All Things Live acquires Agents After All
Nordic live entertainment giant All Things Live is continuing its expansion in Benelux with the acquisition of Agents After All.
Amsterdam-based Agents After All is one of the largest independent companies in the Dutch live entertainment market.
Founded in 2004 by Coen ter Wolbeek, Henkjan Onnink and Lesley Grieten, the 30-strong team is involved in 1,500 concerts annually in the Netherlands.
This includes shows at AFAS Live, Ziggo Dome, Rotterdam Ahoy and Olympic Stadium as well as festivals such as Royal Park Live, HIER Festival and Concert at SEA with 135,000 visitors annually.
Following the purchase, the current owners of Agents After All become partners and co-owners of All Things Live.
“We are excited about joining forces with All Things Live to accelerate our business development and growth as part of a respected partnership with an increasingly strong presence in Europe,” says Norbert Plantinga, managing director of Agents After All. “We look forward to the cooperation and delivering stellar experiences to the artists we have the honour to represent and their audiences.
“We are impressed with the entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen of the Agents After All team”
Kim Worsøe, member of the executive board of All Things Live Group, says: “We are impressed with the entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen of the Agents After All team and look forward to welcoming everyone as part of the All Things Live partnership as we continue to build a stronger platform in Benelux and the European live entertainment market. This expansion of our footprint establishes All Things Live as a leading European player, and we will continue to build our business together.”
All Things Live has been on an acquisition spree in 2022, buying up Antwerp-based management company Musickness and Italian promoter and agency Radar Concerti.
Also in 2022, the group announced the signing of international management firm Then We Take The World and launched an intimate three-day music festival in Copenhagen, Denmark, called Common Ground Festival.
Founded by Waterland Private Equity in 2018, All Things Live’s stable of festivals includes Big Slap in Malmö, Sweden and Weekend Festival in Hämeenlinna, Finland.
The All Things Live group, which mainly consists of promoters, also includes ICO Concerts and ICO Management & Touring (Denmark), Friction, Atomic Soul Booking and Stand Up Norge (Norway), Maloney Concerts, Monkfish and ROA (Sweden) and Busker Agency in Belgium.
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Mojo withdraws from Parkpop due to losses
Live Nation’s Mojo Concerts has withdrawn from promoting Parkpop festival, one of the largest and longest-running free-to-attend festivals in Europe.
The Dutch festival has reportedly been in financial trouble for years, with Mojo and the Parkpop organisation picking up the shortfalls “for a long time”.
“A free Parkpop is very difficult these days,” reads a statement from Mojo. “The financial results, the changed festival climate since the pandemic, the increase in costs of materials and artists have prompted Mojo to reconsider its involvement with Parkpop.
“Mojo will continue to support the festival in the background where possible, but due to current developments, Mojo is leaving the organisation. The relations between Parkpop and Mojo are and will remain good, only the cooperation will take on a slightly different form.”
The 40th edition of Parkpop took place in June at new location Malieveld after forty years at Zuiderpark – both of which are located in The Hague.
Organiser Guus Dutrieux of Ducos Productions reports that the most recent edition made losses “in the thousands”.
“A free Parkpop is very difficult these days”
“We caught the shortfalls for a long time and Mojo did too,” he told Algemeen Dagblad. “But of course that will stop at some point. We want to take the time to investigate how Parkpop can be made healthy again. This can be done in several ways and nothing is excluded. The aim is that Parkpop must remain accessible to a wide audience.”
As a result, the festival, which is visited by up to 350,000 people each year, will not take place in 2023.
Following the news, local authorities have weighed in to state the importance of the festival returning, and to pledge their support.
“Parkpop runs like a green-yellow thread through the lives of many residents of The Hague and Hagenezen,” said councillors Richard de Mos and Ralf Sluijs.
“It cannot be that the fortieth edition was also the last. As far as we are concerned, everything is being done to keep this iconic music festival going. Parkpop is too important to the city to just let it die. We will not let that happen.”
The Hague alderman Saskia Bruine added: “If Parkpop comes up with a good plan, we can talk about the 2024 edition. The festival should not be left with a shortage every year. They can simply apply for a subsidy, the conditions for Parkpop are no different than for other festivals. I give them a year to think things through.”
