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Artists and managers back calls for UK ticket levy

Artists and managers have backed the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) calls for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000-cap.

Music Managers Forum vice-chair Kwame Kwaten and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) CEO David Martin both expressed their support for the proposal during evidence sessions held in parliament today by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to explore the ongoing crisis in the grassroots music sector.

Back in January, the MVT revealed in its annual report that 2023 was the worst year for UK venue closures since its launch a decade ago, with 125 venues closing their doors – a rate of two per week – and 38% of members reporting a loss.

“The first impact we need to recognise is that is 125 communities that have lost access to live music on their doorstep, and the impact on those communities… is very traumatic,” said Davyd. “In terms of the short term economic impact, those 125 venues will have provided 16% of all the performance opportunities in the UK. About 4,000 jobs have come under threat or have been lost.

“Our proposal in the UK is £1 per ticket for arena and stadium shows that would create a sustainable fund that could be administered by ourselves, by other people concerned for promoters, for artists, and create a fund where everybody can go so they can take risks with their programming and really give artists the first step on the ladder they need.”

A proposed levy could take three forms. A statutory levy imposed by government, an industry-mandated levy on all qualifying shows (which LIVE CEO Jon Collins pointed out might fall afoul of competition law) or a voluntary levy adopted by different artists, venues or promoters.

Industry umbrella trade body LIVE is in the process of establishing a LIVE Trust as a mechanism to distribute funds to the grassroots sector, and while the concept has been lobbied for – and brought to the attention of government – by Music Venue Trust, today’s hearing saw promoters, artists and managers also stake a claim to any potential funds filtering back to the grassroots sector.

“All of my members will tell you one of their biggest concerns, frankly, is the artists cannot afford to tour,” Davyd said. “It’s not just the venues aren’t there to play in, it’s also the venues are standing empty when they could be putting on bands, because bands cannot afford to put on the show.”

“You don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham”

Ferocious Management MD Kwame hailed the ticket levy proposal as a “great initiative”.

“We do support that,” he said. “This whole thing about supporting the level of one person in a show up to 1,000 is absolutely crucial, because you don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham, unless he played the Queen of Hoxton with iluvlive promoting. Unless artists and managers are supported from zero to 1,000-people venues, you won’t reach that level.”

Martin said he was open-minded about the idea, which he described as a “relatively complex topic”.

“It would need to be on top of the ticket fee,” he argued. “It can’t be a downward pressure on artists or a voluntary thing, where you have some artists – potentially British artists – saying, ‘Yes, we’re very happy with the levy.’ And then you’ve got foreign artists coming to the UK saying, ‘We’re not prepared to do this.’ It creates an uneven playing field.

“With the right will, government could really help the industry coalesce about how a levy would be collected and distributed.”

But while the FAC was in favour of government intervention in a levy, John Drury, National Arenas Association chair and VP and general manager of OVO Arena Wembley, was less enthusiastic.

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us – given many of our venues are managed on behalf of private landlords, city councils charitable trusts – would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it is quite significant,” he pointed out. “Or angle is more that this is a problem for the industry as a whole and it goes right through the live level to artists, managers, agents, promoters, venues and anybody else associated with that system. We’re all very interdependent.”

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us… would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it’s quite significant”

Kilimanjaro Live boss and Concert Promoters Association vice chair Stuart Galbraith also spoke in favour of a voluntary levy and cited Enter Shikari’s efforts to donate £1 from their 2024 UK tour to grassroots music venues via the MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund.

“I think it’s realistic to expect that within the larger music industry, any sort of charge is not going to be absorbed by the industry it will get passed on to the customer,” he said. “If you place it outside the ticket, and if the charitable trust had charitable status, there would be no VAT deduction, there would be no PRS deduction, there would be no venue share and 100% of that money would reach the actual targets.”

The hearings were marked by clear divisions across the various sectors of the business, although all participants agreed that UK government should reduce VAT on concert tickets to something in line with many other European markets, such as the 5.5% rate paid in France. An idea which committee MPs said HM Treasury was highly unlikely to adopt.

On a proposed VAT cut, the position of industry umbrella trade body LIVE was at odds with its members: A blanket 5% VAT rate on tickets has been a principle manifesto point of LIVE for several years, while Drury told MPs that arenas “didn’t need” the rate cut, and Galbraith said a reduction should only be in venues up to 1,000-capacity. Davyd, meanwhile, said that a VAT cut for small venues “still wouldn’t make grassroots venues sustainable”.

“The single biggest change the committee could recommend to make grassroots venues and the ecosystem viable would be that of VAT”

“The VAT cut during a pandemic literally made the difference between us being able to promote shows or not promote shows,” said Galbraith. “The 20% tax burden versus 5% literally meant that we could do 100 more shows that year as we came out of pandemic and we now look at those shows, and they are just not viable. They never reach past the spreadsheet.”

