Coldplay set Spanish stadium record
Coldplay continue to break records around the world after becoming the first band to sell out four nights at a Spanish stadium on a single tour.
The British group drew a total of 225,000 people to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona from 24-25 and 27-28 May, presented by Live Nation Spain, as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour, reports APMusicales.
They also played two sellout shows at the venue, which has a capacity of around 56,000, during their previous A Head Full of Dreams tour in May 2016.
Kicking off in March 2022, the Music of the Spheres World Tour had sold more than six million tickets across Europe, North America, and Latin America at the last count.
Last year, Coldplay made history in Argentina by completing an unprecedented 10-night sellout run at the 65,000-cap Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires
Last year, Coldplay made history in Argentina by completing an unprecedented 10-night sellout run at the 65,000-cap Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires. The national record previously belonged to Roger Waters, who played nine shows at the venue in March 2012 during his The Wall Live tour.
Earlier this month, the band, whose international agent is X-ray Touring’s Josh Javor, announced they are returning to Asia and Australia this November for a special run of stadium shows, including their first Tokyo shows since 2017, their first ever dates in Kaohsiung, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur and a one-off performance at Perth’s Optus Stadium – their first in Western Australia since 2009.
Frontman Chris Martin recently responded to calls for the band to cancel their Malaysian date. Leader of the Malaysian Islamic Party (also known as PAS), Nasrudin Hassan, called for the 22 November show in Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium Bukit Jalil to be called off.
Subscribers can revisit our in-depth look at the Music of the Spheres trek, first published in Issue 113 of IQ Magazine, here.
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Madrid’s WiZink Center to open new concert space
Madrid’s WiZink Center is to open new 1,000-cap concert lounge La Sala inside the complex next month.
The space will be located at the same level as the main floor of the 17,456-cap venue and has been made possible via a significant investment effort to soundproof it from other events held at the larger arena, as well as independent access offered by Goya Street.
Targeted at emerging artists, it can also be used for audio and video recordings, soundchecks and artist rehearsals, having been equipped – in a Spanish first – by Clair Brothers, supplier of loudspeaker products for tours by the Rolling Stones, U2, Maluma and Paul McCartney, among others. It also offers a 21 sq m LED screen at the back of the stage in addition to cutting-edge lighting.
La Sala del WiZink Center will launch on 19 May with a headline performance by Ice Nine Kills
La Sala del WiZink Center (The Room of the WiZink Center) will launch on 19 May with performances by Ice Nine Kills, Skynd, Lansdowne and Defying Decay, promoted by Doctor Music.
The Wizink Center’s main 2023 calendar, meanwhile, includes arena shows by Hans Zimmer (16 May), Maroon 5 (15 June), Feid (2 July), Romeo Santos (6-9 July), Arctic Monkeys (10-11 July), Rod Stewart (12 July), Andrea Bocelli (20-21 September), Blink-182 (3 October), Louis Tomlinson (5 October) and Greta Van Fleet (4 December).
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Global Promoters Report 2022: Spain
Spain is a remarkably fertile market, with about 1,000 music festivals a year, including globally renowned names such as Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and Sónar, Madrid’s Mad Cool, Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, and Bilbao BBK Live. It has plenty of sturdy promoters and some flourishing live destinations, led by Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao.
In terms of promoters, Spain has a broad range of both hardworking indies and heavyweight corporates. The former camp includes the increasingly intrepid Primavera organisation, Producciones Animadas, Concert Studio, Houston Party Music, and The Project in Barcelona; RLM, Get In, Just Life Music, and Ground Control in Madrid; Valencia’s Serious Fan Music; Last Tour in Bilbao; Zaragoza’s Siamm Producciones; and Murcia rock specialist Madness Live!.
Joining the corporates in recent years has been the veteran Doctor Music, which sold a 63.5% share to CTS Eventim in May 2018, 35 years after staging its first shows. It remains a go-to for international and superstar acts. In partnership with Live Nation Spain, it was among the local promoters on AEG/ Concerts West’s Rolling Stones tour for its stop at Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, with Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, and Rammstein coming up in 2023.
“Although times are challenging, after two miserable years of Covid, I see lots of people wanting to enjoy live music again and going to concerts is a key part of this vital experience,” says Doctor Music CEO Neo Sala. “So yes, I see a big cause for optimism not only for the next year but also for the forthcoming ones.”
“I see lots of people wanting to enjoy live music again and going to concerts is a key part of this vital experience”
As well as its own activities, Live Nation holds a majority stake in leading Latin promoter Planet Events. As well as a joint venture with Mercury Wheels, Live Nation also operates a strategic partnership with Andalusian promoter Riff Producciones aimed at growing Spanish acts in overseas markets. Among the highlights of 2022 in the Live Nation camp were Planet Events’ Marc Anthony tour, postponed since 2020, and Live Nation’s own 27-date tour for Fito & Fitipaldis, which became Spain’s most popular tour of the year.
