Ticket ballots: The way forward for major events?

With on-sales for hot shows regularly making headlines, sometimes for the wrong reasons, a debate has ignited among experts as to whether the live business should switch from online queues to ballots for the most in-demand concerts.

Glastonbury unveiled a revamped online queuing system for yesterday’s (17 November) general sale, whereby fans were “randomly” assigned a place in the queue at the start of the sale, rather than having to refresh the page like in previous years. While the system was a novelty for Glastonbury, it has been the standard path for most high-demand shows for a number of years.

Speaking to presenter and DJ Annie Mac ahead of this summer’s festival, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis explained why the event had decided against distributing tickets via a ballot.

“I think if we did a ballot, we’d end up with some people who weren’t necessarily as bothered about coming,” she claimed.

Elsewhere, however, Oasis held a special invitation-only ballot for their two additional shows at Wembley Stadium next September, limited to fans who had been unsuccessful in the initial on sale for their 2025 reunion tour despite queuing for hours.

And Sam Fender made tickets for his upcoming hometown show at Newcastle’s 11,000-cap Utilita Arena available by ballot to customers with North-East postcodes only.

“I use the analogy that if you entered the lottery and you didn’t win, you wouldn’t complain to the National Lottery that you didn’t win”

Steve Tilley of Kilimanjaro Live, promoter of the 20 December concert, explains the thinking behind the method.

‘’It’s an attempt to try and manage the demand and introduce some kind of element of randomness/luck into the equation when you’re very very confident that there’s no way the supply is going to be able to meet expected demand,” he tells IQ. “I use the analogy that if you entered the lottery and you didn’t win, you wouldn’t complain to the National Lottery that you didn’t win. And we don’t even charge you for entering our lottery unless you get the chance to buy a ticket.”

Sam Ricketts, head of business development & artist services at AXS, says that ballots have become an “increasingly popular solution for measuring demand and getting tickets into the hands of real fans”, while Gigantic Tickets co-CEO Simon Carpenter deems them “the fairest way to go” when demand for a show is sky-high.

“The Sam Fender show in Newcastle at the arena is a perfect example, where you’ve got hundreds of thousands of people wanting to go to a show with a 10,000 capacity,” notes Carpenter.

Ed Sheeran agent Jon Ollier of One Fiinix Live points out that ballots are commonplace in certain parts of the world, such as Japan.

“Anything that we can do to try and reimagine and make the ticket purchasing process more fair [is for] the better,” he adds.

“They are probably not the right solution for most on sales. But for the ones that are going to see high demand, they are absolutely the way to go”

Ticketing executive and former STAR Council member Richard Howle advises that ballots aren’t right for every on sale, however.

“In fact, they are probably not the right solution for most on sales,” he asserts. “But for the big ones – the ones that are going to see high demand – they are absolutely the way to go.”

Howle believes there are numerous benefits from an industry perspective, particularly around data and pricing, in addition to gauging demand.

“During a typical on sale we only manage to collect data from those who successfully book a ticket,” he suggests. “By running a ballot we have the opportunity to collect data from everyone who is interested in buying a ticket. And I don’t just mean marketing data which relies on people opting in – huge amounts of insight can be gleaned about potential audiences.

“Balloting also provides an idea of demand in advance: London has the demand for four dates, Birmingham three, Manchester two, etc. This certainty of demand will make scheduling routing and deal-making so much clearer.”

He adds: “By running a ballot, by receiving information in advance about what audiences are prepared to pay, promoters can optimise their manifests to deliver the maximum returns as well as preserving any wishes that an artist may have about preserving a percentage of tickets at accessible prices.

“Whilst prices can be set in advance, the number of tickets available at each price band does not have to be decided until the balloting process is complete and customers have indicated which price they wish to pay. Tickets can be truly priced based on demand, without upsetting customers.”

“Ticketing systems are built to cope with high demand, but sometimes technology breaks and on sales can go horribly wrong”

Furthermore, Howle notes there are technological advantages, both in terms of handling demand and battling ticket touting.

“Yes, ticketing systems are built to cope with high demand, but sometimes technology breaks and on sales can go horribly wrong – disrupting both pricing and scheduling strategies,” he says. “The gentler pace of a ballot makes the whole process much smoother – for everyone. It is an unnecessary stress which everyone could do without.

“Perhaps one of the biggest pros of balloting is that it makes it very hard for touts and their bots. Multiple applications and known touts can be screened out during the balloting process. The touts will always find a way, but we can make it much harder for them.”

Telecoms giant O2 gives away tickets for its intimate, one-off Priority gig series for free to O2 and Virgin Media customers via a ballot. Acts have included Kylie Minogue, D-Block Europe, Raye and Sam Fender, while more than 100,000 ballot entries were submitted for Girls Aloud at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in July.

“We see huge demand for our Priority Gigs, which does mean disappointment for some customers who don’t win tickets, but the ballot process creates fair opportunity to win and allows us to open up these one-of-a-kind music experiences to as many people as possible,” says Gareth Griffiths, director, partnerships and sponsorship at Virgin Media O2.

According to Griffiths, one of the biggest pluses of ballots is the “greater ability” they provide to tailor the ticketing process to suit a particular show or artist.

“With D-Block Europe and Raye’s Priority Gigs, for example, giving their biggest fans the first chance to grab tickets was a really important element of the show,” he says. “O2 was able to do this by using our Priority Tickets data, to give those who had engaged with the artists’ shows before the first chance to enter. This allows us to ensure the room is filled with those who most want to be there, and to connect artists with their biggest fans.”

“The casual fan who might ordinarily try their luck for a ticket on a single screen has equal footing with a die-hard fan”

Matt Kaplan, head of UK/EU at price-capped resale marketplace Tixel also sees far more positives than negatives.

“What we like about ticket ballots is that they typically bring a more fan-centric approach to the challenges of selling tickets to high-demand events,” he tells IQ. “By collecting all prospective buyers into the same ‘pot’ you level the playing field and remove the intense pressure of having to have five laptops, two phones, an iPad, a hope and a prayer, competing for that coveted moment of being redirected to the purchase page.

“I guess one thing that could be seen as controversial is that the casual fan who might ordinarily try their luck for a ticket on a single screen has equal footing with a die-hard fan who might have assembled an army of friends and dozens of screens for more “chances” at a ticket. And is this a bad thing? Probably not.”

Although Howle considers the benefits of ballots to outweigh the negatives, he acknowledges the downside.

“It takes time to organise and manage, which is why it is not appropriate to do every on sale as a ballot,” he stresses. “Some promoters and artists like the fuss of an onsale, some like to say that they ‘broke the internet’ that they ‘sold out in xx minutes’. But what is a better indication of popularity: ‘20,000 ticket sold out in 10 minutes’ or ‘a million people have entered a ballot’?”

He continues: “One con, which is particularly relevant to the UK is that allocations are split across a number of different ticketing companies. This is an added complication which needs co-ordinating – but it shouldn’t be a barrier to balloting.

“The final con is that an on sale generates its own excitement, its own buzz which encourages others to join, to make that impulse buy. Perhaps if fans had more time to make a considered decision about whether they were going to attend or how much they wished to spend they wouldn’t pay as much? But counter to this, is that there will be much larger pool of people to access and with a ballot there is the opportunity to optimise the manifest to generate greater revenues.”

“As a promoter, 99 times out of 100 you’re more worried about selling out as quickly and easily as possible”

Nevertheless, if push came to shove, Kilimanjaro’s Tilley admits he would choose a normal on sale process over a ballot.

“As a promoter, 99 times out of 100 you’re more worried about selling out as quickly and easily as possible,” he says. “Promoting artists that require people to enter a ballot is a privilege indeed but that level of demand comes with a whole different set of problems for promoters and venues to try and solve.’’

He concludes: “When demand is so great that most people are going to be disappointed inevitably some fans take to social media to complain direct to artists and managers about something not being fair or potentially blaming a ticket agent tech issue – whether fair or not – and so on. If you introduce a ballot then luck becomes a factor and most people accept the rules at that point. Of course, there are still people on socials making their feelings known but I guess that’s the way of the world.”

Indeed, as the industry has learned time and time again – ballots or not – you’ll never be able to please everyone.

