LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE
Issue 52
An ILMC Publication. Mar 2014
Eight-page Registration Special • Eight-page Registration Special • Eight-page Registration Special • Eight-page Registration Special •Eight-p
Roll up! Roll up! Step right this way, as the leading lights and greatest players from six continents prepare to be dazzled and amazed at the world’s most fearless, most marvelous and most spectacular… [drum roll] International Live Music Conference!
ILMC26 Registration Guide
Revealed! The ILMC Agenda n just a few weeks, the international live music community will descend on London for the 26th instalment of ILMC. With a circus theme, the schedule of events and meetings across this year’s three-day event is bigger than Jumbo himself. With lavish dinners, showcases, parties, poker, table football tournaments, drinks receptions, football, karaoke, a delegates’ jam and more meeting space than ever, if you don’t enjoy something, you probably went to the wrong venue. Over the next few pages, you’ll find details of our full conference agenda, but first, knowing that a trip to the circus isn’t complete without some popcorn and a hot dog, we wanted to remind you of two conference highlights that you might want to sign-up for, if you haven’t already. First up, The Big Top Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards is the highlight of the live music business calendar. It’s one ‘big’ star-studded evening that brings together the ‘top’ figures in the business in truly five-star surroundings, and we’re returning this year to London’s most prestigious hotel, The Savoy. With a champagne reception, glorious cuisine and a selection of the finest wines in the Capital, it’s a feast for the taste buds, while eyes and ears are amazed by some worldclass circus performances courtesy of London-based troupe, Aircraft Circus. The evening also features the live industry’s Oscar-equivalents, The Arthur Awards, and all ILMC delegates and other music industry professionals are welcome to attend. Hosted by The Chinese National Circus, Ticketmaster GmbH and Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion, contact registration@ ilmc.com for details. The day after, on Sunday 9 March, The Wild South African Safari Sunday Dinner will be whisking fearless delegates to BBar Restaurant, located just a spear’s throw from Buckingham Palace itself. Welcomed by hosts ESP Afrika, Hilltop Live Promotions and Gearhouse In2Structures, and entertained by the London African Gospel Choir, guests will savour sumptuous dishes from the wildest continent along with tongue-tingling cocktails and wine, followed by the usual tomfoolery that makes these nights such a fitting end to the weekend. To attend either of these events, sign-up when you register for the conference, or email registration@ilmc.com.
FRIDAY 7 MARCH
I
side from the dinners and events, however, at the core of the conference are the meetings that provide an open forum to discuss those issues affecting the business. This year, a series of workshops has been introduced in order to provide a platform for learning, while future trends and new technologies are themes running through much of our session planning, and in particular, the ticketing and new technology panels. However, that’s not to forget our pioneers, and those who have contributed heavily to its rich history, some of whom are on hand to mentor and advise during our Dragon’s Den sessions. So looking forward, but acknowledging a rich history, here’s the ILMC 26 agenda schedule…
A
11:30 – 12:00
New Delegates’ Orientation Hosts: Tom Hopewell & Lou Percival, ILMC (UK) Lou Percival and Tom Hopewell open the doors to all new ILMC delegates and explain how the conference is structured and how to get the most out of it. An important introduction for first-timers, or those long-timers who just need reminding, this informal session gives the necessary lowdown on the ILMC world and surviving the weekend intact.
14:00 – 14:15
Flight Attendant’s Briefing Chair: Martin Hopewell, ILMC (UK) ILMC’s venerable ringmaster extraordinaire, Martin Hopewell, welcomes ladies and gentlemen, young and old, to the ILMC circus, points out a few rules and introduces some of the conference’s key elements. The official start of the show, it’s a quick pitstop tour of the temporary Big Top.
14:15 – 16:00 The Open Forum: A word from the ringmasters Chair: Greg Parmley, ILMC (UK) A review of the last 12 months in the international live business; a discussion on the key issues affecting the business right now; a high level look at the year ahead… as the first major session of the conference, The Open Forum sets the tone for the ILMC weekend. Guests this year include AEG Europe’s new president and CEO, Tom Miserendino; Folkert Koopmans, CEO of festival giant FKP Scorpio; Live Nation’s president of European concerts, John Reid; The Agency Group’s UK MD Geoff Meall, and Cem Yegül from Pozitif Live. This year, to ensure that the session is as productive as possible, delegates can submit questions in advance – anonymous or otherwise – to greg@ilmc.com.
Everything you need to know about ILMC 26 is online at 26.ilmc.com
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ILMC26 Registration Guide
SATURDAY 8 MARCH
16:30 – 18:00 On The Record: Fortune sellers Chair: Tim Ingham, Music Week (UK) As margins across the wider music industry continue to narrow, an expert ensemble of executives, including label heads and publishers, discuss how the constituent parts of the music business can work in better harmony. With topics such as escalating PRS rates, 360° deals and a perceived lack of label investment for new acts being particular complaints levied by the live side, Tim Ingham, editor of UK trade magazine Music Week, will ask what the live industry could do to help their compatriots in the recorded business, drive artist development, and break down those old them-versus-us barriers.
16:30 – 18:00 The Dance Club: Blowing up the balloon Chair: Steve Hogan, William Morris Endeavour (UK) 2013 was the year that much of the once underground dance music scene went corporate. With the newly reformed SFX buying up key players the world over, and the likes of Live Nation having pushed further into the space, it’s a market facing quick and aggressive consolidation. But is the air too thin at the giddy heights that EDM has reached? Can this creative and formidable scene continue at such a pace? Steve Hogan leads an all-star cast to ask what fate lies ahead for the DJs, producers and agents on the sharp end…
16:30 – 17:30 The Dragon’s Den with Rob Hallett Our opening slot welcomes renowned promoter and marketer Rob Hallett. The architect of Prince’s 21-night run at The O2 and Leonard Cohen’s revival; and recognised as one of Europe’s most successful promoters, Hallett has more than a few pearls of wisdom to impart. Early sign-up is recommended… After tremendous demand last year, to get into our Dragon’s Den mentoring sessions you will need to sign-up in advance at the Help Desk in the lobby of the hotel.
