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Senbla’s Ollie Rosenblatt talks expanded Sony role

Senbla CEO Ollie Rosenblatt has spoken to IQ about his goals for the promoter and his expanded role at parent firm Sony Music Masterworks (SMM).

A division of Sony Music Entertainment, SMM acquired a controlling stake in UK concert promotion and production business Senbla five years ago. Its portfolio also includes producer and promoter RG (Raymond Gubbay) Live; Barcelona-based Proactiv; Roast Productions Backyard Cinema; Holland-based GEA Live and Dubai-based promoter MAC Global.

Just this week, meanwhile, it announced a majority investment in Los Angeles-based experiential production and design company Black Sky Creative, whose recent projects include Stranger Things: The Official Store; AC/DC Official Dive Bar Takeover at the Power Trip Festival; the Olivia Rodrigo Tour Fan Experience; and Britney Spears – The Zone immersive fan experience.

“We’re very powerful in non traditional global business now, not just in terms of artist touring, but right across the board: family entertainment, theatre and experiential, and production,” says Rosenblatt. “We’ve got a really interesting, diverse, mixed portfolio of business now, We’ve done a lot in a few years as we continue to grow and broaden our remit. We also have a large focus on IP within the business, and on trying to create assets using IP.”

Rosenblatt took on the position of SVP Masterworks Live at Sony Music earlier this year, advising SMM president Mark Cavell and the broader Masterworks Live team by helping to identify future acquisitions and partnerships.

“I still run Senbla day-to-day, but my wider role at Sony is really exciting,” he explains. “It’s a more formalised role around what I was dipping my toe in beforehand. It’s really about growing this business globally, structurally, in the right way – driving efficiencies across all our businesses – and making acquisitions that are going to help feed the global landscape. I wanted to grow not only Senbla, but also the global business, and these opportunities came about from the network that I operate in.”

He continues: “We look at [potential acquisitions] in terms of, what can this add to the group? Can it add real value? Is it in a territory we’re not currently in? Or can it boost another area of the business? So it has to fit in, but we’re not only looking at promoters, we are looking right across the board.”

“Sony is unbelievably supportive and entrepreneurial from the top down”

Rosenblatt goes on to hail Sony’s backing as “fantastic”.

“They are unbelievably supportive and entrepreneurial from the top down,” he says. “It’s amazing to see and it’s an incredible place to work; they’ve got this brilliant ethos and this shift in their direction to focusing broader than just recorded music is really exciting. And we’re not slowing down, they want to keep growing and keep building.”

A key area of development for Senbla has been within the films in concert format – most recently with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which has its Japanese premiere this month. The production will run at venues across the UK in September and December, with Avatar the Last Airbender also set to tour in early 2025.

“The film in concert business continues to grow massively,” notes Rosenblatt. “We moved into not just promoting them, but owning global licences on certain films, which has enabled us to supercharge those products internationally – utilising all the businesses within Sony to produce more film in concert shows than probably any other company in the whole world.”

London-based Senbla hired John Empson, best known for promoting Eden Sessions and Wilderness, in 2020 to lead the company’s experiential events business. Last year, the firm launched boutique 7,000-cap UK concert series On The Mount at Wasing, which returned to Berkshire in June with headline performances by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paolo Nutini, Crowded House, Jungle and Underworld.

“John’s predominantly focused on our outdoor business, and he’s fantastic,” says Rosenblatt. “Wasing is a special site, and we’re excited to continue to build and develop that. Launching something fresh is always hard in the first year, but we made huge strides and this year felt like an even bigger breakthrough.”

“We’re focusing on beautiful, iconic sites with iconic artists”

The unique eco woodland venue – a natural amphitheatre surrounded by trees in the grounds of Wasing, Berkshire – had previously hosted the Glade dance music festival in the mid-late 2000s.

“Artists absolutely love playing there and it’s just not another concert in a greenfield site,” adds Rosenblatt. “We work with the whole estate to try to drive their ethos into what we’re presenting for the audience. And again, we’re going to be back next year for another run of events in this most spectacular outdoor site.”

