The live music industry has been encouraged to diversify its business model and become less reliant on alcohol sales to reflect the habits of younger concertgoers.

Nathan Clark, owner of Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club venue, made the plea during ILMC’s Wellness vs the Industry? discussion, which also featured Mother Artists co-founder Natasha Gregory and Jenni Cochrane, booker at EXIT Festival and founder of mental health and wellbeing non-profit Getahead.

Held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, the panel was chaired by ASM Global Europe SVP operations Marie Lindqvist.

“The entire industry is propped up on food and beverage,” said Clark. “If you take alcohol out of it, I don’t care whether you’re talking about an arena show, an outdoor stadium or anything else, the whole model of live music – certainly in the UK – falls down.

“How can we change the model to reflect the changing nature of society out there, and what we are seeing in trends? So I think there are big economic questions, as well as the wellbeing side that goes with this.”

Clark, who also promotes under the Brudenell Presents banner, said that evidence of the shift was undeniable.

“Anyone who denies it is blind,” he continued. “That’s the honest truth, so you have to diversify your offering.  And you’re seeing festivals pick up and diversify their offering more… When [in the past] would you see a young person at a certain age going out to have a chai latte and going to do yoga? You just wouldn’t have seen it, but that’s the nature of what it is.”

“I’ve been particularly proactive in trying to offer not only non-alcoholic drinks, but diversification”

He offered suggestions for how to keep up with changing tastes, adding the government’s tax cut on low ABV drinks had presented a “cost-effective tax incentive”.

“I’ve been particularly proactive in trying to offer not only non-alcoholic drinks, but diversification – whether it’s Kombucha on tap, or some other kind of offerings on food and drink,” he said. “Low ABV drinks… are now being up taken because the price point is lower, or if you’re a sensible venue, you can sell them at the same price and make a bigger margin, so it’s about keeping aware of the trends.

“If you can start offering those concessions, the audience will repeat buy and come to your venue or festival more.”

Cochrane said that punters now expected a wellness offering at events.

“They expect low and no [alcohol] drinks in the bar, like mocktails,” she said. “It’s just about doing your research and actually knowing what’s going to sell and giving them what they want.”

Cochrane, who also works with organisations including the Exit Festival Group, MDLBeast and music and tech conference Bridge in Croatia, discussed the evolution of the music industry over the course of her career.

“It’s seen to be an industry that everybody wants to get into,” she said. “It’s glamorous, it’s fun, it’s this and that. And with that, there’s an expectation that we should work longer hours than other industries. There’s no such thing as a nine to five, it’s this always-on mentality.

“But I think in a generational shift, younger people coming into the industry are not burning the candle at both ends. They won’t work the crazy hours that maybe we did to get into the industry to try and make our names and they don’t party as much, if at all.”

Gregory agreed that young people were now going out less, citing the pandemic as a factor.

“They grew up differently and have a fear of it,” she said. “I think over time, there’ll be another cultural shift, and so the next generation after will go out more.”

“As an industry, socially, we’re competing with on-demand entertainment”

There was also the cost of living crisis to consider, added Cochrane.

“It’s twofold,” she said. “It’s the financial implications, coupled with the fact that they’re maybe drinking less, they don’t want to go out and they just want to party less… There’s a social isolation point as well – young people have got fewer social skills because they’re online.”

Clark expanded on that statement, saying that technological development had “rapidly changed the whole marketplace”.

“As an industry, socially, we’re competing with on-demand entertainment, whether it be Amazon, Netflix or sport that you can watch on your phone,” he said. “There’s multiple games on TV that they wouldn’t have been able to watch [before], so if you couldn’t get a ticket to that, you went to a show.

“There’s so much more choice out there, so we need to make our offering better when they come out. You have to think, holistically, about what we are doing to make it as a sustainable, long-term business…. Essentially, we’re here to make people get together and have a great time. That’s what the industry is about.”

Gregory, who represents the likes of IDLES, Amy Macdonald and The Teskey Brothers, discussed her own trajectory, explaining how she balanced being an agent with parenting – and how the industry still had a long way to go in terms of support.

“My career is a maze,” she said. “It’s not a ladder, and I’m totally okay with that. I had children, I had them quite late, at 36, because I was shit scared to be honest about where I was in my career and how it would impact. I hoped the way I do things would open it up for so many and I haven’t found that happen.

