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New Zealand projects record touring business

A record year is being forecast for New Zealand’s concert scene, with Live Nation APAC revealing it has already sold out 80% of its shows in the market for 2024.

Artists including Foo Fighters, Jonas Brothers, Queens of the Stone Age, Blink-182 and Iron Maiden are due to play at venues across the country in 2024.

And national stadium Eden Park has two dates scheduled with P!nk from 8-9 March and three nights with Coldplay on 13 & 15-16 November. Spokesperson Duncan Blomfield tells 1News it will be the first year that music events outsell sporting events at the 60,000-cap Auckland stadium.

“The biggest one will of course be Coldplay, we’ve already got three concerts announced,” says Blomfield. “Sixty thousand people at each concert — so 180,000 to 200,000 just for that one event.”

P!nk will also perform at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin on 5 March.

“Concerts used to be something that people would go to once or twice a year, but now it’s something they’re going to four or five or six times a year,” says Mark Kneebone, MD New Zealand at Live Nation APAC. “The excitement is huge. The demand for tickets is massive.”

Frontier Touring, meanwhile, will present Foo Fighters at the 47,000-cap Go Media Stadium in Auckland on 20 January. The band will also perform at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on 24 January and Wellington’s Sky Stadium on 27 January.

“We have had to wait a long time to bring Laneway Festival back to Aotearoa”

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, which debuted in the country in 2010, will take place in New Zealand for the first time since 2020. After two years of pandemic cancellations, the 2023 edition was scrapped due to flooding.

Laneway 2024 will return to Aotearoa on Waitangi Day, 6 February, at the outer fields at Western Springs. Acts include Stormzy, Steve Lacy, Dominic Fike, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Raye and AJ Tracey.

“We have had to wait a long time to bring Laneway Festival back to Aotearoa,” says Laneway Festival co-founder Danny Rogers. “We were humbled by the outpouring of support shown to us earlier this year, and can’t wait to return, bringing an epic lineup of some of the world’s most exciting performers to this incredible venue in 2024.”

Plus, Tom Jones will perform a NZ exclusive performance at McLean Park in Napier on 6 April.

Elsewhere, Auckland’s Spark Arena has upcoming shows by artists such as Kid Laroi, The National, Jonas Brothers, Iron Maiden, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Tate McRae, while Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch will welcome Matchbox Twenty, Queens of the Stone Age, Blink-182 and Incubus in the first half of the year.

PwC’s Economic Contribution of the NZ Music Industry 2023 report found that live performance had an estimated total economic impact of $167m and 1,703 FTEs, after accounting for multiplier effects, with homegrown content contributing just over a quarter of these impacts.

According to the 2023 Global Promoters Report, new festivals and venues are expected to see significant growth in New Zealand over the next decade.

 


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Roger Field to depart Live Nation APAC

Live Nation Asia-Pacific president Roger Field is stepping down after more than a decade with the company.

Melbourne-based Field was named president of Live Nation APAC in September 2020. He joined the firm in 2010 to set up Live Nation Australia alongside VP of touring Luke Hede, and led the growth of the Australian and New Zealand businesses, initially as COO and then CEO from 2017 following LN’s acquisition of Michael Coppel Presents in 2012.

Field was tasked with overseeing all of Live Nation’s businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, including tours by the likes of Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Pink, U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Music Network sources describe the split as “amicable”, with Alex Klos set to become COO of LN Australia & New Zealand, alongside his position as APAC CFO.

Speaking to IQ earlier this year, Field said: “Australasia is going great. This will be our biggest year ever and we’re seeing unprecedented attendances at all levels from club to arenas. We have more artists coming to our shores and we’re having our biggest stadium year.”

“It seems that the years of being unable to tour and operate have enabled a number of arena acts to take the leap into stadiums with huge success”

“It seems that the years of being unable to tour and operate have enabled a number of arena acts to take the leap into stadiums with huge success. This in turn creates the opportunity for more acts to step up to fill those arena dates – and fans are really getting behind these artists and demanding even more.”

Live Nation’s suite of venues in the region includes The Palais Theatre in Melbourne, the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, the Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide, and Anita’s Theatre, and it has continued to expand its portfolio of venues and live assets.

“Our venue development is a huge priority for us across both Australia and New Zealand – we’ve just celebrated the return of the iconic Festival Hall in Melbourne to a full-time live music venue after signing a multi-lease and that’s only the beginning,” added Field. “Our interest in venues of all sizes is partly motivated by having the ability to engage with a variety of artist content, even if we’re not promoting it, but also open to new ticket buying markets.”

Field also served on the executive committee of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF), which comprised all major Australian live businesses and was set up at the height of the pandemic to ensure fans could return safely to live events once restrictions on mass gatherings were lifted.