Senbla has upcoming concerts with the likes of Rickie Lee Jones, The Shires, Tubular Bells Live in Concert, Ron Sexsmith, Boyzlife, Ward Thomas and Wet Wet Wet. Rosenblatt has also worked on special shows by Quincy Jones, Ennio Morricone and Burt Bacharach.

“We’re focusing on beautiful, iconic sites with iconic artists,” he says. “Our touring business, a mix of artists, film in concert, family entertainment and theatrical – all the stuff we’ve always been doing, but more of it. It’s a busy old time at Senbla.”

Rosenblatt also pays tribute to Bacharach following the songwriting legend’s death last year aged 94.

“He was an amazing age, but it didn’t diminish the huge loss I and people around the world felt,” reflects Rosenblatt. “I started promoting him when I was so young and it was never lost on me how incredible it was to work so closely as I did with him, and get to present his music, and it’s still not lost on me to this day. Those opportunities and experiences are so rare because there was no one like him, and I don’t think there ever will be.”

 


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Senbla launches new outdoor music series

A new UK concert series on the natural amphitheatre The Mount in the grounds of Wasing in Berkshire has been announced for summer 2023.

Presented by Sony-backed promoter Senbla, the inaugural line-up for On The Mount will feature headline sets from Gabriels (22 June), Jack Johnson (25 June), Primal Scream (30 June), Ben Howard on (1 July) and Sigur Ros (2 July). Further shows will be announced in due course.

The spectacular woodland venue previously hosted the Glade dance music festival in the mid-late 2000s, and currently hosts the Medicine Festival.

“We’re delighted to bring such a diverse and wonderful line-up to the inaugural year of On The Mount, with artists that match the beauty and spectacular nature of The Mount at Wasing,” say On The Mount curators John Empson and Ollie Rosenblatt of Senbla. “We can’t wait for audiences to really experience something different on these summer evenings beneath the stars and surrounded by the woodland.”

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Senbla to deliver an unforgettable line-up of outstanding artists and trailblazing creative entertainment”

The On The Mount events will be preceded by an intimate Summer Solstice opening event on 21 June.

“Nature is the cornerstone for everything and as a linchpin between people and planet, Wasing connects heart and soul with the extraordinary ecological world around us,” says Wasing Estate CEO Andrew Perkins. “We are exceptionally excited to launch The Mount, bringing audiences and artists together to harmonise in nature and community through restorative musical experiences.

“We are equally thrilled to announce our partnership with Senbla to deliver an unforgettable line-up of outstanding artists and trailblazing creative entertainment, alongside Wasing’s very own unique and culturally diverse launch event; a cutting-edge curation celebrating revitalising indigenous, world and contemporary music.”

 


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Senbla acquires European promoter GEA Live

Senbla, the Sony-backed promoter and producer based in the UK, has acquired a majority stake (51%) in live music and production business, GEA Live (General Entertainment Associates).

Amsterdam based GEA Live has been developing and producing shows worldwide since 2003, most notably for the late Italian producer Ennio Morricone for the final six years of his career, which encompassed more than 100 arena concerts in Europe.

GEA Live has specialised in the development and exploitation of IP in a live setting, producing official legacy tours such as Elvis Live on Screen, or career highlights productions with composers like James Newton Howard and Giorgio Moroder, as well as in-concert productions of well-known television and film franchises.

The acquisition will see Senbla collaborate with GEA Live on a range of projects including the Live in Concert version of Netflix’s hit series Our Planet (narrated by Sir David Attenborough), a space project with the European Space Agency with music by film composer Ilan Eshkeri, and a new arena show curated by Ennio Morricone.

“Senbla and [CEO] Ollie Rosenblatt have been trusted allies throughout the years,” says Floris Douwes, CEO and co-founder of GEA Live.

“[We want] to bring the best entertainment to fans, whilst engaging IP and rights owners [for] maximum commercial return”

“The new partnership came about almost organically and sets us up for further sustainable growth into new markets. The synergetic advantage it creates, to mutually develop and produce IP with a strategy that is both global in appeal as well as locally informed, is second to none.”

