’re creating a barrier between those that can afford and those that cannot – and many young fans cannot”

Lindqvist admitted to fears that some younger fans from outside the capital cities could be priced out of attending as a result.

“You have to buy an expensive ticket, and then on top of that, possibly buy airfare and hotels, so I think you’re just creating a barrier between those that can afford and those that cannot – and many young fans cannot,” she said.

“We all know that you don’t start to go to gig when you’re 30 or 40. You start when you’re a teenager. Building that kind of passion and love for music starts at an early age, and we’re providing a barrier to that. I think we’re going in the completely wrong direction, and we’re also diluting the cultural life in cities that are not the A-markets.”

She added: “Why would a city or a private developer invest in new venues or infrastructure and so forth, if the shows aren’t coming to the city? So I think it’s a worrying development that we need to take seriously.”

Nevertheless, Lindqvist dismissed suggestions the rise of stadium shows could have a negative effect on ticket sales for arena productions.

“I think it’s two separate businesses,” she argued. “Maybe, on the other hand, it’s just creating more buzz around live music and people that get to experience a big stadium show will hopefully go to more arena gigs. We’re having a strong stadium year, but we’re also having an extremely strong arena year in most markets, so I think it’s just good for the industry.”

Summing up, Kane Burton stressed that the industry had a collective responsibility to make sure the right artist was playing the right space.

“Thinking about our buildings and thinking about real estate, there’s a massive opportunity,” she concluded. “There’s some huge spaces, right across the world, that just don’t get used in three quarters of a year. What’s good for one city in one space is good for the entire city. So from an ecosystem point of view, I think we should embrace it.”

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The team behind Coldplay’s history-making Music of the Spheres run have revealed all about the most well-attended concert tour ever in a special ILMC 37 panel.

The band’s agent Josh Javor of WME, production manager Chris Kansy and Live Nation promoter Phil Bowdery were joined by Laura Coroianu of Romania’s Emagic for yesterday’s Coldplay: ‘Inside Music of the Spheres’ conference session at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Since kicking off in Costa Rica in March 2022, the tour has comprised 184 shows across multiple continents, including Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Oceania, with more than ten million tickets sold.

It has also set records for consecutive shows at numerous venues around the world, including ten nights in Buenos Aires, six shows in San Paolo, six shows in Singapore and three dates in Auckland, with a ten-night Wembley Stadium residency to follow later this year.

“The tour has also been heralded and recognised by climate action leaders around the world for its efforts in sustainability, which has led to a 59% reduction in CO2 emissions over the first two years of the tour,” noted moderator Ruth Barlow of Beggars Group.

“The important thing for the band is that every single ticket is sold, and everyone can afford to come to the show”

Discussing their sustainability commitments, Bowdery said: “The band, particularly Chris [Martin, singer] has always wanted to make sure that he was doing everything he possibly could to help in all of those areas. So every time they have toured, they’ve always looked at ways of trying to bring that to fruition.

“It was a commitment from all of them. They realised that by touring the way that we are – it’s quite a large show – they needed to try and do something in the way of sustainability… we have to try and cut down our footprint.”

So far, Music of the Spheres has been seen by 10.3 million people and grossed an estimated $1.14 billion, but Javor suggested it was the former statistic that took priority.

“The important thing for the band is that every single ticket is sold, and everyone can afford to come to the show,” he said. “Having the accolade of the highest-grossing tour of all time is not something they’re necessarily interested in… They want to have the tour that the most amount of people came to see.”

At three years and counting, the tour is already significantly longer than Coldplay’s previous global outings.

“Coldplay, historically, had never really toured for more than about two years,” pointed out Javor. “The last tour, we started in Buenos Aires in March 2016 and finished in November ’17. So when we all started this, genuinely, I don’t think anyone thought we’d be sitting here still doing it now, but I think the way the tour has morphed, and how everyone’s been enjoying it, has allowed us to continue.”

Tantalisingly, Bowdery added: “We’re not finished yet,” as Javor crossed his fingers when asked about the possibility of further tour dates.