“2022 was the most challenging year I remember in my career, but it was worth it,” says Live Nation Spain president Robert Grima. “And now 2023 is looking to be possibly the best year for us. And the demand for shows and ticket sales keeps growing, which is a very good signal.
“We have big tours coming up next year for Coldplay, Harry Styles, Muse, Blink-182, Louis Tomlinson, and Lewis Capaldi, but we are also putting a very strong focus on local talent with national multiple tours of artists like Hombres G, Beret, El Kanka, and Rels B.”
Elsewhere, artist management company RLM, whose CEO Rosa Lagarrigue was the force behind Planet Events before its sale to Live Nation, has returned to promoting in recent years, taking on tours for Ricardo Arjona, Alejandro Sanz, Raphael, and Rozalén.
“It will be a great year in Spain, for the artists and for the public, who will be able to enjoy a wide offer of concerts”
Concert Studio chalked up record attendances at its summer festivals – the Festival Jardins Pedralbes in Barcelona and the Cerdanya Music Festival in the Pyrenees – and now looks towards the 25th edition of the Banco Mediolanum Festival Mil·lenni, which takes place across Barcelona and will run from October 2023 to May 2024, and the boutique Icónica Sevilla Fest, which in 2023 marks its third edition.
“It will be a great year in Spain, for the artists and for the public, who will be able to enjoy a wide offer of concerts. However, we see indications of a possible market saturation that will affect the work of all promoters,” says Concert Studio’s Carlos Perez.
Murcia-based promoter Madness Live! launched the new rock- and metal-focused Rock Imperium Festival in the city of Cartagena in June, headed by Scorpions, Europe, and others, and it will return next year across three days with Helloween and Deep Purple headlining. Madness Live! also has forthcoming shows with the likes of Iron Maiden, Bullet For My Valentine, Cannibal Corpse, and plenty of others.
Of Spain’s mighty festivals, 2022 was a big year for Primavera Sound. It closed the biggest edition in its 20-year history in June, welcoming nearly half a million people to the Spanish city of Barcelona after a two-year hiatus.
“We see indications of a possible market saturation that will affect the work of all promoters”
For its 20th anniversary celebrations, Primavera held its maiden US edition in Los Angeles in September, and November saw events in São Paulo in Brazil, Santiago in Chile, and Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as the Primavera Weekender in Benidorm.
“There is a Primavera Sound community all over the planet,” Primavera Sound director Alfonso Lanza told IQ in the wake of the festivals’ South American debut, which drew more than 300,000 across the three editions. “It was very different in each country, but it was definitely the most passionate audiences I have ever seen.”
Since launching in 2016, the Live Nation-produced Mad Cool Festival in Madrid has grown rapidly from an overall capacity of 45,000 to 80,000. In July, the festival added a fifth day, and headliners included Muse, The Killers, and Metallica.
Andalucía Big Festival, a new event from the team behind Mad Cool, debuted on 8–10 September at Malaga’s Feria Ground, with acts such as Muse, Jamiroquai, Years & Years, Glass Animals, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, Franz Ferdinand, and Aurora.
“There is a Primavera Sound community all over the planet”
However, the Mad Cool Sunset Festival in September was called off after organisers were unable to find a “suitable” replacement for Rage Against The Machine, who had recently cancelled all forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe.
Bilbao BBK Live, meanwhile, returned in July with more than 100,000 in attendance and LCD Soundsystem, The Killers, J Balvin, and the Pet Shop Boys on stage. Its organiser Last Tour International also stages the Kalorama and BIME Live events, as well as the new Cala Mijas Festival on the Costa del Sol in Malaga and diversifications into Portugal (MEO Kalorama festival) and Colombia (BIME Bogotá).
“This year, we feel that we are recovering the normal rhythm, although we predict a difficult year due to the social and economic situation,” says Last Tour director of communications Eva Castillo.
The Music Republic, owned by brothers David and Toño Sánchez, promotes festivals such as Arenal Sound, Viña Rock, Granada Sound, and Madrid Salvaje, and also acquired Benicàssim Festival from Madrid-based Maraworld in 2019.
The Global Promoters Report is published in print, digitally, and all content is also available as a year-round resource on the IQ site. The Global Promoters Report includes key summaries of the major promoters working across 40+ markets, unique interviews and editorial on key trends and developments across the global live music business.
To access all content from the current Global Promoters Report, please click here.
Spain’s APM reveals record ticket sales
Spain’s Association of Musical Promoters (APM) has revealed revenue from ticket sales reached record levels in 2022.
The organisation says box office takings of more than €459 million soared 191.33% on 2021, a year restricted by the pandemic, but were also up 20% on the previous best, set in the last pre-Covid year of 2019.
Speaking in the newly published Live Music Yearbook 2023, APM president Albert Salmeron says the figures symbolise “the recovery of a society”.
