Download - Issue 41, May 2012

ILMC 24: THE REPORT FULL REVIEW OF THE CONFERENCE WEEKEND

VERY IMPORTANT PACKAGESBOOSTING REVENUE USING VIPS

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CIRCUSALEGRIA’S TRANSITION TO ARENAS

LATIN AMERICATOURS HEAD SOUTH FOR BOOM TIMES

LOOKING NORTH ANNA HILDUR HILDIBRANDSDÓTTIRBREAKING THE MOULD RUDI ENOS

MODERN CHINA MICHAEL LOJUDICECROSSING BORDERS PETER SMIDT

LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCEIssue 41

An ILMC Publ ica t ion . May 2012

May 2012 IQ Magazine | 3

16

44

28

32

54

News6 In Brief The main headlines over the last two months

7 In Depth Key stories from around the live music world

Features16 ILMC 24 Report Full review of the conference weekend

28 Very Important Packages Using VIP packages to boost revenue streams

32 Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus The transformation of Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria to

an arena show

44 Ticketing Report 2012 New players and a focus on data dominate the

ticketing sector

54 Latin America Adam Woods heads south to investigate the

booming Latin business

Comments and Columns12 Looking North

NOMEX director examines the progress of Nordic music

13 Breaking the Mould

Rudi Enos highlights improvements for

outdoor structures

14 Modern China

Michael LoJudice on six years of working in the

Chinese market

15 Crossing Borders Peter Smidt’s solution to help European talent

64 In Focus Survivors of the ILMC apocalypse

66 Your Shout

Favourite moments from ILMC 24

CoNteNts


To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 7284 5867 [email protected] Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.

Issue 41LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCETHE ILMC JOURNAL, May 2012

IQ Magazine2-4 Prowse PlaceLondon, NW1 9PH, [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7284 5867Fax: +44 (0)20 7284 1870

PublisherILMC and M4 Media

EditorGordon Masson

Editorial ConsultantGreg Parmley

Associate EditorAllan McGowan

Marketing & Advertising ManagerTerry McNally

Sub EditorMichael Muldoon

Production AssistantAdam Milton

ContributorsManfred Tari, Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir, Rudi Enos, Michael LoJudice, Peter Smidt, Christopher Austin & Adam Woods

Editorial ContactGordon Masson, [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7284 5867

Advertising Contact Terry McNally, [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 5867

While other conferences bemoan the state of the business, delegates used this year’s ILMC to make some decisions that might actually improve the industry, writes Gordon Masson...

tALKING sHoP

HOW DOES ONE MEASURE the effectiveness of a trade conference? It’s a question I’ve been pondering ever since I attended my first such gathering in the 90s (a symposium for the space and satellite sector. Don’t ask). But when you regularly attend such events, you often hear the same topics combed over again and again, usually with no coherent solutions or action. And, dare I say it, the music industry can be more guilty than most about talking in circles.

But, although I’m opening myself up to criticism of bias, as a forum, ILMC 24 has to rank as the most progressive conference I have attended. Having made that bold statement, I suppose I should back it up with some reasoning, so here are just a couple of examples that I witnessed first-hand. The ILMC Production Meeting saw delegates conclude that international standards must be agreed upon to improve safety, be that for production staff, artists, or the paying public. Those pleas might have fallen on deaf ears among agents and promoters, but the voices demanding action are growing louder and the sands are definitely shifting as event organisers realise they don’t want fans leaving shows in body bags, and they certainly don’t want to serve jail time because of somebody else’s shoddy work.

Meanwhile, with numerous Yourope members in London for ILMC, the organisation finalised its standard terms and conditions for artist procurement, beginning at this summer’s festivals. Quite what agents and artist managers will make of the clauses in that document remains to be seen (see page 10), but

in terms of industry developments, it’s surely a step in the right direction. In other sessions, delegates from different countries found common ground on which they can collaborate and discovered opportunities for business in even the most far-flung destinations. And proving that even the most vehement objectors can mellow, the hot topic of secondary ticketing was met with an accepting shrug – a long way from the angry scenes a few years ago when Eric Baker introduced Viagogo.

In short, if you came to ILMC 24 and didn’t leave with something meaningful, then you were doing something wrong. And with extra curricula activities such as the Match of the Year, paintballing, the Gala Dinner, poker, karaoke and various artist showcases, there literally weren’t enough hours in the day. The best ILMC yet? I’ll let you be the judge, but hopefully our report on ILMC 24 (see page 16) will fill you in on anything you missed. And with the 25th anniversary just ten months away, rest assured, plans for next year’s extravaganza are already being hatched and the bar is being raised to ensure this year’s achievements are surpassed in 2013.

Elsewhere in this issue, we have our annual report on the state of the ticketing business (page 44), Adam Woods takes a look at the booming live music market in Latin America (page 54), we learn about the remarkable production that is Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria (page 32) and we delve into the various ways that promoters, venues, artists and others are generating revenues through theso-called VIP sector (page 28).

6 | IQ Magazine May 2012

To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 7284 5867 [email protected] Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.

In BrIef...FEBRUARY

Whitney Houston (48) is found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel room, just hours before she is due to perform at a pre-Grammy award party.

The 23rd annual Pollstar Awards names Neil Warnock UK ‘booking agent of the year’, while Barrie Marshall picks up the award for ‘international promoter’. Glas-tonbury wins ‘international music festi-val’ and The O2 arena collects the ‘inter-national venue’ prize.

Armin Rahn, founder of Munich-based Armin Rahn Agency and Management, dies at the age of 58 after a long illness. During a career spanning four decades, Armin worked with a long list of top artists, and was a popular member of the ILMC.

Westminster Council in London green lights Live Nation’s series of nine Hyde Park concerts scheduled for July 2012 including shows by Bruce Springsteen and Madonna, but it imposes strict noise limits .

The Monkees’ frontman Davy Jones dies at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack at a ranch near his Florida home, where he was visiting his horses.

MARCHVivendi says it is in talks to sell off more than €500million worth of EMI’s record label assets in a bid to win European regulatory approval for Universal Music’s €1.5billion acquisition of the company.

Italian rigger Matteo Armelini is killed in an accident during load-in for a Laura Pausini concert in Reggio Calabria. He was 32.

Private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific puts its Australian ticketing company Ticketek and Sydney’s Allphones Arena up for sale in a bid to reduce a AUS$2.7bn (€2.1bn) debt run-up by Nine Entertainment, which owns the assets. Observers value the opera-tions at about AUS$600m (€477m).

Stuart Galbraith buys out AEG’s 50% stake in Kilimanjaro Live for an undis-closed sum. Both parties say that they still

intend to work together on events going forward.

Stuart Clumpas, director of New Zealand venue Vector Arena, adds his voice to a campaign to tighten anti-scalping laws after tickets for One Direction’s sold-out tour appear on resale websites at up to 21 times face value.

Michael Brenner is posthumously giv-en a lifetime achievement award at the German Live Entertainment Awards in Frankfurt. Brenner, who promoted musi-cals and such acts as Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen, was killed in a road acci-dent last year.

Australian promoter Andrew McManus is rushed to hospital for emergency heart surgery after falling ill at a Lenny Kravitz show in Melbourne.

Event infrastructure specialist The Arena Group raises £16.5m (€20m) to fund its global expansion plans, thanks to finan-ciers Sports Investment Partners and MML Capital.

T in the Park promoter Geoff Ellis reveals he is in talks to stage a similar festival in mainland China as early as next year.

Kilimanjaro Live cancels the 2012 edi-tion of Sonisphere at Knebworth. The 6-8 July event was due to feature Queen, KISS, Faith No More and Marilyn Man-son, among others.

Ebay-owned secondary ticketing service, StubHub, launches operations in the UK and admits it is looking at further expan-sion across Europe.

APRILSerbian authorities arrest the venue owner and other individuals following a fire at the Contrast nightclub in Novi Sad that claims the lives of six people.

PRS For Music reports total royalties collected in 2011 amounted to £630.8m (€767m), an increase of 3.2% on the pre-vious year. Live music royalties grew by more than 8% to £22.5m (€27.3m) during the same period.

AEG wins the contract for the new 20,000-capacity Galactica Park arena, which is scheduled to open in Moscow in 2018. The US giant already secured a deal to run the 45,000-seat VTB Arena in the Russian capital, when it opens in 2016.

International delegates visiting Tallinn Music Week in Estonia increase from 194 to 306. Despite only being in its fourth year, the event has doubled in size, with total delegates now up to 589, while more than 11,000 punters attended the corre-sponding showcases.

Sony Music, AEG Live and Time Out par-ent company Oakley Capital are named as the companies bidding to buy Mama Group from HMV.

The Musicians’ Union criticises organisers of the London Olympics when it is revealed that the music at the opening and closing ceremonies will be performed to backing tracks, prompting tabloid newspapers to nickname the event ‘the karaoke games’.

Tupac Shakur, who died 15 years ago, is the main talking point at Coachella Fes-tival as a multi-million dollar hologram of the rapper performs on stage alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. The company behind the technology, Musion, hints that the show could go on tour, prompting suggestions that other late stars, such as Michael Jackson and Elvis, could under-go the hologram treatment.

Whi

tney

Hou

ston

News

News


Jim marshall OBE, founder of amplification company Marshall, has died aged 88. Nicknamed the ‘father of loud’, he was originally a music teacher, but left the classroom to create his iconic guitar amplifier.

In tribute to its founder, Marshall Amplification says, “While mourning the Guv’nor, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers respon-

sible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The ground break-ing quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover – together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.

“Jim was also an incred-ibly humble and generous man who, over the past sev-eral decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes. While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!”

Marshall Amps Founder Dies

GlastOnBury fOundEr Michael Eavis is taking advantage of the spare time he has in his year off to address The Great Escape in Brighton this month. It marks his first re-turn to the event in six years and once again he will be interviewed by fellow festi-val promoter, Bestival’s Rob da Bank.

The duo will be joined by a number of young promot-ers to discuss the festival market and the challenges facing those people pushing the boundaries in large scale music events in 2012. “I love hearing about the gossip, the rumours and the backstage back-stabbings, but I’m also strongly committed to help-ing to keep the UK’s festivals among the best in the world, so any opportunity to further

that mission is a good one,” says Da Bank.

In addition to a packed schedule of live music show-cases at The Great Escape, the 10-12 May event has also teamed up with Arts Coun-cil England to outline how new artists can take control of their own careers. “There has been a lot of talk about artists going the ‘DIY’ route in recent years, especially early on in their career as labels look to sign slightly more developed talent,” says The Great Escape program-mer Chris Cooke. “This programme of sessions will throw the spotlight on eve-rything new artists and their teams need to know, and of-fer plenty of valuable tips for more established music busi-ness professionals too.”

Eavis and DIY in Line-up for TGE

NEC Seeks Euro Management Deals

Koe

n M

elis

thE nEC GrOup is expand-ing its international activi-ties with an initial push on the European market, as top priority. The Birmingham-based operation’s NEC Group International, led by MD Koen Melis is cur-rently developing a number of opportunities in the con-ference, arenas, stadiums and exhibitions market, with France in particular proving a fertile hunting ground.

The initiative is designed to expand the company’s global presence by building on the success of its cur-rent portfolio as a consult-ant in the planning stages of Lyon’s Villeurbanne Arena, Rome’s Città Dello Sport and Derby’s multi-purpose arena

in the UK, in addition to its management contract for the Convention Centre Dublin. Melis points to NEC Group’s 35 years’ experience in oper-ating its own venues, includ-ing the NIA and LG Arena, as a reason that the company is now being regarded as a credible alternative to the likes of AEG and SMG.

“We know how important it is, as an international organ-isation, to become entrenched at all levels of the community in which our ventures exist – from the start of a new-build to the day-to-day responsibili-ties of facility management – and we look forward to esca-lating the operations of the group and taking on the chal-lenges European venues pre-

sent,” says Melis. “Overall, our group mission is fixed on bringing venues to life and we will be employing our exten-sive knowledge and experi-ence of facility management to achieve our objectives.”

Melis states France is a market he is making a priority. “It’s a very typical European market, but it has different types of activity in different regions,” he says. “France tends to have Zénith venues, but it doesn’t have arenas as we know them, so there are opportunities to build those kinds of multi-purpose ven-ues and we’re already work-ing in Lyon on a new bas-ketball arena as well as the Toulouse Chamber of Com-merce. I think people like the

fact that NEC Group has a city involved as a stakeholder. Every city now wants an are-na – like they once wanted a cathedral – and we aim to take advantage of that.”


News

aEG faCilitiEs is celebrat-ing a remarkable feat for its buildings portfolio after 14 of its venues were named in the top 50 worldwide in Poll-star’s ranking for the first quarter of 2012.

Unsurprisingly, The O2 arena in London remained at the top of the pile, but AEG’s bricks and mortar assets accounted for five of the top ten venues worldwide in the first quarter, boasting 55% of ticket sales in the top ten, and 45% in the top 25. In total, AEG Facilities sold more than 1.7 million tickets dur-ing Q1, accumulated across three continents, with The O2 selling more than 328,000 tickets, and the o2 World ven-ues in Berlin and Hamburg taking the number three and

four spots, respectively, with only Manchester Evening News Arena spoiling the party in second place globally.

Elsewhere, Kansas City’s Sprint Center ranked second in North America and sev-enthworldwide. Coming in at 3 and 4 in North America, and 10 and 11 worldwide were AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami and Prudential Center in Newark, respectively.

“We are proud of AEG Facilities’ showing in the worldwide top 50, and have our teams across the globe to thank for their hard work and dedication to consistently ensuring that our venues are industry leaders, and among the most elite in the world,” beamed AEG Facilities presi-dent Bob Newman.

as thE nEw ZEaland city of Christchurch continues to rebuild after last year’s devastating earthquakes, venue operators Vbase cel-

ebrated a major milestone in live events returning to the country’s south island when on 24 March a sell-out 18,000-crowd attended

the opening of the new AMI Stadium. The inaugural event featured local rugby club the Canterbury Crusaders, although the stadium has been designed by global sports specialists Populous to host a whole range of sports, plus

concerts, community and cul-tural events. Vbase’s Turlough Carolan tells IQ that projects like the new sports stadium and the Re:Start retail mall provide a hint of the exciting things in store for Christch-urch as the rebuild progresses.

thE EvEnt safEty Shop (TESS) has strengthened its relationship with Jon Cor-bishley’s The Safety Officer (TSO) by agreeing a partner-ship deal whereby TSO will provide services for clients travelling to Australia and New Zealand.

The companies are cur-rently collaborating on crowd management and safety for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June, but the idea to make the arrangement more formal has been in the pipeline for some time. “The system worked perfectly when Roger Waters brought The Wall to Australia in Feb-ruary, as I had been liaising with all five Australian ven-ues since November to ensure that some of the tricky issues, in a production as complex as this, were ironed out well before the tour arrived,” says Corbishley.

With more than 27 years of experience in the industry, JC is regarded as the per-fect partner for TESS Down Under. “We want to establish

a global network of knowl-edgeable and experienced representatives so that there can be a seamless handover from continent to continent when we’re dealing with global tours. Jon is the ideal partner for Australia,” says TESS director Tim Roberts.

As laws and regulations change from territory to territory, Roberts says it’s vital to find recognised local experts who can provide insight and advice to clients, whilst resolving any safety and security issues before a touring production touches down in their market. As a result, TESS already has a partnership with Flash Entertainment in the Middle East and is in talks to bol-ster arrangements in North America. “It’s all about pro-viding a quality service and consistency, so we’re not rushing into anything. But the goal is to have a series of reps that we know and trust so that larger tours have that continuity they need to oper-ate smoothly,” adds Roberts.

AEG Tops Arenas League

NEW STADIUM FOR NZ

Safety Shop LinkS With Safety officer

The

O2

aren

a ©

Col

in P

hili

p

The

AM

I St

adiu

m m

akes

its

debu

t

News

vEtEran australian pro-moter Michael Coppel has become the new president and chief executive officer of Live Nation Australasia, after the world’s biggest promoter paid an undisclosed sum to acquire his Melbourne-based opera-tion, Michael Coppel Presents.

The deal underlines Live Nation’s ambitious strategy

to become the market leading promoter Down Under and cements a long-standing rela-tionship that Coppel has with the American corporation. “We have worked with Michael Coppel on a number of tours over the years and are now extremely pleased to be wel-coming such a well respected and successful promoter into our international network,” said Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino. “Aus-tralia is the 6th largest music market in the world and an increasingly important touring market for international artists. It represents a significant part of our opportunity for interna-tional growth.”

Coppel has been one of the most prominent concert pro-moters in Australia and New

Zealand for more than 30 years. His company organises hundreds of shows per year and promotes tours by some of the world’s biggest acts, including U2, Metallica, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyoncé and Rihanna. Three years ago, Coppel was responsible for a record-breaking arena tour with Pink, which sold out more than 650,000 tickets across 58 dates.

Luke Hede and Roger Field, who currently run Live Nation’s existing busi-ness Down Under, will now run Live Nation Australasia alongside Coppel, with the duo taking the positions of vice-presidents of promotions. “I am delighted to be joining

Live Nation and look forward to working with Luke, Roger and my current team, togeth-er with the touring teams in Los Angeles and London to firmly establish Live Nation as the leading promoter in Australia and New Zealand,” commented Coppel.

Live NatioN acquires MichaeL coppeL

Mic

hael

Cop

pel

Mic

hael

Rap

ino

10 | IQ Magazine March 2012

News

European festival association, Yourope, has published a new set of standards and conditions that it means to apply to artist contracts at a swathe of events starting this summer.

Examining the thorny issue of artist contracts and riders, Yourope has spent a year for-mulating the standard terms document, which all member

events are now sending out to agents ahead of the 2012 Euro-pean festival season. “It should make life easier for festivals as they have standard terms for important topics, rather than a number of contract terms which they can’t fulfil,” notes Yourope general secretary, Christof Huber.