“What was very important for Romania is it was the first time a show sold out basically the minute it was put on sale”

Javor disclosed that planning for the trek began as far back as 2019, before the pandemic. He said the cities visited in its first year of the outing were “quite standard” touring stops, with new territories becoming more of a focus in years two and three. Suggestions from fans also fed into the strategy.

“We will get messages because they’ve seen something on their social media that they want us to look into,” he explained, adding that the band’s two gigs at Bucharest’s 53,000-cap Arena Națională in June 2024 arose simply from never having played in Romania before (“We’d never been and we wanted to go”).

Emagic’s Coroianu, who organised the shows, suggested the concerts represented a victory for perseverance.

“We’d been sending offers in since about 2010,” she laughed. “Chris made up his mind that he wants to see other fans, and we got lucky. I think the confirmation came at ILMC the year before. We had a meeting and we heard that we’d got the show. Nobody believed in the beginning, and then it dawned upon everybody that it was really happening.

“What was very important for Romania is it was the first time a show sold out basically the minute it was put on sale. That never happened before. We were flabbergasted.”

“Chris and the band really know how to present their show”

The band’s tour announcement back in late 2021 came hand-in-hand with a 12-point plan for cutting their carbon footprint, including a pledge to reduce their direct carbon emissions from show production, freight, band and crew travel by at least 50% compared with their previous A Head Full of Dreams stadium tour.

Kansy, who recently became the first person to collect IQ Magazine‘s award for top production guru (aka The Gaffer), twice, spoke about the visual elements of the ongoing production.

“Coldplay has a tried and true formula for presenting their shows: no roof, open air, long runway, B-stage, C-stage, so they can get to different ports of the stadium and play to everybody,” he said. “They’ve done that again on Music of the Spheres, and it’s just bigger. There’s just more: it’s brighter, there’s more LED, the whole confetti presentation is just so, so effective. Chris and the band really know how to present their show, they know their audience, and they’re very good at it and very successful.”

Kansy also talked through the key sustainability practices.

“We started off doing the easy stuff – the stuff that anybody could do: no plastic, trying to keep food waste down,” he said. “But the meat and potatoes, no pun intended, behind the whole thing is how we power the show with BMW batteries. All of our shows are powered on batteries and that’s not just part of the show, it’s all of the show.

“We do have to use generators to some extent to charge the batteries when we can’t use sustainable house power, but we run our generators a fraction of what a normal show would and, more often than not, run HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] fuel.

“And then, of course… we’ve got our energy floors, where fans actually jump on the suspended rubber floor and the kinetic energy charges batteries. We’ve got solar that we lay out at the front of house. We’ve got solar that we lay out at the seats behind the stage. Those all charge batteries.”

“We need a significant amount of power to run the show, so there’s a lot of forethought and a lot of clever people involved”

He added: “We need a significant amount of power to run the show, so there’s a lot of forethought and a lot of clever people involved in this project to make sure we’re on point and make sure we have power and make sure that we’re as sustainable as possible.”

Bowdery praised the contribution of Live Nation sustainability manager Ariel Bojeun, who is on the road with the band for the entirety of the tour.

“In whatever city they’re going to, Ariel will be doing her job to make sure that she’s contacting all the local bus services and train services so that they can push on the Coldplay website the most sustainable way of getting to the gigs,” he said. “Ariel will make sure that even from crew catering, there’s no food wasted in any way, shape or form. If there is anything left, it goes to a local charity or local food house. So Ariel’s job is very complex and time-consuming, but she makes sure that everything works on the sustainability side.”

In closing, Kansy, who has worked with the likes of Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Mary J Blige and Roger Waters in his 40-year career, summed up where Music of the Spheres ranks among his highlights.

“People ask me all the time, ‘What’s the favourite tour you’ve ever done?’ There’s so many different ways to answer that question,” he said. “Is it the money you make? The music you listen to every night?

“With Coldplay, it’s almost all there. The management and the band are so wonderful to work for. The level of respect that they give to everybody on their team, and the amount of care and emotional work that they do in regard to making sure everything is fine, I just couldn’t be more happy to work for Coldplay. I respect them greatly, and I respect management greatly, and their vision for the band, so having this kind of job is incredibly rewarding.”