Mojo recently announced that its Dutch hip-hop festival, Woo Hah!, will return next year under a different name and in a new location.
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Friday round-up: Omicron live music restrictions
Welcome to IQ’s Friday round-up of the latest restrictions affecting major international touring markets.
Below you’ll find the latest information on certification schemes, social distancing requirements, mask mandates, capacity restrictions and lockdowns affecting key live music markets around the globe.
Belgium
As of today (28 January), a ‘coronavirus barometer’ is in force in Belgium and the country will start in ‘code red’.
With the exception of nightclubs and dance halls, all indoor spaces belonging to the cultural, festive, sporting, recreational and events sectors may be opened to the public. Wearing a face mask remains mandatory in public areas.
For public events, a valid Covid Safe Ticket (CST) is required when there are more than 50 attendees indoors and 100 outdoors. If the event takes place outside with more than 1,000 people, attendees must be divided into cohorts.
If an event takes place with more than 200 people, the crowd must be limited to 70% of the total capacity of the place where the event takes place. However, if the indoor air quality target can be met during the event, this restriction does not apply.
Venues with more than 50 capacity are required to have an air quality meter (CO2) in the indoor areas accessible to the public.
The target value for indoor air quality is a flow rate of at least 40 m³/hour per person of ventilation and/or air purification or a maximum CO2 concentration of 900 ppm (parts per million).
The indoor air quality limit is a flow rate of 25 m³/hour per person for ventilation and/or air purification or a CO2 concentration of 1200 ppm.
In principle, the rules will apply until 27 April but the epidemiological conditions will be closely monitored and the measures will be evaluated at the next Consultative Committee.
Catalonia
Catalonia will begin to relax almost all restrictions from today (28 January) but nightclubs must remain closed.
The Covid passport will not be mandatory to access leisure and entertainment facilities, and cultural venues will no longer have a capacity limit.
However, at indoor events where there are more than 1,000 people, it is recommended that venues have a good ventilation system.
Denmark
Denmark’s live music business has cheered “a day to celebrate” after it became the first country in the EU to announce it is ending all coronavirus measures.
The country will no longer categorise Covid-19 as a “socially critical” illness from 5 February, with PM Mette Frederiksen telling citizens they will be able to look forward to “concerts and festivals again” this summer.
The authorities will remove restrictions from 1 February due to Denmark’s high (81%) vaccination rate and the Omicron variant appearing to be milder than previous variants. Despite a recent surge in infections, Covid-related hospitalisations remain low.
The Netherlands
The Dutch government has announced the reopening of the cultural sector, under certain conditions.
From 26 January, booked events are permitted to resume with a maximum of 1,250 visitors indoors and a maximum of one-third of the capacity in outdoor spaces.
However, access to music venues and cinemas will be restricted to those who have been vaccinated (geimpft), have recovered from Covid (gensesen) or have been tested against Covid (getestet) – otherwise known as the 3G model.
Attendees must also wear a face mask when walking around. Venues and events must adhere to a 22:00 curfew.
Nightclubs must remain closed and festivals and unplaced events will continue to be prohibited.
New Zealand
A ‘staggering’ number of major events across New Zealand have been cancelled and more are expected, following the country’s recent move to red in the Covid traffic light system.
From 23 January, indoor and outdoor events across the country are limited to 100 people and the use of vaccine passports is mandatory.
The move to red in the Covid traffic light system comes after a cluster of nine Omicron cases were recorded.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland announced that proof of Covid status will no longer be legally required for entry to bars, restaurants or cinemas from 26 January.
Indoor standing events are now permitted again and nightclubs, which were forced to close on 26 December, are allowed to open.
Covid passports will remain in use for access to nightclubs, as well as for indoor unseated and partially-seated events with 500 or more people in attendance.
Norway
The Norwegian government has rolled back restrictions and increased capacity limits for events.
From 21 January, there can be up to 1,500 people at indoor events with fixed seats. Where there are more than 200 people present, events can have a maximum of 50% capacity, divided into cohorts of up to 200 people. There must always be at least two metres distance between the cohorts.
