Electric Zoo hit with class action after ‘nightmare’ edition
Electric Zoo organisers have been hit with a class action lawsuit after a “nightmare” edition earlier this month.
The New York-based electronic music festival, which is now operated by Avant Gardner, was due to take place between 1–3 September in Randall’s Island Park but was plagued by issues.
A pair of attendees have now launched a class action over what they called “a nightmare endured by thousands of electronic music fans”.
As IQ previously reported, the first day of the festival was cancelled just three hours before it was set to start. Organisers released a statement saying “global supply chain disruptions” had impacted the festival and that “unexpected delays have prevented us from completing the construction of the main stage in time for Day 1”.
However, promoters behind the event later told Billboard that the Department of Parks & Recreation officials would not issue the permits needed to stage the event.
“[Electric Zoo] was a nightmare endured by thousands of electronic music fans”
Additionally, the final day opened late and was oversold – with the full 42,500-person capacity being met by midday and approximately 7,000 festival-goers being prevented from entering the site, despite having valid tickets.
Some fans who reached the festival site after the gates were closed decided to jump fences or run through security checkpoints as a group, joining other ticket-holding fans in mad dashes past security staff, according to reports.
The class action plaintiffs – Nicole Brockmole and Lauren Bair – are now seeking damages on “behalf of all affected patrons who paid for ticket(s) for access or entry to [Electric Zoo] were not granted access”.
“In addition to Friday’s cancellation, and perhaps more egregiously, things turned worse for Electric Zoo fans on Sunday when they were left to languish in heatwave for hours after being greeted by never-ending lines to enter the festival and eventually denied entry because the venue was oversold and overcrowded,” the lawsuit states.
Brockmole and Blair – who are from North Carolina and Arizona respectively – were among thousands who travelled to New York for the festival, only to be denied entry.
This year’s edition of Electric Zoo was set to be headlined by Kx5, Galantis, and The Chainsmokers, and organisers of the festival promised refunds to those who were denied entry, or a partial refund for weekend ticket holders.
Total costs for this year’s festival — including refund costs to fans who didn’t make it in, as well as paying Friday night performers their full fees — could total $25 million, former insiders at SFX Entertainment, which owned the festival from 2013 to 2022, told Billboard.
The festival changed hands last year after Avant Gardner, a Brooklyn music venue and nightclub, acquired Electric Zoo promoter Made Event for a reported $15 million.
The festival was launched in the US in 2009, spawning international editions in Mexico, Brazil, Japan and China.
IQ has reached out to Avant Gardner for comment.
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Social media driving live’s growth, says top US analyst
Social media will play an increasingly significant role in a booming live event economy in the US, according to an analyst at one of the Big Four banking institutions in the country.
The role of social in fan growth globally was highlighted in a note sent to clients last week by Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, who commented: “The live entertainment industry has been one of the most robust growth engines of the music industry over the past 20+ years.”
According to a recent estimate from Morgan Stanley, summer concerts by artists including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, as well as blockbuster films such as Barbie and Oppenheimer, are expected to add a combined $8.5 billion to US growth in the current quarter.
Ehrlich laid out five catalysts that will lead to sustained long-term growth in the industry: continued spending shifts towards services and experiences; healthy pricing power amid increased demand; positive supply and demand trends as social media apps like TikTok boost global awareness and fan growth; the relatively “disruption-proof” nature of live events as virtual methods remain incomparable; and the advent of experiential marketing.
“The live entertainment industry has been one of the most robust growth engines of the music industry over the past 20+ years”
“Not surprisingly, we believe talent, especially artists that command huge fan bases, will be able to increasingly extract incremental value out of the ecosystem (largely driven by increasing supply and ticket pricing), while venues, which have several independent revenue streams, accrue the most value,” Ehrlich said.
The comments echo Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino who spoke at Bank of America’s Media, Communications, and Entertainment Conference last Wednesday (13 September).
“It’s that important badge in [a fan’s] life to make sure that they can tell people they were at the Beyoncé show,” he explained. “Artists and what they’re able to drive with that relationship, with that fan, [through live] is just a bond that we’ve never seen before — especially with social media.”