Anna Moulson of the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP) agreed: “Five percent [VAT rate] over lockdown was so welcome with our members because it meant that we could break even which meant we could cover costs and actually make money, which is very surprising on the grassroots level. Some of our members are now turning down grassroots shows in order that they can be below the threshold of having to be VAT registered, so that means less artists will be taken on by promoters and developed by them.”

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career”

In response to a comment that some artists were breaking online and performing at arenas without having toured through grassroots venues, Davyd said there had been a “remarkable turnaround” over the past two to three years.

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career,” he said. “It’s a big thing in our sector for people to now be going out on tour, having jumped forward and then realised, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t have the deep connection with my fans that I get from being in a room with 250 other people.'”

Other topics discussed during the hearing included PRS fees in small venues, with both Moulson and Davyd arguing that much of the fees collected go into a “black box” of unattributed income which is then passed to artists with the most airplay annually. “It’s a reverse Robin Hood effect where income from small venues is going back to the biggest artists”, said Davyd.

PRS for Music’s Gavin Larkins also outlined that a Tariff LP review was due to begin after the summer with a target date of being concluded by Q2 2025.

While there was consensus that the UK grassroots scene was in dire need of intervention, the precise mechanism for that support remains a divisive topic. With artists and managers also now backing the call for a levy, the findings of today’s hearings – due to be published in April – will likely see a strong recommendation for more support for the grassroots sector from the larger venues and operators in the UK. The recommendation is even more likely given that it would reduce or remove the need for the UK Government to act itself in supporting the grassroots sector.

 


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Kili parent KMJ Entertainment acquires ShowPlanr

Kilimanjaro Live’s umbrella company KMJ Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in live promoter and producer ShowPlanr.

The deal will increase DEAG-owned KMJ’s entertainment output and add 250,000 tickets to its inventory as it works alongside the group’s theatre brand, Flying Music.

Formed as MRC Presents in 2010, ShowPlanr has grown to be one of the leading independent event promoters in the UK, working with theatres, concert halls, arenas and open air venues to produce and promote hundreds of live experiences.

“Our goal is to always deliver the absolute best shows across UK performance stages, and joining forces with ShowPlanr is a smart way to evolve and improve, to give the best possible experiences for our audiences,” says KMJ Entertainment, CEO Stuart Galbraith. “We’re delighted to welcome ShowPlanr to the KMJ Entertainment family, and are excited for what the future holds.”

ShowPlanr’s touring shows and co-promotions include London Symphonic Rock Orchestra, Michael Starring Ben, Killer Queen, Dreamboys, Rhythm of the Dance, Psychic Sally, ELO Again, Bowie Experience, Beyond the Barricade, Daniel O’Donnell, Waterloo A Tribute to Abba, Country Superstars, Forbidden Nights, Defying Gravity, Tiny Dancer The Music of Elton John, Back Into Hell, The Rolling Stones Story, Jive Talkin’, The Roy Orbison Story, The Chicago Blues Brothers and Uptown Joel.

This year, ShowPlanr will also present reimagined productions of Flying Music’s The Rat Pack Live In Concert and Dancing In The Streets. Meanwhile, its consumer listings site showplanr.com offers a bespoke event management, sales forecasting and reporting system behind the scenes – with plans to introduce ticketing fulfilment in the coming months.

“KMJ and DEAG are strongly aligned with ShowPlanr’s own values and I look forward to this exciting new chapter”

“I’m delighted to be joining forces with DEAG and the KMJ family,” says ShowPlanr founder Chris Jenkins. “The opportunities that this partnership will unlock for the ShowPlanr team, our performers, crew and partners in the UK and internationally are incredibly exciting.

“Following a successful recovery post-Covid we’ve enjoyed record ticket sales and in 2024 we have launched more new tours than ever before; becoming part of KMJ and DEAG will allow us to build on this success and accelerate some really exciting new projects in collaboration with other companies across the group.

“Most importantly KMJ and DEAG are strongly aligned with ShowPlanr’s own values and I look forward to this exciting new chapter as we continue with our mission to elevate the population’s happiness through live experiences.”

UK promoter Kilimanjaro Live launched KMJ last month to support its “major expansion”. The company’s 16 live entertainment brands now operate under the new umbrella company, delivering a wide range of events, including music tours, in-conversation shows, theatrical productions, comedy, and family attractions.

The group also has its own ticketing platforms and owns and operates the Arches at London Bridge exhibition and event space in central London.

 


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Kilimanjaro Live trio hold court at Futures Forum

The team behind DEAG-owned UK promoter Kilimanjaro Live offered a few pearls of wisdom to the next generation in a keynote interview at Futures Forum.