The biggest-selling tour was by Spanish rock band Fito & Fitipaldis, promoted by Live Nation, which moved 329,820 tickets for 27 concerts, followed by Alejandro Sanz (staged by Mow Management and GTS), who recorded 287,948 attendees for 16 live shows and Manuel Carrasco (Riff Producciones), who drew 260,809 fans to 19 dates.
American singer-songwriter and eight-time Latin Grammy winner Marc Anthony was the year’s best-selling international act, shifting 163,124 tickets for 10 Planet Events & Live Nation-presented gigs. In second place were the Red Hot Chili Peppers with 98,483 tickets sold for just two dates, followed by Morat (GTS), who pulled in a total of 97,434 people for his 10 concerts.
The top music festivals were Primavera Sound in Barcelona with a reported 500,700 attendees across the course of the event, ahead of Mad Cool in Madrid (310,000) and The Music Republic’s Arenal Sound in Burriana (300,000).
In terms of regions, the community of Madrid led the way with live music takings of €103.6m (22.55% of the national total), with Catalonia reaching €97.4m and Andalusia being responsible for €75.9m.
“Spain has become one of the main markets for global tours”
Salmeron, director of Barcelona-based Producciones Animadas, adds that the “amazing recovery” of the Spanish live music market also entailed new challenges for APM, including around the “scourge” of secondary ticketing.
“[We are] working to improve the industry on fundamental issues such as sustainability, equality of gender throughout the supply chain production… and, at the same time, fight against resale, which is certainly one of our main demons,” he says.
“The excessive and uncontrolled growth of the so-called secondary market, that has no borders, has generated ethical and economic issues for our sector and for the fan. It is a priority to fight against this with the help and complicity of all the agents involved and minimise a scourge that affects us all.”
Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was recently declared “open for business” for live music bookings as its extensive renovation nears completion.
“Maybe before, Spain was a country you could leave out of a global tour, but you wouldn’t do that now,” the venue’s head of large events and concerts Rocio Vallejo-Nágera told IQ. “I think we have become one of the main markets for global tours. And it’s not just American or British artists anymore – Latin music is growing so much and that works very well in Spain, and local acts are now filling arenas.”
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Last Tour festivals receive B Corp certification
Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME have become the first festivals in Europe to receive B Corp certification.
The three festivals, which are part of the independent Spanish promoter Last Tour, join the B Corp community – a global movement using the power of business to tackle social and environmental issues.
Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME were recognised after implementing actions to reduce their environmental impact, raise awareness for diversity and equality, as well as implement protocols to reduce sexual attacks on their events. The recognition follows two-year evaluation process and is granted to only 4% of the companies that apply.
“The goal of Last Tour is to be a cultural and social activist, with creativity and innovation at the core, to contribute to the cultural development and co-creation of a society to which we feel committed,” says Last Tour CEO Alfonso Santiago.
“This recognition encourages us to maintain high standards where we constantly revisit our goal for social transformation”
“We stand committed to the B Corp standards while being recognised for the work we developed across the last 20 years. This recognition encourages us to maintain high standards where we constantly revisit our goal for social transformation while developing an economically viable business plan by acting proactively and responsibly in those territories where we are present.”
Bilbao BBK Live’s contribution to the community and the economic impact on the city of Bilbao were also key factors in the B Corp community, with its employment of local teams, donations for forest reforestation and aid to disadvantaged groups through the Bizkaia Food Bank, Ukraine Euskadi and other local support organisations all highlighted.
Cala Mijas was acknowledged for its social commitment and actions that include alliances with organisations such as Basic Income, promoting the development of people at risk of exclusion or the NGO Equilibrio Marino which seeks to protect the Calahonda Special Conservation Zone in the region of Mijas, Malaga.
Meanwhile, BIME, a non-profit project run by the Creative Industries Foundation was singled out for its organisational awareness in terms of horizontality, collaboration, flexibility, inclusion and parity.
In alignment with the B Corp guidelines, Bilbao BBK Live, Cala Mijas and BIME will continue to review internal policies for constant improvement while also consolidating their commitment to the 2023 Agenda, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Global Compact.
Last Tour’s management team has also made a commitment to environmental and social performance, which is included a new clause in the company’s byelaws.
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Real Madrid’s Bernabéu reopening for live music
Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is “open for business” for live music bookings as its extensive renovation nears completion.
Former Live Nation Spain partnerships director Rocio Vallejo-Nágera came on board last month as the European football giants’ head of large events and concerts. She will oversee the opening of the newly refurbished venue, which has been operating at reduced capacity, before the end of the year.
Speaking to IQ, Vallejo-Nágera says the four-year project will be finished by December, with an official reopening event planned for the end of 2023. The stadium will have both a retractable roof and pitch – enabling it to stage live music shows all-year-round – while its capacity for concerts will be around 65,000.