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ILMC 36: The pros and cons of dynamic ticketing

Dynamic ticketing took centre stage during ILMC’s Ticketing: At What Price? panel, as leading executives debated whether the growth of market-based pricing in the US will be replicated in other major international markets.

Chaired by Kilimanjaro Live promoter Steve Tilley, the session brought together Eventim Norway and Sweden’s Marcia Titley, Ticketmaster UK’s Sarah Slater, AXS’ Chris Lipscomb and Arnaud Meersseman of AEG Presents.

Recalling going to see Bruce Springsteen at New York City’s Madison Square Garden last year, Tilley admitted he was prepared to pay “whatever it costs” to get into the show. However, Meersseman pointed out the practice was less established in territories like France, which made it harder to compete when booking top acts.

“We’re being pushed more and more by artists to incorporate dynamic pricing,” he said. “To them, it doesn’t make sense on a financial level to tour Europe compared to the US, where dynamic pricing is widely common.”

Meersseman speculated there would be “massive pushback” against the practice across France. “It’s also a question of accessibility, and fans are likely to end up wondering whether gigs will only be reserved for the rich in the not-too-distant future,” he warned.

Lipscomb added that dynamic pricing is already happening in several European markets, including the UK, and predicted it will increase in prominence sooner than most think.

“Ten percent of all UK shows may already be sold under dynamic pricing. In a couple of years, I’d expect that number will increase by 30%-40%”

“Ten percent of all UK shows may already be sold under dynamic pricing,” he said. “In a couple of years, I’d expect that number will increase by 30%-40% and maybe even rise higher to 70%-80%.”

The discussion segued into the secondary market, with Titley noting that while countries like Norway and Denmark put laws in place to prevent resales above face value, dynamic pricing was necessary to “drive higher revenue”.

“Ultimately, it’s all about protecting the fans, and I believe in combining tech and legislation to eradicate those excessive profit margins,” she said.

Ticketmaster has successfully introduced its own fan-to-fan resale service in the UK, and Slater said: “There are plenty of safe, face-value resale sites to sell your tickets to in the UK. We’ve heavily pushed the fact that tickets are transferable, but we always encourage customers to only buy from authorised sites.”

Sam Shemtob, director of Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), made a brief cameo to explain the role that the EU Digital Service Act will play in combating illegal ticket listings.

“If the ticket is being sold by a trader, that needs to be listed right at the front in a clearly accessible manner, and ticket resale sites will now be banned from using design tricks that manipulate consumers into decisions, such as “pop-ups” or giving prominence to specific choices,” explained Shemtob.

“Nailing the on-sale is absolutely critical, but marketing the shows via a long-term campaign with the artists up until the actual event is just as important”

Shemtob, who is collaborating with the European Commission on how to streamline a complaints mechanism for fans and promoters, launched ‘Make Tickets Fair’ last year — a campaign to educate and empower fans to avoid being ripped off by ticket touts.

“The platforms will also be required to make it clear throughout the buying process that the tickets listed are provided by a third party,” he said. “If a platform fails to do this and fans are led to believe that the tickets are provided by the platform itself, the platform can be held responsible for any tickets listed in contravention of national laws.

“All of these sites need to have a clear and simple complaint mechanism.”

Another major talking point was the perception that tickets must be bought as soon as they go on sale.

“Obviously, nailing the on-sale is absolutely critical, but marketing the shows via a long-term campaign with the artists up until the actual event is just as important,” Slater said, citing the concert industry’s shift towards post-sale engagement, which includes events integrations in collaborations with Spotify and TikTok, as well as creative marketing strategies to keep fans engaged.

“Most people think that if they can’t get tickets within the first hour, they’ll end up being scammed when attempting to purchase them at a later time,” added Meersseman. “It all ties to what we discussed earlier about properly educating customers on the ticket sale process.”

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Heavenly Sent: Inside Lewis Capaldi’s biggest-ever tour

When Lewis Capaldi played the final UK show of his Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent tour in Aberdeen on 15 March 2020, little did anyone know that 24 hours later, a ban on mass gatherings would be introduced that would curtail any further shows for the best part of two years.

However, during the intervening period, the singer-songwriter worked with his representatives to crank up anticipation of his soon-to-be-released second album (Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent) to such an extent that his return to performing live is smashing records.

Indeed, Capaldi’s return to Aberdeen’s P&J Live Arena on 23 January this year set a new high bar of more than 15,000 tickets sold. “His shows in Scotland for this tour were amazing. He has been very open about his mental health and that anxiety can cripple him sometimes, so it was so powerful to see him enjoying the shows, because hometown shows come with huge pressures,” states promoter Craig Johnston at DF Concerts. “Our Aberdeen show became the highest-selling indoor show in Scotland’s history: it’s an incredible achievement.”

That historic gig was all the more special for production manager Nick Lawrie, who has been on the road with Lewis since he only needed a car to get from gig to gig. “I was asked early on if I could look after him. In fact, the only person who has worked with him longer is Aiden Halliday, his musical director, who started on keyboards,” says Lawrie.

Having taken on driver duties, front of house, monitors, and part-time production manager in smaller venues, Lawrie stepped up to full-time PM as the size of show grew. “On the last tour, we had seven trucks, but we’re up to 14 trucks for the UK and European arenas tour,” says Lawrie, adding that the touring party numbers in the 80s including drivers, etc. “We were six buses for the UK leg – it’s a big tour!”

“The thing about Lewis is we never skipped a moment of building”

Hailing from Aberdeen, Lawrie is delighted that the P&J show broke records. He commends everyone involved on the road for their hard work, while singling out artist manager Ryan Walter and agents Ryan Penty and Alex Hardee for making sure everyone is looked after.

“A lot of the Lewis camp has been around for a long time and that definitely helps,” contends Lawrie. “As for the tour routing, we have a couple of spicy overnights in Europe where we’ll have to advance the rigging package, but thankfully, his manager and agents are mindful about burnout, from Lewis himself right the way down through the crew. The fact they take our welfare so seriously is really appreciated by everyone on the road.”

Examining Capaldi’s tour history hints at an artist who has an impressive work ethic, having put in the long hours around the world playing tiny venues and step by step growing his fanbase at every opportunity.

“The thing about Lewis is we never skipped a moment of building,” says Ryan Penty who represents Capaldi along with Alex Hardee at Wasserman Music. “In London, for example, we started at The Waiting Room [120 capacity], then we played a show at Oslo [350-cap] where there was an 18-plus age restriction, which was a little bit of a hiccup, at the time. But from there we played the Scala [800], then we went straight to Shepherd’s Bush Empire [2,000], then Brixton Academy [4,921], then Wembley Arena [11,500] for two shows on the weekend before the pandemic. And then last year we played two nights at The O2 [18,500]. That sort of sums up the hard work Lewis and the whole team have put in everywhere, just organically growing the audience each time.”

Assisting team Capaldi on the journey are a team of promoters whom he has remained fiercely loyal to. There are no fewer than eight promoters involved in his 12 UK dates, for example. One of those long-term partners is Anna-Sophie Mertens, VP of touring at Live Nation. “I first came across Lewis Capaldi in mid-2016, before any of his music had been officially released,” she says.

“He wandered on, plugged in, looking pretty casual about the whole thing, then started to play… and it was jaw-dropping”

“I was struck by his voice and the simple, yet remarkable, beauty of the songs, so I arranged a meeting with his management to talk about what plans they had in mind for him. Usually [at that stage] artists and managers would be looking for London showcase opportunities, but they wanted the opposite and felt strongly about getting live show experience outside of London and building from north to south. So, I focused on delivering just that, with a support to Seafret in spring 2017. I got to meet Lewis for the first time at Birmingham O2 Institute3 on that tour, and the room just fell silent when he went on – everyone being in absolute awe. It was a sign of great things to come.”

Anton Lockwood at DHP Family tells a similar tale. “I got an email from his manager, sometime in early May 2017, with a link to the song Bruises, which got my interest enough to offer Lewis a slot, at two weeks’ notice, at Dot to Dot Festival,” says Lockwood.

“I saw him for the first time with my colleague Dan Roberts at Hy-Brasil bar in Bristol, where there was a small but decent crowd. He wandered on, plugged in, looking pretty casual about the whole thing, then started to play… and it was jaw-dropping. One of those few times when you turn to the person you’re with and you both just say, ‘Fuck me, this guy is incredible. He’s going to be a superstar!’”