For outdoor events with fixed seats, there can be up to 3,000 people. Where there are more than 500 people present, events can have a maximum of 50% capacity, divided into socially distanced cohorts of up to 500 people.
The government will review the measures at the beginning of February.
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Dutch gov to ease restrictions as 150,000 protest
Multi-day events and festivals in the Netherlands will likely be able to take place from 25 September under certain conditions.
According to nu.ul, the Dutch government is deciding on the conditions today, ahead of a press conference tomorrow (14 September) evening.
The conditions, which will be based on findings from Fieldlab Evenementen, will likely include a 75% capacity limit.
The cabinet is also considering how Covid certification and testing could aid the sector’s reopening.
“The culture sector is getting better news than has been leaked”
Culture minister Ingrid van Engelshoven provided a glimmer of hope during her appearance on the Good Morning Netherlands programme this morning, saying: “The culture sector is getting better news than has been leaked so far. I am hopeful that things will go in the right direction tomorrow, also for the events.”
The news comes after an estimated 150,000 people across ten cities took part in the second Unmute Us protest on Saturday (11 September) to demand the immediate restart of major events.
Saturday’s march was the largest-ever protest in the Netherlands, more than doubling the attendance of the first demonstration on 21 August which drew 70,000.
“This second flawlessly organised demonstration proves once again how strong our industry is in this area”
More than 4,000 organisations joined the movement, including festivals Lowlands, Mysteryland, DGTL, Down the Rabbit Hole, Awakenings and Paaspop – all of which have been cancelled this year due to restrictions.
Ruben Brouwer, director at Mojo, which promotes Down the Rabbit Hole, Lowlands and Paaspop among others, says: “Our industry consists of professionals who can organise large-scale public events well, neatly and safely.
“This second flawlessly organised demonstration proves once again how strong our industry is in this area. The event industry has proven time and again that it can organise events safely. So there can be no other cabinet decision than full opening on 14 September.”
The protest comes after the Dutch government extended the ban on large-scale events until at least 19 September amid fears over the spread of the highly infectious delta variant.
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ID&T, Mojo announce post-pandemic party (date TBA)
Dutch promoters Mojo and ID&T, along with Heineken, are organising the Netherlands’ first large-scale event without restrictions which will go ahead as soon as it is permitted.
The event, dubbed ‘Celebrate Life’, will take place in Amsterdam venues Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000) and AFAS Live (6,000) on an unspecified date in the post-pandemic future.
“We haven’t danced together for over a year. Not partied for a whole year. As soon as the corona measures give us free rein, we will see you at the front of AFAS Live and Ziggo Dome! The moment the government gives the starting shot, we are shoulder to shoulder again. This can be during the weekend, but also take into account a weekday. We will of course inform you immediately,” reads a statement on the Celebrate Life website.
“The moment the government gives the starting shot, we are shoulder to shoulder again”
De Jeugd van Today, Maan, Ronnie Flex & the Fam and Vunzige Deuntjes Soundsystem have been announced for the four-and-a-half hour AFAS Live event, which is open to all ages.
Benny Rodrigues, Freddy Moreira, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Lucas & Steve and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano have been announced for the 18+ Ziggo Dome event, which will run from 21:30 pm and 06:00 am.
Dutch residents are able to pre-register for tickets now which cost €50.40 and €61.60 respectively, or €89.60 for a combi ticket.
An event similar to Celebrate Life was announced at the beginning of the year by Live Nation Belgium, Studio Brussel and the Subs.
Billed as Belgium’s biggest “post-Covid party”, ‘I Want to Dance Again‘ will also take place in Antwerp as soon as restrictions on major events are lifted.
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More than 1m registrations for 10k Fieldlab test
More than a million residents have signed up for Fieldlab’s largest test event yet, the 10,000-capacity 538 Koningsdag (King’s Day) festival in the Netherlands.
Registrations opened this week to unprecedented demand and all 10,000 tickets were raffled on Thursday (15 April) evening.
The rock and pop festival, which is organised each year by Radio 538, will be held as usual at Chasséveld in Breda on the 24 April.