“I have had to break down barriers at festivals who tell me that it’s not a place for kids, and so I work with them on how it can be a place for kids. I’ve kind of fought my way through not taking no for an answer, and I still do that to this day, because what I’m doing is hopefully opening the doors for someone else to ask that question.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ASM Global has announced the appointment of Rob Wicks as managing director of P&J Live in Aberdeen.

Wicks, who will join the venue in June, brings 25 years of experience in the sports and events industry, working with rights holders, brands, host venues, governing bodies, promoters and agencies.

He is currently commercial director at Aberdeen Football Club, where he has been responsible for all football club revenue streams, including partnerships and sponsorships, hospitality, ticketing, retail, memberships, marketing, communications, events and new stadium planning.

“On behalf of everyone at ASM Global, I’d like to warmly welcome Rob to the team,” says Marie Lindqvist, SVP operations Europe at ASM Global. “Rob brings with him decades of experience as a widely-respected, innovative and results-driven leader in the events and sports industries. Having seen great success working with renowned brands, events and organisations in Scotland and beyond, Rob will undoubtedly be a tremendous driving force in his new role as P&J Live, a truly versatile and award-winning venue, looks to the future.”

Wicks, who hails from South Africa and has worked in Europe for the past two decades, has delivered projects and events in 25 countries.

“ASM Global is on a clear growth trajectory and P&J Live is a vitally important part of its European venue portfolio”

“ASM Global is on a clear growth trajectory and P&J Live is a vitally important part of its European venue portfolio, so this a very exciting time to be coming on board,” he says. “I see this as a terrific opportunity to play a leading role in Scotland’s new state-of-the-art event complex achieving its full potential. I already know some of the passionate and talented team who operate the venue and having spent the past five years in Aberdeen, I am able to bring a strong network and range of local experience to the role.

“I am really looking forward to working with the team to build upon the great work they have done to date and enhancing the reputation that the venue has established. A great example of this is the Lewis Capaldi concert in January that delivered Scotland’s highest-ever selling indoor show. This sort of success has definitely put P&J Live on the map and instilled further confidence that the venue – and the region – can deliver.”

Opening in 2019, P&J Live is the largest event complex in the North of Scotland, and has upcoming shows with the likes of Michael Bublé, Elton Joh and Pet Shop Boys.

“Some of the key priorities that I see in the short to medium term are to enhance our key stakeholder relationships, better understand our customer base, look at ways to integrate innovative new technology to enhance the customer journey and ensuring there is an outstanding pipeline of world-class conferences and events to look forward to,” adds Wicks.

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Three senior female business leaders in live music discussed their lives in music, career progression and learnings along the way in a unique Dragons’ Den session at ILMC.

Lucy Noble of AEG Presents (UK), Jacqueline Zich from DEAG (DE) and Jolanda Jansen from Rotterdam Ahoy (NL) sat down for an up-close conversation with host Marie Lindqvist of ASM Global.

Noble, who was hired as AEG’s first ever artistic director last year following a two-decade stint at London’s Royal Albert Hall, discussed some of the challenges that have shaped her career.

“I look back and I can’t think of any major hurdles to get where I’ve got today,” she said. “I think that all the experiences you have are learning experiences and I wouldn’t change anything.

“But I remember over over a decade ago, there was a director position at the Royal Albert Hall. And the chief executive took me into the office and said, ‘Look, I don’t think you can do this job as a mother.’ I should have said, ‘You can’t say that.’ But I was in this position where I was saying, ‘No, I really can, give me a chance.’ But that was a moment where I realised that people do make judgments because you’re a mum.

“We have a very good relationship now, but he just had that very old school way of thinking around these matters.”

“Lots of people moved out of our industry because they wanted a better work-life balance”

She continued: “Being a working mum with three young children is not easy when you’re working in our industry. We saw during the pandemic that lots of people moved out of our industry because they wanted a better work-life balance.”

Jansen said she agreed with a comment from CAA agent Emma Banks that there is “no substitute for hard work”.

“It’s great to be hardworking because you also get the results,” she said. “It is not about working three, four, five, six or seven days a week, it’s about how you balance your own life and what you get your energy from. I think that is what makes it healthy. The kind of old school working mentality that you need to be on your phone responding to emails 24 hours a day is perhaps not healthy for anybody in the end. But it’s also not bad to work hard.”

Linqvist recalled a stressful period in her career during the last decade prompted her to make positive changes.

