A proposal to ban the resale of tickets at inflated prices is set to go before the Swedish parliament.

Unlike its Scandinavian neighbours Denmark and Norway, Sweden does not have legislation in place prohibiting resale above face value.

Former minister of culture Amanda Lind points to the existence of secondary ticketing laws in other markets and stresses the need for “tangible penalties” so that the regulation has an effect.

“It is completely absurd that this can continue, that various private companies can prey on people who just want to experience concerts and culture,” the Green Party member, who will present the plans to Sweden’s Riksdag [highest decision-making body] shortly, tells local media.

Trade body Svensk Live has backed the move, saying it has been a long time coming.

“Svensk Live has long worked through political contacts to achieve legislation regarding the secondary market”

“Svensk Live has long worked through political contacts to achieve legislation regarding the secondary market and we think it is positive that it is now up for decision in the Riksdag,” says the organisation.

Currently, promoters in Sweden are only required to highlight that tickets are only secure when sold by authorised sellers.

IQ provides an update on the success of various legislative initiatives around the planet here.

The UK government recently concluded its long-awaited consultation into the secondary market, with the UK live music industry coming out strongly in favour of a ticket resale cap.

Last week, it was revealed that a survey of 8,000 music fans in the UK found that the overwhelming majority of respondents are in favour of a price cap. The findings were shared as part of the Music Fans Voice (MFV) survey into the behaviours, perceptions, concerns, motivations and opinions of some of the UK’s concertgoers.

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Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based music investment firm behind ABBA Voyage, has raised over €1.2 billion for its debut fund.

The Stockholm-based company announced that Pophouse Fund I reached its hard cap, adding that it was “one of the largest first-time private equity funds to be raised in Europe in the last decade”.

In addition, Pophouse raised over €200m in secured capital through dedicated co-investment vehicles, “providing investors the opportunity to invest alongside the Fund and participate in select transactions”.

The Fund, which will acquire music catalogues and IP, is already approximately 30% deployed via artist partnerships with KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia.

Additional partnerships with “some of the world’s most recognisable and influential names in the global music industry” are also in the works.

Pophouse said it employs an “artist-centric” approach to investing by targeting three essential rights in music investment: publishing rights, recording rights, and NIL (name, image, and likeness) rights.

Beyond passive catalogue ownership, the firm says it focuses on creating value for its artists and investors through the application of acquired IPs.

“We are reshaping the entertainment industry”

It has launched immersive experiences such as ABBA Voyage, a concert featuring digital avatars of the Swedish pop group, and The Avicii Experience, a tribute to the late Swedish DJ.

Pophouse, founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and EQT founder Conni Jonsson, is led by CEO Per Sundin and chaired by Lennart Blecher, EQT’s head of real assets.

“Raising over €1.2bn for our debut fundraising is an extraordinary milestone that firmly establishes Pophouse as a global leader in music investment,” says Natalia Fontecha, partner and head of capital raising & investor relations.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our team’s dedication and diligence, and I extend our heartfelt gratitude to our investors for their trust and partnership. As we look ahead, we are committed to driving innovation and breaking creative and technological boundaries, redefining the entertainment landscape in this transformative era for music while delivering attractive uncorrelated returns for our investors.”

Conni Jonsson, co-founder of Pophouse, adds: “Facing unprecedented disruption caused by streaming and technology, music intellectual property presents a differentiated, lifetime opportunity for investors. We are reshaping the entertainment industry by applying an active, value-add approach that unlocks future generations for fandom.”

The ABBA Voyage concert series launched in May 2022 at the purpose-built 3,000-cap ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, under the direction of producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh.

Since its debut, the show has sold more than three million tickets and delivered a £1.4 billion (€1.7bn) boost to the UK economy.

Accounts filed by Aniara, the firm behind the virtual concert residency, previously revealed that ABBA Voyage grossed more than £100 million (€120m) in 2023 after attracting in excess of one million visitors. Standard tickets range from £27.50 to £319.50.

