The cream of the UK’s live business turned out for the LIVE Awards 2024 at Troxy in East London last night (11 December).

The event, which took place in association with Skiddle, was attended by more than 500 guests including promoters, venues, agents, festivals, artist managers and more, the event saw awards collected by individuals and companies from across the live music community.

Fifteen awards, covering all sectors of live music, were handed out in total, culminating in the presentation of The LIVEtime Achievement Award to MOBO Group founder and CEO Kanya King.

In her speech, King announced for the first time that she is being treated for bowel cancer.

“Learning I have stage 4 bowel cancer was something I never saw coming and I am still processing this unexpected reality,” she said. “While this journey will undoubtedly be challenging, I’ve always believed in finding meaning through adversity. This diagnosis isn’t the end of my story—it’s a chance to inspire resilience, raise awareness, use this moment to not only fight my own battle but to amplify the message of early detection and the importance of proactively taking charge of your health. If my story can save just one life, then it’s a story worth telling.”

“The LIVE Awards was, once again, a fitting end to another landmark year for UK live music”

Other winners, chosen by a panel of industry experts, included Glasgow’s OVO Hydro (Venue of the Year), WME (Booking Agency >21), Mother Artists (Booking Agency <21): AEG Presents UK (National Promoter of the Year), Victorious Festival (Major Festival of the Year) and title sponsor Skiddle (Ticketing Service 2024).

Hosted for the second year running by Thanyia Moore, the LIVE Awards 2024 were supported by Skiddle alongside primary sponsors Tysers Live, PPL, PRS for Music, Ticketmaster, d&b audiotechnik and Equals Money, as well as Club Soda and all of the individual category sponsors.

“The LIVE Awards was, once again, a fitting end to another landmark year for UK live music,” says LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “A year when we delighted millions and demonstrated to Government why we fully deserve our seat at the top table of policy development. But also a year when too many venues closed, festivals called time and tours were cancelled or curtailed.

“Everyone in attendance at the Troxy believes in the power of music and goes above and beyond to deliver incredible experiences. All deserved this night to come together, recognise and reward those that have had the greatest year and prepare for 2025, with all the challenges and opportunities it will bring.”

The full list of The LIVE Awards 2024 winners is as follows:

The LIVE Green Award: onboard:earth
The LIVE Workforce Award: Attitude is Everything
Venue of the Year: OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Grassroots Champion: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Booking Agency (>21): WME
Booking Agency (<21): Mother Artists
National Promoter of the Year: AEG Presents UK
Regional Promoter of the Year: Shine
Ticketing Service 2024: Skiddle
Major Festival of the Year: Victorious Festival
Festival of the Year: Slam Dunk Festival
Production Supplier 2024: Eat to the Beat
Brand Partnership 2024: FREENOW x Music Venue Trust
Road Warrior of the Year: Carl Lewis
LIVEtime Achievement Award: Kanya King, CBE

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The Cure’s touring team have spoken to IQ about live’s integral role in the multi-pronged strategy that helped the band’s first studio album in 16 years top the charts across Europe.

Songs of a Lost World reached the summit last week in most major European markets, including their native UK where it outsold the rest of the top 20 combined.

The LP – which gave the Robert Smith-fronted band their first UK #1 since 1992’s Wish, and their first ever chart-topper in several other countries – dropped via Polydor on 1 November. The promotional campaign included two solid days of Cure content and interviews across BBC channels between 31 October and 2 November (lead single Alone also premiered on Mary Anne Hobbs’ 6 Music show on 26 September).

Central to the coordinated approach, the group performed two world exclusive live sessions for BBC Radio 2 In Concert and BBC Radio 6 Music on 30 October, followed by a global livestream from the 3,100-cap art deco East London venue Troxy on the day of release.

Charlie Renton of Primary Talent International tells IQ how the Troxy show, which has attracted more than 1.7 million views on YouTube, came together.