“I was getting all the signals of having too much negative stress: I had horrible headache, difficulties in sleeping, and was always tired,” she said. “I just came to the conclusion that, ‘Something needs to be changed here.’ And it was quite difficult because when you’re used to working very hard and it’s a passion, it sometimes puts you in a position where you forget about your own welfare. So I had to take a serious review of how I spent my days and my energy.

“I delegated more responsibilities to people that could do much better than I, and also looked through my calendar and went through meeting-by-meeting: ‘Do I need to be in this meeting? Am I adding any value?’ And being more conscious about my own time.

“The positive effect of that was not only my health getting better, but also that it made people around me feel better and gave them the opportunity to grow and take more responsibility.”

“We came up in the business at a time when there were fewer females in senior roles. Hopefully, that is beginning to change”

The panel also discussed the importance of strong role models and mentors, with DEAG’s Zich complimenting the company’s founder and CEO Peter Schwenkow for his support in the early days of her career.

“Of course, you have to work hard and make sure you work on your own position,” she said. “But he gave me the chance and the trust and the feeling of, ‘You can do that,’ and being confident enough to do it. I think women tend to be not too confident on things and that was very helpful, and still is to be honest. That played a huge role in my path.”

Noble namechecked live music veterans such as Phil Bowdery, Neil Warnock, Dennis Arnold and Paul Crockford.

“I’m very aware that there are no women [on that list], probably because we came up in the business at a time when there were fewer females in senior roles,” she acknowledged. “Hopefully, that is beginning to change a bit. Now, I definitely think there is more of an even split at the entry levels. At the senior level, there are still more men than women, but I do think the industry has done a great job in recent years to improve those figures.

“I’m a mentor for two young women and I like to think that I’ve helped and given guidance. I really love doing that and it’s really fulfilling for me to be able to give back in that way.”

She added: “There shouldn’t be a difference between men and women…. I am very supportive of women in the industry, and at the Hall, we did a Women in Music Day, which had hundreds and hundreds of young women and other people along. I’ve had people like Emma Banks, Lucy Dickins and Becky Allen from EMI speak at that.

“All the people I know at that level really do champion women in music, and it’s about doing that and making sure we bring them up along with us.”

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Venue operator ASM Global has announced changes to the senior management team in its European division.

Marie Lindqvist, currently general manager and vice president for the Stockholm business in Sweden will become senior vice president for ASM Europe.

The new appointment will see Lindqvist relocate to the European Headquarters in Manchester, led by executive VP for Europe John Sharkey, where she will pick up “operational oversight” across the European venue portfolio.

Andreas Sand, currently Stockholm CFO and commercial director, will succeed Linqvist as the new Stockholm general manager and vice president.

“We are truly excited and fortunate to have Marie, who holds an amazing track record of success and business calibre to further support placing ASM Global at the front of best practice in Europe, as we have elsewhere across the world,“ says Bob Newman, ASM global president.

“Marie holds an amazing track record of success and business calibre to further support ASM Global”

“Andreas Sand has been key to our growth across all areas in Sweden and will use his proven talent, experience and knowledge to build on our track record of success and take the region’s business to even greater levels of achievements.”

Sharkey commented, “Whilst Marie will not become a stranger to the Scandinavian market, her experience and business acumen will be invaluable in supporting our venue businesses and help build the new world for sports, entertainment and convention business success as part of a resource and skillset in a way that only ASM Global can deliver.“

“Our European team is already high calibre and with Marie’s appointment this takes our capability to even higher levels – it is truly a fabulous appointment. She is leaving the Stockholm business in great shape but in equally capable hands with Andreas who is ready for this move; he will be a great successor to Marie and an excellent leader of the team in Sweden.”

ASM operates a portfolio of arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centres, performing arts centres, theatres and other venues across five continents including Manchester Arena, First Direct Arena in Leeds and SSE Arena, Wembley.

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What began life 30 years ago as one of the most controversial buildings in Stockholm has now become woven into the fabric of the Swedish capital and a celebrated part of the city’s skyline.

The Ericsson Globe – known locally simply as “Globen” – took over two years to build. It opened its doors on 19 February 1989 and remains the largest hemispherical building in the world. Over the past three decades it has changed the live entertainment and sports environment not just in Stockholm but across Scandinavia. In that time, the venue has hosted over 3,300 events and seen 35 million customers through its doors.

