Pantera removed from German festivals’ lineups
Germany’s twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have removed Pantera from this year’s bill following a backlash over the band’s booking.
The US heavy metal group, who reunited last year, were due to appear at the simultaneously held rock festivals, scheduled for 2-4 June in Nürburgring and Nuremberg, respectively.
However, a statement posted on the events’ social media channels confirms the band’s appearances have been cancelled.
“Pantera will not be performing at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023, as announced,” it says. “In the last few weeks, we have had many intensive conversations with artists, our partners and you, the festival fans. We have continued to deal with the criticism together and decided to remove the band from the programme.”
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer Pantera a stage”
Blabbermouth reports the impetus for the decision was provided by past racism allegations levelled against Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo, which prompted calls to pull the group from the line-up.
“We are relieved about the organisers’ decision not to offer the band Pantera a stage,” says Réka Lörincz, spokesperson against racism and right-wing extremism for Nuremberg City Council’s green faction. “Their singer Phil Anselmo had repeatedly attracted attention with anti-Semitic and racist incidents. Therefore, a performance was unimaginable for us – especially on the former Nazi party rally grounds.”
Promoted by Eventimpresents/DreamHaus, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023 will be headlined by Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and Die Toten Hosen. Pantera is yet to respond to their removal from the bill.
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Rock am Ring sells record 90,000 weekend tickets
Germany’s premier rock festival Rock am Ring has sold a record 90,000 weekend tickets for its 2022 edition.
Limited day tickets are available for eventimpresents/DreamHaus’s festival but otherwise, it is completely sold out.
Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin are among the acts slated to perform at the event, taking place at the Nürburgring race track between 3 and 5 June.
It was recently announced that all performances will be livestreamed via German streaming service RTL+, with fans around the world able to watch the broadcast free of charge.
Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin are among the acts slated to perform at the event
Additionally, a partnership with TikTok will bring the Rock am Ring experience to the worldwide community through hashtag campaigns, live programmes, official playlists and backstage content with popular creators.
Eventimpresents and DreamHaus have also reported that twin festival Rock im Park is almost sold out, having shifted more than 70,000 tickets. The event takes place concurrently with Rock am Ring, at Zeppelin Field in Nüremberg.
Rock am Ring was founded by Marcel Avram and Marek Lieberberg’s Mama Concerts in 1985, while Rock im Park took place for the first time in 1995 under Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK).
Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus is now responsible for organising and programming the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, along with eventimpresents.
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Rock am Ring to be streamed live, free of charge
This year’s edition of Rock am Ring will be streamed live, with fans at home able to watch the broadcast free of charge.
The German festival is set to take place between 3 and 5 June at the Nürburgring, with performances from acts including Green Day, Muse, Volbeat, Placebo, Måneskin and more.
Thanks to a partnership between CTS Eventim and RTL+, fans around the world will be able to watch performances from all 70+ acts without restrictions, via the web browser on RTLplus.de and the app for RTL+ premium users.
With around three million paying subscribers and up to 7.01 million unique users per month, RTL+ is the leading German entertainment service in the streaming market.
“It’s great that we can now share this experience with even more people”
The stream will be produced by Eventim Brand Connect, which is responsible for brand partnerships, media marketing and sponsorships at CTS Eventim.
“We are delighted to have gained an outstanding new media partner in RTL+. After an enforced two-year break, this Rock am Ring festival promises to be extra special. It’s great that we can now share this experience with even more people,” says Dr Frithjof Pils, MD of Eventim Live.
“Our partnership with RTL+ underscores our strategic objective to massively grow Eventim Brand Connect as a business segment in the near future.”
Frauke Neeb, programme director at RTL+: “We are in the process of growing RTL+ into Germany’s largest entertainment platform, where we will also be offering an extensive range of music to stream in the future. We are delighted that this new partnership with Eventim is already giving us the opportunity to offer our customers a live stream of Germany’s largest music festival featuring top acts.”
