Move Concerts founder Phil Rodriguez has hailed the stadium concert boom as the business gears up for another huge year.

Acts including Coldplay, Oasis, Dua Lipa, AC/DC, Lana Del Rey, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’Roses, Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, Billy Joel, My Chemical Romance, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are all set for next year’s outdoor circuit.

The list also includes the likes of Robbie Williams, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Stereophonics, System of a Down, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Stray Kids, Sam Fender and Iron Maiden.

“I’m loving all the stadium tours that are going on and coming up in 2025,” Rodriguez tells IQ. “I remember a few years ago one of the worries in our industry was who would be our future stadium headliners. That’s been answered.”

“We had some great shows in 2024, but I must highlight our tour dates with Iron Maiden – they’re bigger than ever in our markets”

Memorable concerts over the past 12 months for Florida-headquartered Move, which is Latin America’s largest independent promoter, include Iron Maiden’s The Future Past Tour.

Rodriguez marvels at the legendary metal band’s enduring appeal in the region, as well as the growing popularity of another British group, Keane, who played arena headline dates in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

“We had some great shows in 2024, but I must highlight our tour dates with Iron Maiden – they’re bigger than ever in our markets,” he says. “We had stadium dates selling out in 30 minutes. We’ve worked together for decades, but the speed and volume of sales for this tour were totally unexpected.

“Also, our dates with Keane were not only all sellouts, they doubled the attendance from their last tour – very impressive.”

Move also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico, and Rodriguez notes the “rapid devaluation” of the Brazilian currency, the Real, has provided some cause for consternation.

“We did not expect it to drop as much as it did,” he says. “At the start of 2024 the exchange rate was R$4.85/US$. This month, it is at R$ 6.08/US$ – a 20% devaluation – and it is expected to continue dropping in 2025.”

“Latin music is unquestionably in growth phase. The media ‘hype’ may have settled down, but it is solid and growing”

Nevertheless, Rodriguez insists the market for Latin music remains robust.

“It is unquestionably in growth phase,” he says. “The media ‘hype’ may have settled down, but it is solid and growing.”

Speaking in IQ‘s end-of-year issue, Rodriguez also expressed his admiration for Adele’s “historic” August concert residency in Germany, which saw the singer perform 10 nights at a bespoke 73,000-capacity pop-up stadium in Munich.

“The whole concept of a temporary venue and residency was ambitious, but the execution was flawless,” he says. “I have no doubt this will be a model that may be duplicated in different ways and/or scale in the future.”

Looking ahead to next year, Rodriguez says 2025 is “looking good” for the firm, adding his ambitions are simply “for our Move Concerts family to enjoy good health, continue to have fun doing what we do and to keep our numbers growing”.

“So far, we have a solid number of shows lined up,” he concludes. “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.”

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

To celebrate the hard work of the numerous independent operators that make the live entertainment industry such a vibrant – and growing – business worldwide, IQ is publishing its inaugural Indie Champions list.

Our shortlist of 20 companies were chosen by the IQ readership and have headquarters across 11 different nations but service live events the world over, thanks to their various satellite offices and the artists and partners they work with.

The Indie Champions will become an annual staple of IQ, so if your company did not make it onto this year’s debut list, fear not, as you have a full ten months to prove your credentials to friends, colleagues, and business partners ahead of next year’s nomination process.

IQ will continue to publish entries across all categories over the coming days, and you can find the whole cohort in the latest edition of IQ here. Find part one here and part two here.

LS Events (UK)
Launched in 2004 by Jim King and later joined by Dave Grindle, Loud Sound made its name in the UK festival industry. In 2016, it welcomed Steve Reynolds to the business and has since been able to diversify across a wide range of sectors. Now a 40-strong team with a freelance network of 1,500, the company delivers event excellence across core sectors of live entertainment, sports, public sector, and major ceremonies.