 


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Live Nation acquires Hong Kong’s Clockenflap

Live Nation has acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong-based promoter Clockenflap and its flagship music and arts festival.

One of Asia’s best-known festival brands, Clockenflap made its return in early March after a four-year hiatus, featuring artists including Arctic Monkeys, Balming Tiger, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Cardigans and Wu-Tang Clan.

The Clockenflap team will continue to curate, manage and produce its events, with co-founder and music director Justin Sweeting confident that Live Nation’s support and resources will help cement its status internationally.

“It was a wonderful feeling seeing a capacity crowd at the festival last weekend – Clockenflap has one of the most positive and open minded audiences in the world,” he says. “The Live Nation team share our vision for Clockenflap being one of the best city festivals in the world, and with Live Nation’s support and resources, I’m excited for the future of the festival.”

Founded in 2008, the three-day, 30,000-cap festival takes place at Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront Event Space. Its next edition has been confirmed for 1-3 December 2023.

“By joining forces with Live Nation, we can continue to grow the festival and expand our event activities in Hong Kong and regionally”

Clockenflap also organises regular touring concerts in Hong Kong under the Clockenflap Presents banner, with recent sold-out shows announced for Cigarettes After Sex and Honne, and its partnership with Live Nation comes at a time events in the region are seeing a bloom in activity.

“Over the last 15 years we have grown Clockenflap into a world-class three-day festival,” says Clockenflap co-founder and MD Mike Hill. “By joining forces with the global leaders in entertainment, Live Nation, we can continue to grow the festival and expand our event activities in Hong Kong and regionally.”

“Partnering with Clockenflap further demonstrates that Live Nation is committed to bringing world-class festivals and live entertainment experiences to Hong Kong fans,” adds Live Nation APAC president Roger Field. “Our team is dedicated to supporting Mike, Justin and their team’s exceptional skills and capabilities, and through Live Nation’s global network we will enhance and grow the Clockenflap brand and deliver new and exciting live opportunities to the region.”

 


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Live Nation applauds Brisbane Arena plan

Live Nation has applauded the announcement of A$7 billion (€4.5bn) funding deal for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which will include a new state-of-the-art arena.

The plan, unveiled by Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, will see the federal government provide $2.5bn (€1.6bn) for the development of the 17,000-cap venue.

“That will be a venue that will last for many decades into the future and that will create that economic activity here on an ongoing basis,” says Albanese.

Live Nation and consortium partner Oak View Group says it is now eagerly awaiting the opportunity to present its vision for the proposed Brisbane Arena site at Roma Street in Brisbane’s CBD.

“With a new and improved venue, Live Nation is dedicated to supporting Brisbane’s vision as a leading city for blockbuster live events”

“Together, we know we can transform this Brisbane precinct into Australia’s premier entertainment destination for generations to come,” says Roger Field, president, Live Nation Asia Pacific.

Brisbane’s biggest indoor venue is currently the 13,601-cap Brisbane Entertainment Centre, which opened in 1986 and has hosted acts such as Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish.

“The announcement couldn’t be more timely after Live Nation have delivered a record summer of live entertainment in Queensland with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and with Harry Styles to come in a few weeks, Pink in 2024 and many more major acts yet to be announced,” adds Field. “With a new and improved venue, Live Nation is dedicated to supporting Brisbane’s vision as a leading city for blockbuster live events.”

The consortium has previously collaborated on project such as Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, the first zero-carbon arena in the world, powered exclusively by renewable energy including both on-site and offsite solar.

 


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Live Nation partners on new Australian venue

Live Nation is partnering with Publica Australia, Pavilion Australia and the City of Port Phillip on new outdoor venue Palace Foreshore.

The 5,000-cap Palace Foreshore is located in St Kilda, just 7km from Melbourne’s central business district, and will be installed annually each summer, hosting one-day festivals, headline shows, large-scale brand activations and public events.

Acts including Keshi, Sam Fender, King Gizzard, The Tesky Brothers, Six60, The Black Crowes and Tim Minchin will play the inaugural season, which kicks off later this month.

“The Palace Foreshore is a historic entertainment precinct and an integral location within Melbourne’s celebrated music and cultural scene,” says Live Nation Asia Pacific promoter Chris Akavi. “The 2022 summer line-up is set to be a dynamic display of world-class live music vital to the continued development of this landmark site, as music fans from across the country gather in St Kilda to enjoy this epic celebration.”

“We look forward to a huge summer that marks another significant step in the entertainment and hospitality industries’ recovery”

Live Nation already owns and operates a catalogue of Australian venues including St Kilda’s iconic Palais Theatre, Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul, The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, and Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide.