Last year, Pophouse acquired the song catalogue, plus name, image and likeness rights of KISS. The legendary rock band also partnered with the Swedish company on an avatar concert featuring digital versions of themselves, similar to ABBA Voyage.

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The traditional summer off-season for European arenas is becoming shorter as the demand for indoor shows extends almost year-round, venue bosses tell IQ.

Even with a stacked stadium and festival schedule, the continent’s top arenas have a busy schedule in store for June to July, welcoming tours by an array of international and domestic stars.

“We’ve been used to quieter summers for music, but the busy periods are busier than ever at the moment and are now moving into months that used to be quieter. There’s really only August that remains pretty quiet,” says John Drury, chair of the National Arenas Association (NAA), which brings together the UK and Ireland’s major arenas.

Drury is VP and GM of London’s 12,500-cap OVO Arena Wembley, which will host the likes of Billy Idol, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lara Fabian and Punjabi artist Gurdas Maan, as well as an Afrobeats Legends Concert, comedy and sporting events and family entertainment productions.

Meanwhile, Manchester’s Co-op Live (23,500) has 30 concerts in the books across the summer, including Billie Eilish, Massive Attack, Robbie Williams, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Iron Maiden, Olivia Rodrigo and Stevie Wonder.

“We’re certainly seeing more content on our stage during what would have previously been classed as the off-season”

“There’s a significant shift in touring schedules; everything from lead times to seasonal scheduling,” the SVP and general manager Guy Dunstan tells IQ. “We’re certainly seeing more content on our stage during what would have previously been classed as the off-season.”

Co-op Live, which opened last May, announced today (9 April) that it had secured both its biggest week for ticket sales and highest ticket sales in a single day to date – shifting 46,000 presale tickets for Lady Gaga, Chris Brown and The World of Hans Zimmer on 31 March, and 90,000 for the week in total.

“It’s clear there’s certainly a need for venues such as ours to remain flexible and adaptable, in line with global touring schedules,” adds Dunstan.

ASM Global’s Tobias Ekman, general manager of Sweden’s Avicii Arena (16,500), says that while it remains true that the summer is a quieter time for arenas, the window is “much shorter now”. The recently renovated Stockholm venue has June gigs with Tate McRae, André Rieu, Kylie Minogue and Pitbull.

In addition, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome (17,000) will bring names such as Dua Lipa, Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Rauw Alejandro and Duran Duran to the Netherlands in June/July, while Berlin’s Uber Arena (17,000) in Germany has McRae, Nine Inch Nails, Lionel Richie, Kylie and Santana, among others.

“What we’re finding now is that the business is busy right the way through the year. August is the only time we might get a little bit of downtime”

Plus, France’s Accor Arena Paris (20,300) boasts artists like John Legend, Billie Eilish, Scorpions, Nelly, Rema and Nine Inch Nails.

London’s The O2 (20,000) has 19 arena shows on sale for June, along with a dozen for July, with business then picking up again in the autumn.

“Undoubtedly, our show count does tend to dip a little bit in August, then it ramps up in September and we’re always super-busy in Q4,” says venue boss Steve Sayer. “There’s always a little bit of seasonality around the events, but what we’re finding now is that the business is busy right the way through the year. August is the only time we might get a little bit of downtime in terms of the event profile. But in amongst that, we’ve got our building projects, our campus projects and the day-to-day, week-to-week of running the building.”

Sayer continues: “The O2 of course, is not just our arena business, it’s the beating heart of the [complex] with our entertainment district and retail, and we want to be busy. In the 10 years that I’ve been in this part of the industry, I’ve definitely found that it’s got busier and busier.”

Elsewhere, Rob Wicks of MD of Aberdeen’s P&J Live, points out the 15,000-cap Scottish venue is making a conscious effort to vary its spread of events, staging family entertainment, exhibitions and other attractions over the summer.