“Our foundations continue to inform a culture of development and personal growth that empowers our employees to thrive,” says co-CEO Grindle. “We have taken time to think about the way that we operate to ensure that our systems and policies are meaningful. We continuously evaluate the ways in which we can support our teams, both professionally and personally. This commitment to looking after our greatest asset – our people – enables us to be adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of events.

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London

“Drawing on our expertise, we have refined our creative/operational processes to offer clients unmatched insight when curating, producing, and delivering their event stories. Our commitment to excellence is underpinned by extensive ISO accreditations, which not only hold us accountable to continual improvement but also ensure that we operate to the highest possible standards.”

The LS client list includes AEG Presents, UEFA, The Greater London Authority, Formula E, LIV Golf, and Pride in London.

Marauder (US)
Rev. Moose and his partners formed Marauder in 2015 “to work with people in music who fell between the cracks of the existing American industry.” These were people primarily based outside the US and had needs American companies weren’t set up to handle.

“So many Americans focus on one specific need rather than addressing a project’s overall goals,” notes Moose. “With Marauder, we’re set up to process what each client wants to achieve and create a complete marketing campaign based on what will actually advance a project.”

“What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service”

Since its inception, Marauder has worked to give a voice to those supporting their own music ecosystems. This mentality was the catalyst for bringing Independent Venue Week to the US in 2015, which became integral in creating the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

Marauder’s core work revolves around building marketing strategies for companies and programmes and executing those ideas in a way that meets their goals. “What separates Marauder from other companies with similar services is our intention to build through service,” says Moose.

“All of our clients, in one way or another, are working to better their communities. We have the market knowledge and professional connections to create meaningful programmes for our clients while focusing on everyone’s core business needs.”

MCT Agentur (DE)
MCT was formed in 1984 by Die Toten Hosen manager Jochen Hülder, Rough Trade Booking Germany chief Dietrich Eggert, and tour manager Scumeck Sabottka. The trio decided to start their own company so that they could not only promote the acts they liked but also “make some real money.”

Sabottka tells IQ, “We were naive and signed deals with experienced agents in the UK that meant we only saw the downside, so in 1986, Dietrich left the company, and we nearly went broke. But I found new partners, parted ways with Jochen, and got new cash into the company.”

However, Sabottka later relied on other independent promoters to keep MCT running. “In the early 1990s, I contacted Marcel Avram through Gary Kurfirst (manager of the Ramones, who we promoted), and he sent his bagman, Bruce Glatman, who brokered for MAMA Concerts and Rau to become majority partners in MCT. I moved to Munich, and we started to make money. So, in early 2000, I bought the shares back from Marcel and Fritz [Rau] and have been independent since.”

“I bought the shares back and have been independent since”

In addition to being concert and tour promoters, MCT (which is now based in Berlin), acts as an agency, as well as managing a number of acts. The company promotes Rammstein in the European Union and Robbie Williams in Germany; it manages Yasmine Hamdan and Die Antwoord; and it is the EU agent for Marilyn Manson, Gus Gus, Hatari, and VÖK.

Its promoting roster also includes Björk, Massive Attack, Moby, New Order, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, Pearl Jam, Janelle Monae, Four Tet, Beth Gibbons, Okay Kaya, Charlotte Day Wilson, L ́Impératrice, Trentemøller, Gorillaz, Tom Waits, and Tamino.

This year, MCT’s team of 20 full-time staff promoted around 30 Rammstein stadium shows, selling 1.3m tickets in the process. It also sold out shows for Beth Gibbons in Berlin, a Die Antwoord European tour, and sold out Marilyn Manson’s European tour in February 2025.

Mercury Concerts (BR)
Following T4F’s IPO in 2011, Jose Muniz ended his 12-year tenure at the business and went on to join XYZ Live, a company owned by media empire ABC group, which seemed to be a
good project with lots of potential. However, after one year, it tanked, and he decided it was time to bring back Mercury Concerts – a company he founded in 1980 before selling to OCESA in 2000.

After the Mercury relaunch in 2014, the first tour saw Guns N’ Roses playing 14 dates across South America. Other acts promoted by the company include KISS, Aerosmith, Rush, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, David Gilmour, Deep Purple, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Megadeth, and Pearl Jam.