“We are treating it like a new stadium,” she says. “Up until now, there have been some concerts here – Bruce Springsteen in 2016 and the Rolling Stones in 2014 – but it hasn’t really been a big thing to do at the Bernabeu. It wasn’t built for football, not music, because the production tunnels were too narrow, etc. So we’ve changed that, and that’s why I’m here. We’re open for business”
Vallejo-Nágera, who will be a panellist for ILMC’s The View from the Top panel at 2pm on Thursday 2 March, worked on projects such as Ballantine’s True Music Festival and Joker Festival, Dcode Festival, Download Madrid and Elrow Town during her time at Live Nation.
“In the past 10 years, Madrid has become one of the main cities for global tours”
“Because I come from the music industry, all the Spanish promoters already know me,” she says. “We’re already working on dates for 2024, so it’s super-exciting.
“The stadium is going to be unique and very special. Since it’s a retractable pitch, we can do concerts every other week when we don’t have in-house [football] matches. We can have a match on a Sunday and then have a concert just a few days later. Of course we have to respect the football calendar, but apart from that there is no limit. Madrid is in a great place at the moment.”
The Spanish capital is also home to the Metropolitano Stadium, home to Real’s local rivals Atletico Madrid, and Vallejo-Nágera says the city boasts a thriving live music scene.
“I think in the past 10 years, Madrid has become one of the main cities for global tours,” she says. “Some years ago, maybe Barcelona was a little bit more blooming, but I think Madrid is taking its place in the international touring agenda as a main place to visit.
“Maybe before, Spain was a country you could leave out of a global tour, but you wouldn’t do that now, I think we have become one of the main markets for global tours. And it’s not just American or British artists anymore – Latin music is growing so much and that works very well in Spain, and local acts are now filling arenas.”
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Spain market report: Sun, sea & sound
Spain’s ascension in the global live music league table, pre-Covid, was impressive. Now, with the market fully reopen, its live music professionals have been quick to re-establish that momentum, with new events and venues being launched and some of the most ambitious promoters on the planet driving international growth. Adam Woods reports.
In quick succession, around a month before Christmas, Spain’s leading festivals laid their claim to a share of what should, world events permit- ting, be another boom summer for live music.
Primavera Sound, with its mirror festivals in Barcelona and Madrid, showed its hand first, with a two-weekend bill featuring Blur, Halsey, Kendrick Lamar, Depeche Mode, Calvin Harris, local/global star Rosalía – and the list went on. Then came the sixth edition of Madrid’s Mad Cool, with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Liam Gallagher, Sam Smith, Lil Nas X, Robbie Williams, Lizzo, and others.
The message from Spain was clear: even in the teeth of a recession, a war in Europe and a pandemic hangover, all the big guns are going to be firing next summer, just as they did in 2022.
The shape of these past three years in Spain, of course, was the same as everywhere else: mountains of cancelled shows in the first two years of Covid, then mountains of rescheduled ones in the third. There are storm clouds on the global horizon, but there are also epiphanies from the watershed summer of 2022.
“Spain is now home to several world-class festivals, and the touring market is very vibrant”
“It feels really great to see the audience again being able to enjoy themselves without masks and other restrictions,” says Doctor Music founder and CEO Neo Sala. “I had been looking forward to that moment, and when it finally happened, I realised how lucky we are to do what we do.
“Nothing can substitute the experience of being at a live concert. So even though I do not know what the future holds, I can say without a doubt that I will keep on doing what I do for the rest of my life. Promoting concerts is what I truly enjoy and, as I am lucky enough to work in the industry that I do, I will never feel the need to retire.”
Helpfully, Spain is a remarkably fertile market, with getting on for a thousand music festivals a year, including renowned international destinations such as Primavera Sound, Mad Cool, Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, Sónar, and Bilbao BBK Live. It has plenty of sturdy promoters, a lot of its own music, a taste for international stars, and some flourishing live cities.
“I think the Spanish market has evolved incredibly over the last ten years,” says Barnaby Harrod, director of Madrid-based promoter Mercury Wheels, part of Live Nation Spain. “Spain is now home to several world-class festivals, and the touring market is very vibrant.”
Nor does that mean, as it might once have done, that every international tour simply stops at Madrid and Barcelona.
“We are seeing more and more bands who want to tour outside those main cities and include other great cities such Valencia, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Santander, Gijón, Zaragoza, Santiago, Vigo, La Coruña, Granada, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca…” says Harrod. “I would like to see this tendency maintain an upward curve and see more and more international acts doing longer tours in Spain.”
“Latin music is now the third [most popular] music genre in the world, and Spain acts as a bridge between Europe and America”
Like many markets, Spain was on the crest of a wave before the events of 2020. In 2019, 28m people attended 90,000 live music events in the country, according to Spanish music federation Es_Música, and live music income grew by over 14% that year to €382m [source: Asociación de Promotores Musicales]. Subsequent ups and downs aside, the core of that momentum remains.
“Spain has increasingly become a key market,” says Live Nation Spain president Robert Grima. “And I am sure we all agree that Spain is one of the best tourist destinations in the EU. So, for me it is clear that there is still a big path of growth, mostly in the so-called secondary markets: cities and regions that can combine music events with holiday propositions.”