“We are working hard to enhance and diversify our content offering, particularly over these months,” he says.

“We are seeing more coming through, especially for family shows and younger demographic fans”

Indeed, Utilita Arena Newcastle (cap. 11,000) GM Caroline James says the venue is seeing more content come through – especially for family shows and younger demographic fans – for the summer stretch. Presentations include family show Paw Patrol Live, comedian Peter Kay and WWE Live.

“There is also a lot more local content in and around this time,” she remarks.

Gemma Vaughan, GM of Manchester’s 23,000-cap AO Arena, adds the less intense period can also prove beneficial in other ways.

“Summer is festival season around the world, it’s only natural that arenas see a dip in activity around this time,” she concludes. “This ‘downtime’ allows us to regroup and strategise as a venue, giving us some much needed clarity after the whirlwind months from Q4 through to June.”

Nonetheless, given the industry’s current trajectory – and a slate of new venues coming online – it would be no surprise to see the quieter periods become ever briefer in the years to come.

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Nordics promoter All Things Live (ATL) is teaming up with Stockholm’s Club Nuggets to launch a new one-day Swedish-language country music event.

Country På Svenska (Country in Swedish) will take place in Mosebacketerrassen in Stockholm on 19 August.

The festival is the brainchild of concert booker Daniel Josefsson, who has promoted the genre throughout Europe since 2009 and also initiated Swedish TV show Countrylandet Sverige.

Josefsson is collaborating with Rickard Nilsson, agent at All Things Live Sweden, on the event.

“The idea is as simple as it is passionate – Swedish-language country music has earned its own festival”

“The idea is as simple as it is passionate – Swedish-language country music has earned its own festival,” reads a statement from organisers. “And not just with new stars, we will also pay tribute to those who came before. The first release handpicks four sharp names from the contemporary Swedish-language country wave, all of whom also appear in the TV series.”

Confirmed acts include H.Self, Erika Jonsson, BridgeMesa and Thanks for Everything. Tickets cost SEK440 (€40).

ATL Sweden appointed Magnus Widell as CEO last September.

A special feature exploring the rise of country music in Europe will appear in the May issue of IQ.

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ASM Global’s trio of Stockholm venues are reporting “great demand” for events in 2025, the company’s Tobias Ekman tells IQ.

Ekman is general manager of Sweden’s largest stadium, Strawberry Arena (cap. 60,000), as well as the capital’s 3Arena (45,000) and Avicii Arena (16,500).

Strawberry Arena will host concerts by Guns N’ Roses (4 July) and Ed Sheeran (22-23 August) this summer, while 3Arena will welcome Imagine Dragons (5 June), Iron Maiden (12-13 June), Kendrick Lamar & SZA (9 August), Volbeat (17 October) and Sabaton (13 December). Both venues are multipurpose stadiums with retractable roofs.

Avicii Arena, meanwhile, recently reopened after a year-long redevelopment project and has upcoming nights with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Tate McRae, Kylie Minogue, Pitbull, OneRepublic and Hans Zimmer Live.

“We entered this year with a great demand for our venues,” says Ekman. “With Avicii Arena just modernised and open we already see high volume of bookings in a wide range of events – 3Arena and Strawberry Arena are looking at double-digit sold out stadium shows combined.”

Avicii Arena’s $92 million revamp included brand-new stands and seating, improved food and beverage offerings, enhanced acoustics and a new retractable interior roof, as well as new premium experiences including luxury suites, social lounges and party booths.

“We compete not only in Sweden, but also in the northern Europe region for tours”

Ekman is confident the improvements have kept the venue, which opened in 1989 and was originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena, ahead of the curve.

“There is always competition among venues for content that we respect, but we feel we are very competitive here with a modernised Avicii Arena,” he says. “We compete not only in Sweden but also in the northern Europe region for tours so we make sure to keep enhancing our venues and services every day.”