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The international live music industry’s best-loved awards – The Arthurs – were handed out during the biggest Gala Dinner in the event’s history.

More than 450 professionals attended the ceremony at the five-star Royal Lancaster Hotel in London last night (27 February).

In keeping with the conference theme, the event went under the title The Sub-Aquatic Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards, with CAA’s Emma Banks returning as host, assisted by A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill.

Eleven awards were handed out in total, including the famous Bottle Award, which recognises an individual who has contributed greatly to the live music industry.

This year’s Bottle Award recipient was Phil Rodriguez, CEO of Latin America’s Move Concerts, which has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru, Puerto Rico and Miami. The legendary promoter, who has chalked up almost 50 years in the live business, was instrumental in the development of touring in the continent and has worked with artists such as Ed Sheeran, the Rolling Stones, U2, Shawn Mendes, Bruno Mars, Shakira, Katy Perry and Iron Maiden.

“Congratulations to this year’s Arthur winners, who show the strength and depth of the live business across the world”

The top promoter award went to Kim Bloem of Mojo Concerts in the Netherlands, while the ‘second least offensive agent’ category was won by Chris Payne of WME. The top festival award (Ligger’s Favourite Festival) went to Rock in Rio, Brazil and Sphere, Las Vegas, claimed the Venue Award, while the Assistant Award went to Louise Thomas of SJM Concerts.

“Congratulations to this year’s Arthur winners, who show the strength and depth of the live business across the world,” says ILMC MD Greg Parmley. “2025’s ILMC Gala Dinner was the biggest edition in our long history and I also want to thank everyone involved in its production.

“It was a particular pleasure to see Phil Rodriguez receive the prestigious Bottle Award. The response of the hundreds of industry peers in the room shows the warmth and deep respect felt towards a man who has led the way in developing the international touring market across South America.”

For more than two and a half decades, The Arthur Awards (the live music industry’s Oscar equivalents) have taken place during ILMC. The shortlist of nominees in each category are decided by a committee of 150 industry professionals. Winners are then decided by a combination of an open vote of all ILMC members and IQ Magazine readers, and a closed panel of judges made up of senior industry figures.

The full list of winners can be found below.

THE INDUSTRY CHAMPION AWARD (THE UNSUNG HERO)

Pascal Viot, YES Group & Paléo Festival

THE ASSISTANT AWARD (THE PEOPLE’S ASSISTANT)

Louise Thomas, SJM Concerts

THE PRODUCTION SERVICES AWARD (SERVICES ABOVE & BEYOND)

Beat the Street

THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AWARD (SERVICES ABOVE & BEYOND)

Freyja Handy, ASM Global

THE TICKETING PROFESSIONAL AWARD (THE GOLDEN TICKET)

Andrew Parsons, Ticketmaster

THE VENUE AWARD (FIRST VENUE TO COME INTO YOUR HEAD)

Sphere, Las Vegas

THE YOUNG EXECUTIVE AWARD (TOMORROW’S NEW BOSS)

Chloe Cura, AEG Presents

THE FESTIVAL AWARD (LIGGERS’ FAVOURITE FESTIVAL)

Rock in Rio, Brazil

THE PROMOTER AWARD (THE PROMOTERS’ PROMOTER)

Kim Bloem, Mojo Concerts

THE AGENT AWARD (SECOND LEAST OFFENSIVE AGENT)

Chris Payne, WME

THE BOTTLE AWARD

Phil Rodriguez, Move Concerts

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A handful of leading Middle East-based executives broke down the region’s rapid development on the live entertainment scene and the issues impacting the nascent market in an ILMC panel.

Chaired by CAA’s Emma Banks, today’s Middle East Live: States of Growth session featured Oak View Group UAE’s Ian Campbell, Fridge Entertainment founder Shelley Frost, Platinumlist’s Cosmin Ivan, All Things Live Middle East CEO Thomas Ovesen, Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission CEO Paul Pacifico and Lance Tobin booking VP for Bahrain’s Al Dana Amphitheatre.

