x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Mad Cool Sunset scrapped over RATM cancellation

Mad Cool Sunset has been called off after organisers were unable to find a “suitable” replacement for Rage Against The Machine, who recently cancelled all forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe.

Organised by the same team behind the Live Nation-backed Mad Cool festival in Spain, the one-day sister event was set to debut in Madrid on 10 September with acts including Biffy Clyro, Glass Animals, Stereophonics and Run The Jewels.

Rage Against The Machine were to be the main headliner of the inaugural event but the band recently cancelled their upcoming UK and European tour dates and festival appearances after frontman Zack de la Rocha injuring his leg on stage.

On 11 August the band shared that due to “medical guidance” de la Rocha had been advised not to proceed with performing. The tour cancellation also impacted their plans to headline Reading & Leeds last weekend, where they were replaced by The 1975.

Rage Against the Machine’s performance at Mad Cool Sunset would’ve been their first in Spain after over a decade, and one of two exclusive concerts the band were due to play in the country.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mad Cool Festival (@madcoolfestival)

“We understand that the cancellation of Mad Cool’s Sunset main headliner has meant disappointment and a change of plans for many of the attendees, since being part of RATM’s return, was in many cases, the reason why many of you purchased tickets,” reads a post on the festival’s Instagram page.

Ticketholders have the option to either get a refund or to trade their Sunset ticket for a three-day pass to Andalucia Big Festival in Málaga – Mad Cool’s other new sister festival.

The new 30,000-capacity festival is also scheduled for September, with acts including Muse, Jamiroquai, Years & Years, Biffy Clyro, Nova Twins, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Run the Jewels.

Flagship festival Mad Cool took place in Madrid between 6 and 10 July, with more than 160 acts including headliners Metallica, Florence and the Machine and Stormzy.

Director Javier Arnáiz recently spoke to IQ about how the team behind the marquee event has continued to improve its customer experience.

 


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.

Rage Against The Machine scrap European tour

Rage Against The Machine have cancelled the European leg of their reunion tour, including festival headline shows in the UK, France and Spain.

The dates have been pulled due to “medical guidance” relating to the US band’s frontman Zach de la Rocha, who reportedly sustained a broken leg on stage in Chicago on Monday (8 August).

As a result, the closing show day of Rock en Seine in Paris, France on 30 August – which was due to be headlined by RATM with support from Run The Jewels and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes – has been cancelled.

“The whole Rock en Seine team regrets this news and wishes Zach de la Rocha a speedy recovery,” says a statement from organisers.

All other days of the AEG-promoted festival will proceed as planned.

The RATM tour, which was slated to start at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre on 24 August, was originally set to take place in 2020 before being rescheduled multiple times due to the pandemic.

The remaining three shows of their five-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden will still go ahead this week.

“It is with great disappointment that we announce this cancellation”

“Per medical guidance, Zack de la Rocha has been advised that the August and September 2022 UK and European leg of the Rage Against The Machine tour cannot proceed,” says a social media post by the four-piece group. “It is with great disappointment that we announce this cancellation.

“Rage Against the Machine will be finishing their run at Madison Square Garden on August 11, 12 & 14 and then Zack must return home for rest and rehabilitation. The flights, travel time, and rigorous schedule in the UK and Europe are simply too much of a risk for a complete recovery.

“We are so sorry to all of our fans who have waited years to see us and hope to Rage again soon.”

The cancelled dates also include headline slots at the twin Leeds and Reading festivals in the UK (26-28 August) and Andalusia Big Festival (8 September) and Mad Cool Sunset (10 September) in Spain, along with shows in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Croatia and Czech Republic.

 


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.

Live Nation & Lizzo pledge $1m to abortion rights

Live Nation has pledged to match Lizzo’s donation to abortion rights organisations in the wake of the Roe v Wade verdict.

Protests were held across the US over the weekend amid widespread outrage after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade – throwing out the 1973 decision that recognised abortion as a constitutional right.

Following the decision, Lizzo announced that $500,000 from her upcoming tour would be donated to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights. LN quickly followed suit to take the total to $1 million.