Ekman, who was formerly CEO of artist and promoter agency Jubel and has previously served in senior commercial roles for Live Nation in Sweden and the US, does not believe 2025’s huge year of stadium concerts will have any negative ramifications for the arena business. Moreover, he notes that the traditionally quiet summer season for arenas is “much shorter now”.

“The demand for live events overall in Stockholm and Sweden is at a very high level,” he says. “ASM Stockholm can provide venues from 3,000 up to 60,000. As these opportunities exist in Stockholm, it creates demand even outside Sweden which leads to demand for stadiums, arenas and clubs.”

In closing, Ekman lists his objectives for the months ahead as to “make sure that every day we keep improving our venues and services towards promoters, artists, teams and fans so we can efficiently help everyone deliver their work at the highest level for the best overall experience”.

Read IQ‘s recent health check on the UK arena market here.

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Sweden’s Avicii Arena reopened last weekend after a year-long closure for an ambitious redevelopment project.

Phase one of the redevelopment, led by ASM Global’s Stockholm Live and the City of Stockholm, was unveiled as Swedish synth-pop group KITE took to the stage for a sold-out show.

With a total investment of approximately $92 million, improvements to the Stockholm arena include brand-new stands and seating, improved food and beverage offerings, enhanced acoustics and a new retractable interior roof.

The seating redesign brings a slightly higher total capacity in the 16,500-capacity arena, including an increased floor capacity.

Elsewhere, the back-of-house redesign includes new rigging capacity, faster event transitions, and adaptable staging enabling more ambitious productions and a wider variety of events. The arena can now transition from hockey to concerts faster than ever.

New premium experiences, including luxury suites, social lounges and party booths, will be introduced soon.

“The crown jewel of all arenas in Sweden has, since its opening 35 years ago, always been Avicii Arena”

“At Legends and ASM Global we take pride in pushing the boundaries for what can be done in an arena,” says Marie Lindqvist, SVP operations at Legends and ASM Global Europe. “The iconic Avicii Arena is a great example of how innovation, engineering and the passion to elevate the customer experience can transform an arena and take it into the future. Together with our long-term partner City of Stockholm, we are investing in the future by making Avicii Arena the best arena of its kind in the Nordics.”

Tobias Ekman, general manager of Avicii Arena, adds: “The crown jewel of all arenas in Sweden has, since its opening 35 years ago, always been Avicii Arena. With its unique design and history, this iconic multi-arena has now been modernised and transformed on all levels to ensure that Avicii Arena continues to be the premier concert and sports venue in the Nordics, attracting even more and larger events for at least another 35 years. This also creates great value for Stockholm, both financially and culturally.”

The venue, which was originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, opened in 1989.

In 2021, it was renamed Avicii Arena after the late Swedish DJ who took his own life, with ASM declaring the venue a “global symbol for mental illness prevention”.

Other venues run by ASM’s Stockholm Live include Tele2 Arena (40,000-cap.), Hovet (9,000-cap) and Annexet (3,400-cap.).

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All Things Live have announced details of a new two-day festival in Finland, which will focus on Swedish artists.

Raseborg Summerfest 2025 will be headlined by Swedish singer-songwriter Miss Li, supported by a lineup including Bo Kaspers Orkester, Pandora, Linnea Henriksson and KAJ.

The event, which is being staged in collaboration with Noho Partners, will take place on 15-16 August at Stallörsparken in the bilingual town of Ekenäs, where the majority of residents are Swedish speakers.

The site has previously hosted concerts by the likes of Toto and Deep Purple, as well as a number of festivals.

“Swedish-language music has always been an important part of the cultural whole”

“We offer the adult audience a diverse range of current artists, nostalgia and local talents who get to perform on the large stage,” says organiser Zachris Sundell of All Things Live, as per V2. “Swedish-language music has always been an important part of the cultural whole, and this will continue in the future.”

Raseborg Summerfest is the latest in a spate of new festivals set to crop up in Finland next summer.