10:00 – 11:30 The Emerging Markets’ Place: Pulling back the curtain Chairs: Barış Başaran, Pozitif (TU) & Michal Kaščák, Pohoda Festival (SK) It’s probably true to say that as our industry evolves, ALL markets, including those considered established, continue to emerge. But as this longstanding regular meeting has shown, it’s often the players in the newer territories that evolve faster, and often add more to the conversation than their counterparts in established territories. This edition will surely be no exception as Barış Başaran and Michal Kaščák invite the panel and the whole room to address topics including the drastically inhibiting effects of ongoing recession on certain previously ‘emerged’ markets, ever-increasing artist fees, home-grown talent, decreasing sponsorship, continuing recession, competition, local authorities, corruption and unpredictable circumstances.
10:00 – 11:30 The Venue’s Venue: Big tops and little tops Chair: Carl A H Martin, cahm.uk (UK) This annual favourite takes a two-pronged look at the venues market this year. Starting out on the larger end of the scale, and with some markets currently experiencing an arena renaissance, host Carl A H Martin will ask what makes the perfect arena, including whether it’s the building, operations staff, facilities or technology. Then, an exclusive summary of research from The NAA, EAA and IQ Magazine will present a unique statistical overview of the market. At the other end of the spectrum, the session will also examine the small venues market, and highlight two recent initiatives aiming to protect these vital breeding grounds for tomorrow’s superstars.
10:00 – 11:00 Workshop: Social media marketing Host: Joanna Young, Live Nation (UK) The first of ILMC’s new workshop formats presents an in-depth and educational 60 minutes on social media marketing. Do you know your hashtag from your HootSuite? Your timelines from your Technorati? Whether selling tickets or building a fanbase, the world has gone social, fans are online, and there’s a brave new world of possibilities out there. Presented by our resident experts in the field, the workshop aims to arm delegates with tips, trends and the odd new tool. Or at the very least allay the fears of the most technophobic amongst us.
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ILMC26 Registration Guide
12:00 – 13:30 Ticketing: The futures market
14:30 – 16:00 New Technology: The kabinet of wonders
Chair: Serge Grimaux, Intellitix (CZ) The days of a promoter putting one set of tickets on sale with one seller are now long gone. A smörgåsbord of new players, start-ups, technologies and hopefuls have emerged over the last few years, changing the space faster and with greater intensity than any other area of the business. So what’s the future? Artist ticketing becomes a key discussion this year, as this main-room session looks at emerging and future trends in the sector. Flanked by innovators and major ticketers from across the globe, Serge Grimaux takes ticketing to task and asks what we can expect from it over the next 24-48 months.
Chair: Steve Machin, Stormcrowd (UK) Our resident technology guru Steve Machin dusts off his Google Glasses for a worldwide search of the best new widgets and gadgets in the business. With its presentation-based format, the session will demonstrate the hottest new tech-enhancing gadgets and gizmos set to affect the live entertainment world. Whether it’s production wizardry, ticketing technology, mobile craziness, cashless payments, brand activation tools, carbonsaving gadgets or security systems, there’s plenty to get to grips with.
12:00 – 13:30 Sponsorship: Working with the big cats
14:30 – 16:00 The Market Focus: India
Chairs: Simon Lewis, Live Nation (UK) & Paul Samuels, AEG Live (UK) With the ties between live music rights holders and brand partners becoming stronger and ever complex, sponsorship experts from the world’s two leading promoters come together to host a brand summit at ILMC. Simon Lewis and Paul Samuels bring together blue-chip brand sectors including alcohol, fast-moving consumer goods, and telecommunications, in a discussion about the future of brand partnerships. Topics include: what makes the perfect relationship, understanding brand needs, and how to best deliver a meaningful consumer experience. Meanwhile, best-case examples of successful brand partnerships underpin this must-see session.
Chair: Venkat T Vardhan, DNA Networks (IN) In the third instalment of our Market Focus sessions on BRIC territories, we look at one of the live music world’s most fascinating and burgeoning markets. With some of the leading promoters and operators currently working in India, and an international agent who works frequently in the region, this session aims to provide a no-nonsense overview of how to work in the market. By dispelling some of the myths about the region, and sharing stories of both success and the odd failure, Venkat and his panel will present delegates with information on this exciting and expanding frontier.
12:00 – 13:00 The Dragon’s Den with Neil Warnock
With over 40 years of history, European concert business pioneer Marcel Avram needs very little introduction. From Michael Jackson, U2 and the Rolling Stones, to Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, to Placedo Domingo and Eros Ramazzotti, very few superstars have not fallen under his wing. As mentor sessions go, this is sure to be a popular hour, so sign up early at the Help Desk in the lobby of the hotel to attend.
Our first Dragon’s Den of the day welcomes The Agency Group founder and booking agent extraordinaire Neil Warnock. Expect 60 minutes of close up conversation as Neil imparts advice, tips and tricks to those wanting to learn from a professional who’s spent a lifetime at the top. Please note that to attend Dragon’s Den mentoring sessions you will need to sign-up in advance at the Help Desk in the lobby of the hotel.
14:30 – 16:00 Festival Forum: Come rain or shine Chair: John Probyn, Live Nation (UK) Many years ago when the previously open-air touring circuses first introduced ‘the big top’, the proud claim was that the show would go on, ‘come rain or shine’. This phrase is of course now used in relation to a determination to make things happen whatever… so is more than apt to apply to this year’s discussion of the ever-expanding (both in terms of location and duration) international festival market. John Probyn and guests again review the highs and lows of last year’s festival season to see what can be learned to improve the festival experience for organisers, artists and those increasingly demanding fans.