“It needed to be a venue with character, have the facility to park nine trucks and a facility to house a 10-camera shoot”

“Robert got in touch with us towards the end of the summer saying he had a confirmed album release date, could we find a relatively small venue ‘with character’ to put on an album launch show on the release date which would be livestreamed,” says Renton.

“Not having a huge amount of lead time on this, we were so lucky to get Troxy to move a few dates around for us! It really worked out well being such a beautiful venue and so well set up for the filming too.”

Pete Wilson of promoter AAA Entertainment reveals the event was just three months in the making.

“At the back end of July, we got emails from Primary asking us what we could find for a livestream on 1 November,” he says. “After a series of calls and emails over the next 48 hours, we set about seeing what might be available in London and Brighton at around 1,000 capacity.”

Wilson explains that from an original list of 30 venues, it quickly came down to a handful.

“It needed to be a venue with character, have the facility to park nine trucks and a facility to house a 10-camera shoot,” he continues. “Eventually, the Troxy was the optimum choice and we set about trying to clear pencils. This, with the relief of all concerned, was achieved.

“To create an event with a live vibrant fanbase, media and guests was a challenge, but it happened.”

“The main focus was that we needed to make sure the tickets went to real fans – especially due to the show being livestreamed”

Tickets for their BBC Radio 2 In Concert set were allocated via a free ballot, while the Troxy gig went on sale via Dice, with the band maintaining their well-documented low price, anti-scalping stance. Applications for each night stretched well into six figures.

“The main focus was that we needed to make sure the tickets went to real fans – especially due to the show being livestreamed,” notes Renton. “As it was the album launch show, it was set up so fans pre-ordering the album would get a code to enter the onsale.

“Robert wanted it to be a very reasonable ticket price, with no dynamic pricing and any fees to be made absolutely clear from the very start of the buying process. The final £50 ticket price ended up including a £1 charity donation to War Child, too.

“Troxy was already partnered with Dice, which was really helpful with its pricing clarity and anti-tout set up.”

Simon Eaton, head of live at Troxy, elaborates: “In order to have the opportunity to purchase a ticket, customers were first required to preorder the band’s new album Songs of a Lost World, in order to obtain a one time use code. Once on sale, the code allowed fans to purchase a maximum of two tickets per person which could not be sold or transferred to another person, with ID required on entry.

“Messaging was explicitly clear from the outset: if it’s not been purchased on Dice, it’s not a legitimate ticket. The few that did appear on Viagogo for extortionate rates were forgeries, sent cease and desist letters and removed immediately.”

Moreover, Eaton hails the concert as “three hours of solid beauty”.

“None of this could have happened without Robert Smith, who deserves a very special mention,” he adds. “It’s rare to never that artists get involved directly, we usually only deal with their background teams. He was there right from the start, a breath of fresh air.

“His decision to not only have the show streamed globally, but to make it available to all for free is unprecedented, given the potential revenue stream if it was charged. He oversaw the merch which was made specific for the night, with the date and venue printed on, badges were given out as freebies to everyone on entry. These are things that don’t happen every day and something that will stay in the memory for a long time to come.”

“Most bands become big and then either implode or spend years trying to maintain that level, but The Cure have just continued to build”

More than 45 years after forming, The Cure have enjoyed a huge surge in popularity and keep getting bigger with every outing. In 2023, they achieved the highest-grossing tour of their career, with their 30-date North American tour selling 547,000 tickets for a gross of $37.5 million.

“The Cure have always been unique,” says long-term agent Martin Hopewell. “Most bands become big and then either implode or spend years trying to maintain that level, but The Cure have just continued to build – without ever compromising or shifting styles to match whatever else was going on at the time – and you’d have to say that much of the reason for that has been their live performances.

“The fact is that they’re a bloody good band and they consistently deliver some truly epic live shows. The success of this new album – and the coordinated campaign to launch it – is obviously very exciting for all of us and I’m really thrilled for Robert and the rest of the band. They deserve everything they get.”

