Anna Sjölund trades Live Nation for ASM Global
ASM Global has appointed Anna Sjölund as European programming director, with a focus on the growth of the business in the Nordics region.
The industry stalwart joins the venue management giant from Live Nation Sweden, where she has risen through the ranks over 24 years.
In her new role, Sjölund will be based out of ASM’s Stockholm office and tasked with curating content at venues including Friends Arena, Tele2 Arena, Avicii Arena, Södra Teatern and Kulttuuritalo, as well as offering support in the rest of Europe.
While leading the Swedish programming team, she will support the individual venues and regional content teams to deliver and develop “a truly world-class and unrivalled calendar of unmissable live entertainment content”.
Marie Lindqvist, senior vice president of operations in Europe for ASM Global, says: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Anna to the ASM Global team. Anna is highly experienced, widely respected, and comes with a vast network within the industry, especially in the Nordics. I have worked with Anna in various capacities for more than 15 years, so I can confidently say she shares the same passion for growing the footprint of amazing live events in Sweden, and the rest of the Nordic region. Anna is a brilliant new addition to our best-in-class team and I look forward to working with her as we look to a bright future in Sweden and the Nordics.”
“Knowing that Anna was the promoter of your show meant total confidence that every possible aspect of the event was fully covered”
Brian Celler, senior vice president content and programming for UK & Europe at ASM Global, adds: “Let’s be entirely honest, Anna joining the ASM Global European programming team is nothing short of seismic. She is a world-class executive, held in the highest esteem by her colleagues, agents, managers, and artists globally. Knowing that Anna was the promoter of your show meant total confidence that every possible aspect of the event was fully covered. We are beyond thrilled to be part of Anna’s next progression in her career and her integral role in the expanding ASM Global venue portfolio in Europe.”
Sjölund joined Thomas Johansson’s EMA Telstar (now Live Nation Sweden) as a production assistant in 2000, and rapidly rose through the ranks. She has served as VP operations, Live Nation Central and Eastern Europe 2010-2013, and led the touring and festival business at Live Nation Sweden for more than 10 years. Most recently, she served in a global role as SVP Touring International.
Sjölund has established herself as one of Europe’s premier promoters with an unrivalled network in Sweden and the Nordics, promoting hundreds of arena and stadium shows in the region with world-class acts, as well as bringing international festival Lollapalooza to Stockholm in 2019, 2022, and 2023.
She is a longstanding promoter of the NHL Global Series in Sweden, Finland, Czech Rep and Germany – successfully filling Stockholm with 52,000 hockey fans from all over the world this season alone. As a result, Stockholm has had 16 regular season NHL games since 2008 – more than twice as many as any other city outside of North America.
Sjölund says: “During my 24 years with the great Thomas Johansson and the team at Live Nation Sweden I have worked incredibly close with the ASM Global venues here, and have had the fortune to be a part of hundreds of incredible events there – to now continue to develop and expand that business in the European region is something I’m really looking forward to. I joined forces with Marie Lindqvist to gather the Swedish event industry during the pandemic years, and have tremendous respect for her leadership and strategic work, and am excited to continue that partnership and our shared passion for live entertainment on a daily basis.”
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Avicii Arena launches unique merch store offer
A new store is opening inside Sweden’s Avicii Arena with the twist that customers can only pay for merchandise with their emotions.
The Break The Silence campaign has been launched today by the naming right partners behind the Stockholm venue to raise awareness around young people’s mental health.
Avicii Arena was established in May 2021 through a collaboration between the Tim Bergling Foundation, Trygg-Hansa, BAUHAUS, and ASM Global. Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, died by suicide in 2018 aged just 28. The Tim Bergling Foundation was set up by the Swedish DJ’s family following his death to raise money for mental health-related issues and suicide prevention.
The new store, which will be accessible to visitors during event nights, will sell exclusive items such as a limited-edition cap designed by artist ANJI. To buy the cap, customers can scan a QR code and answer a few questions focused around their emotional state in that moment. A digital receipt will then be sent and the item can be collected. During the opening of the store in Avicii Arena, licensed psychologists and counsellors will be on-site for those seeking assistance.
“This in-venue-store is truly the first of its kind, and we hope it contributes to breaking the stigma around discussing emotions”
“This in-venue-store is truly the first of its kind, and we hope it contributes to breaking the stigma around discussing emotions,” says Alexandra Björnsson, project manager at the Tim Bergling Foundation. “Simultaneously, it’s crucial to focus 100% on the young here and be willing to really listen and support. Through this initiative, we aim to create an inclusive atmosphere where discussing emotions and mental health is natural, offering young people the tools they need to thrive.”
The store opening marks the beginning of a string of activity from Break The Silence, focusing on openness and breaking the stigma around discussing emotions, to prevent young people from experiencing mental health issues and ensuring they receive the necessary support.
“Learning to express and manage emotions helps children and young people feel better,” adds Björnsson. “Research indicates that the ability to communicate feelings, coupled with positive relationships with adults, is among the most critical protective factors in life against issues like depression and suicide. If you early on learn to articulate emotions it can provide a solid shield for the future.”
A second Avicii tribute concert, Together For a Better Day, will be held at the 15,000-cap arena (formerly the Ericsson Globe) on 6 December.
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ASM Global continues Nordics expansion
Venue management giant ASM Global has announced three new appointments as it continues its expansion in the Nordics.
Tobias Ekman has joined the company as general manager for four arenas in the Stockholm Globe District, including the 15,000-cap Avicii Arena and 30,000-cap Tele2 Arena, and Michael Yngvesson is named GM of the 50,000-cap Friends Arena in Stockholm, while David Laturnus comes on board in the newly-created role of F&B director Nordics.
Ekman and Yngvesson start with ASM in January 2024, with Laturnus taking up his position in April.