14:30 – 15:30 The Dragon’s Den with Marcel Avram
16:30 – 18:00 Artist Development: Games within frontiers Chairs: Juha Kyyrö, Fullsteam (FI) & Rense van Kessel, Friendly Fires (NL) This session will address the singlemost important topic facing the live music industry today: the launch, growth and maintenance of an artist’s career both nationally and across borders. As the old circus saying goes, ‘the show must go on’, and the health of the industry’s lifeblood needs ever-changing skills and knowledge. Our chairs Juha Kyyrö and Rense van Kessel have assembled an all-star line-up to discuss the increasing responsibility and necessity of the live industry to supplement and support the work of other sectors of the music business in ensuring the flow of talent so vital to the future of international touring.
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ILMC26 Registration Guide
16:30 – 17:30 Workshop: CRM & big data
12:30 – 14:00 The Show Room: The show must go on
Hosts: Karim Fanous, Music Ally (UK) & Daniel Brown, AEG Live (UK) When it comes to knowing your audience, advances in CRM are opening up whole new levels of understanding. And as our digital lives become increasingly joined up, the catch-all term ‘big data’ is being used to drive further insight. Hosted by Karim Fanous, the head of research at business intelligence specialists Music Ally, and AEG Live’s new director of CRM, Daniel Brown, this 60-minute workshop is a must-see for those keen to know, understand, and ultimately sell, more.
Chair: Gordon Masson, IQ Magazine (UK) According to Pollstar’s recent end of year figures, non-music shows accounted for 12% of the gross turnover of the top 100 tours of last year (and Cirque du Soleil alone represented nearly one quarter of the top 40 shows). The world of family entertainment and touring theatre shows is bigger and brighter than ever, and these productions are now frequently a staple for promoters all over the world. With a line-up of producers and promoters to rival the chart-topping shows themselves, chair Gordon Masson asks where this genre is going, what’s keeping it fresh, and most importantly, who and what we should be looking out for?
15:30 – 17:00 The Sunday Review: The view from the high wire
SUNDAY 9 MARCH 10:30 – 12:00 The Breakfast Meeting with Emma Banks Host: Ed Bicknell, Damage Management (US) As one of the world’s most successful booking agents, Emma Banks is renowned for her straight-talking approach. It’s a style that has seen her grow a roster of almost 100 successful artists which includes Arcade Fire, Bruno Mars, Kanye West, Kraftwerk, Papa Roach, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Feeling. The recipient of the prestigious Second Least Offensive Agent gong at The Arthur Awards a record six times, Banks is an extremely popular figure in the business. The must-see session is led by host-with-the-most Ed Bicknell. Expect some great tales from the road, as Ed and Emma compare notes on running agencies and booking blockbuster acts. If you’re going to get out of bed for one reason on Sunday, this 90-minute chat covering live, the universe and everything, is it!
12:30 – 14:00 The Booking Ring: Juggling acts Chairs: Tom Taaffe, The Agency Group (UK) & Stuart Galbraith, Kilimanjaro Live (UK) Beaten up by those further up the food chain, always under the threat of losing artists, only earning on a fraction of the workload…. these are descriptions that apply to both booking agents and promoters. Perceptions across the promoter/ agent divide are perhaps a little different to the truth. This year’s Booking Ring asks what each can learn from the other, and faced with pressures from all sides, whether loyalty is now an outdated watchword. In addition, our assembled panel gives real-world case studies of tours and shows as we spread the peace, love and understanding… maybe.
Chair: Allan McGowan, ILMC (UK) With extensive agenda and networking opportunities galore, it’s impossible for delegates to attend all of ILMC’s panels and meetings, so The Sunday Review is a chance to catch up, comment further and review the key issues from the weekend. Chair Allan McGowan will be inviting back the chairmen of several panels to report directly, while an assembled list of luminaries provides further insight. Very much the conclusion page of a weekend-long essay, this overview seeks to address any omissions, expand on those key and contentious topics and round off the weekend with 90-minutes of informed, enlightening and detailed discussion.
17:00 – 17:30 The ILMC Autopsy: Cleaning up after the elephants Chair: Martin Hopewell, ILMC (UK) Dustpan and brush in hand Ringmaster Martin Hopewell returns to the ring for a curtain call and to clean up after the excesses of the clowns, acrobats and animals. This 30-minute conference summary is your chance to feedback on the circus. Were the elephants too loud? Too many clowns? Contortionists not bendy enough? Get it off your chest here…
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ILMC26 Registration Guide
Cirque d'ILMC Events Thursday 6 March
The Tiniest Table Football ‘Coupe du Monde’ on Earth
ILMC Production Day (IPM)
The sixth annual IPM will see production professionals from across the globe converge for a day of panel sessions, discussion and networking. What began as an informal meeting now sees over 150 delegates attend a day that includes a fivestar lunch and drinks party. Sponsored by eps, Allgaier and Megaforce, registration is separate to the main conference but ILMC delegates benefit from a discounted rate. Email ipm@ ilmc.com for more info or visit 26.ilmc.com/ipm.
Fancy battling for international glory without even leaving the bar? Want to score a goal for your nation without actually moving your legs? Then the ‘Coupe du Monde’ is for you. It takes place in the hotel bar, although with a midnight kick-off, we’re not sure how many contestants will actually be able to focus on the ball. IQ’s Terry ‘offside’ McNally referees. Hosted by Wembley Stadium.
Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEIC)
The GEIC returns to the ILMC fold for the second year with a day of meetings and presentations on sustainability. With the eco-world increasingly a force for change and an active voice in live events, this innovation-focused event provides some of the clearest thinking on the subject. Expect case studies, compelling dialogue and tasty sandwiches to boot.
Access All Areas shows
As usual, our Access All Areas programme gives delegates a chance to catch some of London’s hottest shows using just their delegate pass. The listings of all available shows is published in the Globetrotters Guide and online, and while some venues are quite literally across the street – such as the ITB showcase – for others, you’ll need to get on the road for the show. Entry requirements differ, so please check at the Help Desk before heading out.