Among the areas covered by the comprehensive docu-ment are: stage timing, cur-few and noise limits; insur-ance; fees, tax and visas; force majeure; security; contract riders; pyrotechnics; and event jurisdiction, for which Yourope has designated the laws of the United Kingdom to rule on any potential conflicts. Music lawyer Ben Challis and insurance broker James Dodds

of Doodson Entertainment advised Yourope on the terms.

No fewer than 24 festivals have already agreed to adopt the standard terms and condi-tions. These include: Melt! (Germany); Norways’s Øya and Bergenfest; Switzerland’s OpenAir St. Gallen and Mon-treux Jazz Festivals; Italian events Love Wave and 10 Giorni Suonati; Sziget (Hun-gary); and the Exit Festival in Serbia, among others.

“Serious issues relating to security, safety, payment terms, curfews, noise limits, force majeure, cancellation and insurance obligations are often now included in art-ist riders on terms that have never been discussed, let alone agreed,” states Challis, who is also general counsel for Glastonbury Festival. “The new Yourope standard terms are designed to make it clear where responsibility lies, and in particular what each party is expected to take responsibil-

ity for and insure, on a fair and reasonable basis.”

Commenting on Yourope’s proposals, The Agency Group’s Geoff Meall says, “I can see why they want to intro-duce a standard set of clauses and I’m all for anything that simplifies and clarifies the contractual position, but there are definitely things in there that won’t wash. For example on deposits, if we agreed with their terms for one of their members that ended up can-celling, would Yourope pay cancellation fees on behalf of their errant member?”

vOOdOO dOlls BEarinG the name GEMA are being abused once again after the German collection society announced a massive hike in fees for playing recorded music in bars and clubs. The controversial move follows last year’s hike in rates for performing rights on concerts.

In addition to the usage of recorded music, the new scheme will introduce revamped rates for live perfor-mances with musicians in res-taurants, piano bars and other locations when it comes into force in January 2013. But the proposal has caused an outcry among German promoters. The association for concert promot-ers, BMV, believes “GEMA has lost all sense of propor-tion” while the Association of

Culture Promoters in Munich (VDMK) published an online calculator that evaluates what promoters will have to pay under GEMA’s proposals. And according to that calculator, the future looks rosy for composers and rights holders, but prohibi-tively expensive for promoters.

Using the VDMK calcula-tor, even smaller clubs face a near four-fold fee rise – for example, an 80sqm club open three days a week charging €5 entrance, currently pays an annual flat fee of €3417.71. Under the new GEMA rules, that would increase to €11,700. For bigger locations the rates are even more dras-tic. A 1,200sqm disco open two days a week charging an entrance fee of €7, at the moment pays €22,389.67 to

GEMA each year. That’s a fair chunk of change, but nothing compared to the €131,000 it would be asked to pay in 2013.

While negotiations between BMV and GEMA have bro-ken down, the collection society has asked the German Office for Patents and Brands (DPMA) to arbitrate. The bad news for the live music indus-try is that past history suggests DPMA is GEMA-friendly, so it was no surprise that GEMA board member, Georg Oeller, welcomed the move for a rul-ing on arbitration, saying, “We are convinced the new rate scheme [is a move] in the right direction and look posi-tively to the outcome of the arbitration case.”

Meanwhile, promoter Mat-thias Rauh of Giga Event

launched an online petition in an effort to convince the Ger-man government to examine GEMA’s stance. The petition quickly amassed more than 32,000 signatures, but because it was not filed in the official web-site of the petition commission, policy makers will not be able to consider Rauh’s argument.

Three years ago, however, promoter Monika Bestle, of the Kulturwerkstatt in Sonthofen, filed an offi-cial petition against GEMA regarding an alleged unfair distribution of royalties and a lack of transparency and democracy. More than 107,000 signatures ensured the petition commission had to consider its merits, but Bestle and the live sector are still awaiting a conclusion.

YOUROpE DRAWS Up STANDARD TERMS FOR TAlENT CONTRACTS

NEW GERMAN ROYAlTY FEES CAUSE FURY

Chr

isto

f Hub

er

Geo

ff M

eall


Comment

Like a Lot of peopLe working in the music industry, I fell into management by accident. I had been working as a journalist for a few years and was on a job as a researcher and assistant producer for a five-part documentary series on Iceland for the NHK (Japanese Public Broadcast) when destiny created a new path for me.

I had chosen Bellatrix, an Icelandic female rock band to front one of the programmes. The band was somewhat impressed with the fact that I could get them out of bed and on location by 10am and concluded that I could probably help their music career in London (where I lived) when the time came for the world to discover their talent. This was back in 1998, and we had a good crack at it. We got them a worldwide deal with Fierce Panda, funded by Mushroom Records, and they shared stages with the likes of Coldplay and Muse. It was a crash course for me in music management as well as in the general industry around music. I discovered MMF when Keith Harris was the chairman and I went to every workshop that they organised.

Bellatrix later split up, but I continued with management whilst working on different projects, including setting up the UK branch and digital distribution for Smekkleysa records, as well as doing the PR and building the brand for Iceland Airwaves in Europe between 2003 to 2006.

In 2007, Iceland Music Export (IMX), was established and I was hired as the first MD. The office was initiated by an umbrella of rights holder organisations in Iceland called Samtonn and bands like Mezzoforte, The Sugarcubes, Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm and Gus Gus put Iceland firmly on the international music map.

The international community was curious and Iceland Airwaves became a focal point for those who wanted to explore what else was there. However, there was no structured approach as to how to exploit the rising opportunities, a point identified in a 2003 strategy paper by Samtonn. One of their top priorities, therefore, became to establish an export office.

The music scene has been moving from strength to strength in all genres of music in Iceland over the last 30 years. Success leads to success and the good role models

have been encouraging but have also nurtured the musical environment back home by hiring local musicians and choirs to work with them on big projects (especially Björk and Sigur Rós).

The main role of IMX has been to increase access to information about artists, collaborating with companies to promote Icelandic music abroad and organising marketing strategies, festivals and event participation, as well as to generally increase visibility of Icelandic music in the international sphere. At the same time, IMX provides training and information on the music business for the internal market, helping bands and companies extend their reach abroad.

Ever since IMX was established, there has been an informal collaboration between the Nordic

Export Offices. In 2009, they published their first strategy paper on increased

collaboration in order to maximise the potential of their individual work and to develop a joint approach across the region (which consists of 26 million people.)

Since then, NOMEX has been formalised as a joint programme between the five offices. I was hired on 1 February 2012 as the

full-time programme director. The purpose of NOMEX is to work on

complementary programmes that help strengthen the region’s approach both for

the domestic and international markets.In the first year, the focus will be on

strengthening the intra-Nordic market by looking at how best to create a Nordic playlist and a travel programme for up and coming acts. The future aim is to work on trade missions and to brand the Nordic region jointly in key territories, as well as to work on capacity building and services such as statistics, together.

The Nordic region has a lot to offer. It is known for its diverse and vibrant scene in all genres of music. There are good studios, venues, concert halls and many exceptional professionals working within the industry. Music education is also at a very high level, and helps nurture interest in young people and instills in them a natural appreciation for music. On top of that, there are a lot of interesting festivals and a big public appetite for both local and international music.

Looking NorthAnna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir, programme director of the recently formed Nordic Music Export (NOMEX) office, reflects on the past and future of her involvement with Nordic music...

Comment


the use of temporary festivaL structures is increasing with each passing year. Some use many small ‘Big Tops’ and others a few very large structures, stages and tents. In practice, the current maximum available capacities of roughly 20,000 is usually sufficient for a tent. I categorise stage roofs covered with fabric as frame tents for the purposes of this article. The economics of using these large structures is well known and due to the use of traditional steel or aluminium components and PVC-coated polyester, the erection procedures require the ability to manipulate heavy lifts.

Although a typical Big Top stage with fabric roof structure weighs 20 tonnes or more, these structures are at the pinnacle of their design evolution. So, a combination of mass intensive components and labour intensive construction techniques is possibly wasteful and moving to a different location each week possibly undesirable in terms of carbon footprint. As such, investigating a better, more environmentally friendly system of providing cover is desirable, particularly if inspection procedures and safety issues are improved.

The ‘green field’ design: This design must reflect the relationship between space, weight, performance and the energy required to undertake the project, within a fully modern, commercially aware context. It must be inherently safer and easier to install and remove than its predecessor, and must reference reduction of weight, chlorine, antimony trioxide (a poisonous compound related to arsenic), and halogenated materials in the roof membrane.

To make a truly modern, environmentally friendly roof from sustainable materials with existing factors of safety and longevity is desirable. There are commercially available materials, which can provide suitable covers with the ability to use existing manufacturing methods and processes, whilst not using the above-mentioned compounds, but they come at a price. This will at least provide materials acceptable to the environmental cause and show willingness to minimise the use of poisons in our processes. This is only a part of an environmentally responsible approach to structure design. To move forward, environmental agencies should provide grant aid to manufacturers until manufacturing volumes allow for economies of scale and reduce prices.

Flexible Thin Film solar power modules that can be attached to the roof of tents are now becoming available in commercial quantities. The sun generates roughly 1 kilowatt per square metre in ideal times and half of that in northern

climes on overcast days. Therefore, the most that can now be expected is up to 150 watts per square metre of roof. So, a 40m diameter structure can generate 90 kilowatts. This can make a significant contribution to making the stage energy neutral.

Festival and event venue structures have basically used similar construction and erection techniques for the last 25 years. Roof design, analysis software and materials technology have moved on significantly. Our office, Special Structures Lab, have re-written the rulebook with the Kayam and Tensile 1 in 1998, and the Reading MegaDome in 2012. Today, most large festival tents use many of the design features of those groundbreaking structures. By using opposing curvatures in the roof it became possible to remove all internal poles except the king poles. Considered impossible in the 1980s portable structures using advanced membrane design and ‘strength through shape’ technology now average ten times the floor area and are more efficient and safer than their predecessors.

The disasters of 2011 have quite rightly focused the event industry in a way not seen before. We cannot ignore the situation and let these incidents take place without at least examining our work practices. With the HSE determining that the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, will not apply to events in the near future, organisers, with their design partners, should be looking at safety management procedures to determine that everything that can reasonably be done is being done.

The time has come to break the mould. Environmental issues surrounding festivals cannot be ignored and will not go away. We are able to produce a ‘festival friendly’, large-capacity, chlorine and antimony free, lightweight structure using environmentally acceptable materials, which also provides the electricity to power the stage within.

With no stimulus to use such structures, none are available. Of the technologies I mention, some need work and development but most are basically commercially available today. These structures can be built, and run by existing operators. As ever, development funding is the issue.

The public’s right to safety is enshrined in EU and UK legislation. Safety procedures are such an important part of the festival business that they have to take precedence, which doesn’t always happen in the heat of a busy festival weekend. A fresh look at what we do can do no harm from time to time, particularly in the light of last summer’s incidents.

Breaking The MouldFollowing last year’s disasters involving the collapse of festival structures, Rudi Enos of Special Structures Lab puts the case for a review of environmental attitudes and applications...


CommentComment

I worked in the music industry in the US for ten years prior to joining Modern Sky. I started my career managing bands and working in music venues and a record store, then interned for Grand Royal Records in the late 90s and then for their PR firm, Nasty Little Man, who later hired me. I was product manager/VP operations at SpinART Records; managed Minnesota band Hockey Night (now Free Energy); booked a club in New York, and launched LMG Radio Promotions, where I did modern rock specialty promo for Frank Black, The Apples in Stereo, Echo and The Bunnymen and others. I started corresponding with this Chinese record label called Modern Sky after reading an article about them in the The Guardian and they invited me to go to China and consult for them for three months. Six years later… I’m still on the payroll.

Because of piracy, there has never been a time where you could really survive as a business selling music in China, so out of necessity Modern Sky has evolved to become a record company, booking agency, publisher, marketing company, design/web development/animation production studio, concert promoter, art exhibition producer etc. We added festival promoter to the list in 2007 because the boss, Shen Lihui, wanted to celebrate Modern Sky’s tenth anniversary in a big way by producing a festival. We now produce six large-scale festivals annually, with more in the works for 2012.

There were, and still are, many problems to deal with. Agents understandably didn’t want to send their artists to something that might end up being a shit show. Permits to produce small concerts can be tough to acquire, let alone for major music festivals. Visas and getting through customs with equipment can be challenging. You need to keep ticket prices low if you want the kids to come out, so strong sponsorship is important to cover the bills.

We have excellent government relations on several levels, which is why we’re able to produce the large-scale festivals that we have developed. That said, we have to deal with varied obstacles as they arise. 2009’s Modern Sky festival was during the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and everything was on lock down. Due to our solid government relations, we were able to have our festival added as an official part of

Beijing’s schedule of celebratory events. However, a few days before the event we had to scale back programming, including all foreign artists. The festival did happen, just a smaller version of it. We moved the Modern Sky Festival to just north of Beijing last year because we received a more favourable deal with a new venue.

In terms of dealing with government and local authorities I can’t speak for all promoters in China, but for Modern Sky, we rarely have any major issues with the Ministry of Culture as long as we follow proper procedures. Many of our festival events are in partnership with local government.

Most of the bigger/credible agencies have experience in mainland China at this

point and know who the good and bad promoters are. Many of the Modern Sky artists headline larger-capacity venues nowadays, share headlining bills with foreign artists at festivals and tour outside of China. There is definitely an appetite for foreign acts in China, but a lot of times the ticket price for concert events featuring the foreign acts is too high for local music fans – but with the help of sponsorship we try to keep the

festival ticket prices low. Cost of entry to our large-scale festivals is cheaper than

most foreign act, mid-size venue shows, and feature a combination of most of the big local bands and good foreign acts over 3-4 days.

I’m definitely optimistic about the growth of the live business; it’s still the Wild West in China, still the beginning. Caoker.com is a new English/Chinese music community site in China that promotes music discovery and sharing among Chinese music fans/artists and those outside of China. Caoker is a good way for Western artists to build an initial presence/relationship with Chinese music fans and artists in China, and get noticed by Chinese labels and promoters.

Modern ChinaMichael Lo Judice reflects on joining Modern Sky in China and the state of the country’s festival market today…

“ We have excellent government relations on several levels, which is why we’re able to produce the large-scale festivals that we have developed. That said, we have to deal with varied obstacles as they arise.”

Comment

during the Last eurosonic noordersLag conference, along with the European Music Office, we presented a study of the circulation of European repertoire in Europe. Readers will not be surprised that this confirmed that European acts have very limited access to the markets in Europe. It is still mostly US and some UK repertoire that crosses borders to exploit these markets. This fact is the reason why we started Eurosonic and ETEP (European Talent Exchange Program).

After many years of struggling (having survived on a limited budget from our generous partners Yourope, Sena Performers and others) we were able to develop the programme. Until finally we received European funding last year. This enabled us to expand from 60 to 100 festivals in Europe. We also added a programme to connect with Central Eastern European talent, festivals and media.

But I think what is even more important than success for

European acts in the programme is the fact that the European Commission became aware that there is a problem with the circulation of European music in Europe. For me, the real success is the new EU culture programme ‘Creative Europe’. With culture budgets being cut in several countries, the fact that the European Commission sees creative industries and a healthy European music sector as an answer to the current crisis, and that a healthy European music market will create money and jobs, is very positive. Now national governments have to agree.

Over the years ETEP has produced 1,359 festival shows by 495 artists. The UK is one of the few countries not contributing financially whilst acts like Anna Calvi, White Lies, The XX and numerous others have benefited greatly from the programme. So please UK, as well as offering talent, could you also put some money in the ETEP pot?

Crossing BordersPeter Smidt of Buma Cultuur, creative director of the Eurosonic Noorderslag Conference and instigator of the ETEP and CEETEP programmes, reports on advances in the circulation of European talent…

I’m probably not the best person in the world to write a report on an ILMC meeting. Whenever anything’s going on I’m usually in another room panicking about something that’s supposed to happen an hour later, indulging my secret obsession for chair arranging, or perched on a stage, transfi xed like a rabbit caught in a car’s headlights. To be honest, the whole thing is usually a bit of a blur, and it’s only afterwards that I get to think about how it all went, or hear about it from other people. I suppose I’m not alone in that, though. Unless you cloned yourself a few dozen times and gave up sleeping for three days, it would be impossible to experience every single part of the ILMC weekend fi rst-hand.

There’s no doubt though that ILMC 24 was one of the best meetings – if not the best – that we’ve had so far. The stats were again impressive, with the 1,000 available places disappearing nearly two weeks before the conference began, to representatives from some 61 countries, and I was certainly struck by the energy this year.

Everyone seemed to be up for it, from the rapid pace of the registrations to the speed with which the session rooms fi lled up. And there was a real ‘family’ feeling too; something of a return to the meetings of the earliest years. You’d have to be pretty insensitive not to have picked up on the warmth running through the hotel (and I don’t mean the dodgy air con…) or the many side-

splittingly funny moments that can only arrive when people are genuinely relaxed and feel at ease in each other’s company.

It’s always been true that the discussion topics are at the heart of the ILMC, and this year was no different, with high levels of participation and information and an even greater spirit of openness. But this year reminded me that ILMC was also important as a place to make and renew friendships, and how much it has even become a part of some people’s lives. Irrespective of its original intentions (or rather lack of them...) it seems that our annual gathering has turned itself into a real institution. Anyway, it certainly gave me a much-needed shot in the arm to persevere with what I’ve begun to call my ‘bastard child’, and plans for our big 25th anniversary edition are already well under way.

Martin Hopewell…

ILMC 24 Review...