“I’m delighted to welcome three such highly-experienced and widely-respected industry leaders to the ASM Global team as we enter a period of business growth in the Nordic region,” says Marie Lindqvist, ASM’s SVP operations Europe. “This is an important market for us, and since expanding further into Finland just this year, it’s an exciting time with a series of major projects in the pipeline including the redevelopment of Avicii Arena and Annexet, new naming rights partners, our move to bring F&B in house, the development of new content and of course along the way, further elevating the fan experience.”
Ekman, who is currently CEO of artist and promoter agency Jubel, will oversee the Avicii Arena through its full-year closure in 2024, during which it will undergo a complete renovation, set for reopening in January 2025. He has previously served in senior commercial roles for Live Nation in Sweden and the US.
ASM Global currently operates eight arenas, stadium and theatres in Sweden and Finland
As well as serving as GM of Sweden’s national stadium, the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Yngvesson will also continue as operations director for ASM in the Nordics. Yngvesson joined the firm around a year ago, and has held a number of senior positions in sales and operations across multiple industries. Concerts lined up at the venue in 2024 include Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Melodifestivalen.
Elsewhere, Laturnus, who has been brought in as F&B director Nordics, has worked in most of Stockholm’s arenas and stadiums, most recently as MD of F&B operator Five Moments. He will be tasked with overseeing all aspects of F&B operations in the region.
ASM Global currently operates eight arenas, stadium and theatres in Sweden and Finland, and further expansion in the region is anticipated. The entered Finland this year as part of its development in the Nordics to take on operations at the Kulttuuritalo, as well as exploring the future development of the Hanasaari power plant area, Hanasaaren Voimala, in Finland.
Last week, premium experiences specialist Legends confirmed its long-rumoured acquisition of ASM, subject to regulatory approval.
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Svensk Live agrees new concert pricing model
Swedish live music trade body Svensk Live has announced it has reached a new agreement with national performance rights organisation Stim.
The deal involves a price model with a fixed percentage of the ticket price, and will see event organisers pay music creators a share of 4% of revenue from tickets priced up to SEK 650 (€56), and 3% for tickets priced SEK 651 and over.
The agreement, which applies to one-day tickets, will come into force in January 2025, with an entry-level model in place for 2024. The cut-off point of SEK 650 will then be index-regulated every year according to the CPI.
“We have arrived at a price model that is simple, clear and long-term sustainable,” says Svensk Live operations manager Joppe Pihlgren. “This has taken time and effort, so it’s nice to be at the finish line.”
“This is a good settlement for Swedish songwriters and composers, and we are happy to have it in place”
Not-for-profit organisation Stim represents 100,000 music creators and publishers.
“This is a good settlement for Swedish songwriters and composers, and we are happy to have it in place,” says Stim CEO Casper Bjørner. “The new model is also beneficial for smaller concert organisers who receive a lower fee than before. They face big challenges and have been having a tough time for a long time.”
In a further statement, Svensk Live adds: “We have managed to resist increases for a very long time, which has benefited the members of Svensk Live. Now, the time was ripe for a new agreement that lowers the cost of the cheapest tickets, but increases the cost of more expensive tickets.”
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Sweden introduces bag ban for major events
Sweden has banned bags at major events such as large concerts and festivals in response to the heightened terror threat in the country.
The Swedish Police Agency says the total bag ban, which also includes sporting events, is “based on the current situation in society and the fact that the terror threat level is a four”.
The move follows the fatal shooting of two Swedish football fans last month in Brussels, three miles from the King Baudoin Stadium, in an apparent terror attack before Sweden’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Belgium.
“It is a concrete measure that will limit the possibilities of bringing objects that could pose a danger to people visiting an event,” says Per Engström, section manager for coordination at Sweden’s national operational department.
Live music trade body Svensk Live has contacted the police to establish what they mean by “larger events” in connection with the bag ban.
“By ‘larger events’, the police mean that they are events such as arena concerts or similar”
“By ‘larger events’, the police mean that they are events such as arena concerts or similar, but add that individual assessments are made where the organiser in dialogue with the police must make an assessment,” the organisation tells its members. “This means that we recommend organisers to get in touch with their respective contacts at the police to find out what applies to you. The decision has been made to avoid serious crime.”
Exceptions may be made for people who need to bring a bag into a public event for medical reasons.
The Swedish Security Service raised the terrorist threat level in August alert following a spate of Quran burnings in Sweden, which sparked protests in Muslim countries.
“Sweden has gone from being considered a legitimate target to a prioritised target for terrorist attacks,” said prime minister Ulf Kristersson at the time. “Safeguarding the freedom, safety and security of Swedish citizens – in Sweden and abroad – is the government’s single most important task. We defend our open society against those who threaten it, and we stand up for our democratic values, but we also protect ourselves.”
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Second Avicii tribute concert announced
The Tim Bergling Foundation has announced an Avicii tribute concert will take place in Sweden this December.
The second Together For a Better Day event will be held at the 15,000-cap Avicii Arena (formerly the Ericsson Globe) in Stockholm on 6 December to raise awareness of mental health-related issues.
Tickets for the charity concert are priced from SEK195-395 (€17-34), with acts to include Yung Lean, Griff, Cherrie, Dan Tyminski ,Cleo, Jireel, Daniela Rathana, Adaam, Jelassi + Ayan Ahmed, Hurula, Thomas Stenström and Wermland Operas Orkester, among others.
Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, died by suicide in 2018 aged just 28. He had retired from touring two years earlier.
The Tim Bergling Foundation was set up by the Swedish DJ’s family following his death to raise money for mental health-related issues and suicide prevention.
The first Avicii Tribute Concert was held at Stockholm’s Friends Arena in December 2019
The Ericsson Globe was renamed Avicii Arena by Stockhom Live in 2021 in his memory. The ASM Global company partnered with the charity, along with local sponsors Trygg-Hansa and Bauhaus, to transform the venue into a “global symbol for mental illness prevention”.