Saturday 8 March
Friday 7 March
Match of the Year Football
‘Send in the Clowns’ Opening Drinks
With two hours of beer, wine and networking, this is the only way to begin your ILMC weekend. Don’t miss all the different troupes from across the world as they roll up, roll up, in the lower ground floor lobby and bring each other up to speed on another year of touring adventures. It all takes place from 12:00-14:00, and is hosted by Montreux Jazz Festival.
The World-Famous Texas Hold’em Poker Tourney
There’s no room for clowning about when there are serious bar tab prizes on offer. The showdown – hosted by Wembley Stadium – raises money for our chosen charity, which this year is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It takes place from 22:30 until late and costs just £20 to enter – sign-up when you register for the conference or via marketing@ilmc.com.
The Death-Defying Dutch Impact Sideshow
The Death-Defying Dutch Impact Sideshow takes place at Archangel, across the road from the Royal Garden Hotel, between 18:00 and 21:00. Scheduled to perform are Utrecht four-piece Mister & Mississippi, psychedelic rockers Birth Of Joy, national heroes De Staat and ‘superjazz’ outfit Bruut! Hosted by our friends at Buma Cultuur and Dutch Impact, the night also includes Official Silent Disco, drinks, nibbles and B2B pitches… turn up with your ILMC pass to get in..
Once again, a select and hearty band of delegates brave the March weather when they kick off the Match of the Year Football and either play for their country (if they’re from the UK) or try to beat the UK (if they’re not). The event takes place between 19:30 and 21:30, and this year returns to its spiritual home at Battersea Park, with coaches ferrying players from the hotel and back again. Hosted by Aiken Promotions, places are extremely limited, so email peter@ aikenpromotions.com to sign-up.
The Spectacular Swiss Live Talents Sideshow
Expect some serious Swiss talent including high energy rockers Hathors, electric duo We Love Machines and the psychedelic Fai Baba, all finalists in the inaugural Swiss Live Talent competition in Bern in November. Hosted by Swissamp, the night runs from 18:00 – 22:00 and includes complimentary drinks and nibbles.
The Big Top Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards
This ‘big’ dinner for ‘top’ people is always a star-studded highlight in the industry’s annual calendar and will again take place at The Savoy Hotel, one of London’s grandest hotels. Over 300 guests from across the live music world will congregate for an evening of sumptuous five-star cuisine, champagne, fine wines, tip-top entertainment, and the annual Arthur Awards. Sign-up online when you register for the conference or email registration@ilmc.com.
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The Karaoke Freakshow
Roll up! Roll up!, for some of the most unusual sights and sounds of the weekend as this late-night outlet for frustrated performers guarantees to entertain. Hosted by The SSE Hydro, it takes place in the Fairground Room (York Suite) on the mezzanine floor of the hotel from 22:30.
Sunday 9 March Nikos Fund Grand Prize Draw
The ILMC raises a significant amount of money for charity every year, and in exchange for taking a donation from every registration we receive, delegates are entered into the Nikos Fund Prize Draw. Turn up for a 14:45 start, as our chosen charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, benefits. You must be there to win.
The Grand Finale Closing Drinks
Before the Big Top strikes and the circus leaves town, the Closing Drinks are a moment to round off the weekend, pick up some last minute tips and review the weekend that nearly was. It’s always the warm fuzzy moment of the weekend and with complimentary bubbles, recommended participation.
The Wild South African Safari Sunday Night Dinner Of all the off-site sideshows over the ILMC weekend, the Sunday night dinner will transport delegates the farthest
– to the strange and amazing continent of deepest Africa. authentic African cuisine, traditional music courtesy of the London African Gospel Choir, and the usual makeshift entertainment that makes these nights so popular, this is the last chance to meet, network, be merry and clown about. Sign-up online when you register for the conference or email registration@ilmc.com.
The Tear Down Bash
For anyone still resisting the urge to go home, and still wanting to join the circus, this late night menagerie is where you’ll find the last remaining stragglers. Croon until the early hours, stop in for just one last tipple, and another, or simply refuse to face up to Monday morning…The Tear Down Bash, starting at 23:00 until way past your bedtime, has a place for everyone. Hosted by The SSE Hydro.
ILMC26 Registration Guide
PROVISIONAL
PROGRAMME Thursday 6 March 2014 09:00 - 17:00 IPM Registration 09:30 - 17:30 Green Events & Innovations Conference 10:00 - 18:00 Association Meetings (invitation only) 10:00 - 18:00 ILMC Production Meeting 13:00 - 21:00 ILMC Early-Bird Registration 13:00 - 18:00 Travel Desk 18:00 - 20:00 ILMC Production Meeting Closing Drinks 18:00 onwards Park Terrace Table Reservations 18:30 - 22:00 ITB Showcase Various Access All Areas Friday 7 March 2014 Registration Desk & Help Desk Travel Desk Pollstar’s High Wire Café Association Meetings (invitation only) AEG’s Wunder Bar New Delegates’ Orientation ‘Send in the Clowns’ Opening Drinks Conference Sessions The Death-Defying Dutch Impact Sideshow AEG’s Wunder Bar Dinner in The Garden Access All Areas The World-Famous Texas Hold’Em Poker Tourney 00:00 - 03:00 The Tiniest Table Football ‘Coupe du Monde’ on Earth 09:00 - 20:00 09:00 - 18:00 10:00 onwards 10:00 - 17:00 11:00 - 12:00 11:30 - 12:00 12:00 - 14:00 14:00 - 18:00 18:00 - 21:00 18:00 - Late 18:30 Various 22:30 - 02:00
The Not-So-Small Print A full list of terms and conditions can be found online, but please note: • ILMC conference sessions must not be videoed or recorded • Children are not allowed in the conference areas • Conference passes must be worn at all times • Lost passes will incur a replacement fee