The conference for young and emerging live music executives returned to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Friday (1 March) to conclude the 2024 International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

The FF programme spanned the agency business, artist development, sustainability, the evolution of festivals and more, with speakers including Connie Shao (AEG Presents), Beckie Sugden (CAA), Louisa Robinson (FORM), Caroline Simionescu-Marin (WME), Lottie Bradshaw (TEG Live Europe), Sally Dunstone (Primary Talent) and Jess Kinn (One Fiinix Live).

Rounding off the event, three of Kilimanjaro Live’s principals – Stuart Galbraith, San Phillips and Alan Day – were quizzed by IQ‘s Lisa Henderson about building a modern music company, what they’ve learned on the journey, and how they see both their company and the broader business developing.

Formed in 2008, the London-based firm currently works with artists including Simply Red, Ed Sheeran, Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Stereophonics and Don Broco. Here is a selection of key talking points from the session…

“The ability to make a living out of music is getting more and more difficult”

Diversifying the business…
Stuart Galbraith:
“The ability to make a living out of music is getting more and more difficult. As a promoter, the risk versus return ratio is atrocious. If you talk to accountants who come into audit our books, they look at you as if you’re mad: ‘You risk this much money to make this much money?’ And if you look at us as a margin business by comparison to any other sector, it just doesn’t make sense – particularly as the world has become smaller and global deals are coming to play, those margins are even more tight.

“So we’ve deliberately in the last seven years diversified [into] more businesses where there is a better market. There is less risk. And it enables us to then justify running a concert promoting business that, to be quite frank, as a standalone business is suspect. However, the fact that you can send an email and say that we promote Ed Sheeran, or we promoted Live 8, or we work with Andrea Bocelli, opens so many doors, and it’s still a very, very crucial part of our business.”

Artist development…
Alan Day: “Some of our biggest acts we met at the very bottom. One of our colleagues, Steve Tilley, met Ed Sheeran supporting Just Jack at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.”

SG: “Which lost £3,500.”

AD: “Sabaton, the metal band, I met at South by Southwest. There were 40 people there [and I] gave them my number. Their first show I did in London was at the Garage, then Electric Ballroom, then Koko… While She Sleeps played Ally Pally recently, first gig Borderline. Don Broco, I met in a bar at a festival where they were playing to 50 people and now we’re in arenas. So that’s how we get there from the get-go.”

“It’s a way of life rather than just a nine-to-five job, seven days a week”

Work-life balance…
San Phillips: “Something that I say to people new to the industry and to the company is that gigs happen at the evenings and weekends. So maybe what do you want when you’re 20, aren’t things you want to be doing when you’re 40, so be mindful of the kind of goals that you want in life. We do what we need to do to get it done. But we love going to gigs. We go to a lot together and that’s what it’s about. You’re not going to necessarily work regular hours, and obviously when you’re launching something, of course it’s time consuming. I’m not going to lie about that. You can’t teach people stamina and I think stamina is one of the things that you really need.”

SG: “Promoting was one of the few jobs where quite literally the more hours you put in, the more successful you’re potentially going to be. And if you look at Alan or Steve, it’s a way of life rather than just a nine-to-five job seven days a week. And if you’re going to go on holiday, the manager still wants to talk to you.”

Challenges for the year ahead…
AD: “Rising costs – from PAs, to security, to crews, riggers, trucking…”

SG: “As a promoter we’re invariably a function of the bottom line, we’re a percentage of what’s left. And those rising costs are unfortunately, as we predicted during Covid, being met by increased ticket prices. So we’re seeing huge escalation in ticket prices that are way beyond anything that we would have expected two years ago. That’s fine if we’re on an indoor tour where we’re working in a finite environment, but when you then come to outdoors and you’ve booked either festivals or small outdoor shows, it becomes very, very scary.

“We run the festival in Scotland called Belladrum, which is now Scotland’s biggest camping festival and our costs at Belladrum in three years have increased by a million pounds. And I just can’t put the ticket price up to match that. With Belladrum, we’ve been able to get a margin increase in capacity, which has helped offset that cost, but we’re having to accept that that festival now can’t be as profitable as it used to be.”

“If we had a discussion, we probably would have avoided making the biggest mistake in Kili’s history”

Biggest career lesson…
SG: “I think our biggest lesson was making sure that within your opinion, because it can be absolutely crucial. When we took Kili private in 2012, within a week, we launched Sonisphere at Knebworth. Within three days, it became very evident that we’d made a huge mistake, and when we took a final decision to cancel it, Alan came up with the line which was, ‘I knew it wouldn’t work. I didn’t think it was a good idea.’

“From that day on, we said, ‘Well, if you have an opinion, then you must express it – particularly in a team environment, because Alan’s viewpoint was absolutely correct. And if we had had a discussion, then we probably would have avoided making what was then the biggest mistake in Kili’s history.

“It was a mistake because we were ahead of our time because we booked Queen with Adam Lambert as the lead singer and Queen fans had not embraced Adam Lambert at that point in time. Now, Queen sell more tickets with Adam Lambert as the lead singer that they used to with Freddie Mercury. But in that particular year, no one wanted to buy the tickets – and Alan knew that.”