Mertens continues, “Once the music finally got released to the wider world, the headline live shows slotted in perfectly with sold-out shows across the board. The campaign gathered real momentum with Lewis’s songs really connecting with his fans of all ages and his humour and character making him instantly likeable and relatable, too. We found ourselves finishing his first album campaign with two shows at The O2, and they sold out in minutes. I am not sure this has ever been done before on a first album campaign.”

Capaldi’s legendary reputation to elicit laughter from his audience, as well as delivering a powerful set, has seen his popularity blossom. And the demand from fans to witness his shows is not lost on his promoter partners. Lockwood comments, “The thing with Lewis is, what you think he’s like from his social media, he is actually like that – and people respond to that.”

“We’ve no reason to change our promoters, because everyone’s done a great job. Everyone sells all the tickets”

Kilimanjaro Live promoter Steve Tilley agrees. “Lewis’s social media game is second to none,” he states. And Tilley discloses just how deep the loyalty to promoters runs through the Capaldi camp. “Kilimanjaro has been involved in Lewis’s career from the very start, and when Carlo Scarampi was working for us, he was given some parts of the UK when those decisions were made. I got involved after Carlo moved over to Communion, retaining our interest in the artist but working with Communion going forward in collaboration.”

Recalling his initial interaction, Tilley continues, “I saw Lewis supporting Bastille and suggested we put him forward to support Ed Sheeran at the 2019 Leeds and Ipswich gigs, which he subsequently went on to play. We also booked Lewis for the mainstage at Belladrum in 2019, just as he was exploding in career terms. So many people wanted to get into the mainstage arena to see him that we had to close it! We also added Lewis to Kew The Music in 2019 when Jess Glynne had to cancel her slot, and with only about two weeks’ notice, we sold out the show in minutes. It was a crazy time.”

Continuing their collaboration on the current tour, Kilimanjaro and Communion are co-promoting Exeter Westpoint Arena. “It sold out absolutely effortlessly,” reports Tilley. Addressing the decision to stick with the promoting team, everywhere, Penty notes, “We’ve no reason to change our promoters, because everyone’s done a great job. Everyone sells all the tickets. It was split up at the start for a reason, and everybody did their bit to help Lewis get to where he is, so people should be rewarded for that. In the UK & Ireland, we’ve got Futuresound, SJM, Communion, DHP, Kilimanjaro, Live Nation, DF Concerts, and MCD – just about everyone’s got a slice of the tour.

Let it Roll
With the UK leg of the tour wrapping up on that 2 February show in Exeter, Capaldi’s European promoters have been counting the days to welcome him back – many having first witnessed him live at the IFF [International Festival Forum] in 2017.

Michael Šimon, booker and promoter for Selection in Czech Republic, has Capaldi back for just his second headline show in Prague on 17 February, having also booked him for Colours of Ostrava Festival in 2019. “When we first saw him at IFF, his enormous talent was clear to us,” says Šimon. “The first costing for November 2019 was built on a cap of 750 tickets. A few years later, Lewis’s second show in Prague will take place in the biggest arena in the Czech Republic, the [18,000-cap] O2 Arena Prague.”

“He played a lot of shows but never the wrong places, allowing his fanbase to grow continuously”

In Switzerland, Stefan Wyss at Gadget abc Entertainment also recalls Capaldi’s showcase at IFF. “Alex Hardee told us very early about this super-talented guy from Scotland. At IFF we were really impressed – Lewis was sick and had a bad voice, but it was still a massive voice.”

That showcase led to a booking. “His first show in Switzerland was at Openair St. Gallen in 2018 on the tent stage. After that, we sold out – way in advance – his first headline at [the] end of 2018 with 500 tickets in Zürich.”

Turning to Capaldi’s work ethic, Wyss comments, “He played a lot of shows but never the wrong places, allowing his fanbase to grow continuously. And I’m sure his humour and charisma helped a lot. If you look at his live history in Switzerland – [nine shows across four years] – it’s very impressive for a new artist in a small market.”

And Wyss predicts the momentum will keep building. “He will [take] another massive step [this year],” he says. “Hallenstadion in Zürich will be sold out with 13,000 tickets. And he is also headlining Openair St. Gallen. It will be a massive year for Lewis.”

Commenting on Capaldi’s tireless efforts, Selection’s Šimon reveals, “During his first Prague show, we watched Lewis sign hundreds of CDs for hours after the sound check. He did it with a dedication and respect toward each and every fan.”

“The way Lewis engages his fans on social media is just brilliant and different from anyone else”

Other promoters attest to his enthusiasm and drive. Mertens notes, “Lewis and his whole team have a strong work ethic. If it is the right thing to do, they will find the time and way to make it work. In the early days, he was flying back and forth between the US and the UK almost weekly to ensure he was making an impact with the right opportunities.”

One recipient of such an opportunity was Alessandro Ravizza at Vivo Concerti, who promoted Capaldi’s first Italian show in 2017 at Linecheck Festival. “Some of the people knew Bruises, but he captured the attention of every single person in that room,” recalls Ravizza, who has since promoted two headline shows for the Scottish crooner.

“As an Italian promoter, you don’t always have the chance to work with artists on each step of their touring career; but I think Lewis, management, and Ryan/Alex had a long-term vision, and they’ve worked very hard on every territory to grow a loyal, organic fanbase. Also, the way Lewis engages his fans on social media is just brilliant and different from anyone else, and this helps us as promoters a lot when it comes to selling tickets.”

DF’s Johnston concurs. “Lewis has an amazing talent of making everyone, even people who have never met him, feel like they are his best mate, and that is an incredible tool for us when selling tickets.”

As the tour rolls through Europe, Ravizza reports that Vivo Concerti will sell out the 8 March gig at Mediolanum Forum in Milan. “To be honest, Clemente [Zard], Andrea [Ritrovato], and I felt very confident even without listening to any songs of the new album because we knew demand was there,” he says. “After hearing the new songs, it was pretty clear. We’re looking forward to seeing one of the greatest artists of his generation connecting deeply with his people.”

“It was always a perfect execution of putting the right building blocks in place”

Another beneficiary of Capaldi’s artistry is Live Nation Denmark promoter Anna Brink. She says, “In 2018, we sold out Vega Small Hall in Copenhagen, a 450-cap venue. There has been an increasing demand for his shows ever since, and the next hard-ticket show we did was in 2019, which we upgraded from a 1,550-cap venue to a 5,000-cap venue and sold out. It’s amazing for an artist to grow like this in such a short time, especially in a smaller market like Denmark. We’ve now sold out his Royal Arena show on this tour, so we couldn’t be happier.”

Brink adds, “Lewis has a wonderful team around him, and I love working with them, especially his agents, whom I’ve known for a long time, so it’s great to be able to share this success together.”

Mertens comments, “Lewis has a great team, from his band, his tour and production managers and road team who have, for the most part, been there right from the start. A particular mention needs to go to Ryan Walter, Lewis’s manager, who right from the start had a strong vision in place and ensures every step, every release, every artwork, every tour announcement and on-sale is meticulously planned and slotted into Lewis’s career. It was always a perfect execution of putting the right building blocks in place.”

To Tell the Truth I Can’t Believe We Got This Far
While the crew on the road now numbers in excess of 70, the core members have been with Capaldi from early on in his career.

DF Concerts’ Johnston observes, “Most of Lewis’s live crew are Scottish, and we’ve all worked together before on other acts and projects over the years. It’s worth mentioning that King Tut’s gets a lot of credit for bringing through new artists, but all of his crew have done shows in Tut’s as well, so it also brings through the new tour managers, production managers, sound engineers, lighting engineers, backline tech, etc.”

“Effectively, if you ignore the pandemic shutdown, he’s doubled the size of the production in less than a year”

As for the production itself, the back-to-back September 2022 shows at The O2 in London proved to be a rehearsal for the current tour. Nick Lawrie says, “By about the second week, every day was starting to feel the same, which as a production manager is kind of what you want. Now we can concentrate on finding efficiencies and trying to identify areas where we can tighten things up.”

One of the main features of the production is a giant video cube, which raises and lowers to the stage, and at one point, features Capaldi using its roof as a B-stage. “We have a customised automation system, which is pretty complicated, and the show relies on a fair amount of trim – 17 metres on the grid. Some arenas don’t allow that, so it’s something we have to adjust every day, as well as making sure that every seat in the house has good sightlines,” explains Lawrie.