Saturday 8 March 2014 07:00 - 11:00 Robertson Taylor’s Carousel Suite 07:00 - 13:00 Breakfast on the Mezzanine 09:00 - 18:00 Registration Desk & Travel Desk 09:00 - 19:30 Help Desk 09:30 - 10:30 Coffee Break & Bars 10:00 - 13:30 Conference Sessions 11:00 onwards AEG’s Wunder Bar 13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Buffet & Pay Bar 13:00 - 19:00 Robertson Taylor’s Carousel Suite 14:30 - 18:00 Conference Sessions 15:30 - 16:30 Feld’s Greatest Ice Cream Show on Earth 18:00 – 22:00 The Spectacular Swiss Live Talents Sideshow 19:30 - 21:30 Match of the Year Football 19:30 - 00:00 The ‘Big Top’ Gala Dinner & Arthur Awards Various Access All Areas 22:30 - 02:30 The Karaoke Freak Show Sunday 9 March 2014 Robertson Taylor’s Carousel Suite Breakfast on the Mezzanine Travel Desk Help Desk Coffee Break & Bars The Breakfast Meeting & Conference Sessions 11:00 onwards AEG’s Wunder Bar 13:30 - 15:30 Lunch Buffet & Pay Bar 13:30 - 17:00 Robertson Taylor’s Carousel Suite 14:45 - 15:15 Nikos Fund Grand Prize Draw 15:30 - 17:30 Conference Session & ILMC Autopsy 17:00 - 18:00 The ‘Grand Finale’ Closing Drinks 19:30 - late Wild South African Safari Sunday Dinner 23:00 - 03:00 The Tear Down Bash 07:00 - 11:30 07:00 - 13:00 09:00 - 16:00 09:00 - 18:00 10:00 - 11:00 10:30 - 14:00
“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.” – David Niven
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Contents IQ Magazine Issue 52
3
News 20 In Brief The main headlines over the last two months 21 In Depth Key stories from around the live music world
Features 3 Roll up! Roll up! The International Live Music Circus 36 50 Years In The Black T-Shirt Cultural ambassador for Australia, Michael Chugg, celebrates half a century in music 58 2014 European Arena Report Live music prospers as economic confidence returns to European venues 70 The Big Fish Adam Woods investigates the evolving nature of the global agency business 76 Market Report: The Baltics The live music industry in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, under the microscope
Comments and Columns 30 Welcome to Brazil! Felippe Llerena outlines opportunities for the live industry in Brazil‌ 31 The Ups and Downs of Kilimanjaro Stuart Galbraith talks frankly about the varying fortunes of his company and its plans for 2014 32 Noise Vs Music: The Real Loudness War Hugo Mintz questions the effectiveness of gig information websites 33 Festivals: More than Music Katch Holmes argues the social and business case for fuller festival experiences 34 United We Stand Clothilde Fery details the aims and aspirations of the Live DMA European Network 86 Your Shout Live music industry phobias
IQ Magazine March 2014
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58
70 76
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Issue 52
Love is in the Air
LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE
Cupid’s arrows have been working overtime Down Under, observes Gordon Masson, judging by the sentiments being expressed about one of ILMC’s best-loved veterans…
IQ Magazine
As I write these words, it’s St Valentine’s Day and the cup of love is spilling over for one Michael Chugg, esquire, who, one month from today, celebrates his 50th anniversary in the live music business. While Chuggi is noted for his forthright views and for being one of the industry’s most colourful characters, one thing that has not diminished in his 50-year career is his passion for music, and as you will see in our tribute feature (see page 36), the outpouring of love and respect for the man in the black T-shirt is no more than he deserves. Congratulations on an amazing career, Chuggi, from all at IQ and ILMC! Also basking in the glow of love is the three-ringed circus of the International Live Music Conference, which again is trundling toward being sold out. It doesn’t seem like a year since the curtain was brought down on ILMC 25, but with the world seemingly emerging from years of recession, it appears that confidence is returning and optimism among the various delegates IQ has spoken to recently, is almost infectious. That glass-half-full attitude is apparent in this year’s European Arena Report (page 58), the results of which are incredibly positive when it comes to the live music side of the business, with concert attendance growing by almost 10% despite higher ticket prices across Europe. And the noise from the continent’s venue operators for the year ahead is that most are expecting growth going through to 2015, thanks to the tours that are being pencilled into diaries at the moment. Admiration is also expressed by IQ’s Adam Woods for the ladies and gentlemen who are working so passionately to develop
IQ Magazine March 2014
the live entertainment markets in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (page 76). As our markets specialist, Adam reports that of all the territories he’s investigated over the years, the companies and individuals operating in the Baltic region have been falling over themselves to cooperate with IQ and are among the most enthusiastic music fans that Europe has to offer – a point that comes across clearly at Przystanek Woodstock, Europe’s biggest festival. Elsewhere, Adam also talks to some of America’s biggest booking agents (page 70) to discover just how the international agency business is evolving to deal with the changing music business and the revenue streams that artists now have to rely on. In keeping with our amorous theme, there’re also details of the civil partnership recently announced by Coda and Paradigm, as well as the growing love that record companies are seemingly confessing for agents as their new A&R heart-throbs. And if that veritable orgy of content isn’t enough for you, then as you’ve no doubt already seen, our essential guide to ILMC 26 (page 3) should keep all you delegates busy as you figure out which debates, dinners, and social gatherings should be on your schedule at the Royal Garden Hotel next month. Talking of ILMC, it was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Wally Gore (page 28) who all conference delegates will have come across through either his work on the security team, or as one of Showsec’s longest-serving employees, where he looked after numerous artists over the decades. Wally was one of life’s good guys and he will be sorely missed.
THE ILMC JOURNAL, Mar 2014
7 Jeffreys Place London, NW1 9PP info@iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 8945 Fax: +44 (0)20 7284 8947
Publisher
ILMC and Suspicious Marketing
Editor
Gordon Masson
Associate Editor Allan McGowan
Marketing & Advertising Manager Terry McNally
Design
Martin Hughes
Sub Editor
Michael Muldoon
Production Assistant Adam Milton
Editorial Assistant Eugenia Durante
Contributors
Lars Brandle, Clothilde Fery, Stuart Galbraith, Katch Holmes, Felippe Llerena, Hugo Mintz, Greg Parmley, Manfred Tari, Adam Woods
Editorial Contact
Gordon Masson, gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 8945
Advertising Contact
Terry McNally, terry@iq-mag.net Tel: Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 8946
To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 7284 8945 info@iq-mag.net Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.