“With our worldwide reach, ASM Global takes tremendous pride in not only presenting unparalleled entertainment experiences but also in playing a positive role in the lives of our millions of guests in countries throughout the world,” said ASM president and CEO Ron Bension at the time. “We’re honoured to participate in this collaboration to help prevent mental illness.”
Artists including David Guetta, Kygo, Rita Ora and Adam Lambert participated in the first Avicii Tribute Concert in December 2019. The concert was held at Stockholm’s Friends Arena and featured music from Avicii’s posthumously released album Tim, performed for the first time.
The event, which drew the stadium’s record attendance of 58,163, featured 19 of the singers who appeared on Avicii’s songs, performing alongside a 30-piece band. Sets from fellow DJs included Guetta, Kygo, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Nicky Romero.
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Sweden reveals venue, budget for Eurovision 2024
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will take place at Malmö Arena in Sweden’s third-largest city, it has been revealed.
The coastal town in the south of Sweden was selected after organisers evaluated the city’s venue facilities and accommodation availability for thousands of visitors.
Malmö Arena, owned by Parkfast Arena, can host up to 15,000 people for music events depending on the position of the stage, according to the venue’s website.
It has also been revealed by the Malmö Municipality Board, that the city of Malmö intends to invest SEK 30 million (€2.5 million) to host the contest, alongside other sources of funding.
“Malmö holds a special place in the history of the contest, having successfully hosted it firstly in 1992 and then in 2013”
This will be the seventh time the Scandinavian nation will be home to Eurovision and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of Abba’s big win.
Last year’s trophy was taken home by Sweden’s contestant, Loreen, who sang Tattoo and won the competition for the second time.
The UK co-hosted the 67th Eurovision Song Contest alongside Ukraine in Liverpool, due to the ongoing and internationally condemned invasion of the country by Russia.
Commenting on the decision to host the competition in Malmö, executive supervisor of Eurovision, Martin Osterdahl, says: “Malmö holds a special place in the history of the contest, having successfully hosted it firstly in 1992 and then in 2013 — following Loreen’s last win.”
“We’re excited to be returning to this vibrant and dynamic city, which has demonstrated it has the venues and infrastructure that are perfect for staging the world’s largest live music event.”
The official Eurovision website says that tickets will be “on sale soon” and that prices and availability are based on the chosen venue and the amount of space it has, as organisers need to evaluate where the cameras, technical equipment, and stage will go before arranging audience seating.
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Adam Börjesson to lead Live Nation Sweden/Luger
Live Nation Sweden and Luger, Sweden’s leading music agencies, have found a new head of agency in Adam Börjesson.
He joins the nation’s leading music agencies from Amuse, an independent record label and music distributor in Stockholm. There, he worked as its head of commercial development, building on previous experiences at Universal Music, Jubel, and his own record company Astronaut Recordings.
“I have worked closely with both Luger and Live Nation in various contexts for a long time and am really looking forward to taking on this assignment,” Börjesson says. “They are two industry-leading brands that care about artists, sustainability and corporate culture, and I see enormous potential in developing the offer and advancing the positions further.”
The strategic move to coordinate the two leading agencies’ leadership is poised to improve symbiotic relations between the two companies and their artists, organisers, and partners, per a press release.
“Through an increased focus on collaboration and pooling of forces, we see that we can have positive effects for our entire business”
“We have the luxury of having two strong, differentiated and clearly profiled agencies under the same roof, something we are very keen to maintain and strengthen. Through an increased focus on collaboration and pooling of forces, we see that we can have positive effects for our entire business,” says Mattias Behrer, CEO of Live Nation Sweden.
Börjesson will be responsible for day-to-day leadership and personnel responsibility beginning 1 October, along with leading alongside Luger CEO and founder Ola Bronquist.
Additionally, Live Nation has recruited Julia Carlsson to the role of agent in the Swedish department. Carlsson has previously worked with the company in project management and production.
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Gefle Metal Festival cancelled for 2024
The future of Sweden’s Gefle Metal Festival (GMF) is uncertain after organisers announced the 2024 edition will not take place.
GMF has been held annually in Gasklockorna, Gävle since 2016, with FKP Scorpio stepping in to ensure this year’s festival could proceed following the collapse of promoter TADC Sweden.
A statement to fans made in the aftermath of the 10,000-cap 2023 event, staged from 13-15 July, confirms that next year’s festival will not go ahead.
“It has now been seven weeks since we met at Gefle Metal Festival,” reads the post. “Since then, we have done lots of thinking and analysed extensively. Unfortunately, we have come to the decision that there will be no Gefle Metal Festival in 2024.
“Gefle Metal Festival has never been about making any significant profits. It has been a festival driven by passion – because we truly love this. At the same time, the finances have to add up, and the truth is that – even though we are proud of each and every year of the Gefle Metal Festival – it has been challenging to make ends meet every year.”
“There will be no festival in 2024. What the future holds after 2024, only time will tell”
TADC Sweden filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, citing “lingering effects from the pandemic”, increased costs and reduced ticket sales. The Gothenburg-headquartered company typically staged more than 300 concerts a year in Scandinavia, as well as GMF, Atlas Rock in Gävle and the summer series Rock På Skansen in Stockholm.
Formed in 2015 by the merger of Edward Janson’s Triffid Productions and Chris Rotenius’ Danger Music & Media, the firm was known as Triffid and Danger Concerts before rebranding to TADC
GMF describes this year’s festival, which starred the likes of Amon Amarth, Watain, Kreator, Dismember, Abbath and Dark Funeral, as “very special”.