ILMC 2

4

confe

rence

repo

rt

The Meetings

A Large Selection of photos complement the full conference report at ilmc.com

The Meetings

ILMC Conference REPORT

May 2012 ILMC Conference Report 17

Thursday 8 MarchThe ILMC Production DayThe growing importance of the IPM gathering has prompted us, for the fi rst time, to run a separate report on each session held in the Royal Garden on the eve of this year’s ILMC. Following a number of weather-related tragedies during last year’s outdoor concert season, delegates at this year’s IPM debated a manifesto to improve safety across the live music industry and mandated key professionals to communicate those demands for action to the main ILMC sessions. Our review is in the IPM brochure, which should be enclosed with your copy of IQ. Otherwise the report is available online at ilmc.com.

FRIDAY 9 MARCHThe Open Forum:‘Have I got live news for you (episode 2)’Chair: Greg Parmley - ILMC (UK)John Reid (Live Nation), Emma Banks (CAA), Wayne Forte (Entourage Talent Associates), Brian Message (ATC Management/MMF), Jay Marciano (AEG Europe)This lively debate covered a remarkable amount of ground and commenced with a general agreement that the live music market was in good health, despite a lack of new headline acts able to take on the stadium circuit.

Reid, who joined Live Nation from Warner Music at the start of this year, said, “Both the record industry and live industry have a part to play in the lack of development. You can count the number of stadium acts that have broken in the past ten years on less than the fi ngers of one hand.” Despite that, Marciano said AEG enjoyed the best year in its history in 2011 and the opening of venues such as the O2 Arena have “created an environment where more people want to see shows.”

Metallica were derided for scaremongering about the Euro crisis and Emma Banks reported that the Red Hot Chili Peppers gig in Athens sold extremely well, despite the state of the Greek economy. Indeed, Reid said youth unemployment levels are a greater concern than the Euro and artist manager Brian Message agreed, pointing out it has become increasingly hard to compete for young people’s time and money due to the growth in the number of alternative entertainment platforms.

There was a surprisingly subdued debate about the secondary ticketing market following the revelations in Channel 4’s Dispatches programme The Great Ticket Scandal, which revealed behind the

scenes practises of Viagogo and Seatwave with promoters said to be supplying primary tickets to the sites. “They got half the facts right and half wrong”, said Banks of the documentary. “The public need to understand that it is scalpers that are the problem. Artists putting tickets up on Viagogo – ultimately that is supply and demand. Maybe we need to be honest with people, admit this does happen and explain why it happens,” she said.

Sponsorship: ‘Selling out the show’Chair: Jim Robinson, Frukt (UK) Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live), Jeremy Paterson (Sport and Vision), Rosa Martinez (Backbeat), Freddie Griffi ths Jones (Vodafone), Eliana Vouros (student), Jonathan Carfrae (student), Jorgen Avsnes (student), Helen Bousfi eld (student)This panel took the innovative step of mixing industry professionals with their core audience – students who invest a substantial proportion of their earnings into attending gigs and festival – and the resulting discussion was enlightening.

Carfrae booked his ticket for Leeds Festival that very morning, using his Vodafone account to take advantage of the telecoms company’s 48-hour pre-sale offer. “As long as they keep doing that I’ll stay loyal to them. But if someone else were to take over, I’d probably switch operators,” he said. That was music to the ears of Vodafone executive Griffi ths Jones who revealed, “In the 16-35 years bracket there is less churn now, which is what we were aiming for with our festivals sponsorship.”

The students agreed that not only should a brand be relevant to the festival and its audience, but that there are opportunities for brands to engage new customers by offering incentives or experiences. “Wagamama had a DJ booth and set up at Summer Sundae,” said Vouros. “I hadn’t heard of them before the festival, but I’ve been to Wagamama since, so they’ve captured a new customer.”

Galbraith claimed that without sponsors a festival balance sheet simply wouldn’t work, although when challenged about whether he’d drop prices if sponsors signed a bigger cheque, he argued it was more likely those revenues would be spent to enhance the festival experience in partnership with the brand, rather than simply slash prices.

Despite some good work being done, Martinez believes the relationship with fans could be vastly improved and she predicted RFID technology could help both sponsors and artists personalise communications with individual fans. “The moment people step into a festival they become an anonymous face in the crowd: RFID will help change all that,” she forecast.

Galbraith added, “Brands are connecting a lot more with fans through digital presence. Sonisphere, for instance, was watched by 1.5m people online, as opposed to 55,000 on the day, while at Coachella 6m watched the webcast and brands are now waking up to those opportunities.”

A Large Selection of photos complement the full conference report at ilmc.com 18 ILMC Conference Report May 2012


The Dance Club: ‘Save the last dance for me’Chairs: Stefan Lehmkuhl, Melt! Booking (Germany)

Martje Kremers, Decked Out (UK)James Barton (Cream), Ivan Milivojev (Exit Festival), Georgia Taglietti (Sonar), Manuel Schottmüller (SSC Group)With dance very much back in the ascendance, the panel recognised that mainstream promoters are increasingly looking further afi eld to dance acts to complete bills. But the decision of some festival promoters to put rock and dance acts back-to-back was considered inappropriate. Barton said that there have been occasions when Cream has lost acts to mainstream festivals. “It is something we fi nd very diffi cult to understand, but we can’t compete with the likes of the V Festival.”

Milivojev said the Exit Festival audience use the main stage headline guitar act as a warm up before heading to one of the event’s fi ve electronic music stages. While it was acknowledged that most dance acts operate very differently to rock acts, the panel pointed to acts like David Guetta and Deadmau5 as artists that have production on a par with leading rock acts.

Scott Witters of New Zealand’s Rhythm and Vines Festival said he was pleased to be staging more dance acts in favour of indie and rock acts because they are easier to deliver. “With the lack of headline guitar bands it makes sense for a mainstream festival to book dance acts,” he said.

Taglietti noted that the added demand for dance acts has made it increasingly expensive to book them. The rise in appetite for electronic dance music in North America, particularly Las Vegas and New York, and the high fees being offered in the territory, means it is increasingly diffi cult for European operators to compete. It was claimed that Deadmau5 was paid triple his usual fee for a performance in New York.

SATURDAY 10 MARCHThe Emerging Markets’ Place:‘The super markets?’Chair: Bojan Bošković, Exit Festival (RS)Juri Makarov (Makarov Music), Niels Boe Sorensen (Kuanhsi Consulting), Phil Rodriguez (Evenpro), Nagi Baz (Buzz Productions)There was some debate over what exactly constitutes an emerging market, with Rodriguez saying many South American territories “emerged” some time ago, and Baz illustrating that no market is beyond possibility when it comes to staging a live music event, citing Gorillaz becoming the fi rst British act to perform in Syria “virtually for free”. Rodriguez added, “Music is a platform for change, it is important to remember the power and infl uence it can have.”

Brand consultant Sorensen said brands are interested in investing in emerging markets, but that the expected ROI is anything between three and ten years as it takes time for any market to grow. Makarov said sponsorship used to represent one third of live music funding in Estonia, but that the territory has developed to the extent that it now only represents one tenth of funding. Baz reported that sponsorship and public funding have declined dramatically in the last ten years in the Middle East. “Ticket sales must raise 75% of funding and promoters are less adventurous as a result,” he said.

All agreed that it was easiest to break electronic music artists in non-English speaking territories not only due to the language barrier, but that it was much cheaper to stage a dance music

event. “The shows are less complex as there is less production, so they make a great point of entry for any new promoter in an emerging market,” said Rodriguez.

The Council of Associations: ‘A political world’Chair: Gordon Masson, IQ (UK)Aline Renet (Prodiss), Juan Ignacio Carbonel (European Arenas Association), Andy Lenthall (Production Services Association), Peter Smidt (Buma Cultuur), Remi Harris (UK Music)Delegates attending this session heard a variety of success stories across a range of topics affecting the business of live music. UK Music’s Harris spoke about the organisation’s role in persuading the British government to introduce a new Live Music Bill. Meanwhile, Renet of Prodiss explained the details behind a three-year campaign, which has resulted in the French government outlawing unauthorised resale of tickets, if the promoter has not granted permission.

Buma Cultuur’s Smidt highlighted one major frustration in lobbying politicians. “They work in circles of four years so by the time you address someone and you’re talking, there are new elections, people change positions and you have to start all over again,” he said. “But we have succeeded in setting up a dialogue with the European Commission and there’s a new proposal – Creative Europe – which has listened to our needs very well.”

Carbonel said the European Arenas Association allows people to tap into its knowledge when it comes to education and best practice, and all sectors are invited to attend EAA meetings. Lenthall too emphasised his organisation’s belief in cross sector cooperation. “If the whole music industry works together, there will be more jobs for my members because there will be more gigs for them to service,” he said. Lenthall also outlined the problems behind a government decision to sell off radio spectrum that affects equipment such as radio mics and monitors. Renet said the French government is undertaking similar moves and the session concluded with PSA and Prodiss agreeing to share intelligence about their prospective frequency dilemmas.

The Great Outdoors: ‘On safe ground?’ Chairs: Geoff Ellis, DF Concerts (UK)

Eric van Eerdenburg, Mojo Concerts (NL)Chrissy Uerlings, CU Productions (PL)

Bryan Grant (Britannia Row), James Dodds (Doodson Insurance), Dany Hassenstein (Paleo Festival), Simon Battersby (Showsec), Steve Zapp (ITB)The panel heard calls from Uerlings that all elements of the live music industry must come together to help improve standards, on the back of several tragedies at festivals last summer. Uerlings had been given a mandate by delegates at the ILMC Production Meeting to broach the subject with promoters and agents on behalf of suppliers and production companies. “There’s a serious demand to defi ne a group and fi nd funding to develop a self-made industry code of conduct and the Event Safety Alliance in America is leading the way,” said Uerlings.

Britannia Row’s Grant backed Uerlings, stating, “If you are doing an event for a few hundred people, there’s no reason they should be any less safe than an event for tens of thousands.” James Dodds of Doodson Insurance agreed that an industry code or standard would be helpful. “The insurer and the clients are too far apart at the moment. There’s an element of trust that insurers have to place in promoters that they are using quality stages and equipment.”


Showsec’s Battersby observed, “Any system that is set-up to promote better safety would be welcomed. But practically, how would it work and who would fund it? It would need constant updating and revision, so it would need a full-time committee to do it.” Undeterred, Uerlings concluded, “If you can’t source the best equipment then you need to know the consequences.”

The panel also discussed the health of the festival market, with agent Steve Zapp highlighting the lengthening festival season and the issues it causes in fi nding midweek summer shows to keep a tour running. While the spiralling costs of artist fees remain a hot topic, it was pointed out by Van Eerdenburg that not all events are about headliners. “The Fusion Festival in Germany refuses to pay any more than €10,000 for any act and yet it sold out in four days, so a lot of the time it is about creating a good vibe,” he concluded.

The Venue’s Venue: ‘Raising the roof’Chair: Geoff Huckstep, NAA (UK) Carl Bathgate (Academy Music Group), Brian Kabatznick (AEG Facilities), Michael Brill (SMG Europe), Juha ‘Richie’ Mattila (Live Nation), Phil Bowdery (Live Nation), Koen Melis (NEC Group International)The National Arena Association’s Huckstep kicked off proceedings with the annual NAA and European Arena Association fi gures that showed that the top performer in the UK was Peter Kay with comedy, as a genre, having made annual market share advances across Europe. Music’s market share fell by 1% in both the UK and wider Europe. Huckstep revealed attendance increased at NAA and EAA venues and that the average ticket price of an event at NAA venues fell to £32.83 (€39.76) in 2011 from £36.59 (€44.33) in 2010.

Bowdery pointed out that many artists are opting to play festivals instead of arenas and thereby sidestepping the responsibility to sell tickets and the cost of production. He also claimed venues are not doing enough to share the risk with promoters, but added he didn’t want them to become promoters. Bathgate noted that Academy Music Group has an in-house promotion team that takes on risk.

Kabatznick emphasised the importance of sponsorship and AEG’s “groundbreaking” relationship with O2. “They are our second-largest ticket seller,” he stated. Also underlining the importance of sponsors, Wembley Arena’s John Drury said the venue’s deal with Barclaycard means it can now access that

organisation’s fi ve million customers.The economic crisis means a strong partnership between

venues and promoters is more important than ever, contended Mattila. But despite the recession, venue operators are striving to expand and Kabatznick highlighted AEG’s recently opened venue in Istanbul and the emerging market in Russia as examples.

New Technology: ‘The rise of the machines’Chair: Ben Challis, Charming Music (UK)

Steve Machin, Stormcrowd (UK)Phil Mercer (XL Video), David Jones (AEG Europe), Claire O’Neill (AIF/AGreenerFestival), Ali Owen Thomas (Firefly Solar), Serge Grimaux (Intellitix)The live entertainment industry is embracing technological change with new inventions in mobile communication, stage production and sustainable energy supply all offering new ways to drive tickets sales, enhance customer experience and save money.

XL Video’s Mercer illustrated how the evolution of video meant that it was now more fl exible and affordable than ever and the technology could be used for everything from projecting imagery on to a building to placing video screens on a performer’s face. Jones discussed AEG’s investment to improve Wi-Fi access at venues to enable fast and effective audience engagement, while the roll-out of more screens at venues is enabling targeted promotions at every event.

Machin previewed an array of fascinating apps including one that recognised an image of Tinie Tempah on a Lucozade bottle before playing a related video. And he hinted at an app that would enable members of an audience simultaneously fi lming a live show to upload their footage to a service that would edit them all together, use audio from the sound desk and deliver a completed fi lm production. Lawyer Ben Challis, however, was quick to point out the rights issues involved.

In the green camp, Claire O’Neill unveiled a host of fascinating environmental innovations including self-charging mobile phone and laptop technology, bio gas showers, portable waste water recycling modules and Ecolite tower lights that are 80% more effi cient than standard models. Ali Owen Thomas concluded proceedings with a convincing argument for solar power systems that offer a real and economical alternative to the use of diesel to power festivals and events.

A Large Selection of photos complement the full conference report at ilmc.com 20 ILMC Conference Report May 2012


Ancillary Revenues: ‘Added attractions’Chair: Dave Gaydon, Roundhouse (UK)Dougie Souness (No Half Measures), Jeremy Goldsmith (Event Merchandising), Guy Dunstan (NEC Group), Andy Snape (Raw Power), Denis Sullivan (WWE), Sean Goulding (The Agency Group)With everyone in the live entertainment supply chain fi ghting to make a living, the panel was mostly devoted to the subject of merchandise, with NEC Group’s Dunstan explaining LG Arena has made merch the core of its Forum Live area. “People are now coming to shows earlier and spend per head is going up. Merch is at the heart of our facilities – if it did not benefi t us, we would stick it in a corner.”

The blanket 25% share of gross that venues demand was criticised with panellists complaining that if they are expected to hand over such fees, then the venue should provide a proper service. One act that recently tried to buck that trend, Rammstein, were criticised for threatening not to sell any merch at Trent FM Arena unless they got a lower rate. The Nottingham venue’s head, Geoff Huckstep, retorted, “I’m not going to apologise for charging 25%. The LG Arena has raised the bar when it comes to the way it sells merch and we are going with them on that by investing £100,000 (€121,000) in new merch stands and the likes.”

Bundling was a hot topic and Souness revealed Hue and Cry experimented with a range of VIP deals. “We sat down with the venues, promoters and agent and came up with a Platinum Pass Package priced at four times the normal ticket price,” said Souness. But Goldsmith said experience told him that no matter how hard merch companies try, certain fans have a fi nite amount to spend “If it’s £3 per head it’ll always be £3. In those cases you have to look at how you maximise your profi ts,” he observed.

Meet the New Boss: ‘A fresh start’Chair: Jake Leighton-Pope, CAA (UK)Martin Nielsen (Live Nation Norway), Tom Taaffe (The Agency Group), Ian Hogarth (Songkick), Ian Watt (Machine Management)Dedicated to identifying new fi gures at the forefront of the live music business and new methods of selling out tours, CAA’s Leighton-Pope led a lively investigation into the evolving aspects of the industry.

Social media was rarely far from panellists’ lips with Watt relating news of an act he manages that have used social networking to generate a sturdy following and revenue streams. “They are very self-suffi cient and have created a nice business for themselves selling their own music, making their own videos and using social media to promote their gigs in and around Cambridge,” he said.

Songkick’s Hogarth discussed his company’s evolution from operating in his parents’ loft to becoming the second-most-visited concert website behind only Ticketmaster, all without spending a single dollar on marketing. Hogarth said Songkick is looking to work with agents and managers to prove the service can build a bigger audience for artists. “Our data can identify where the fans are and help route tours,” he said.

But aside from the advantages of new technology it was widely agreed that a band’s willingness to jump in the back of a van and get out on the touring circuit remains an essential way of building a career.

The Market Focus: China Chairs: Roger Barrett, Star Events (UK)

Colleen Ironside, Live Limited (HK) James Avery (Franco Dragone Entertainment), Roger Barrett (Star Group China), Haiping Ge (International Special Attractions), Cathy Wu Lei (International Special Attractions), Simon Wheeler (Beggars Group), Shen Lihui (Modern Sky), Michael LoJudice (Modern Sky)The numbers involved in any conversation about China can be staggering. “There are more people learning English in China than there are people who speak English outside of China,” stated Barrett. However, if anyone believes that 1.4 billion people are simply waiting for them to bring live music to China, then they’ll be in for a potentially costly lesson, warned Avery.

Ironside said every major city in China – there are over 100 cities with populations of more than 1m people – is now building new arenas. Haiping Ge said the Chinese government (for whom he worked before establishing his own commercial operation) is keen to help local governments to develop sports and entertainment events, meaning there are lots of opportunities to exploit.

Delegate Michael Hosking, of Midas Promotions, underlined that potential by detailing an eight-city tour he recently took Westlife on through China, with average ticket prices of US$28 in 6,000-10,000-capacity arenas. Avery, who is developing family shows for the Chinese market, continued, “One of the big focuses is on developing local skills and we’re aiming for 85% locals on our technical crews. Today there’s maybe 5%, so we’re going to be training a lot of people.”