Cosmin presented a slideshow of Platinumlist’s statistical findings throughout 2024, which included an 800% increase in popularity for hip-hop across the region, a marked rise in attendees for Arabic and international live music concerts, and a wildly different “ticketing culture” compared to the West.

“We need to understand that the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries have a different pattern of purchase compared to Europe, which means a lot of last-minute ticket sales,” noted Cosmin. “Eighty percent of sales sometimes occur in the last three days prior to an event, which does cause some slight panic from organisers unfamiliar with the region.”

There has also been a concerted effort to combat ticketing fraud in the Gulf, with nonexistent shows and tours often being advertised on social media with the aim of taking advantage of an audience still getting accustomed to the region’s increasing prominence in the live entertainment sphere. Despite those concerns, it is a huge “sign of growth for the market” according to Tobin.

“We obviously have to strike down on these scams with the help of local government initiatives, but in a way, it shows that there’s a lot of money to be made as the show count continues to rise in the region,” he said.

“There is a real push to change the perception of the KSA as a hub of vibrancy and enthusiasm to outsiders unfamiliar with the country”

Cosmin also spoke about the boom in Saudi Arabia, where attendances for parties at beach clubs rose by over 100%.

“Seventy percent of Saudi Arabia’s population are younger than 35 years old and are more digitally aware than previous generations, so there is a real push to change the perception of the KSA as a hub of vibrancy and enthusiasm to outsiders unfamiliar with the country,” Campbell said.

The importance of developing a sustainable music grassroots ecosystem in the Middle East was also discussed.

“I read the other day that 60% of streaming numbers on [streaming platform] Anghami emanates from Arabic music, which is fascinating as music consumption leaned more towards Western music in the past,” Frost recalled, adding that international acts should make inroads in collaborating with more local talents during their tours.

“When we brought Jacob Collier over to the UAE, I remember him wanting to join a local jam session,” she added. “Tapping into the local music scene and working with grassroots organisations can only be beneficial for everyone.”

It’s a new thing for Arabic audiences to get accustomed to paying to see local talent on stage

That sentiment was echoed by Ovesen, who emphasised the importance of changing the framework in the grassroots scene.

“Historically, the top Arabic artists generate most of their revenue via their records, so there’s no incentive for them to perform live shows,” he said. “It’s a new thing for Arabic audiences to get accustomed to paying to see local talent on stage as opposed to seeing them for free playing at a wedding, for example, and one way to change this model is to have Western promoters getting their artists to showcase more domestic supporting acts.”

From funding new venues and investing into talent to initiatives designed to redefine cultural norms within the Middle East, regional governments role in supporting the ever-growing live entertainment scene across the GCC was also detailed.

“September 2025 will mark the first time that public schools in Saudi Arabia will have a music curriculum,” said Pacifico, whose role as the head of the country’s musical commission saw 9,000 teachers hired to head up this historic programme as well as advocating for all-year-round schedules in the calendar.

“Because of a shift in working culture compared to a decade ago, there are less people leaving in the summer as you’re expected to work all year, so we’re focusing on building more indoor venues and showcasing more Arabic content during the summer so that families will have something to do even during a normally quiet off-season,” Pacifico continued.

The 37th International Live Music Conference wraps up tomorrow (28 February) at the Royal Lancaster in London.

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UK culture minister Chris Bryant set out the government’s priorities for the music industry in an appearance at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

The MP welcomed delegates to kick off the 37th edition of the gathering, which is being held this week at London’s Royal Lancaster. Bryant began his address with a message aimed at overseas visitors.

“If there’s anybody here who has a contact with anybody in a European government, could you just please tell them it is absolute nonsense that British artists can’t tour effectively across the whole of the European Union,” he said. “It’s not just that you’re losing out on amazing British artists, it’s also that some music festivals in Europe really need those British artists to be able to flourish. And so if you could have a word with your governments, I’d be really, really grateful.”

In the wake of Labour’s election victory last summer, Bryant explained that he was tasked with devising a 10-point plan for music by the government.