FKP Scorpio Group’s Fullsteam Agency will bring together domestic talent such as Vesta, Ursus Factory, Giant Robot, Litku Klemetti, Aavikko, for the debut of Teurastamo Festival on 14 June.

The promoter, which held the final edition of Sideways Festival in Helsinki in June, will also launch À la Park at Meripuisto Park in the Finnish capital on 1-2 August, featuring performances from José González, BEHM, Ellinoora and Samuli Putro and Rodeo.

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A multi-purpose stadium in the city of Uppsala, Sweden, is preparing to hold its first music concert.

The 15,000-cap Studenternas football arena reopened in 2020 following a three-year renovation and will finally follow through with plans to stage gigs by welcoming Uppsala-born singer-songwriter Veronica Maggio on 6 September 2025.

The show is being staged by All Things Live in collaboration with local promoter Kaliber Live.

“Opening with an artist like Veronica Maggio sets the standard for future events in the arena,” says Kaliber Live’s Jonas Curling.

Uppsala arenas and properties also launched the 40,000-cap Polacksbacken in the city this summer

Studenternas is the home ground of Swedish professional football club IK Sirius and was named Sweden’s Sports Arena of the Year by architectural firm FOJAB in 2023.

“We strongly believe in Studenternas as a venue for larger outdoor concerts, where the audience gets close to the artist and gets a unique experience,” adds Staffan Littmarck, commercial development, Uppsala arenas and properties. “Together with organisers and partners, we want to continue promoting Uppsala as an event city.”

The company also launched the 40,000-cap Polacksbacken in the city this summer as a new venue for events and concerts, hosting the two-day Homecoming Festival in August, which featured acts such as Maggio and Zara Larsson.

“Studenternas fills a gap just below that and is a perfect complement to Polacksbacken, UKK, Fyrishov, Parksnäckan, Katalin and other scenes in Uppsala,” adds Littmarck.

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The Covid effect has been credited for triggering a boom in the popularity of domestic acts in markets around Europe.

In one of the more positive legacies of the pandemic, homegrown talent stepped up to fill the void left by international artists, who were taken out of the touring equation for the best part of two years. And more than two years since the world opened up again, the shift looks to be sticking.

The trend is no more pronounced than in Scandinavia, where Swedish rapper Ant Wan performed the biggest hip-hop concert in the country’s history last month after selling in the region of 40,000 tickets for his Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena gig, promoted by FKP Scorpio Sweden.

Meanwhile, David Maloney of All Things Live Sweden pointed to the “amazing business” of the company’s tours with local acts such as Veronica Maggio, HammerFall and Evergrey.

“The domestic market in Sweden now is bigger than it’s ever been,” Maloney recently told IQ. “That’s something we are really concentrating on now.”

“We’ve seen a big change with Danish acts playing bigger venues than they used to”

In neighbouring Norway, recent All Things Live (ATL) shows have included Girl In Red and Sundfør at Oslo’s Spektrum – as well as 30th anniversary-celebrating Klovner I Kamp in Torshovdalen park in Oslo in August.

“Domestic artists are doing very well,” said ATL Group CEO Gry Mølleskog. “We have just sold 75,000 tickets for Åge Aleksandersen in Trondheim [at Lerkendal Stadion] next year. He is a legend – the whole of Norway loves him so much, and he is also playing big outdoor shows in several cities, including Oslo [Voldsløkka] and Bergen [Bergenhus Fortress].”

Mølleskog also highlights solo artists Ingebjørg Bratland and Odd Nordstoga, who joined forces again to play 120 concerts in Norway in the past year and have announced a Christmas tour, and veteran Sámi singer Mari Boine.

Elsewhere in Denmark, Brian Nielsen, CEO of DTD Group hailed the ascent of Aarhus-born Tobias Rahim, who topped Denmark’s singles charts for nearly 40 weeks with his second album, as “an Ed Sheeran-type story”. Rahim went on to headline Copenhagen’s 17,000-cap Royal Arena and land prominent slots at key Danish festivals Tinderbox, NorthSide and Roskilde.

