The team behind Disney Jr. Live’s debut international tour have discussed the magic and mechanics of staging children’s first concert experience.

The multi-billion dollar business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions is going from strength to strength, with the second edition of Touring Entertainment LIVE set for Wednesday 26 February as part of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London.

Disney has put its unique stamp on the family entertainment format with Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play! On the heels of a successful run in North America, the immersive concert experience opens in the UK with a “limited engagement” at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 15-16 March 2025, before being rolled out across Asia and the Middle East.

The tour unites production company Terrapin Station Entertainment with Sony Music stablemates Senbla (UK) and Barcelona’s Proactiv, which will handle UK and international promoting duties, respectively.

“This is a perfect example of how several divisions within Sony can all partner to create an unforgettable experience,” Terrapin’s Jonathan Shank tells IQ. “The show has been performed over 400 times in the US in the last handful of years and sold over 700,000 tickets. It has been one of the most successful preschool touring properties over the last decade here in North America.”

“Disney advocated for this tour to go global and has been such a supportive partner”

Disney Jr, Live On Tour features an interactive musical performance that includes singing, dancing, 3D special effects and acrobatics. Tickets start at £19.50 (€23.50).

“It was a long time goal for us to bring this show and all these iconic characters – Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Spidey – to London,” says Shank. “Ollie [Rosenblatt, Senbla CEO] and I have been talking about the idea of bringing this production to the UK since about 2018. Ollie is beyond the perfect partner to help bring this show to the UK, and is perfectly suited to make this into global production, which is what we intend to do.

“Disney advocated for this tour to go global and has been such a supportive partner, so it’s been a big team effort and it’s off to an absolutely incredible start. I feel like that the UK audience is really embracing Disney Jr.”

Shank, who won a Grammy in 2009 for his role in creating the Global Drum Project album, is credited as a pioneer in bringing intellectual property to the live stage, with past productions such as Disney Junior Dance Party On Tour, Peppa Pig Live! and The Fresh Beat Band Live generating more than US$80 million at the box office.

“The work that Jonathan has done in the US is exemplary,” enthuses Rosenblatt, who was elevated to SVP Masterworks Live at Sony Music earlier this year. “You can tell by the number of shows they’ve done, how long it’s been going and the number of tickets sold that it’s a high quality product – and we like dealing with high quality shows and experiences.”

The show features hits from several popular Disney Jr. series, including songs written by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump

Senbla has become renowned for its work within the films in concert format – most recently with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with Avatar the Last Airbender also set to tour in early 2025.

“We have a long history with Disney – we already work with them across multiple film titles – so it made sense for us to try and bring this to the UK as well,” says Rosenblatt. “There has been an enormous growth in the Disney Jr. brand in the UK, mainly through Disney+, which has really helped expand the offering into the UK market because, historically, it was a very US-centric property. Timing is everything with these things and you can’t manufacture that; you have to wait for the right time.”

He adds: “The show deserves to go global. It’s done incredible business, and that is testament to the hard work that Jonathan and Terrapin have done over many years with Disney to grow and develop this brand. So for us to be able to bring it into the UK is a great privilege, and the early signs are that the audiences are delighted it’s here as well.”

The show features hits from several popular Disney Jr. series, including songs written by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.

“A lot of the songs featured in the Spidey segments were written by Patrick, which brings a bit of that vibe and energy into the show,” explains Shank. “It’s a very high energy, highly choreographed, acrobatic, high performance skill-type show. It’s just a lot of fun.”

“The beauty of this kind of show is that the characters are evergreen”

A core goal for the tour’s organisers is to give young audiences their first taste of music and theatre.

“It’s magic for the kids to see the character they love up on stage and in some cases, get to meet them, and it’s special for us to be able to bring that opportunity to families,” notes Rosenblatt. “Quality always prevails – if you bring a great show to an audience, there’s no reason why they’re not going to come back – and the beauty of this kind of show is that the characters are evergreen. If you’re enjoying it at the age of seven and eight, you might have moved onto something else by the time you’re nine and 10, but there’ll be another seven and eight-year-old enjoying the characters.”