“I’m pledging $500k from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights. Live Nation agreed to match – to make it 1 MILLION dollars,” says the singer in an Instagram post.

“The most important thing is action & loud voices. @plannedparenthood @abortionfunds & organisations like them— will need funding to continue offering services to people who are most harmed by this ban.

“Black women & women of colour have historically had disproportionately less access to family planning resources – this is a great loss but not a new one.”

“We are partnering with artists on support, including matching Lizzo’s donation to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights”

Live Nation has also taken to its social media channels to share its support.

“We stand with women,” declares the promoter. “We are partnering with artists on support, including matching Lizzo’s donation to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights.

“We are covering travel expenses for our employees who need access to women’s healthcare services outside their home state.

“We are supporting community activism and will cover bail expenses if any of our employees are arrested for protesting peacefully. Our Live Nation Women team is working on initiatives to support voter registration and turnout.”

Oak View Group (OVG) says the Roe v Wade decision “has reversed a precedent that impacts countless Americans”.

“It will place limitations on a woman’s basic human right to make decisions regarding her health,” states the venue management giant. “OVG will cover any necessary travel costs for our female employees to access the care they need outside of their state.

“We fully support equal access for all women to obtain the proper care that they deem appropriate for their bodies.”

Rage Against The Machine have also given their support, raising $475,000 to date for reproductive rights organisations via the sale of charity tickets.

“We are disgusted by the repeal of Roe v Wade and the devastating impact it will have on tens of millions of people”

“We are disgusted by the repeal of Roe v Wade and the devastating impact it will have on tens of millions of people,” say the band in a statement. “Over half of the country (26 states) is likely to ban or seriously restrict abortion very soon, if not immediately, which will have a disproportionate impact on poor, working class and undocumented BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Colour] communities.

“To date, our fans have raised $475,000 from the sale of our charity tickets at Alpine Valley and the United Center. We are donating that money to reproductive rights organisations in Wisconsin and Illinois.

“Like the many women who have organised sophisticated railroads of resistance to challenge these attacks on our collective reproductive freedom, we must continue to resist.”

Performers such as Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo and Idles also shared their disgust at the ruling with on stage statements at the UK’s Glastonbury festival over the weekend, while Taylor Swift and Cher are among artists to have spoken out online.

 


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.

Artists protest against Amazon palm scanners

A slate of artists including Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) are protesting Amazon’s palm-recognition tech at music venues.

The technology, which connects a concertgoer’s palm to their ticketing account, was recently implemented at a number of US venues including the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater following a deal between Amazon and AEG Worldwide (owner of ticketing site AXS).

On a new website called Amazon Doesn’t Rock, a number of artists have signed an open letter calling on Red Rocks, AXS, and AEG Worldwide to “immediately cancel all contracts with Amazon for the invasive Amazon One palm scanning technology”.

Some 32 artists including DIIV, Deerhoof and Jeff Rosenstock have signed the letter, which says “biometric surveillance tools like palm scans and facial recognition now threatens to transform [music venues] into hotspots for ICE raids, false arrests, police harassment, and stolen identities”.

“It’s simply a matter of time before we hear of cases of palm scans misidentifying people in the ways that facial recognition has – often with violent and life-altering consequences – but most concerning of all is the fact that this new technology will make the data of thousands of people vulnerable to ongoing government tracking and abuse AND malicious hackers,” reads the letter.

“It’s a matter of time before we hear of cases of palm scans misidentifying people in the ways that facial recognition has”

The letter references an earlier campaign protesting facial recognition technology at festivals, which was responded to by over 40 of the largest US music festivals, including Burning Man, Coachella, South by Southwest and Lollapalooza.

It says that introducing the palm scanning devices is a “slap in the face to fans and artists that have fought so hard to promote safety for everyone at live events”.

Amazon previously said it keeps the palm images in a secure part of its cloud and doesn’t store the information on the Amazon One device. Users can also ask for their information to be deleted at any time, the company added.