Mercury’s Monsters of Rock festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year

Unsurprisingly, given that roster of talent, Mercury is also the owner of Monsters Of Rock in the region, which has now expanded to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year.

With 15 personnel running operations between Orlando and Brazil, Mercury also relies on business with similar infrastructure in other countries, meaning it can offer clients a full team on the road, from day one till the last show of the run, making sure the artists are comfortable with the same level of production in every city of the tour.

Move Concerts (US)

Move Concerts was formed ten years ago in what was essentially a rebranding and restructuring of promoter Phil Rodriguez’s various enterprises, Water Brother Productions, Evenpro Group, and XYZ.

Move has five verticals: concert promotions, artist management, record label, publishing, and an Argentine ticketing company, Livepass. “The artist management, label, and publishing were born during the Covid years, when the live touring business shut down and many of us looked at what else we could do with our resources,” explains Rodriguez. “These were a new challenge for us, but all three are growing at a relatively fast clip, and we have a licensing deal with Warner Latin that is very strong and healthy and will allow our label and management to grow faster.”

On the concerts side, Move works with numerous artists, including Ed Sheeran and Iron Maiden, who have strong fanbases in Latin America, thanks to longstanding relationships with Rodriguez and his company.

Move Concerts will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold

With offices throughout Latin America and a HQ in Miami, Move Concerts has 53 full-time staff and will end 2024 with more than 1.1m tickets sold.

Noting 2024 tours with Iron Maiden, Paul McCartney, and Karol G, Rodriguez adds, “We had a chance to work with Ne-Yo for the first time this year, and his show is amazing. We’re also doing the LatAm leg for Keane, who are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, and they’re selling stronger than ever – we had arena dates sell out on the on-sale.”

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

Move Concerts boss Phil Rodriguez has spoken out on the company’s growing management arm and 2024 touring fortunes in an interview with IQ.

Move Music Management, which was formed by Rodriguez and Move’s Argentina CEO Sebastian Carlomagno, has hired Jason Odio to help with its expanding roster of artists.

Odio will be based in the team’s Miami office in the US, and brings more than 25 experience as an executive in the nightclub and hospitality sectors.

“Jason brings a lot,” says Rodriguez. “Aside from having run successful businesses in the hospitality sector – nightclubs, restaurants, bars – he also has incredible contacts and experience in the fashion industry and art world, from producers to designers. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”

Move clients include Tiago PZK, Bhavi, Ambik and K4OS, who are all signed to Rodriguez’s Grand Move Records. The promoter describes the firm’s management division and indie record label as its “Covid projects”.

“We were approach regarding management for a few of the artists that were coming out of the urban scene that blew up in Argentina about two years ago – during and right after Covid,” he explains. “Tiago PZK was the one that we really got excited about, so we signed him up for management and then started a label for his releases, Grand Move Records.

“We then signed a licensing deal with Warner Latin when Tiago’s numbers out grew the South Cone markets: Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. As time went by other artists approached us and we now have four artists under our management division: Ambik, Bhavi , K4OS and Tiago PZK. We want to grow slowly – quality before quantity.”

“We’re seeing [A-list] artists doing stronger than ever, but a softer scenario for the mid-level artists”

Rodriguez says Move’s management and concert divisions operate independently of one another, while utilising certain synergies.

“In the markets where Move Concerts has offices, our local offices will promote the concerts for our management artists,” he says. “Furthermore, we use our local offices to help push and market our artists in tandem with Warner Latin.”

Turning to Move’s touring activities, Rodriguez says the first half of 2024 has been largely positive up to this point.

“So far, we’re ahead of the ball – more hits than misses,” he says. “The biggest highlight so far this year were the two stadium dates we promoted with Karol G in San Jose, Costa Rica at the Nacional Stadium. She broke all previous sales records in that country. She’s a superstar.

“Aside from the increase in costs, we’re seeing [A-list] artists doing stronger than ever but a softer scenario for the mid-level artists.”

