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Live Nation study highlights growth of ‘Asia Pop’

A new fan insights study by Live Nation has uncovered the rise of Asia Pop in Australia and New Zealand.

The company reports a 600% increase in the number of Asian Pop live shows and a 275% surge in the number of artists since 2015, with 98% of fans now listening to music in languages other than English.

Furthermore, the Future Sound study, which was based on 1,044 responses from Ticketmaster Asia Pop live music purchases, revealed that 35% of its Australian and New Zealand fanbase are aged between 27 and 48.

“What we’re seeing is not a new phenomenon; it has been an undercurrent in our musical landscape for years, only now receiving the widespread recognition it deserves,” says Wenona Lok, Asia Pop promoter and talent buyer at Live Nation Australasia. “Asia Pop has transcended its niche status and exploded into mainstream fandom, fostering deep connections between fans and artists through social content, dance and fashion to name a few.”

Lok, who worked on Stray Kids’ record-breaking Australian shows in 2023,  was a panellist for the How K-pop Conquered the World session at last year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London.

“I think the reason K-pop is so big is because it’s really accessible,” she said. “If you go online, there are many fan groups that are happy to help educate you. Having the internet makes a big difference – it’s a right time, right place thing – but a lot of K-pop fans are women in their mid 40s, of all race groups. They come to the shows and bring their daughters because it’s something that is easy to share and get excited about.

“I don’t think we’re at the stage where it’s going to plateau yet. It’s something that people can really learn from and we’re also starting to see a lot of K-pop acts collaborate with Western artists.”

“Western consumption of Asian Pop has become so much more dynamic in the past three to four years, and globalisation of the wider genre is the clear next step”

In addition to K-Pop, Asia Pop (or A-pop) comprises a range of sub-genres, including J-Pop, C-Pop, Mandopop, Thai Pop, and City Pop, translating into record-breaking live performances.

Twice made history by playing four stadium shows in Australia in 2023, while Itzy’s performance at Auckland’s Spark Arena made them the highest-selling K-Pop act in New Zealand ever.

“All of our experiences have taught us how important the live experience is to any music lover, and given the unique offerings of a K-Pop or Mandopop or J-Pop show, we’re excited to see how the support of promoters such as Live Nation can help to amplify that impact at ground level,” says Asian Pop Weekly founder Jocelle Koh. “Western consumption of Asian Pop has become so much more dynamic in the past three to four years, and globalisation of the wider genre is the clear next step.”

Australasia has also produced homegrown talent such as Danielle and Hanni from NewJeans, Rosé from Blackpink, BangChan and Felix from Stray Kids, actor and singer Darren Qiu, and Cantopop singer Cecilia Cheung .

Upcoming tours include Stray Kids who will perform stadium shows in Sydney and Melbourne on their world tour in October, followed by Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku’s first Australia and New Zealand tour in November. South Korean indie HYUKOH and Taipei-based jazz-influenced synth-pop band Sunset Rollercoaster will also perform in Melbourne this November.

 


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Live Nation consolidates Asia-Pacific division

Live Nation has announced the appointment of a number of senior leadership roles intended to unify its Asia-Pacific division.

Roger Field, currently CEO of Live Nation Australia and New Zealand, has been named president of Live Nation Asia Pacific, with Mark Kneebone taking on the new role of managing director of Live Nation New Zealand and Kei Ikuta promoted to president of Live Nation Japan.

Paul Antonio, currently president of Asia and the Middle East, moves to the new role of chief operating officer of Live Nation EMEA, reporting to John Reid, president of Live Nation EMEA.

Field (pictured) joined the company in 2010 to set up Live Nation Australia alongside Luke Hede (currently vice-president of touring). Following Live Nation’s acquisition of Michael Coppel Presents in 2012, Field has led the growth of the Australian and New Zealand businesses, initially as COO and then CEO from 2017.

In his new role, Field will oversee all of Live Nation’s businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Live Nation Asia Pacific chairman Alan Ridgeway. Michael Coppel will continue as chairman of Live Nation Australia.

Serving as co-head of promotions for Australia and New Zealand since 2018, Kneebone’s new role will see him oversee all Live Nation’s businesses in NZ, reporting to Field. Stuart Clumpas retires from his role as chairman of LN New Zealand, but will continue as a consultant for the company, as well as a shareholder in Spark Arena.

“The cohesion of a true Asian-Pacific organisation presents significant opportunities for growth”

In Japan, Kei Ikuta takes over from John Boyle, who had served as president since January 2018 and is now moving back to work with Live Nation in Los Angeles. Under Boyle’s leadership, Live Nation’s profile and scale has grown significantly, launching Download in 2019, being appointed international booker for new Tokyo Olympic venue Ariake Arena and growing the company’s show count and market share. Ikuta, who joined the company earlier this year from Japanese promoter Udo Artists, will report to Field.

Commenting on the new hires, Ridgeway says: “The appointment of these roles provides us with the opportunity to further align our Australian, New Zealand and Asian businesses.

“Roger comes to the role with an impressive record of success and is in a great position to lead our growth strategy as he leverages our resources across the whole region. I wish Roger, Mark and Kei all the best in their new roles in taking our businesses forward in this new era, and thank Paul, Stuart and John for their hard work and dedication in establishing our presence in Asia, New Zealand and Japan.”

“I want to thank Alan for giving me the opportunity to lead the talented teams across the division,” adds Field. “The cohesion of a true Asian-Pacific organisation presents significant opportunities for growth, not only for our business but for the professional development of our people and relationships.

‘New Zealand continues to prove itself as a market that leads the way in the return to live and Mark is a proven leader who has played a critical role in our overall success. This appointment further solidifies our commitment to NZ and will affirm the market as a significant player in the global live industry.”