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CTS Eventim’s DreamHaus and Kingstar form alliance
CTS Eventim’s new Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus is forming a strategic alliance with Kingstar, a promoter and booking agency based in Hamburg.
The two companies will cooperate on Kingstar’s Vainstream Rockfest, as well as Eventim Presents/DreamHaus’s Rock am Ring (cap. 95,000) and Rock im Park (cap. 75,000), which were recently called off for a second year running.
The alliance will also see the German promoters collaborate on touring projects and the establishment of new events.
“With this alliance, we want to bring our creative visions to life,” says Matt Schwarz, CEO and managing partner, DreamHaus.
“Kingstar contributes equally valuable festival expertise, musical knowledge and their successful artist development to this cooperation. Through an intensive exchange of experience between our two companies, we will create trusting synergies and thus provide the artists with the best service and skills for the future.”
“We will create trusting synergies and thus provide the artists with the best service and skills for the future”
Timo Birth, managing director, Kingstar, says: “Since the structures in the industry are changing at high speed, Kingstar and DreamHaus are laying a very good foundation for the future with this cooperation. We are not only optimally equipped for the future of our industry, we will also actively shape it together.”
Marc Seemann, director of strategy and business development, DreamHaus says: “A close friendship has developed from years of trusting cooperation with Timo, which is why this strategic alliance between DreamHaus and Kingstar is a logical consequence and an important pillar in the development of DreamHaus.”
Alongside Vainstream Rockfest, the 15th edition of which is scheduled for this June in Münster, Kingstar’s festival portfolio includes Restless Summer, Close to the Water, Impericon Festivals and Picknick Konzerte.
The company’s booking arm represents artists including Broilers, Bonez MC and RAF Camora.
DreamHaus was recently acquired by CTS Eventim and Schwarz was named as CEO and managing partner, following his departure from Live Nation GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) as COO and MD in February 2020.
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Rock am Ring/im Park, Hurricane and more called off
Some of Germany’s biggest music festivals, including Eventim Presents/DreamHaus’s Rock am Ring (95,000-cap.) and Rock im Park (75,000-cap.), FKP Scorpio’s Hurricane (78,000-cap.) and Southside (65,000-cap.) and ESK Events’ Deichbrand Festival (60,000-cap.), have been called off for a second year running.
The festivals’s promoters, all part of the Eventim Live network, “were compelled to call off the events due to the ongoing uncertainty about infection rates and mutations”, according to a statement from CTS Eventim.
Also off are dance music festival SonneMondSterne (35,000-cap.) and Swiss event Greenfield, which is also promoted by Hamburg-based FKP Scorpio.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim, says: “We regret these cancellations very much and share the disappointment of everyone involved. But precedence must, of course, be given to safeguarding and protecting the health of fans, performers, festival teams and partners.
“However, it is also clear that this continuing uncertainty is further exacerbating the dramatic financial situation in which the live music industry finds itself. We are working on many levels to ensure that live culture can return to the stage as quickly and safely as possible.”
“We have had to accept with a heavy heart that festivals of this magnitude are not yet feasible at present”
The cancellations come in spite of Germany’s €2.5 billion fund for underwriting events held later in the year, as the country lags behind its neighbours in its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.
Other major German festivals, including Melt Festival, Wacken Open Air, Parookaville, Wireless Germany and Superbloom, are still on at the time of writing.
Frithjof Pils, managing director of Eventim Live, says that “2021 was actually meant to be the summer of reunions, and festival organisers have invested a great deal of time and energy in sanitary and infection control concepts to make that possible. But given the persistent epidemiological situation and the associated restrictions in force, we have had to accept with a heavy heart that festivals of this magnitude are not yet feasible at present.”
“We are therefore focusing on the 2022 festival summer,” he adds, “and want to make it unforgettable for all of us.”