Latin America’s largest independent promoter, Move Concerts is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico.

“We have a great line up of upcoming shows in Puerto Rico: Bad Bunny, Carin Leon, Residente, Rawayana and Rainao,” concludes Rodriguez. “In the region, we have four dates with Eric Clapton with Gary Clark Jr, a nine-date South American tour with Keane, which has sold stronger than their previous tours, two stadium dates with Paul McCartney and five stadium, plus one arena show, with Iron Maiden, who are doing bigger business than ever in the region.”

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

Latin superstar Karol G has continued to break records with her Mañana Será Bonito LATAM Tour, recording the highest ever ticket sales for a concert in Costa Rica.

The Colombian singer-songwriter, who is represented worldwide by Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka at UTA, sold 104,686 tickets across her sold-out 9-10 March shows at Estadio Nacional in San José.

The two dates were promoted by Move Concerts and broke the previous record set by Coldplay, who launched their Music of the Spheres Tour at the venue in 2022.

Karol G recently became the first artist to sell out four nights at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

G recently became the first artist to sell out four nights at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain, where she will stop from 20-23 July as part of her Live Nation-promoted European tour debut, Mañana Será Bonito (Tomorrow Will Be Nice).

The Mañana Será Bonito LATAM Tour kicked off in Mexico City in February, when she became the first female artist to sell out the Estadio Azteca for three consecutive nights, with 80,000 attendees per night. The trek will visit the Dominican Republic this weekend, before moving on to Perú, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

Last year, the reggaeton star grossed $145 million with 843,000 tickets sold for just 18 shows, and also became the first female artist to reach #1 on Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album. She also made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, drawing more than 100,000 fans across the trio of concerts.

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

Tickets for Iron Maiden‘s first concert in Colombia for 13 years were snapped up at a record rate for an international act, according to promoter Move Concerts.

All 42,000 tickets sold out in 21 minutes for the metal greats’ return to Bogota on 24 November next year. With more than 11 months to go until the scheduled performance at El Campin Stadium, it also became the first gig in Colombia to sell out so far in advance.

The band last graced the Colombian capital with a show at Parque Simón Bolívar in March 2011. The timespan clocked for tickets sold for the 2024 show broke the sales velocity records of all previous global icons who have performed in Colombia in the past, including the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Madonna, Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think it would blow out in 21 minutes and smash sales records”

“We all expected strong sales given the long wait since they last performed here, which was on 20 March 2011, but never in our wildest dreams did we think it would blow out in 21 minutes and smash sales records,” says Alfredo Villaveces, MD of Move Concerts Colombia. “And if we factor in the fact we went up so far ahead of the show date – something no other artist had done here – it is truly amazing.”

The sellout pace was exceeded only by Colombian superstar Karol G, who played two sellout stadium shows in her hometown of Medellin from 1-2 December.

The Latin American stretch of Iron Maiden’s 2024 The Future Past Tour has also got off to a strong start in Chile, with more than 95,000 tickets already sold for the group’s two dates in Santiago at the Estadio Nacional on 27-28 November. The Santiago shows mark the first time the band will play two stadium concerts in Chile on the same tour.

The only international act to have played more than two dates at the 60,000-cap stadium is Coldplay, who performed four concerts at the venue in September 2022.

Miami-headquartered Move Concerts is the biggest independent concert promoter in Latin America, boasting offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico.

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

Move Concerts CEO Phil Rodriguez has broken down the ups and downs of the South American touring scene as the company prepares to co-promote next month’s Primavera Sound Buenos Aires.

The LatAm region’s biggest independent promoter is partnering with Primavera alongside PopArt Music and Dale Play Live on the festival, which returns to Parque Sarmiento in the Argentine capital from 25-26 November, headlined by The Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Blur and Beck.

“Argentina at the moment is very challenging,” Rodriguez tells IQ. “This is the first year we are involved with this event, and it will be the second edition in Argentina. Our objective are not only to grow the numbers but as important to deliver on the experience for the punters and consolidate the brand in the market.”