A spokesperson from Amazon responded: “The claims made by this organisation are inaccurate. Amazon One is not a facial recognition technology – it is an optional technology designed to make daily activities faster and easier for customers, and users who choose to participate must make an intentional gesture with their palm to use the service.

“We understand that how we protect customer data is important to customers—this is very important to us too, and that’s why safeguarding customer privacy is a foundational design principle for Amazon One. Amazon One devices are protected by multiple security controls, and palm images are never stored on the Amazon One device. Rather, the images are encrypted and sent to a highly secure area we custom-built for Amazon One in the cloud where we create your palm signature.”

Read the full open letter 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.

RATM announce European festival run

In their first shows in ten years, Rage Against the Machine will be appearing at Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK, Ireland’s Electric Picnic, Lollapalooza Berlin and French festival Rock en Seine.

The dates form part of the band’s upcoming global arena tour, which include other European stops at the O2 Arena in Prague (18,000-cap,), the Czech Republic, and the Tauron Arena (22,000-cap.) in Krakow, Poland.

Rage Against the Machine are heading up Festival Republic’s twin festivals Reading and Leeds (100,000-cap.) along with Stormzy and Liam Gallagher. Run the Jewels, who are supporting Rage Against the Machine on their global arena tour, are appearing on the main stage on the same day as the band (28 August at Leeds and 30 August for Reading) at both festivals.

Other performers include Courteeners, Migos, Gerry Cinnamon, AJ Tracey, Sam Fender, Rex Orange County, Slowthai and Idles.

Rage Against the Machine are also performing at Festival Republic’s sold-out Electric Picnic festival in county Laois, Ireland, which is taking place from 4 to 6 September with an increased capacity of 70,000.

Rage Against the Machine are heading up Festival Republic’s twin festivals Reading and Leeds (100,000-cap.) along with Stormzy and Liam Gallagher

The band will make its only German appearance of the year at Lollapalooza Berlin, which is organised by FRHUG Festival GmbH, a joint venture between Hörstmann/Melt! and Festival Republic. The festival is returning for its third year at Berlin’s 90,000-capacity Olympic Stadium from 5 to 6 September.

The final European festival date sees Rage Against the Machine travel to Paris for Rock en Seine (120,000-cap.), which is jointly owned by AEG Presents and Matthieu Pigasse’s LNEI. The band will again be joined by Run the Jewels for their first appearance in France for 12 years.

Rage Against the Machine’s tour begins on 26 March in El Paso, Texas, with the band performing a run of 27 shows at arenas across the United States and Canada, as well as festival appearances at Coachella Valley Music, Boston Calling, Firefly, Ottawa Bluesfest and Quebec Summer Festival.

A full list of arena dates and ticket information can be found here. Tickets for Reading and Leeds festivals go on sale on Thursday 13 February at 9 a.m, with Rock en Seine tickets being released on 12 February at 12 noon (CET). Lollapalooza Berlin tickets are available 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.

Coachella 2020 line-up revealed

The line-up for the 2020 edition of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been unveiled, with Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean topping the bill.

The AEG/Goldenvoice-promoted mega festival, which takes place across two consecutive weekends in April, will also see performances from Lana Del Rey, Calvin Harris, Flume, Thom Yorke, Run the Jewels, Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Uzi Vert, with the same acts performing at both weekend one (10–12 April) and weekend two (17–19 April) of the festival.

The 125,000-capacity event, which is widely regarded as marking the beginning of the international festival season, will once again take place at its home of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

The line-up for Coachella 2020 has been unveiled, with Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean topping the bill

Coachella 2019 saw headline performances from Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino and Tame Impala. Last year’s festival also saw the introduction of a new, AR-enabled stage.

Tickets for weekend one of the event, which went on advance sale in June, are now sold out. Presale for the second weekend starts on 6 January at 12 p.m. PT. Fans can register for the presale here.

Festival travel platform Festicket teamed up with Coachella in July to become the exclusive UK and Europe ticketing partner for the 2020 event.

See the full line-up below:

Coachella 2020 line-up revealed


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.