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CTS Eventim acquires new Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus
German ticketing and promotion giant CTS Eventim has acquired a majority stake in new Berlin-based promoter DreamHaus.
DreamHaus will be led by Matt Schwarz as CEO and managing partner, following his departure from Live Nation GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) as COO and MD in February 2020.
From 1 April, Schwarz will be joined by former Live Nation GSA executive Ioannis ‘Pana’ Panagopoulos, who joins the management team alongside Marc Seemann, Claudia Schulte and Tobias Habla.
Schwarz joined forces with CTS Eventim as head of eventimpresents in January this year, tasked with “acquiring attractive national and international tours and shows,” on behalf of Eventim Live, CTS Eventim’s promoter network.
Under the Eventim Live umbrella, DreamHaus will be responsible for organising and programming the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, starting from the 2022 editions, along with eventimpresents.
The CTS-owned festivals have been co-promoted with Marek Lieberberg, now CEO of Live Nation GSA, since 2016.
“Even in the face of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Eventim Live continues to grow its network and strengthen both its market position and potential,” says Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim. “We have always claimed that CTS Eventim will emerge stronger from this crisis.”
“I am grateful to CTS Eventim for the confidence the company has shown in jointly implementing our visions within this partnership”
Matt Schwarz added: “I’m very pleased about the partnership between CTS Eventim and DreamHaus, which offers our team all manner of opportunities for a successful future. I am also grateful to CTS Eventim for the confidence the company has shown in jointly implementing our visions within this partnership and thus offering artists the best possible service and the ability to reach the greatest possible audience.”
With a combined attendance of 150,000, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park take place concurrently from 11 to 13 June at Nürburgring race track and Zeppelin Field in Nüremberg respectively.
Rock am Ring was founded by Marcel Avram and Marek Lieberberg’s Mama Concerts in 1985, while Rock im Park took place for the first time in 1995 under Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK).
Schwarz was formerly VP of touring and festivals at MLK, before becoming MD and COO of Live Nation GSA when Lieberberg sold MLK to Eventim’s live music subsidiary Medusa Group in 2015. Schwarz resigned his position at Live Nation GSA in February this year.
The acquisition of DreamHaus expands Eventim Live’s pan-European network to 35 promoters in 15 countries.
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Matt Schwarz moves to CTS Eventim
Matt Schwarz, former COO and MD of Live Nation GSA, is returning to work on Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, but this time as head of eventimpresents (the company formerly known as MLK).
Schwarz will join forces with CTS Eventim from January 2021, and is tasked with “acquiring attractive national and international tours and shows,” on behalf of Eventim Live, CTS Eventim’s promoter network.
Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK) was founded in 1987 and housed both Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, which were started by Marek Lieberberg in 1985 and 1993 respectively.
Schwarz was formerly VP of touring and festivals at MLK, before becoming MD and COO of Live Nation GSA when Lieberberg sold MLK to Eventim’s live music subsidiary Medusa Group in 2015. Schwarz resigned his position at Live Nation GSA in February this year.
Schwarz is tasked with “acquiring attractive national and international tours and shows”
The CTS-owned festivals have been co-promoted with Marek Lieberberg, now CEO of Live Nation GSA, since 2016. A spokesperson for Eventim would not comment on the ongoing relationship between Lieberberg, eventimlive and the two festivals.
With a combined attendance of 150,000, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park take place concurrently from 11 to 13 June at Nürburgring race track and Zeppelin Field in Nüremberg respectively.
Across the Eventim group, other festivals include Hurricane, Southside and Lucca Summer, alongside a venue portfolio that includes the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen, the Waldbühne in Berlin and the Eventim Apollo in London.
The most recent financial reports from the group showed an almost balanced EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation), capping losses in the first half of 2020 to €2.7 million, thanks to “rigorous measures to minimise costs and boost efficiency”.