Rodriguez describes the situation in certain countries in the region as “politically delicate”.

“The elections in Argentina [later this month] will be historic in terms of what direction that country will go,” he says. “Right now, the country is essentially broke.”

In general, Rodriguez reports that Move has recorded “more hits than misses”in 2023. Recent successes include a 13,000-cap sellout with Ghost at Buenos Aires’ Movistar Arena on 24 September, and the debut of its Legends in Concert series a week later, when it presented Rod Stewart and Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivete Sangaloat at Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil. The latter show grossed more than US$3 million.

“We sold out – 31,000 tickets sold,” says Rodriguez. “It was a reserved seating configuration at the Allianz Stadium. Rod Stewart and Ivete Sangalo sang two songs together at the end of the show and the chemistry between them was fantastic. It was definitely a case of 1+1=3 and we will definitely repeat this concept.”

“We’re seeing local talent/Latin artists doing stadium tours. This was extremely rare before”

The firm also sold 16,000 tickets for a Bad Bunny “listening party” this week at Puerto Rico’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. Back in March, it teamed with Bunny’s manager Noah Assad to stage Karol G’s history-making Puerto Rican shows, which saw the Colombian star become the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, drawing more than 100,000 fans across the trio of shows.

“She’s incredibly hard-working and focused and has unquestionably taken her career to the next level – stadium level, superstar level,” reflects Rodriguez, who points out the market is especially strong for domestic artists.

“In many cases it is as strong or stronger than most international/Anglo artists,” he adds. “We’re seeing local talent/Latin artists doing stadium tours. This was extremely rare before.”

He continues: “In general, well, we cannot complain, but the audience is being more selective. The ‘after Covid boom’ is tapering off. I feel the increase in the cost of living has impacted the fans to as certain degree. For the [top] acts and top-tier festivals, business is strong. In the case of the smaller acts or festivals, there are more challenges.

“Costs certainly have impacted everybody – artist, promoters and fans. Everything is more expensive. There has also been more difficulty in venue avails as local artists are now selling more than in the past increasing holds on venues. Also, the demand for stadium dates availability is butting heads with football schedules more than ever.”

Move Concerts is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico. Since 2019, the company has operated a joint venture with US entertainment and sports company Loud and Live, whose CEO Nelson Albareda was recently named Billboard Latin Power Player Executive of the Year.

PHOTO: GHOST with Fabiano de Queiroz, VP touring MOVE Concerts (Credit: Gabriel Sotelo)

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

A new festival in Puerto Rico curated by rapper Eladio Carrión and co-promoted by Move Concerts and Noah Assad Presents drew sellout crowds to its debut editions.

The Sauce Boyz Fest was the first music festival to be staged on the Caribbean island since the Covid pandemic began in 2020.

The first event took place on 18 May at Cervecera de Puerto Rico in Mayaguez before a 7,000-strong crowd and was headlined by Carrión, who was joined by surprise guest Bad Bunny to perform Coco Chanel live for the first time.  Acts such as Tokischa and Young Miko also performed.

The leg was held at the Convention District in San Juan – at just five days’ notice after switching from the original venue Estadio Sixto Escobar due to an infrastructure problem – on 20 May before a sold-out crowd of 25,000. Artists included Bizarrap and Duki, Wiz Khalifa and Carrión, who was joined onstage by Lil Wayne, Myke Towers and Jhayco.

“I’m so proud of all of the people that pushed and worked day and night to make this festival a world class event in just five days of buildup”

“I’m so proud of all of the people that pushed and worked day and night to make this festival a world class event in just five days of buildup, proud to be a part of this team and experience,” says Alejandro Pabon, MD of Move Concerts Puerto Rico.

Other attractions included a gaming area, multiple art structures, three stages and more than 30 international and local artists. The festival was also the first in Puerto Rico to be livestreamed via YouTube.

Move Concerts is Latin America’s biggest independent concert promoter with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico, as well as its headquarters in the US in Miami, Florida.

