Concert execs talk 2025 hopes, trends & challenges
As we enter what could be a historic year for international touring, the challenges faced by those in the live music industry are growing exponentially.
“The development with the greatest impact on our daily business remains the increase in costs for virtually everything we do,” states FKP Scorpio’s Stephan Thanscheidt, who contends that such constraints may be thwarting some promoters from rolling out new festival formats and touring concepts.
“Nowadays, events need to be sold out to be successful, so there is little room for experimentation and error,” he continues, stating that many other festival organisers are “suffering.”
However, noting that Scorpio’s success allows the company to push ahead with new ideas, he adds, “We are excited about the continued success of event formats such as family entertainment and exhibitions. We have numerous exciting projects in the pipeline and are eager to develop this sector across Europe.”
Looking ahead to 2025, optimism abounds, with nearly everyone that IQ spoke to for this report predicting a blockbuster 12 months.
“There’s going to be a ton of great traffic next year,” says Wasserman Music EVP and managing executive Marty Diamond, citing the growing fanbases of Raye, Tyla, Isabel LaRosa, Zach Templar, Tom Odell, and Alex Warren as some of the most exciting projects going into 2025. “In the context of the big stadium and arena tours, obviously, the success and comeback of Oasis is incredible, and I think it might ignite a resurgence of great rock music again, as there are certainly some really great rock bands emerging.”
Move Concerts’ Rodriguez concurs, “2025 is looking good for us. So far, we have a solid number of shows lined up. Those announced include Katy Perry dates – that kicked off strong – and we’re also partnering on Ado with Concerts West, who quite frankly, convinced us to take the risk with them, and sales kicked off beyond our expectations.”
“Within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive”
However, noting the scarcity of availabilities, given the volume of tours next year, Diamond warns, “You have to really be purposeful about who’s on the road, why are they on the road, and what vehicles of support are out there for them on the road. Because, within the traffic patterns that we’re seeing, the weak are not going to survive.”
Identifying some of the trends that the industry might want to keep an eye on in 2025 progresses, Live Nation’s John Reid says, “The growth of Latin artists across Europe is clear, with Spain acting as a gateway to the rest of the continent. Karol G’s record-breaking sold-out shows at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium is a perfect example of the appetite for Latin music.
“Country and Americana genres are also gaining in popularity across the globe, with multiple headliners selling out arenas, and I’d expect that growth to continue through 2025 and beyond.”
That rings true with Christian D’Acuña, senior programming director at The O2 in London. “One of the most exciting trends in recent years is the rise of various genres of music from all over the world, with Afropop, Latin, K-pop, and South Asian artists performing and selling out shows at The O2,” he reports. “In 2025, I expect that to continue, with the likes of Ateez, Maluma, and Ado all confirmed in our diary, with more to come.”
Reid also points to responsibility for the environment becoming more prominent. “Sustainability is a top priority for many of today’s artists and fans. Through our Green Nation initiative, we are focused on helping preserve the live music experience for generations to come – leveraging our festivals and venues to power events with renewable energy, rolling out reusable cup schemes, or working with partners to deliver environmental education and awareness programmes on site for concertgoers, to name a few.”
D’Acuña is on the same page, stressing that sustainability has become a major consideration for venue operators. “Earlier this year, we hosted the world’s first carbon-removed events with The 1975,” he recalls. “The pilot events saw the extraction and removal of 136.46 tonnes of residual carbon per show, equating to 545.9 tonnes across the four-night residency – the equivalent yearly electricity usage of 395 average homes! As a venue, we are now in a position to offer out the model to other artists, so my hope is that we get a good uptake for carbon-removed shows in 2025 and beyond.”
“Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations”
While the cost of touring will continue to be a significant obstacle for many acts at the mid-tier and emerging talent level in 2025, the opportunities for AAA-list talent have never been better, with stadia operators cashing in on the many megatours confirmed for the year ahead, and new markets, such as Saudi Arabia and cities in Asia, putting together offers that further enhance the revenue streams for those at the top of the talent food chain.
Mathieu Jaton at Montreux Jazz Festival believes the industry is “at a decisive turning point, marked by an increasingly clear divide between two economic models: the traditional live music business and the big entertainment business.”
He explains, “Fans from all over the world travel to experience ‘Taylor’s experience’ or ‘Adele’s experience.’ This economic model is now more akin to major international sporting events like the World Cup, the Olympics, or Formula 1. Culture has become a powerful driver of mass tourism, transforming cities into global cultural destinations.
“In contrast, some artists, such as Massive Attack, have taken a different direction: prioritising an eco-conscious approach. They strive to drastically reduce the environmental impact of their tours, recognising that audience travel remains the heaviest ecological factor. However, this approach inevitably limits the economic returns generated, unlike the strategies adopted by artists like Taylor Swift or Adele.”
ASM Global’s Marie Lindqvist is one of many to pick up on concerts as a destination trend. “I think we will see more shows being the reason to go to a destination or a city,” she says. “We can tell from our ticketing data that the share of fans travelling in from other countries or regions to Stockholm has increased. Concert tourism is strong.”
UTA’s Obi Asika frames it in a different way.
“There’s lots of high-profile artists with stadium shows lined up for next summer. The elephant in the room –and the question the industry is asking – is how are all these tickets going to be sold? I’m fascinated to see whether the industry has got it right,” he states.
“We’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger”
Outlining some of the trends he has noticed for his Rockhal venue, whose location helps to attract fans from its native Luxembourg and neighbouring France and Germany, among others, EAA president Olivier Toth notes that there appears to be some evolution in the popularity of genres. “Hip-hop in our market is slowing down. But now we’re seeing a renewal in international pop, folk pop, punk rock – indie seems to be growing stronger.”
