Losing Control

COVID

After the lost year that was 2020, live music made its tentative return from the Covid crisis in 2021. But the cautious optimism of the spring and summer was replaced with further uncertainty by the winter, as the emergence of the more contagious Omicron variant presented further obstacles on the industry’s road to recovery. January began in depressingly familiar fashion, with the cancellation of the in-person edition of the Baloise Session Swiss concert series, followed by the UK’s Glastonbury festival. Several of Germany’s biggest festivals including Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Hurricane, and Southside were called off for the second year running, while other high-profile events such as Austria’s Rock Werchter, Spain’s Sónar, and Switzerland’s OpenAir St. Gallen and Paléo also fell by the wayside. Nevertheless, the UK biz witnessed a shortterm boom in consumer confidence in February, triggered by prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that all lockdown measures should be lifted in England from 21 June (later delayed by four weeks) – theoretically allowing large outdoor events such as festivals to take place with no restrictions.

Further encouraging news came from results of the first pilot events held as part of the UK’s Events Research Programme (ERP), which included the Sefton Park Pilot music festival, the BRIT Awards, and a 10,000-capacity Download camping festival organised by Festival Republic.

Results of a test concert at the Accor Arena in France in May, organised by live music association Prodiss and Paris hospital AP-HP under the banner Ambition Live Again, also showed that attending a concert is not associated with an increased risk of transmission when certain hygiene and testing protocols are followed. Other test concerts were held across the continent, from Germany and Spain to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

French festivals were limited to 5,000 capacity, but major UK festivals such as Reading & Leeds, TRNSMT, and Isle of Wight were permitted to go ahead as planned and concerts of all sizes resumed but not without their complications.

Industry representatives in the UK, as well as the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the United States sounded the alarm over staffing shortages across large parts of the economy. Promoters also reported the number of no-shows at concerts to be far higher than usual, with the rate hitting up to 50% in the first few weeks back.

Vaccine passports or proof of a negative test or immunity from a previous Covid infection became standard for gaining admission to gigs in many territories, while countries such as the Netherlands, Norway, France, Austria, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand introduced insurance schemes for live music. However, the British government’s £750million (€897m) insurance scheme for live events – launched in August following months of campaigning by live music industry bodies – was widely criticised for its limited cover and 5% premium.

However, as a new Covid wave swept Europe in November, followed by the detection and spread of the Omicron variant, restrictions were reintroduced across the board, leaving the touring business, once again, with as many questions as answers going into 2022.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

2021 saw a number of blockbuster acquisitions and mergers take place across the industry, changing the landscape of the ticketing, agency, and promotions sectors.

Ending nearly a year of speculation, Paradigm Talent Agency in March confirmed it had reached an agreement to sell its music business in North America to Casey Wasserman’s Wasserman group.

The deal saw Wasserman take over Paradigm’s profitable music assets. With thousands of acts on its roster, the Beverly Hillsbased agency represents the likes of Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, Billie Eilish, and Ed Sheeran for North America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by Paradigm.

In a further consolidation of the agency landscape, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and ICM Partners joined forces in a landmark merger – financial terms of which were not disclosed.

ICM brought to CAA a global roster of artists in film, television, music, comedy, theatre, games, politics, and podcasting. Music clients include Chaka Khan, Buddy Guy, and Chris Rock.

The agreement between CAA and ICM took place in September, which proved to be a bumper month for acquisitions and mergers.

A week prior to the CAA-ICM deal, Dutch promoter ID&T signed a partnership agreement with leading live organisation Providence Equity-backed Superstruct. According to the announcement, the deal helped steer ID&T into “a safe haven” after a tough year and a half.

Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed, but it has been revealed that the founders and senior management of the ID&T Group have become shareholders in Superstruct.

ID&T’s portfolio includes Mysteryland, Defqon.1, Awakenings, and Milkshake. It is also the parent company of organisations such as Q-dance, ID&T Events, and Monumental (Awakenings).

September also saw Viagogo sell its StubHub business outside of North America (including the UK) to investment firm Digital Fuel Capital LLC for an undisclosed sum.

The sale was approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and completed on 3 September, after secondary ticketing giant Viagogo was forced to sell its international business due to competition concerns.

Viagogo acquired eBay’s ticketing division StubHub for $4.05billion (€3.57bn) in cash in February 2020.

According to the CMA, a merger between the two companies would have resulted in a substantial lessening of competition in the secondary ticketing market, leading to higher prices and limited options for fans.

Viagogo assuaged competition concerns by proposing the “divestment to an upfront buyer of StubHub’s European and certain other international legal entities.”

The sale of StubHub International to Digital Fuel Capital now brings the merger investigation to a close, says the CMA.

Live Nation closed a historic year for landmark deals with the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Ocesa Entretenimiento – the third-largest promoter in the world and the parent company of Ticketmaster Mexico.

The $444million (€391m) deal gives Live Nation a 51% stake in one of its largest competitors, which dominates the Latin American market.

The entertainment giant originally agreed to buy 51% of Ocesa for over $400m (€352m) in summer 2019 but pulled out of the deal in May last year, before resuming the acquisition in September.

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