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

Move Concerts and Noah Assad Presents co-promoted WWE’s first premium live event to be held in Puerto Rico in 15 years, headlined by Bad Bunny.

The show, titled Backlash, took place on 6 May at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, and marked the largest gate ever for any WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) event held in Puerto Rico and the largest gate in the history of the Backlash brand.

Bad Bunny, who is managed by Assad, wrestled WWE superstar Damian Priest in the co-main event.

“We have been very proud of our on-going relationship with WWE throughout the region and specially in Puerto Rico” says Fabiano de Queiroz, VP of talent & tours at Miami-headquartered Move Concerts.

“The rich wrestling history and the incredibly strong music scene made for the perfect combination on a historic night”

Organisers confirmed back-to-back sellout nights for WWE’s Backlash (17,944 attendees) and the previous night’s SmackDown TV show (16,896 attendees).

“The rich wrestling history and the incredibly strong music scene made for the perfect combination on a historic night with the best crowd in the world,” adds Alejandro Pabón MD of Move Concerts Puerto Rico.

In addition, Backlash broke merchandise and sponsorship records, as the first-ever WWE event under the expanded partnership with Fanatics overseeing the on-site event retail experience. Sponsorship revenue surpassed any Backlash event in history, breaking last year’s record with a 98% year-on-year increase through partnerships with Netflix’s FUBAR, Mike’s Harder Lemonade, and Xfinity.

Move Concerts is the biggest independent concert promoter in Latin America with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico.

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

Karol G has made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

The Colombian reggaeton star drew more than 100,000 fans across the trio of shows, which includes guest appearances by Romeo Santos, Eladio, Sean Paul, Young Miko and Feid, among others.

The 10-12 March concerts were promoted by Move Concerts and Noah Assad, who also manages Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.

“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down”

“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down,” Move boss Phil Rodriguez told IQ last year. “We co-promoted with Noah Assad three sold-out dates at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico [cap. 18,500] with Bad Bunny in San Juan that paralysed the island as the show was streamed live to 13 municipalities for free. It is estimated over 500,000 people saw the show between the Coliseo and the free transmissions.”

Move Concerts is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru, as well as Puerto Rico, the source of much of the current Latin music explosion.

“Our office in Puerto Rico is killing it,” said Rodriguez. “We sold out two arenas there with Karol G – over 24,000 tickets. We easily could have done two more arena dates there.”

Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years

Bad Bunny usurped Ed Sheeran in 2022 as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year. The rapper generated $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022, according to Pollstar data, surpassing the $432.4 million box office takings of Sheeran’s 94 ÷ tour dates in 2018.

Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years, while fellow Puerto Rican acts Rauw Alejandro and Ozuna are also making huge strides internationally.

Puerto Rico’s Coca-Cola Music Hall, meanwhile, reported a total attendance of more than 165,000 people during its first 12 months of operation. Since its opening in August 2021, the 4,200-cap venue in San Juan has hosted 59 concerts and 43 private events by artists such as Ednita Nazario, Caramelos de Cianuro, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Stryper, Jesse & Joy and Louis Tomlinson, among others.

Revisit IQ Magazine‘s full 2022 feature exploring the growth of the Latin American touring market here.

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

Loud and Live founder and CEO Nelson Albareda has given an insight the company’s global expansion plans in a Q&A with IQ.

The Miami, Florida-headquartered live entertainment and sports firm produces and manages the tours of many of the world’s biggest Latin artists, presenting more than 300 live concerts around the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Latin America in 2022.

It has worked with the likes of Pitbull, Ricky Martin, Chainsmokers, Steve Aoki, Luis Fonsi, Calvin Harris, Roberto Carlos, Juan Luis Guerra and Franco De Vita, and moved into Europe last year with the inaugural Madrid Championship CrossFit competition.

Albareda will chair the Latin Live panel at this year’s ILMC at 3.30pm on Wednesday 1 March. Here, he expands further on Loud and Live’s international plans, reflects on its link-ups with Move Concerts and ASM Global, and considers what the future holds for Latin music…

How do you plan to grow your touring offering on a global level in 2023?