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News Prince
In Brief... counts of attempting to rape a baby. His two female co-defendants, aged 21 and 25, are also jailed, with mother ‘A’ receiving 14 years and mother ‘B’ 17 years. Talent agency William Morris Endeavour acquires IMG Worldwide in a $2.3billion (€1.7bn) deal backed by private equity group Silver Lake. Addison Cresswell, whose roster includes some of the UK’s biggest comedians, including Jonathan Ross, Lee Evans, Jo Brand, Michael McIntyre and Jack Dee, dies in his sleep. He was 53.
JANUARY DECEMBER
Australian booking agency Select Music expands into New Zealand, where it represents Tim Finn, Passenger, Josh Pyke, The Paper Kites, Busby Marou, Bluejuice, Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, Thelma Plum and San Cisco. Bon Jovi tops Billboard’s annual touring chart, having grossed more than $205million (€151m) through touring activity in 2013. Second place goes to Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson tribute show, while Pink takes third. Warner Music posts a $57m (€42m) net loss for its third quarter to 30 September. Revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% year-on-year to $764m, helped by the acquisition of the Parlophone Label Group. The music business contributed £3.5 billion (€4.3bn) to the UK economy in 2012, according to new figures from cross-sector trade body UK Music. The figures are calculated on the profits made and wages paid by the music industry. The two remaining members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot are freed from jail. Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are released thanks to an amnesty bill, three months before the end of their two-year sentences. Ian Watkins, the former Lostprophets singer, is sentenced to 35 years in prison for child sex offences, including two
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Construction firm Balfour Beatty wins a £154m (€188m) contract to transform the Olympic Stadium in London into a ‘venue that can host both sports and cultural events. The stadium will become West Ham United Football Club’s permanent home from 2016. The Jockey Club partners with music industry veteran Andrew Wilkinson and sponsorship guru Simon Haldern to launch 50-50 music venture, Jockey Club Live. The entity will promote concerts at racecourses throughout the UK. The Ministry Of Sound nightclub’s future is assured, as its owners reach an agreement with property developer Oakmayne over a new block of apartments to be built opposite the iconic London venue. Lady Gaga’s new album, Artpop, is given the green light for release in China, three years after the country’s Ministry of Culture placed her songs on a blacklist for being “vulgar”. American telecoms giant AT&T reveals plans to offer subscriptions to Beats Music as part of its wireless packages, with unlimited streaming and downloading service for up to five family members for $15 (€18.30) per month. Sensible Events chief Andrew Zweck is named as the new European tour coordinator for the Rolling Stones. Zweck takes the role on a consultancy basis for AEG Live, which is handling the Stones’ touring business for the rest of the world. A lighting tower at New Zealand’s 25,000-capacity Parachute Christian
music festival collapses, reportedly under the weight of audio equipment, but fortunately nobody is injured. Agent Andy Somers parts ways with The Agency Group. The veteran booker helped open the company’s Los Angeles operation in 2001, but says he is now looking for opportunities elsewhere.
FEBRUARY
Prince surprises the industry and fans by playing a series of secret shows in London with his new band 3rdEyeGirl, making the £10 tickets available on a first come, first served basis on the day at venue box offices including the Electric Ballroom, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, as well as the living room of singersongwriter Lianne La Havas. Live Nation and AEG begin trialling a new ticketing initiative that allows fans to try out the music first. The corporate giants are reportedly both testing an advertising-funded service called DeliRadio to stream music by acts set to play at their venues. BMG acquires Benelux music publisher Talpa, which owns rights to songs by Beyoncé and Rihanna, as well as publishing rights for songs written by contestants on The Voice in 150 countries. Financial details are not disclosed. The Event Safety Alliance makes its Event Safety Guide available for download. The manual outlines best practice standards for the live event industry and is modelled on the UK’s Purple Guide. German prosecutors indict ten people on charges including involuntary manslaughter in relation to the Love Parade tragedy that claimed 21 lives and caused injury to 500 others. Four employees of the event’s organiser and six city workers reportedly deny the charges over the incident, which happened in the city of Duisburg in 2010. To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 7284 8944 info@iq-mag.net Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.
IQ Magazine March 2014
News
ID&C Agrees South American Deal ID&c hAs AgreeD a strategic partnership with Brazil’s largest security wristband provider, PasseVIP, to market RFID technology to South America’s expanding live entertainment sector. The partnership follows a successful RFID wristband deployment at the Rock in Rio festival last summer, where 40,000 of ID&C’s bracelets were used for contactless payments and access control. “South America and more specifically Brazil, is a very tech savvy and forward thinking territory,” says ID&C’s head of RFID, Steve Daly. “We wanted to align our-
selves with a company that has the same ethics and customer focus that we pride ourselves on. We are delighted to be working with PasseVIP to service the growing demand in Brazil for our products.” Since launching its wristbands at the Coachella Festival in 2011, ID&C has supplied more than 3.5 million RFID products to live events around the world. Antonio Bindi, co-owner of PasseVIP, comments, “With the use of RFID, we will get people out of the huge lines, thus increasing sales and revenue as we speed up and simplify the purchasing process.”