SP: “Everybody gets their voice heard. Anybody can come up to you, whatever their position in the company, and say, ‘Oh no, what were you doing that for? Why haven’t we chosen to do this?’ And they’re not told off… Everybody in the company is a [music] fan, and we encourage them to say things.”

 


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Team Kilimanjaro Live for Futures Forum keynote

Futures Forum has announced a keynote interview with the team behind Kilimanjaro Live, one of the most successful live music promoters in the UK.

The conference for young and emerging live music executives will return to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Friday 1 March 2024 as part of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

For the final session of the day, three of Kilimanjaro Live’s principals  – Stuart Galbraith, San Phillips and Alan Day – will take to the stage to discuss building a modern music company, what they’ve learned on the journey, and how they see both their company and the broader business developing.

Formed in 2008, the London-based firm currently works with artists including Simply Red, Ed Sheeran, Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Stereophonics and Don Broco.

Three of Kilimanjaro Live’s principals will take to the stage to discuss building a modern music company

With the Kili team now setting the bar in comedy, spoken word, theatre and exhibitions, the company’s growth and development have been seismic.

Just yesterday (22 February), the firm launched a new parent company to support its “major expansion”. The company’s 16 live entertainment brands will now operate under the new umbrella company KMJ Entertainment, owned by parent group DEAG.

News of the keynote comes days after Futures Forum unveiled the full speaker lineup for panels, which will span the agency business, artist development, sustainability, the evolution of festivals and more.

Speakers include Connie Shao (AEG Presents), Beckie Sugden (CAA), Maddie Arnold (Live Nation), Louisa Robinson (FORM), Caroline Simionescu-Marin (WME), Lottie Bradshaw (TEG Live Europe), Sally Dunstone (Primary Talent) and Jess Kinn (One Fiinix Live).

Limited passes are available for Futures Forum for just £125+VAT, which includes all of the above, a five-star lunch, refreshments, drinks, and networking opportunities. For more information or to purchase passes, click here.

 


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Kilimanjaro Live launches new parent company

UK promoter Kilimanjaro Live has launched a new parent company to support its “major expansion”.

The company’s 16 live entertainment brands will now operate under the new umbrella company KMJ Entertainment, owned by parent group DEAG.

KMJ companies deliver a wide range of events, including music tours, in-conversation shows, theatrical productions, comedy, and family attractions.

The group also has its own ticketing platforms and owns and operates the Arches at London Bridge exhibition and event space in central London.

The establishment of KMJ Entertainment will allow its brands to continue to reach new heights, according to a release.

“Expansion became a natural and healthy evolution for Kilimanjaro Live”

The news comes after a prolonged period of rapid growth for Kilimanjaro Live in the entertainment sector following the pandemic and expansion into new ventures such as ticketing, festivals, spoken word, immersive experiences and theatrical.

Stuart Galbraith, CEO of KMJ Entertainment, says: “Expansion became a natural and healthy evolution for Kilimanjaro Live as we stepped out of the pandemic and into a new landscape of live entertainment.

“Kilimanjaro Live was originally formed to provide the best live rock and pop entertainment across the UK, but as a group, we’ve now expanded into new areas and needed an umbrella name that represents and supports our growing family of companies across the live entertainment world. I’m very proud to see our evolution into KMJ Entertainment, with the support of our parent company, DEAG.”

Brands that will now operate under KMJ Entertainment are live music promoters Kilimanjaro Live, Regular Music, FORM and Singular Artists; spoken word producers Fane and How To Academy; theatrical companies Flying Music and JAS Theatricals; ticket companies Gigantic, Myticket and Tickets.ie; festivals Belladrum Tartan Heart, Let’s Rock and Pennfest; exhibition venue Arches London Bridge and production company Kontour.

KMJ’s brands operate across the UK, Ireland and beyond and sell four million tickets per year.

 


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Kilimanjaro elevates Alan Day, hires new promoter

Kilimanjaro Live stalwart Alan Day has been appointed a director at the company.

The rock music specialist joined the award-winning promoter in 2008 and works with artists including Don Broco, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Steve Hackett, UB40 feat Ali Campbell, Erasure, Babymetal, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Sabaton, Suzanne Vega, Bullet For My Valentine, While She Sleeps and The Cult.

In addition, Kili has strengthened its live music division by hiring Josh Casey as a promoter. Casey, who joins from Robomagic, founded J-Bone Collective in Scotland and also had a spell with DF Concerts/Live Nation.

Bringing eight years of promoting experience to the Kili team, Casey has staged concerts by the likes of Skepta, Giggs, Bugzy Malone, AJ Tracey and Tion Wayne, and will be based in the company’s London office.