“It’s already a 27-point plan, which I hope we’ll be able to publish in June,” he said. “We want to make sure that every single child in every single school in this country has a chance to play a musical instrument, has a chance to act or take part in drama or in dance, or has a chance to paint or sculpt and exercise their artistic self-expression. And we also want to make sure that there’s better remuneration for artists.”

“There’s nothing more special than seeing somebody in a tiny venue who then goes on to be an enormous success”

He continued: “One of the reasons that this industry has flourished so phenomenally in recent years is, of course, artists are going back on stage, and I’d like a bit more of a mix. I’m 63, I know it’s difficult to believe! But there are artists who are performing [that are] much older than me. It would be nice if more of the younger artists were able to take those big stages and those big arenas, and part of that is making sure that there’s a proper remuneration for them in the era of streaming, and that’s one of the things we’re working on.”

Just before Christmas 2024, Bryant held a roundtable meeting with senior figures from the UK live business following the government’s plea to the live industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector. He offered an update on the subject at ILMC.

“We’ve already said that we’re very keen, as a government, on an arena levy for big arena tickets – a £1 levy that will go to fund smaller music venues around the country, and I hope we’re going to have progress on that soon,” he said. “I’m really hopeful that we’ll be able to do this, because I’ve always believed that music, like all the creative industries, is an ecosystem. You only get the Paul McCartneys and the Elton Johns, if you also have the people right at the start of their career coming on in every single generation.

“There’s nothing more special than seeing somebody in a tiny venue who then goes on to be an enormous success. We want to make sure that we’ve got that mixture of massive venues and small venues where you can have the intimacy of the experience.”

“We’ve got a consultation that’s ongoing on to how to tackle the secondary ticketing market in the UK, and we’re determined to make it fairer for fans”

Bryant also commented on the government’s highly-anticipated consultation into the secondary ticketing market, which launched last month.

“One of the things that has undermined your industry in the UK over the last few years has been the secondary ticket market, where the artist and the venue have said that the ticket is worth £100, and it ends up being sold for £5,000 or £10,000 or £15,000 or whatever,” he said.

“We’ve got a consultation that’s ongoing on to how to tackle the secondary ticketing market in the UK, and we’re determined to make it fairer for fans.”

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Dance music legend Moby and ascendant singer-songwriter Declan McKenna were the focal points of a special keynote session to close yesterday’s Green Events and Innovations conference (GEI17).

The leading conference for event sustainability is organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

The hour-long keynote at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel was chaired by Cathy Runciman of EarthPercent — a charity dedicated to linking the music industry to some of the most impactful organisations addressing the climate emergency, and is renowned for producing & releasing the world’s first bio-plastic (plant-based) vinyl records.

Both McKenna and Moby (who joined the panel digitally from his home in Los Angeles) sounded off on a plethora of topics ranging from the creative process to the trials & tribulations of activism. Here were a few of the highlights…

The differences between making music in sunny Los Angeles and the grey UK…

Declan McKenna: “There’s definitely an effect, and I can hear the difference between the stuff that I’ve made. For my last album [What Happened to the Beach?], some songs I wrote in LA and others I wrote back home [in Brighton], and the latter stuff was definitely somewhat moodier, whereas the Californian sunshine allowed me to step back and relax a bit in the creative process. New environments are one of the most important factors into doing things differently.

“It’s more than just the weather though. There’s so much inspiring stuff out there that I couldn’t help but write some “moodier” material as well, but even with that ‘darkness’ in a musical sense, it’s the juxtaposition between the two places that makes it interesting. In LA, there’s a lot of people who’ve left their homes and lives behind to chase their dreams, likely also reinventing themselves to become someone completely new. That, of course, has its pros and cons.

Making more “playful” music after breaking through with bold political messaging…

DM: “It’s not without reflection of a wider world. Being playful with music doesn’t strictly mean escapism. I think all of my music has some reference to something that I feel about the world. If I have to react to something emotionally by way of writing about it in a song, it has to come from a genuine emotion, like anger, or fear, or sadness. These things are a big driving force for emotion. But when I’m not experiencing that, I’m kinda looking for joy, and that’s what I had for most of the last album.”