LoJudice claimed that, for artists with a following in China, fees are comparable with what they can earn elsewhere, although building that fan base is no easy task. Beggars Group’s Wheeler agreed, stating, “If you’re relying on the likes of Facebook or Twitter to connect with fans then that’s not going to work because nobody has that in China. But there are local equivalents, so it’s just about doing your homework and bringing on board the right partners.”

SUNDAY 11 MARCHThe Breakfast Meeting with John GiddingsHost: Ed Bicknell, Damage Management (UK)The annual Sunday breakfast sessions have established themselves as one of the most popular events at ILMC and this year’s interviewee, Solo Agency founder John Giddings, proved to be one of the most entertaining yet. Giddings revealed his passion for music was the reason he went to Exeter University, “purely to become social secretary and get into the music industry.” Delegates heard a potted Giddings’ history, including his fi rst job with Barry Dickins at MAM and his ascendance up the agency ladder thereafter.


Parrying Bicknell’s query about how he accumulated so many superstars on his roster (including Madonna, Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones and U2), Giddings said, “You can’t be a good agent if you don’t have good acts. If you’ve got good acts then people think you’re a good agent.”

Giddings recalled being asked to represent Prince when he was going through his ‘symbol’ phase. “Someone would call to say ‘He’ was about to call me because he couldn’t say his own name: that could be a problem if you didn’t recognise his voice.” He also described booking Van Morrison to support The Rolling Stones. “Mick wanted to sing a duet with him, but when we went to fetch him on the night, he’d fucked off.”

Addressing the question of how to develop new talent, Bicknell and Giddings were singing from the same song sheet. “If you can turn on 100 people, you can turn on 100,000,” said Bicknell. Giddings concluded, “The audience will do the A&R: if a band is good enough, the audience will grow.”

The Booking Ring: ‘Expanding on contracting’Chair: Marc Lambelet, Black Lamb Productions (CH)Alexis Grower (Magrath & Co), Chris Organ (Russells), Frank van Hoorn (Catch A Fire), Geoff Meall (The Agency Group), Richard Hoermann (NuCoast Entertainment), Cameron Kaiser (William Morris Endeavor)Lambelet used the session to examine contracts that are drawn up between agents and promoters, with some fairly startling results. Hoermann noted that promoters, despite wielding the fi nancial clout, were not in the driving seat when it comes to contracts and quite often receive contracts without a rider attached. Lawyer Grower commented, “If you’re foolish enough to sign a contract that allows people to add terms afterwards, then you have to meet those terms.” However, the session established that many contracts are never signed by the promoter.

Panellists also focused on the thorny subject of force majeure and learned from Robertson Taylor insurance specialist Martin Goebbels, “There is no insurance measure for force majeure,” adding that the volcanic ash following the eruption in Iceland had highlighted the issue.

Following a debate about whether artist riders should be signed and returned by the promoter, Meall observed, “A contract is the protection for that 1-2% that might go wrong. But you don’t need a signed contract.” Nevertheless, Van Hoorn recounted being sued by sponsor Heineken after Jay-Z cancelled an appearance following the outbreak of the war in Iraq. “Because I had no signed artist contracts, I lost the case,” he admitted.

The informal nature of the business was underlined by Hoermann whose last Lenny Kravitz contract was simply a text message confi rming the show. Lawyer Organ concluded, “We work in a relatively small environment and we don’t see many lawsuits between promoters and artists. But insurers are becoming more and more diffi cult when it comes to claims, so if you don’t have a signed contract, it could be a problem.”

The Sunday Supplement:‘Staying Alive – The health pages’Chair: Allan McGowan, IQ (UK)David Garcia (Moderne Welt), Dave Newton (We Got Tickets), David Stopps (FML), Adam Parsons (Siren Artist Management), Paul Sergeant (AEG Allphones Arena)The Sunday Supplement is a regular ILMC session chaired by IQ’s associate editor Allan McGowan. It describes itself as ‘intimate’, usually attracting 25 people or so, and this year the session stayed true to form. Run in a Round Table fashion, the meeting involved everyone in the room in active discussion, on topics that were not chosen until it had begun.

This year, unsurprisingly, guests discussed the recent impact of the Channel 4 Dispatches TV documentary about secondary ticketing. A lively debate followed involving panellists and, as ever, many attendees in the room. There was even a positive ongoing outcome of sorts to the dealing with this thorny subject as Steve Machin of Storm Crowd suggested a possible security initiative for ticketing, which is being pursued at the moment by Machin and Andy Lenthall of the PSA – watch this space!

A Hypothetical: Live Music Inc…The AGMChair: Claudio Trotta, Barley Arts (IT)Will Quekett (The Ticket Factory), Gary Smith & Charlie Presburg (Pollstar), Wayne Forte (Entourage Talent), Dougie Souness (No Half Measures), Juha Kyrro (Fullsteam), Dick Molenaar (All Arts Tax Advisers), Michael Chugg (Michael Chugg Entertainment)In what can only be described as a farcical riot, Trotta assumed the position of chairman of the board for the hypothetical International Live Music Corporation, with panellists acting as the heads of various corporate divisions. No sooner had the ‘board meeting’ commenced than Chuggy, desperate to watch rugby, found himself being clubbed over the head by Trotta and promptly resigned. His seat was fi lled by Farhad Wadia, the new Indian director, overseeing a Bollywood division.

The board quickly came to the conclusion that there were easy ways to save money, so spending on production was banned.

Examining one impact the Olympics will have on the UK’s festival market this summer, shareholders agreed that one guaranteed way to boost revenues was to create a toilets division. “People can stop going to shows, but they can never stop going to the toilet,” said Trotta. Quekett suggested tickets for the toilets could be sold up front and there was a possibility they could even drive a secondary market for desperate punters. The hilarious session also invented a new category for ticketing – the tertiary market, “Because we need to get another bang for our buck,” said Forte. Quekett added they could ensure that they were not left with any tickets for events by “putting them on Groupon before they go on general sale.”

ILMC 24 Events

Want to know who won the whiskey drinking competition? who triumphed at wembley? or just

who was where on each night?

Opposite page, clockwise from top: sportsmanship rears its ugly head at the Table Football ‘Coupe du Monde’; but referee Terry McNally kept his whistle at the ready and was on hand to present this year’s trophies to the Creative Talent Team, Matthias Schnakenberg and Phillip Styra, who triumphed over last year’s winners Aldo Bassi and Josh Javer in the fi nal; Michael Durkan, Laura Thorne and Robert Fowler enjoy the hospitality of Ticketmaster GmbH and Creative Talent at the Survivors’ Reviver Opening Party; No fewer than 64 players lined up to compete in this year’s Match of the Year football tournament at Wembley Stadium, where Rest of the World 2 ended up eventual winners; and what ILMC’s staff lacked in vocal ability, they made up for in enthusiasm, providing harmonies for the real talent at the karaoke.

Clockwise, from left, this page: Ben Challis proves he’s a man of many talents at Karaoke Catastrophe in Club Apocalyptica; And with such great vocals, who could resist the lure of the dance fl oor; Chris Prosser presents Jeremy Goldsmith of Event Merchandising with his trophy for winning the Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tourney; the Mayan End of Daze Dinner involved some intriguing South American themed games, as ‘team blue’ found soon out; and Dolf Bekker introduces I Am Oak at the Dutch Meet and Eat showcase.

22 ILMC Conference Report May 2012


Reviews of all the ILMC events, and a huge selection of photographs are online at ilmc.com May 2012 ILMC Conference Report 23

1

13 4

5

2

2

3

4 5



The Blunderdome Gala Dinner& Arthur Awards

What do you get when you cross a series of cocktail dresses and champagne with a Mad Max-themed post-apocalyptic wasteland? It might have seemed an unusual fi t, but the Blunderdome Gala Dinner certainly didn’t disappoint. Over 350 guests journeyed to the Ballroom at Jumeirah Carlton Tower for the sold out event. With cyber punks greeting guests on arrival, and Rachel Haywood, ‘the Priestess of Pan’ fi lling the room with the sounds of ‘Apocalypso music’. A champagne reception was followed by the consistently outstanding fi ve-star cuisine, for which the Jumeirah is renowned.

Magician Laura London narrowly averted dismembering her own hand during an on stage trick that drew gasps from the audience, and then Michael Chugg, dressed as a runner up to Mel Gibson for the part of Mad Max, hosted the annual Pop Quiz.

After dinner, it was time for the live music industry’s Oscar-equivalents: the Arthur Awards. Host Ben Challis cut a dashing form in his tuxedo, and skillfully held the proceedings together,

introducing presenters who in turn announced the winners.There was an emotional end to the awards, as Jenny

Marshall gave a heartfelt, articulate speech as she collected the promoter’s award on behalf of her husband Barry. And to collect the ILMC’s outstanding contribution award, The Bottle, on behalf of her late husband Willie, Angie Robertson was greeted by a standing ovation.

The firm which Willie co-founded, Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers, were also the sponsor of the dinner. The company’s Paul Twomey says, “We were proud to sponsor the 2012 Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards. Picking up two of the awards for most professional professional (Martin Goebbels) and the prestigious bottle award for the late, great Willie Robertson was wonderful too. Angie Robertson’s speech thanking the newly christened ILMC(A) was a highlight of the weekend. We look forward to being involved at next year’s 25th anniversary.”

Guests enjoy the calm before the apocalyptic storm. Michael Chugg dons his Mad Max costume for the pop quiz.Queen Caroline oversees her rebellion army as they coordinate manoeuvres in the Blunderdome. Rachel Haywood steels herself to drum up some appropriate Apocalypso music to entertain diners. Laura London calls upon the Mona Lisa as her glamorous assistant for a card trick.

6



1

3

4

5

7

8

9

2

10

Arthur AwardsFirst Venue to Come into Your Head - 02 LondonSally Davies, assistant general manager, The O2 said, “It’s always an amazing feeling when The O2 wins an award. But when the award has been judged by your peers then it has a certain something else which makes it a little more special. We’d like to thank all those who voted for us and for the continued support we receive from right across the industry.”

Services Above and Beyond - Eat to the BeatMD Tony Laurenson said, “We are proud to be recognised in the category of Services Above and Beyond and to be voted for by ‘the management’. It’s really nice to be appreciated.”

Most Professional Professional - Martin Goebbels“We are delighted that Martin Goebbels, who recently re-joined RT with his team from Apex was the recipient of this year’s Most Professional Professional award at the Gala Dinner,” commented John Silcock, CEO of Robertson Taylor. “This is a well-deserved award which is voted for by all members of the live music community and demonstrated Martin’s respect in the industry amongst his peers.”

Liggers’ Favourite Festival - GlastonburyMichael Eavis said, “The wonderful thing about Glastonbury is that it means so many totally different things to the thousands of people who come to experience it. As hard as others might try to copy, it’s a concept that they simply fi nd impossible to replicate!”

Plumber of the Year - Andy FranksAndy Franks: “It was a surprise and an honour to receive this award. As this is now the third time I have won it, perhaps I get to keep the statuette (well I still have the other two). Unfortunately, as I am currently looking for work, it would have been nice if the award was accompanied with a cheque...”

Best in Show - AlegriaFinn Taylor, Cirque du Soleil’s VP of arena shows, said, “We are very happy to be recognised by the ILMC for Alegria. Following our win with Saltimbanco in 2010 for the same category, it’s great to be recognised as producing high quality, successful shows.”

Least Painful Tour - Roger Waters’ The Wall“Everyone who works on The Wall is immensely proud of their part in this show. Roger has put his heart and soul, as well as a great deal of money, into this production (30 years after the original) and there is no show like it,” commented tour director Andrew Zweck. “It’s proving a must-see event for audiences in every country around the globe and we’re very lucky to be enjoying relentless success. Today we’re playing our 9th sell-out show at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, the tour is in its third year on the road and business is actually stronger than ever. Promoters everywhere are very pleased to see us come to town and we’d like to thank them for voting for us! There’s nothing like success to bring a smile to everyone’s face.”

The Golden Ticket - TicketmasterChris Edmonds, managing director of Ticketmaster UK said, “I am honoured that Ticketmaster won The Golden Ticket Award at ILMC 24, especially as this is an award voted for by our peers and clients. I do believe that Ticketmaster has, and continues,to offer a high level of support and innovation to the UK live event industry, so it’s brilliant that this has been recognised through this award, especially in 2012. I’m sure we can fi nd room for it in our extensive trophy cabinet.”

Tomorrow’s New Boss - Martin Neilsen

“It means a lot that people voted for me,” said Neilsen. “Our business climate is sometimes quite tough and it’s nice to hear that people appreciate the work you put in. I’m really proud to win the award and it motivates me to keep working hard.”

Second Least Offensive Agent - John Giddings“I was embarrassed actually. I thought they gave it to me because I was the only person that would do the Breakfast Meeting! All joking aside, when Martin [Hopewell] told me that I was actually voted for, I was humbled. Thank you to everyone that voted, I really appreciate it.”

The Promoters’ Promoter - Barry Marshall“To be honest, I was totally shocked to receive the Arthur this year for Promoters’ Promoter It was a great surprise, because when people in the industry take the trouble to vote – that really means a lot, and lets me know that, hopefully, we’re still doing the right things. But we know there’s always room to improve! It’s an honour for everyone at Marshall Arts – because it really is a team effort. Of course, it’s all down to the amazing artists we work with – and their managers, who put their trust in us. And the many great promoters and people we work with around the world. It’s a privilege we truly value – and never take lightly. My travels keep me on the road, and I’m really sorry that I couldn’t be there – but I’m told that the award was graciously accepted on my behalf.”

The People’s Assistant - Sandra McCarthy“It was great to be nominated, but to actually win is amazing. I’m so grateful to everyone who voted for me and it feels good to be acknowledged after all these years. I’m so lucky: I work with a great bunch of people at Live Nation but I have to say a BIG thank you to Steve Homer, Toby Leighton-Pope, Andy Copping and the promoters team because without their continuous support I wouldn’t have been able to balance work and two young children so well over the last nine years.”

The ILMC Bottle Award - Willy RobertsonWillie Robertson was awarded The Bottle Award – the ILMC’s highest award, for his contribution to the international live music industry. Willie’s widow Angie accepted the award to a standing ovation. John Silcock, CEO of Robertson Taylor, said “This is a wonderful tribute to Willie’s career and achievements, and we’re thrilled that Angie was able to be present to accept the award on his behalf.”

7

6


1 2 3

4 5

8 910

28 | IQ Magazine March 2012

Pic

ture

Cap

tion

VeryImportant Packages

As production costs and artist fees continue to nudge ever higher, promoters, venues and event organisers are introducing premium packages to boost revenues. Christopher Austin dons his superstar shades to look into the luxurious world of VIP...

“Work all year, scrape the money together and come to my show. I’m worth it.” Madonna’s justification for the high price of her concert tickets is not only indicative of her robust self-esteem, but a growing trend for premium-priced concert packages across the live music industry.

Whether it is luxury festival camping complete with spas and room service or five-star catering coupled with artist meet-and-greets at venues, VIP packages have become a near-ubiquitous element of the live entertainment industry. Live Nation’s array of VIP packages for Madonna’s forthcoming UK dates include a Platinum Experience package for her show in London’s Hyde Park. Priced at £948 (€1,135), the package involves add-ons such as a pre-show event involving a gourmet three-course lunch, complimentary bar and the presentation

of an exclusive tour gift. At the concert itself, ticketholders will enjoy numerous benefits; aside from reserved grandstand seating they will have access to a garden area complete with its own resident DJ, BBQ, free bar and luxury toilets.

Stormcrowd MD Steve Machin has been involved in the premium package business for a number of years, but he believes the music industry is a late developer. “The sports sector has being doing this for decades, be it football, golf, polo or whatever. It’s only fairly recently that the concerts business has added VIP packages and there are still lots of opportunities for growth,” says Machin.

The demand for premium concert packages flies in the face of a challenging worldwide economic climate, which has resulted in less sponsorship opportunities and

Vip Packages


corporate deals in the live industry. With those lucrative deals drying up, real and wannabe VIPs are providing much needed revenue for venues, promoters and agents.

Live Nation VP, VIP Experiences Sarah Woodhead says that since Live Nation Experience first started putting VIP packages together in 2004 for its Hyde Park and Download festivals the sector has markedly changed. Eight years ago most official VIP packages at UK arena and stadium tours were restricted to London concerts and targeted at corporate hospitality. Since its launch Live Nation Experience has created VIP offerings for an array of artists; everyone from The Who to Westlife and Arcade Fire to Avril Lavigne.

Artist Cooperationthe Whole concept of VIp packages probably started on the back of artist meet and greets, according to Machin, and while that has always been a part of an act’s promo commitments, the ability to start earning revenues from such engagements has spun off an whole new business sector. Deals are done on a case by case basis, depending who is providing the extra service or experience, and in many cases when an act is involved, a third party provider agrees a revenue split to provide those services for the tour. The beauty of such arrangements for promoters is that the VIP package is an add-on to the ticket and therefore isn’t included in the gross, nor does it incur PRS fees.

With artists now more dependent than ever on concert revenue, an increasing number have made themselves available for fan-focused activities, helping promoters to devise fan-orientated VIP packages in the process. “Most of our [VIP] business is now consumer-based and that is because of the number of artists that are willing to do sound checks and meet-and-greets; something that involves them on some level. It is now much more fan-orientated,” says Woodhead. “There isn’t a clear answer as to why that side of the business continues to increase despite the [economic] circumstances that we are surrounded by. But it seems that the fans with enough disposable income to be able to purchase VIP packages in the first place still have that disposable income,” she adds.

Machin offers an explanation. “If you’re a super fan of an act, you’ll pay whatever it costs for that extra special item or experience,” he says, citing the popular $1,000 (€760) tickets to meet and greet KISS and a Nine Inch Nails campaign that saw a limited edition, delux $300 (€228) version of an album sell out all 2,500 copies in less than 48 hours.