Its construction at the time was desperately needed as there was no purpose-built multifunctional arena in the region until its arrival, with concerts and other family entertainment events having to make do in ice hockey arenas that dated back to the 1960s.

“There was an architectural competition to build the new arena and to make it a landmark of the city,” says Marie Lindqvist, the venue’s vice president and general manager. “It is a spherical building, and it was very controversial at the beginning but it has become a well-known and well-loved landmark in the city of Stockholm. The building was completely new and very modern. It was very different to what had been in the market before.”

Its impact was instant, putting Stockholm on the international touring plans for major acts and events, as it meant they could now play to audiences of up to 16,000 in a purpose-built arena.

“The Globe has been a major contributor to Stockholm growing on the international music and entertainment market”

“The Globe has been a major contributor to Stockholm growing on the international music and entertainment market,” says Lindqvist. “It has been an enabler for Stockholm to get big shows but also to host international championships in ice hockey, handball, figure skating, and many more sports. It has definitely been a driver in positioning Stockholm as an events city.”

What was state-of-the-art in 1989, however, can start to look and feel archaic in 2019. As such, the venue has been keenly aware of the need to constantly evolve, to ensure it doesn’t become as anachronistic as the hockey arenas it superseded.

Scandinavia has long been a leader in the adoption of online and mobile technologies, and it is only to be expected that this has impacted on live entertainment in the region before most other places in the world. The Globe has adapted to keep itself at the forefront of these developments.

Jenny Blomqvist, head of event sales at the venue, says that while laptop/PC sales of tickets are still 50% of the market there, mobile is where the focus is now. “We do see a big shift towards mobile payments,” she says, “[and] all development within ticketing is now focused on mobile.”

With this rise of online and mobile comes a concurrent growth in the importance of data, and this feeds into how the venue runs and helps it anticipate customer behaviour.

“Today, consumers expect great connectivity in any arena; it is one of the basic components of the live experience”

“Data lets us know more about the fans and, thereby, creates a better customer journey [in terms of] what they want and how to communicate with them,” says Blomqvist. “It’s also more important with today’s technology and data to explain more about your exact position in the venue, the view from your seat, and also about possible upgrades or add-ons.”

Data, ultimately, should be used to enhance the customer experience. “With more information about visitors and sales, together with the promoter we can create a better event when it comes to getting the perfect seating plan for each show,” she says.

Alongside the customer-facing benefits of this rich data there are also business-facing upsides. “Promoters expect fast feedback on booking availabilities, so the organisation needs to quickly process information in order to find out what can be accommodated, both from a calendar and an operational perspective,” explains Blomqvist. “I would say that the organisation has sharpened its working processes and our know-how to better face up to the ever-increasing demand for arena availability.”

Given that Ericsson has been the venue’s naming partner for the past decade, mobile technologies have long been front and centre here. “Today, consumers expect great connectivity in any arena; it is one of the basic components of the live experience,” says Gil Murphy, the Globe’s head of event technology. “Most of the new ways of operating a venue depend on the connectivity in the arena with the POS systems, ticket scanning, wayfinding, and so on. Also, from an operating perspective, great connectivity is essential.”

Staying on top of the rapidly evolving digital world is a priority for the venue. “When Ericsson Globe hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, the Wi-Fi in the arena was upgraded to a newer standard, delivered by Ericsson, and is today a network that can handle most challenges,” adds Murphy.

“Technological developments have equated to greater demand from artists as well as [raise] expectations from visitors. The arena has had to gradually evolve to meet expectations”

The next technological leap will be 5G mobile connectivity, and venues will have to move in lockstep with these telco developments. “One thing I believe is, for sure, connectivity will continue to increase, as well as new ways to interact digitally with arena visitors,” says Murphy.

Tied into this is the development of the venue’s own smartphone app, which will launch later this year for the Globe and the company’s other four arenas in the city (Friends Arena, Tele2 Arena, Annexet and Hovet).

“The goal with the new app is to smooth the consumer journey and simplify your own interaction with the event you are going to,” explains Daniel Stålbo, director of comms at the Globe. “[The app] is where you will receive your ticket to your event [and it] is also where you will get all the information about your upcoming event; tips about how to best get to the arena; where to stay; how to order and pay for your food and drinks; how to get upgrades, and so on. It also provides a new foundation for interaction with live events in ways that promoters and partners define – such as voting, quizzes, seeing playlists, and more.”

New technologies are also shaping the creative potential of the venue, allowing the touring acts and productions to do things that were inconceivable even a decade ago.