Furthermore, Rosenblatt sees limitless potential for similar productions in the future.

“The expansion in IP gives a great opportunity to bring things to the stage that people know and love,” he finishes. “A big part of the growth is in being able to find a solution to translating what people see and engage with on screen, onto the stage. But it takes experts and high quality producers like Jonathan to understand the vision and understand what that takes.”

The Touring Entertainment Report (TER) 2024, a resource that puts the global business of touring theatre, shows and exhibitions in focus, is out now.

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A new report has shed fresh light on a failed music spectacular in South Africa that was abruptly cancelled days before it was due to take place, drawing comparisons with the disastrous Fyre Festival.

The 100,000-cap TribeOne Dinokeng Festival was scheduled to be staged in Dinokeng, near Cullinan, from 26-28 September 2014 – pre-dating the Fyre fiasco by almost three years – but was pulled by organisers after selling just a few hundred tickets.

The project, billed as “Africa’s biggest festival”, was to be hosted by the City of Tshwane and helmed by Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and its partner, pan-African music and entertainment production, content and events firm Rockstar 4000.

Hundreds of artists, including headliner Nicki Minaj, Wizkid, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kid Ink and J-Cole, were set to perform on three main stages at the festival.

But with tens of millions of rands of public money already spent, the event – led by Sony executive (now SME Africa MD) Sean Watson and Rockstar 4000 founder and CEO Jandre Louw – was axed, with promoters saying the host city had failed to meet infrastructure deadlines.

With three weeks to go until the event, organisers said only 4,000 tickets had been sold. It later emerged the actual total was 318

“Site preparation and related infrastructure development required to host the festival… fell behind schedule to a material extent, such that it was no longer realistically possible to stage and deliver the festival to the scale and quality that the organisers had always planned,” said a statement at the time.

However, nine years on, an exhaustive investigation by the Daily Maverick has uncovered more comprehensive details of the failed festival.

According to leaked documents, the mayoral committee pledged up to R20 million (€964,000) in public funds to build the festival’s infrastructure, with an additional R25m (€1.2m) to be paid to a “Sony Joint Venture” – thought to be Tribeone Festivals Pty Ltd, a company registered by Louw in 2012 – for the first year of a three-year, three-festival deal. But despite the city being unable to bear the costs alone, the agreement contained “no specific financial obligations” for the music executives.

Alarm bells rang among city officials in mid-June, around three months before the festival, when the City of Tshwane Group head of communications, marketing and events wrote to Louw expressing fears that their plans appeared to be in disarray – amid concerns over the progress of promised sponsorships and marketing – and ticket prices not even set.

Tickets did not go on sale until 12 August. With three weeks to go until the event, organisers said only 4,000 tickets had been sold (it later emerged the actual total was 318). Nine days after Louw had approached the city to underwrite a further R20m to help cover the financial shortfall, Louw and Watson cancelled the contract on 12 September and allegedly refused to negotiate a postponement or relocation.

Investigators criticised the event as “risky, ill-conceived and poorly executed”

The City of Tshwane went to the high court in a bid to compel the staging of the festival, but withdrew its application after learning that Watson and Louw had already cancelled the entire line-up.

“Emails from a number of booking agents… [indicated] that artists were booked, but that the deposit was still outstanding or that the artist has not received the balance of the amount due,” wrote investigators, who criticised the event as “risky, ill-conceived and poorly executed by inexperienced music executives”, in their forensic report.

Many of the suppliers, other companies and individuals left with unpaid invoices were reportedly told that Tribeone Festivals Pty Ltd had collapsed and could not fulfil its financial obligations.

Sony, Watson and Louw did not respond to DM‘s requests for interviews.

Legal action initiated by the City of Tshwane against Watson, Louw, Sony and Tribeone Festivals Pty Ltd is still pending.

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ASM Global has appointed seasoned executive Brian Celler to the newly-created role of SVP, content and programming, Europe.

The major label veteran brings more than 25 years of experience in major live events, international marketing, and artist management.