Matthew Bull at All Access Staging reveals the production from last year’s O2 shows was slightly reduced for ease of use, loading in and out. However, with two trucks for staging alone, it’s still an impressive set up.

“They asked us for a rolling stage because of what they wanted to do with video, etc, so we supply that on the top level, as well as the risers on either side for the backline and cameras,” says Bull. And the feedback from the road he reports is all positive, “They’re a really friendly bunch, and the tour seems to be running really smoothly, so it’s great to be involved again with Lewis.”

Neg Earth Lights has been working with Capaldi since his last tour. “This production is much bigger, so Lewis has done very well in terms of scaling things up, because effectively, if you ignore the pandemic shutdown, he’s doubled the size of the production in less than a year,” says Neg Earth’s Sam Ridgway.

“We’re playing some of the biggest arenas in Europe, and I have to say it’s the best tour party I’ve ever worked with”

He adds, “Nick Lawrie is great to work with. Following The O2 shows, we had a production debrief and drew up plans on how to make improvements to the rig to make things more tour friendly.”

Those tweaks included adding a specialist automation company, WI Creations, to the equation. Involving automation of course complicated matters, with sound supplier FE Live completely redesigning its kit as a result.

“It’s fairly tricky audio-wise because of the three-sided cube, so we’ve had to design audio around that,” says FE’s managing director Ryan Mcilravey. “The O2 shows allowed us to trial stuff, and after those shows, we rebuilt our kit into bigger packaging because audio has to be assembled pretty quickly once everything else is loaded in.”

Like many of the suppliers on the tour, FE Live began working with Capaldi in 2018 and have witnessed the speed at which the artist moved to academy-sized shows and then onto even bigger venues.

“Fourteen months later, we’re playing some of the biggest arenas in Europe, and I have to say it’s the best tour party I’ve ever worked with,” says Mcilravey. “Lewis is very loyal to his suppliers and crew, so there are a lot of Scottish people who know each other well, but even so, it’s not that common to have 70-plus people on the road and everyone gets along.”

“It was glaringly obvious that Lewis would be playing arenas in a short space of time”

One of the key crew members is backline expert Paul Gibson, who handles tech for bass and guitars, including Lewis’s. He reveals that when Covid hit, the decision was made to sell all the Kemper equipment, which has now been replaced with Quad Cortex. “The equipment only recently came out, and I think we’re the first large production to use it, so that has been a bit of a challenge,” says Gibson. “It’s controlled by playback, so we had to get a couple of programmes made but that process has been quite exciting.”

Gibson, who has been working with Lewis Capaldi for close to six years, observes that while lots of production departments have stepped up their game, the biggest notable change for him is somewhat easier. “There are a few more stairs for me to climb in the arenas.” He adds, “Even the new suppliers who have been brought in are amazing. Usually, when you’re on the road, little cliques develop, but that hasn’t happened on this tour – we’re just one big family.”

Another happy traveller is Bobby Langley from Global Merch Services, who first encountered Capaldi at The Great Escape in 2018, thanks to a tip from Alex Hardee. “It was glaringly obvious that Lewis would be playing arenas in a short space of time,” states Langley.

“From my side of things, we inherited some incredible creative to work with. Lewis approaches his music as an art, rather than jumping on any bandwagon. There can be a temptation when you’re working with artists who reach arena level to just play it safe when it comes to merch, but if you keep being creative, you get a better result for everyone.”

Headspace
For an emerging superstar – or “Scotland’s Beyoncé,” as Capaldi has jokingly referred to himself – the temptation to cash in can be overwhelming. But there’s no trace of greed among Capaldi’s inner circle, with tickets for the tour priced amazingly low for such a large arena production.

“Lewis doesn’t do any VIPs – there’s no meet and greets, there’s no golden circle, there’s no end-of-the-aisle uplift”

“Lewis doesn’t do any VIPs – there’s no meet and greets, there’s no golden circle, there’s no end-of-the-aisle uplift or anything like that,” says Penty. “He’s always wanted to keep the face value ticket prices affordable, so on the UK dates for this tour, we’re at £45, £55, and £65, which is the top price for the very best seats.

“We don’t want his fans to feel like he’s ripping them off at any point, and I know he just wants to make sure that everybody feels like they’re not excluded from seeing him because of the price.

“Originally, the tickets were going to be even cheaper, but we had to push the price a little because the costs of everything have gone through the roof since this tour was routed two and a half years ago. But in the end, we worked hard to keep ticket prices reasonable. At the end of the day, if the fans come and have a good night, and they’ve had value for money, they’ll come back.”

Having been planned three years ago, the current tour has been a long time in the making, but the results have made the wait worthwhile.

“We first started discussing and planning the tour dates in 2020, but we had to push back our plans several times due to the pandemic, so I am very excited to see the new tour and album campaign finally kicking off,” says Live Nation’s Mertens. “This tour is only the beginning of the many things we have planned on the live side for Lewis Capaldi in 2023 and beyond. I am extremely excited for things to come.”

And hinting at those future plans, Penty says, “He’s confirmed for Electric Picnic, and Reading and Leeds festivals, and we’ve recently announced additional outdoor shows in August for Manchester, Belfast, Chepstow, and Edinburgh at the Royal Highland Centre.

“But the focus now turns to 2024. We’ve got dates held internationally, and we’re looking at bigger venues, especially in the UK where the sales we had for the arena tour were ridiculous.”

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IQ Tour of the Year 2022: Ed Sheeran + – = ÷ x

It’s 8.29 pm at Dublin’s Croke Park, 23 April 2022. The sense of anticipation among the 82,000 fans present – here to see Ed Sheeran kick off his fourth world tour, the +–=÷× Tour (AKA the Mathematics Tour) – is building to fever pitch; a giant red and yellow screen in front of the stage has been displaying a ten-minute count down, and there’s just one minute to go.

When it hits zero, the screens go up and Sheeran launches into Tide, the opening track of his fifth studio album, 2021’s =; a joyous frenzy and outpouring of celebration ensues.

“Magic” is how the Irish Examiner describes it; “a show that will live long in the memory,” adds the Independent. “When the music started, to hear and see the audience’s reaction and share their excitement, was really emotional,” says Helen Himmons, +–=÷×’s production manager. “To be standing there experiencing so many original, custom-designed elements all coming together for the first time in front of 82,000 people was exhilarating,” adds Bren Berry of Aiken Promotions, who was responsible for all ten of Sheeran’s Irish dates.

But that night was just the start; over 53 more shows in 2022 Sheeran wowed fans and critics alike and truly put on a show for the ages. From the sheer number of fans that he entertained to some of the groundbreaking production elements and the success of touring such a mammoth show in the challenging post-Covid environment, it’s no surprise that we have awarded Sheeran and his team IQ’s Tour of the Year award for 2022.

Galway Girl(s and Boys)
The anticipation in Dublin wasn’t just because Sheeran is one the world’s biggest pop stars and musical icons or that he has a particularly passionate fanbase in the Emerald Isle (in total he sold 410,000 tickets in Ireland, incredible for an island with less than 7 million inhabitants). It was also the first major outdoor concert in Ireland in three years, following the Covid-19 pandemic. “We sold 225,000 tickets in the first hour,” says Berry, “and if the dates had been available, we could have sold extra shows in Limerick and Belfast.”

But being the first large, outdoor event post-Covid also brought challenges. “The venue, local council, and suppliers all had different opinions about what should happen regarding Covid-19,” adds Berry. “There was also quite a bit of debate in the media about conditions that should be applicable for what was really the first big show in Ireland for three years.” The show – and the tour so far – went off without a hitch though; no mean feat considering its scale.

“We sold 225,000 tickets in the first hour and if the dates had been available, we could have sold extra shows”

And the numbers themselves are mind-boggling. Over 3.1m tickets sold, generating over £200m in revenue. 125 crew spread over three separate teams (plus 80 local crew at each venue); 84 trucks hauling over 56 tonnes of gear; a unique, custom-built stage design that had never been toured before; brand-new, state-of-the-art pyro effects; and even discussions with the UK government at Cabinet level.

Chief architects behind the tour, alongside Sheeran, are artist manager Stuart Camp and agents Marty Diamond from Wasserman Music for North America and Jon Ollier from One Fiinix Live for Europe and the rest of the world.