He also reveals that artists are returning to markets quicker than what was once the norm. “It used to be two or three years between shows, but now we’re down sometimes to just one year. And then obviously you also have an evolution in cost structure and cost volume, where ticket prices year-on-year increase, and that can make it tricky to promote the follow-up show.”
Forecasting 2025, John Giddings says he is looking forward to, “The sun shining all summer long (fingers crossed)… There are now more open-air shows than ever, and there were too many cancellations this year.”
And on a more practical note, Age Versluis at Dutch promoter Friendly Fire admits to being delighted that a proposed VAT lift (9 to 21%) no longer seems to be happening. “After Covid setbacks, staffing issues, and rising costs, we are all very happy [about that],” he tells IQ.
For his part, AEG global touring president Rich Schaefer says, “I think we’ll see shorter tours – more multiple-night runs, for sure. I also think we’ll see a slight market normalisation continue in 2025, which makes pricing and venue choices more important than ever before.”
“The largest metric for success is the box office”
Analysing ticket trends, AO Arena’s Gemma Vaughan reports, “2024 saw a reduction in [ticket] transactions but an increase in average transactional value. I think as we move into 2025, we will see more ticket ballots, fair ticketing, face value resale restrictions, and the continued rise of the experience economy across all events.”
Sales are a top priority for Kirk Sommer, global co-head of music at WME, who opines that nurturing artists who catch the public’s imagination has become a real skill. “The largest metric for success is the box office,” he says. “The rate at which some artists are making rapid ascensions at scale has required more focus on making the right strategic developmental decisions while being sure not to miss the moment.”
Sommer’s 2024 highlights included The Killers, Adele, and Billie Eilish. Next year, he says, “I am looking forward to the continued growth of Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, and Lola Young.”
UTA’s Asika concludes, “I’m just interested to see where we’re at as an industry come October 1, after festival season is over. With so many shows and so many tickets in the market, it will be fascinating to see how we did as an industry.”
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Live industry leaders on 2024’s ‘best bits’
While parts of the festival business took a hammering, and touring mid-tier and club-level shows proved tricky, contributors to IQ‘s end-of-year issue have cited numerous highlights from the past 12 months.
Detailing the evolution at DEAG, CEO Detlef Kornett points to different areas of expansion. “We’ve seen significant development in spoken word – in particular, literary and personality events,” he says. “Spoken word and literary events got ‘entertainment-ified’; they became a production with lights, sounds, and video, and they have become very attractive for consumers. We ran more than 300 events in Germany, more than 500 events in the UK, we doubled our business in Australia, and we even did our first tours in the US. So, for us, that has become a major development that I was hoping for but did not foresee – it was a bet that we took.”
At Live Nation, John Reid says, “2024 was a landmark year for live music across EMEA. [For instance], Tons of Rock in Oslo had a great year and also became Norway’s largest festival, which was a real highlight for the team. And of course, Adele’s Munich residency was a standout moment for us, breaking records across ten nights with 730,000 tickets sold, the world’s largest temporary stadium and LED wall, and an innovative 75,000-square-metre Adele World that drew over 500,000 visitors.”
That Munich residency won admirers everywhere.
“I was fascinated with what Adele’s team and Marek Lieberberg and his team pulled off,” admits Move Concerts founder Phil Rodriguez. “The whole concept of a temporary venue and residency was ambitious, but the execution was flawless. I have no doubt this will be a model that may be duplicated in different ways and/or scale in the future.”
From a ticketing perspective, Ticketmaster UK’s Andrew Parsons notes, “Residencies are reaching new heights and proving their staying power. From Adele’s groundbreaking run in Munich, the Eagles’ standout week at Co-op Live, Bruno Mars’ residency in Brazil, and Coldplay set for ten nights at Wembley Stadium next year, this trend opens doors for acts to stay on the road longer.”
“I thought we would be in trouble. But whoever said entertainment booms in leaner times was right”
Highlighting “two successful shows with Andrea Bocelli at Pula’s Roman Arena” that Charmenko’s head of promoting, Sara Gigante, organised, company founder Nick Hobbs reveals that the indie is also getting in on the stadia action. “Next year, we’re part of, most likely, four stadium-level shows, which I can’t reveal as they’re still TBC,” he says. “Generally, we seem to have plenty of work and are already deep into ’26. To what degree the work will be profitable remains to be seen; our margins were squeezed severely this year, and I’m trying to figure out what we can do about it.”
In the UK, industry veteran John Giddings, promoter of the Isle of Wight Festival, admits to being pleasantly surprised by the demand for tickets. “When I was reading about the cost-of-living crisis last year, I thought we would be in trouble. But whoever said entertainment booms in leaner times was right. After Covid (and Brexit), people are living for today.”
Reviewing 2024, Age Versluis at Dutch promoter Friendly Fire comments, “We’ve seen some artists that have been growing organically to hit their biggest shows ever here. Personally, I always look forward most to seeing what new things rise. If I see the lineups for the showcase festivals for next year taking shape, it’s going to be a year with some beautiful new music and live shows.”
Over in Miami, Move Concerts’ 2024 included tours with Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Keane, and Karol G.
“But the biggest thrill was to see the sales we had with Iron Maiden,” says Rodriguez. “We had stadium dates selling out in 30 minutes – they are bigger than ever! We’ve worked together for decades, and they are huge in our markets, but the speed and volume of sales for this tour were totally unexpected.”
That experience is being mirrored in Germany, where DEAG’s Kornett reveals, “Next year, in the UK, we’ve got the Stereophonics in Cardiff for two sell-out stadium shows. And in Germany, we have a fantastic Iron Maiden stadium tour. I haven’t seen Iron Maiden sales at this level in the last ten years.”
Catch up on part one and part two of IQ‘s 2024 Wrapped! feature.
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John Giddings: ‘Live music is alive and well’
Isle of Wight Festival boss John Giddings has spoken to IQ about the new exhibition dedicated to the history of the legendary event – and outlines why 2025 is shaping up to be live music’s biggest year yet.
