Analysis

STEVE STRANGE

1968–2021

Renowned booking agent and X-ray cofounder Steve Strange has passed away after a short illness. He was 53.

The shocking news prompted numerous artist tributes, not just from his own clients but also from other acts, as well as friends and industry colleagues from around the world.

“We are devastated by the news of our dear friend Steve Strange’s passing,” said a statement from Coldplay on Twitter. “A giant of the music industry and the cornerstone for so many bands’ and artists’ careers, including ours.

“Never afraid to talk straight and fight for his artists, you always heard him before you saw him, and you knew you were in for a good evening. We spent a bittersweet hour with him last week. Despite his illness he was still taking calls and watching ticket counts.”

In addition to Coldplay, Strange’s roster included, among many others, the likes of Eminem, Queens of the Stone Age, Jimmy Eat World, The Charlatans, and Snow Patrol, the latter of whom wrote, “He had so many friends because he was so irresistibly loveable, positive, kind, passionate, generous, funny, and sincere.

“Sincerity [is] not always an easy thing to find in the business side of music (or any business for that matter) but Steve had it to spare. When Steve loved your band there was no one [who] loved it more. To picture a world without him in it is to picture a world so diminished. With less joy, less positivity, less optimism, less heart. Quieter, duller, and much less interesting. We love you, Steve.”

Indeed, Ed Sheeran, who was not a client, paid his own tribute, simply stating, “A very sad day, and a huge loss x.”

His death, in Los Angeles, was confirmed by the company he co-founded, X-ray Touring, on Friday, 24 September. “We have lost a legendary figure in our personal and professional lives that we will all deeply miss,” said the statement.

“Steve was a unique individual within our industry, his overwhelming love of music led to a 30-year-plus career guiding the touring of an eclectic mix of artists from all genres of music that he adored. A universally known, hugely respected and loved character – if you hadn’t already seen him at a gig or festival, you’d most certainly hear his infectious and infamous laugh.

“Steve had the best ears in the agency business, signing and developing the careers of countless world-class artists from small club venues to vast international multi-stadium tours.

“He will always be remembered with love by his friends and colleagues at X-ray and the world over.”

Born in Lisburn near Belfast on 17 April 1968, Strange was raised in Carrickfergus in nearby County Antrim during the troubles in Northern Ireland. At the age of 11, after his cousin took him to see UFO at Ulster Hall in Belfast, Strange’s love of hard rock was born, which saw him devote his youth to the likes of Rush, AC/ DC, Kiss, and Def Leppard.

His first band, Slack Alice, didn’t reach the heights its members had hoped for, so Strange found himself sitting behind the drums for a couple of cover bands before becoming part of the line-up for popular Belfast outfit No Hot Ashes in 1986. A record deal with GWR, thanks in no small part to Strange’s powers of persuasion, saw the band move to London a year later.

Strange later accepted an offer from Jon Vyner to join The Bron Agency and book some gigs. “I used to do [that] anyway – it was always left to the drummer to chase support tours and gigs,” he told IQ in 2009. Tapping up GWR’s Doug Smith to secure his acts occasional support slots with the likes of Motörhead and Girlschool, Strange worked tirelessly, making himself known around London’s gig circuit, making friends with bands, and offering to book shows. “I did a lot of analysing about how the business worked, and it was a steep learning curve. I was intrigued by it – how

tours were routed, why some bands played clubs not halls, etc. It was very exciting.”

Strange moved to Adam Parson’s Big Rock Inc, and then to Prestige Artists working with Clive Underhill-Smith and Rob Hallett, who was also his flatmate for a period. In 1992, Strange moved back to Northern Ireland to promote at the Limelight with Eamonn McCann. The move led to one of his biggest breaks when he discovered a trio of school kids, Ash, becoming the band’s agent and working with Rob Challice at Forward Artist Booking.

Feeling the need to work at a larger agency, Strange moved to John Giddings’ Solo, before another move to Fair Warning/Waster Talent where he met fellow X-ray founders Ian Huffam and Jeff Craft. Adding Scott Thomas and Martin Horne to the mix, the five individuals launched X-ray in 2005, fast becoming one of the UK’s most respected booking agencies.

Strange was renowned for signing and developing US artists. “I’ve always listened to American music, and a lot of the bands I liked when I was younger were from the United States,” he told IQ in 2018. His relationship with Interscope Records’ label head Martin Kierszenbaum and A&R chief Don Robinson led to an introduction with Eminem, who alongside Queens of the Stone Age became a cornerstone of an eclectic roster that included Coldplay, Maximo Park, Feeder, Snow Patrol, The Charlatans, Jimmy Eat World and more, many booked with long-time colleague Josh Javor.

Strange was a longstanding ILMC member, and in March had picked up the top agent award (Second Least Offensive Agent) in a special decade showdown at the Arthur Awards. Strange had topped the category twice before. He appeared in person to collect the gong at the Royal Albert Hall, thanking his clients, and “all the people at Team Strange and X-ray Touring who’ve all had a very difficult year, but we’re getting through it.”

More recently, in May, X-ray announced a strategic partnership with New York-based AGI, part of the Y Entertainment Group, which also includes UK agency K2. “I am personally excited and delighted by our renewed joint venture partnership with my good friend Ron Burkle and the Yucaipa group,” said Strange of the announcement. “I am also looking forward to our new strategic partnership with AGI in the US.”

In an emotional memorial at IFF on Thursday, 30 September, his X-ray colleagues paid tribute to him, along with many colleagues from around the world.

X-ray co-founder Ian Huffam joked that Strange would have enjoyed “the vast level of national press coverage his passing has generated.”

Josh Javor, who worked alongside Strange for the past 16 years, said, “I’ve learned a lot from him. He was just a wonderful, generous, and really genuine person who really loved what he did. He wasn’t cynical or anything like that and I am going to miss him a lot.”

Tributes to Strange began flooding social media as soon as the news broke. Amongst those, was CAA’s Emma Banks, who wrote that Strange was “a truly good and loving person without a bad bone in his body. The life and soul of every occasion, a music man to the core and dedicated to his clients, friends, and family. If you knew him, you will understand why everyone is devastated by his passing, and if you didn’t know him, you missed out big time.”

Siren Artist Management’s Adam Parsons said, “His talent and expertise coupled with his never-ending enthusiasm has made him one of the world’s leading music executives and one of the most loved beings I have ever known.”

Paradigm’s Rob Challice wrote, “His enthusiasm for music and life was contagious and inspirational. He changed the world around him. I can’t believe we’ll never hear that big laugh of his again.”

Fellow X-ray director Adam ‘Rad’ Saunders posted, “Friend, ally, mentor, and the single most influential person in my career. Steve was an irrepressible juggernaut of a person. Full of passion, talent, and a ridiculous laugh. I will miss him hugely. I can’t really imagine a music business without Steve in it. It leaves a hole so big it cannot be filled.”

“His talent and expertise coupled with his never-ending enthusiasm has made him one of the world’s leading music executives”

INDUSTRY GIANTS BOOST OPERATIONS IN THE AMERICAS

Business behemoths Live Nation and CTS Eventim have signalled their optimism that live music is set to resume by pushing ahead with expansion plans in the Americas.

CTS Eventim fulfilled long-held ambitions to launch its ticketing services into the North American market – a move that immediately received the backing of investors who boosted the firm’s share price to an all-time high of $68.50 on 27 September, just days after the company began selling tickets for its first US client, Big Apple Circus.

The German-headquartered CTS says that prior to the pandemic it was servicing more than 250 million tickets for around 800,000 events each year, making it the world’s second-largest provider of ticketing solutions and the number one in Europe.

Company CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg believes those numbers will become even more impressive if the company can establish a foothold in its newest territory. “North America is the most attractive market in the world for live entertainment and ticketing. The platform Eventim.com puts us in an ideal position to benefit from the restart there,” he observes.

“The sale of tickets for Big Apple Circus is a first step on this journey. We are already in discussions with potential partners and customers about making our cutting-edge ticketing systems available to them soon.”

Big Apple Circus is being coproduced by veteran entertainment executive Michael Cohl, a former chairman of Live Nation, who last year formed joint venture EMC Presents with CTS Eventim to concentrate on events in the United States and Canada.

The move is Schulenberg’s second foray into the US market. In 2009, Live Nation partnered with Eventim to launch Live Nation Tickets, a platform intended to challenge Ticketmaster’s dominant position in North America. However, Live Nation subsequently pulled out of the deal when it merged with Ticketmaster instead, prompting a breach of contract lawsuit that was finally settled in arbitration in 2013.

This summer also saw the launch of Eventim Live Asia, which from its base in Singapore is targeting the rapidly growing live entertainment markets in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

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

The $444 million (€383m) deal, if completed, would give the world’s largest live entertainment company a 51% stake in one of its largest competitors, which dominates the Latin American market. The acquisition, first mooted in summer 2019, was put on hold during the pandemic. But with the lawyers back at work, it is now expected to close by late 2021 or early 2022, subject to regulatory approval (which it had already received clearance for in Mexico).

The benefactors of the Live Nation interest are the Inter-American Entertainment Corporation (Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento or CIE) and Grupo Televisa, a media giant in the Spanish-speaking world. Live Nation is reportedly buying a 40% stake in Ocesa from Grupo Televisa, and 11% of the concert promoter from CIE, which will retain its remaining 49%

minority stake in Ocesa.