Revealing the detailed planning for the Mathematics production, Camp says, “We were talking about this show before we completed the Divide tour in the summer of 2019. The in-the-round idea has been knocked back and forth for several years, but this was the time to take the plunge – although the pandemic did throw a curveball, so we did consider going to a more standard end-on show given the uncertainties regarding what touring would look like.”

Explaining why the tour visited the markets and venues that it did across Europe, Ollier tells IQ, “You can only do what you do in the short season of weather window for stadium shows, and that’s sort of what dictated our tour routing in 2022. Certainly, there were no ‘filler’ dates or markets on the European tour leg.”

Turning to the actual show itself, Camp says, “We just wanted to do something that we hadn’t done before…to make the show as special and unique as we could.”

That remit fell upon the shoulders of production designer Mark Cunniffe, who notes, “It’s a huge show in terms of industrial presence, but it has a very theatrical feel and attention to detail that give it its unique look.”

But the complexity of the production was daunting, and Sheeran’s agent discloses that the core team initially worked on two concepts, just in case the more ambitious option would not work. “The caution on our part was in our expectations as we emerged from the pandemic,” says Ollier. “Our attitude was simply to have a good crack at it to see what we could achieve.

“We just wanted to do something that we hadn’t done before…to make the show as special and unique as we could”

“We worked on the ‘plan B’, involving a traditional end-on stage, in parallel, flipping between the two concepts as we worked out what was feasible financially as well as logistically and from an engineering perspective. The watershed moment was when Ed decided that he had to deliver the best show possible to the fans because everyone had endured such a lot during the pandemic, and he wanted to give them something they could remember for the rest of their lives. So that’s the moment we dumped the idea of the end-on stage and put all our efforts into the show being in-the-round.

“What everyone has put together is the most ambitious tour I’ve ever worked on; the fact we were trying to pull it off while we were in the pandemic made it all the more complicated but also all the more satisfying.”

And hinting at the groundbreaking nature of the setup, artist manager Camp adds, “By far the most extraordinary feature of the show is the structural cable net system. Whist it’s an existing architectural principle, it has never been toured before and is rightly considered to be the first of its kind in the touring entertainment industry.”

Beautiful People
The complexity of that system was developed over the course of 12 months, with Sheeran’s team working with Cunniffe and Himmons to come up with the initial concept before approaching Jeremy Lloyd at Wonder Works to see if it was possible from an engineering perspective. They then engaged Stage One to see if it could be constructed in such a way to make it tourable – could it be put together in the four days they had at each venue prior to the show, then dismantled and removed within 24 hours?

It was a tough challenge.

“I’ve always wanted to present Ed in the round, as I believe that’s the perfect way to get him closer to as many people in the audience as possible,” says Cunniffe. “Once he was happy with that concept, I busied myself designing a show that didn’t have the obligatory use of a four-post roof system, as that would have obscured the artist’s view of the audience. After a great deal of blue-sky thinking, I came up with a structural support with a cable net system that was as aesthetically pleasing as it was functional. It was also a unique design that hadn’t been toured before.”

Such cable net systems are usually supported by some form of permanent structure, typically a roof. Team Sheeran’s challenge was creating an in-the-round setup with no supporting pillars for the stage, screens, or PA – essentially trying to suspend 56 tonnes of equipment on a temporary rig, and one that was relatively quick to build and dismantle. Thanks to some clever engineering, a lot of innovation, and the construction of many custom elements, Cunniffe and co. made it a reality.

“The watershed moment was when Ed decided that he had to deliver the best show possible to the fans because everyone had endured such a lot during the pandemic”

“What we have is a central round stage with a circular ‘halo’ of video and lighting that rises up from the stage floor and suspends in the air,” says Himmons. “It’s held there by a complex cable net system, which is tensioned between six red ‘masts’ – these masts provide a rigging opportunity for plectrum-shaped IMAG video screens and audio hangs and the bases of them are also used as satellite stages for the band members.”

“To make the show efficiently tourable, an important part of the production design was to ensure that as many processes as possible could occur concurrently,” adds Lloyd. Thus, once the masts and cables were installed, along with some advance equipment, production worked in two teams, on opposite masts, ensuring the structure was loaded as evenly – and as quickly – as possible. Similarly, while all this was going on, the stage was constructed off to one side; when the cable net was done, the stage was simply rolled into place.

The resulting show was the event of the summer for millions of fans – and that will be the case for millions more in 2023, 24 and 25, according to Camp.

“2023 will see us go to Australia and New Zealand – a place so close to our hearts and always a joy to tour in – though also the first shows we have done there since the passing of Michael Gudinski, so it will be very poignant,” states Camp.

“Then we are onto the Americas: North America from April to September before we go for some shows into Central and South America. 2024 will hopefully see us go through southeast Asia and the European markets we weren’t able to visit this year, and I envisage the tour coming to a close in summer 2025.”

That’s music to the ears of the many promoters and partners involved in Sheeran’s career.

Afterglow
Salomon Hazot, of Saloni Productions, has worked with Sheeran “since his first show in a club” and is constantly impressed by how “he does all that is required to make things work.”

His two shows at the Stade de France could have been three, he says, but adding another was logistically impossible – the stadium was booked. But the show was, Hazot says, “really unbelievable. There was such a buzz, many French industry people came to the show to see how it worked.”

Steve Tilley of Kilimanjaro Live first promoted Sheeran back in 2009, and says, “The production was next level and really spectacular – they rewrote the rules on what can be achieved in terms of the way they designed and built the whole setup. Every night, I stood and watched in awe.” He adds that it’s an “absolute joy and an honour to be part of the team and work with Ed – everyone involved behaves with pure class and professionalism.”

“They rewrote the rules on what can be achieved in terms of the way they designed and built the whole setup”

FKP Scorpio chief Folkert Koopmans notes that despite Covid and “the extreme circumstances our society and economy find themselves in, this was probably his best-selling tour ever. The enormous ticket demand ensured the list of concert dates grew longer and longer – there was at least one extra show in almost every tour city.” He adds that the tour was “really something very different and special – working with him and his team feels like travelling with family. He’s never stopped being ‘just Ed,’ which is why his story as an artist is relatable – and he’s worked very hard to be where he is right now.”

In Switzerland, Johannes Vogel, owner and director of AllBlues Konzert AG, says that within hours of the first show going on sale, they announced a second – both sold out incredibly quickly (47,500 for both nights). “The production was not just huge and spectacular – it was made to help Ed deliver the best shows possible,” he says. “The level of intimacy for a stadium show and how close he was to the fans was extraordinary – it felt like being in a club with 50,000 others!”

In Austria it was a similar story – 130,000 over two nights, with 70% of the fans in Vienna being female. “The whole concept was incredible,” says Ewald Tatar of Barracuda Music, “and he’s one of the friendliest artists we have ever met. It’s always very professional working with Ed and his team, and we are very proud to be part of this ‘family’ for Austria.”

“It’s quite extraordinary how Ed beats his own sales records every time, and these shows were no exception, with four shows gone in about 48 hours,” says Xenia Grigat of Denmark’s Smash!Bang!Pow! “It’s spectacular to do an in- the-round show – it’s a treat for fans – but this one was in a different league. And the fact that there’s a lot of the same people working with Ed as when he first started out says a lot about the artist and the work environment he has created – everyone on the team is a pleasure to work with.”

“The production was genuinely incredible,” adds Simon Jones of AEG, who has worked with Sheeran for over 11 years. “It’s an engineering masterpiece, and by going to an in-the-round setup, he reached more people – it lent itself so well to the way he performs, which is so inclusive.” Jones also touches on another important element for the +–=÷× Tour – ticketing. “Ed’s main mantra is to protect his fans from unscrupulous touting and from being taken advantage of. So, we always put stringent anti-secondary measures in place, which require an extra couple of layers prior to purchasing.”

“It’s quite extraordinary how Ed beats his own sales records every time, and these shows were no exception, with four shows gone in about 48 hours”

“I think there’s a real legacy to this tour in terms of the ticketing strategy,” says FKP Scorpio’s Daniel Ealam. “We felt that in a post-pandemic world, there really needed to be a way of doing ticketing at this level in a regimented digital way, so we set about writing a comprehensive Ticketing Principles document with various rules for our ticketing partners to adhere to, to protect Ed’s fans. Our ticketing partners in the UK at Ticketmaster, Eventim, See, Gigantic, and AXS really bought into the idea that our tickets needed to stay with the person who bought it, unless sold through an official face-value reseller. This was rolled out throughout Europe and ran really smoothly.”