Exhibition 25 runs at The O2 in London until 13 November and boasts an archive of images and footage featuring the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and Joni Mitchell.
It incorporates the three editions organised by Ray Foulk and his brothers from 1968-70, plus the Giddings-led years from 2002 onwards.
“We’ve done 22 shows and Ray Foulk, the original promoter, did three, which made it the 25th anniversary, so we thought we’d make an exhibition of it,” explains Giddings. “We launched it a year ago in Dimbola Lodge – the museum overlooking the 1970s site – and it was successful so we moved it to Newport, while the festival was on this year, and then we got the opportunity to move it to The O2 for a period of time.”
Since the 2002 reboot, the now 60,000-cap festival has hosted icons such as David Bowie, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, Jay Z, P!nk, The Who, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, Green Day and Robbie Williams.
“As long as people keep coming, we’ll keep doing it”
Following a public vote, the winner of the festival’s Most Magic Moment was revealed at last month’s exhibition launch, with Bowie’s 2004 set – which turned out to be his final UK performance – taking the honour. While Giddings agrees with the choice, he stresses there have been countless other highlights down the years.
“Jay-Z brought out Kanye West [in 2010] and I turned to my left, and Chris Martin was standing there with Beyoncé,” he remembers. “It’s just incredible the amount of people that have come. It’s the sunniest place in the UK; I think in 90 to 100 days at festivals, we’ve only had about five days of rain, so long may it survive. As long as people keep coming, we’ll keep doing it.”
Set for Seaclose Park, Newport from 19-22 June 2025, next year’s Isle of Wight Festival will star headliners Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake, plus Faithless, The Script, Paul Heaton featuring Rianne Downey, Teddy Swims, Texas, Olly Murs, Clean Bandit, Example and James, among others.
“This year is the biggest year so far with early-birds,” reveals Giddings. “And now we’ve gone on sale with Sting, Justin Timberlake and the Stereophonics, we’re nearly at 40,000 already.”
“The council decided to invite anybody in the music business to come and tender to restart it, and I was the only person that could be bothered to go down there”
Here, the Solo Agency founder delves deeper into the event’s legacy, reunion tours and other hot topics in the following Q&A…
What sort of reception has the Isle of Wight Festival exhibition had so far?
“We’ve had brilliant reviews. It’s had fantastic coverage, because there’s so much you can talk about. You’ve got the story of 600,000 people going to the island [in 1970] and it being the Woodstock of Europe, then the local MP decided to get it banned because it brought the island to a standstill. The population was only 100,000, so it was six times that and he brought in an act of parliament which forbade anybody having 5,000 people overnight anywhere on the island.
“After 32 years, the council decided to invite anybody in the music business to come and tender to restart it, and I was the only person that could be bothered to go down there. Everybody else in the music business thought, ‘How can you have a festival on an island you can only get to by boat?’ But I was sitting on the ferry thinking, ‘Fuck me, I came here in 1970 and saw Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. Why don’t I have my own festival? I book my acts on everybody else’s?’ And the rest is history.
“The first year was a one-day event with Robert Plant and The Charlatans, which had 7,500 people and I promptly lost the local council half a million pounds. So they gave me all the rights to it for the second year – they said, ‘Sod this, you take it over.’ I got the name, the venue, everything, and made it a two-day event, and I promptly lost half a million pounds. In the third year, I turned it into a three-day event with the Stereophonics, David Bowie and The Who, and sold out 35,000 [tickets]. It’s now 50,000 capacity and a going concern.”
When you relaunched the festival in 2002, did you think it would be for the long haul?
“Absolutely, utterly, no idea. It was a combination of stupidity and arrogance actually, because I think people were laughing at me behind my back, thinking it would never work. The only good news that I had was that I was in the music business and people trusted me to pay them.”
David Bowie’s 2004 headline set was voted the festival’s most magic moment, what are your memories of that performance?
“One of the most stupid things I ever did was put [a UEFA Euro 2004 football match] on the main screens. It was Germany versus England, and when I went to the dressing room to collect David, it was 1-0 to England, which was fantastic. But when I got back to the main stage with David, Germany were 2-1 up and David went on to complete silence from the audience. If it hadn’t been someone of David Bowie’s calibre, it would have been a disaster. So nowadays, I put in an extra screen somewhere on the site for the football; I would never screen it on the main stage again.”
It was actually England versus France…
“Oh, was it France? That shows how much I know about football! If it was a Grand Prix, I would know everything, but if you wrote what I knew about football on your little toe, you would have space left. I think I’m the only person in the music business who has absolutely no interest.”
“Next year is going to be the biggest ever. I think people are not looking to the future anymore, they’re deciding to have a good time now while the going is good”
How is 2025 shaping up for the concert business overall?
“It’s incredible. Between Oasis, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, it’s extraordinary the amount of tickets that are being sold and the amount they’re being sold for. The live music business is alive and well, because we all thought things might start tailing off after Covid and Brexit, but it’s got bigger every year. Next year is going to be the biggest ever. I think people are not looking to the future anymore, they’re deciding to have a good time now while the going is good.”
Are you concerned at all about the way ticket prices for big shows appear to be heading?
“I think it’s down to the market deciding. I mean, it still costs a lot more to go to a Grand Prix for two hours as opposed to getting entertained by the Rolling Stones or Taylor Swift. If people didn’t want to pay it, they wouldn’t pay it. It’s their choice, and just by the number of tickets that appear on secondary sites – however much we try and stop it – it still occurs, so there’s huge demand out there. And it costs a lot more to put on the show since Brexit and since Covid, because the costs have gone up so much.”