He will be responsible for leading ASM’s live entertainment offering, driving “high-calibre, diverse content” across the company’s venue portfolio in the UK and Europe, including AO Arena in Manchester, P&J Live Aberdeen, OVO Arena Wembley, First Direct Arena in Leeds, Friends Arena Stockholm and Rudolf Weber-Arena Oberhausen.

“I am delighted to welcome Brian to ASM Global. Brian comes armed with tremendous international experience, and a fantastic reputation as a highly skilled live events industry professional,” says Chris Bray, ASM’s EVP, Europe. “Brian’s vision and ambition for our European content and programming operations will bring huge value as we look to the future, developing a diverse, relevant and truly exciting calendar of events across Europe.”

Celler began his music industry career in the production teams of bands such as Aerosmith, AC/DC and Metallica, going  on to work as an artist manager with Q Prime, after which he ascended to progressively more senior roles in artist development and international marketing.

He developed award-winning creative campaigns for artists at Sony Music in New York and London, as well as at Universal Music Group UK in London where he served most recently as EVP and head of the label’s international team. He also oversaw all operations including creative, marketing, touring, production and content for U2 during an eight-year stint working as MD of Principle Management in Dublin and London.

“I’m honoured to join the incredible ASM Global team in a role that aligns perfectly to my passions for the future of our industry and leverages the diversity of experience I’ve accumulated over the course of my career,” says Celler. “I’m inspired to support ASM Global’s mission to redefine what world-class content looks and feels like to live event fans. I ‘m very much looking forward to getting started.”

John Boyle, global chief content officer at ASM Global, adds: “Brian is the consummate music business and live event executive. He has spent his entire career working with big artists on an international level. He is incredibly well-respected around the world, and there is nothing he hasn’t seen or done. I really look forward to having him on our Global Content team, and I am certain he will add significant value to our business”.

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The Thread Shop, Sony Music’s merchandise division, is to acquire Probity Europe, a leading independent music merchandising company offering worldwide tour, retail, ecommerce and licensing services.

Probity’s roster of artists includes Metallica, Noel Gallagher, Oasis, Paloma Faith, Rage Against the Machine, Robert Plant and Van Morrison.

Following the acquisition, London-based Probity will become a new division of The Thread Shop, with the existing Probity team serving under company founder Mark Stredwick. Stredwick will report to Thread Shop head Howard Lau.

The takeover of Probity is the third merch-related acquisition by Sony Music since last summer, following similar deals with the US-based Araca Group and the UK’s Kontraband last year. The label’s in-house merchandising business is now home to the likes of the Beatles, Camila Cabello, Jimi Hendrix, Maluma, Led Zeppelin, Lil Nas X, Pink and Rosalia.

“Probity is an established independent leader in the European merch market”

“We are delighted to fully cement the organic relationship we had already developed with Howard and Sony Thread Shop,” comments Stredwick.

“The deal with Sony allows our growing roster to tap into more opportunities globally and benefit from innovative and creatively driven merchandising programs that The Thread Shop deliver with such passion.”

Adds Lau: “We are very pleased to be further enhancing the reach and competitive capabilities of The Thread Shop around the world with the welcome additions of Mark Stredwick and the Probity team.

“Probity is an established independent leader in the European merch market, representing some of the world’s most iconic music artists. Together we can offer our artist clients and the music community an even more robust set of merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding and marketing.”

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Festival Republic has announced ReBalance Celebrates International Women’s Day, a networking event for women across the live music industry, as part of the promoter’s gender equality programme, ReBalance.

The event is taking place at the 900-capacity Union Chapel in Islington, London, on Sunday 8 March, the day dedicated to recognising the movement for women’s rights worldwide.

Last year’s International Women’s Day saw pop star Dua Lipa speak at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London, who illustrated the struggle faced by young female artists trying to break into the industry.

Festival Republic is looking to combat this, with a daytime programme aimed at introducing those who want a career in the industry to women working within it. Professionals from Festival Republic, Live Nation, PRS Foundation, Academy Music Group, Sony Music, MAMA, Melody VR, Metropolis Music, the BBC, National Merchandise and Safe Gigs for Women will be in present to offer advice and deliver educational talks.