“For a long time, neither you nor we knew if there would even be a festival,” it continues. “Then FKP Scorpio stepped in and ensured that this year’s festival could still take place so that you could enjoy the festival you had already purchased tickets for. For that, we are grateful.
“But as we look ahead, we see that we need to focus on other things. We have many great shows in the pipeline, and we want to be able to dedicate all of our energy to them. Therefore, we are putting Gefle Metal Festival on hold. There will be no festival in 2024. What the future holds after 2024, only time will tell.”
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Celebrating Thomas Johansson at 75
As part of the team that introduced ABBA to the world, Thomas Johansson has enjoyed an equally stellar career, cementing the Nordic territories into the routing of every international tour that visits Europe. Now, having just celebrated his 75th birthday, he’s contemplating the future. But retirement is not a concept he fully recognises, he tells Gordon Masson.
As is the story with many of the industry’s pioneers, Thomas Johansson fell into the business by mistake when he saw an opportunity to earn a bit of money while getting into shows.
“A friend of mine played bass in a band, and I went along to a gig,” Johansson recalls. “Basically, I went to the promoter and said, ‘My band is worth more than this.’ And the guy agreed and paid more money. The band was four people, but they gave me a fifth – 20% – because I’d doubled their fee. So, all of a sudden, I was getting paid for talking and the bonus was I didn’t have to pay to go to concerts.”
As a teenage artist manager – “I was 16, I think” – that moment sparked an entrepreneurial streak that has lasted six decades, to date, and underscored a love for music that dates back a lot further.
As the first beneficiaries of Johansson’s legendary negotiating skills, that band of friends – The Outsiders – enjoyed four years of fame before splitting in 1969. “They were the opening act on several gigs for Jimi Hendrix,” says Johansson. “We also opened up for a band I did very early in my career called Blue Cheer, who were a fantastic blues-rock American trio, very similar to Hendrix.”
Keen to absorb as much information and experience as possible, Johansson began working for established Scandinavian promoters SBA, based in Denmark. “There were two principals there, Knud Thorbjörnsen and Anders Stefansen, and with them I promoted the likes of Ike and Tina Turner.” He explains, “There was also a lady there called Siw Eriksson, who worked with a lot of jazz acts – Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Oscar Peterson – basically all of the jazz greats. And from her, I really learned how to promote shows, because she was the local promoter for all of these jazz icons.
“The people at SBA also did European tours – they did the first European tour with the Stones in the late ‘60s, for instance – and they paved the way for other promoters to follow”
“In essence, the people at SBA also did European tours – they did the first European tour with the Stones in the late ‘60s, for instance – and they paved the way for other promoters to follow. In fact, I continued to work with both Knud and Anders right up until the 1980s when they sort of stopped.”
With a hard-working attitude and a passion to create the best environments for artists and their audiences, the next door that opened for young Thomas saw him in a salaried position for the Musicians’ Union. “I was an agent/promoter, for the [MU] locally in Sweden, and that’s also when I had my first encounter with the Rolling Stones, at the Vinterstadion, Örebro, over Easter in 1967.” That show has taken on legendary status in Scandinavia in the decades since – made all the more remarkable by the fact that the local promoter, Johansson, was just 18 at the time. “I’ve always been a pretty quick learner,” he quips.
Among the many acts that performed in Sweden with the assistance of the teenage Thomas were Traffic, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin and, in March 1969, Led Zeppelin, who were the opening act for Country Joe & the Fish.
Arrival
Never one to recognise age as a barrier, with barely four years of experience behind him, Johansson decided to launch his own company, EMA Telstar. He asked Siw Eriksson to join him as his assistant. “She’s a fantastic lady: she’s about 92 or 93 now, and I still speak to her,” he says.
He admits, however, that there was a more pressing reason to launch EMA. “The Musicians’ Union fired me,” he says. “There was a Union newspaper, and they asked me to write about modern music, which I did. But I was working with an eight-piece band and two of the guys were not MU members. So, they figured that I was not a good person, and they fired me… but it worked out okay for me in the end,” he laughs.
“I started to work with ABBA, and EMA Telstar produced and promoted all the dates they ever did from 1974 to the last show”
Brushing aside the fact that he was barely out of his teens when he became one of northern Europe’s main promoters, Johansson tells IQ, “It was easier at that time to start a company, because there were not many people doing it. I started up about one or two years earlier than Leon Ramakers did in Holland, and a little bit before Andy Béchir in Switzerland. In England, you had Tony Smith’s father, John Smith, who was a big promoter at the time, and through him I met Harvey [Goldsmith], who was working for John.”
Rather than shoulder all the risk himself, Johansson reveals that EMA’s early incarnation, in 1969, involved three partners. “One of the partners, Olle Nordström, died very early, and the other guy, Benny Englund, is still around and represents Marshall Amps, Fender, Vox: he’s basically the biggest supplier of this type of equipment in Sweden, Finland, and Norway. When Olle died, I bought his shares in the company, and later I bought out Benny as well.”
The Names of The Game
While Johansson has worked with some of the biggest legends ever to appear on stage, it’s perhaps one of the earliest bands from his career who have the greatest legacy.
“I started to work with ABBA, and EMA Telstar produced and promoted all the dates they ever did from 1974 to the last show they ever did at the Budokan, Tokyo in March 1980. We did three European tours, one Australian tour, one Japanese tour, and one US tour,” he states.
Recalling how the band’s career was embraced early on Down Under, Johansson observes, “Australia has similarities to Sweden: it’s remote from the rest of the world, while Sweden is remote from the rest of Europe; and they’re both relatively small countries in terms of population. So, when something happens, it happens big time, and with ABBA it was really big time. Luckily, we went to Australia early in the game with ABBA to do television, which was a real boost for the band at the time.”