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‘As disappointed as our guests’: Germany cans summer fests
Germany, Europe’s largest live music market, has become the latest European nation to outlaw all large-scale live events until 31 August, forcing the mass cancellation of some of Europe’s best-loved music festivals.
“Since major events play an important role in spreading infection, they remain prohibited until at least 31 August 2020,” reads a news release from the German federal government, which had yesterday (15 April) given the go-ahead for shops and schools to reopen.
Among the affected events are nearly all of Germany’s summer festival fixtures, including MLK’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, FKP Scorpio’s Hurricane and Southside, Goodlive’s Melt and Splash! Festivals and Superstruct’s Wacken Open Air and Parookaville – with the likes of Goodlive’s Lollapalooza Berlin and new festival Superbloom (both 5–6 September) spared from the ban by a matter of days.
The German restrictions follow similar coronavirus-driven bans on summer events elsewhere in Europe, including Belgium (until 31 August), France (mid-July), Austria (30 June) and Denmark (31 August).
For FKP Scorpio – which, in addition to its flagship twin open-airs, is also calling off Highfield, Deichbrand, Elbjazz, Limestone and Mera Luna – the decision, although “a clear and important safety measure”, is a source of sadness for the entire company, says founder-CEO Folkert Koopmans.
“All of us are bitterly disappointed”
“It goes without saying that these cancellations, like the entire unprecedented [Covid-19] situation, make us very sad, even if we fully support the political decision to protect the population,” comments Koopmans. “Our whole team has been working with countless partners for a long time in preparation for the summer festival season, and is as disappointed as our guests.”
Thomas Jensen, co-founder of metal festival Wacken Open Air, which sold out its 2020 edition under a day, echoes: “Our whole team has been working intensively on the festival these last months, and all of us are bitterly disappointed that we are not allowed to celebrate a Wacken Open Air together with our visitors and the bands this year.”
Similarly sold out were Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, promoted by CTS Eventim’s Marek Lieberberg Konzeragentur, which would have celebrated 35 and 25 years in 2020, respectively.
“For the organisers, the artists and the 175,000 fans who wanted to celebrate 35 years of Rock am Ring and 25 years of Rock im Park in the first weekend in June, this decision is of course disappointing,” reads a statement from organisers.
“Nevertheless, the producers unreservedly support these inevitable measures in the interests of the safety and health of everyone involved, however sad we are over the cancellation of the festivals.”
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Schulenberg urges gov to protect live industry
CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg has urged the German authorities to put in place targeted measures to support the live music industry through the Covid-19 pandemic, warning that “a wave of bankruptcies will sweep the country” if action is not taken.
As reported in German news outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (via Musikwoche), Schulenberg believes that “a long-term announcement” from authorities regarding the fate music festivals, as well as extensions to the amount of time organisers have to issue refunds for cancelled or postponed events, are vital to maintain the health of the industry.
Although Eventim’s biggest festivals, Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, promoted in conjunction with Live Nation, and FKP Scorpio’s Hurricane and Southside, are insured against communicable disease, the CTS boss states that intervention from the authorities is needed to ensure cover for cancellations.
The German powerhouse has enjoyed a successful few years, reporting record revenue of €1.44 billion in the 2019 financial year and increasing earnings by 25%. Due to this success, Schulenberg says his company “could hold out for two years”.
However, many smaller industry players do not have the same safety net. “We need the enormous variety of small clubs and organisers, which usually have to cope with little money anyway,” says the Eventim boss.
“We need the enormous variety of small clubs and organisers, which usually have to cope with little money anyway”
In order to mitigate the financial losses incurred by promoters, Schulenberg is appealing to the German government to extend the period of time that organisers have to refund tickets to 30 September 2020. Promoters currently have until 30 June to return money to ticketholders and, even then, only companies with annual sales of less than €2 million.
“High sales at events are offset by a margin of only 5 to 7%,” says Schulenberg. The regulation must apply to the entire industry, otherwise “a wave of bankruptcies will sweep through the country”.