Smith recently told Radio 6’s Matt Everitt that the band have another LP “virtually finished”, with a third new record also in the works. He also elaborated on their future touring plans up to their 50th anniversary in four years’ time.

“We’ll start up again next year,” said Smith. “Seriously, I have to finish the second album. We were going to play festivals next year, but then I decided that we weren’t going to play anything next summer.

“The next time we go out on stage will be autumn next year. But then we’ll probably be playing quite regularly through until the next anniversary – the 2028 anniversary!”

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UK trade body LIVE has revealed the full list of finalists for its 2024 awards show, taking place on Wednesday 11 December at Troxy in east London.

The third instalment of The LIVE Awards spans 14 categories paying tribute to venues, promoters, agents, ticketing companies, grassroots venues, festivals, production suppliers, brand partnerships and more.

The 80+ finalists range from OVO Hydro to the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, Isle of Wight Festival to Bearded Theory and Live Nation to Communion One.

“The LIVE Awards are an important fixture in the industry calendar and directly fund LIVE’s work across government,” says Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE.

“The LIVE Awards are an important fixture in the industry calendar and directly fund LIVE’s work across government”

“It is also a great night that gives us all a chance to get together and celebrate our peers while acknowledging the cultural and commercial impact we have made during the previous 12 months.

“This year’s finalists are fully deserving of their places on the 2024 shortlists and we look forward to revealing who the winners are at the ceremony in December.”

The winner in each category is decided by a panel of industry professionals. The awards will be presented in front of an invited industry audience on 11 December at Troxy in East London, with 600 guests expected to attend.

Tickets to the event, which is in association with Skiddle, are also on sale now on the website.

View the full list of 2024 finalists here.

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Troxy’s head of live Simon Eaton has spoken to IQ about hosting the climactic gig in a trilogy of special London performances by Four Tet, Fred Again + Skrillex.

The electronic dance superstars joined forces for a run of three surprise shows in three nights at Camden’s Electric Ballroom (cap. 1,500), Electric Brixton (1,700) and the art deco Troxy (3,100) from 5-7 January.

All shows, which followed the release of Wasserman Music clients Fred Again and Skrillex’s Rumble collaboration with Flowdan, had tickets released on the day and sold out within minutes.

“We got a call from Eat Your Own Ears, the promoter, a couple of days before Christmas,” Eaton tells IQ. “We do a lot of work with them and are good friends of ours. They often come to us with similar ideas, although normally with a slightly longer lead time!

“They wanted to go with three independent venues – bigger venues each day – finishing with that final explosive show. They were looking for something of around 2,000 cap, which is our capacity for club nights, so we fitted what they were looking for. It was finalised around 27-28 December and it was all systems go from that point. I had to cancel my annual leave and work over the Christmas period, but it was well worth it.”

“To sell 2,000 tickets in 16 seconds and there not be a single issue was outrageous”

All three events were not announced until the days they took place, with tickets released in staggered announcements on the artists’ Instagram stories.

“They wanted to split the tickets into three sections, so each artist had their own little pot of tickets rather than everything pulling from one central pot,” explains Eaton. “They wanted the artists to make the announcements themselves, rather than the venue, promoter of anyone else.

“We’d already built all the ticketing behind the scenes and supplied them with the links the day before, so it was ready to go and we were just waiting for them to do it. Four Tet went just after midday and the other two not until a little bit later in the afternoon.”

More than 20,000 fans tried to buy tickets on the first two announcements alone, with over 9,000 users on a waiting list as soon as the final announcement went live.

“I think 16 seconds was how long it took for all tickets to be in baskets, which is insane,” says Eaton. “It’s broken all records here. To sell 2,000 tickets in 16 seconds and there not be a single issue was outrageous, so kudos to Dice, our ticketing provider, for that.”

“We had the most sold-out shows we’ve ever had at one period of time at the back end of last year – and that’s now rolling into this year”

An extended stage platform was built from the venue’s main stage which enabled the DJs to perform from a central location in the midst of the crowd.