“With U2, the first show they ever did here was a little club in Stockholm for 200 kids”
Indeed, Johansson’s influence with ABBA goes back to the very early days. “Actually, I started to work with them the year before Eurovision, so in 1973. All four of them came from successful local groups. I knew Björn from when I was 13 or 14 – he’s three years older than I am – and I managed his wife Agnetha on her solo career and produced her tours.
“So, when the band formed, they asked if I wanted to help them to produce the dates, book the dates, and promote the dates, which I did. And that’s how the relationship started.”
Although Johansson is not involved with the smash hit ABBA Voyage production, he still talks frequently to the members of the Swedish super-group, having also managed Frida’s career and executive produced a couple of her solo albums, “one with Phil Collins as a producer, and the other with Steve Lillywhite as a producer,” he recalls.
Another act who he shares a long association with is Elton John, who just weeks ago brought down the curtain on his touring career in Sweden with Thomas as promoter. “The first show I did with him, he was still called Reginald Dwight, and he was the piano player in a band called Blue Mink. We’ve done all Elton’s shows ever since,” reports Johansson.
Recalling other artists, he adds, “With U2, the first show they ever did here was a little club in Stockholm for 200 kids. Then we drove from that club to do a live TV [broadcast] and after the live TV, to play a club across the street. Queen, we started with very early in 1974; McCartney, we did the first tour after he left the Beatles with Wings in 1973; The Eagles played their first show here in 1977. To me, that’s a big personal thing to be able to say that. Of course, it’s in the past; it’s history. But it’s important to me, and again, it’s reinforced by what I impart to my staff: the artists are the first priority, never forget.”
“Early on with ABBA, we went to America where we did Olivia Newton John’s TV show in Los Angeles”
Join The Joyride
One of the many benefits of travelling the world with ABBA during the 1970s was the myriad opportunities for Johansson to expand his network of contacts. “Early on with ABBA, we went to America where we did Olivia Newton John’s TV show in Los Angeles,” he explains. “She was managed by Roger Davies, whom I’d known since he was managing an Australian band called Sherbet that I’d managed to get on as an opening act for The Hollies. And ever since then, I worked with all of Roger’s acts – Tina Turner, Cher, Pink, Sade, Joe Cocker – anyone he has worked with, I’ve promoted in Sweden and the Nordics.”
Steering ABBA’s live performance career helped make EMA Telstar a powerhouse in the Nordics, allowing Johansson and his company to become the go-to destination for most international acts looking to visit Scandinavia, Finland, and the Baltics.
As the Cold War started to thaw, Russia started to open its doors to western acts, with Johansson also becoming one of the pioneers to take acts behind the Iron Curtain to play the likes of Moscow and St Petersburg.
The 1980s also landed him the opportunity to work with another Swedish supergroup, Roxette, which combined the forces of two already established stars: Marie Fredriksson, who had a number of solo albums to her name; and Per Gessle, the lead singer and songwriter of Gyllene Tider, a band which had already released three No.1 albums – and whom Johansson has been promoting again this year at outdoor shows: “We do 20 outdoor shows with Per and his band this summer – a stadium in Stockholm, a stadium in Gothenburg, another 18 shows, as well as a couple in Finland and a couple in Norway. They’re going to end up selling something like 175,000 to 200,000 tickets,” he informs IQ.
Much like ABBA before them, Roxette used Johansson’s experience to propel them to international success. “We did all the tours and all the shows with Roxette worldwide,” he states. “When Per formed the band, we became his partner, and they played stadiums in Australia, they played stadiums in South America – big stadiums, like 50,000/60,000 people.”
“ABBA and Roxette gave me the opportunity to travel the world and that allowed me to pick up a lot of knowledge, as well as meet lots of people in the business”
That partnership arrangement hints at another Johansson skillset. He had also been a formidable artist manager in his day, but as EMA Telstar grew, and running the company became more time consuming, he started to ease away from artist manager duties, albeit reluctantly. But not before his management credentials had assisted the band Europe to become another A-list act. “We managed Europe for the first five years – they had that huge hit Final Countdown. And then I managed [lead singer] Joey [Tempest]. Even though it became so time consuming to be a manager, I couldn’t keep my hands away. So that’s why I managed Roxette initially and up until 1998 or ‘99 when I sold the company.”
He concedes, “ABBA and Roxette gave me the opportunity to travel the world and that allowed me to pick up a lot of knowledge, as well as meet lots of people in the business internationally – many of whom have become good friends, like Patrick Woodroffe the lighting designer, who worked with me on ABBA, so I turned to him for help when it came to Roxette, too. But as a manager, you need to do so much more than just the touring side of the business: you need to do publishing, record company deals, promotion, and I knew I would not have the luxury of that time when we sold the company to SFX.”
Super Trooper
Selling EMA Telstar to Bob Sillerman’s SFX began a series of transactions that would eventually lead to Johansson becoming chairman of Live Nation’s international touring division. Grasping the idea of a global promoting operation, he was acutely aware that his artist management days were almost certainly over. “The business of being a promoter is a very time-consuming situation, so I had to make up my mind: do I want to be a promoter, or do I want to be a manager? And I decided I would be a promoter,” he says.
Besides, there was a greater goal to aim for. As part of the original SFX deal for EMA Telstar, Johansson had negotiated a number of clauses that would allow him to acquire the operations of partners in neighbouring territories, providing him and his new employers with a powerbase in northern Europe.
“EMA Telstar had been running for 30 years when I sold it, and it was the biggest promoter in Sweden by a long shot,” he comments. “The deal I made was that they would allow me to buy my partners in Norway, Denmark, and Finland, which I did about a year to two years later. And although they were still separate companies, that’s what ultimately became the unit known as Live Nation, the Nordics.”