Noting the hit the industry took from Covid-19, Ehrlich assured clients that “consumer demand for live entertainment has come roaring back”. “This backdrop has supported supply and demand tailwinds which all appear to be sustainable over the next several years.”
“Live entertainment is currently the brightest star in the broader media and entertainment universe,” she said.
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First look inside MSG Sphere Las Vegas
A first look at the inside of the new $2.3 billion MSG Sphere venue in Las Vegas has been shared.
The venue is set to open on 29 September with U2’s residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At The Sphere, which elicited a million ticket request registrations for its on-sale.
Also opening at the Sphere on 6 October is a new nature film from director Darren Aronofsky titled Postcard From Earth.
The director shared the first look at the interior of the venue and its Exosphere, the largest LED screen on earth.
The 580,000 sq ft fully programmable LED screen comprises approximately 1.2 million LED pucks, each containing 48 individual LED diodes that can display 256 million different colours.
“My iPhone can’t come close to capturing the definition on the screen,” said Aronofsky. “At times you forget where you are and you’re transported to the other side of our home.”
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Earlier this summer, the exterior of the new venue was lit up for the first time to celebrate the Fourth of July in the US.
Earlier this year, U2 gave Apple Music’s Zane Lowe a sneak preview tour of the Sphere and a glimpse into their ideas as they began to create the production.
The band’s Bono and The Edge shared several key details about the Sphere, noting that it was built specifically for live performances and the arts, rather than a typical arena that’s built for sports. The venue boasts Sphere Immersive Sound and 4D technologies.
“There are no speakers. The entire building is a speaker. So wherever you are, you have perfect sound is the plan,” said Bono.
“There’s nothing else like it in the world and won’t be for many, many years,” added The Edge.
This is what the Las Vegas Sphere looks like on the inside 😯
Who would you want to see perform here?? pic.twitter.com/3mXLKan5XP
— edmtrain (@edmtrainapp) July 24, 2023
U2’s special run of concerts – based around the group’s classic 1991 album Achtung Baby, marks their first live outing in four years, following The Joshua Tree 30th anniversary stadium tour, which was seen by 3.28 million fans worldwide from 2017-19, and grossed US$390.8 million.
Another Sphere has been proposed for east London but has hit significant delays.
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The Chemical Brothers: ‘Touring in US not viable’
The Chemical Brothers are the latest act to dismiss touring in the US, as the country’s authorities consider raising touring visa fees for foreign acts by more than 250%.
In an interview with Billboard, the English electronic music duo revealed that they aren’t planning any US shows in support of their new album due to ballooning costs.
“The costs have gone up so much. It’s just not really viable at the moment,” said the duo’s Ed Simons. “I’m apologetic to the people who do want to see us that it is increasingly difficult for us to get to America because we have had the times of our lives playing there.”
The pair also commented on the state of touring post-pandemic and how they attempted to lower the costs of their live touring production to make touring the US more affordable.
“[The production] originally came from the fact that we didn’t want to inflict [audiences with] just the two of us awkwardly standing with the synthesisers,” Simons said.
“So we wanted a big back job, but it’s just grown and grown, and now we’ve got these 40-foot clowns voicing the words.”
The increasing costs of touring the US are not helped by a planned increase in the cost of paperwork to get there.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was planning to raise touring visa fees for foreign acts by more than 250%.
The current petition fee would rocket from $460 to $1,655 (a 260% increase) for a regularly processed ‘O’ work visa and soar to $1,615 (251%) for a regularly processed ‘P’ visa – putting 50% of all UK tours of the US under threat according to data from trade body LIVE.
However, DHS and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have now reportedly agreed to delay the implementation of the rise until at least March 2024 and are considering a lower increase.
Regardless, the costs of touring have still prevented several big-name artists from being able to play shows in the US in recent months.
“The costs have gone up so much. It’s just not really viable at the moment”
Last year, English rapper Little Simz cancelled a run of 10 North American tour dates due to the “huge deficit” it would leave her in financially. Santigold also cancelled a tour of the territory, citing “skyrocket[ing]” price of “gas, tour buses, hotels, and flight[s]”.