It may not be a coincidence that the essential health of the Spanish live music scene coincides with the surging popularity of Spanish-language music coming out of Latin America.
“Latin music is now the third [most popular] music genre in the world, and Spain acts as a bridge between Europe and America and is the natural entrance and first stop for the internationalisation of Latin American artists in Europe,” says Eve Castillo, director of communications at Last Tour, the Bilbao-based promoter behind Bilbao BBK Live and others.
That said, Latin music is far from the only dimension to Spanish music tastes. “Urban and Latin music is definitely becoming bigger and bigger in Spain, but I am also feeling that there is a resurrection of rock and alternative music in our market,” says Grima. “Live music is very alive in Spain.”
“One of the challenges, apart from the market saturation, is to convince the public of the value of live music and to bet on it”
It seems likely, on current form, that 2023 will be every bit as challenging as 2022, and perhaps in different ways, as macroeconomic factors begin to bite in earnest. Live industry wisdom has it that concerts and festivals often buck a downturn as people stint on holidays and cars and reward themselves with comparatively low-ticket, spirit-lifting entertainment – though some express concern for Spain’s great festivals if foreign visitors are reining in their travel spending.
“Both for the acts to tour and for the punters to travel, we rely on the cost of fuel and that is affected by so many things that are completely out of our control. Who knows what will happen?” says Spanish artist manager Joan Vich Montaner.
It all points to a stiff test of promoters, suggests Martín Pérez, of Barcelona promoter Concert Studio. “One of the challenges, apart from the market saturation, is to convince the public of the value of live music and to bet on it,” he says. “We are now in a crisis situation, and we are seeing a high loss of purchasing power.”
Daniel Molina of Madrid-based promoter Just Life Music agrees. “We have seen a market with more shows than ever in a time where the economy has not been that strong,” he says. “I think we will still be struggling with ticket sales until at least spring 2023. There is a lot of instability and uncertainty in the global and local economy that prevents us from being optimistic until the winter finally ends.
“We expect to have a change in trend from Q2 onwards that could lead to a rapid growth in terms of ticket sales toward the summer season and the second semester of the year. Let’s see if 2023 truly is the year of recovery.”
Promoters
Spain has plenty of all kinds of promoters – from big-hitting indies to corporate ex-indies, from festival-focused operators to regional specialists.
Barcelona and Madrid, of course, harbour the greatest numbers: Primavera Sound, Doctor Music, the Live Nation Spain HQ, and indies such as Producciones Animadas, Concert Studio, and The Project among those in the former; Planet Events, Mercury Wheels, and RLM in Madrid.
Then, across the country, Serious Fan Music and The Music Republic in Valencia, Last Tour in Bilbao, Zaragoza’s Siamm Producciones, and Just Life Music, Murcia rock specialist Madness Live!, Córdoba’s Riff Producciones, and Ground Control in Palma.
As it does elsewhere, the consolidation rolls on. The veteran Doctor Music, founded in 1982, sold a 63.5% share to CTS Eventim in May 2018. It remains a go-to for international and superstar acts – in partnership with Live Nation Spain, it was among the local promoters on AEG/Concerts West’s Rolling Stones tour for its stop at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano, with Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, and Rammstein coming up in 2023.
Like veteran promoters all over the world, Neo Sala says the shift into a larger group was an inevitable consequence of the live music business’s long-term shift to a globalised model.
“2023 is looking to be possibly the best year for us. And the demand for shows and ticket sales keeps growing”
“It no longer made sense for us to continue as an independent player,” he says. “Eventim allows Doctor Music to face the challenges of this new scenario, while at the same time respecting our autonomy and the way we have worked for the past 40 years. Also, they were 100% supportive during Covid, so we did not have to let go of any of our team. We are really thankful and proud to be part of Eventim.”
As well as its own activities, Live Nation holds stakes in leading Latin promoter Planet Events and Mercury Wheels, and in 2017 set up a strategic partnership with Andalusian promoter Riff Producciones aimed at growing Spanish acts in overseas markets.
“2022 was the most challenging year I remember in my career, but it was worth it,” says Live Nation Spain president Robert Grima. “And now 2023 is looking to be possibly the best year for us. And the demand for shows and ticket sales keeps growing, which is a very good signal.”
Planet Events managing director Chen Castaño, too, professes himself pleased with 2022. “It was very good,” he says. “We finally managed to organise the Marc Anthony tour in Spain, which had been postponed from 2020. The public have been very loyal, and we did a wonderful tour.
“Trying to compete, to coexist with all the colleagues and artists who were touring in 2022, particularly with rescheduling, has been complicated”
“Trying to compete, to coexist with all the colleagues and artists who were touring in 2022, particularly with rescheduling, has been complicated, but I’m impressed with how the teams pulled through.”