“Americans have basically been driven insane by living in the state of constant apocalypse”

Reflections on pressures on artists nowadays…

DM: “We’re in a time where it feels like there’s a lot of change within the industry. I think that amongst the pressure, it’s important to remember the pressures on young artists. Does it impact you? The main thing that it boils down to in terms of protecting artists is that while there’s so much change, they need to be allowed to make art in a way that’s natural to them, so that they can grow organically and not feel this immense pressure that turns them into something they’re not. With so many methods of self-promotion such as TikTok and other social media platforms, they need to remember to exercise those strategies with caution. However, if constantly promoting on TikTok has worked for them, then maybe just leave them to their devices.”

Moby’s thoughts on the aftermath of the LA wildfires…

Moby: “I’m hesitant to ascribe any positive aspects to what was apocalyptic, but people’s response was phenomenal. I saw a side of people I’d never seen before. Pure altruism. The scope of the devastation was so much worse than what was reported. The Palisades and Altadena were gone, tens of thousands of homes and buildings reduced to rubble, cars melted, engine blocks turned to melted metal, but only two things didn’t burn in Altadena: the trees and grapefruits. Hopefully there’s a lesson to be learned in that everything we build can be destroyed, but nature has this inherent sort of encoded mechanism by which it survives.”

The lack of discussion regarding climate change after what happened in LA…

Moby: “I was in New York City after 9/11 and I was criticised for saying that this was a failure in national security. So with the fires, it’s obvious that climate change was a huge variable, kinda like if you hold a brick in the air and you drop it, you’re not necessarily talking about gravity pulling it to the ground. That’s why I think some didn’t mention it, but others were too devastated. There was a two-week period where almost everyone in LA would go to sleep not knowing if they’re gonna burn to death at night.

“I was talking to some friends from Belgium and they were trying to understand the American character. Something apocalyptic is constantly happening, like they’re either freezing to death or baking to death. Americans have basically been driven insane by living in the state of constant apocalypse.”

“I spent decades touring, but as time passed, I realised that I just loved staying at home”

Moby’s thoughts on the current state of play on animal agriculture…

Moby: “I’ve been vegan for 37 years and working on behalf of animal rights, and in the animal rights community, we sometimes refer to addressing animal agriculture as being the “Swiss army knife of activism” because a lot of it is well-intentioned and great but its linear, whereas the baffling horror of using animals for fashion are cancer, diabetes, heart disease, pandemics, deforestation, plastic climate change, and so on.

“It has a lot of competition, but animal agriculture is the single most destructive entity that humans ever invented, which is saying something as we invented the fossil fuel market. If we give up animal agriculture, we reduce climate change by 30%, we reduce healthcare spending by 60% to 70%, we prevent almost all pandemics, we end rainforest deforestation, we almost end ocean acidification, and we end ocean plastic in the ocean by about 50%. An alien would ask us why do you keep sustaining and subsidising an industry that destroys everything it touches, and I’d answer that we’re idiots [laughs].”

Moby on getting back into touring after a decade-long hiatus…

Moby: “I spent decades touring, but as time passed, I realised that I just loved staying at home. My manager kept trying to convince me to get back on the saddle, and I resisted for the longest time. Then, he finally tricked and trapped me [laughs]. He suggested that I could give my money to animal rights and climate organisations. Goddamn it, I couldn’t say no.

“However, it’s really tricky to give money away. For last year’s tour, we had to spend multiple calls with different lawyers about how I could not make any money from it because I didn’t want there to be any hint of self-interest. All the money went to these different accounts that I’m not involved in, and I got paid just one dollar.”

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It is wonderful to host the exciting Middle East Live: Venue Boom session at the 2025 edition of ILMC. Our speakers include many leading venue experts within the region including the UAE’s Brint Jackson from Ethara and Mark Jan Kar from Coca-Cola Arena; and Saudi Arabia’s Khouloud Ben Khalifa from Riyadh’s Rotana Arena and Barry Bremner from Qiddiya.