To fulfil that wish, CTS Eventim’s EVENTIM. Pass was put to the test, with its digital and personalised ticket abilities. “We used EVENTIM.Pass exclusively for the first time in ticket sales for Ed Sheeran’s European tour,” says Alexander Rouff, CTS Eventim’s COO. “After the start of presales, more than 1m digital tickets for the tour were sold in eight countries within a very short time.”

He explains, “The ticket purchased via EVENTIM.Pass can only be accessed on the smartphone using the EVENTIM.App – it is securely stored there, and the associated individual QR code for admission authorisation is only displayed shortly before an event. This and other security features largely prevent unauthorised resale, forgery, and misuse.”

The new system worked “100%” claims Rouff.

Indeed, there was only one attempt at fraud, and “it was detected and prevented by the missing security features of the ticket.” For fans of paper tickets, the company also offered EVENTIM. Memory Tickets. “The Memory Ticket for Ed Sheeran’s tour design was very well received by fans,” adds Rouff.

The A Team
Taking such a mammoth production on the road demands that Sheeran has two advance systems – basically the six red masts, cable net systems, and the satellite stages for the band. These leapfrog each other, so each advance team prepares every other venue. “But there was only one version of the universal production – sound, lights, video, automation, performance stage – so that was loaded in and out for every show,” adds Himmons.

Making sure the production equipment gets from A to B to Z is Global Motion who have been working with Sheeran since he first started playing arenas a decade ago.

“Getting back to work, post-Covid, has been great, but it’s been a bit of a nightmare in terms of finding people who want to work – it’s still not back to normal,” says Global Motion director Adam Hatton. “However, for a huge tour like this, the solution is all in the planning and thankfully team Sheeran are fantastic at that.”

Hatton reports that while for most clients concerned about sustainability, the advice is to simply take less gear on the road, for the huge spectaculars, like Mathematics, that isn’t always possible. “We decided to sign up to DHL’s sustainability programme which offers ways to offset carbon, as well as using electric trucks, etc, where possible.”

“For a huge tour like this, the solution is all in the planning and thankfully team Sheeran are fantastic at that”

And applauding the brains behind the Mathematics Tour, Hatton adds, “The show is extremely impressive – seeing a stadium show in the round is amazing. There were huge logistical issues to overcome to get this show on the road, but when you see the result, it makes everything worthwhile, and it’s been a pleasure to be involved with everyone who has made the tour possible.”

Working hand-in-hand with Global Motion were the trucking partners, who arguably faced the tour’s biggest dilemmas thanks to Brexit making the landscape even more complicated in what was already a Covid-challenged environment.

For the universal production element, KB Event were once again entrusted – the company has been working with Sheeran since 2012. In total, 27 Mega Box Artics and 5 Mega Curtain Side Arctics were required, each with a lead driver and two support leads. But with the tour starting in the Republic of Ireland, moving into the UK, and then touring for three months in mainland Europe, registrations and permits proved tricky to coordinate.

“Because of the Cabotage issues and the solutions we managed to agree with the UK government, all of the trucks on the tour had to be EU-registered vehicles,” says KB Event CEO, Stuart McPherson. “This gave the added complication that all the experienced UK drivers that had worked on previous Sheeran tours had to be sent to Ireland to sit their EU DCPC qualifications before the tour started. This also meant that replacement, standby, and substitute drivers all had to hold EU qualifications, too. This is an issue we have never had to deal with before and presented serious challenges and expenses getting everything in place before the tour started up.”

The proposed routing and show schedules also presented numerous logistical issues, again due to Brexit and the many new rules and regulations now in force regarding cross-border working. To get around this, KB engaged with the UK government and DfT, alongside trade association LIVE and the Road Haulage Association.

After months of negotiation, the UK government decided they would consider a duel registration option, where a company that has registered businesses in the EU and the UK (as long as both held a valid operator’s licence) could switch their EU trucks onto and off a UK operator’s licence. But with this not coming into law until August or September 2022, and the tour starting in April, things looked bleak.

“It’s an engineering masterpiece, and by going to an in-the-round setup, he reached more people”

The power of Sheeran – and the hard work of his transport suppliers – prevailed when a solution was proposed that would see the UK authorities adopt a short-term, temporary fix to get the industry through the summer. “This was accepted and pushed through cabinet just four weeks before the tour started,” says McPherson. “And I can tell you, we all slept a lot better that night!”

With KB Event handling the universal production, the two advanced systems were transported by Pieter Smit. They also faced challenges. “It was extremely difficult to get new trucks in Europe,” reports Steve Kroon, head of sales and relations. “We were lucky that through our extensive network, we found several brands that could deliver trucks with the highest emission class (Euro 6) – we had DAF, MAN, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz.” Kroon reveals it’s the first time the company has toured such a big production using renewable diesel. He adds, “We’re proud to be the first trucking company to have actually entered Sunderland’s Stadium of Light by truck and trailer combination – it was close and narrow, but we did it.”

There were plenty of other issues to solve for an outdoor, temporary, in-the-round setup. To ensure that no waterproofing or covers were required, everything – be it video, lighting, staging, or special effects – had to be IP65 rated. “A lot of time was spent sourcing, and in some cases, manufacturing from scratch, equipment that fulfilled this particular brief,” says Cunniffe.

Furthermore, the nature of stadium pitches or open, soft ground provided another challenge to overcome. “With the outer perimeter of the stage revolving, the entire performance stage has to be completely level in order for it to move,” says Himmons. “As we were not working on flat arena floors this was a challenge, specifically on the greenfield sites we played. And the floors also had to be able to take the weight of the show – some stadiums had underground car parks, directly beneath the pitch, so we had to look at our build process and crane movements, making sure we kept weight evenly distributed during the build, as well as consulting on how to support the floor from below because of the void underneath.”

I See Fire
Pyro was another element where the production and design team wanted to add something new. Tim Griffiths of Pains Fireworks was brought in to create some exciting effects; he didn’t disappoint. The brief, he says, was to “create something spectacular that could be repeated each night within the confines of the set. The incredible floating LED halo was the obvious place for us to mount close-proximity pyros, but the most exciting idea was trying to create a moment at the beginning of the concert using daylight effects. We decided to go for coloured, daylight smoke mines, which are the latest innovation of the past few years. They look stunning when fired in bright daylight and created an incredible rainbow feature four times at the start of each show.”

“Ed has set the bar high now, and I genuinely believe this is the most spectacular and ambitious live show on Earth”

Griffiths also utilised eleven of the latest liquid flame heads from German manufacturer, Galaxis. “The new Galaxis L-Flame was only released last year, and we had ordered the first batch in the UK, used them last summer, and knew that they would look fantastic built into the revolving stage,” he says. “The flame pumps sit under the stage and feed the heads with liquid IPA. The biggest challenge initially was to refine the flame heights and get a consistent flame using smaller nozzles than those supplied to reduce the height and avoid burning the lighting rig.”

Perfect
Although the sell-out tour could have added extra dates in key cities, Camp admits the approach was a little more cautious than it may normally have been. “The live industry was still re-finding its feet when we put our shows on sale for ’22,” says Camp. “I think it was the first stadium tour to go up post pandemic, and we did the same level of business here in Europe as the last tour.”

Confirming the total of 3.1m ticket sales across Europe during 2022, agent Ollier reveals the next tour leg in Australasia will account for another 700,000 tickets. He says, “Of course, a production of this size doesn’t come without its challenges and there are always going to be bumps on the road and nuances, but Ed has set the bar high now, and I genuinely believe this is the most spectacular and ambitious live show on Earth.”

Talking of Sheeran’s development as an artist, Camp adds, “He really has just simply grown in ability and confidence. This is the first tour we have used a band – albeit only for a quarter of the set – but it has bought another dimension and enabled Ed to perform songs that were previously tricky with just one man and a loop pedal.”

Mathematics’ added element of supporting musicians was just one of multiple surprises to entertain and enthral millions of fans.