“These are exciting times for Kilimanjaro Live, and we’re reflecting that with the expansion of our team”

“These are exciting times for Kilimanjaro Live, and we’re reflecting that with the expansion of our team,” says Kili CEO Stuart Galbraith. “As an instrumental member of the Kilimanjaro Live promoter team for the past two decades, Alan has been integral to the growth of the company, both in terms of his live tours, and his expertise within Kilimanjaro Live as we continue to navigate the ever-changing landscape of live entertainment.

“We are delighted that Alan has agreed to become a director here at Kilimanjaro Live, and we are excited as a group for the opportunities of expansion that this will bring. We also welcome Josh Casey from Robomagic. Josh brings an exciting new area of live music to Kilimanjaro and we are looking forward to seeing where his expertise plus our experience can go.”

DEAG subsidiary Kili announced the opening of a new office in Wales earlier this month, headed by former Orchard Live boss Pablo Janczur.

 


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Kilimanjaro Live to open new Wales office

UK promoter Kilimanjaro Live has announced the opening of a new office in Wales, headed by former Orchard Live boss Pablo Janczur.

The Welsh division aims to build on Kilimanjaro’s previous history in the country with bands and projects, such as Stereophonics, Wakestock, and shows with artists such as Ed Sheeran at venues including Cardiff Castle, Principality Stadium, Cardiff City Football Club, Morfa Stadium Swansea, Swansea Singleton Park and Wrexham Football Club.

“With over 20 years of experience in live entertainment across Wales, we’re very pleased to welcome Pablo into the Kilimanjaro Live fold,” says Kili CEO Stuart Galbraith. “His knowledge and energy within this sector is second to none, and to have him on board will bolster our live music offering across the country, linking in with Kilimanjaro Live in London, Regular Music in Scotland and Singular Artists in Northern Ireland and Eire.”

Kili’s parent company DEAG enhanced its UK activities by acquiring a majority stake in Scotland’s Regular Music last year, and previously launched Singular Artists in Ireland in 2020 with veteran promoters Fin O’Leary, Brian Hand and Simon Merriman.

“Our combined strengths in the indoor and outdoor sector has great potential for growth and innovation”

Janczur, who will serve as MD of the new Wales base and divide his time between Kili’s Welsh and London offices, adds: “I’m delighted to be Joining Kilimanjaro Live and bringing my experience and expertise in the Welsh market gained over the past 20-plus years.

“Our combined strengths in the indoor and outdoor sector has great potential for growth and innovation. I’m excited about the next chapter working alongside the team and contributing to further growth here.”

Orchard Live was Wales’ biggest independent concert promoter prior to it ceasing trading earlier this year. The company promoted shows with acts such as Queens of the Stone Age, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Diana Ross, George Ezra and Sam Fender.

“DEAG continues to grow successfully with Kilimanjaro,” says DEAG co-CEO Detlef Kornett. “With the opening of the new office in Wales, Kilimanjaro will be able to act more flexibly as a national promoter and better serve the needs of visitors in Wales. We expect to see significant growth from working with our other offices in the UK and beyond.

“We are delighted to welcome Pablo Janczur, an experienced professional with extensive know-how and a broad industry network, to the DEAG family as managing director of our Wales office.”

 


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‘The industry has well and truly bounced back’

“It’s a really interesting time,” says Steve Homer, CEO of AEG Presents UK, an understatement that’s echoed by several major promoters in one of Europe’s largest music markets. “There are some great sales and tours but still some acts out there, that would in previous times be performing much better, are struggling to gain any momentum. It results in a bit of a head scratch for promoters.”

A head scratch indeed. The UK has found itself facing a unique set of challenges and opportunities in 2022, some thrust upon it and others very much of its own making. On the plus side, as the initial post-pandemic downturn in ticket sales eases, there has been much for the major players to celebrate. Festival Republic, the country’s premier festival promoters, in charge of Latitude, Wireless, and others, comfortably sold out its flagship Reading & Leeds weekend in August. Glastonbury 2022, the first edition of the legendary event since 2019, was a storming, largely rain-free success. All genres have bounced firmly back from the pandemic, too – Homer, who has seen tickets fly off the web for tours by Michael Bublé, Diana Ross, Pet Shop Boys, and Blondie this year, points to Rammstein’s sell-out tour as “a triumph for rock music in a market where people are saying rock is a dying genre. It is so encouraging to see a rock act at the top of their game play sell-out stadium shows.”

Promoters, from the international level of Live Nation and SJM Concerts to the independent likes of Crosstown Concerts, have seen an incredibly busy year, as the post-pandemic backlog of artists wanting to tour has played out. “We are still playing catch up from the pandemic,” says Homer. “The displacement of artists touring over the past two years has skewed the market, and it’s going to take a while to get back to something that can be predicted in the same way, or as close to, as it was before.” He advises a cautious approach. “Taking a no-risk strategy for the next 12 months is a good starting point.”