Ollie Rosenblatt, CEO of Senbla, adds: “As we continue to build momentum and scope in the business, I am delighted our next European chapter is with Floris, Ton and the wonderful team and shows they have built at GEA Live. We have a range of creative ideas we are developing, which match our ambition to bring the best entertainment to the fans, whilst really engaging IP and rights owners to provide maximum commercial return”.

The new alliance follows Senbla’s 2020 acquisition of boutique UK festivals Strawberries and Creem and The Cambridge Club.

Through Sony Masterworks, Senbla has also acquired businesses in the experiential space, family entertainment and theatre – both in the UK and the US – most notably Terrapin Station Entertainment and Seaview Productions.

Past Senbla events include concerts by Burt Bacharach, Diana Ross, Marc Almond, Michael Bublé, Ennio Morricone and Quincy Jones, and screenings with live orchestra of Love ActuallyHarry PotterStar WarsBeauty and the Beast and Joker.

 


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Apollo Nights Summer Series to make 2020 return

London-based concert promoter Senbla celebrates the success of the inaugural Apollo Nights Summer Series, which took place from 16 to 20 July in partnership with the 5,000-capacity Eventim Apollo.

The promoter has confirmed that the concert series will return for a second year in July 2020.

The five-night long debut series saw performances from Marc Almond and George Benson, as well as two joint shows from Burt Bacharach and Joss Stone.

Non-dining tickets for the Apollo Nights Summer Series were priced from £39.50 for Marc Almond and £45 for other shows.

Guests could also opt for a dining experience, curated by chef Bryn Williams.

“When I first came to visit the newly restored Apollo, I was struck by what a beautiful venue this really is,” comments Senbla managing director Ollie Rosenblatt. Since opening in 1932, the grade II-listed venue has hosted acts such as the Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.

“When I first came to visit the newly restored Apollo, I was struck by what a beautiful venue this really is”

Rosenblatt explains that the idea to “combine the best of food with music” came from viewing award shows at the venue.

“The response and feedback from both consumers and artists have been overwhelmingly positive,” adds Rosenblatt. “For 2020 the aim is to build on this.”

Darren Murphy, general manager of the Eventim Apollo, says he was “delighted” to collaborate with Senbla to put on the concert series.

“It was a rare opportunity to work with a promoter who brings music experiences to life and it was a delight to host the shows with these talented artists in our iconic venue,” says Murphy.

Senbla puts on more than 200 concerts and shows a year throughout the UK. Sony Music Masterworks recently took a majority stake in the promoter, as both look to expand offerings in the live industry.

 


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Sony Music expands live offering with Senbla stake

Sony Music Masterworks, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, has acquired a majority stake in UK concert promotion and production company, Senbla.

Senbla founder and chief executive Ollie Rosenblatt will continue to run the company, working alongside Sony Masterworks’ chief operating officer Mark Cavell and UK label head Sarah Thwaites.

“The combination of Senbla with Sony Music Masterworks gives us a broader platform to grow opportunities in live performance,” comments the Senbla boss, who says he is “delighted” with the new partnership.

Cavell says the deal is “exactly the right move” for Masterworks, as the Sony Music division continues to build on a “very successful live business”.

“The combination of Senbla with Sony Music Masterworks gives us a broader platform to grow opportunities in live performance”

Sony Music took full control of UK-based show producer Raymond Gubbay Live (RBL) last year, in a deal with Germany’s Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG).

According to Cavell, the acquisitions “provide the perfect platform to grow the business in the UK and overseas.”

Founded in 2011, Senbla puts on more than 200 concerts and shows annually across the UK. The promoter has worked with artists such as Joss Stone, Burt Bacharach, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Soft Cell and Beverley Knight.

Last year, Senbla teamed up with content creation company Wisebuddah to put on Quincy Jones: A Life in Song at the AEG-owned O2 Arena. Senbla has led productions including Star Wars in Concert, the Apollo Nights Summer Series and Electric Soul Festival.

 


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