The emotion and ambition of that opening show in Dublin rolled all over Europe and is set to be repeated across four additional continents before returning to Europe in 2024. As Bren Berry says of that opening night: “You go all in, roll the dice, hold your breath, and hope you hit the jackpot, which of course Ed and his brilliant team have done with this incredible, ground-breaking show. The opening night worked like a dream – the in-the-round atmosphere was electric, and Ed absolutely smashed it out of the park. I can still see the utter delight on his face coming off the stage.” It’s a sight that sets to be replicated a few more times as the rest of the world gets to experience the +–=÷× Tour in all its brilliance and glory.

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Kili’s Steve Tilley: ‘The market is unpredictable’

Kilimanjaro Live’s Steve Tilley has told IQ he hopes the live business returns to something approaching normality next year following a “rollercoaster” 2022.

DEAG-owned Kili sold 1.5 million tickets for its summer shows, which included co-promoting Ed Sheeran’s UK stadium tour with FKP Scorpio UK, stadium dates with Stereophonics and further outdoor concerts including the Kew the Music and Live at Chelsea series.

Tilley’s run of successes have also included four sellout nights with Phoebe Bridgers at O2 Academy Brixton, and he already has two hometown stadium shows by Sam Fender at Newcastle’s St James’ Park to look forward to in 2023. But the Arthur Award-winning promoter says the post-pandemic market is proving increasingly unpredictable.

“The calls we made on Sam Fender and on Phoebe were obviously spot on, but a lot of that is just a combination of management, agent and promoter reading the room, and understanding what’s going on right now and who’s connecting in a big way,” Tilley tells IQ. “But equally, there have been some things that haven’t performed. I don’t want to name names, but there are a few things have taken us a little bit by surprise, so it’s very unpredictable.

“Breaking bands is always difficult, but there’s some stuff in the middle that is established but just hasn’t quite hit the sales levels you would have expected based on previous shows. The answer for that, in my opinion, is two things: there’s just too much stuff on generally this year so people are going to have to make choices based on what they’ve seen and what they’ve not seen already. And then if you had tickets in hand from the last two years, you may have been going out to see the things you’d got rescheduled tickets for, rather than buying a ticket for something else.

“Ever since Freedom Day last year, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Looking forward to ’23, I’m hoping that we’ll see a little bit more of a stabilisation and a return to a more regular cycle of gigs.”

“I don’t think it’s possible as a promoter to say you’re confident of anything, especially in post-Covid times”

Fender, who is booked by CAA’s Paul Wilson, will become the first Geordie artist to headline St James’ Park next June, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Sheeran in starring at the 55,000-cap stadium.

“I don’t think it’s possible as a promoter to say you’re confident of anything, especially in post-Covid times, but you look at the metrics and have a gut feeling,” notes Tilley. “The best phrase I can come up with is you hope for the best and plan for the worst and I apply that logic to virtually everything I do.

“If we’d have only sold out one night, it wouldn’t have been a problem, that would still have been amazing, but it went like nobody’s business. In fact, the demand for the second show didn’t appear to slow down at all from the first show, so it’s a strength of just how big Sam Fender is right now.”

For Newcastle-born Tilley, who first worked with Fender in 2014 and took over as his North East promoter last year, the shows have added personal significance.

“Because my Geordie accent is virtually non existent, not a lot of people realise I was born and raised in the North East and left when I was 18,” he laughs. “And I’m a lifelong Newcastle United supporter, so to get to put Sam on at St James’ Park – to use a football analogy – is Roy Of The Rovers stuff for me.”

“The shows were spectacular and the ticket sales were off the charts”

Tilley also details the process that saw Phoebe Bridgers’ initial one night Brixton Academy date in July morph into a four-night residency.

“We had a feeling that she’d got extremely big during the pandemic, but because she hadn’t done a London show for so long it involved educated guesses about where are we at,” explains Tilley. “Josh Javor from X-ray Touring and I agreed that it was definitely a Brixton and we wanted to hold the option on a second night.

“As we were setting it up, Brixton said, ‘You know you can hold an option on a third if you like?’ So we said, ‘Go on then, hold it, just in case.’ And then we went on sale and sold out the three effortlessly. I then got a call off Brixton going, ‘Are you aware the Friday’s free?’ So quick phone call to Josh and the next thing you knew we were setting up a fourth show. We put it on sale and it sold out in an hour.”

Tilley also resumed his longstanding association with Ed Sheeran on the UK leg of the singer-songwriter’s + – = ÷ x (Mathematics) stadium run earlier this year, staged by Kili, FKP Scorpio UK and AEG Presents.

“The shows were spectacular and the ticket sales were off the charts,” says Tilley. “The gigs were in the round, so the capacities were much bigger than any end-on configuration, which allowed us to sell more tickets and get more people in to see Ed live. I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house; it was triumphant on every level.”

Tickets went on sale in late September 2021.

“We got in just before the change in the VAT rate from 5% to 12.5%,” remembers Tilley. “There was uncertainty, yes, but there was also confidence in the levels of business we could achieve by the summer of ’22 – whatever the autumn of ’21 threw at us. We did a Saturday onsale again and it again proved to be very, very successful. We were rolling into multiple nights everywhere.”

London-based Kili has a busy and varied slate of concerts coming up by acts such as Don Broco, Cat Burns, The Snuts, Hans Zimmer, Sea Girls and Stromae, who headlines the 12,500-cap OVO Arena Wembley in London next May.

“It’s an extremely competitive market to operate in and it doesn’t get any easier,” adds Tilley. “But we just maintain our focus on trying to be the best at what we do and give our artists a really good service. We know we’re not going to win everything, but we try and do a great job on stuff that we have got and I’m proud of the team that Stuart [Galbraith, CEO] and I have working with us. The one thing I can say about this place is that everyone who works here really gives a shit.”

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Event Production Show returns at full scale

Live events industry conference and exhibition, the Event Production Show (EPS) is set to return to its usual venue and at full-scale on 8-9 March 2022 at ExCel London, having successfully run with substantial Covid-19 mitigations measures in place in May 2021.

Produced in partnership with Access All Areas (AAA), the EPS conference will feature some of the most senior decision makers in the industry, including London Marathon Events director Hugh Brasher, Ed Sheeran promoter Steve Tilley, Wimbledon Championships operations director Michele Dite and Notting Hill Carnival director Matthew Phillip.

Among the topics to be tackled at the conference will be the future of events, supply chain challenges, diversity, female safety at events, insurance, security, and two sessions focusing on sustainability that will be delivered in partnership with environmental action group Vision: 2025.

Unique in the UK events industry in combining a two-day conference with a dedicated live events industry exhibition, EPS will showcase cutting-edge event production services and products. EPS owner Mash Media said 115 major event supplier companies will exhibit their services and products at the event.

Among the new additions to EPS will be The Fanzone. Aimed at organisers of large scale sporting events; The FanZone will showcase activations, products and services that can be brought to life within fan zone areas at events. The area will also be used as a networking hub during EPS.

“We knew to be able to stand side-by-side with you, we had to deliver a live event”

The event, which is free to attend for industry professionals, will be the first full scale EPS since the pandemic struct. During the height of lockdown, EPS and AAA partnered to deliver a series of 10 webinars supporting and educating more than 5,000 of the event production community.

EPS director Duncan Siegle said that while the webinars proved popular and informative, there was always a determination to deliver a live event in whatever way possible under Covid-safe guidelines.

“We knew to be able to stand side-by-side with you, we had to deliver a live event,” he said. “We had seven date moves, two venue changes, a move from outside to indoors, but regardless we put on the show, in-person, for the industry.

“We’ve spent the last six months getting ready to deliver the best edition of the EPS yet. As events professionals from across the sector prepare for what is shaping up to be an events season like no other, EPS is a knowledge gathering and networking opportunity not to be missed.’’

Registration for the show is now open, free tickets are available here. There are a few stands available, and any companies wanting to participate with the event is encouraged to contact event manager Joanne Knowles at [email protected].

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Form: Rockfeedback and One Inch Badge merge

Leading independent UK promoters Rockfeedback and One Inch Badge have announced their merger, creating a new joint venture, Form, with backing from Kilimanjaro Live.

The combined company will produce and promote more than 600 shows across the UK annually. The Rockfeedback (RFB) and One Inch Badge (OIB) brands will continue in their home markets of London and Brighton, respectively, while shows outside those cities will be branded Form Presents.