Among Spain’s other significant promoters, artist management company RLM, whose CEO Rosa Lagarrigue was the force behind Planet Events before its sale to Live Nation, has returned to promoting in recent years, taking on tours for Ricardo Arjona, Alejandro Sanz, Raphael, and Rozalén.
Concert Studio chalked up record attendances at its summer festivals – the Festival Jardins Pedralbes in Barcelona and the Cerdanya
Music Festival in the Pyrenees – and now looks towards the 25th edition of the Banco Mediolanum Festival Mil·lenni, which takes place across Barcelona and will run from October 2023 to May 2024, and the boutique Icónica Sevilla Fest, which in 2023 marks its third edition.
Murcia-based promoter Madness Live! launched the new rock- and metal-focused Rock Imperium Festival in the city of Cartagena in June, headed by Scorpions, Europe, and others, and it will return next year across three days with Helloween and Deep Purple headlining. Madness Live! also has forthcoming shows with the likes of Iron Maiden, Bullet For My Valentine, Cannibal Corpse, and plenty of others.
“After the pandemic, the work of national artists is highly valued. In fact, they occupy a large part of the line-ups of our festivals”
Also doing good business in Spain, as well as other Spanish-speaking markets including Chile and Argentina, is Madrid-based La Sordera, which specialises in Venezuelan artists including, currently, Karina La Voz, Okills, and Funky Fresco.
“Ten million people have left Venezuela since 2012,” says La Sordera CEO Francisco Mendes, saying that the turmoil has created a huge Venezuelan diaspora in cities across Latin America and Europe. “It is a phenomenon,” says Mendes. “There’s some shows we can do 5,000.”
As in many markets, the Covid embargo on international touring talent has, to some extent, been a boon for local artists.
“Traditionally, promoters used to hire much more international artists, specifically Anglo-Saxon ones,” says Concert Studio’s Carlos Pérez. “However, after the pandemic, the work of national artists is highly valued. In fact, they occupy a large part of the line-ups of our festivals.”
Live Nation’s 27-date tour for Fito & Fitipaldis was Spain’s most popular tour of the year, and Grima says the development of local talent remains a particular priority, even now the big global tourers are back on the march.
“The gap between stadium/arena-level bands and club tours is becoming greater than ever”
“We have big tours coming up next year for Coldplay, Harry Styles, Muse, Blink-182, Louis Tomlinson, and Lewis Capaldi, but we are also putting a very strong focus on local talent, with national multiple tours of artists like Hombres G, Beret, El Kanka, and Rels B,” he says.
The great awkward truth of the post-pandemic period – that of an industry in which blockbuster shows sell out in seconds while many smaller tours struggle to scrape together a crowd – is as valid in Spain as it is everywhere else.
“The biggest events have worked better than ever, while medium-smaller bands, as well as emerging acts, have struggled to sell tickets,” says Molina. “That is why global numbers can’t really reflect what the situation really is. The gap between stadium/arena-level bands and club tours is becoming greater than ever.” And, as in other markets, working promoters report a softer demand for this year’s shows.
“We have experienced how festivals and tours that have been on sale for over one or two years have sold far better than expected, as was the case with Visor Festival or The Dead South tour, while shows announced during 2022 have had more problems to sell tickets in comparison with previous tours,” says Molina.
Festivals
Whereas in some markets festivals are gradually stealing share from artist shows, for now Spain appears to have balanced demand for both – at least at the highest levels.
“The audience are looking at this from two angles,” says Pino Sagliocco, chairman of Live Nation Spain. “Headline artists are proving that they are stronger than ever, and at the same time, festivals that have a great on-site experience, together with a good line-up, are growing and consolidating their brand. Spain has a lot of festivals that are proving this point.”
“A lot” is right. Medusa Sun- beach, Arenal Sound, Viña Rock, Mad Cool, and Primavera Sound are among those that routinely attract cumulative crowds of between 200,000 and 300,000-plus, to add to hundreds of local and boutique events all over Spain.
Primavera Sound closed the biggest edition in its 20-year history in June, welcoming nearly half a million people to Barcelona after a two-year hiatus.
“As usual, since 2019, we have taken into account that it is a line-up with gender balance”
But perhaps Spain’s most distinguished festival brand made wider headlines this year with its adventures in other markets. Primavera Sound made an ambitious foray into South America in October and November, launching full- scale events and preliminary shows in Brazil (with Live Nation), Chile (with Rock Stgo) and Buenos Aires (with DF Entertainment), in addition to a first event in Los Angeles.
“We could not be more satisfied and prouder of our first editions in LA, São Paulo, Santiago de Chile, and Buenos Aires – they have all gone very well,” says Primavera Sound communications director Joan Pons. “Now it’s time to sit down with our local partners, make an evaluation, and consider together what we want for the future.”
In the meantime, Primavera Sound continues to lead the world in its deep-thinking approach.