As I celebrate 25 years supporting the ILMC, and having led many international businesses, including Oak View Group and the European Arenas Association, it is amazing to see the ground-breaking changes occurring in the Middle East.

At the start of the new millennium, much of the Middle East Gulf Region had not developed in terms of sports and live entertainment content and infrastructure. Today, the Persian Gulf region attracts and produces some of the world’s major events, including Formula One Grand Prix races in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

The NBA has hosted several games at Etihad Arena for the past three seasons. And for music and festival’s, the strength of the region is clearly demonstrated by Coldplay’s record-setting four shows attracting 200,000 fans at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium, and with MDLBEAST’s Soundstorm festival, located near Riyadh, attracting annually more than 100 artists and 700,000 fans.

“For the next five to ten years, the region will continue to explode”

For the next five to ten years, the region will continue to explode, with new sport and entertainment venues in Saudi Arabia located within major “giga projects” and markets. These include Riyadh’s Diriyah and King Salman Park, and other projects in Qiddiya – NEOM and ROSHN – and cities including Jeddah and Dammam. Many of these will be developed to support the 2030 World Expo and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, featuring 15 proposed stadiums.

It is also important to recognise the paradigm shift of event production in the Middle East. Instead of hosting special one-off events in the region, with many artists not bringing their full production due to the expense of travel, set-up costs, and lack of facilities, the global touring market for artists now has multiple cities within the region from which to host concerts and sport events. Thus, planning can be accomplished on an east-to-west (and vice-versa) basis, encompassing routing through Europe to the Middle East, Africa/South Africa, and Asia.

There probably is no better example than Coldplay’s global Music of the Spheres Tour, which began in 2022 and will end this August, with 225 concerts encompassing unique markets. These include Bocaue in the Philippines, Jakarta, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, and Mumbai and Ahmedabad in India, in addition to the aforementioned UAE shows.

Please join us for this exciting session and to hear from the industry experts on the tremendous growth of the venue and entertainment business!

• Brian Kabatznick will host Middle East Live: Venue Boom at ILMC on Thursday 27 February from 11:30-12:30.

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Australian punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers have been confirmed as the keynote interview for next week’s ILMC Futures Forum.

The conference for next-generation live music business leaders will return to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Friday 28 February 2025 as part of the ILMC.

For the final session of the day, Amyl and the Sniffers frontwoman Amy Taylor will sit down with BBC Introducing’s Abbie McCarthy to discuss the band’s illustrious live career, her take on the business, and the band’s recent album Cartoon Darkness.

Formed in a Melbourne share house in 2016, Taylor, Dec Martens (guitar), Gus Romer (bass) and Bryce Wilson (drums) have enjoyed a rapid rise over their near-decade of existence.

“The band are on the brink of transforming critical acclaim and cult status into something much bigger”

Their explosive live shows have earned them three sold-out shows at London’s Roundhouse, support slots with Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day, and festival appearances at Glastonbury, Primavera, Best Kept Secret and Bandland. Meanwhile, their firebrand discography has continued to draw critical acclaim, with CLASH dubbing their most recent LP Cartoon Darkness as “The most important moment for rock music in 2024… album of the year”.

This year, the BRIT-nominated band will embark on what looks to be their biggest 12 months yet, including an extensive world tour and appearances at Coachella, Hurricane/Southside and more. As The Guardian wrote, “The band are on the brink of transforming critical acclaim and cult status into something much bigger”.

Amyl and the Sniffers are represented by ATC Live (EU/Asia/Latam), Arrival Artists (NA) and Supersonic (AUS/NZL).

News of the keynote comes after Futures Forum unveiled the full speaker lineup, which includes Connie Shao (AEG Presents), Jess Kinn (One Fiinix Live), Raven Twigg (ASM Global), Dotun Bolaji (Primary Talent International), Beckie Sugden (CAA), Alice Hogg (ATC Live), Kara Harris (Live Nation) and many more.

Passes include a full day of innovative programming, a five-star lunch, refreshments, drinks, and networking opportunities.

For more information or to purchase passes, click here.

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