An evening performance from singer Nilüfer Yanya will follow the networking event, as well as appearances from Martha Hill and Tamzene, two artists to have come through Festival Republic’s ReBalance programme.

“We are incredibly proud of what ReBalance has achieved, so it only made sense to take the scheme further”

Launched in 2017, ReBalance is a six-year programme combatting the gender imbalance within the music industry. It offers five day’s studio time to one core female-identified band and artist each month, as well as a slot of a Festival Republic or Live Nation festival.

So far, 300 nominations have been made across six rounds, with 19 finalists performing live at The Great Escape, Wireless, Latitude and Reading and Leeds Festivals.

“We are incredibly proud of what ReBalance has achieved, so it only made sense to take the scheme further by hosting an event on International Women’s Day for those who want to meet women in the industry,” says the ReBalance team.

“Aimed at newcomers or if you’re just curious, this event is the chance to learn from the brightest stars and pick up some tips. Lack of female representation in music is an industry-wide issue, and we want to level it.”

Day tickets for ReBalance Celebrates International Women’s Day can be purchased for a £2 charity donation to Safe Gigs for Women, with evening tickets priced at £17.50. All tickets are available here.

Photo: Paul Hudson/Flickr (cropped) (CC BY 2.0)

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Sony Music UK has acquired London-based, full service merchandise company Kontraband, as the company continues to strengthen its foothold in the music merch world.

Kontraband has operated in the merchandising industry for almost twenty years, under the leadership of Paul Entwistle and Justin Smith.

The company works with clients including Iggy Pop, Kylie Minogue, Bombay Bicycle Club, Maximo Park, the Streets, Enter Shikari and Broadwick Live-promoted festival Field Day.

“We’re hugely excited about joining the Sony Music family,” says Entwistle. “From the very start of our conversations, there was a very clear vision about the role merchandise would play alongside their other services, so it’s a massive opportunity for us to be able to integrate as part of this.

“Kontraband’s reputation was made by approaching merchandise in an innovative and creative manner and we’re looking forward to continuing to deliver this for artists on the Sony Music roster,” adds the Kontraband director.

“Kontraband’s reputation was made by approaching merchandise in an innovative and creative manner and we’re looking forward to deliver[ing] this for artists on the Sony Music roster”

“We are continuously looking for ways to diversify our business and the acquisition of Kontraband allows us to help our artists enhance their brand and deliver new and exciting commercial opportunities,” comments Sony Music UK and Ireland chief operating officer Nicola Tuer.

The move is Sony’s second in as many months in the merchandise sector, following the acquisition of the music division of US entertainment merchandising company the Araca Group.

The music merchandising sector has boomed in recent years, with sales totalling almost US$3.5 billion in 2018. Sony’s major-label rivals Warner and Universal have also their staked their claim in the merchandise space, in the form of EMP Merchandising and Bravado/ Epic Rights respectively.

Kontraband will relocate from its office in Finsbury Park, north London, to the Sony Music headquarters in Kensington.

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Celebrity merch marketplace Represent has acquired Sidestep, a digital platform dedicated to selling concert merchandise.

Sidestep allows artists to sell products to fans across its website and mobile app, expanding the sales window for sellers and eliminating queuing for buyers.

Artists including Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Selena Gomez and Fall Out Boy have used Sidestep to sell concert merch in the past. Beyoncé is also a fan of the company, investing US$150,000 in Sidestep in 2016.

The integration with Represent, which is owned by personalised apparel company CustomInk, will enable artists to design, market and distribute custom-made merchandise through the platform.

Both Sidestep and Represent, each founded in 2014, have been involved in fan merchandise since their inception. CustomInk acquired Represent in early 2016, in a deal believed to be in excess of $100 million. The apparel company hopes to boost sales further through the Sidestep addition.

“Using Sidestep, artists can ensure higher sales and happier fans by offering easy advance and on-site orders for their fans”

“When you’re at a concert, the last thing you want to be is stuck in line and missing the music,” says Represent’s chief operating officer, Daniel Rosenberg. “Using Sidestep, artists can ensure higher sales and happier fans by offering easy advance and on-site orders for their fans.”