Event Travel has been developing such fan experiences for the last 17 years and director Tim Smales puts such packages together for everyone from emerging acts to global superstars such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones, U2 and Madonna. “We recently did some sound check access for Paul McCartney which went on for close to an hour, so for the fans that went to that it was almost like a private gig,” says Smales, who works closely with artists and management to provide such

services. He adds that as more and more acts have switched on to the idea, the range of packages that companies like Event Travel can offer has expanded massively and, ironically, those unique fan experiences have almost become an industry norm.

Outdoor Luxurytake a closer look at What Is happenIng in VIP campsites at festivals across the globe and it becomes increasingly hard to believe we are in the middle of an economic crisis. Festival Republic promotes numerous festivals around the world including Latitude, Orlando Calling, Reading Festival and Berlin Festival whilst also having an interest in Glastonbury. Its MD Melvin Benn is in no doubt of the important role that VIP packages have to play in the economic viability of an event. “The wonderful thing about it is that there are people of all ages from all backgrounds and income brackets that want to attend festivals and it’s our role as an events company to satisfy that demand,” says Benn.

Festival Republic does not liaise with artists or their agents to set up and offer meet-and-greets, neither are there exclusive gifts. Instead the focus is very much on providing fans the kind of accommodation they desire and can afford. The VIP packages at the festivals do not give any greater view of the stage or access to any of the bands; the high-end VIP experience at the festivals is all about the sleeping packages.

While the rest of the world plays catch up, venues and

The oppulence of a Camp Kerala tent


Vip Packages

festivals in the United States have been exploiting the VIP sector for decades. This year, for example, Coachella has been selling VIP passes for $665 (€500), while it is also offering luxury Safari Tent packages costing $6,500 (€4,965). But that’s nothing compared to Bonaroo’s Roll Like A Rockstar package, which entitles eight people to stay on their own tour bus, gourmet catering, special viewing areas for the stages and even the chance to create their own festival rider, all for the reported sum of $26,000 (€20,000).

While the UK leads the way on the other side of the Atlantic, promoters elsewhere in Europe are also looking to introduce VIP areas to their festivals. FKP Scorpio owns a portfolio of gatherings in Northern Europe and Jasper Barendregt who looks after Hurricane festival, reveals that event will be a guinea pig this summer to test the VIP concept. “Last year we had a lounge for sponsors on the site which worked well, but this year we are selling up to 500 so-called Club tickets for that area to see what the reaction of the public is,” says Barendregt. Tickets cost €299 compared to the usual €135 Hurricane pass, with holders also able to use the VIP camping area that allows you to park your car next to your tent.

At the world’s most famous festival, Glastonbury, VIP facilities have evolved considerably in recent years. “You can effectively rent a tent that is already erected for you, at a relatively modest cost, stay in anything from a Tipi to a little mobile shed, or embrace the luxury of Camp Kerala” says Benn.

Numerous companies operate in high-end camping fields including Pink Moon, which provided a range of pre-pitched tents at Festival Republic’s Leeds, Reading and Latitude Festivals, but the astonishingly plush Camp Kerala is in a league of its own. Located in an adjacent field with views over the Worthy Farm, Jennifer Lederman has made sure her Camp Kerala creation is a breeze to access. As well as its own helipad, a fleet of golf buggies are on hand to escort campers to the festival entrance whenever they are inclined to drag themselves away from their luxurious surroundings.

It has been described by Vogue as “unquestionably one of the most glamorous places to be in the UK” but Lederman goes one step further and claims “it is the most high-end festival facility in the world”. And laying the groundwork for others to look beyond the festival scene, Lederman is taking 20 of the Camp Kerala tents to the Alps in July to provide fitting lodgings for an exclusive super car tour.

Accommodating a more earthy VIP crowd at Glastonbury is Hearthworks. Since it was established in 1999 by Tara Weightman, the company’s numerous Sioux-style Tipis and Asian Yurts have offered shelter to an array of clients ranging from Snoop Dogg to Roger Waters. Hearthworks supplies festivals up and down the UK, including Womad and Bestival, but Weightman’s big break came in 2006 when Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis asked him to supply 300 Tipis for the 2007 event. “That was a big boost to the business. It was very switched-on of [Eavis] to realise, at that point, that it had the potential to be so popular,” says Weightman, although he admits to being surprised by the extent of the popularity of his Yurts and Tipis.

Venue Cateringat Indoor eVents, Where campIng of any kind is ill-advised, there is also a focus on providing the very best possible VIP facilities. Around the world an increasing number of venues are updating their amenities in a move to attract well heeled consumers. The Gran Teatro GEOX in Padova, Frankfurt’s Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Jahrhunderthalle and Austria’s Salzburgarena are just some of the venues undergoing an overhaul of their VIP facilities this year.

State-of-the-art VIP facilities have always been part of the plan for the new Hydro Arena at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow. Designed by Foster + Partners and project managed by construction company Bovis Lend Lease, the Hydro is due to open in 2013. The £120m (€144m), 12,000-seat arena will play host to around 140 events a year, when it opens in 2013. SECC’s Allan Snedden says that in terms of VIP facilities the current SECC arena is at the other end of the spectrum compared to London’s O2 Arena, hence the focus on VIP facilities at the Hydro, which will have 11 VIP boxes and 500 club seats. “Whether you are Joe Punter or Mr Five-Star the new arena is going to take the audience experience to a whole new level,” says Snedden. “We have looked at what other arenas are doing and have learned from that, the concert-going public now expect a better standard of experience and that is what we will be supplying.”

Helsinki’s Hartwall Areena is also undergoing a transformation of its VIP facilities with a new €7m extension housing a 2,000sqm restaurant and exclusive area that can host 1,200 people. Hartwall’s Anders Backman says that the development is a result of Finland co-hosting the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship alongside Sweden in May this year. “The facilities open up new possibilities for us. We have VIP facilities already but the new building allows companies to combine conferences during the day with events in the evening,” says Backman.

The already sumptuous Royal Albert Hall, which has catered to London’s moneyed masses since it opened in March 1871, is not immune from the increased focus on VIP clientele. “Unlike many venues, the Hall’s layout, with three levels of boxes, was designed to offer the opportunity to people wanting to entertain,

o2 W

orld

Ham

burg

– V

IP a

rena

Vip Packages


the chance to do so privately in a small group,” says Royal Albert Hall chief operating officer Jasper Hope. Demand for the boxes remains strong and the venue’s Sponsorship and Corporate Partnership department regularly create hospitality and VIP packages for events on its calendar. “For a lot of shows we offer all-inclusive packages which include premium seats and either a meal or a pre-show reception with canapés and drinks,” says Hope.

VIP ticket holders attending the 16,000-capacity o2 World Hamburg are now able to tap into a brand new experience at the venue. On March 13 a new premium annex was opened, part of AEG’s €10m investment package for the venue. Discussing the improvements Uwe Frommhold, vice-president AEG Facilities Germany and Managing Director o2 World Hamburg and o2 World Berlin says the “remodelling process” has seen a state-of-the-art 360-degree LED board installed below the upper gallery, and 24 suites in the arena upgraded. “Guests can now choose between three different styles: classic, lounge and high table. The balconies outside the suites have been renewed, too,” says Frommhold. For bigger groups the new show suite accommodates up to 48 people and can be split into two suites with 24 seats in each.

A £21m (€25m) redevelopment of the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham by the NEC Group is enabling the company to find new ways of improving customer experience across the board, not least via its hospitality business, Amplify. “Amplify is a key strategic initiative for our business,” says Guy Dunstan, general manager of the NEC Group, which also runs the LG Arena. He says the focus is on offering value for money and not creating packages so highly priced that they could end up cannibalising other events at the venue.

“We have to ensure we offer packages at a level where we can grow a client base that want to come back and use the venue regularly. What we have done successfully in the LG Arena, and will be looking to replicate at the NIA, is provide three levels of hospitality membership and packages. We have an entry, three-star level with a price point of £30 (€36) more than the ticket price. It allows the customer to use a private restaurant facility, have hospitality and watch the show – that has been a huge growth area for us,” says Dunstan.

Those hefty investments highlight venue confidence in the VIP business, but Stormcrowd’s Machin contends that there are still major gains to make in premium-priced packaging. “There are a lot of opportunities across the board to provide more value added experiences for fans - and not just at the high end,” says Machin. “People need to work out how to deliver extra value to fans and artists at all ends of the market, be it arenas, theatres or clubs.”

Creating VIP Loyaltylg arena’s entry-leVel VIp packages now represent around 50% of NEC’s VIP business and provide an opportunity to get new customers interested in the concept of a premium experience before potentially selling them a higher-level

membership option. As well as creating growth via its new entry-level VIP packages, NEC has upped its game at the top end and now offers a premium package that includes use of a small capacity restaurant, access to the show deck and a private bar. But Dunstan says that the harsh economic environment means that the team at NEC has been very conscious of keeping the pricing realistic.

“You have to know your market and look at it from a mid- to long-term perspective – if you go for the one big hit with a £1,000 (€1,200) package you are not going to be getting those people back six or seven times in the next year. We have looked at it from a sustainable point of view and made sure clients can afford to come back to shows. We offer them a premium experience at a premium price, but not a price that will prevent them from coming back time and time again,” says Dunstan.

Live Nation’s Woodhead says that since the first VIP Hyde Park packages were introduced for Red Hot Chili Peppers back in 2004 they have hardly changed. “It is a formula that works, people come back year after year,” she says. Despite the high price of its top tier VIP packages, Live Nation has seen no sign of customers being reluctant when it comes to them repeatedly indulging in its Hyde Park event offerings, no doubt partly due to the location being one of London’s most exclusive.

Madonna’s £948 (€1,140) ticket is not the most expensive VIP ticket that Live Nation has presented for a Hyde Park gig. In 2010, the Hard Rock Calling Platinum Experience, including an exclusive lunch at Abbey Road Studios, was priced even higher.

Melvin Benn is not alone in believing that VIP business is an opportunity that is too good to miss. “Those from a higher income bracket are quite often willing to spend extra on increased luxury and fair play to them,” he says. “What any event industry should be doing is trying to cater for their customers and if they want to pay for a premium package then we ought to be able to accommodate that.”

Hearthworks yurt interior

Alegria


In the years since a group of 20 street performers founded Cirque du Soleil back in 1984, the organisation has revolutionised the circus business. Now with 5,000

employees, the Montreal-based organisation is making serious inroads into the arena market, not least with its spellbinding production Alegria.

Alegria premiered in Montreal in 1994 and has since been seen by a staggering worldwide audience of more than 10 million people. It was performed for 15 years under the big top, but in 2009 Alegria took to the road in an arena format that brought its beguiling combination of acrobatics, music and theatrics to new eyes and ears in far-flung corners of the globe.

With an elaborate set, live band, flamboyant costumes and the breathtaking acrobatics of its 55-strong international cast of performers, the two-and-a-half hour Alegria show is nothing short of spectacular. Standout moments include the dramatic trapeze act that entails daring leaps on high bars 40 feet (12m) above the stage, and a fire and knife dance that looks every bit as thrilling and dangerous as it sounds.

Cirque’s formula has proved hugely successful and it is one that has been embraced by the public, promoters and venue owners around the world.At the beginning

of 2012 Alegria’s creators and its production team celebrated the 6,000th show; soon they will be marking its 1,000th

appearance in an arena. There are five Cirque du Soleil shows touring arenas but

Alegria is currently the most successful and has benefitted from lessons learned during a previous arena run of Saltimbanco. “Saltimbanco was the first show that toured arenas, that was an exploration for us, we were entering markets for the first time and dealing with new promoters for the first time and Alegria has been the beneficiary of that,” says Finn Taylor VP of arena shows at Cirque du Soleil.

Alegria has been performed in arenas throughout Spain, France and Belgium already this year. It hit the UK on April 4 for a series of dates in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham before continuing to globetrot through the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Serbia and Israel before the year is out.

Picking up the Arthur for Best In Show at this year’s ILMC is just the latest award Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria has amassed. But as Christopher Austin discovers, re-configuring the production for arenas has proved a master stroke...

CircusRock ‘n’ roll


It is a relentless schedule and a mammoth task keeping the Alegria show on the road and faultless night after night. One of the team responsible for maintaining the seamless

transition of the show from venue to venue is Alegria production manager Michel Therrien. He admits that his biggest challenge is the load-in and load-out of the show every time it moves venue. It is something that became a significant issue when the production moved from the big top into arenas. “When we were in the big top it took the technical crew three days to build the production of the show and get everything inside the tent. Now we are doing that in ten hours,” says Therrien

Therrien worked on Saltimbanco for a year before joining Alegria three years ago when it first began touring arenas. He has a team of 21 technicians on the road at any one time and hires 70 personnel locally for each load-in and 100 for every load-out. The arena tour set-up means that 22 trucks are needed, with four drivers staying with the tour full-time and 18 hired every week for the move from city to city.

Dutch logistics specialist Koninklijke Saan has been overseeing the transportation of the whole production since the first Alegria European arena show in September 2011 in Oberhausen, Germany. Saan’s project manager of event logistics, Rogier Lecluse, says, “One of the most remarkable aspects is the load-out. Each Sunday, right after the last show, together with the staff of Cirque, we manage to load all the 22 trailers within a 3.5 hour average.”

According to Therrien, one thing that makes working for Cirque du Soleil so special is that he works with the same team on every show. “I have had the same

crew for four years and that makes the show easier to manage. We travel all the time and sometimes people are very tired but it really does feel like a family; we know each other very well,” he says. While that close-knit working environment has enabled Therrien’s team to hone their skills to the extent that they can now achieve a sub three hour load-out time, it also creates a need to make venue changes as seamless as possible for all involved in the show.

Alegria company manager Clare O’Connell explains that the Alegria team has a cycle of ten weeks on/two weeks off, so it is important to manage the quality of life of all the company members. “It is not like they can go home any time they want; they are on the road for 44 weeks of the year,” she says. As a result, O’Connell and Therrien work together to make sure that there is a consistency in the quality of environment for the artists, week in/week out, no matter what the venue or the time pressures involved.

Alegria

“ The biggest challenge with the show has been for our rigging team, who have had to identify additional anchor points inside the arena bowl to facilitate the extraordinary acrobatics of the show. ”– Phil Mead,

NEC Group

The

Pow

er T

rack

per

form

ers

Alegria


The

syn

chro

nise

d tr

apez

e

Keeping the Alegria crew and performers nourished is Eat to the Beat, which has the challenge of feeding a vast array of nationalities and shapes and sizes of people involved in the show. “We submit our menus a week in advance to Cirque’s nutritionist to make sure we’re providing everyone with the balanced meals that they need,” says the catering company’s Mary Shelley Smith. “We’ve been out on tour with Alegria since September 2011 and we’ll hopefully be with them throughout 2012 doing 10 weeks on the road and two weeks off, so they’re a very important customer for us.”

Despite the challenges, the incessant touring of arenas has obvious advantages over limiting the show to a big top format. “Cirque du Soleil has all these incredible shows, but we are very limited with the big top as to where we can go. A city has to be able to support it and you generally have to stay for six weeks to make it worthwhile. The arena format changed that. In one year, in arenas, with the number of cities we went to, we did the equivalent of eight years in a big top,” says O’Connell.

O’Connell says that Alegria goes wherever the demand takes it, but whenever Alegria works with a new promoter Cirque du Soleil insists the promoter

sees the show to ensure there is no confusion as to the content of the rider. “What we ask for doesn’t necessarily translate on our riders. They have to come and see the scale. But we are very self-contained, we are a little village, once they see how we operate they realise that we are pretty low maintenance,” she says.

The transition to arenas in 2009 meant that the production’s infrastructure had to be remodeled. Perhaps the most dramatic change has been to the stage, which was completely redesigned for arena touring by Tait Towers. The entire stage is on wheels so that individual sections can be built separately and connected together. Its surface, coated in TeraFlex rubber compound, has been hand painted layer by layer and a salamander is visible on close inspection. It has retractable floors that reveal a long, cross-shaped, powertrack held tight by 1,300 trampoline springs pulled to tension via a complex custom pneumatic system. “It has automated sections consisting of four large retractable floors and a rotating lift that operate on a Fisher-created system called Navigator which allows the user to operate all elements via one interface,” says Therrien. He explains that despite almost all set elements being constructed from aluminium, it still weighs in at 79,916lbs (36,250kg).

With so much aerial activity taking place during the Alegria show, complex rigging is an obvious requirement. It weighs 84,700lbs (38,420kg) over a footprint 85 feet (25.9m) wide and 120 feet (36.6m) deep. “The biggest challenge with the show has been for our rigging team, who have had to identify additional anchor points inside the arena bowl to facilitate the extraordinary acrobatics of the show,” says Phil Mead, managing director of arenas at The NEC Group.

When it comes to lighting, there is 2km of cabling and

“ When you have a kids’ show like Monster Jam you are targeting a particular audience – young boys – but with Cirque you work right across the board and the reaction is generally very positive. It is more pleasurable because you are working with a wide range of people; families, couples – those who are passionate about circus ”– Manu Braff,

Fire-Starter


it takes two hours to focus the 125 Pan and Tilt presets for the show. With the production being on the road almost indefinitely, every three months all lamps are replaced to ensure the best results. Sparkling in those lights are the costumes, with no less than 200 jewels having been hand-sewn into every singer’s outfit. Alegria has over 400 costume pieces including custom-made shoes, wigs, hats and accessories. They are all created in Cirque du Soleil’s Montreal HQ where a team of 300 artisans is employed in its workshops. The size and shape of every Alegria performer is recorded and kept in Montreal and should any aspect of a costume need replacing they are shipped out to the production team.