English electronic group Metronomy, who also pulled the plug on their North America tour, said “Touring America is one of the most expensive and exhausting things a band can do”.
Earlier this year, Easy Life axed their North American tour dates due to “some insane costs,” adding that “the world seems to cost 10x as much as it used to right now”.
The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has also reckoned it unlikely that his band would be able to tour America again.
“We cannot get insured and most of the big bands doing arena shows, by the time they do their first show and rehearsals and get the staging and crew together, all the buses and hotels, you’re upwards $600,000 to a million in the hole,” he said back in April.
“To earn that back, if you’re doing a 12-show run, you don’t start to earn it back until the seventh or eighth show. That’s just how the business works. The trouble now is if you get COVID after the first show, you’ve [lost] that money.”
Placebo, meanwhile, postponed their entire North American tour, last September, just two days before it was due to begin, citing “visa and logistical issues”.
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) stepped up their #LetTheMusicMove campaign earlier this year in order to oppose changes to US visa applications.
#LetTheMusicMove was originally established in June 2021 to campaign for reductions in post-Brexit costs and red tape for UK artists and musicians when touring in Europe, but extended its focus following the announcement by the DHS.
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Gary Gersh steps down at AEG Presents
Gary Gersh, president of global touring at AEG Presents, plans to step down after eight years at the company.
His departure was announced by AEG Presents chairman Jay Marciano, who broke the news to AEG staff in a memo.
Gersh’s former role will be filled by Rich Schaefer, who is currently the company’s senior vice president of global touring.
In his own letter addressed to staff, Gersh said: “I have made the very difficult choice to step away from my position here at AEG Presents. This was not a decision I came to lightly, as working alongside everyone at this company these past eight years has been a career highlight for me, but I’m excited about the prospects ahead and look forward to us crossing paths again in the future… I couldn’t be more proud to place the global touring division in the very capable hands of my longtime friend and partner in business Rich Schaefer.”
“This was not a decision I came to lightly, as working alongside everyone at this company has been a career highlight for me”
Marciano added: “Gary played a vital role in the development and growth of global touring; his energy, passion and initiative helped nurture an embryonic idea into a powerhouse team that has made a substantial impact on both our business specifically and the industry as a whole.”
Commenting on Schaefer’s new role, Marciano said: “Rich, who has been SVP of the division since joining the company in 2018, has an extensive resume and years of experience beyond his current duties here. He started his career in artist development at a record label before moving into management, where he spent two decades working across all aspects of artists’ careers while also developing a speciality in touring. He brings a thorough understanding of our business to the job and is looking forward to hitting the ground running and executing at the highest level on behalf of both global touring and AEG Presents. Rich will continue to be based out of New York, but we should all expect to be seeing more of him in Los Angeles.”
Gersh joined AEG in 2015 but he began his career in the 1980s, serving as an A&R exec at Geffen Records, where he played a key role in signing artists such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana to the label.
During the 1990s, Gersh led Capitol Records and launched G.A.S Entertainment with John Silva. A veteran talent manager, Gersh also led The Artist Organization, representing artists such as Lenny Kravitz and John Legend.
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P!nk grosses $350m with Summer Carnival Tour
P!nk has grossed US$350 million and sold nearly three million tickets on her blockbuster Summer Carnival Stadium Tour.
The outing, which is still underway, spans 64 dates in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
“P!NK is a once-in-a-lifetime artist – her stage presence, dedication, and ability to captivate audiences is unparalleled,” says Brad Wavra, SVP, Live Nation Touring. “The incredible success of this record-breaking stadium tour shows her global impact, which only continues to grow.”
The tour kicked off on 7 June in Bolton, UK, going on to gross $125m and sell one million tickets on the European leg.
Stops included two concerts at BST Hyde Park in London, two at La Défense Arena (cap. 40,000) in France and two at Olympiastadion (74,475) in Germany.
European promoters involved in promoting the tour include Marshall Arts, AEG Presents/BST Hyde Park, Paris La Defense Arena, Live Nation/Werchter Boutique, Mojo, Peter Reiger Konzertagentur, Barracuda Music and Live Nation Poland.