Newly announced acts include Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Emma Heesters, Gerard Joling, Kraantje Pappie, Krezip, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Lucas & Steve, Maan, Miss Montreal, Racoon, Rolf and Sanchez.
“Newly announced acts include Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Emma Heesters and Gerard Joling”
Ticket holders will be required to take a rapid test no more than 24 hours prior to the start of the event and only those with negative results will be admitted.
Attendees must also take a second rapid test five days after the event. Vulnerable groups are excluded from participation.
538 Koningsdag is just one of many large-scale test events announced by the Dutch initiative. Yesterday evening the 3FM Awards 2021 took place at TivoliVredenburg, attended by 1,000 visitors.
Other upcoming large-scale Fieldlab events include a Racoon concert on 7 May (3,500 people) and a nightclub test event in Amsterdam on 15 May, which can be attended by 1,000 people.
Alongside the government-approved Fieldlab tests, the state has also announced 80 concerts across nine days as part of an extensive pilot programme of cultural activities – marking a test event boom in the Netherlands.
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‘First-ever full-length concert NFT’ sells for $1.2m
Dutch DJ Don Diablo has sold what is thought to be the first-ever full-length concert NFT (non-fungible token) for cryptocurrency to the value of $1.2 million.
The hour-long show, ‘Destination Hexagonia’, was created exclusively for the auction and sold within four minutes for 600 Ethereum (the second-largest cryptocurrency on the blockchain) on the SuperRare marketplace.
Destination Hexagonia was filmed over a year with videographer Paul Snijder, using green screen FX and 3D-rendered characters and sets to align with Don’s sci-fi aesthetic.
The Destination Hexagonia NFT will be delivered to the auction winner in a unique handcrafted box with a hard drive containing the only copy of the concert’s high-quality file.
“We didn’t just want to create the world’s first-ever DJ set NFT, we also wanted this to be a next-level, sci-fi animated live concert experience,” says Don Diablo.
“We almost feel like this particular piece has become priceless because we worked on it for nearly a year”
“At this point, we almost feel like this particular piece has become priceless because we worked on it for nearly a year and put an incredible amount of love and effort into it.”
Money from the auction will be invested back into Don Diablo’s Hexagon Foundation, which he founded to help artists create, share and sell their art in the NFT space.
Don Diablo previously sold an unreleased song titled Genesis as an NFT for around $200,000, which came with a holographic synthesizer and a physical hand-built hologram cabinet and cartridge to display the art.
The groundbreaking sale of Destination Hexagonia follows a recent boom in artists selling NFTs, which reached a peak when Kings of Leon generated more than $2 million from their NFT collection, ‘NFT Yourself’.
Grimes, Shawn Mendes, Steve Aoki, Quavo, Lil Baby, 2 Chainz, Jack Harlow, Tory Lanez, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, 3lau, Ozuna have also released collections recently.
GET Protocol’s Olivier Biggs recently told IQ how the live business can harness non-fungible tokens, particularly with ticketing.
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Fieldlab shares results of initial Back to Live tests
Seated indoor events can take place as soon as possible – even with a high prevalence of Covid-19 infections – provided a certain set of measures are adhered to, according to a study conducted by Fieldlab Evenementen.
The Dutch initiative has shared the findings from the first part of its Back to Live test series, which involved a business conference and a cabaret show by the Dutch comedian Guido Weijers. Each event took place during February at the Beatrix Theater, Utrecht, with around 500 attendees.
Based on the results of the study, Fieldlab says that these so-called ‘type 1 events’, which take place indoors, with seats and where the public behaves calmly, can take place with 50% occupancy and without social distancing.
However, visitors must be tested before and after the event and wear a mask while walking around the venue. The recommendations are also based on a venue having good ventilation and separating large groups of visitors.
“Indoor, seated events, where the public behaves calmly, can take place with 50% occupancy and without social distancing”
Fieldlab has now presented the research results to the Dutch government and hopes that the Outbreak Management Team will provide advice on organising events in the near future.
The researchers say the results of the study are “encouraging”, noting that 98.4% of the visitors who attended the events adhered to the instructions and 80% of the visitors downloaded the CoronaMelder app in advance, so that track and trace could be carried out easily.
