Concert footage of controversial hip-hop trio Kneecap is being investigated by British counter-terror police following claims it involves the group calling for the deaths of Conservative MPs.

A video has emerged from a November 2023 show by the bilingual West Belfast trio, where one band member allegedly says: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”.

Another video from a 2024 gig in London, which appears to show a member of the band shout, “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” – organisations banned as terrorist groups in the UK – is also being assessed by the Metropolitan Police.

“We were made aware of a video on 22 April, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been referred to the counter-terrorism internet referral unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required,” says a Met Police spokesperson. “We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023.”

Downing Street has described the group’s alleged comments as “completely unacceptable”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the group to be prosecuted over the alleged videos, referencing the 2021 murder of Conservative MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery.

“Kneecap’s glorification of terrorism and anti-British hatred has no place in our society,” she said in a post on X. “After the murder of Sir David Amess, this demands prosecution.”

Kneecap have claimed they are facing a “co-ordinated smear campaign”

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, has called on the trio to “urgently clarify” their views on Hamas and Hezbollah.

Kneecap – Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh – have claimed they are facing a “co-ordinated smear campaign” after speaking out about “the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people”.

Earlier this month, meanwhile, the group parted company with their North American agency International Artist Group (IAG), which will no longer serve as a sponsor for the band’s US work visas. IAG has confirmed the split, which reportedly took place in between their two performances at Coachella, without giving further details.

After claiming their pro-Palestinian messaging had been censored during their Coachella weekend one livestream, Kneecap shared a “fuck Israel, free Palestine” message on stage for their second weekend show, which was not livestreamed.

The move prompted fierce criticism – notably from Sharon Osbourne, who said they “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements” and called for the group’s US work visas to be revoked. Writing on social media, she alleged their set featured “projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech” and claimed the band “openly support terrorist organizations”.

“The band Kneecap will not be performing at Hurricane and Southside Festivals this year”

The trio addressed the backlash on Instagram, saying: “Since our statements at Coachella – exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people – we have faced a coordinated smear campaign. For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.

“The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.”

Kneecap are due to return to the US for a run of sold out shows this autumn at venues such as The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York, Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, Kentucky, Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee, and The Filmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but will need to apply for a new permit under a new sponsor.

Elsewhere, promoter FKP Scorpio has cancelled the band’s scheduled performances at its twin German festivals Hurricane and Southside this summer.

“The band Kneecap will not be performing at Hurricane and Southside Festivals this year,” an FKP spokesperson tells Welt.

The trio are still listed for multiple festivals and headline dates across Europe this summer. IQ has approached FKP, the band’s management and Primary Talent – Kneecap’s booking agency outside of North America – for comment.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Yet more records tumbled as Taylor Swift officially closed the book on the European leg of The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium last night.

The singer welcomed surprise guests Florence Welch and Jack Antonoff to the stage for the finale of her five-night Wembley stint, which brought her total number of Eras gigs at the London venue to eight – more than any other city in the world.

Swift also played three shows at Wembley in June, and the completion of the run sees her crowned as the biggest-selling female artist to ever perform at England’s national stadium, in addition to setting a new bar for the longest residency of a solo artist at Wembley and equalling the overall record set by Take That’s 2011 Progress Live.

Produced by Taylor Swift Touring and promoted by AEG Presents and Messina Touring Group, Eras last year became the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue – a feat achieved before it had even left North America. Swift took in an estimated ticket gross of $1.04bn, with 4.35 million tickets sold from 60 shows. The 2023 run was calculated to have generated an additional $200 million in merchandise sales.

And despite playing for more than three hours on each date, the 34-year-old has still left fans wanting more, with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie earning $261.7m globally, according to Box Office Mojo, to become the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history.

Her previous global outing, the Reputation Stadium Tour, was the second highest-grossing of 2018, behind Ed Sheeran’s ÷, after netting $345.1m from 2,89m ticket sales across 53 shows. In the intervening years, she has released five new studio albums, as well as four re-recorded LPs, while her planned 2020 Lover Fest tour, which was to have included multiple European festival headline slots, was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“She has become multi-generational, appealing to fans of hers from her earlier eras, to younger fans who have discovered her music in recent years”

So why exactly has Eras captured the zeitgeist to such an extraordinary extent? International Artist Group EVP and head of global music Jarred Arfa, who previously described the trek as “like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon”, suggests it is easy to overlook Swift’s longevity.

“Of course there are many reasons [for the success],” Arfa tells IQ. “But one that doesn’t get discussed often is despite the fact that she is only 34, she has now had hits for 18-plus years. She has become multi-generational, appealing to fans of hers from her earlier eras, to younger fans who have discovered her music in recent years.”

Marie Lindqvist, SVP operations at ASM Global Europe, credits Swift’s ability to foster a uniquely devoted fanbase.

“Taylor Swift has developed a community of fans that are kind, generous, inclusive and colourful,” she says. “I think that is what the world needs with so much polarisation, war and stress around.”

Referencing the American hitmaker’s three-night stand at the ASM-operated Friends Arena (now Strawberry Arena) in Sweden in May, Lindqvist adds: “Stockholm was a bubble of joy and positivity with Swifties from all over the world for a week. According to a recent study by the Stockholm School of Economics, the people of Stockholm were happier during that week and felt a sense of community. That is unique and resonates on a global scale.”

Theo Quiblier of CTS Eventim-backed TAKK, which worked on Swift’s Zurich double-header in June alongside AEG, Gadget abc Entertainment Group and Taylor Swift Touring, dubs the Swiftie movement a “cultural phenomenon”.

“The show itself is almost secondary,” he says. “All these young women coming together as one as a community is really bigger than everything else. One day everyone is talking about it and then you’re part of what is now a society.”

“The level of demand and hyperbole surrounding the Eras tour is completely detached from the rest of the live music market”

The tour format – a setlist of around 45 songs split into 10 acts representing each of Swift’s studio albums – is another clear USP.

“The scale and ambition of these shows feels quite unusual in this day and age – especially the intensity of the execution, the length of the performances and the global nature of the tour,” reflects David Martin, CEO of the UK’s Featured Artists Coalition. “Essentially, you’re talking about a genuine global superstar at the peak point of their career. We’ve seen similar cultural phenomenon before with the likes of Michael Jackson, Coldplay and Beyoncé.

“Taylor Swift is the most popular artist in the world right now, and the level of demand and hyperbole surrounding the Eras tour is completely detached from the rest of the live music market.”

Matt Kaplan, head of UK/EU at resale marketplace Tixel, notes the concerts’ cross-generational appeal.

“It’s really been a perfect storm,” he says. “The media headlines of her personal life aside which have fuelled the lore, we’ve seen a social currency in attending Eras shows that transcends generations — rare for any artist or even for a festival with dozens of artists.

“I think that Taylor’s secret is in having a very wide wingspan combined with nearly two decades of wild success – she’s spanned country and pop; young, raw songwriting to polished pop gold; her songs speak to today’s anguished teen just as much as they speak to the 20-something heartbreak of someone in their 40s; personas like ‘Swiftie Dad’ have been fuelled, creating a parent-child bonding moment.

“She’s wholesome, talent-filled and intelligently outspoken and the kind of character that parents want their daughters to look up to, which easily translates into funding an expensive ticket. And all the while, Taylor keeps herself relevant, visible, and above all else stays directly intertwined with her fanbase through surprise and delight moments and clues that fans delight in deciphering. There’s no wonder there’s university courses studying Taylor’s business and brand.”

Indeed, Swift’s cultural impact as led at least 30 education establishments to offer courses focused on the singer, while London’s V&A Museum recently hired four superfans as advisors about her fan culture.

The Eras Tour will now take a two-month break before restarting in the US at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on 18 October. As things stand, it is set to wrap up in Vancouver, Canada on 8 December.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

US-based talent agencies APA and Artist Group International (AGI) have merged to form Independent Artist Group (IAG).

New York’s AGI was founded in 1986 by Dennis Arfa and is owned by the Yucaipa Companies, the private-equity group controlled by billionaire investor Ron Burkle, which also made a strategic investment in LA-headquartered APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) in 2021.

The merger announcement sees Arfa appointed chair of IAG’s music division, with AGI president Marsha Vlasic named vice-chair and APA president Jim Osborne becoming CEO. The new full-service agency promises to intensify competition in the international live music agency landscape, which had been largely consolidated by just four companies – CAA, Wasserman, UTA and WME.

“This was the natural next step in our evolution and made in the best interests of our valued artists,” says Arfa. “We have admired how Jim Osborne and their colleagues have been market leaders in creating brand expanding, non-touring revenue opportunities for their clients and we are excited to build on that success with them and look forward to integrating under the Independent Artist Group banner.

“We are excited to grow our music touring footprint especially with APA’s roster of urban and comedy artists, which augments what we have built at AGI. The combination of artists, agents and offices provides us with a tremendous platform with exciting growth possibilities in the touring and crossover space, which is our plan.”

“This new partnership with AGI and our rebrand to Independent Artist Group is another major step that elevates us within the agency landscape”

The deal brings APA clients such as 50 Cent, 2 Chainz, Fetty Wap, Deep Purple, Mary J Blige and Lauryn Hill, and AGI’s roster, which includes the likes of Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park, Metallica, Noel Gallagher, Motley Crue, The Strokes and Iggy Pop, under one roof.

“Dennis Arfa and his exceptional colleagues at AGI are revered in the industry, having built a spectacular artist roster and a sterling reputation,” says Osborne. “The great news is we have already established a tremendous working relationship with them through shared representation on some of their most valued artists. This new partnership with AGI and our rebrand to Independent Artist Group is another major step that elevates us within the agency landscape.”

Deadline reported last week that APA head of music Bruce Solar would be departing the agency alongside a number of other agents. Paquin Artists Agency announced the acquisition of APA’s Canadian business earlier this month.

Yucaipa also has interests in London-based agencies X-ray Touring, ITG and K2, US promoter Danny Wimmer Presents and agency Day After Day Productions, and Spain’s Primavera Sound festival, as well as management company LBI Entertainment and sports agencies ISE and Steinberg Sports.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.