“As usual, since 2019, we have taken into account that it is a line-up with gender balance,” says Pons. “Although every year we take more and more into account that there are many artists who do not identify with any gender, and that we would be wrong to pigeonhole them in a line-up with a binary balance. So, we also take into account the representation of these fluid identities.”
At the same time, Pons notes, Primavera Sound line-ups also need to be a representation of the musical zeitgeist of their year.
“We have a lot of big festivals – actually more than ever”
“We often say that our way of building a line-up is to never lose sight of the fact that each day of the festival should provide each attendee with several possibilities to complete several different experiences: 1) a highly anticipated and desired artist; 2) their next favourite artist, discovered at the festival; 3) a show that will challenge them; and 4) a concert where they can have a lot of fun.”
In general, the most popular Spanish festivals are currently in brand expansion mode, notes Joan Vich Montaner, now of Ground Control Management but previously booker at FIB Benicàssim for nearly 25 years.
“We have a lot of big festivals – actually more than ever,” he says. “For a long time, it used to be Benicàssim, Primavera, Mad Cool, BBK, and Sónar, and now there are maybe five more just from those people, with Primavera doubling up, the new Cala Mijas Festival from BBK, and Andalucía Big.”
Since launching in 2016, the Live Nation-produced Mad Cool Festival in Madrid has grown from a 45,000 capacity to 80,000. In July, for its first event in three years, the festival add- ed a fifth day, and headliners included Muse, The Killers, and Metallica.
Andalucía Big, a new event from the team behind Mad Cool, debuted on 8–10 September at Malaga’s Feria Ground, with acts such as Muse, Jamiroquai, Years & Years, Glass Animals, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, Franz Ferdinand, and Aurora. The Mad Cool Sunset festival in September, however, was called off after organisers were unable to find a replacement for Rage Against The Machine.
“Spain is a great tourist destination and it’s growing more and more each year, with good infrastructures, good weather, higher demand for live music, and great professionals to work with”
Bilbao has undergone a huge transformation in recent years, from an industrial city built on the iron trade to one in which art, culture, and tourism play an increasingly prominent role.
Bilbao BBK Live returned in July with more than 100,000 in attendance and LCD Soundsystem, The Killers, J Balvin, and the Pet Shop Boys on stage. Its organiser, Last Tour, also stages the Kalorama and BIME events, as well as the new Cala Mijas Festival on the Costa del Sol, Malaga, Portugal’s MEO Kalorama festival, and Colombia’s BIME Bogotá, but it keeps its faith in Spain, says Castillo.
“Spain is a great tourist destination and it’s growing more and more each year, with good infrastructures, good weather, higher demand for live music, and great professionals to work with,” she says. “And festivals are positively contributing to this with their very well-known positive effects in the territories where they are celebrated.”
Of Spain’s other festival specialists, The Music Republic, owned by brothers David and Toño Sánchez, promotes events such as Arenal Sound, Viña Rock, Granada Sound, and Madrid Salvaje and acquired Benicàssim Festival from Madrid-based Maraworld in 2019.
“It has been intense and busy but also successful… But the most remarkable thing was feeling our floor vibrating again. Silence is over”
Venues
By some distance, Spain’s most visited venue is Madrid’s 17,400-capacity WiZink Center, according to Billboard the 17th-busiest venue in the world this year for its size (15,001+), with 94 shows and 922,234 punters.
“It was a complicated year for programming and calendars because there were a lot of cancelled and postponed tours that had to share space with the new ones,” says general manager Manuel Saucedo. “It has been intense and busy but also successful.
“We had great nights with artists such as The Cure, Queen, Maluma, Harry Styles, Bon Iver, Rosalía, and, as usual, many local artists. But the most remarkable thing was feeling our floor vibrating again. Silence is over.”
KPMG recently estimated that the WiZink Center adds €220m annually to Madrid ́s GDP, indirectly creating as many as 2,000 jobs through its activity, and it is planning to create a few more.
“We are really excited about a new project that will create a small concert hall inside our venue for 900 spectators, intended for emerging artists and bands,” says Saucedo. “We want to open our venue to the new, make them noticeable, show their work to the promoters and managers, let them make their first recordings with us, and even teach them in terms of marketing and relations with the industry.”
Barcelona’s equivalent to the WiZink Center is the nearly 18,000-cap Palau Sant Jordi, which welcomes Michael Bublé, Duki, Roger Waters, and Robbie Williams in the first few months of 2023.
Valencia, meanwhile, is due a new arena in the shape of the Roig Arena, which is expected to be completed in 2024 with a capacity of 15,600 for basketball fixtures and 18,600 for concerts. The arena is the project of Mercadona supermarket billionaire Juan Roig Alfonso.
Another multi-sport arena, Nou Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona, is promised for 2026 on the site of the now-demolished Mini Estadi, formerly the home of FC Barça B and the club’s women’s team. The Nou Palau Blaugrana is expected to have a maximum capacity of 15,000 spectators.
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Superstruct buys festival giant The Music Republic
Superstruct Entertainment has bought The Music Republic, the promoter behind iconic Spanish festivals Arenal Sound and Benicàssim (FIB).