The number of contacts within a meter and a half and lasting longer than 15 minutes was limited, especially during the theatre test. This number was higher at the conference because people actively sought out colleagues and peers.
The Back to Live series, which has so far included concerts, festivals and other live events, will continue with the 3FM Awards in a few days time and the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
Alongside the Fieldlab events, the Netherlands will also host more than 80 concerts across nine days as part of an extensive pilot programme of cultural activities, announced by the Dutch government.
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TicketSwap expands with two senior hires
Amsterdam-based fan-to-fan ticket marketplace TicketSwap is expanding its leadership team with two senior hires ‘in anticipation of strong demand’ for live music this summer.
Margriet Rijff joins the company as COO and Oscar Kriek takes on the newly-created position head of business strategy.
Rijff was formerly a senior executive at beauty booking platform Treatwell, where she helped grow the platform in 11 countries through launches, mergers and acquisitions.
As COO of TicketSwap, Rijff will oversee operations across all markets from the Netherlands to Brazil and facilitate the platform’s ‘aggressive expansion’.
“I am very pleased to be joining such a talented team with an amazing culture,” says Rijff. “The company has great potential to help music fans and event organisers. I’m particularly excited to help TicketSwap grow internationally, and make buying and selling second hand tickets easy, transparent and safe around the globe.”
“We have consolidated in order to get through the last year. Now, as events start to pick up, we are stepping up”
Under the role of head of business strategy, Kriek will bring a wealth of knowledge to further enhance the data, insight and services TicketSwap can offer its partners.
Kriek is a mainstay in the Dutch music industry and has experience working with artists, events, venues and most recently in business strategy at See Tickets Benelux.
In addition, he leads the Tech Programme for Amsterdam Dance Event, bringing in various high profile thought leaders over the years such as the CTO of Amazon.
“It’s great to have Margriet and Oscar on board,” says TicketSwap co-founder and CEO Hans Ober.
“Like so many in the live entertainment space, we have consolidated in order to get through the last year. Now, as events start to pick up, we are stepping up. Margriet and Oscar bring a wealth of experience running and expanding international businesses. Together they will really help us forge ahead in our mission of becoming the world’s favourite place to buy and sell tickets.”
The two senior hires signal a rebuild for the Dutch ticket marketplace after making redundant 30% of its workforce in May 2020 due to the financial impact of the coronavirus.
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Dutch gov plots 80+ test concerts over nine days
The Netherlands will host more than 80 concerts across nine days as part of an extensive pilot programme of cultural activities, announced last night (6 April) by the Dutch government.
Music venues across the country, including Amsterdam’s Paradiso and Milky Way, will accommodate a total of 11,000 visitors at 87 reduced-capacity shows between 22 and 30 April.
The programme, which stretches across April and includes theatre shows and museum openings, will trial the use of test certificates which display Covid-19 test results or vaccination status.
Participants must show either a negative Covid-19 test result or proof of vaccination upon entry, and adhere to the 1.5-metre social distancing rule once inside the concert.
“There is close consultation with the municipalities about the feasibility and enforceability of the pilots,” says minister for education, culture and science, Ingrid van Engelshoven. “If these are successful, a good start can then be made with test evidence on a large scale.
“If these [pilot events] are successful, a good start can then be made with test evidence on a large scale”
“It is important that we start with this, also for all those cultural institutions that have not been able to receive an audience for a long time. The monuments, museums, theatres and music venues can now carefully open their doors.”
The pilot scheme will run alongside Fieldlab Events’ forthcoming test shows, which includes the Eurovision Song Contest in May and the 3FM Awards, which was announced today (7 April).
The 3FM Awards will be presented on 15 April at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht with 1,000 people in attendance. Live performances will be delivered by Son Mieux and The Vices.
The most recent Fieldlab Events pilots, two test festivals held at the Lowlands site in Biddinghuizen on 20 and 21 March, were used to trial the government’s new CoronaCheck app.
The calendar for the full pilot programme can be viewed on the central government website. Artists for the concerts are yet to be announced.
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