“As a new artist, he went straight to arenas from airplay,” Nielsen told IQ. “With the way the audience is finding new music, primarily via streaming, the movement is so much faster. We’ve seen a big change with Danish acts playing bigger venues than they used to, and Tobias is a really strong example.”

“I don’t know if that hailed out of Covid, but the local scene is stronger than ever”

The fresh wave of Danish talent also includes artists such as D1MA, Andreas Odbjerg, Drew Sycamore, Blæst, and rappers including Gobs, TopGunn, and Lamin.

“It’s golden days for Danish artists coming up,” added smash!bang!pow! senior promoter Xenia Grigat. “I don’t know if that hailed out of Covid, but the local scene is stronger than ever. It doesn’t mean there isn’t room for international artists, but if you look at the top 20 tracks on radio or in the charts, it will probably be 80% Danish artists. And, of course, there is a high demand from festivals for those artists, but it also means that for [up and coming] Danish acts, there is a huge focus on trying to find the next big thing.”

In addition, Italian musician Gabry Ponte will become the first DJ to headline Milan’s 80,000-cap San Siro Stadium in June next year, with other domestic stadium artists including Vasco Rossi, Marco Mengoni, Elisa and Negramaro.

Spain has also produced homegrown stadium headliners such as Dellafuente, Aitana and Lola Índigo and Estopa, while the country’s best-selling tours last year were all by Spanish artists: Manuel Carrasco (365,652 tickets sold), Melendi (308,258) and Joaquín Sabina (253,809 tickets).

“Traditionally, promoters used to hire much more international artists, specifically Anglo-Saxon ones,” Concert Studio’s Carlos Pérez told IQ last year. “However, after the pandemic, the work of national artists is highly valued. In fact, they occupy a large part of the lineups of our festivals.”

“They are selling pretty well – like, 80% sold out in some cases”

Speaking earlier this year, Sara Kordek, creative director of Poland’s Good Taste Production, noted the company had 30 arena shows announced for domestic acts like Mrozu, Daria Zawiałow, Kwiat Jabłoni, and Ralph Kaminski.

“Last year, we were doing club tours with these artists, and then we put them on our Summer Sounds project, our travelling festival, and now we have announced arena tours for spring, and they are selling pretty well – like, 80% sold out in some cases,” said Kordek.

In Germany, Schlager singer Roland Kaiser drew more than 400,000 visitors to his 2024 shows, selling out 20 concerts including stadium shows in Leipzig, Cologne, Rostock and Hanover, while hip-hop stars such as Luciano, Apache 207, Kontra K and Bushido have risen to arena level.

Luciano will tour arenas in Cologne, Hanover, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin in late 2025, whereas Apache 207 concluded a 24-date tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland earlier this year, hitting the biggest German arenas, typically for two to three nights each.

Pashanim, Ski Aggu, Luciano, and Apache 207 have all scored number one singles in Germany this year, while Luciano and Alligatoah have both released chart-topping albums.

“A lot of German hip-hop artists already have very good fanbases and a good market playing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland”

Promoters including DreamHaus, All Artists Agency, and Landstreicher Booking are among those to have nurtured the genre as it has exploded over the past decade, with DEAG going as far as to spin off its hip-hop booking division into a standalone brand called District Live. Led by Alexander Handwerker, it focuses on booking for up-and-coming hip-hop talent, and sold 70,000 tickets in its first year.

“Germany is also a very big market in itself,” added Neus López, head of export at German music funding institution Initiative Musik. “So a lot of German hip-hop artists already have very good fanbases and a good market playing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”

And French hip-hop acts are now selling tickets in France on a par with some of the biggest international acts. Local promoters suggest the country is the second-biggest market for hip-hop in the world after the US, driven by an especially vibrant local rap scene.

The domestic artist boom has been charted by IQ‘s regular market reports. Subscribers can read our latest edition, which focuses on Norway, here.