Providence Equity-backed Superstruct reportedly acquired 100% of the Valencia-based organiser for around €120 million, to be paid over the next five years.
Following the purchase, The Music Republic founders, brothers David and Toño Sánchez, will “continue to have full control and power in decision-making”.
The brothers founded the company in 2010 with the launch of Arenal Sound, a 60,000-capacity festival that takes place annually in the providence of Castellón, eastern Spain.
In 2019, the brothers took over FIB (cap. 50,000) from owner Maraworld (majority owned by MCD Productions and SJM Concerts) and festival director Melvin Benn (Festival Republic).
That same year, there were rumours of Live Nation attempting to buy the company but the deal never crossed the line.
Superstruct reportedly acquired 100% of the Valencia-based organiser for around €120 million
Over the years, The Music Republic has added numerous festivals to its stable of events, including Festival de Les Arts de Valencia, Granada Sound, Interstellar Sevilla, Madrid Salvaje, Love the 90’s Valencia, Metal Paradise and Bahía Sound.
The company also functions as an artist management agency, organising tours and events throughout the country, as well as a creative agency.
One of the company’s latest projects is a collaboration with Licampa 1617, a holding company of Spanish entrepreneur Juan Roig that has was founded especially to build Valencia’s Arena Roig, the new area that will replace L’Alqueria del Basket.
The €220m multi-purpose arena will sit on 21,500 square metres of land, with a capacity of 15,000 for basketball matches and up to 18,600 for concerts.
The Music Republic has been tasked with programming the arena’s concerts, which it will do via its specially created subsidiary Arena Alive. The arena, set to be the largest in Spain, is expected to be complete this year.
Along with The Music Republic, Superstruct’s presence in Spain includes festivals Sónar (Barcelona) and Monegros Desert Festival (Aragon).
The live entertainment behemoth owns and operates more than 70 major events and music festivals in Europe and Australia, including elrow, Sziget, Wacken Open Air, Mysteryland, Hideout, sonar, Flow, Defqon1, Parookaville, Zwarte Cross, Arenal Sound, Øya, O Son do Camiño and Tinderbox.
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Barcelona Beach Fest will not take place in 2023
Barcelona Beach Festival (BBF) will not be held in 2023, promoter Live Nation has announced.
The electronic dance music event, which draws around 70,000 fans to Platja del Fòrum each July, featured superstar DJs such as Marshmello, Armin Van Buuren, Steve Aoki and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
However, organisers say the city council has refused to grant the relevant licences to enable this year’s event to go ahead.
“We communicate with great sadness to the music lovers who have been part of this amazing family during all these years, that due to the refusal of the city council of Sant Adrià de Besòs to grant us the necessary licences, and the impossibility of finding another location with the ideal conditions to make possible the celebration of the festival within a workable timeframe, this year the BBF will not take place,” says a statement to fans.
“The whole BBF team is working hard to find a new location”
“During the seven years of the festival we have not created any problem or had any incidents within the community, and we have always respected all safety regulations, as well as the natural environment of the beach.”
First staged in 2014, the festival has welcomed the likes of Avicii, David Guetta, Steve Angello, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Alesso, Axwell & Ingrosso, The Chainsmokers, Lost Frequencies, Kygo, Don Diablo, Oliver Heldens and DJ Snake.
On a more positive note, promoters say they are hopeful of finding a new site to host the event next year.
“The whole BBF team is working hard to find a new location and as soon as we have one, we will let you know,” adds the statement. “In 2024, we will spread smiles again, from wherever it is, so that music will never stop being our best way to celebrate life!”
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IQ 116 out now: Ed Sheeran, Gaffer Award, Spain
IQ 116, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now, with the print edition to land on desks between Christmas and New Year.
Our January 2023 issue is headlined by a special feature on the runaway winner of IQ’s Tour of the Year – Ed Sheeran‘s remarkable Mathematics Tour – as Derek Robertson speaks to some of the dedicated army of professionals who helped the superstar hitmaker realise his artistic ambitions.
We also turn the spotlight on Billie Eilish’s production manager Nicole Massey, who becomes the first woman to collect The Gaffer Award. Massey talks to Gordon Masson about her professional path and her hopes to see more women attaining positions of power in live music.
Elsewhere, The Architects sees some of the industry’s most visionary professionals reveal their blueprints for the future of live music, and we provide an update on the various events and partners preparing for the 35th edition of the International Live Music Conference, which will be held at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel from 28 February – 3 March 2023.
As well as all that, Adam Woods travels to Spain for his latest market report, while a bumper comments section features ticketing expert Tim Chambers, who gives a different perspective on the incredible presale demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. In addition, James Fieldhouse gauges the desire for more merger and consolidation action in 2023 and Attitude is Everything’s Suzanne Bull urges more events to sign up to the organisation’s accessibility programme.
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 £6.25 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
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