Wide Days Adds Width
scoTlAnD’s mUsIc convention, Wide Days, has confirmed The Hydro director John Langford as a speaker for this year’s event, taking place 9-10 April at Teviot Row House, Edinburgh. Langford will examine the role of the arena in the Scottish music industry, as well as what has been dubbed ‘the Hydro effect’ – a rise in economic activity taking place around the venue. This year’s conference will also feature a panel focusing on music tourism and how the sector can be fully exploited, as well as a diverse range of topics including stage lighting, royalties, managers overseeing releases and a songwriter feedback session, A&R
IQ Magazine March 2014
You Brave Enough. “Wide Days 2013 firmly established the event, both as a conference and an excellent place to check out new Scottish talent,” says Olaf Furniss, director of the Born To Be Wide organisation, which hosts the convention. “This year we plan to build on this with more innovative panel topics and a slightly increased showcase capacity.” A former church, reopened as Assembly Roxy (capacity 400) last autumn, raises the number of slots for showcasing acts, while existing venue partners The Pleasance Theatre (320), Sneaky Pete’s (99) and Electric Circus (250) will continue to form the core of the live programme. Confirmed acts include LAW, young indie act Model Aeroplanes, and acoustic pop duo, Jellyman’s Daughter. Key sponsors for Wide Days 2014 are Eventbrite, PPL, Edinburgh College and the Musicians’ Union.
Eurosonic Celebrates Another Sell-Out more ThAn 3,200 delegates attended this year’s Eurosonic Noorderslag conference in Groningen, while the event’s showcase festival tickets sold out to 38,500 fans for the 15-18 January gathering. Keynote speeches by the likes of artist manager, Simon Napier Bell; Ticketmaster International president CEO, Mark Yovich; FKP Scorpio founder, Folkert Koopmans; and ITB agent, Lucy Dickins, helped attract delegates from 39 countries, while the city’s 36 stages were graced by 337 acts from 29 nations who provided the evening entertainment for promoters looking for the next hot acts. Organisers report that an increasing number of European venues attended the event’s 28th year, while the number of international fes-
tivals represented grew to an impressive 419. Elsewhere, Eurosonic hosted the 2014 European Border Breakers Awards and the European Festival Awards where the award for best small, medium and major festivals went to Fusion (Romania), Melt! (Germany) and Exit (Serbia), respectively, while veteran German promoter Marek Lieberberg was honoured with the lifetime achievement award. Eurosonic’s new Innovative Production Fair & Conference was well received, and the inaugural winner of the Buma Music Meets Tech Award was WholeWorldband, an Irish company headed by Kevin Godley of 10cc and Godley & Creme fame. It has been confirmed that Eurosonic Noorderslag 2015 will take place 14-17 January.
Nikos Fund Auction Winner
Australia’s Etihad Stadium last year offered ILMC delegates the chance of an allexpenses-paid trip Down Under through the annual Nikos Fund charity auction. Winner Patrik Meyer (pictured right), general manager of the Commerzbank-Arena
in Frankfurt, enjoyed a “fantastic” trip to Melbourne and Sydney last October and was welcomed to Etihad Stadium by CEO Paul Sergeant (left), before witnessing Melbourne Victory claim a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar under the venue’s closed roof.
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News
British Parliament Debates Ticket Abuse The problem of ticket fraud is high profile once again in the United Kingdom after members of Parliament held the first of six debates about the issue. Led by Sharon Hodgson, MP, the first debate, on 21 January, heard National Fraud Intelligence Bureau statistics that more than two million people in the UK were affected by online ticketing fraud between 2011-2012, at a total cost to the country of £864million (€1.04billion). Hodgson told Parliament that the secondary market is causing concern, adding, “People in the industry have seen touts making more and more money from their work and investment without putting anything in. After all, when a ticket sells for double its face value, the tout makes more money than everyone involved in putting on the show.” Reacting to the parliamentary hearing, Christoph Homann, managing director
of Ticketmaster Resale International, says, “The Westminster Hall debate on ticket abuse showed that there is clearly no political appetite to impose unnecessary regulation on the resale market. We want to focus on working with politicians, consumer and retail groups on how we make a self-regulated market work.” Elsewhere, Accent Media chairman Tommy Higgins, who is hoping to secure the Dot Tickets internet domain, comments, “With the ticket sector rapidly developing to keep up with the connected generation of consumers, it has never been more necessary for a company like Accent Media to step in and help the industry protect customers.” He adds, “The future of the ticket and events industry depends on a safe pair of hands and I believe we are the best company to champion the safety of buyers and ultimately improve the online customer experience.”
Movers and Shakers Moderne Welt has appointed Andreas ‘Pese’ Puscher as a booker, with responsibility for new artist development. Puscher runs management agency Pop Groupe; is CEO of the event agency PopNotPop in Stuttgart; as well as the booker for the corresponding club festival. The Association of Independent Festivals has appointed Paul Reed as its first full-time general manager. Paul has managed stages at the likes of Evolution and Secret Garden Party. Former GM, Claire O’Neill, is staying on as the organisation’s senior manager. Iron Maiden’s management company, Phantom Music Management, has appointed Dave Shack to the new position of managing director. Shack’s career has involved stints at Kerrang! magazine and record label RCA. RFID supplier, Intellitix, has hired Ian Bennett as head of UK business development. Bennett was previously at Last Second Tickets where he was head of music. Will Whitehorn has been named as the new chairman of the Scottish Exhibition Centre (SECC), replacing the retiring Sir Ian Grant. Whitehorn was formerly president of Virgin Galactic and a founder of Virgin Trains, and has been a non-executive director of SECC since 2010. Showsec has hired Michael Paul as area manager for the West of Scotland. A native of Inverness, Paul has gained much of his experience with SecuriGroup since starting out as a part-time door supervisor. Steven Todd has replaced Tim Dowdall as Live Nation’s managing director of concerts for Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to his promotion, Todd led Live Nation’s operations in Poland. The company says Dowdall will support the management strategy and handover.
Black Sabbath returned to Birmingham for two homecoming gigs at the LG Arena and NIA, officially opening the new five-star dressing rooms at the NIA as part of the venue’s £26million (€31m) redevelopment. The dressing room completion was a key milestone in the NIA refurbishment programme, with the venue on
track to open in January 2015. NEC Group managing director arenas, Phil Mead, says, “Black Sabbath are the first artists to be in the new dressing rooms, and we wanted to celebrate their heritage with the city. They’ve signed the brand new artist and performer wall in the dressing room corridor, creating a piece of history!”