Kilimanjaro Live – a national promoter majority owned by Germany’s DEAG – joins as a third partner, lending its administrative and infrastructural support while remaining a separate entity.

Form’s combined live roster includes the likes of Flume, Father John Misty, the War on Drugs, Kate Tempest, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Bonobo, Johnny Flynn, Fontaines DC, Future Islands, Marika Hackman, Dream Wife and Kurt Vile, while OIB and RFB will continue to collaborate on non-music events and programming for brand clients. (Previous co-productions include book launches and comedy events for Akala, Neil Tennant, Beastie Boys and Kim Gordon and ‘in conversation’ events with Jon Ronson and Making a Murderer.)

“Following on from years of successful collaboration with Alex and all at OIB, we’re delighted to have found a great, natural way to bring our brands together, while creating something that feels new and different,” say RFB directors Dan Monsell and Toby L in a joint statement.

“We’re hugely excited about looking to further enhance the way we work with fantastic performers and servicing their fans as best as possible, for what we believe to be the next generation of classic and vital acts.”

“Following on from years of successful collaboration … we’re delighted to have found a great, natural way to bring our brands together”

Kilimanjaro director Steve Tilley tells IQ the company has taken a stake in Form, and will act as an advisory to the business, lending its support and experience as the new entity grows.

“There’s quite a lot of synergy for Kilimanjaro, as we’re very conscious of the independent promoters,” Tilley explains. “We’re here to help grow what RFB and OIB have done up to this point – and the FORM set-up scales that up really nicely. We’re very excited to be involved.’’

“We’re delighted to launch Form, a new live music and multi-disciplinary arts company that strives to set the path for a more considered and progressive touring opportunity through innovation, curation and new media marketing,” comments OIB director Alex Murray.

“After a decade working as a proudly independent company One Inch Badge are excited to be part of Form with long-term friends and collaborators, Rockfeedback and Kilimanjaro.”

“I’ve known Dan, Alex and Toby for several years and when they first raised the idea of joining forces and inviting Kilimanjaro to become part of their long-term plan, it was a complete no-brainer to me,” adds Tilley. “Dan, Toby and Alex are brilliant, creative and entrepreneurial promoters and Kilimanjaro is very excited to help them build and grow their business and careers.”

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My breakthrough moment: Industry pros on their career turning points

Hard work, knowing the right people and a slice of good luck can all play a part in getting a proper footing on the career ladder.

In the first of new series of articles, IQ puts four industry figures in the spotlight by asking them to share the stories of their breakthrough moments…

Joe Schavion, Live Nation
The turning point for me was getting an email out of the blue from a guy called Nick Dewey who was looking for someone to join his festival booking team. It wasn’t a name I’d heard before, so I called up Laura Taylor of Everybody’s Management asking: “Who is he?” She said: “It’s Emily Eavis’s husband.” It was Nick from the festival I grew up idolising.

I remember the date very clearly, as it was 1 April, so I thought it might be a wind-up, but I went to meet Nick and began helping out on bookings for Glastonbury, which was amazing. That experience led to agents taking me more seriously and national promoters getting in touch, including Sam Bush from Global.

Sam and I instantly hit it off and worked together for a couple of years before both being offered the opportunity to join Live Nation [in 2017]. I now find myself in the room where the biggest tours in the world – Drake, Taylor Swift, Guns N’ Roses – are being discussed and I’m learning so much all the time. The infrastructure is in place around me – now I just need to become the biggest and best promoter I can be.

I remember the date very clearly, as it was 1 April, so I thought it might be a wind-up

Kim Bloem, Mojo Concerts
When I started as a booker of mostly jazz shows in 2001, there was one artist that I could not imagine ever promoting: Prince. Being a huge fan and just starting as a booker, doing so was completely out of my league, and I thought that if I did ever do it, I would then quit my job, as it would have been the highest achievement possible.

Jazz and related music then became more widely supported by the general public through the likes of Norah Jones, Jamie Cullum, Michael Bublé and John Legend. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right moment. I had picked up on these artists and suddenly I was going to promote them for bigger audiences than I was used to, and the idea of being a part of what made an artist’s career fly made me feel like I was really contributing to something; it was the first time I ordered champagne and flowers for the dressing rooms!

In 2004, Norah Jones sold out two Heineken Music Hall (HMH) shows. This was when the bosses at Mojo asked me to become a promoter and book bigger shows, which was a turning point in my career.

A year later, Jamie Cullum became the new, crazy jazz kid in town and was immensely popular, selling three HMHs, while Bublé started selling a lot of tickets and went from theatre-level to the football stadium GelreDome [41,000-cap.]. John Legend sold from HMH level to 18,000 tickets in a field, and Jason Mraz did the same, all beyond expectation. And then, in 2010, I received a call asking me to put on a show with Prince in a stadium, within two weeks – a dream come true!

But, as I had become addicted to this business, I’m still here, and celebrating every show that gets confirmed, big or small.

I was introduced to band members as I was flyering the queue myself. No doubt that made some kind of impression!

Steve Tilley, Kilimanjaro Live
I was new at Kilimanjaro in August 2008, and the enormity of the challenge to build a roster weighed heavily. I felt I had my work cut out to compete on the national level.

I saw Frightened Rabbit go first on at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in early October and knew they had a bright future! It was just a hunch but I enthusiastically told their then-agent Jess that a headline Scala [800-cap.] show would be a no-brainer. As a fan, I knew that the Midnight Organ Fight was going to clean up in the end-of-year album polls.

Jess was overjoyed to hear my suggestion, because rival promoters for the artist were not showing the same ambition. By late November, my first-ever Scala show was confirmed for the following April. Frightened Rabbit were already booked to open for Biffy Clyro at their December 2008 Brixton Academy show and I was introduced to band members as I was flyering the queue myself. No doubt that made some kind of impression!

The Scala sold out, and on the night Steve Strange turned up, as he had just taken on the band. He assured me I was still the guy to promote the band in London (and elsewhere) and a little bit more of me started to really believe I could make it as a national promoter.

When Scott Hutchison passed away last year, it was just over nine years since the Scala show. His death happened right on the eve of my huge outdoor gigs with Ed Sheeran, so I had to deal with the tragedy of a lost friend while also trying to celebrate a personal career milestone that in 2008 seemed like a world inhabited by others. Talk about mixed emotions.

2018, therefore, became my tribute to Scott, because the belief he and his band showed in me was something that gave me even more belief in myself. I wish, like many others, that I could bring him back. He was loved by so many. So, thank you, Scott (and Grant, Billy and Andy).

I found myself fresh out of uni sharing the stage with then-MD of Live Nation, Stuart Galbraith

Claire O’Neill, A Greener Festival
After studying music industry management at BCUC (interspersed with psychedelic adventures of cosmic exploration in the woods and across mainland Europe) in 2005, I decided my dissertation title would be Should UK Music Festivals Implement Environmentally Friendly Practices?. The reasoning: there was a staggering disparity between how major festivals were being operated, and what was both possible and necessary for the industry to be greener.

There was no way the ‘big boys’ were going to be swayed to change business as usual by rave-culture, revolution rhetoric alone. I needed a strategy! This strategy was to show that paying audiences wanted greener festivals, and to give clear examples of how this was possible.

Regardless of the content and the intent, dissertations are destined to gather dust in a draw for eternity. Or so I thought. Luckily for me, my intellectual property and contract law lecturer, Ben Challis, kindly read my dissertation, as I sought his sagely critique from his years of work with Glastonbury Festival, Yourope and the live music industry in general. It was thanks to Ben that our dear friend and my classmate, Luke Westbury, turned the findings of the dissertation into a website: Agreenerfestival.com. Festivals started calling.

Ben also suggested to ILMC (I think ILMC 18 or 19) that I should present my research. I found myself fresh out of uni giving my first presentation and panel discussion with a packed room of ILMC delegates, sharing the stage with then-MD of Live Nation, Stuart Galbraith, and someone from the aviation industry who provides private jets for artists, with Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn in the front row. It was a baptism of fire for which I am very grateful.

Twelve or so years later, and A Greener Festival has assessed and certified circa 500 festivals worldwide including heavyweights like Glastonbury and Roskilde Festival, organised the Green Events & Innovations Conference (now in its 11th year) alongside ILMC, and trained over 100 sustainability managers and assessors from 15+ countries.

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