“It was an absolute whirlwind, it feels like a dream,” adds Eaton. “It’s such a short period to put on a show of that scale and I can’t believe we pulled it off. It’s great to have it out the way in one sense, but you like to look forward to these big events and I feel as though our biggest event of the year has already come and gone – and it’s only January!”

East London’s Troxy continues its busy start to 2023 with a sold-out concert by Editors (1 February) as part of Independent Venue Week. Other shows include Black Veil Brides (25 February) and The Flaming Lips (25 April), who will be performing their Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots album in full.

“There’s a different challenge every day,” says Eaton. “[The cost of] everything has gone up and it’s difficult at the minute, but everyone’s in the same boat and we’re doing the best we possibly can with it. Fortunately, we’ve got an incredible year of events coming up, which I’m quietly confident is going to offset all those costs.

“We had the most sold-out shows we’ve ever had at one period of time at the back end of last year, and that’s now rolling into this year.”

The building, which opened in 1933, is also undergoing a refurbishment, which coincides with its 90th anniversary and will result in a capacity increase.

“We’re looking at Q4 for that coming into play, but it’s TBC on what the exact number will be in terms of the capacity increase,” he adds. “That needs to be signed off by licensing and police and whatnot, but it’s substantial.”

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London venue Troxy has announced the appointment of Lovebox founder Jools Butterfield as operations manager.

Butterfield, who brings more than 25 years of industry experience, was most recently senior festivals manager at Vision Nine, where he served as event manager for NASS festival and assistant event manager for Boardmasters festival. He was also central to the overall creation of the strategy and approach of all Vision Nine events.

Butterfield spent 15 years as Lovebox festival manager, latterly as part of Live Nation. He was also instrumental in the ongoing success of the promoter’s Citadel and Wilderness festivals.

“He is a wonderful asset to our venue family”

“Having spent many years working alongside Jools at MAMA & Company, I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him into the Troxy fold. He is a wonderful asset to our venue family, says Simon Eaton, head of live at Troxy.

Butterfield will be responsible for ensuring the delivery and progression of the events schedule at the 3,100-cap venue, which hosts a special BRITs Week show by Damon Albarn for War Child this Sunday (20 February).

“I am absolutely delighted to be joining a venue with the rich cultural history of Troxy,” he says. “Going back numerous decades to the early 20th century, Troxy is interwoven into the fabric of London, a connection I am thrilled to be maintaining and expanding on.”

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Ahead of the 15th UK Festival Awards on Thursday 6 December, organisers have shared insights from this year’s UK Festival Market Report before its release in 2019.

The festival census, which surveys 15,000 people annually, reveals trends in consumer demographics, preferences and behaviour. The 2017 report can be read here.

Key findings of the 2018 Festival Market Report include:

• One in four festivalgoers think ticket prices this year were overpriced for what they delivered, compared to the same in 2017, 21% in 2016 and 20% in 2015)
• The uncertain economic climate has had an impact on festivalgoers, with 47% having attended fewer festivals, opted for a day ticket or spent less on alcohol during their visit
• As competition gets fiercer, consumers are more concerned with the overall line-up at festivals, with 64% now considering this to be a major factor influencing ticket purchase, compared to 43% in 2017
• With line-ups becoming more important, the biggest downer at festivals this year was consumers’ ‘favourite bands clashing on the running order’
• Over half of festival attendees (57%) expect the festivals they visit to take a stance on social justice by raising awareness or taking action, such as addressing the gender balance of line-ups. However, there remains a third of attendees who said they would prefer festivals to be neutral and not have a stance on such issues (34%)

“The UK festival census, conducted annually in conjunction with the UK Festival Awards’ public voting process, allows us to gain deep insights into festivalgoers’ behaviours and attitudes towards various aspects of live events,” comments awards manager Michael Baker.

“In early 2019 we’ll be releasing these findings in the form of the UK Festival Market Report, and on 6 December we will acknowledge the British public’s favourite festivals at the 15th annual UK Festival Awards at the Troxy in London.”