The Summer Carnival is currently making its way through North America, with $150 million grossed and nearly one million tickets sold in the territory.
“P!NK is a once-in-a-lifetime artist – her stage presence, dedication, and ability to captivate audiences is unparalleled”
The Australia/New Zealand leg of the tour, which sold out in minutes, will commence in February 2024 and run until late March. More than 800,000 tickets have already been sold and AU$150 million grossed, becoming the country’s biggest-selling run ever by a female artist.
The 44-year-old has also become the highest-selling artist in Australia with over 3,000,000 tickets sold in the country throughout her career.
“It’s been the thrill of a lifetime to promote P!NK’s six Australian tours since 2004, and the twentieth anniversary of that association will see P!NK surpass three million tickets sold in Australia and New Zealand,” says Michael Coppel, Chairman of Live Nation Australasia.
P!nk’s longtime manager, Roger Davies, comments: “Alecia (P!NK) and I started working together over two decades ago. One of our goals was to make her an amazing international live act. Starting in little clubs and pubs, we travelled the world performing everywhere we could. Over the years, she’s just gotten better and better.
“Twenty-two years later, it makes me so proud to see her selling out stadiums around the world. She’s so comfortable on stage performing in front of tens of thousands of fans, always singing live and captivating audiences with her theatrical productions, continuing to push creative boundaries. She never ceases to amaze me! She has become a global superstar.”
Marshall Arts represents P!nk worldwide excluding North America, Australia & New Zealand.
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Blue Ridge Rock Festival latest victim of weather
Organisers of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in the US were forced to end the event early due to severe weather.
The sold-out festival took place at the Virginia International Raceway with acts including Slipknot, Death Punch, Megadeth, Pantera, Shinedown and Danzig, and was due to run between 7 and 10 September.
A powerful thunderstorm hit Blue Ridge (cap. 50,000) on its opening day, cutting Coheed and Cambria’s set short and prompting an evacuation of the racetrack.
The festival resumed the next day but organisers were forced to pull the plug on the final two days due to the approach of more dangerous weather.
“With heavy hearts, due to this weekend’s continued severe weather, we must announce the cancellation of the final days of Blue Ridge Rock Festival,” organisers announced via social media on Saturday (9 September).
“This has been an agonising turn of events for what was to be such a special weekend”
“Your safety and well-being are our foremost concerns. We understand the disappointment this brings, and we share immensely in your sadness. Please know that this decision was made with the utmost consideration for everyone involved and our focus now is on supporting those of you still on-site.”
“This has been an agonising turn of events for what was to be such a special weekend. There will be much more that we will unveil over the next few days. Rest assured, we will take care of you despite these difficult circumstances.”
Following the cancellation, several artists, including Shinedown, Papa Roach, and viral country sensation Oliver Anthony performed an impromptu set for disappointed fans.
Organisers said information regarding refunds will be made available early this week “when business re-opens.”
Extreme weather has impacted a number of 2023 festivals and outdoor concerts including IYKYK, Bluedot (UK), Pitchfork Festival Chicago (US) Primavera (ES), Dutch festivals Awakenings, Bospop and Wildeburg, Alexandra Palace’s Kaleidoscope Festival and Robbie Williams’ concert in Austria.
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Ed Sheeran show axed last minute due to venue issues
Ed Sheeran’s Saturday concert at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was called off at the last minute due to “flooring issues”.
The 65,000-capacity venue initially warned fans shortly before the concert was due to start that it would be “significantly delayed” but it ended up being cancelled altogether.
The British singer revealed on social media on Sunday that he and his team battled for 24 hours to save the Mathematics Tour show after a “flooring problem” was identified.
The post explained that when the crew were bringing in their equipment ahead of the soundcheck, “rubber tiling had become unstuck – causing two tall towers to slip overnight by about a foot each”.
“We really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything”
“It was a safety issue, and we really tried to do the best we could to make the show happen but I’m not gonna risk the safety of my fans for anything,” wrote Sheeran. “I really am gutted, this was very much out of my control but I do take full responsibility for everyone that was put out from the cancellation.”