“Technological developments have equated to greater demand from artists to incorporate [new] show techniques as well as [raise] expectations from visitors for a multimedia experience that can be shared online,” is how Blomqvist puts it. “The arena has had to gradually evolve to meet expectations. For instance, we are constantly working on how to improve rig capacity, as well as creating solutions for data capacity in line with visitors’ expectations.”

Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of the European Arena Yearbook 2019, or subscribe to the magazine here

Hard work, knowing the right people and a slice of good luck can all play a part in getting a proper footing on the career ladder.

IQ Magazine puts some more ILMC regulars in the spotlight and asks them to share their breakthrough moments…

Steve Strange, X-ray Touring
I’d been involved with Ash for a couple of years, but I remember going to the Astoria for the first time with them and standing on the balcony with their manager, Stephen ‘Tav’ Taverner, and having a pint as we cheered them on.

The band were still at school when I first got involved – in fact, we had to build them and plan all their releases around the school holidays, so tours and promos would take place in the Easter break and summer holidays.

But Ash was the first act that I properly helped to break, so standing in the Astoria, in a venue where I’d been so many times myself as a fan at other acts’ shows, was something really special indeed.

Twenty-six years later, my roster has grown, and Tav also manages the likes of Alt-J, Kodaline and Wolf Alice. We both still represent Ash, who we’re really close with – Tim and Mark occasionally stay with me when they’re in town from New York.

Standing in the Astoria, in a venue where I’d been so many times myself as a fan at other acts’ shows, was something really special indeed

Marie Lindqvist, Stockholm Live
I started my career in the tourism industry working in marketing for some of the major tour operators, such as TUI, and for a group of amusement parks. In 2006, I was recruited for the role of marketing director at Ericsson Globe, the 14,000-seat multi-venue in Stockholm. I had never imagined I would end up in sports and music, so this was a whole new world to me, even though there are similar challenges and opportunities – and arenas and events are certainly an important part of the tourism industry.

AEG took over the operation of the arena from the city in 2008, and all of a sudden I was part of a leading global entertainment company – such a fantastic opportunity! I learned so much and I got to meet so many experienced and smart people from the different areas of our businesses across the globe.

After a few years, I was recruited back to the travel industry, but in 2014 I got a message from Richard Krezwick, who was overseeing all the European arenas for AEG, asking if I would like to have a coffee next time he was in Stockholm. Whilst sitting in the sun overlooking the Royal Palace, he asked me if I wanted to come back to AEG and take over as general manager for Ericsson Globe and the new Tele2 Arena, which had opened in 2013. I was thrilled and nervous about the big job but excited to be back at AEG and in the entertainment industry. Since then we have also taken over the operation of Friends Arena and now operate a group of five arenas and stadiums in Sweden. We do about 320 events with three million ticket buyers annually.

It was not where I thought I was heading in my 20s, but I am so happy to be a part of this amazing industry where the worlds of music, sports, real estate, sponsorship, tourism, food and beverage and much more meet in an exciting mix.

Everything I have today is all down to John Sherry giving me back that £200 and convincing me to become an agent

Carl Leighton-Pope, The Leighton Pope Organisation
In 1977, the band I was managing, Sassafras, split up and everyone was broke. I was 25 years old and married with four kids, living in Cardiff, but I owed an agent in London £200 and I couldn’t bear the thought of being in debt, so I caught the train to the capital to give the late John Sherry his money.

When I was in his office, he asked me what I was going to do next, but at that time I didn’t have a clue – I just knew I needed to earn some money to feed my family. He thought about it for a few minutes, then handed me the £200 back and urged me to become an agent, offering me a job for £40 a week, starting the following Monday.

So I travelled back to Wales to give my wife, Pamela, the good/bad news from my trip. She was delighted that we still had the £200, but when I told her about my new job, she said, “But darling, we don’t live in London; we live in Cardiff.” Her mother had a one-bedroom flat in Notting Hill and was kind enough to let me sleep on her sofa during the week, then I’d travel back to Cardiff on a Friday evening with my £40.

Pretty quickly, though, I signed the Motors, then Dire Straits, Simple Minds and Patti Smith, and before I knew it, all the other agencies were asking me to come and work for them.

But everything I have today is all down to John Sherry giving me back that £200 and convincing me to become an agent – I could never repay him for the faith he showed in me and I’m forever grateful.

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