“We expanded our geographical touring focus in 2022, having launched our Latin America division, including producing shows in Colombia and Ecuador with the likes of Camilo, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Carlos Vives, Gian Marco and Ricardo Arjona. A handful of those shows took place in stadiums, including Carlos Vives and Ricardo Arjona, the latter of which included multiple sold-out stadium shows in Ecuador.

“In 2023 we’ll be doubling down on those efforts, expanding our offering even further into Central and South America. We’re also looking to initiate our European presence, with some initial shows in Spain on the back half of 2023.”

“The plan is to grow our team and presence in Madrid to expand our focus across live music as well”

Last year, you entered the European market with the Madrid Championship. Will you be making any moves in the continent’s live music scene?

“Yes, we launched this event in 2021 and we’ve been growing our footprint there ever since. The plan is to grow our team and presence in Madrid to expand our focus across live music as well.”

In what ways has your joint venture with Move Concerts been fruitful?

“Our complementary business focuses have brought together a compelling value proposition from a geographical expansion perspective, which has resulted in a broader offering and value proposition to the artists we work with. We will continue to collaborate and expand on our partnership in 2023, particularly as Loud and Live looks to continue its growth in Latin America, where Move is a leader.

“On a personal level, I continue to learn from Phil Rodriguez and his wealth of knowledge around the business, he’s truly a pioneer in live entertainment and someone I – and our team – consider a mentor.”

How do you see your partnership with ASM Global evolving?

“Our partnership with ASM has gone well and we continue to collaborate across strategic opportunities. We already have a robust pipeline of live shows lined up across their venues for 2023 and beyond.”

“Latin music has evolved and is now mainstream, and there’s a slew of Latin artists that have yet to blow up ala Bad Bunny”

2022 was a seminal year for the Latin music business, how do you see that continuing in 2023?

“Honestly, I expect the genre to continue the growth it’s had over the last two decades. Latin music has evolved and is now mainstream, and there’s a slew of Latin artists that have yet to blow up ala Bad Bunny, which will only further solidify Latin music on a global level.”

How are ticket sales going for 2023 concerts and what is selling well?

“Ticket sales are going very strong for 2023 and we don’t see any indication of that slowing down, so we expect sales to be strong again across all the type of artists we work with. That said, we have seen indications that Tropical music is making a strong comeback and sales are outperforming vs. previous tours, so that’s an interesting trend that we’ll continue to follow.”

What kind of challenges lie ahead for Loud And Live and the business in general?

“We’re coming off of a historic year of growth and our pipeline for 2023 is even stronger, so currently our biggest challenge would be managing any macro-economic factors. That said, live entertainment has proven to be a somewhat recession proof industry, so time will tell what impact, if any, those factors could have.”

“The largest opportunity we see for 2023 is continuing the growth of our market share across North America, while continuing to expand globally”

What opportunities do you foresee for 2023?

“The largest opportunity we see for 2023 is continuing the growth of our market share across North America, while continuing to expand globally.”

What will 2023 bring for Loud and Live?

“Besides continuing to forward investment across our live event side of the business, we will continue to diversify across complementary verticals.

“Among other exciting opportunities, we recently announced a partnership with booking agency Tesa Entertainment, a leading Latin-urban focused booking and management agency. The global partnership deal includes exclusive touring and booking rights for Loud And Live, in an effort to elevate the Latin urban genre to the next level. The first artist signed under the deal is Panamanian singer-songwriter Boza, who broke out in 2020 with his hit song Hecha Pa’ Mí and was nominated for best new artist at the 2021 Latin Grammys.

“Additionally, we will be investing further in live event IP, including launching and producing Miami’s premiere country music festival, appropriately titled Country Bay Music Festival. The large-scale multi-day music festival will feature A-List talent (to be announced in February), as well as emerging country acts. The festival will take place at the historic Miami Marine Stadium on 11-12 November 2023.”

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