To take advantage of a 10% discount on Festival Awards tickets for IQ readers, follow this link or enter the code UKFA10 at checkout.

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East London’s Troxy has agreed a ticketing deal with Dice, in a partnership the mobile ticket seller says makes it the “world’s biggest mobile-only venue”.

The 3,100-capacity venue, on Commercial Road in Stepney, follows Scala in King’s Cross and Islington Assembly in going mobile with Dice, whose app ties tickets to the mobile device from which they were bought, making unauthorised resale impossible.

Tom Sutton-Roberts, the Troxy’s GM, says: “We may be one of London’s oldest independent venues but we’re proud to say that we’re still standing strong. Teaming up with Dice showcases a new chapter for us.

“As the world’s biggest mobile-only venue, we’re embracing innovative technology that favours fans and artists to bring spectacular performances to our stage.”

Russ Tannen, UK managing director of Dice, adds: “We have to beat the touts. Troxy joining the Dice family is a big win for fans who won’t be seeing inflated prices at this iconic venue.”

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South London rapper Loyle Carner was named best emerging live act at the Artist and Manager Awards at the Troxy in east London last night.

Carner took home the Dice live award, which recognises the best up-and-coming live act in the UK and Republic of Ireland, as chosen by a panel of 100 promoters, venues, journalists and broadcasters. Previous winners include Wolf Alice and Little Simz.

Other winners included Peter Rudge (The Who, The Rolling Stones, Duran Duran), who was presented with the Peter Grant award by agent and Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings in recognition of his more than four decades in management; Adele manager Jonathan Dickins, who won the artist award; Zita McHugh, who collected the writer/producer manager of the year gong; and The 1975, who won artist of the year.

IE Music’s David Enthoven (Tyrannosaurus Rex, King Crimson, Roxy Music and, latterly and most famously, Robbie Williams) was posthumously awarded the industry champion prize, while Young Turks founder Caius Pawson was given the entrepreneur award.

Years and Years were named best breakthrough artist, and Stormzy’s manager, Tobe Unwuka, was recognised as breakthrough manager.

Now in their fifth year, the Artist and Manager Awards are jointly presented by the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC).

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Rock fans are being invited to participate in this year’s Kerrang! Awards after organisers of the event announced that they will include live performances for the first time in their 23-year history.

East London venue Troxy (it of Masquerave fame) will host the awards show on 9 June and Kerrang! says it has “called up some of our coolest megastar pals to arrange a very special live performance, which will be happening once the awards ceremony is over.”

As a result, a limited number of tickets are being made available on a first-come, first-served basis to fans, priced at £20 each for those just wanting to see the live performance or £25 to anyone who wants to be in the venue for the entire awards ceremony.

Although organisers have not revealed the identity of the performers, the event has earned a reputation for attracting some of the biggest names in rock. Last year the likes of Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson collected awards, while in previous years rock royalty such as Metallica, Anthrax, Rage Against The Machine, 30 Seconds to Mars, Slipknot and Biffy Clyro, among many others, have attended the event.

Tickets for the ceremony are available via Kerrang! publisher Bauer Media Group’s ticket store, Aloud.com.

Troxy in east London will this month host an evening of live dance music aimed at raising awareness of male cancer.

The black-tie Masquerave, organised by cancer charity One for the Boys and carmaker Fiat, will feature DJ sets by Faithless, Eats Everything, Tom Findlay of Groove Armada, Jamie xx, Jillionaire, Seth Troxler, Catchment, Patrick Topping and yet-to-be-announced surprise guest, while in attendance will be “DJs, dance legends and celebrities getting together to show their support, inviting the public to raise money for the fight against male cancer”.

Tickets for the Saturday 30 April event are available now for £42.50 per person or £580 for a VIP table for four.

The independently owned Troxy (pictured), an art-deco former cinema opened in 1933, is a multi-purpose music and events venue with a capacity of 3,100 for live music.

Here’s the line-up as it stands: