Index In Brief

IN BRIEFINDEX

The concert business digest

The Danish government drops all remaining Covid-19 restrictions.

Iceland Airwaves cancels for a second year due to “new and ongoing Covid-19 measures imposed by the government.”

Vaccine passports may be legally required to enter certain events in Scotland in a bid to “help stem the recent surge in the number of Covid cases.”

OVG appoints Chris Granger as CEO of the group’s facilities, following the company’s merge with US venue giant Spectra.

Belgium’s Sportpaleis Antwerp opens its doors for the first time in a year and a half.

Electric Picnic 2021 cancels following the local council’s refusal to grant the organisers a licence.

Dutch campaign group Unmute Us enlists the support of 4,000 organisers for its second protest against government restrictions.

Australia’s live industry comes together to launch a provaccination campaign under the banner #Vaxthenation. Live Nation GSA reveals more details about the inaugural edition of Download Germany.

Belgium’s live industry may take up to two years to get to pre-pandemic levels of operation, according to key venues.

Roblox and Warner Music Group announce a virtual concert experience with Grammy-awardwinning duo Twenty One Pilots.

Coldplay will be the first act to play OVG’s Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle – the world’s first carbonneutral-certified arena.

The fourth annual Nordic Music Biz Top 20 under 30 list is revealed.

Twitter starts to roll out Ticketed Spaces, a functionality that will enable some creators to generate revenue from hosting live audio events on the platform.

American rock band Kings of Leon becomes the first act to send an NFT into space.

SJM Concerts’ Chris York is presented with the NAA’s 2021 award for Outstanding Contribution to the Live Entertainment Industry.

Live Nation Denmark announces the first full-capacity stadium show in Europe since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

British band Massive Attack calls on the government to introduce a plan to cut carbon emissions in the live music business.

More details emerge about ABBA’s upcoming Voyage concerts, as tickets go on general sale.

The Swedish government announces that it will drop almost all restrictions on live events by 29 September.

Portugal is set to gain an 18,000-capacity, multiday festival this winter.

Viagogo sells its StubHub business outside of North America – including the UK – to investment firm Digital Fuel Capital LLC.

Live Nation resumes its acquisition of Ocesa, the third-largest promoter in the world and the parent company of Ticketmaster Mexico.

Amazon brings its palmrecognition technology to music venues, starting with the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the US. The Scottish parliament approves plans for vaccine passports.

Copenhagen is set to gain a new 2,500-capacity music venue this winter.

An estimated 150,000 people across ten cities take part in the second Unmute Us protest in the Netherlands.

Leading dance music promoters Insomniac and Alda host Saga, Romania’s first large-scale music festival since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The Netherlands’ live sector say the new 75%-capacity limit for indoor standing events is “unsubstantiated, arbitrary, and extremely harmful.”

Australia is set to gain two new rock festivals in 2021 and 2022, Knight & Day and Uncaged.

Wasserman Music announces five newly promoted agents.

Dutch promoter ID&T signs a partnership agreement with leading live organisation Superstruct Entertainment (see page 12).

The UK’s live sector commits to reaching net-zero emissions by the year 2030, as part of a new campaign to deliver climate action.

The inaugural edition of Belgium’s Arena 5 concert series draws around 50,000 people over the course of seven weeks.

Tomorrowland announces the return of its winter edition in 2022, after a successful debut in 2019.

Elton John is forced to postpone the 2021 UK and European legs of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

The 14th edition of the Green Events and Innovations conference sees the industry “come of age” on the subject of sustainability.

Arenal Sound 2022 in Spain sells out in less than seven hours.

Frontier Touring, Live Nation and TEG in Australia unite in a bid to encourage concert-goers to get vaccinated.

Riot Games teams up with entertainment firm Wave to produce an immersive concert by virtual heavy metal band Pentakill.

Entertainment app Stageverse launches with a 360-degree virtual show from Muse.

The 20th anniversary Green Man Festival in Wales sells out in a record three days, and 11 months ahead of the event.

The British government’s highly anticipated £800 million (€935m) insurance scheme for live events launches. Spanish concert halls are suffering under the broadest restrictions in Europe, says a recent study by Live DMA.

The efficacy of coronavirus detection dogs is trialled at a test show in Hanover.

The live-streaming market consolidates further with the acquisition of NoonChorus by USbased startup Mandolin.

Leading promoters in the UK live industry say they’re experiencing mixed fortunes following the full reopening in England on 19 July.

Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings criticises the British government’s long-awaited reinsurance scheme for live events.

UK-based gender equality initiative Keychange announces a series of new appointments following the exit of project manager Maxie Gedge.

ATC Live warns that Brexit is “the next major threat to live music” after two of the agency’s British acts are forced to pull out of Spanish dates due to Brexit-related visa issues.

Dreamstage hires veteran marketing executive Jesse Kirshbaum as CMO.

ASM Global taps industry veteran John Boyle as global chief content officer.

Live Nation Urban makes Mari Arionne Davies its new VP of booking and talent. Live powerhouse Superstruct Entertainment acquires a stake in Amsterdam-based Festival Travel (see page 12).

Electric Group unveils plans for the £1.5m (€1.75m) redevelopment of its newest acquisition NX.

Renowned booking agent and X-ray co-founder Steve Strange passes away after a short illness (see page 6).

Senior music agent Rebecca Prochnik joins UTA as director of creative strategy, UK music.

The European Arenas Association

names Olivier Toth, CEO of Rockhal Luxembourg, as president.

Dice, the UK-based mobile ticketing and discovery platform for live events and live-streams, raises up to $122m (€105m) in Series C funding.

CTS Eventim’s share price reaches an all-time high following its expansion into the North American ticketing market.

CAA and ICM Partners plan to join forces in a landmark agency merger.

BTS announces a mini residency at the brand new SoFi stadium (cap. 70,000) in Los Angeles this winter, promoted by Live Nation.

Secret Garden Party 2022 sells out in record time following an “overwhelming response” to the reunion event.

MDLBeast announces Saudi Arabia’s first music conference. Ed Sheeran’s recently announced ‘blockbuster’ tour fills promoters with optimism about the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

Epic Games announces the next set of immersive virtual performances coming to Fortnite, under the banner Soundwave Series.

Open’er announces a slate of global stars for next year’s edition including Dua Lipa, Martin Garrix, Jessie Ware, and Jehnny Beth.

Prodiss announces a new cancellation insurance policy exclusively for its members.

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Wasserman Music appoints Shannon Casey as SVP of fairs and festivals, to expand the agency’s reach in the business area.

Superstruct Entertainment signs an investment and partnership agreement with Finnish Metal Events Oy, organiser of Tuska Open Air Metal Festival (see page 12).

Live Nation announces the expansion of its global artist discovery platform Ones To Watch to Australia.