“Live Nation has created vehicles for artists to be able to tour globally”
As Sillerman’s corporate kleptomania swept up the operations of Johansson’s peers in the likes of the Netherlands and the UK, the concert business suddenly became an industry that the money men started to take more seriously. Subsequently, in early 2000, Clear Channel agreed a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire SFX, and its acquisition strategy accelerated both in North America and internationally before Clear Channel spun off its expanding live music division in 2005 and named Michael Rapino as CEO.
Looking back at the development of the company, Johansson observes, “Live Nation has created vehicles for artists to be able to tour globally. It’s a public company, so it is all transparent and above board, it’s all correctly insured, and it operates in a way that pays attention to the rules of each country it operates in.”
He continues, “It’s also becoming a company that is very environmental – in each country, we have a person who heads up sustainability strategy and who works alongside the festivals, alongside the gigs and the shows, to see how we can be more environmentally efficient. It’s a massively important part of our work now, because if we wait until tomorrow to do something about it, there will be no tomorrow.”
Noting that Live Nation’s regimen requires precise reporting, he adds, “Of course, there’s an extreme amount of administration to do with Live Nation, but the company has been at the forefront of professionalising our business: it has standardised a lot of the things we do, and for young artists, young promoters, and a new generation of audience, it offers a great solution.”
Money, Money, Money
Being backed by the deep pockets of a global corporation has been a game changer for Johansson and the many entrepreneurs who have boarded the Live Nation setup over the past 20 something years. That environment also gives its various territory chiefs the confidence to chase deals they might not have done when still independent.
“The artists always come first. Always, always, always. If you follow that one rule, and if you’re straight and honest and do your job, you will succeed”
“You always have difficult times,” says Johansson, addressing the issue of risk. “I think promoters are very closely related to farmers: it rains too much, it shines too much, it’s too windy, and when the weather is bad the economy is bad, inflation is bad. We complain a lot – that’s promoters.” Despite the myriad challenges that make promoting shows and festivals such a perilous financial enterprise, Johansson has never put himself in a position where he might lose the roof from over his head. “Of course, I’m wrong all the time, and there are shows where I lose money. But you have to be right more than you’re wrong,” he says.
And revealing the mantra that he’s based his entire career around, he tells IQ, “The absolute fundamental thing that I preach to the people here in my office [in Sweden], and to the people in Norway, Denmark and Finland, and the Baltics… I preach to them that our most important partner, client, and asset is the artist. The relationship with the artist, the artist manager, the artist agent, this is the fundament that we build our business on. The artists always come first. Always, always, always. If you follow that one rule, and if you’re straight and honest and do your job, you will succeed.”
One beneficiary of Johansson’s schooling has been Anna Sjölund, who has worked her way up the ranks to currently hold the post of senior VP touring international for Live Nation.
“Thomas is like family to me,” says Sjölund. “I had just turned 20 when I started working for EMA Telstar. I came from a local promoter in the south of Sweden to do a few months work during the summer and never left – it’s been the most incredible ride, learning, growing up, and creating my own path alongside him.
“Thomas is simply a unique force: challenging, fiercely loyal, and a true gentleman. He never gives up, never stops believing in his artists, and he has taught me to never ever stop promoting the show – that’s the job: promote the artist, promote the show, never give up, and always, always, always put the artist first.”
“I transformed myself into a promoter in the early 2000s, and Elton John was the first act I promoted”
The Boss
Having established Sweden as one of Europe’s strongest live music markets, Johansson has been given expanded roles by Live Nation in addition to his ‘chairman international music’ title. “I’m the chairman of the Nordics and also the Baltics, where we have two companies now, in Estonia and Lithuania,” he says. “That role involves overseeing the general business and making sure that it is taken care of in a professional way. That has been my remit for the last four or five years.
“But I am also still a promoter for many acts. For example, we recently had Bruce Springsteen here, whom I have been promoting for many years, and I’m lucky to have Tor Nielsen, whom I’ve been working with since 1977 – he executes the majority of the big shows that I do, whether it’s Metallica, Elton John, or Springsteen.”
Johansson is also quick to point out the evolving nature of the Live Nation staff across his territories. “There are some 90 people in this office here [in Stockholm]; there are about 70 in Denmark; in Norway it’s about 35-40; Finland about 25; and the Baltics about 10-12 people, so it’s more than 200 people in the Nordic hemisphere,” he reports.
For his part, right-hand man Nielsen tells IQ that he began working with Johansson as soon as he’d left university. “I’d basically make sure that the riders of visiting acts were fulfilled,” says Nielsen. “Then, in 1985, I took on the role of production manager for the company and basically became the tour coordinator and agent for Roxette and other acts.”
Adding the title of COO International Artists to his resume in the 1990s, Nielsen adds, “I transformed myself into a promoter in the early 2000s, and Elton John was the first act I promoted, although I’m still overseeing operations to this day.
“We’ve had some interesting clashes over the years, but we’ve always been able to work out the best way forward”
“I’m definitely the longest man standing when it comes to working with Thomas. He’s a mountain of energy and is very sociable, but he can be pretty stubborn. Then again, so can I, so we’ve had some interesting clashes over the years, but we’ve always been able to work out the best way forward.”
And Nielsen reveals one of Johansson’s habits is wanting to see as many shows as possible, even when the show may be the other side of the world. “I remember he flew in to see Roxette in Rio de Janeiro, and he was so jetlagged he fell asleep in the dressing room when the band went on stage and woke up as they came off. And then he caught a plane home.
“He’s a workaholic – when he flies to New York, he’s never out of the office for more than three days, for instance.” But he says some of the people who benefit most from that work ethic are LN Nordic staff. “He really likes to speak with everyone in the office about the projects they are working on. The last 15 years have seen a lot of young people join us, and I think that keeps Thomas energised – he’s a great mentor!”
What The Puck?!