Alternative forms of compensating fans, such as by issuing vouchers for future events, rather than cash refunds, should also considered.
“That costs nothing to the state and is reasonable for the buyer,” says Schulenberg.
Eventim is currently among companies asking fans not to request refunds, following similar calls from German promoters’ association BDKV, Spanish music federation Esmúsica, UK ticketing industry body Star, the Dutch culture minister, DEAG-owned ticketer Myticket, and more.
In the Netherlands, the #idontwantmymoneyback initiative allows fans to indicate that they do not need a refund in a show of solidarity with event organisers.
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Futureproofing festival wristbands: Dutchband Q&A
The festival wristband industry has seen significant innovation in recent years, as suppliers have incorporated payment solutions and anti-counterfeit measures, as well as experimenting with ever more sustainable and durable materials.
For over 17 years, Dutchband, the largest supplier of event wristbands and consumption tokens in the Netherlands, has provided fraud-resistant, user-friendly and efficient wristband and payment solutions to over 1,000 events worldwide.
IQ checks in with Dutchband managing director Michiel Fransen to discover how the company is keeping gatecrashers out and making products more eco-friendly, as well as finding out what lengths the team will go to in order to ensure speedy wristband delivery.
IQ: Can you give me a brief description of who Dutchband are and what work you do?
Michiel Fransen: Dutchband has been active in the wristband and cashless payment business for close to two decades. Initially started as one of the first companies to use digital printing technology for wristband production, we have also introduced other innovations such as our unique payment tokens, vending machines, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and, of course, our high security SealStation solution (pictured), a semi automatic machine that seals wristbands on fans safely, quickly and comfortably.
We are proud to work with many of the bigger festivals in Europe. Festivals like Solidays and Fete de l’Humanité in France, the UK’s Download and WeAreFSTVL, German festival Rock am Ring, Poland’s Open’er, Lowlands in the Netherlands, Paleo in Switzerland and the Defqon1 and Mysteryland franchises all have used our solutions for either access-control wristbands or cashless payment.
We have seen an influx of new kinds of festival wristbands entering the market in recent years. What sets Dutchband apart from other companies working in the sector?
We differentiate ourselves mainly by always looking for ways to improve on the products that are currently offered in the market. We do this not only in terms of the physical properties of the products themselves, but also by exceeding customer expectations when it comes to service and reliability as a supplier.
There are quite a few cases where festivals have contacted us just before, or even during an event, to arrange delivery of additional wristbands or payment tokens. We understand the importance of helping out our customers in these cases and will do everything to arrange timely delivery, even if it means that one of our team has to jump on a plane to do so.
In terms of new developments, what are the most exciting innovations that Dutchband has implemented in recent years?
What I’m really excited about is our new range of wristbands, made entirely from organic and recycled materials. This perfectly matches our ambition to help our customers further reduce their environmental footprint. This means we can now offer sustainable alternatives for our entire product range, from SealStation wristbands made out of recycled soda bottles, to payment tokens produced from our own production waste.
Being more sustainable is the top of the priority list for many working in the live event industry, what do you believe are the other main challenges facing the wristband sector today and how is Dutchband tackling them?
The biggest challenge is to keep outsmarting the counterfeiters (and cheeky visitors) trying to get into the event for free. I believe that with our fully tamperproof, closureless SealStation wristband, we can really help festivals tackle this problem.
This foolproof design applies not only to our higher-end solutions but – and this is quite unique for this industry – even to our most basic Tyvek wristbands, made out of a plastic fibre that resembles paper, as a standard come with overt and covert anti-counterfeiting measures.
Looking to the future, what does Dutchband hope to achieve?
We keep on innovating to bring sustainable, reliable and easy-to-implement payment and accreditation products to the leading festivals of the world. Just like in the Netherlands, we want to be the people to call globally if you need a good solution and you need it now.
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