Show supplies are sent by Rock-It Cargo USA, and its agent Anne-Cecile Croucier is hugely impressed with Cirque du Soleil’s artistry and professionalism. “The costumes are spectacular and Cirque makes sure they stay that way, so shipments of brand new replacement costumes are sent to the tour on a regular basis wherever they are and the used ones are returned. I believe this is something unique to Cirque du Soleil and makes them as great as they are; you always get a top quality show,” she says.

C harged with maintaining that on-stage quality is artistic director Bruno Darmagnac. As well as co-ordinating a number of departments including

wardrobe, physiotherapists, stage management and the acrobats’ coaches, Darmagnac watches every show and makes notes about individuals’ performances before feeding back to them.There is also a significant amount of feedback across the team after every performance and news is fed back up the chain to Montreal. “After every single show the general stage manager writes a report on how the show went and it is sent to everybody on tour and to the headquarters. The physio is also sending regular reports over and I write an artistic report every week. Once a month all the artistic directors from all the Cirque du Soleil shows have a conference call to compare notes,” says Darmagnac. He is also charged with dealing with any on-the-road problems and conflicts that may arise. “It is important to get on top of that straight away because we are a big family of 110 people that live together not only for a long time but also at a very fast pace because we change city every week,” he adds.

The move to arenas not only meant changes to the

The

sho

w’s

con

tort

ioni

sts

Alegria

Alegria


production’s physical structure; naturally it meant changing the way it was performed. “The big top format has the public sitting very close to the stage and surrounding it. In an arena it is more frontal and the public can be a little bit further away. So there have been adjustments in the staging and the choreography to use the space differently,” explains Darmagnac.

Alegria co-creator and choreographer Debra Brown was on hand to oversee elements of its transition into arenas. “The most important thing that I tried to protect was the original seed of Alegria – the invisible seed, the inspiration,” she says of the process. “It is different. It is an arena, not an intimate theatre, so you have to adapt and open up your communication sphere and provide more projection – the show has to be a little more rock and roll.

“The nature of doing circus is always about consideration for the public, so we had to look at all the angles. Some intimate moments between characters in the show may not have worked in the arena so we had to address all those moments. It is a different beast now, but we captured the original spirit. As a show goes on, the original creators are not always on-hand and the show can become tired on the road. So it is always a case of maintaining that spirit,” states Brown.

With the initial spirit alive and well on stage, Alegria continues to prove a hit not only with the public, but also with the live entertainment industry. It was

recognised at ILMC’s Arthur Awards in March where it won the Best In Show category, with Cirque also having been honoured the previous year for Saltimbanco. Perhaps more importantly though, the public remains fascinated by the show more than 17 years after it was first staged. Promoters throughout the world report strong ticket sales for Alegria, not least Live Nation, which is working the show in numerous territories including the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and China.

Phil Bowdery, president of touring, Live Nation International Music says that an important way of generating awareness about the show has been word-of-mouth. “We like to get the message to regular Cirque fans, who are very loyal. The brand is very strong. You know quality comes first and what you are going to see is of the highest calibre both in terms of the skill of the performers and the musicians, but also the quality of the show,” says Bowdery.

Angelo Gopee, managing director of Live Nation France, where the show will play at least nine cities this year, says the company treats Alegria as it would a tour by Madonna or U2. Gopee explains that Alegria was put on sale eight months in advance with the marketing and promotion building over that period to create strong word-of-mouth. QR codes were used on all marketing material that could be scanned by smart phone users to access a video clip of the show. “It was a premium, modern promotion for a premium, modern show,” observes Gopee.

Pozitif Productions in Turkey have been working with Cirque for two years now and last year’s 16-show sell-out ‘A

legr

ia’ –

the

aeri

al h

igh

bar


with Saltimbanco will be surpassed by 28 Alegria shows in September and October. “Alegria will be the first show to ever play two continents in one city,” reveals Pozitif’s Orcun Ejder. “The show will play in an arena on the European side of Istanbul before returning to a different arena on the Asian side of the city.” Ejder added that Pozitif has already agreed deals with Cirque to promote their Michael Jackson, Dralion and Quidam shows over the next three years.

Fire-Starter managing director Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Braff oversaw promotion of the recent Belgian leg of the tour and notes that when it comes to Cirque du Soleil shows like Alegria, media partners are always interested because of their breadth of appeal. “When you have a kids’ show like Monster Jam you are targeting a particular audience – young boys – but with Cirque you work right across the board and the reaction is generally very positive. It is more pleasurable because you are working with a wide range of people; families, couples – those who are passionate about circus. It is a very interesting public to target,” says Braff.

Further south, the show is also proving a hit in Portugal, where promoter Everything Is New has again booked a slew of dates with Cirque. “We have been working with Cirque du Soleil since 2007 and since then we have had the Delirium, Saltimbanco and now Alegria productions in Portugal,” says Everything Is New managing director Alvaro Covoes. “We sold out a three week season with Alegria - that’s 100,000 tickets, so I guess this says it all about how popular the show is.” He adds, “All the shows we promote with Cirque du Soleil are very good. Once again all expectations were surpassed and we can only say brilliant comments about the Alegria production. It is a great show, great artists, great team! Fun-tastic!”

So just how does the appeal of a Cirque show like Alegria traverse both borders and demographics? According to Finn Taylor, Alegria’s secret is its focus on physicality over language. “It doesn’t need a language to carry it. When it boils down to it, the show is all about the ability of humans. It is all about celebrating what the human body can do and pretty much everybody can relate to that,” says Taylor.

With the general public showing no sign of losing interest in Cirque’s numerous shows, not least Alegria, the road ahead certainly looks long and winding for Clare O’Connell and her company. “There is the basic format of eight years in a big top and five years as an arena show, but we have already broken through that. We are in our eighteenth year now and we are still doing very well. I have a basic tour plan for the next two years. We will keep on going until we have nowhere else to go,” she says.

“The issue Cirque is facing now is that we have so many shows that we run the risk of cannibalising our own shows if we run them too close together. It means that we have had to play an interesting game of world Tetris to make that work.”

Alegria

Dar

ing

Rus

sian

bar

s

“ It doesn’t need a language to carry it. When it boils down to it, the show is all about the ability of humans. It is all about celebrating what the human body can do and pretty much everybody can relate to that. ”– Finn Taylor,

Cirque du Soleil


Twelve monThs ago, we kicked off our ticketing overview by reporting that the International Court of Arbitration had been charged with ruling on the dispute between CTS Eventim and Live Nation over a cancelled ten-year ticketing contract. One year down the road and both parties – as well as the live music industry at large – are still waiting on a decision.

At IQ’s deadline that particular matter remains unresolved, but Eventim has been busily getting on with business and, in June 2011, former See Tickets chairman Nick Blackburn was appointed chairman of Eventim UK with a specific challenge to develop business in the UK and Ireland. Overall, the German-based group enjoyed a stellar year, reporting a slight fall in revenues for 2011 (€502,814, down 3.2% on 2010’s €519,577), but an overall increase in profits (EBITDA grew 7.5% to €94,635 compared to 2010’s €87,996). With a clamp down on public statements until the arbitration ruling, nobody at the Bremen-based company was available for comment, but aside from luring Blackburn, the company has inked a five-year deal, commencing next January, to provide ticketing services to three SMG Europe venues: Manchester Evening News Arena, Belfast’s Odyssey Arena and the new Leeds Arena.

Staking its claim to become a ticketing powerbroker, AEG last year appointed Bryan Perez, formerly VP & GM at NBA Digital, to its new role of president of digital, ticketing and media. Six months later, Perez revealed that the company’s new AXS platform will include a ticket lottery system to cope with fan demand, as well as an option allowing friends to book seats together even when they are paying separately. AEG has teamed with former Ticketmaster CEO Fred Rosen’s new company, Outbox Enterprises, as part of a two-year programme to take over ticketing from Ticketmaster, in all its venues. The Outbox system, which provides the back-end for the comsumer-facing AXS platform, launched last August in the Bluebird Theater and Ogden Theater in Denver, while AEG is looking to introduce Outbox in its flagship Staples Center by mid-2012. Watch this space...

Despite the imminent loss of that major client, Live Nation Entertainment had an improved year in 2011. Although the promoting side of its business struggled, ticketing performed well for the corporation. The company said its full-year revenues for tickets were $1.19billion (€910m) last year, compared to $1.04bn (€800m) in 2010. The company has also made key appointments to drive its business forward. Former Live Nation executive Mark Yovich became president of Ticketmaster International in November 2011 with a remit to oversee all of the company’s operations outside of North America. That portfolio includes UK and Ireland, the four Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Historically, the UK is the only territory that Ticketmaster operates where ticket allocation is the norm, but Yovich tells IQ that the landscape could be changing. “Most of our territories involve exclusivity deals, usually with the venue controlling things and while I can’t see things changing too much in the UK, certainly if people are dead set against secondary ticketing, using just one ticketing company would be a step toward that, so we might see a limited number of exclusivity deals happening in the UK,” says Yovich. And hinting that Ticketmaster is looking to further expand its business around the world, he says, “There are a lot of markets we are not in and establishing businesses in those territories, be it from the ground up or through acquisition, is always something we are looking at.”

Proving that its model, catering to smaller capacity shows, continues to be a winner, UK-based WeGotTickets signed up its one millionth customer earlier this year, prompting founder Dave Newton to comment, “The hardest thing is persuading a customer to buy their first ticket; selling them the second ticket is easier, so it’s great to have more than a million registered customers.” WeGotTickets’ strategy is winning clients overseas as well, as Newton references a number of festivals in Spain and France that have approached him to sell tickets

It’s now five years since IQ printed its first annual Ticketing Report and the technology driven sector could scarcely look more different. Gordon Masson finds data a hotter topic than ever...


to fans in the UK. And with its significant customer database, Newton believes that the company’s marketing potential is now attracting larger promoters to give WeGotTickets allocations. “It used to be the case that promoters sold tickets and we facilitated the transaction, but you can’t say that any more. Ticketing companies now have to be much more involved in the marketing process,” states Newton.

But while many operations thrive, the cut-throat business has its share of victims – one being German operation Ticket Online, which closed down its Berlin-based operation during 2011. Elsewhere, however, confidence in the sector has rarely been higher, as underlined by US ticketing company Eventbrite (which integrates social media and mobile) last year securing $50million (€35m) in venture capital finance.

SCANDALSIssues over TIckeTIng have been very much in the public eye in the past few months, not least in the United Kingdom where a Channel 4 documentary questioned the activities of secondary ticketing companies Seatwave and Viagogo. The Great Ticket Scandal exposed promoters directly allocating primary tickets to the secondary market, with details of thousands of festival and high-profile tour tickets being offered at vastly inflated prices.

Responding to those allegations, the Concert Promoters Association said, “[We] warned the Department Of Culture Media And Sport and a committee of MPs that without legislation, promoters, artists and managers would, at least in part, operate in the secondary market in order to catch the lost revenue on behalf of the artists and event owners so that this money would at least stay in the industry.”

For its part, Viagogo claims it has not seen any drop in traffic online since the adverse publicity. Indeed, UK director Ed Parkinson tells IQ that the programme introduced Viagogo as a concept to thousands of new consumers, while discussions have opened with a number of potential promoter partners since the show was televised. But the company admits some of the wording in its literature was not entirely up to date and it has listened and taken on board comments raised during and post programme. As a result, it has changed its position to clarify that Viagogo is not exclusively a marketplace for ‘fans selling to other fans’.

However, no sooner had the headlines for that controversy died down than a row blew up regarding trustees at London’s Royal Albert Hall touting tickets for their debenture seats. The Times newspaper in the UK said that certain people were making up to £100,000 (€121,000) a year from the sale of their seats. The venue moved quickly to handle the backlash and within days trustees were banned from selling their seats above face value.

Slightly less scandalous, in the eyes of the public at least, is Live Nation’s decision to partner with discount specialist Groupon to form a new concert ticketing site, Groupon Live. That move has been criticised in industry circles and PRS

For Music economist Will Page led a study into the business model, with one anonymous promoter pointedly telling him, “Groupon only makes sense when your show stiffs and you’re staring down the barrel of a gun. As a promoter, if you’re doing your job properly, you should never find yourself staring down the barrel of a gun.”

CRUNCHINGTHE NUMBERSwhIle The appeTITe for live entertainment events shows little sign of slowing down, one of the main themes that emerged in this year’s report is a drive to better exploit consumer data.

“The UK, in particular, has been ahead of the game with data usage for some time in its marketing and segmentation of ticket buyers by genre of music or theatre or whatever. But now people are getting much more savvy and are moving into what I like to call ‘big data’,” says Christopher Goodhart, MD of Blackbaud Europe’s arts & cultural division. By profiling an audience that is coming to an event, venues can make sure their food and drink supplies match demand, for instance, by analysing the habits of individual customers who buy bottles of champagne or beer, etc. “It’s all about understanding loyalty so you can also offer a programme, merchandise, food and drink, depending on the individual,” continues Goodhart.

Indeed, Goodhart believes this big data usage could prove invaluable when it comes to another ticketing evolution – dynamic pricing. “The great thing about dynamic pricing is its ability to drill down to an individual level,” he says. “So if it was your birthday, you might be targeted with a 20% discount offer. It can also be used to link into external factors such as the weather, so that if you know the forecast is for a rainy Saturday night you can adjust ticket prices accordingly.”

Data is also a priority for the numerous venues throughout Europe that are looking to develop their ticketing operations. In IQ’s annual European Arena Report, one of the major trends to emerge was that 70% of participating venues have their own in-house set-ups and there’s a growing desire to funnel more sales through those operations. The report found that the number of arenas selling more than 50% of all tickets in-house doubled in just one year to 38% of the surveyed venues. And almost one in five (18%) arenas said they were looking to change their ticketing arrangements in the next 12 months.

“The great thing about dynamic pricing is its ability to drill down to an individual level. It can also be used to link into external factors such as the weather, so that if you know the forecast is for a rainy Saturday night you can adjust ticket prices accordingly.”

– Christopher Goodhart, Blackbaud Europe


And it’s not just the arenas that are shopping around. One of the consequences of the Live Nation Ticketmaster merger has been that other promoters are now taking things in-house. “Increasingly promoters are looking to take control of their ticketing, rather than relying on traditional agents who are contacting their customer base with rival events,” observes ticketscript COO Jason Thomas. Founded in 2006, Amsterdam-based ticketscript now boasts offices in London, Manchester, Barcelona, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Antwerp. The company was one of the first to introduce e-ticketing and allows event organisers to sell tickets directly to customers without having to leave the artist or event website. “Our clients tend to be promoters and venues and we sell across a range of events including sports, music, festivals and consumer affairs,” says ticketscript CEO Frans Jonker. “However, one fairly new development is the number of artist managers and record labels who are now approaching us to try to take control of their own ticketing.”

Highlighting Ticketmaster’s focus on data, Yovich discloses that the company has been working on a global data warehouse project. “Live Analytics is one of the most exciting things that we are doing with the business and we have 45 people in London alone working on that,” he says. “The marketing insights this can expose might, for example, identify the fans of your football club that are least likely to renew their season ticket, allowing you to target market those individuals.”

NEW PLAYERSlaTe In 2011, the UK saw one of America’s most recognised ticketing brands set up operations from offices in Dublin and London. StubHub stakes its claim as the original pioneer of the secondary ticketing market and following its debut on this side of the Atlantic, the company is eyeing further European expansion.

Despite the secondary ticketing tag, Yovich compliments StubHub on the way it has built its business in North America. “StubHub is now a destination ticketer in the United States: fans there don’t distinguish it as a secondary ticketer at all – it’s simply a place they go for tickets,” says Yovich.

StubHub communications chief Fiona Chow says, “Whereas in America where sports accounts for about 70% of our business, in the UK roughly that same proportion will be concerts and live events.” Nevertheless, StubHub is in talks with a number of sports teams, including Premier League football clubs, to become an official resale partner. It is also experimenting with an affiliate marketing programme – a strategy it has not toyed

with, as yet, in America. Owned by eBay, which also provides a platform for ticket sales, StubHub has nine retail units across the USA and, mirroring that strategy, it intends to open a new London HQ this summer, which will combine office space with a retail outlet. Further pop-up shops will be used as and when need for major events, and the company will likely launch in another European market by the fourth quarter – most likely Germany or France. Quite whether StubHub’s pop-ups will raise eyebrows as much as Seatwave’s controversial outlet adjacent to The O2 arena, remains to be seen.

On a smaller scale, another newcomer to the market is Ticket Fusion, a social commerce ticket agency focused on curating entertainment experiences for movies, music and concerts, sports, theatre, comedy and nightclubs. “Our goal is to generate more revenue for promoters, venues and artists by creating a range of tickets with exclusive benefits that will encourage customers to buy early and to share their plans with friends,” says founder Steve Machin.

Machin’s operation has two consumer services: 50 Tickets, which offers ticket upgrades such as meet and greet, VIP hospitality, or exclusive merchandise offers in limited editions of 50 tickets at a time; and TicketSwarm, which provides a range of exclusive deals on tickets including queue-jump guest list access, merchandise offers, drinks and meal deals, and early bird discount offers. “Tickets are often only available for 48 hour flash sales generating rapid social media activity within the target customer groups,” says Machin of TicketSwarm. “Outside of our sales windows we promote full price tickets via the usual channels as part of our commitment to our clients to sell more tickets.”

RFIDlong Talked abouT as a new dawn for the live entertainment business, Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) finally arrived in earnest last year when Intellitix launched at multiple events across North America including Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and the Festival d’été de Québec. “We activated over 1million RFID chips last year,” recalls Intellitix founder Serge Grimaux. “This year, if things go badly, we are already looking at 3m chips; if things go well, it will be 5m.” Data will also play a significant role in the adoption of RFID, as companies seek to use the technology’s cashless abilities to find out consumer habits and target market individuals with all kinds of offers or event information.