Another facet to Johansson is his work in promoting his favourite sport: ice hockey. “In 1996, I started to talk to the National Hockey League [in North America] and the NHL Players Association, and in 1999/2000, we brought the first NHL teams here.”
While those exhibition games were lapped up by the hockey-mad Swedes, Johansson has worked tirelessly to build on those foundations to the extent that competitive games are now an annual fixture in Europe. “For the last seven or eight years, we have hosted real NHL games that count toward league standings,” he informs IQ. “In addition to Sweden, we’ve held games in Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland, and we have between two and four regular games every year that are televised in over 100 countries.”
“When Michael Rapino took over, he had a vision of building it on a worldwide scale. I really believe that was the most important thing that has happened to live music”
With his home city of Stockholm set to host four games in November, featuring Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, and Minnesota Wild, Johansson notes that those teams include 36 players of European nationalities, including 21 Swedes, hence robust ticket sales for the NHL Global Series games at the Avicii Arena.
Indeed, Johansson draws parallels between the NHL and Live Nation. “It’s an American company with a very good structure; it’s the biggest hockey league in the world, and it features the biggest stars in the game,” he states. “I count myself as very lucky: two of my biggest passions in life are music and ice hockey, and it’s very natural that I do both. In saying this, I never played hockey, personally. But I never played music either. However, I hope I have helped others to enjoy both activities as much as I do.”
Underlining his love for the winter sport, Johansson was on the board of directors of Stockholm ice hockey club Djurgårdens IF for 20 years. “I gave that up about ten years ago, and now I can go and see the games and enjoy them a little more,” he reports. “Being on the board of directors for a sports team is similar to managing a band: it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort… and it can cost you lots of money.”
Voyage
Having spent the majority of his working life as an independent promoter, Johansson says the best decision of his career was the sale of his company to SFX and his subsequent journey in helping to make Live Nation a reality.
“After Live Nation formed, I think that’s when the real evolution of the live business started in a big manner. And when Michael Rapino took over, he had a vision of building it on a worldwide scale. I really believe that was the most important thing that has happened to live music,” opines Johansson.
“It is very rewarding to see young people succeeding. It keeps you on your toes, it keeps you young, and I think most importantly it helps you understand a lot of things”
Indeed, having celebrated his 75th birthday on 19 August, he’s currently overseeing the biggest ever summer season for the LN Nordics division. “We have 42 stadium shows in the Nordic hemisphere this year, where we normally have 18. About half of those shows are bought by us directly, and half of them are Live Nation global tours. That proves there is still a lot of room for other promoters to bring shows to this part of the world. But I genuinely believe that nobody does it better than Live Nation. The company has set so many standards that we make it more economical for artists to tour. The bottom line is that Live Nation is an artist company.”
And as Johansson enters his 60th year in the music business, he’s happy that the empire he has devoted his working life to build is in safe hands.
“For me personally, to see that there are young promoters, both boys and girls, coming through and how skilled they are, how good they are… I’m so proud and happy to be a part of that team,” he says. “Every day I go into the office, the people I work alongside present these fantastic ideas for shows and tours. And the way they are helping to break new acts is fantastic.”
While ‘retirement’ isn’t a word that slides easily into Johansson’s vocabulary, he admits that he took it upon himself over the last decade to spend more time mentoring colleagues. “It is very rewarding to see young people succeeding,” he continues. “It keeps you on your toes, it keeps you young, and I think most importantly it helps you understand a lot of things. A big part of a promoter’s role is to remain curious and willing to learn, and I’ve found that the more I offer my advice and experience to younger colleagues, the more I learn, too.”
With a workaholic attitude, Johansson admits that during the pandemic he attended his Live Nation office every day, as did a number of his co-workers. But he notes, “It’s very difficult not to work hard when you are so interested in what you do. It’s not really like a job; it’s more like a passion. And I’m very lucky as a human being that the majority of my work life has been my passion.
“Of course, there is pain and bumps and idiots all along the way. But the majority of the time, I’m very happy, and I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I want to do”
“Of course, there is pain and bumps and idiots all along the way. But the majority of the time, I’m very happy, and I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I want to do. I appreciate it every day – having something to do that makes you look forward to waking up every morning.”
My Love, My Live
While many individuals count down to the day they give up work with glee, Johansson sailed past standard retirement age a decade ago, and the past ten years coincidentally have heralded the busiest period of his career. “The really rapid growth for Live Nation has been during the last six or seven years,” says Johansson, who also believes that post-Covid, the age-old dilemma about tomorrow’s headliners is being resolved.
“There are a lot of young acts that because of Covid were unable to tour for two or three years, but at the same time they’ve grown because of social media, record releases, television, TikTok, etc. And because of that demand they have built up by expanding their fanbase, there is the opportunity for them to step up to arenas and stadiums. I think that’s what we’re going to see over the coming years – the next generation of big acts coming through.”
He cites Volbeat as an act from the Nordics that is getting bigger on the international stage, while on a global level Johansson believes the Internet has levelled the playing field for emerging talent. “Social media means it doesn’t matter if you come from New York or from Stockholm or Sydney or a suburb of Johannesburg,” he observes.
That genuine excitement within Johansson is infectious, and while his diamond anniversary might just be around the corner, his passion for music remains as strong as when he was a teenager. “I still love to discover a new act playing live,” he says. “But more often, I listen to a lot of new music, and I like to read about new bands, too. Recently, I saw a great band with Metallica, called Mammoth, with the son of Eddie Van Halen – they’re a great rock band, so that was interesting.”
“Klaus-Peter Schulenberg was a colleague of mine when he was a promoter in Bremen”
Noting that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich had been the person to introduce him to Danish stars Volbeat, 12 years ago, Johansson also flags up Swedish homegrown act Ghost, who he has high hopes for. “They’ve already had a Grammy award in America and now they play and sell out arenas in Europe and America. It’s really one guy – Tobias Forge – who dresses up like the Pope, and every show Ghost does is a story in its own right. So, I’m very proud that we’ve been involved with them from the very beginning – it was Martin Nielsen in Norway and Johan [Karlsson], here from my office, who became involved when the band first played in clubs.”