With the pandemic still causing uncertainty, Live Nation is expected to hold back 7% of the closing price to cover any potential operating losses for several quarters.

“After serving as Live Nation’s touring, festival, and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, we know Ocesa is a stellar business with deep roots in live entertainment in Mexico,” says Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation. “As we continue to build on the return to live, Ocesa will play a pivotal role in putting together many incredible shows in Mexico and the rest of Latin America.”

Alejandro Soberón Kuri, president and CEO of CIE, adds: “We are extremely proud to finally join Live Nation. This is a natural evolution of our long-standing relationship and it gives us a unique opportunity to continue Ocesa’s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live entertainment industry. Additionally, it will help us foster CIE’s commitment to the promotion of Mexican artistic talent abroad.”

Ocesa promotes more than 3,100 events for nearly six million fans annually across Mexico and Colombia and has a robust business portfolio in ticketing, sponsorship, food & beverage, merchandise, and venue operation – including 13 premier venues across Mexico with a collective capacity of nearly 250,000 seats. Its primary ticketing business, Ticketmaster Mexico, was shifting around 20 million tickets annually, pre-Covid.

TOTH ASSUMES EAA PRESIDENCY

The European Arenas Association (EAA) has named Olivier Toth, CEO of Rockhal in Luxembourg, as its new president. Toth succeeds AEG Europe’s John Langford, who is stepping down after completing his two-year tenure.

“I can think of no better person to lead the EAA,” says Langford of Toth. “Since joining the association, Olivier has been working tirelessly on behalf of the members to deliver the association’s goal of strengthening ties with the European Union and boosting the advocacy impact of the EAA at EU level.”

Toth is a co-founder of the Arena Resilience Alliance (ARA), which has been lobbying the EU’s governing bodies during the pandemic.

“Through the ARA, we have seen how arenas play a vital role as the hub of the live events ecosystem and how necessary it is to have a collective voice for our industry,” says Toth. “We can all agree the world we are returning to is not the same one we left behind and I am confident that the EAA and its ARA subgroup will work towards building a stronger and more unified European live events sector.”

The EAA’s membership comprises 34 arenas in 20 European countries.

SUPERSTRUCT EMBARKS ON AMBITIOUS EXPANSION

Providence Equity-backed Superstruct Entertainment is emerging from the pandemic pause with aggressive growth plans, including major investments in a Finnish festival, a pact with Dutch promoters ID&T, and the acquisition of a stake in a festival travel operation.

Most recently, the company announced it had signed an investment and partnership agreement with Finnish Metal Events Oy, organiser of Tuska Open Air Metal Festival.

Launched in 1988, Tuska (Finnish for “pain”) takes place annually in Helsinki across three days and is one of the largest metal festivals in the Nordic countries. In 2019, the festival set a new attendance record, welcoming 43,000 visitors over the course of the event.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, it will see Superstruct become a key shareholder in Tuska.

“This is the next step for Tuska,” stated festival director Eeka Mäkynen. “Focusing on boutique festivals, Superstruct will provide us with more muscles for development and more rivets in our belt.

“All shareholders and key personnel will continue to be involved, and the organisation will continue to run the festival independently. The mosh pit will keep spinning, only faster – in other words, the festival will remain its own unique rough self, as it has been until now.”

Jouni Markkanen, who has been the head promoter at Tuska since 1999, added, “We had been thinking about expanding our ownership base for a long time. Now the pieces all fell into place and the time was right.

“We believe that the festival business will intensify after the corona crisis. International connections have always been close to our hearts when booking bands. The arrival of Superstruct opens up more opportunities to create even better programmes and festivals for Tuska’s loyal customers, our tribe.”

Superstruct’s portfolio now numbers more than 30 European festivals, including another Finnish event, Flow Festival, as well as Sziget in Hungary; Spanish-based party promoter Elrow; German genre-based gatherings Parookaville and Wacken Open Air; Boardmasters in the UK; Zwarte Cross in the Netherlands; and Sónar, which has hosted festivals across six countries during its 27-year history.

The Tuska news came less than a week after Superstruct announced its acquisition of Netherlands-based festival holiday company Festival Travel.

The Amsterdam-based company specialises in festival holidays and has organised travel arrangements for international visitors to events such as Exit in Serbia, and Hungary’s Sziget and Balaton Sound over the past decade. The company’s expertise should help Superstruct tap into additional revenue streams for the hundreds of thousands of fans who attend its portfolio of events.

Festival Travel co-owner Ruud Bongaerts comments, “It is very valuable to gain the trust of a company of this size. The customer experience is always central to our way of acting, and with that, we create unique festival summers for tens of thousands of young people every year.