Among 2011’s highlights for Intellitix were processing 57,000 people in an hour, using 21 portals at a Metallica show in Canada. “It takes 28 milliseconds to read the chip,

“ There are a lot of markets we are not in and establishing businesses in those territories, be it from the ground up or through acquisition, is always something we are looking at.”

– Mark Yovich, Ticketmaster

“ We went on sale with ‘X-Factor’ through Facebook and that proved such a success that we’re looking for other national tours, especially for those artists who have a big Facebook following.”

– Peter Monks, The Ticket Factory


so it’s faster than people can walk through the reader,” states Grimaux, who admits that launching operations in North America was not his original strategy. “I thought I’d launch in Europe first, but I met with the guys from Coachella and secured a deal. Lots of people from the business saw the system in use at Coachella, so the decision was made for us to concentrate on America in year one.” He admits that was a calculated risk, but adds, “There was two-three years of research and development involved, so it would have been difficult for someone to beat me to the market in Europe. But by making sure everything worked 100% in America, we’ve been able to use that to come into Europe and show what we have done, rather than what we might be able to do.”

TECH WARSwhIle The conTroversy over secondary ticketing sales rolls on, Yovich reveals Ticketmaster is ploughing huge resources into improving its systems to deal with the ticketing bots that hoover up tickets during on-sale periods. “We have a real focus on trying to improve our technology in that regard, so we’re looking at lots of ways about identifying whether a potential customer online is human or not. As a result, Ticketmaster is spending $75m (€57m) over the next three years on improving our technology.” He continues, “There’s massive inefficiency in ticket pricing and that’s why the secondary business exists. We’ve been working with Marketshare to develop our Pricemaster tool, which we’re now using in the United States and we’ll be bringing to Europe later this year as another option for our clients here.”

The organisations behind the bots are using secondary ticketing sites to make huge profits on their inventory and that situation has prompted a number of promoters and artists to take steps to prevent resale. Last year German promoter MCT Agentur cancelled 9,000 tickets for Take That shows and provided ticketless fans with information to sue Viagogo and Seatwave. In November, Quebec government passed ticket resale laws that require brokers to obtain permission from content providers, such as concert promoters or venues, before they can resell tickets above face value. And a similar law was passed in France earlier this year following a successful campaign spearheaded by live industry trade body Prodiss.

In an effort to control the resale of its tickets, Radiohead recently linked up with ‘ethical’ exchange site Ticket Trust in the hope that fans would use the service to trade tickets they couldn’t use at face value. However, very few fans have used the service, while tickets for the band’s European dates are on resale websites for up to four times the original price. Meanwhile, a clamour for Radiohead tickets in Australia prompted promoter Michael Chugg to call for new anti-scalping laws after the tour sold out in minutes, leaving fans livid as tickets immediately began to appear on eBay. “The federal government should be bringing in a blanket policy, but the state governments also need to act,” fumes Chugg.

Despite revealing that more and more artists are concerned

by the issue and will be using ticketless technology this year, Yovich is nevertheless pragmatic when it comes to Ticketmaster’s resale policy. “I have people who will tell me there isn’t a secondary ticketing business in their territory, but I can go on eBay and show them tickets, so it is everywhere,” he says. “Therefore, our strategy is to also have a secondary ticketing business in each of our primary markets.”

SOCIAL MEDIAThe abIlITy To sell TIckeTs directly to fans through artist websites or social networks has added yet another powerful marketing device to the ticketing toolbox and companies such as Fatsoma report the number of promoters using its Facebook-based service, which empowers fans to become sales reps, doubled in 2011. More than 130,000 tickets have been sold through Fatsoma reps, earning promoters £1.5m (€1.8m) in revenue directly from those sales, and the reps themselves earned £132,000 (€160,000) in commission. Indeed, with Ticketmaster recently disclosing that it earns an extra $5 (€3.80) in ticket sales for every ‘I’m going’ message that ticket buyers post on their Facebook pages, it’s no wonder that virtually every ticketing operation is scrambling to develop social networking sales platforms.

“We’ve now launched our Facebook ticketing with Audience View, which allows people to reserve seats next to them for their friends,” says The Ticket Factory assistant general manager Peter Monks. “We went on sale with X Factor through Facebook and that proved such a success that we’re looking for other national tours, especially for those artists who have a big Facebook following.” He adds, “In the next 12-18 months we also want to launch a mobile version of the site to push sales on that platform.”

Mobile is another priority for Ticketmaster. “Our iPhone app has now launched in America and should be in Europe by early May,” says Yovich. “We’ve spent a lot of time making sure it works properly and is robust when it comes to security.”

Jonker concludes that the integration onto mobile devices will be one of this year’s main objectives. “Our ticket sales through Facebook have really taken off and we’re finding that P2P recommendations are the best marketing you can have for selling events.” At the same time, ticketscript’s sales via mobile phone are increasing month on month, with 10% of UK sales now conducted via mobile, while elsewhere in Europe that number is about 6%. “That figure may be as high as 25% in a year’s time,” Jonker predicts.

“ It used to be the case that promoters sold tickets and we facilitated the transaction, but you can’t say that any more. Ticketing companies now have to be much more involved in the marketing process,”

– Dave Newton, WeGotTickets


AustriaMajor ticketing companies: CTS Eventim, Wien ticketCTS Eventim is the market leader, followed by Wien Ticket, the in-house system of the Stadthalle arena in Vienna. Third-ranked company Ticket Online is now part of Eventim, boosting that conglomerate’s market share even higher. Most sales are made online (around 70%) with box office counting for roughly 20%. However, booking fees are high and PSI2 recently started its own ticket system in an attempt to introduce lower fees (4.5% compared to 18%) for tickets at its shows. Average ticket for an arena show: €58

Baltic StatesMajors: Tiketa, Bilietu Pasaulis, Bilietai (Lithuania); Bilesu Serviss, Bilesu Paradize (Latvia); Piletilevi Ticketpro (Estonia)All three countries are recovering slowly from the recession, but sales are growing steadily thanks to more artists visiting the region’s arenas. Average ticket for an arena show: €25

BelgiumMajors: TTS, Sherpa, Proximus GoForMusicLive Nation Belgium confirms that the main operators remain TTS and Sherpa while most tickets are sold via Belgian telecoms platform Proximus GoForMusic.Average ticket for an arena show: €40

DenmarkMajors: Billetnet, BilletlugenThere are two main ticket suppliers: Ticketmaster-owned Billetnet and Billetlugen, which is part of the Venuepoint Group. The two companies have a roughly equal share of a relatively small market, although there are a few smaller players, run directly from theatres. Advertising a ticket above face value is illegal, so there is little secondary market. Online transactions account for over 90% of sales.Average ticket for an arena show: DKK500-600 (€53-€67)

FinlandMajors: Lippupalvelu, Lippupiste, TikettiThe market is dominated by two major operators, Lippupalvelu (Ticketmaster) and Lippupiste (CTS Eventim). Service fees have remained reasonable – between €1.50-€5.50 for the major companies.. Online sales are now reliable and account for the majority of sales, while secondary sales are restricted due to ticket limitations.Average ticket for an arena show: €60-€70

FranceMajors: Fnac, TicketnetOnline sales account for up to 40% of tickets. Live Nation purchased Ticketnet in November 2010, giving it a strong foothold in the market. Earlier this year the French government passed legislation making it illegal for tickets to be resold without the permission of the content owner, namely the promoter or venue.Average ticket for an arena show: €50

GermanyMajors: CTS EventimGermany is a fragmented market, both regionally and in terms of content. CTS Eventim is the outright leading ticketer, a position that has been consolidated since the purchase of See Tickets and Ticket Online Germany in 2010. Last year Ticket Online ceased trading, but a raft of regional players or online-only companies still feature in the marketplace, such as Smart Tickets, Ticketscript and München Ticket.Average ticket for an arena show: €40-€60

GreeceMajors: Ticket House, TicketproThe leading ticket company in Greece is Ticket House, which is partnered with Ticketpro for online sales, though other online sellers include ticketarena.gr, ticketnet.gr and eleventickets.gr. E-ticketing is growing in popularity, but the majority of tickets are still sold through outlets such as Ticket House, Metropolis record stores and Public.Average ticket for an arena show: €40

HungaryMajors: Ticket Express Hungary, Ticketpro, Interticket Market shares are heavily disputed, but general concensus places Ticket Express as market leader with 30%, followed by Interticket, Ticketpro and Jegymester. About 30% of the market is e-tickets and online mail order, but box offices still dominate about 70% of transactions. The major promoters are Live Nation Hungary, Sony Showtime Budapest, Danubius Music and Broadway Hungary.Average ticket for an arena show: 12,000 HUF (€40)

IrelandMajors: TicketmasterTicketmaster enjoys a virtual monopoly in Ireland with about 70% of the market, with the rest being sold in-house at venues. Due to the recession, promoters report that customers are holding back and making ticket purchases closer to the day

Euro Box Office


of the event, but a drop in prices helped the volume of sales increase 20% in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year. Online sales account for roughly 50%.Average ticket for an arena show: €40

ItalyMajors: TicketOneThe dominant ticket company is TicketOne, which sells 80-90% of all tickets. Additionally, there are a number of smaller ticket companies, mainly distributed in the north and central Italy. Tickets sold in outlets are often sold for less than online, and while over-the-counter sales still account for the majority of sales (around 60%), online sales are growing.Average ticket for an arena show: €50-€55

The NetherlandsMajors: Ticket Service Nederland, See Tickets, Live NationLive Nation is selling its tickets exclusively through Ticket Service Nederland (a subsidiary of Ticketmaster). As a result of this CTS Eventim does not play a significant role in The Netherlands any more. It is thought that CTS will wind down its Dutch operations and pull back to Germany, depending on the outcome of the CTS/Live Nation lawsuit.Average ticket for an arena show: €52.50

NorwayMajors: Billettservice, BilletlukkaBillettservice, owned by Ticketmaster, is by far the dominant ticket provider, while Billetlukka provides services for lots of sports events. Many venues run small in-house systems, but tend to use Billetservice for shows with major promoters. The majority of tickets (about 70%) are sold online. Secondary ticketing is illegal.Average ticket for an arena show: €65

PolandMajors: CTS Eventim, TicketproPromoters report a recession-proof market, with fans snapping up tickets to big name acts when they go on sale. Cash sales are still very popular; online sales (roughly 40%) were boosted by one of the outlet networks, Ruch, which terminated contracts with all ticketing companies because the profit margins were too small.Average ticket for an arena show: €35-€50

PortugalMajors: Ticketline, BlueticketInternet sales represent only 15-20% while the biggest share of ticket sales are made through the venues’ box offices and outlets like Fnac, Worten, El Corte Inglés and national post offices.Average ticket for an arena show: €35-€40

SpainMajors: Tick Tack Ticket, Serviticket, Entradas.comTickets are predominantly distributed via outlets at department stores and networks of cash dispensers. With Tick Tack Ticket (Ticketmaster Spain) and Live Nation’s purchase of Serviticket, the entertainment giant has similar market share to El Corte Inglés. Ticketscript is also a new entrant to the Spanish market. Booking fees are low, and print-at-home is starting to gain popularity, but few venues have suitable access control systems as yet.Average ticket for an arena show: €42

SwedenMajors: Ticnet, CTS Eventim, TicksterThe majority of ticket allocation once went to venues, but ticketing companies now tend to do 50-50 allocation splits with venues for bigger shows. Ticnet has a majority market share, and the traditional reservation system has been all but phased out by online sales, with print-at-home proving particularly popular.Average ticket for an arena show: SEK500 (€45)

SwitzerlandMajors: TicketCorner, StarticketThe most established ticket seller in the Swiss market is CTS Eventim-owned TicketCorner which has about a 60% share of the market, including a network of distribution points in train stations and post offices across the country. However, independent operation Starticket is growing in stature. Average ticket for an arena show: CHF75 (€62)

TurkeyMajors: Biletix, Ticketturk, MyBiletTicketmaster-owned Biletix has a near-monopoly on concert ticket sales in the market, as well as the rights for selling home tickets for the three largest football clubs. E-tickets are the most common form of purchase for big shows, whilst door sales are dominant in club shows.Average ticket for an arena show: €25

UKMajors: Ticketmaster, See TicketsTicketmaster holds the top slot in the UK, followed by See Tickets, although the market has many other sellers vying for market share, including HMV, Ticket Factory, CTS Eventim and WeGotTickets. Over 90% of sales are online.Average ticket for an arena show: £33 (€40)


Once regarded as something of a daring destination, Latin America has now established itself as a touring stronghold.Adam Woods discovers that business is robust throughout the territory…

LatinAmerica

Introduction

Latin America


A gloomy, semi-AutobiogrAphicAl explorAtion of a rock star’s isolation from his audience isn’t a guaranteed touring hit in the southern hemisphere. But Roger Waters’ The Wall Live, already a huge success in the US, Europe and Australasia, hit some kind of peak in Latin America in March and April.

In Chile, Brazil and Mexico, The Wall did blockbuster business over eight shows, filling stadiums as grand as Rio’s Engenhão and Mexico City’s Foro Sol. But in Argentina, it scaled new heights, all but selling out nine nights at El Monumental – the home of River Plate and the national stadium of Buenos Aires. With 400,000 tickets sold, says promoter Matias Loizaga of Pop Art Music, it was literally the biggest run of shows the country has ever seen.

“We initially bought four shows,” says Loizaga, “and we weren’t sure if we would sell out the fourth. But we thought people would see one show and then come again. And then we sold the first two dates last August in less than four hours, and after that we just kept on adding shows.”

The Wall’s remarkable Latin American trip is just one piece in a solid hypothesis that Latin America may be if not necessarily the wealthiest then possibly the most enthusiastic collection of live music markets in the world. Every major promoter in Latin America has grandiose stories to tell of current and recent shows. Where once the visits of international artists such as Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones lingered anecdotally in the air for years, these days it seems like major touring acts can’t come down often enough.

“It is wonderful to see the way artists have embraced these markets,” says Bruce Moran, president of Live Nation’s Latin American division. A 20-year veteran of the Latin American

business, he thinks the current boom isn’t as cynical as a gold rush into a previously under-exploited region. He believes artists genuinely like going there. “I have spoken with Lars Ulrich, who just raved about the fans in Mexico City,” says Moran. “I had Barrie Marshall tell me he was astounded by the reaction to Sir Paul McCartney as well.”

Moran is speaking the day after selling 59,000 tickets for two August Metallica shows at the Palacio de los Deportes in just 90 minutes. A further three dates at the same venue would shortly go on sale. McCartney, meanwhile, was just a few days off a short South American tour that would take him to a handful of cities he’d never visited, ending at Mexico City’s vast Estadio Azteca, the fourth-largest stadium in the world.

From Metallica and McCartney to U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Iron Maiden, Bob Dylan, Kiss, The Killers, Sade and any number of smaller acts, Latin America has for some time been a must-play on any international tour with global pretensions. Argentina, where Roger Waters rewrote the record books, isn’t even South America’s boom territory in either economic or live music terms. That distinction goes to Brazil, which, with a soccer World Cup coming in 2014 and an economy that overtook the UK in March to become the world’s sixth biggest, is one of the world’s genuine hot spots.

Mexico and Chile, likewise, are strong, while Peru, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay now merit at least a date on plenty of itineraries. Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica and plenty of regional Brazilian cities also have their visitors, and if the economies and currencies of Latin America aren’t necessarily the steadiest – well, these days, they’re no rockier than anyone else’s.

U2

in M

exic

o C

ity,

May

201

1

Latin America


in live terms, lAtin AmericA is ruled by powerful local promoters, many with several decades experience. In Mexico, the incumbent is OCESA, owned by the giant Grupo CIE, whose other interests include Ticketmaster Mexico, a string of theatres, arenas and stadia across the country and stakes in venues, radio stations and marketing operations the length and breadth of South America. Having once tried to beat them, Live Nation has long since opted to join them. In 2008 it signed a five-year distribution deal not only with OCESA but with the no less mighty promoter and venue operator Time For Fun (T4F). The major player in the southern circuit of Brazil, Argentina and Chile, T4F was the third largest promoter in the world in 2010 in terms of tickets sold, and counts OCESA as a corporate cousin, given that CIE maintains a stake in T4F.

The region as a whole is strong, but due to the huge traffic of shows, we saw some markets, such as Chile and Peru, not reacting the same as in past years,” says T4F’s senior VP of international talent, Jose Muniz. “Too many players, some of them with no experience in the business, drove up the offers to a level never seen in the region before, scaring consumers with unaffordable ticket prices. We believe the market will go back to normal soon and in the hands of the experienced players.

There are numerous other weighty local promoters with decades of experience, including DG Medios in Chile; Pop Art Music, Ozono Producciones and Fenix Entertainment Group in Argentina; and Planmusic and XYZ Live in Brazil.

In 2009, long-term Latin American player Evenpro began a partial sale to ABC Group, the largest marketing services company in Brazil, spinning off a new entity, the above-mentioned XYZ Live. Water Brother/Evenpro’s Phil Rodriguez, along with Mondo Entretenimento’s William Crunfli and João Paulo Affonseca, head the company, which has offices across Latin America and has recently worked with Elton John, Bob Dylan, Morrissey and Demi Lovato. “The tide in South America has gone up quite a bit because of the rising exports,” says Rodriguez. “When that happens, you get the repressed hunger in a lot of new markets. Lima, Peru was the big place a few years ago. Now Asunción is the new Lima. The last thing I did in Paraguay was The Mission in 1983.”

Rodriguez, a veteran of the market, offers a quick tour of the thriving territories, which in XYZ Live’s case also include Costa Rica, Colombia and Guatemala. “Brazil is doing well,” he says. “The economic growth in the north-east is pretty special. Elsewhere, there are still a lot of one-city markets. Even Buenos Aires is often the only real option in Argentina. Having said that, Argentina is impressive. We were there last year, and one night we had Justin Bieber, the next we had

Eric Clapton at River Plate. And everywhere, there were other shows going on.”

