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Report highlights gender split for ’23 fest season

A study by music industry directory ROSTR and IQ has broken down the lineups of 50 European festivals to explore trends around gender splits, headliner longevity and agency representation.

The full analysis appears in issue 122 of IQ, which is out now. Among its key findings, the report revealed that 64% of all solo acts during the 2023 season were male, 35% female, and 1% non-binary (the figures do not account for band members in groups).

The misbalance of genders across European festivals becomes more pronounced when looking purely at headliners. Overall, 69% of solo headline acts were men, along with 94% of individuals in headline bands.

In total, 90% of the performers that were onstage for a headline performance were male, although several A-list female artists have moved beyond festival stages in recent years to perform at stadiums.

Elsewhere, it was found that the average age of headliners at European festivals this year is 43, with a 58-year age span between the youngest headliner (Billie Eilish, 21), and the oldest (The Who, group age of 79).

While headliners aged between 20 and 40 account for nearly half of all headliners booked, the median age of headlining acts (40) is largely dominated by Gen X musicians.

“It’s reassuring to learn that across the continent of Europe, at least a quarter of all headliners this year are – relatively speaking – new to the big stage”

The results illustrate a broad talent pipeline, with 26% of all headliners active for ten years or less and 53% of headliners active for 20 years or less.

“It’s reassuring to learn that across the continent of Europe, at least a quarter of all headliners this year are – relatively speaking – new to the big stage or have been active for ten years or less,” says music business economist Will Page. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, but this data shows you can get there – within a decade at least.”

In addition, the report showed that Wasserman Music booked the most artists across Europe’s 2023 festival summer and CAA booked the most headliners.

A total of 4,700 artists took to stages across the 50 festivals, with the majority of artists represented by 34 agencies and Wasserman Music, UTA, CAA and WME occupying the top four slots. The same four agencies booked 60% of all headline performances.

You can read the digital edition of IQ 122 here.

ROSTR – a music industry directory, contacts, data and jobs platform – holds artist rosters, people, and company in formation for around 10,000 companies worldwide.

 


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Which agencies booked Europe’s festival summer 2023?

Wasserman Music booked the most artists across Europe’s 2023 festival summer and CAA booked the most headliners, according to new analysis of 50 major festivals by music industry directory ROSTR and IQ.

In total, 4,700 artists took to stages across the 50 festivals, with the majority of artists represented by 34 agencies and Wasserman Music, UTA, CAA and WME occupying the top four slots. The same four agencies booked 60% of all headline performances.

A total of 146 headliners performed across the 50 top festivals, with Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys, and Rosalía topping the most bills (six each). And just 800 artists appeared on more than one lineup with Nothing but Thieves and Nova Twins appearing on the most (11 each).

In terms of music genres across the 50 European festivals, rock and indie artists accounted for the majority of performances, regardless of whether they were headlining or not. And while the research did not focus on the core of dance/ EDM festivals, the genre still accounts for more than pop and hip-hop combined, showing how popular it remains across mixed-bill events.

According to ROSTR, Wasserman now has the largest music roster of any agency in the world – 2,522 artists compared with 2,131 represented by CAA, 1,861 booked by UTA, and 1,489 represented by WME.

IQ and ROSTR’s full analysis, which includes detail about artist longevity, gender balance across lineups and more, appears in the new issue of IQ 122. You can read the digital edition of IQ 122 here.

 

 

ROSTR – a music industry directory, contacts, data and jobs platform – holds artist rosters, people, and company in formation for around 10,000 companies worldwide.


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IQ 122 out now: Stephan Thanscheidt, Sziget and more

IQ 122, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.

The September edition charts Stephan Thanscheidt’s journey from playing in punk bands to the CEO of FKP Scorpio, and analyses the lineups of 50 top European festivals, in collaboration with ROSTR.

Meanwhile, Mark Beaumont visits Sziget as the event celebrates 30 years and Adam Woods gives us the low down on the lowlands for this issue’s Netherlands market focus.

Elsewhere James Hanley shines a light on ten of Europe’s brightest indie festivals and finds out what makes them so special and, IQ reveals the Green Guardians 2023, our annual guide to the eco-warriors and innovators striving to make our venues and events more sustainable.

Plus, leading production managers weigh in while we profile several innovations new for the 2023 season.

For this edition’s columns and comments, Shain Shapiro discusses how we should be leading the change when it comes to supporting our local venues, and Michael Kümmerle explains how TikTok wants to expand promoters’ horizons.

As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

 


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IFF puts finishing touches to biggest programme yet

The Interactive Festival Forum (iFF) has announced two Soapbox Sessions panels for the event taking place on 2 and 3 September.

The first 55-minute session will invite five industry experts to deliver quick-fire presentations on a range of specialist topics including agency roster analysis, socially distanced events and mental health.

Soapbox Sessions: Five in 55 will see ROSTR co-founder and CEO, Mark Williamson, present highlights from an analysis of 650+ agency rosters with ROSTR: The Agency World in Numbers.

Deer Shed director and AIF member Kate Webster will deliver a Soapbox Session on Deer Shed Basecamp, the festival’s socially distanced, sold-out camping weekender with AIF presents: Touching Base.

Tim O’Brien – professor at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester (the site of AIF member festival Bluedot) – will reprise a much-loved talk from a previous AIF Festival Congress with AIF presents: Sounds of Space.

Geoff Dixon will present exclusive new research on festivalgoers’ confidence about returning to live events over the next 12 months

In Soapbox Session Covid-19: You Are Here, Dr Mark Salter, consultant for global health at Public Health England, will update delegates on the latest international developments in the fight against Covid-19, including the search for a vaccine, as well as how public health authorities are planning for the months ahead.

Finally, Getting Back to Work: The Fan’s Perspective Vivid Interface will hear Geoff Dixon present exclusive new research on festivalgoers’ confidence about returning to live events over the next 12 months.

Another new addition to the conference schedule is The Lost Causes, a series of presentations from specialists covering diversity, accessibility, and mental health and welfare.

Attitude Is Everything‘s Gideon Feldman will deliver Accessibility: Building Back Better, Keychange‘s Francine Gorman will present Equality: Representation Matters and festival booker-turned-psychotherapist Tamsin Embleton will educate delegates on Mental Health: Minding the Gap.

Today’s announcement follows the news that CAA board member and London co-head Emma Banks, Paradigm’s head of global music, Marty Diamond, and FKP Scorpio MD Folkert Koopmans are joining the conference.

With just over one week to go until iFF, and with passes increasing in price on 1 September, secure your place and save money by registering here. Tickets are still just £50 inc. ALL fees.

 


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