“The live industry has well and truly bounced back this year and continues to work towards pre-pandemic business, making up for lost time”

Others have thrown themselves headlong into the challenge. In Scotland, DF Concerts had a record-breaking summer, with 33 major outdoor, stadium, or festival events bringing £72.4m into the Scottish economy between June and August, on top of the 1,000 smaller gigs they put on this year. “The live industry has well and truly bounced back this year and continues to work towards pre-pandemic business, making up for lost time,” says DF’s CEO Geoff Ellis. “We were involved in bringing some huge tours to Scotland this summer, including Harry Styles’ Love on Tour; Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour; The Hella Mega Tour with Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer; Billie Eilish; Haim; Liam Gallagher; and Calvin Harris all in Glasgow. And we are very proud to have promoted the biggest ever shows by a Scottish artist with two sold-out Hampden Stadium shows for Gerry Cinnamon this year.”

Ellis and DF take much personal satisfaction in the success of his two shows at Falkirk Stadium with The Killers, the first time the venue had been used for such large-scale gigs, and in the Coldplay tour, having worked with the band since they were playing 300-capacity venues including Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s back in 1999. He also lauds their commitment to environmentally friendly touring. “With Coldplay and Billie Eilish, in particular, it’s great to see everything come to life that they are so passionate about when it comes to making touring sustainable,” he says. “It was a real eye-opener and something that I hope more tours take into consideration going forward.”

At another major UK promotion company, Kilimanjaro, CEO Stuart Galbraith looks back on the company’s busiest year ever, with 750 shows on sale at one point. “To then deliver all of those one by one,” he says, “whether it was Craig David, whether it was Simply Red, whether it was Hans Zimmer in arenas, Bring Me The Horizon, just getting through the workload and a similar workload at theatre-level [was amazing]. This summer we had a tremendous return with Belladrum festival, Scotland’s biggest camping festival. We weren’t able to run in 2020 or 2021, so coming back in ‘22 was both challenging but hugely rewarding. Challenging because after not doing it for three years there were many things that were automatic that had been forgotten, but the reception by the audience and the satisfaction to the team at running a sold-out festival was just brilliant.”

“Brexit caused the problems we all knew it would”

Galbraith sees holding onto his team through the pandemic as just as great an achievement as the company’s musical revival. “Not having to lay anybody off during the pandemic,” he says, “we’re very pleased to have been able to keep the team together.” The effects of lockdown did ripple through into 2022, however. “We’ve seen the lasting effects of the pandemic through this summer,” he says. “We’ve got two or three tours left that are rescheduled or re-rescheduled twice, three times rescheduled, and other than that we’re now into new product. The summer had some huge successes but also had some huge challenges. But I’m hoping that we will see next summer be a much more normal marketplace.”

Kilimanjaro saw some form of normality begin to return with the arrival of a copper-topped hero. “One of the first tours that we had to play this summer that was not affected by Covid was Ed Sheeran,” Galbraith says. “We were able to go on sale with Ed in late September last year when there was a period of time where everybody thought that Covid was gone and then to be able to play that tour starting in May and running through to July, and in his case running through September in Europe, it placed itself perfectly, so people didn’t have any Covid effect to deal with.” He, too, repeats the UK promoter mantra for 2022: “It’s been an interesting year.”

Interesting due to its perfect storm of post-pandemic challenges. “Brexit caused the problems we all knew it would,” says Homer, referring to the much-publicised barriers to international touring for UK acts arising from Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. The additional visa, cabotage, and carnet issues have reportedly seen British artists’ international festival bookings fall by 45% since 2019 and increased costs to the point of making European tours unfeasible for smaller acts – Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith has claimed that Brexit is “strangling the next generation of UK talent in the cradle.” Likewise, international acts have been discouraged from playing the UK by the increased red tape.

“Exchange rates have created the real financial issues for artists”

At the same time, the UK has suffered the same increased production costs due to the Ukraine war-fuelled inflation and post-pandemic labour shortages in the industry that much of the rest of the world has. But they’ve been exacerbated by the government’s lack of support for – often freelance – music industry workers and musicians, and the local cost-of-living crisis being deepened by Liz Truss’s short-lived but disastrous tenure as PM. The collapse of the pound and the ensuing recession following Truss’s mini budget was swiftly followed by the cancellation of UK tours by the likes of Animal Collective, Santigold, and Sampa the Great, citing the economic impossibility of making them work.

“It’s hard to tell whether it’s Brexit, whether it’s a recession, or whether it’s war, but all of them have had a combined effect to make it harder for artists to be on the road,” says Galbraith. “We’re certainly seeing a difficulty at mid-level for international touring acts, especially American acts that we’re potentially paying in local currency but are incurring most of their costs in US dollars. With the exchange rate as it is, and then you add to it supply chain issues, increased costs, etc. You can see that it’s difficult for acts, and certainly we’ve lost some tours at that theatre-level where acts have just turned around to us and said, ‘we can’t afford to come.’ Equally, we’ve got other tours that we’ve been working on for a long time that were waiting to be confirmed that have just now disappeared, again because the global conditions don’t lend themselves to make financially viable touring possible. That’s not the case at stadium-level or to some extent arena-level where there’s obviously profits to be made, but certainly at survival touring-level, it’s very tough.”