Argentine promoter Fenix Entertainment Group has recently put on shows by the likes of Selena Gomez, Lenny Kravitz, Peter Gabriel, The Strokes, Britney Spears and Sonic Youth and through a co-promotion deal with Pop Art, it has the exclusive rights to use the impressive River Plate Stadium, where Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Roger Waters have all been visitors of late.

DG Medios’s Carlos Geniso, a mainstay of the Chilean and broader Latin American business, staged Roger Waters at Santiago’s Estadio Nacional, where he played to 50,000 a night, as well as Michael Bublé, who played twice at the Movistar Arena, with 20,000 tickets sold. “In Europe this year, things have been bad, so everyone is looking to come over here to play for more money than they can get in other places,” says Geniso. “Sometimes they can make it, and sometimes they can’t.”

Needless to say, there are younger promoters too, spawned by the developing opportunity in Brazil in particular. “The increasing consumer power here has opened a lot of doors,” says Bianca Freitas of Enjoy Experiences, which brought Britain’s The Vaccines and New Zealand’s The Naked And Famous to Brazil in recent weeks. “The market is absorbing more content and the audience spending more money with live entertainment,” she says, though like many Latin American promoters, she is concerned about the dangers of saturating markets that remain fairly youthful and far less wealthy, in general terms, than those of Europe and the US.

But the wealth is growing, and the youth is a huge asset for the live business. “The thing to remember about Latin America is that, demographically speaking, it is a very young place,” says Moran. “We had shows with Selina Gomez, who played to 9,500 people in Mexico City. We have got Demi Lovato – four shows for her; we have just confirmed One Direction, and these are all skewing to a younger audience.”

Promoters

“ We know there is definitely a straight hard-rock, heavy-metal market here. Many bands come to South America, and I think they get better paid here than they do in the US, for example.”– Christian Kramer, CK Promotions

Fans

tack

le o

ne o

f Rog

er W

ater

s’ g

iant

infl

atab

les

at

‘The

Wal

l’ sh

ow in

Chi

le


Latin America

Venues

A stAte of flux is probAbly the fAirest way to describe the venue infrastructure in Brazil, where a dozen stadiums are being built from scratch or substantially refurbished in readiness for the 2014 World Cup. Time is particularly tight for the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, the legendary Maracanã in Rio, Castelao in Fortaleza and the Estádio Nacional de Brasília – all venerable stadiums undergoing massive upgrades, and all required for the Confederations Cup in 2013.

Assuming all are completed in good time, Brazil will evolve rapidly from a massive nation of relatively few modern facilities – and virtually no arenas – to a state-of-the-art location for large-scale events. “They are building, I think, 14 new stadiums in Brazil, and three or four arenas, which is great, because we don’t have arenas here at all, apart from a few old gymnasiums in Rio,” says Niemeyer. “Even São Paulo doesn’t have an arena, and that is the biggest city in Latin America.”

Among the stadiums under construction is the 60,000-capacity Nova Arena in São Paolo, future home to football club Palmeiras. It will not play a part in the World Cup, but it has another significance. Along with the 45,000-seat Arena Pernambuco in Recife, it represents the focus of a first push by AEG Facilities into Latin America. “The entertainment market is exploding in Brazil right now,” was the estimation in October of AEG’s Chuck Steedman, who has taken the lead on Brazilian business development for AEG Facilities. “Brazil’s economy is a rocket sled on rails and they’re showing year-over-year sustained economic growth.”

Elsewhere, Latin America’s biggest promoters are among its larger venue operators. T4F runs Credicard Hall, Citibank Hall and Teatro Abril in São Paulo and Citibank Hall in Rio, and owns Ópera Citi in Buenos Aires. T4F has an ongoing strategy to add to its buildings portfolio. “[We] will be announcing shortly the construction of new venues spread out amid the second markets in Brazil and as well in Argentina,” says Muniz. “In regards to the other countries, we would need to partner with local governments that would need to subsidise the projects in order to make them financially viable.”

In addition to several regional arenas, Grupo CIE’s Mexican venues include Mexico City’s 20,000-capacity Palacio de los Deportes and the adjacent Foro Sol, which can hold 55,000 for concerts.

On a different scale, Pop Art – which, in a co-promote with Fenix, has exclusivity at River Plate stadium – owns La Trastienda Club, which, along with buzzing clubs such as Circo Voador in Rio and Cine Joia in São Paulo, represents part of a loose collection of Latin American smaller venues, popular with local and international indie acts.

Fenix Entertainment Group in Argentina is striving to bolster the nation’s venue set-up. “When it comes to stadiums, the infrastructure here for big shows is superb, but there are no indoor arenas,” says Fenix CEO Diego Finkelstein. “A city like Buenos Aires really needs to have a 12-15,000 capacity arena, so we are working hard on that project and hopefully we will have plans in place by the end of this year.”

“ They are building, I think, 14 new stadiums in Brazil, and three or four arenas, which is great, because we don’t have arenas here at all, apart from a few old gymnasiums in Rio. Even São Paulo doesn’t have an arena, and that is the biggest city in Latin America.”– Luiz Oscar Niemeyer, Planmusic

Paul McCartney at the Bandiera, Brazil © Marcos Hermes

Latin America


Touring conditions

As tempting As it might be to generAlise about the Latin American live market from the outside, the reality is of a vast landmass, enormously diverse in culture, with great distances and sometimes poor roads separating key cities. Of the major Latin American countries, only Chile and Mexico (and imminently Brazil) are signed up to the ATA Carnet system, with the result that crossing borders elsewhere can be a costly business.

For a variety of reasons, the most common South American tour down the years has been of the Brazil/Chile/Argentina variety, visiting Rio, São Paulo, Santiago and Buenos Aires, which are all connected relatively easily by road. “In Brazil, there is a strong European influence from Rio southwards, and those were always your markets for rock and pop,” says Rodriguez. “Those were all the markets that routed best with Argentina. If you’re coming from Buenos Aires, Porto Alegre might make sense.”

Increasingly, however, there is no set route through the region. On her January/February tour, for instance, US starlet Selena Gomez went all the way down through Puerto Rico, Panama City, Mexico City, Santiago, Lima, Rio, São Paulo, Cordoba and Buenos Aires. By contrast, in March and April, McCartney staged a seven-date raid on Montevideo in Uruguay, Asunción in Paraguay, Bogotá in Colombia, Recife and Florianópolis in Brazil, ending up in Guadalajara and Mexico City – apparently for the fun of visiting a few new markets. “We did five shows with him last year – one in Porto Alegre, two in Rio, two in São Paulo,” says Planmusic’s Luiz Oscar Niemeyer, promoter of the Brazilian shows. “He has a tremendous fan base here, people go crazy. We sell tickets very fast.”

The standard emerging markets, says Geniso, are Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia and Venezuela. “However, all

these kinds of markets don’t have the same traffic as Chile or Brazil or Argentina, because the logistics of travelling from one point to another are very difficult, and it’s expensive.”

Memo Parra, director of international events at OCESA, says the company is experiencing year-on-year record results with events in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara performing particularly well. “Last year anglo events sold more than 1.5m tickets and my division promoted 129 events.” But success is not without its problems. “The exchange rate is always a risk factor and more these days when everything is global. If Greece is in trouble the Mexican peso devaluates. At least in Mexico we are at the max level of pricing tickets, but we are very close on tickets been too expensive.”

As many cities as are added to the wider Latin American circuit, there are plenty that have yet to be thoroughly explored, through a combination of such geographical factors, lack of local disposable income and regional differences in taste. In Brazil, for instance, major northern cities such as Salvador, Manaus and Belém – state capitals all, with populations in the millions – seldom receive international acts, both because of their remoteness and because Brazil broadly becomes less wealthy – and less primed for American and European stars – the further north you go. However, the addition of cities such as Recife and Fortaleza to the itineraries of artists such as McCartney and Maroon 5 – who recently confirmed a show in the latter’s Marina Park in September – suggests the orthodoxy is being challenged.

There remains a great diversity of income and taste right across the continent, however, according to Colombia-based promoter Christian Kramer. “It doesn’t only vary between countries, but within countries as well,” he says. “Taking Colombia as an example, in Bogotá, you have lots of rock & roll bands; in [second city] Medellín, it’s reggae and reggaeton; in [third-biggest city] Cali, it’s salsa.” It is also a mistake to presume that a cosmopolitan city is necessarily one that is in need of shows, Kramer suggests. “In Colombia, there’s not such a concert culture,” he says. “It’s not the first thing people think to spend their money on.”

“ In Europe this year, things have been bad, so everyone is looking to come over here to play for more money than they can get in other places.”– Carlos Geniso, DG Medios

The

Nak

ed &

Fam

ous

in B

razi

l

Sponsorship

Festivals


Latin America

corporAte money, Absent for so mAny yeArs after the huge international shows of the 1980s, has gradually returned to Latin America in recent years, helping to bankroll all kinds of world-class entertainment. Matias Loizaga, whose three major Argentinian festivals – Pepsi Music, Quilmes Rock and Personal Fest – are all named for major brands, says the value can’t be understated.

“A lot of sponsors have a lot of interest in music again, like Coca-Cola, who had been out for a couple of years, but also banks and cellphone companies,” says Loizaga. “It is actually the only way to bring international acts. If you don’t have a sponsor, it really affects your business in terms of the price of a ticket. A lot of young acts don’t accept sponsorship deals, and it is really frustrating, because they don’t understand that it directly affects the price of tickets.”

“We have a really strong alliance with sponsors, which is vital to give you the power to bring big acts to Argentina, as

well as putting on the tours of big Latin stars,” says Fenix boss Finkelstein.

Meanwhile, T4F’s Muniz states, “During the crisis of 2001, 2002 sponsors vanished from the market but they are back and supporting the events. Banks, Credit Card companies, cell phone carriers and beer are the driving force on the sponsorship world.”

In Brazil, marketing money is so plentiful it has spawned its own sector of the live business, pioneered by companies such as Dançar Marketing, which works exclusively in the corporate sector. As executive vice-president Vanisa Bento-McGrath explains, a Brazilian law enables companies to offset tax by staging public entertainments. Handled carefully, with proper respect for the rules, it enables big brands to fund experiential marketing with money they would otherwise have shoveled into the National Treasury.

This intriguing model has brought acts including Norah Jones, Suzanne Vega, Diana Krall, Seal and Andrea Bocelli to Brazil for brands such as HSBC, Stella Artois, Telefonica and Fiat. “The Norah Jones free show we did for Stella Artois [in São Paulo’s Parque da Independência in 2010] only happened because she loves her fans and she liked the idea that they wouldn’t have to pay high ticket prices to see her. We did an entire tour for Seal [in 2008], and those were his first Brazilian shows in 16 years.”

lAtin AmericA ActuAlly hAs relAtively few festivals, but those it does have, from Rock In Rio to Argentina’s Quilmes Rock to Mexico’s Vive Latino, tend to run on a grand scale. Ocesa’s Vive Latino festival draws around 125,000 to Mexico City each year, and largely devotes itself, by definition, to Latin alternative music – its sub-heading is Festival Iberoamericano de Cultura Musical, or Latin American Festival of Musical Culture. In late March, the festival staged its 13th edition at the Foro Sol stadium, featuring Spanish-language stars including Enrique Bunbury, Zoé, Café Tacuba and Molotov, as well as a smattering of international names such as Kasabian, Fatboy Slim and The Horrors.

Pop Art in Buenos Aires operates three huge festivals – Quilmes Rock, Pepsi Music and Personal Fest – all of which, according to Loizaga, are in good health, in spite of the lingering threat of economic fluctuations. “Things are reasonably good,” he says. “You never know, as we say here. It is changing all the time, but we have been stable enough for the past three years, locally. Quilmes, we have been doing for eight years, and this year [at River Plate stadium on April 3, 4 and 7], we have got Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, MGMT – two nights of international acts and the third with Spanish-speaking bands like Charly García, Fito Páez, Catupecu Machu, Las Pelotas and Banda de Turistas.”

As the Latin American touring market has developed, international festivals have put the region in their sites,

too. Spanish electronic festival Sonar is coming to São Paulo in May and Miami’s Ultra Music Festival is in Buenos Aires that month and São Paulo later in the year. Lollapolooza, too, will come to both Chile and Brazil this year to fill a Rock In Rio-sized gap, with the festival not scheduled to take place in South America again until 2013, when it will be staged both in Rio and, for the first time, in Buenos Aires.

Rock festivals, such as Bogotá’s Rock al Parque and various currently dormant brands including Monterrey Metal and Monsters of Rock in Buenos Aires, play to one of Latin America’s most abiding musical passions. Colombia-based CK Promotions aims to carve out new markets for such events, with two new metal festivals in late April: Metal Open Air in São Luiz in northern Brazil, with Megadeth, Anthrax and many others, and Metal Fest in Chile, which brings Venom, Anthrax, Blind Guardian and more to Santiago’s Movistar Arena. “We are trying to go into regional markets, and tickets are selling pretty well,” says owner Christian Kramer. “We know there is definitely a straight hard-rock, heavy-metal market here. Many bands come to South America, and I think they get better paid here than they do in the US, for example.”

Pop music tends to be reserved for the more cosmopolitan areas. To that end, XYZ Live stages its Pop Music Festival in Rio and São Paulo in June, with Jennifer Lopez, who has never performed in Brazil, playing at this year’s shows.

“ [Sponsorship] is actually the only way to bring international acts. If you don’t have a sponsor, it really affects your business in terms of the price of a ticket.”– Matias Loizaga, Pop Art Music


In Focus...Do you have a photo for inclusion? email [email protected]

1. Alison Hussey (AH Productions), Debra Downes (Dawson Breed Music) and MGR’s Nyree Stidston and Joanna Maj add a bit of feminine glamour to the ‘Armageddon Out Of Here’ Champagne Farewell at ILMC 24.

2. Delegates Carlos Keys (Red Entertainment Agency) and Juri Makarov (Makarov Muusik) do their bit to improve American-Estonian relations.

3. Dan Silver and Declan Forde get the lowdown on the Olympics from Ali McLean of London 2012.

4. ILMC’s Zombie staff move in for the kill on Road Worrier Martin ‘Mad Mart’ Hopewell.

5. IQ’s Allan McGowan surprises Cathy Wu Lei (International Special Attractions) with his knowledge of the Chinese market.

6. South African delegates Freddie Nyathela and Graeme Gilfillan come out of the cold for some much needed refreshments at the Survivors Reviver Opening Drinks at ILMC.

7. The Dutch Meet and Eat enticed Robert Fowler of Shelton International, Australian artist Bowie Jane, Koen Melis (NEC Group) and Thomas Torkelsson (Got Event) to cross the road from the Royal Garden Hotel at ILMC 24.

8. Triumphant ‘team yellow’ uncork the bubbly to celebrate winning one of the special games at the Mayan End of Daze Dinner.

1

2

3

4

5

7

8

6


Your Shout

“ What was your most memorable moment from ILMC 24?”

Chrissy Uerlings, Christoph Uerlings ProductionsThe honesty and the humanity of the heartbreaking speech by Jenny Marshall, topped only by the special brave speech of Willie Robertson’s widow Angie Robertson – was the true highlight of this year’s ILMC – well worth coming just for this. Thanks to two very special ladies who realise the industry leaders take pride in being awarded by their peers for what they do – even in this lonely, money-driven business.

Phil Rodriguez, Water BrotherSeeing Chuggie as Mad Max. Classic!

Martyn Passey, Audience MagazineA certain festival promoter, slightly intoxicated, singing Summertime (badly) to a captive audience in the upstairs bar on Friday night shall stay in my memory for a long time.

Renatas Načajus, UAB Kauno arenaMy most memorable moment from ILMC 24 was the Match of the Year football. It was just an amazing feeling to play soccer at Wembley Stadium – I never felt such a star. Huge thanks to Jim Frayling from Wembley Stadium and Aiken Promotions for sponsoring it

Andrew Leighton-Pope, LPOMy moment of ILMC was at the autopsy when they were talking about the number of surviving platinum members and realising I was the youngest. Therefore I could be last man standing and get the big cup!

Ed Grossman, MGRThe most memorable moment at ILMC 24 was the deafening silence on the subject of secondary ticketing. A subject gaining headlines in many previous ILMCs, but missing this year.

Will Page, PRS For Music I was able to catch up with many promoters [from Central and Eastern Europe] who I hadn’t seen since last year and hear more about the explosion in the festival scene happening there, especially the former Yugoslavia.

Charlie Shun, CSC Live Events & Special Projects There are always memorable moments at the ILMC and this year was no exception. In addition to many well presented sessions over the weekend, the highlight for me was Ed Bicknell’s Breakfast Meeting with John Giddings. Although on the Sunday morning, I settled into my chair with a large coffee, Paracetamol tabs, two matchsticks and a bowl of Shreddies. My attendance effort was fully rewarded by an interesting and enjoyable conversation. I said to John afterwards, the session was good and bad for you, now more of the industry knows just what a nice guy you are - good for new business relationships, bad for deal negotiating!

Gordon Masson, IQ My favourite moment was during the Sponsorship session when one of the student panellists, Jørgen Avsnes, showed exactly how it’s possible to make brand partnerships work, even if you’re just a punter. Faced with a lengthy wait to get into a J. Cole show in London, Asvnes and his friends simply went to a nearby newsagent, purchased a £1 mobile phone sim card and were able to skip the queues using the O2 Priority Access entrance.

Hillel Wachs, 2b Vibes MusicThe headphone dance room at the Dutch showcase: dancing before the shows to music only I could hear with headphones – and having everyone think I was totally toasted.

TOP

SHO

UT!

If you would like to send feedback, comments or suggestions for future Your Shout topics, please email: [email protected]

Download - Issue 41, May 2012

Top Related