“We are excited to see large-scale live music in the St Kilda Triangle,” adds Jay Rayner, creative producer and director at research and public policy organisation Publica. “The support of the City of Port Phillip, The Palais Theatre, The Foreshore, Acland St and Fitzroy trader groups has been instrumental in bringing music back to this historic entertainment precinct. We look forward to a huge summer that marks another significant step in the entertainment and hospitality industries’ recovery.”

The growth of the Palace Foreshore entertainment venue is supported by the Australian Government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund, designed to reactivate the arts and entertainment sector on the back of Covid-19 shutdowns. The funding will assist in upgrading basic outdoor site facilities, and support Australian artists, producers, promoters, individuals and contracted supplier jobs.

Events planned for the Australian summer at the Palace Foreshore are projected to create approximately A$2 million (€1.3m) in direct job creation.

 


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The New Bosses 2022: Jonathan Hou, Live Nation

The 15th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses was published in IQ 114 this month, revealing 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business.

To get to know this year’s cohort a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2022’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

Catch up on the previous New Bosess 2022 interview with James Craigie, a promoter for Goldenvoice in the UK. The series continues with Jonathan Hou, senior director of talent and touring at Live Nation APAC in Taiwan.

A Taiwanese-American born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jonathan got his start in the music industry working as an intern at Live Nation while studying music business at The University of Texas at Austin.

After college, he moved to Taipei to work with B’in Music, touring internationally with the Taiwanese rock band Mayday. In 2014, he re-joined Live Nation and has since worked with the company in multiple markets, most recently in Shanghai, China.

Jonathan now works on booking talent for Live Nation’s APAC division, building tours for international artists across the region.

 


You’re a long way from Texas. What’s the thing you miss most about living in America?
Being in close proximity to family and friends. I think the biggest sacrifice that many of us expats have to make is the time that we spend away from home. Due to Covid, I was unable to see my family for almost three years.

Were you able to speak Mandarin before making your move to Taipei? And how have your language skills improved (do you speak any Hokkien)?
Growing up we would speak Mandarin at home, but I still had a huge learning curve when I first started working in Taiwan. Additionally, even after having worked in Taiwan, there was another learning curve when I started in Shanghai, as the terms and characters that Mainland China (Simplified Chinese) uses is different from Taiwan (Traditional Chinese).

There was definitely a lot of Google Translate used in the early days, but I’m proud to say that my language skills have now improved to a point where most people are unable to tell that I am a foreigner. I can understand some Hokkien, but unfortunately am not fluent… yet.

What about the cultural differences between promoting in the USA and across Asia – what’s the most important lesson you can impart to visiting ‘Western’ acts?
Asia can often be treated as one region, but each market is unique with its own cultures. It’s important to know what the cultural sensitivities are before performing in every market. For example, something that may be well received by fans in Bangkok, may not be so well received in Shanghai.

“Asia can often be treated as one region, but each market is unique with its own cultures”

How did you land your job at B’in Music – did you have to fly there for an interview, for example?
I was in Taipei interning for an indie record label at the time, and through some of the contacts I had made at my internship at Live Nation, I was able to set up a meeting with Julia Hsieh, the COO of B’in Music who also manages Mayday. We met at the backstage of a festival and talked briefly. Two weeks later, she called and offered me a job to tour with Mayday across Europe and North America, and the rest is history.

Asia seems like it will be the next region to really explode in terms of live music business growth. How would you lure fellow professionals to the region to help facilitate that growth?
Asia is the place to be if you’re looking for a challenge and an adventure. The next couple of years are going to be great growth years for the live music industry in Asia, and it’s exciting to be able to be a part of shaping the industry.

And what about the artists? How do you persuade acts and their representatives to invest the time to tour in Asia?
We have a lot of very passionate fans in Asia that cannot wait to see their favourite artists perform. Fans in Asia do not take shows for granted, as it is not guaranteed that an artist will bring their tour to Asia. Also, we have seen over the years that artists that do invest and tour Asia early in their careers have been able to build large, loyal fan bases here, and the pipeline for the next couple of years is huge.

“Artists that do invest and tour Asia early in their careers have been able to build large, loyal fan bases here”

In a non-Covid year, how extensive can the tours that you book be, in terms of cities, venues, and potential new fanbases?
Our most extensive tours in a non-Covid year would typically range around 12-13 shows across 8-9 countries, and this would be for artists of all sizes from club- to stadium-level acts. Moving forward, there is potential for tours to expand even more once all markets open their borders, especially in China, and additional opportunities as new markets open up for touring, such as Vietnam. For some artists it may be possible to do ten or more shows in China alone.

Do you have a mentor or someone you rely on to turn to for advice?
I have two mentors that have helped shape my career, Julia Hsieh (B’in Music) and Dennis Argenzia (Live Nation). Julia taught me a lot of the fundamentals when I first started out in the industry, including how to market an artist/show and how to build a tour. Dennis, who I’ve worked with now for seven years, has taught me everything I know about booking talent and promoting shows.