 


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Australian biz unites for safe reopening strategy

The Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF), a new initiative that aims to to ensure fans can return safely to live events when restrictions on mass gatherings are lifted, has been formed by Australia’s biggest live entertainment companies.

LEIF’s mission is to “support the COVIDSafe reactivation of events with live audiences across Australia” when restrictions are eased in July, according to the body. (COVIDSafe is Australia’s coronavirus contact-tracing app.) “LEIF will put in place a comprehensive, flexible, all-of-industry reopening and risk-management strategy that meets the needs of the public, governments, sporting bodies, venues, performers and industry, with safety at its core.”



LEIF comprises all major Australian live businesses, including promoters Live Nation, TEG, Frontier Touring, Chugg Entertainment and AEG; agency WME; venues Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney Cricket Ground, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Olympic Parks and Adelaide Oval; venue operators ASM Global, Venues West and Venues Live; musical producer Michael Cassel Group; and associations Live Performance Australia, Venue Management Association and Australian Festivals Association.

Led by an executive committee headed by former Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland, the forum says will work in conjunction with governments, sporting bodies, venues and audiences to “build confidence in the industry’s preparedness to operate safely, flexibly and sustainably and explore how industry can be supported by governments during its gradual return”.

“I am proud that we stand united to work together”

LEIF will develop measures regarding cleaning and sanitisation, crowd management, physical distancing plans, health monitoring and contact tracing, with the objective of restarting an industry responsible for more than 175,000 Australian jobs. The objective is to safely restart an industry which supports over 175,000 Australian jobs and feeds other sectors hit hard by COVID-19 such as tourism, transport and hospitality.

“This pandemic has brought our industry to a complete standstill. The thousands of cancelled sporting events, concerts, festivals, theatre, family and comedy shows, and all the associated revenues related to them, can never be replaced,” comments Sutherland.

“Our industry was the first to close during Covid-19 and it will be one of the last to fully reopen. The cultural, creative and sports industries supports the livelihoods of around 175,000 Australians, many of whom are casual or part time. The industry also contributes an estimated $150 billion to the Australian economy. Our live events have a huge economic flow on effect: we support jobs in airlines and other transport companies, hotels, pubs, restaurants and retail establishments of all sizes all over Australia.

“We need a clear roadmap to get our industry back to work, while playing a bigger role in the post-Covid-19 economic recovery of our nation. We are committed to working with all states and territories, especially with their chief medical and health officers. We will develop COVIDSafe best practices and a world-leading response to revive our industry, get people back to work and bring fans back together throughout Australia through the unbeatable power of live events.”

“We must put aside our natural competitive instincts so we can all bring large-scale live events back to the Australian people”

“Our industry has to work together at this challenging time. We must put aside our natural competitive instincts so we can all bring large-scale live events back to the Australian people safely,” says Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG. “We want to work closely with the federal, state and territory governments to create solutions that get our industry up and running again and help get the many thousands of people who support our industry back to work. We want to bring fans back and jobs back, safely.”

Roger Field, CEO of Live Nation Australasia – who also serves on the executive committee alongside Sutherland and Jones – adds: “Live events and mass gatherings are not solely for recreational purposes – they play a crucial part in the fabric of Australian life.

“Just as sport plays an important role in promoting healthy behaviours, so too do music and the performing arts. The positive impact culture brings to society is not only seen both psychologically and in social wellbeing, but in the fact that the live events industry contributes hundreds of thousands of jobs, which flows on and effects the whole economy.

“I am proud that we stand united to work together to make the return to events a reality and for the people of Australia to enjoy the power of live once again.”

 


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“Regret” as promoters call off Sound Relief 2020

Sound Relief, a concert series co-organised by major Australian promoters in aid of wildfire relief, will not go ahead ahead as planned.

Earlier today, the Sound Relief team, consisting of Frontier Touring, Chugg Entertainment, Live Nation Australia and New Zealand, IMC Music HQ and Secret Sounds, announced that the charity concert series would not happen.

“It is with regret that the organisers of Sound Relief have decided not to proceed with concerts in March as originally planned,” reads a Facebook post.

“Since announcing our intention to undertake Sound Relief 2020 the offer of assistance from international and domestic artists, industry, media and suppliers has been second to none.

“However Sound Relief is a series of concert events that we don’t wish to stage lightly and after careful consideration, we believe proceeding with the concerts in March won’t produce the impactful result that we believe these events can – and should – have.”

“Discussions for any future event are shifting to restoration, recovery and prevention and a view to maximising results to best benefit these areas”

The organisers add that there is “no overnight fix” for the issues the country is facing and state that “discussions for any future event are subsequently shifting to restoration, recovery and prevention and a view to maximising results to best benefit these areas.”

The fires have been raging through southern and eastern Australia since September 2019, burning over ten million hectares of land.

Sound Relief first took place in 2009, organised by Chugg Entertainment, Frontier Touring, and others, to provide relief from Victorian bushfires and flooding in Queensland. The concerts featured performances from the likes of Coldplay, Taylor Swift and Kings of Leon, as well as many local acts.

Fire Fight Australia, a benefit concert organised by TEG Dainty and TEG Live, is taking place on Sunday 16 February, at the ANZ Stadium (83,500-cap.) in Sydney. Queen and Adam Lambert, Alice Cooper, 5 Seconds of Summer, Michael Bublé, Hilltop Hoods and Olivia Newton-John are among acts playing the all-day event, which sold over 65,000 tickets in under five hours earlier this month.

A limited number of tickets for Fire Fight Australia are available here.

Photo: Jana Beamer/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) (cropped)

 


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