He also lauds First Aid Kit. “Great songs, great girls, and really good live. We work with them through Luger who, if we were a record company, would be our indie label, as they’re the division that produces Way Out West festival.”
On the festival front, LN Nordics has grown massively in recent years. The portfolio also includes Sweden Rock and Lollapalooza Stockholm in collaboration with C3 Presents; Tons of Rock, Bergen Festival, and Trondheim Rocks in Norway; Denmark’s Copenhell and Heartland; and Blockfest in Finland. “We’re also partners on a few events like Helsinki Rocks and Turku Festival, in which our job is to service them with artists. And I’ve been involved as a consultant on Roskilde since its first edition,” notes Johansson.
Scando Rivalry
As Johansson and his colleagues over the years developed the Nordics into must-visit destinations for international tours, it’s testament to his hard work and vision that rival corporations have established footholds in the region during the past decade.
“Klaus-Peter Schulenberg was a colleague of mine when he was a promoter in Bremen,” says Johansson of the CTS Eventim chief. “He started Eventim as a ticketing company and then bought a lot of local promoters in Germany, so I think it was a natural progression for them to move into Scandinavia.”
“Personally, I welcome the fact that there’s competition to motivate us all”
Meanwhile, ASM has begun operating venues such as Stockholm’s Avicii Arena, Hovet, Annexet, Tele2 Arena, Friends Arena, Södra Teatern, and Mosebacketerrassen. And more recently, venture capital-backed All Things Live has acquired existing promoters in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland to further up the ante in the competitive Nordics landscape.
“They are, of course, rivals, but competition pushes people to do more things and, hopefully, better things,” observes Johansson. “It also gives the artists the opportunity to have the choice of who they want to work with. From that point of view, it’s like everywhere else in the world: you’ll never have a monopoly, which can only be a good thing. Personally, I welcome the fact that there’s competition to motivate us all.”
And Johansson notes that the rivalries between the corporate powers are not as fierce as many commentators would suggest. “We did Elton John with AEG, I did the Rolling Stones with AEG, so we work together, and we talk. We’re both American-owned companies who don’t sit too far away from each other in Los Angeles, so it’s nice to see that there’s a lot of mutual respect between us.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Johansson believes the talent pipeline in his part of the world is in rude health. “There’s lots of good small clubs, all across the country. People always complain there aren’t, but when you start to look at it, there are proper 800 to 1,000-capacity rooms everywhere across Sweden. And then, because of ice hockey, you also have 10-12 relatively modern ice hockey arenas with capacities from 6,000 to 13,000.”
The Next Generation
The wealth of talent doesn’t just exist on stage, however, and when it comes to succession plans for Live Nation, Johansson is very optimistic about the company’s future.
“I want to spend more time with my family; I want to go on long hikes with my dog, Hugin; I want to read more and generally just have more time to think”
“My main ambition is to make sure that the people working here in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Baltics, have the opportunity to continue to work and to become the best at what they do,” he discloses.
“I see myself as working a little bit less in the not too far distance, because there are other things I want to do, which is not just related to the business… I want to spend more time with my family; I want to go on long hikes with my dog, Hugin; I want to read more and generally just have more time to think,” he explains.
“I have no extreme things that I want to do, because I’ve been so fortunate. I’ve travelled the world in an extremely good way, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I met fantastic people – some of whom have become very good friends. So, it’s not that I want to stop and open a restaurant or a hotel or become the owner of a football club. But I do see myself working a little bit less, eventually. I’ve been asked this question by my family as well, but I explain that I still have commitments to clients, and I will always fulfil my commitments.”
Always the consummate planner, Johansson reveals that he was careful not to fall into the trap of pursuing a career at the cost of his family. “I have one son and two grandkids, and while I want to spend more time with them, I have seen them a lot as they grew up.
“I live on an old farm just outside of Stockholm, and my son and his family have always lived in the house next door, so I’ve been present since my grandchildren were born. I’ve seen them when they started to go to school; when I walked the dogs first thing, I got to say good morning to them… it’s a lovely relationship – my grandson is now 21 and my granddaughter is 18, and they are always dropping in to see me and have a cup of coffee and a chat. In fact, my grandson has been working in security at some of our shows to make money, and I think my granddaughter will also do some of that.”
“There are always places I always want to go back to – I want to be in Italy every day of the week”
Family aside, Johansson would also like to schedule more travel when he can find the time. “There are always places I always want to go back to – I want to be in Italy every day of the week,” he says. “I love New York. I love Los Angeles, Paris, London, Australia. I’m sure I will be able to get back to them all, but I’m not in any rush, because I’ve been there many times with work.”
When it comes to passing on the Live Nation batons, he coyly states, “It’s being worked on,” and while he keeps his cards close to his chest, it’s obviously a progression that he is contemplating very seriously.
“It’s a very difficult thing to do,” he says of the succession plans. “For me, it was natural because I brought the business in, made sure we made the money, and took the company into where it is today. But you have to really think carefully about who can do this in the future… You have to have a good bunch of people to run the whole Nordic area. Maybe that means one or two or three people who have the same vision who can then work together.”
With the succession strategy being a work in progress, for the foreseeable future, Johansson has travel plans on hold, while he remains in the Nordic region to help his younger colleagues realise their potential. “It’s almost like working with an ice hockey team. You can see who is going to be the next star – this guy, this girl, they’re going to be great promoters, they’re going to be great marketeers, they’re going to be great sponsor people. That is a big thing to see, and it’s one of my biggest pleasures in life,” he concludes.
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