Is anyone else in your family involved in music – or do they all think you are crazy for your choice of career?
We’re a family of classically trained musicians, so music is in our blood. My family has always been supportive of my career in music, and I am very blessed for that.

“I want to continue to be a bridge between Asia and the West”

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
There are too many to choose from as I think every experience is unique, and I love what I do. However, the top three that stand out are promoting Mayday at Madison Square Garden (first ever Chinese band to perform at MSG), promoting Madonna’s first-ever show in Taipei, and booking keshi’s first Asia tour.

As a New Boss, what one thing would you change to make the live entertainment industry a better place?
I believe we’ve already made strides with the emergence of 88rising and artists such as keshi over the past couple of years, but I would like to continue to see more AAPI representation throughout the industry, globally.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I want to continue to be a bridge between Asia and the West. I’d like to work on building bigger tours for international artists across Asia, which would entail developing more markets across the region. I would also like to be working on exporting Asian artist tours (not just K-pop) to other parts of the world.

 


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Live Nation to operate Australia’s Anita’s Theatre

Live Nation is expanding its Australian venue portfolio with the addition of historic New South Wales venue Anita’s Theatre.

The company will operate the intimate, 1,000-cap theatre in Thirroul, approximately 60km south of Sydney, which has hosted artists including City of Colour, Eric Burdon, Suzi Quatro, Angus and Julia Stone, and John Butler Trio.

Australian rock band Midnight Oil included Anita’s Theatre as a special stop on their 2019 The Final Tour, which also included shows at Australia’s biggest arenas.

“Keeping venues, such as Anita’s Theatre, open is imperative to the ongoing growth of local Australian artists,” says Roger Field, president of Live Nation Asia Pacific. “As advocates for developing local Australian talent, we are aware of the cultural significance Anita’s Theatre holds within the Illawarra region, and we are looking forward to showcasing an array of amazing live entertainment and talent for local fans to enjoy.”

“Live Nation will be taking over theatre operations, working very hard to bring a high calibre of performers to our venue”

Initially opened in 1925 as the ‘King’s Theatre’, the venue was used for a variety of purposes throughout the decades until it was re-opened in its current guise in 2007.

The owners of Anita’s Theatre Thirroul add: “We are very excited to announce that we will be partnering with Live Nation to deliver the best of live entertainment that Australia and the world have to offer to the people of the Illawarra and outer Sydney. Live Nation will be taking over theatre operations, working very hard to bring a high calibre of performers to our venue for music fans.

“We would also like to thank everyone who has supported the theatre over the past decade, especially through the last two years which were particularly difficult. The magic of live brings people together like nothing else, and we look forward to the community’s ongoing support and patronage as we begin this new chapter of the theatre.”

Live Nation’s global portfolio of over 300 live entertainment venues includes Australia’s The Palais Theatre in Melbourne, the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane and the recently announced Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide.

 


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LN acquires talent management firm Jubilee Street

Live Nation has announced the strategic acquisition of Australasian comedy artist management company Jubilee Street.

The two companies, which will act as co-promoters for domestic comedic talent, previously united to stage the Together Again series in New Zealand in 2020, as well as shows by comedian Russell Howard, who became the first international artist to tour both Australia and New Zealand post-lockdown in 2021.

Established in 2018 by Bec Sutherland, Jubilee Street currently manages 11 artists, including Australian and New Zealand comedians Julia Morris, Urzila Carlson, Nazeem Hussain, Kate Langbroek, Melanie Bracewell and Becky Lucas.

“We are extremely proud to be taking our long-standing relationship with Jubilee Street to the next level,” says Roger Field, President of Live Nation Asia Pacific. “This deal gives us the opportunity to continue working alongside Bec Sutherland, who was a valued member of the Live Nation team for a long time, and one of the country’s best comedy talent managers and comedy promoters.

“Together, we are dedicated to nurturing and showcasing the best of Australian and New Zealand comedy, while strengthening our position as a world-class comedy destination.”

“This is an exciting next step in my career and for the development of the amazing talent I represent”

Sutherland also served as a strategic leader of Live Nation’s comedy touring business across the region. She will step down from her role as VP of comedy at Live Nation APAC to focus on her responsibilities as MD of Jubilee Street, and will continue to promote her roster through LN.

“Both Jubilee Street and Live Nation are committed to driving the careers of Australian and New Zealand comedic talent locally and globally, and this is an exciting next step in my career and for the development of the amazing talent I represent,” she says

Andy Curtain, Live Nation Asia Pacific’s head of comedy, will continue managing operations and leading on all other comedy talent across the region.

 


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