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FKP Scorpio Sweden partners Niklas Lundell and Joel Borg have left the company after six years to launch their own promoting brand Rush Entertainment, IQ can exclusively reveal.

Joining them from FKP Scorpio Sweden are veteran promoter Johanna Beckman, Magnus Olsson (partnerships), Dino Vulic (projects) and Agneta Edgren (finance).

Operating out of Gothenburg and Stockholm, Rush (a name chosen for its “forward movement, high tempo and that rush that we create in people with live music, festivals and clubs”) will promote domestic and international artists, as well as festivals including Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm and Natura Festival, a new boutique event in Gotland.

Lundell and Borg have worked together for almost two decades, having launched their careers at Luger (now a division of Live Nation) in 2006. After 10 years at the company, the pair left to launch their own firm Woah Dad Live AB, which was acquired by FKP Scorpio Sweden in 2019.

As part of the deal, Lundell and Borg became shareholders and board members of the Hamburg-based group’s Swedish operation, which has been active since 2011.

“I’m hoping that we can maybe soften some of the power balances a little bit and create a more collaborative environment”

“We felt it was time to go back to our roots as boutique promoters,” Borg tells IQ. “We worked at FKP for six years and it’s been very good – we built the company up to half a billion euros and have organised hundreds of concerts but it’s time now to fly with our own wings.

“We saw a good opportunity for a company working internationally with many different promoters or booking agencies. In the Swedish industry, like elsewhere in Europe, major companies have a big share of the market but we could see that there’s a need for someone who can work with all of them. We don’t want to close any doors to anyone but we do want to challenge some of the old structures.”

Beckman, who is a partner in Rush, adds: “I’m hoping that we can maybe soften some of the power balances a little bit and create a more collaborative environment.”

While Rush is excited to embrace the advantages of independence, their split from FKP is amicable.

“We don’t leave FKP in bad blood,” says Borg. “It’s not always like that in our business. We are good friends and we will work on many projects together. We are here whenever they need help with bigger stuff [and vice versa].”

“Rosendal is a big part of who we are and what we want to do”

In fact, FKP has agreed to hand over the reins for Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm – a three-day festival at the heart of Stockholm’s green areas, as it’s close to Rush’s heart.

Launched in 2022 after the pandemic, Rosendal has taken place on the Djurgården island in Stockholm with acts such as Tyler, The Creator, The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, The National Aphex Twin, Grace Jones, Massive Attack and Fever Ray.

“Rosendal is a big part of who we are and what we want to do,” explains Borg. “When [Niklas and I] built Way Out West in 2007 together with the team at Luger, it took us years and years to come to the position it’s in today but after just two or three years we have found Rosendal in a very good position. We want to continue building the festival in our way.”

Beckman, who has been instrumental in the organisation of Rosendal, adds: “It’s exactly what Stockholm needs as a festival. And we know the Stockholm mindset – the type of artists and music people in our city like. So I really feel that we can’t leave that behind.”

Rush will continue to promote concerts for a roster of international artists, which has included Robyn, Smash (Post Malone, ASAP Rocky), Tyler, The Creator, The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, Keinemusik, The Smile and Fever Ray. It will also continue with the successful electronic queer club Kind People Club that Beckman has been building in collaboration with the Swedish indie promotor Studio Sven.

“I think everyone can agree, the industry is not that healthy”

At the same time, the team will continue to work with acts in the increasingly important domestic scene such as the record-breaking star Håkan Hellström and Victor Leksell, one of the most streamed artists in Sweden.

Rush is currently securing the “best possible partners” for each project from club shows to stadium concerts to festivals.

Looking to the future, Borg says the company’s ambition is to develop new business models in the live music industry that attempt to tackle ongoing challenges.

“I think everyone can agree, the industry is not that healthy,” says Borg. “The costs, the structures, the sustainability, the ecosystem, ticket prices – there must be a better way to approach these things. That’s our vision.”

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