“The past summers were, of course, very difficult for us, with everything that resulted from the corona pandemic, but this new chapter gives us a lot of confidence in the future.”

A week prior to the travel company deal, Superstruct pulled off another coup in the Netherlands when it signed a partnership agreement with ID&T – the promoters of Mysteryland, Defqon.1, Awakenings, and Milkshake. It is also the parent company of organisations such as Q-dance, ID&T Events, B2S, Monumental (Awakenings), Art of Dance, Platinum Agency, and Headliner Entertainment.

According to the partners, the deal has helped steer ID&T into “a safe haven” after a tough year and a half that saw the company take out a number of loans, make many staff redundant, and cancel its festivals.

“By creating this financially sound situation, we have secured the employment of our 100+ employees and are able to move forward with our suppliers, who are also struggling at this time,” says Ritty van Straalen, CEO of the ID&T Group.

As usual with Superstruct deals, financial terms were not disclosed, but the founders and senior management of the ID&T Group have become shareholders in Superstruct as part of the agreement. The companies also believe the deal will create synergies to further improve the fan experience at their festivals.

James Barton, chairman of Superstruct, said, “We are very excited to join forces with ID&T, a business that I have long admired. Our partnership with ID&T is a very significant milestone for Superstruct and reflects our deep conviction in the value of experience-focused live music festivals and our excitement about the significant joint growth opportunities that lie ahead as live events return.”

“By creating this financially sound situation, we have secured the employment of our 100+ employees and are able to move forward with our suppliers, who are also struggling at this time”

Ritty van Straalen | ID&T Group

CAA/ICM DEAL TO SHAKE UP AGENCY LANDSCAPE

Creative Artists Agency’s proposed deal to acquire ICM Partners could fundamentally change the global agency business, if the companies can satisfy regulators that it meets anti-trust guidelines, both in the entertainment and sports industries.

The deal would effectively create a “big three” situation, alongside corporate giants UTA and WME and while lawyers and business watchdogs will no doubt argue that this could stifle competition, others believe that such a set-up might offer opportunities for the independent agency sector.

Indeed, speaking at the International Festival Forum on 30 September, ATC Live leader Alex Bruford drew comparisons with the recorded music business, where Sony, Universal and Warner dominate market share but multiple indie labels around the world enjoy success and provide different opportunities to numerous artists.

For their part, the merger partners claim the deal will “drive broader and more inclusive representation” for their clients. If approved, the agreement will result in the largest talent agency transaction since WME acquired IMG in 2014 and since Endeavor joined forces with William Morris Agency in 2009, which forged the contemporary WME.

Consolidation in the agency business isn’t likely to end there, as it’s also expected that powerhouse agency Wasserman will soon reach agreement with Paradigm in the UK, having already tied up a deal with the parent company of the same name in North America.

In a statement, CAA’s Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett, said, “The strategic combination of CAA and ICM bolsters our collective resources, expertise, and relationships to deliver even more opportunities for our worldclass clients to build their careers and their brands across multiple disciplines and platforms in an evolving marketplace.

“Our strong financial position enables us to continue to expand and diversify our businesses, with service and representation remaining central to what we do and who we are. We’re fortunate to have a partner in ICM who shares our commitment to the widest and most inclusive vision possible for what our clients and company can accomplish together.”

ICM’s Chris Silbermann, who would join CAA’s shareholder board, said: “We’re thrilled to partner and combine forces with the talented CAA team. Together, we will build upon our accomplishments and entrepreneurial spirit, and continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the best interests of our clients, as well as empowering new, diverse voices within the industry.”

In addition to numerous sports and actor clients, ICM’s music roster includes Chaka Khan, Buddy Guy, Chris Rock, Corinne Bailey Rae, D’Angelo, Dan Auerbach, Good Charlotte, J. Cole, Jerry Seinfeld, Jill Scott, Kamasi Washington, Khalid, Lisa Loeb, Los Lonely Boys, Mavis Staples, Migos, Puddles Pity Party, Roger Daltrey, Rosanne Cash, Scott Stapp, Sheila E, The Black Keys, Tower of Power, Trey Songz and more.

Last year, ICM joined forces with Primary Talent International, one of London’s last major independent booking agencies, representing more than 900 music clients, including The 1975, alt-J, Noel Gallagher, Patti Smith, The Cure, Pussycat Dolls, Two Door Cinema Club, Lana Del Rey and Catfish and the Bottlemen.

Industry insiders note that while mergers usually result in a programme of redundancies, both CAA and ICM will be keen to retain as many agents as possible, coming hot on the tail of the pandemic where staffing numbers have already been cut.

But with such cost-cutting exercises also proving a catalyst for the launch of new agencies, optimists are predicting that more boutique agencies may emerge from the ashes of CAA’s ICM plans, should they be given the green light.