With temperatures over 90 degrees, some fans required medical attention for heat-related issues, the Clark County Fire Department told 8 News Now, with one person transported to a local hospital.
Allegiant Stadium said in a statement that “stadium doors were opened at 5:05 PM to get fans out of the heat and we ensured that anyone requiring assistance received it”.
Sheeran apologised for the lateness of the cancellation: “Nothing will take away from the effort people went to get to Vegas though and I’m sorry it wasn’t communicated sooner to the people waiting outside. We really thought the show was going to happen up until the very last moment but it just couldn’t for safety reasons.”
The show has been rescheduled for 28 October, pushing back the conclusion of the Mathematics Tour. The third and final leg of the 88-date tour had been due to finish at SoFi Stadium on 23 September.
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Extreme weather hampers debut edition of hip-hop fest
IYKYK, a new hip-hop festival set to debut in the US this weekend, has been called off due to “irreparable damage” to the main stage caused by a recent monsoon storm.
The one-day festival, promoted by Relentless Beats and Universatile Music, was due to take place on 9 September at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, with sets from Lil Uzi Vert, Metro Boomin, Rico Nasty, Denzel Curry, Jeleel and more.
“Last Thursday, our stage structure suffered irreparable damage due to a severe monsoon storm,” reads a statement from the organisers.
“Despite all efforts to clear the debris, it’s clear that the process will take much longer than originally anticipated and reconstruction of a safe site for fans will not be possible before Saturday. We have exhausted all alternative venue options suitable for the planned production and the number of tickets sold, therefore, we must unfortunately cancel IYKYK Music Festival scheduled for this Saturday 9 September.”
“We have exhausted all alternative venue options suitable for the planned production and the number of tickets sold”
Refunds will be automatically processed in the next seven days to 10 days, according to the statement.
Damage to the stage from the storm also caused Relentless Beats to postpone the Basstrack music festival, which originally was scheduled to take place on 2 and 3 September at Phoenix Raceway, until later this month.
The promoter is also due to host the Goldrush Music Festival and a concert from hip-hop duo $uicideboy$ at the raceway in early October.
IYKYK is the latest festival to be disrupted by extreme weather conditions, after Bluedot (UK), Pitchfork Festival Chicago (US) Primavera (ES), Dutch festivals Awakenings, Bospop and Wildeburg, Alexandra Palace’s Kaleidoscope Festival and Robbie Williams’ concert in Austria.
Elsewhere, festivals such as Austria’s Nova Rock and Australia’s Splendour in the Grass this year invested in site improvements after their 2022 editions were hit with extreme weather.
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Billie Eilish leads coalition against gun violence
A number of artists including Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel and Sheryl Crow have joined a coalition of musicians called Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence.
The alliance, which also includes Nile Rodgers, Bootsy Collins, Sofi Tukker, Rufus Wainwright and Bush, is designed to inspire people to volunteer, donate and vote to end the epidemic of gun violence in the US.
Led by musician Mark Barden, whose son was one of the 26 people murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, Artist for Action also includes the Pixies, LP, Old Crow Medicine Show, Halestorm, Rozzi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town and more.
The organisation is launching with a series of live events, including a performance by Bush and special guests, at New York’s Irving Plaza on 22 September.
“As a community of artists, we need to band together to make common sense change”
Presented by AFA (Artist For Artist), the first concert is designed to raise awareness for the coalition and Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“After my son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I put my career as a professional guitarist on hold to devote myself to preventing gun violence,” Barden said. “Please join me and hundreds of other artists, musicians, actors, athletes, and people like you to finally end this senseless violence.”
“This needs to stop,” said Peter Gabriel. “So many needless deaths. So much suffering. It just needs a little common sense.”
Billie Eilish adds: “As a community of artists, we need to band together to make common sense change.”
Further concerts are planned for December to celebrate the release of the film that led to the creation of Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence: A Father’s Promise, as well as one next summer at Central Park SummerStage around Gun Violence Awareness Month.
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