You caused a bit of a stir recently claiming Glastonbury couldn’t afford Oasis…
“I also said they wouldn’t play the Isle of Wight because I couldn’t afford them either [laughs]. They’ve decided to reform, have a good time and give an audience what they want. It’s up to them. You can’t dictate that a group must play festivals.”
What do you see as the secret of a successful reunion?
“It has to be after a period of time when nothing has happened and the demand goes up and up. Oasis are the soundtrack to lots of people’s lives, the same way the Sex Pistols were. We’ve reformed the Pistols with Frank Carter and it’s going gangbusters because everybody wants to hear Never Mind The Bollocks played live. The way that music is nowadays, the 15 minutes of fame happens a lot quicker and the older groups – Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones – have still got audiences. Audiences are living longer as well, which is quite relevant. People 60 years old-plus want to go out and be entertained, which wasn’t the case when I was a kid. The demographic has become older and it’s also become younger. I remember when we first did the Spice Girls, I saw people under 10 coming to Wembley Arena and I suddenly realised there was a whole new audience out there.”
Lastly, how do you plan to ensure the Isle of Wight Festival can thrive long into the future?
“I’ve always said that we book acts from the past, present and future. I think it’s a combination. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle you put together because there are 15 stages at the festival and I don’t want people to stand in front of the main stage all day long and watch 10 rock bands. I want there to be a diversity of talent, a breadth of talent. It takes a lot of energy coming up with ideas to put it together and you need other people to help you do it.”
PHOTO (L-R): John Giddings, Caroline Giddings and Luke Pritchard of The Kooks
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Is the touring boom hurting festivals?
Leading promoters have spoken to IQ about how the boom in huge stadium tours and outdoor concerts is impacting festivals.
In an industry first, a record five tours – Taylor Swift ($300.8 million), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($142.6m), Harry Styles ($124m), Elton John ($110.3m) and Ed Sheeran ($105.3m) – grossed more than $100m (€913m) in the first six months of 2023.
Earlier this week, it was revealed Styles, who headlined last year’s Coachella, grossed close to $600m overall with his recently wrapped 2021-23 Love On Tour. And with stadium runs by the likes of Coldplay, Beyoncé and The Weeknd sure to impact the rankings for the second half of 2023, Pollstar declared “the age of the blockbuster tour is upon us”.
With summer historically reserved for festivals, and touring more consigned to colder months, the recent boom in stadium shows puts A-list tours and the outdoor season head to head. With greater financial return than a festival appearance, the ability to play to more fans and complete control over a show’s production, it’s easy to see the appeal.
So with A-list artists increasingly skipping festivals in favour of their own, what’s the impact on festivals, and what does that mean for those lower down the food chain?
“Festivals fulfil a very special role in live music. The variety, value and intensity offered during several days of live music and entertainment is greater than the sum of its parts”
Courrier International reports that attendance at Dreamhaus’ Rock im Park in Germany, which was topped by Kings of Leon, Die Toten Hosen and Foo Fighters, fell to 75,000 this year, having attracted 90,000 in 2022, with expense cited as a factor. According to trade association BDKV, the average price of festival tickets in the country is up 15% on 12 months ago due to rising costs.
FKP Scorpio reported more positive news, with its twin Hurricane and Southside festivals – headlined by Muse, Die Ärzte, Placebo and Queens of the Stone Age – coming close to selling out, pulling in crowds of 78,000 and 60,000, respectively. FKP MD Stephan Thanscheidt accepts that bigger acts often prefer to play solo shows, but believes the festival sector retains a unique selling point in a changing market.
“Festivals fulfil a very special role in live music,” he tells IQ. “The variety, value and intensity offered during several days of live music and entertainment is greater than the sum of its parts – therefore, the demand for well thought-out festivals remains high, even in economically demanding times.”
Eva Castillo, communication director for Last Tour, promoter of festivals such as Spain’s Bilbao BBK Live and Cala Mijas, and Portugal’s MEO Kalorama, says there is no reason both scenes cannot continue to coexist and thrive.
“They go hand in hand and are compatible with each other,” says Castillo. “A festival is an experience that goes beyond music, featuring both well-known and emerging artists in a venue that has its own distinct characteristics.”
“One of the key challenges posed by the rise of big stadium shows is the financial aspect”
Over in Australia, Christian Serrao, co-founder and managing partner of Melbourne-headquartered Untitled Group, says the explosion of outdoor music spectaculars has had a “noticeable impact in flooding the market”, affecting festivals and diverting people’s spend on entertainment.
“Our one-day festivals face more challenges than camping festivals,” he contends. “We are finding that people are seeking the immersive camping experience, which allows them to connect with nature and create lasting memories beyond music performances.
“One of the key challenges posed by the rise of big stadium shows is the financial aspect. These shows often require a significant investment from attendees, which can take a toll on people’s wallets, especially considering factors like inflation and the rising cost of living. As a result, people have become more selective in the events they choose to attend.”
The trend has prompted the firm to think outside the box and make strategic decisions, like booking Nelly Furtado for an exclusive show at its flagship festival Beyond The Valley.
“To ensure the success of our festivals, we focus on creating distinct experiential brands,” adds Serrao. “Our marketing emphasises the unique selling points like location, stage design, art installations, and activities such as workshops. For instance, [the festival] Grapevine Gathering offers a winery experience with live music, vineyards, and wine tasting.
“Some stadium shows cost around $400, comparable to our camping festivals, which provide four days of music, art, and camping—an irreplaceable immersive experience. Festivals set themselves apart from big stadium shows by offering experiences beyond music.”
“Putting on a stadium show doesn’t come cheap… It’s becoming a serious investment for a customer and I do think it will have an impact on festivals”
AEG Presents UK Steve Homer admits to being taken aback by the sheer volume of “high quality stadium shows” around Europe this summer, and feels it is inevitable that others will suffer as a result.
“We’re not talking the odd date – people like Harry Styles, Beyoncé and Arctic Monkeys are doing large numbers of dates, which is really impressive, so I do think it has an impact on available money,” he says. “No matter what people say, the cost of living is a real issue and it’s expensive to go to shows at that level. We’ve all gone through the rigmarole of increased costs from transport, to fuel, to everything else.
“Putting on a stadium show doesn’t come cheap and obviously the ticket price has to reflect that in some way. I think it’s becoming a serious investment for a customer and I do think it will have an impact on festivals.”
The 20th anniversary edition of Live Nation’s Download Festival, however, became the fastest-selling in its history, offering headline sets Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, with the latter playing two unique sets on separate nights. AEG’s London concert series BST Hyde Park also enjoyed a record year, shifting around 550,000 tickets for gigs by Guns N’ Roses, Take That, Blackpink, Billy Joel and Lana Del Rey – plus two nights each from Pink and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
“Download had its best year ever, but that’s a very genre specific event, and British Summer Time is more like a big stadium show than a traditional festival,” argues Homer. “But we may see some of the more boutique festivals struggle if people have been going to these mega stadium gigs and it will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the summer.
“It’s great that these things are happening, but there is a finite amount of money and I think we’ll see the pinch somewhere. Whether it’s smaller festivals, whether it’s theatre tours, people just don’t have the money.”
“The top level is always protected. It’s the small to average level which is going to get affected”
As promoter of Isle of Wight Festival and MD of Solo Agency, John Giddings has a foot in both camps. IoW 2023 was a 55,000-cap sellout, and Giddings, who has worked on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball and Beyoncé’s Renaissance stadium dates for Live Nation over the past couple of summers, has a hunch is that if anyone loses out, it won’t be the festival business.
“People are prepared to pay a load of money to go to something they know is going to be fantastic, but they might not go to one or two smaller gigs,” he tells IQ. “I haven’t seen much evidence of it yet, but it does worry me to an extent because the top level is always protected. It’s the small to average level which is going to get affected to be honest.”
Elsewhere in the UK, last weekend’s Kendal Calling, which starred Nile Rodgers & Chic, Kasabian, Blossoms and Royal Blood, was a 40,000-cap sellout. Andy Smith, co-MD of the Lake District festival’s promoter From The Fields, says the season appears to have been a mixed bag across the board.
“On the grapevine, I hear a bit of difficulty with the newer shows and the generally less established ones,” says Smith. “If you were just making do previously, it sounds like it’s a struggle now. But if you were doing well previously, it seems to have got better. So it does seem to be more more extreme one way or another.”
“We had some concerns at the beginning of the season, but it had no impact on our ticket sales”
The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) previously revealed that its members are on course to attract a total audience of 3.3 million to their events in 2023. The trade body represents the interests of 105 UK music festivals, including GreenBelt, El Dorado, Deershed, Valley Fest, End of The Road, Pitchfork London, Field Maneuvers and We Out Here, and AIF CEO John Rostron says he has seen “no evidence” that big ticket gigs are affecting festival sales.
“What we are seeing with gigs of all sizes this year is a new trend for very last minute sales,” he adds. “It looks very likely that last minute buying is a trend, though ‘last minute’ for festivals tends to be a few weeks before, rather than the day before, as people need to plan their travel, camping and the like.”
Meanwhile, Dany Hassenstein, booker of Switzerland’s Paléo Festival, reports the 2023 Nyon event sold-out in record time, aided by a line-up headed by Rosalia, Indochine, Martin Garrix and Black Eyed Peas.
“We had some concerns at the beginning of the season, but it had no impact on our ticket sales,” he tells IQ. “Probably because there are no stadium shows in our immediate market.”
Recent research by economist Will Page using data from PRS for Music found that the portion of spend on live music by UK consumers had grown hugely when it came to both stadium shows and festivals – from 23% of the total market in 2012, to 49% in 2022.
Evidently, fans are spending more of their money on bigger shows, whether that’s festivals or stadium tours. And with Page noting the club market has also grown over the last decade, where that leaves traditional theatre and arena shows – as part a much bigger pie than 10 years previously – promises to be equally revealing.
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IOW’s John Giddings: ‘Business is booming’
Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings says “business is booming” ahead of one of the UK’s biggest live music weekends of the year.
The 210,000-cap Glastonbury welcomes headliners Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John from tomorrow to Sunday, while AEG’s British Summer Time Hyde Park (cap. 65,000) kicks off in London tomorrow with All Things Orchestral, followed by two shows by Pink.
Solo Agency boss Giddings has worked on Beyoncé’s recent Renaissance stadium dates and Madonna’s upcoming Celebration tour for Live Nation. With Festival Republic, meanwhile, Solo is staging Dog Day Afternoon, a one-off outdoor show at Crystal Palace Park on 1 July, featuring Iggy Pop, Blondie and punk supergroup Generation Sex.
“I was really worried at Christmas about the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t seem to be evident – people want to go out and have a good time”
“Beyoncé sold out to the rafters, we’ve sold out Madonna in the autumn, we’ve got Iggy Pop and Blondie at Crystal Palace Park a week on Saturday and we’ve obviously got some acts at Glastonbury, so there’s a lot knocking around,” Giddings tells IQ. “Business is booming – booming. I was really worried at Christmas about the cost of living crisis, but it doesn’t seem to be evident – people want to go out and have a good time and enjoy themselves.”
Giddings is also basking in the glory of last weekend’s sellout Isle of Wight. The 55,000-cap event was headlined by Pulp, George Ezra, the Chemical Brothers and – for the first time in his career – Robbie Williams.
“It was incredible,” says Giddings. “You always wake up on Monday morning and think, ‘How the fuck am I going to beat that?’ I mean, Robbie Williams was a different level, he was absolutely extraordinary. He told his whole life story, warts and all, and played the songs to go with it. He’s such a showman.”
“We’ve definitely established Isle of Wight as one of the Premier League festivals”
More than 22,000 tickets for this IoW 2023 were sold in the week after last year’s festival.
“That’s better than usual,” he says. “Early birds [for 2024] go on sale this Friday. And it’s interesting that as soon as we sell out, I get a million emails and phone calls saying, ‘I haven’t bought a ticket yet.’ So I said to everyone, ‘Buy one early this time!'”
He adds: “I think half the audience come because they love the event and the other half come because of the lineup. We’ve definitely established it as one of the Premier League festivals. You can’t compare Glastonbury because that’s in its own league, but we’re up there with Leeds-Reading, etc.”
“You can’t do the same thing year in, year out. It’s like a Formula One car – you have to develop it as it evolves”
Giddings revived the legendary festival in 2002 after a 32-year hiatus and has continued in his leadership role since Live Nation acquired a controlling stake in 2017. Other acts on the bill this year included Courteeners, Blondie, OneRepublic, Sugababes, Anne-Marie, Sam Ryder, N-Dubz, Niall Horan and Manic Street Preachers.
“It’s just making it better for the general public because they pay us to come, and we pay the artists to come, so in a sense the audience are more important than the artists and you have to create different areas for them to be entertained,” says Giddings. “We’ve got 15 stages and I discovered things that I didn’t even know existed. There’s a special Cabaret Club at the back of the Intoxicated Tea Rooms, and we develop new things every year.
“This year we had a drone show, which came all the way from Australia because I used it with The Corrs last November, and it had an image of the Isle of Wight Festival evolving into the needles and stuff like that. It just makes it more interesting for people.
“You have to just keep doing things to keep everybody interested and you can’t do the same thing year in, year out. It’s like a Formula One car – you have to develop it as it evolves.”
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Solo strikes biofuel deal over IoW festival site
Solo Agency has struck a “groundbreaking deal” with an Isle of Wight biogas firm to generate more than 950,000 kWh of electricity using grass from the Isle of Wight Festival site – almost twice the amount of energy used during the festival.
The Newport-based Black Dog biogas plant supplies power to the Vestas Offshore Wind Blades facility, further contributing to the sustainability outcomes of the project.
Solo, owned by Isle of Wight Festival leaders John and Caroline Giddings, has turned over the land it holds for festival camping to biofuel production – with grass harvesting being conducted either side of the June event.
“I’m really pleased that we’re able to give our land a new lease of life, helping to generate renewable energy and making sure the fields are used productively year-round,” says John Giddings. “On top of delivering one of the UK’s best music festivals on the island, we have also sought to play a positive role in the local community and we’re proud that we will be doing our bit in the push for a more sustainable future for the island.”
“We want the Isle of Wight Festival to be the most sustainable festival in the UK”
The new project is the latest in a host of initiatives designed to make the festival more sustainable. Organisers are currently working with the Isle of Wight Council on a scoping exercise around installing a new electricity sub-station near the site. The move would enable the most energy intensive areas of the festival to be powered from the grid rather than generators, leading to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“We want the Isle of Wight Festival to be the most sustainable festival in the UK,” adds Caroline Giddings. “Year on year we have done more to ensure that our event is as sustainable as possible, from small scale changes, such as the type of cups and cutlery we use, to systemic shifts such as the push to get the main stage area on the electricity grid. This latest initiative builds on that decade of work to keep us at the forefront of environmental activity in the industry.”
The 2023 Isle of Wight Festival takes place between 15-18 June at Seaclose Park, Newport, featuring headliners Pulp, George Ezra, Chemical Brothers and Robbie Williams.
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Solo Agency names Jonathan Lomax as managing director
Solo Music Agency has appointed Jonathan Lomax as managing director to work with owners Caroline and John Giddings across the agency and the Isle of Wight festival, in the UK.
Lomax joins Solo after a 20-year career running communications agencies in London. For two years through the Covid pandemic, Jonathan ran the political lobbying and communications work for the live music industry body LIVE. He led a team working with a wide range of industry leaders to help them navigate the ever-shifting sands of policy during the pandemic, and fought to ensure the financial plight of the industry was on the radar of media and government.
In addition, he has also advised and overseen communications activity for international arena development businesses on their plans for new large-scale venues in the UK.
Lomax says: “It was one of the privileges of my career to support the live music industry during the pandemic, when I met the most interesting and committed people. Despite everyone telling me that I was mad, I was determined to work in the industry permanently and I am thrilled that John and Caroline have taken me into the Solo family.
“I find myself feeling incredibly lucky to be working with such legends of the industry”
“Yet again I find myself feeling incredibly lucky to be working with such legends of the industry as we push forward both the Isle of Wight Festival and Solo. I’m very excited and start the job knowing that, at the very least, there will never be a dull day at work.”
Caroline Giddings adds: “At Solo we’re always looking to bring in new ideas and fresh thinking and we’re excited about someone helping us run the company who has extensive experience in other fields. Like many people in the industry, we got to know Jonathan during the dark days of the pandemic and we’re excited to be working together as a team in happier times as we look to turbocharge both the agency and the Isle of Wight Festival.”
John Giddings comments: “Things never stay the same in this business, you either change or die. I’m really pleased that Jonathan is going to be working with the team on Solo’s next phase and I’m looking forward to many more successful days ahead.”
The lineup for Isle of Wight festival 2023 was recently revealed, with acts including Pulp, George Ezra, Chemical Brothers, Sugarbabes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anne-Marie, Gabrielle and Blondie.
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Giddings on Lady Gaga’s seminal stadium run
John Giddings has told IQ how the European leg of Lady Gaga’s rescheduled worldwide stadium tour triumphed over prevailing issues.
More than 280,000 tickets sold for the six-date leg of The Chromatica Ball, which wrapped last weekend with two sold-out shows at Tottenham Hotspur stadium (cap. 62,850) in London.
The Live Nation-promoted tour, which also visited stadiums in Germany, Sweden, France and the Netherlands, marked the first-ever public live performances of Gaga’s #1 selling and Grammy-award-winning album Chromatica (2020).
“The show is incredible and everyone was blown away,” says Giddings, who worked as the European tour coordinator for Live Nation. “She’s proved herself to be a world-class superstar and this is her coming of age.
“Selling 280,000 tickets is fantastic,” he continues. “After the pandemic, you’re a) worried about selling tickets and b) worried that the people who have bought tickets either won’t come or will ask for a refund because they’ve got Covid. So it was a fantastic success to have all these people turn up.”
While Gaga’s packed venues bucked the no-show trend that some tours are still experiencing, the Solo boss says the European leg faced some of the same challenges, from staff shortages to illnesses to production costs.
“The problems of touring are two or three times worse than they were before the pandemic”
“First of all, you’ve got Brexit, so you have to import and export to each country,” he explains. “Then there’s the pandemic to go with it because – remember – countries like Germany are still a bit behind and you have to wear masks on planes and things like that.”
Countering the ongoing prevalence of Covid-19, the tour required crew to take a test and put on a mask before going backstage. “It was like the old days in the UK when you couldn’t walk down the road without taking a test first,” he says.
Add in the rising cost of fuel (which Giddings says costs at least a third more than it did pre-pandemic) and uncertainty around cancelled planes and trains, and The Chromatica Ball became a triumph over adversity.
The outcome, Giddings says, was an “incredibly successful tour” which garnered glowing reviews across the board. VICE said Gaga’s London show was “a once-in-a-lifetime artist playing a once-in-a-lifetime show” while NME hailed it “a thrilling, high-concept return from pop’s finest” and Evening Standard says it was “as perfect as a performance gets”.
The tour even broke some personal records for Gaga, who performed for her largest audience to date – 78,500 attendees – at Paris’ Stade de France.
But it was the shows at Tottenham Hotspur stadium that proved to be the standout dates for the Isle of Wight boss. “I have to give a gold star to Tottenham Hotspur stadium because it was fantastic and they really looked after us well,” says Giddings. “There was brilliant sound and the production looked incredible in there. The way it was built is perfect for a show.”
The Chromatica Ball tour continues across North America and Asia for 14 more shows with stadium stops in Canada, the US and Japan.
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John Giddings trumpets IOW’s ‘brilliant’ return
Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings has told IQ the event sold almost 50,000 tickets for its return to its traditional June date.
IOW’s 2021 edition at Seaclose Park was held last September due to the pandemic, but was back on more familiar ground this year from June 16-19.
“It was a brilliant weekend,” says Giddings. “It was back in its natural slot and it seemed like we were back in gear to be honest because last year seemed a bit scrambled. Although everybody was good natured, it was slightly odd being in the wrong month, and this year, everybody was just really up for it.”
Headlined by Muse, Lewis Capaldi, Kasabian and Pete Tong, other artists included Madness, Nile Rodgers + Chic, Sigrid, Blossoms, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Jessie Ware, Rudimental and Tom Grennan.
“Muse were incredible, Nile Rodgers was as brilliant as usual, and Kasabian blew me away, they were phenomenal,” beams Giddings. “You always worry when the singer changes, but [Serge Pizzorno] has taken it to a new level.”
“It went from a heatwave all the way up to Saturday lunchtime, then the temperature dropped like a brick”
The only minor negative was provided by the fluctuating weather, with high winds resulting in the main stage action being briefly suspended on Saturday on safety grounds.
“It went from a heatwave all the way up to Saturday lunchtime, then the temperature dropped like a brick and the wind blew and I had to stop Blossoms halfway through,” explains Giddings. “But we turned it around and Kasabian and Pete Tong went down a storm. And then Sunday was fantastic, finishing with Muse. Ninety per cent was brilliant weather, 10% was dodgy.”
Despite the well documented supply chain issues impacting the live events business, Giddings says the run-up to the festival went largely to plan, notwithstanding the reduced lead time.
“We only had nine months as opposed to a year,” he says. “But the fact that we paid our bills quite quickly mean we seem to have been a priority for suppliers.”
“Some festivals are struggling this year because there’s three years’ worth of touring in one year”
However, Giddings acknowledges the ongoing challenges affecting the wider sector.
“We were lucky, we sold just under 50,000,” he says. “But I’m aware of the fact that some festivals are struggling this year, because basically there’s three years’ worth of touring in one year. If you’re called Adele or Harry Styles, you’ve done great business, but there are people out there not doing as well.
“There’s just too much on in a short period of time. It’s always the mid range which is going to struggle and there’s a serious cost of living problem and if you’re going to spend some money, you’re only going to spend it once as opposed to three times.”
The Isle of Wight County Press reports two people suffered minor injuries when a metal pole came loose in a small bar tent in the Octopus Garden area during high winds on Saturday. “Medical attention was provided within four minutes by the onsite medical team, the structure was safely secured and both people were discharged back into the festival,” said a spokesperson.
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Six of the best from Alex Hardee & John Giddings
Heavyweight agents Alex Hardee and John Giddings served up a treat for ILMC delegates by starring in one of the most entertaining panels yet seen at a music business conference.
Coda Agency co-founder Hardee, now of Wasserman Music, and Isle of Wight Festival promoter Giddings, of Solo Agency, sat down in front of a standing room only audience to review their respective career paths and retell some of the many stories of their lives in the concert industry.
Here are six of the best tales (that we can print) from the double act’s ‘Dragons’ Den’ masterclass…
Why they became agents…
John Giddings: “I couldn’t get a real job. When I was 14 at school my mate said his group had split up and why didn’t I learn to play bass and pull a few chicks, so I thought it was a good idea. But then we were playing Harpenden Youth Club and a skinhead came and stood in front of me and said, ‘If you don’t stop playing now, I’m going to hit you,’ which was the end of my musical career. But I was better at booking the gig than being in it and my mate was social sec at the local college and he got a job in the music business. So I knew if you went to university and became social sec, you’d meet people in the music business and get a job. I got offered a job… Barry Dickins couldn’t decide between me and Paul Loasby, so he employed both of us.”
Alex Hardee: “Believe it or not, I actually was doing aeronautical engineering at university. My brother [the late Malcolm Hardee] was a comedian and he introduced me to lots of other comedians like Steve Coogan, Eddie Izzard… And I started booking them while I was a student. Then I got a 2:2 in my second year in aeronautical engineering and [careers’ advice] said, ‘If you work really hard and get a 2:1 then you will be able to work in Enfield Aerodrome and get £16,000 a year.’ And I went, ‘Fuck no, I’m already earning £25,000 a year!’ So I left university the next day and that’s how I became an agent. I mean, some still say I am a comedy agent…”
“Groups should pay little commission when they start and more commission when they earn money”
Changing client relations…
JG: “When you start, you’re petrified about losing an act because you need to earn the money to pay your mortgage. And then finally, when you earn some money and you buy your house, the relationship changes. If a group comes to you and says, ‘We want to do this tour of beaches and rent a big top and go around the UK.’ And you can tell them it’s a fucking stupid idea which you couldn’t tell them before because you’re worried about losing them. But then when acts get to a stadium level, it’s a different level of representation. I’ve always thought groups should pay little commission when they start and more commission when they earn more money, but… it doesn’t work like that. Try telling a group they should pay you more money when they get bigger. And the poor little group has no money to pay you in the first place.”
AH: “As soon as you’re worried about losing an act, you’ve already lost them. What’s quite interesting is when an artist starts to become unsuccessful they can’t fire the record label. So probably first thing they’d do would be to fire the agent, because they don’t have a contract. But it’s interesting in Covid… I thought there’d be a lot more change. But the agents couldn’t get blamed for nothing happening for the last two years so they couldn’t get fired!”
“The middle is being squeezed and it’s going to be quite a tough summer. A lot of shows aren’t going to hit that breakeven point”
The ’22 summer season…
JG: “Shows that went on sale before Christmas have done quite well, but shows that have gone on sale since then are beginning to struggle and it’s becoming soft in the market, because there’s three years’ worth of touring in one year. So we’ve all got to watch out. I don’t think it’s going to come completely back to normal until the start of ’23. Everybody’s putting on a brave face, but there’s a lot out there and it costs a third more to fill up your car, or your electricity bill now… If you’re a punter, you’re going to worry about your food bill, as opposed to buying a ticket for a festival.”
AH: “This year, there’s too much on, there are too many shows. There’s more tickets on sale, but the P&Ls for the individual shows aren’t making profits. So it’s a good year to be an agent or a ticketing company, but the promoters are going to suffer and that will have to get readjusted the following year. The middle’s been squeezed and it’s going to be quite a tough summer I think… A lot of shows aren’t going to hit that breakeven point.”
JG: “The kids are still going out. I mean, the Little Mix tour we keep releasing production seats and they sell like hot cakes. Harry Styles sells out.”
AH: “Billie Eilish… The top never gets squeezed but the middle acts, the middle festivals, the middle events, there’s a lot of trouble there. it’s going to be hard.”
“I looked around and Prince Harry’s there with a crate of beer”
Best festival memory…
JG: “Jay-Z was playing [Isle of Wight] and the audience of going wild. I thought, ‘An audience can’t go more wild than they are now,’ and then Kanye West walked on behind him… I turned around to my left, and there was Beyoncé standing next to me and I thought, ‘This is worth it.'”
AH: “This isn’t my best one, but it’s reminded me of a good one: I was at Hyde Park and I managed to blag on stage to Jay-Z. There was Beyoncé, Sacha Baron Cohen, Madonna and somehow me on the side of the stage and I was fucking desperate for a drink but there weren’t any. I looked around and Prince Harry’s there with a crate of beer. I go, ‘Can I have a beer mate?’ And he goes, ‘Here bruv’. And I thought, ‘Fucking “bruv!”‘ I went, ‘Oh thanks. where are we going afterwards then? I hear it’s all back to yours because yours is the closest.’ That’s a true story!”
“All the contracts in the world are meaningless, you have to deliver on your word”
Least favourite thing about the live business…
JG: “When people bullshit you – it’s so boring. The easiest thing in the world is to tell the truth, because then you can at least remember what you’ve said. All the contracts in the world are meaningless, you have to deliver on your word. And it’s so disappointing when people let you down and don’t deliver… It’s rife with bullshit, that’s the thing I like least about it.”
AH: “Smoke and mirrors is much harder nowadays, everything’s a stat, you can’t say I sold out Brixton if you didn’t sell out Brixton. Within two seconds, you can find out every ticket count, everyone can find everything.”
JG: “One thing that’s changed in the music business is, when I joined it, everybody used to lie about ticket sales and say they were less than they really were. And they still lie about ticket sales, but by saying they’re more than they really are. So they’ve never actually told the truth in the whole of my career.”
AH: “The promoters used to say they were less?”
JG: “Yeah, because they didn’t want to pay you as much and now everybody’s embarrassed by it so they inflate it when they tell it to you. Unless you speak to Simon Moran, who knows every ticket sale for every show throughout the universe…”
Advice they would give their 16-year-old selves…
AH: “Don’t.”
JG: “It’s so long ago I can’t remember, seriously. I mean, to be in this business you have to work really hard. You have to work the room and you have to deliver on your word. It’s not brain of Britain stuff, but people have to be able to trust you. If people can trust in you then they’re confident in what they’re doing.”
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