“Exchange rates have created the real financial issues for artists,” says Homer. “The dollar rate is so poor currently [that] a lot of US artists are considering [not] touring in the UK and Europe – this could have a real impact on the mid-range to smaller artists.”

“The audiences are here, ready and waiting, and there is a really strong artist pipeline over the next couple of years”

Galbraith also raises concerns over potential power cut measures that the UK government is suggesting to combat the current energy crisis – “as is the case in Germany, I’m sure that most countries will not be prioritising entertainment locations for priority power supplies. Those will go first to hospitals and to domestic residences” – and that insurance policies won’t cover shows cancelled due to Covid.

“I think most people now approach Covid like any other disease, and flu is a good comparator,” he says. “If you’re too ill to sing or you’re too ill to perform, then fine, we lose the show. But just because you’re now testing positive doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily not going to go on. What it does mean, though, is that with every insurance policy having Covid as an exclusion, if somebody can’t sing because they’ve got a cough or a cold or similar symptoms, you’ve got to get a doctor’s note to prove whether they have Covid or not because the irony is, if they’ve got flu, we can claim on insurance, if they’ve got Covid, we can’t.” He does, however, see a silver lining to the UK’s problems in terms of increased demand for local festivals next year. “The pound being so weak in the international markets now, package holidays will be more
expensive,” he says, “so it could be that summer ‘23 becomes a staycation year.”

Indeed, the major UK promoters are all largely optimistic about the coming year. “2023 is looking similar in terms of the scale of shows that we are going to have,” says Ellis. “Already we’ve announced stadium shows with Harry Styles, and Mötley Crüe & Def Leppard; greenfield shows with Arctic Monkeys and Muse; plus TRNSMT and Connect Festival, with more outdoor shows to come. The audiences are here, ready and waiting, and there is a really strong artist pipeline over the next couple of years – there are so many young artists coming up in Scotland at the moment, such as Katie Gregson-MacLeod, Bemz, Cara McBride, Dylan John Thomas, Ewan McVicar, Frazi.er, and so many more, and the genre of music is very varied – from acoustic singer-songwriters; rap and hip-hop; indie, pop, and everything in between. So, it’s looking like we’ll be back stronger than ever in terms of the offering of live music and the number of artists on tour.”

“We’re seeing strong attendances at club nights, showcase nights, and on the pub circuit”

“Demand has come back fine at most levels, with the exception of the older-audience level,” says Galbraith. “Certainly, theatre, musical theatre, and classical [are] slower to come back than contemporary rock and pop. If you speak to any orchestra manager or sinfonia or symphonic hall, they’ll tell you that their attendances are anything between 20 and 30% down still. […] I think the strong [acts] will get stronger, and the weak will get weaker. As people head into what widely seems to be accepted as a recession, instead of going out three or four times in a year or a month, people will go out two or three times or once or twice, and they’ll go out to see their favourites. So, I think you’ll see many stadium tours and arena tours that will do great business, but you will see potentially less of them.”

And the key to breaking through in such an unpredictable climate? Galbraith cites a dedicated approach to digital marketing and good old-fashioned talent. “The best method is to just have good-quality music,” he says. “Quality will out. There are more and more routes to market and methods to find a customer base. We’re seeing strong attendances at club nights, showcase nights, and on the pub circuit. But I think it’s just to continue to write great music and, if you’re able to and you can afford to, then gig and build it that way.” Interesting times, it seems, are best embraced.

Rob Hallett’s Robomagic company went independent again after three years under Live Nation. The longstanding promoter has decades of experience in the industry, as an agent and promoter with Barrie Marshall’s Marshall Arts, Mean Fiddler, and then establishing AEG Live in the UK in 2005, before establishing Robomagic ten years later.

“At the moment, if you choose well, and you get your marketing right, things work well,” says Hallett. “I think the market still seems buoyant.

“I’m old enough to remember the last big recession, and we still got through it as an industry and people will still want to go to shows. People want to be entertained. So, I’m hopeful that we’ll get through this.”

 


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, click here.

UK promoters discuss impact of currency fluctuation

A number of UK promoters have spoken to IQ about the impact of currency fluctuation on international touring, as the pound sterling continues on a tumultuous trajectory.

The currency slumped to a two-week low against the dollar of $1.0954 on Tuesday morning (11 October), before rebounding less than 24 hours later. However, Goldman Sachs told Pound Sterling Live it expects the pound to continue to weaken due to “flawed fundamentals”.