Through the integration with Represent, “artists get access to a full-service solution that helps fans buy new merchandise throughout the year, from viral social media-driven campaigns to tour pre-orders and evergreen fan gear.” adds Rosenberg.

“When we first launched Sidestep, our goal was to super-serve artists in the music industry by bridging the gap between technology and merchandising,” says Sidestep founder and chief executive Eric Jones, who takes on the role of head of music at Represent following the acquisition.

“Our ultimate vision was to extend each concert experience to fans around the world. With this new partnership, we’re in [the] position to fulfill that original goal and vision.”

The music merchandising sector has been booming in recent years, with merch sales totalling nearly $3.5 billion in 2018. Sony Music recently expanded its own merchandise offering, acquiring the music merch branch of US theatre and entertainment merchandising company the Araca Group.

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The Thread Shop, Sony Music’s merchandise unit, is to acquire the music merch division of the Araca Group, a US theatrical production and entertainment merchandising company.

Araca’s music merch roster includes artists such as Led Zeppelin, Pink, Shania Twain, Dua Lipa, Sugarland and Zayn Malik. The purchase of Araca, headquartered in LA and with offices in New York, Las Vegas, London and Sydney, significantly grows Sony Music’s in-house merchandising business, and several Araca team members have joined Thread Shop to work on the companies’ new integrated roster.

Richard Story, president of Sony Music Entertainment’s commercial music group, comments: “As artists continue to seek out merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding and marketing, Sony Music is significantly expanding its presence in this growing area of the business under the leadership of [Thread Shop SVP, strategy] Howard Lau.

“The acquisition of the Araca Group’s music merchandise division will further strengthen the Thread Shop’s artist roster and infrastructure and the competitive capabilities we offer to the music community.”

“Artists continue to seek out merchandising opportunities to complement their music revenues, branding and marketing”

Sony’s major-label rivals Universal and Warner also have their own merchandise divisions, in the form of Bravado/Epic Rights and EMP Merchandising, respectively.

“We are thrilled at the opportunity this acquisition provides for our music merchandise division,” says Michael Rego, CEO of the Araca Group, commenting on the Sony deal. “The team at the Thread Shop is artist-focused, passionate and well positioned to build upon the merchandising programs [sic] that Araca has created for our music clients.”

Sales of music merchandise were were worth nearly US$3.5 billion in 2018, IQ revealed last month, with more artists seeking to grow their merchandise offerings to offset limited revenues from music streaming.

The agreement with Araca comes as Sony seeks to also increase its presence in live, announcing on the same day the acquisition of a majority stake in UK promoter Senbla.

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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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Sony Live, Sony Music Finland’s booking agency division, has closed after a decade in business, with all operations being taken over by Fullsteam Agency.

As of today (15 August), Sony Live – which operated for ten years as a division of the record label, representing dozens of Finnish artists – is no more, and its former live roster now booked by Fullsteam. Artists formerly represented by Sony Live include Janne Ordén, Eini, Mäkki, Sima, Softengine and HesaÄijä.

“Fullsteam Agency is the perfect partner to take care of our artist roster, and I believe that this collaboration will create many benefits for our artists,” says Sony Music Finland managing director Wemppa Koivumäki.

Helsinki-based Fullsteam, which last July acquired hip hop-focused agency Rahina Live, has also announced the appointment of a new booking agent for domestic artists. Maija Kaarna, who has more than 20 years’ experience booking and organising shows, brings artists including Asa, one of Finland’s best-known rap artists, and reggae artist Puppa J (pictured).

“Fullsteam Agency is the perfect partner to take care of our artist roster”

“Fullsteam Family and our domestic artist roster have expanded fast this year, and we’re eagerly awaiting building collaboration with the new artists,” comments Tuomo Tähtinen, managing director of Fullsteam Agency.

Fullsteam is a subsidiary of Germany’s FKP Scorpio, itself majority owned by CTS Eventim.

Read IQ’s feature on the Finnish concert market, where Live Nation, Fullsteam and Warner Music Live battle for live supremacy, in issue 65 of the magazine.

Crossing the Finnish line

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