Richard Buck, head of European touring and Middle East partnerships at TEG Europe, tells IQ that the declining rate is having “a significant impact on international touring”.

“Offers made in USD, if the currency is not pre-booked, may need to be adjusted or even pushed back,” he says. “Also for artists who are paid in pound sterling, it becomes less attractive to visit the market as their potential return can diminish by around 20% versus the original forecast.

“Anyone that is incurring costs in dollars and getting paid in sterling, in particular, is going to struggle”

“Any multi-territory deal that has been made in USD is now harder to sell into territories as the return is harder to achieve. However, those already sold into markets such as the Middle East where the primary artist currency is USD may benefit from the improved conversion.”

The pound fell to an all-time low of $1.03 last month in the wake of the government’s mini-budget, prompting AEG Presents UK chief Steve Homer to list the exchange rate as one of the promoter’s biggest concerns, while US artists including Animal Collective cancelled tours, in part, due to currency devaluation.

But as Kilimanjaro Live CEO Stuart Galbraith points out, dwindling currency is not an issue unique to the UK.

“The dollar is strong against most currencies in the world at the moment so it’s probably an issue in Europe generally,” he notes. “But anyone that is incurring costs in dollars and getting paid in sterling, in particular, is going to struggle.”

Galbraith says that even though a large proportion of Kilimanjaro’s business is domestic, the promoter is still seeing the effects of the pound-to-dollar slump.

“Acts from America are telling us that they cannot afford to tour in Europe. We’ve certainly lost a couple of isolated shows in the last three or four months and we had a couple of tours that we were about to go on sale with but we’ve now been told the artist isn’t coming to the continent.

“Some acts will have put together budgets earlier on in the year when they were expecting they’d get a $1.30/40 for every pound. If they’re now redoing those budgets on an almost parity basis then you can absolutely understand why they’re not able to balance the books and go through with the tour.”

“It comes down to whether a US artist is able to use crew and suppliers that are UK and Europe based”

Galbraith says there are two possible short-term solutions for American artists. The first is to incur as many costs as possible in local currency and minimise the exposure to dollar expenditure, and the second is to reduce the scale of the show and do it on a more cost-effective basis, he says.

“It comes down to whether a US artist is able to use crew and suppliers that are UK and Europe based, instead of bringing staff and equipment from the US – which is all going to be paid for in dollars – and incurring transatlantic flights which are now extremely expensive in comparison to pre-covid times,” he says.

While Galbraith believes cost-cutting measures could be the solution to bringing US artists to the UK, Homer is concerned it’ll come down to UK promoters to offer bigger fees.

“We were almost on parity, which has not been something we’ve been familiar with for a long, long time. And it’s really biting in terms of artists touring over here – it becomes far more expensive for them to do it and it’ll be interesting to see how that impacts going forward. It’s creating a few anxious thoughts as to whether we can afford to offer American artists what they need to come over, so it might mean we’re missing a few that we would normally see.”

 


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Stuart Galbraith, Oliver Hoppe join DEAG board

Germany’s Deutsche Entertainment (DEAG) has appointed Kilimanjaro Live’s Stuart Galbraith and Wizard Promotions’ Oliver Hoppe as divisional board members.

Galbraith becomes executive vice president of international touring, and is tasked with the development of the rock/pop/contemporary business within the DEAG Group and in DEAG’s national markets (Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Ireland and Denmark).

Hoppe, meanwhile, is named executive vice president of product and innovation, and is responsible for the further development of the overarching product acquisition and utilisation.

DEAG says the pair’s tasks will also include the further expansion of the live entertainment business and a stronger interlinking of the DEAG Group companies.

This includes the development of new channels for the evaluation of content as well as the further harmonisation of various distribution channels.

Hoppe and Galbraith will assist DEAG’s executive board with the implementation of M&A projects

In addition, Hoppe and Galbraith will assist DEAG’s executive board with the implementation of M&A projects and create further synergy effects in ticketing and artist acquisition.

Hoppe is managing director of the DEAG subsidiary Wizard Promotions, the main tour and concert promoter within the DEAG Group in Germany. In recent years, the company has organised concerts by Iron Maiden, Bryan Ferry, Zucchero, Papa Roach, KISS, Böhse Onkelz and den Scorpions, among other artists.

Wizard’s portfolio also includes artists like 50 Cent, Limp Bizkit and Jamie Cullum.

Galbraith is CEO of the British promoter Kilimanjaro Live. The DEAG subsidiary has significantly expanded its event portfolio in recent years to include areas such as the spoken word, comedy and sports, and is now one of the largest live entertainment promoters in the UK. Both Galbraith and Hoppe will remain active in these roles.

The executive board is completed by Jacqueline Zich (executive vice president classics & jazz and COO DEAG Classics AG) and Benedikt Alder (executive vice president legal affairs & business development).

 


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