Photo: John Fenton, Sharon Osbourne Management
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Accent Media, the British company applying to operate the new top-level web domain for online ticket sales – .tickets – has named industry veteran Tommy Higgins as its chairman. Higgins was group managing director of UK & Ireland for Ticketmaster and executive vice-president of Ticketmaster Europe. Kelly Ramsay has joined Music Insurance Brokers as marketing manager, and will work with Steven Howell on the company’s social media campaigns. Her former employers include Cisco, SAP, WorldPay and Webtrends. Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has appointed Peter Monks to the role of commercial director of ATG Tickets. Monks was at NEC Group for 15 years, latterly as commercial director of The Ticket Factory.
IQ Magazine March 2014
News
New Venue for PrimaveraPro
The iconic Sydney Entertainment Centre has been renamed the Qantas Credit Union Arena, following a naming rights partnership between the financial institution and the venue’s management company, AEG Ogden, which has signed a deal to operate the arena until the
end of 2015. The naming rights agreement ensures that there will be a major entertainment venue in the Sydney CBD while the new International Convention Centre Sydney is under construction. The arena’s general manager, Steve Hevern, comments, “Our business
case for the Sydney Entertainment Centre remaining open for a further two years included the securing of sponsorship revenue. Qantas Credit Union has stepped up to the plate in being a major contributor to the financial viability of the Centre during the next two years.”
Intellitix inks alliance for Swiss market and beyond RFID technology provider Intellitix has won an exclusive contract with Swisscom Event & Media Solutions, whereby they will supply RFID services to Swisscom’s live events business. Swisscom provides such services as network engineering and connectivity, temporary ITsolutions, video over IP (streaming services), digital signage, etc, to a number of festivals. The company builds, operates and maintains Switzerland’s fixed line and mobile telecoms networks, which include the majority of live events and festivals in the country. However, the deal could reach further than the Swiss borders as Intellitix reveals that both companies will begin seeking other opportunities in marketplaces outside
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of Switzerland where Swisscom Event & Media Solutions is also active. “It is very important to widen our event services into cashless payment and access control to provide two of the most important services for the event organiser,” says Stefan Rupp, CEO of Swisscom Event & Media Solutions. “With this collaboration with Intellitix, we combine our expertise in temporary telecommunication – and IT/ICT solutions – with a reliable and proven access/payment solution.” Intellitix CEO Serge Grimaux says, “With Switzerland statistically having more festivals per capita than any other country in the world, I’m delighted that many festival fans will be benefiting from the next gen-
eration technology that we’ve been delivering, as well as the innovations we plan releasing, some in the near future. Whether that’s Intellipay, our road-tested and robust cashless payment system; secure access control; or cool brand activation services and social media engagement applications, this vibrant festival market now has the best RFID technology in the world and the peace of mind in knowing that such services are 100% reliable and secure.”
The ever-expanding Spanish conference, PrimaveraPro, now in its fifth year, is moving its daytime activities to the centre of Barcelona. The event will use the former Convent de Sant Agustí as the official headquarters of the DayPro Conference, which will utilise a number of venues in the emblematic Born neighbourhood during the 28-30 May gathering. Organisers say the growth of the event, both in numbers and activities, made it necessary to find a new location to satisfy the requirements of the participants and to enhance their experience. The new site will be closer to the night-time activities of the Parc del Fòrum. Debates at PrimaveraPro 2014 will include the emerging and traditional markets; festivals; and new tools for the music industry, while networking and showcase events will be organised by Brazil, Italy and Israel. Confirmed conference speakers include: Martyn Ware from The Human League and Heaven 17; Hospital Records director, Chris Goss; Jeremy Pritchard, from Everything Everything; and singer Sandie Shaw, who is also a board member of the Featured Artists’ Coalition. Evening activities will include gigs by the likes of Arcade Fire, Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Mogwai and Queens of the Stone Age.
IQ Magazine March 2014
News
Fireman’s Fund Sponsors Event Safety Alliance FIremAn’s FUnD Insurance Company has entered into a partnership with the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) as title insurance sponsor in an effort to reduce risks at live events. The broker says the deal demonstrates its belief and support in ESA’s mission to create common safety protocols for live events and as part of the agreement, Lauren Bailey, vice-president of entertainment insurance at Fireman’s Fund, will hold a seat on the ESA board. The ESA has a mission to create a common safety protocol for live events in the US with a long-term goal of safer events through training and education. “Fireman’s Fund chose to become title insurance sponsor to signify that, as a leading insurance carrier for live entertainment, we believe strongly in the ESA mission,” comments Bailey. ESA president, Jim Digby, says, “Everyone involved in live event production has a legal and moral obligation
to make safety their first priority. We founded ESA on the principle that by working together we could make productions safer for all involved. This sponsorship from Fireman’s Fund will help us do just that.” Basing much of its content on the UK’s Purple Guide, the Event Safety Guide is a manual of various common safety standards covering all aspects of live events. It was developed by a diverse group of concerned professionals including tour managers, stage technicians, weather experts, firefighters, insurance professionals and other event safety experts. The soon-to-be-available guide provides a single source document with best practices for live entertainment events – from large festivals to small venues – in a userfriendly format that will be easy to apply to live event management. The Guide will be continually evaluated and updated as new approaches and technologies emerge.
German Promoters Force Resale Take Down secondarY TicKeTing giant Seatwave has removed all tickets for the six upcoming Robbie Williams concerts in Germany after a successful legal challenge by the German Federal Association of Concert Organisers (BDV). BDV is vociferously fighting a battle against ticket resale platforms in Germany and has already obtained mandatory injunctions against other online exchanges, including the popular website Viagogo. Johannes Ulbricht, legal advisor for the BDV, insists the association will con-
tinue to take action against all unauthorised ticket trading in the country, to protect event visitors and ensure that the prohibition of resale is respected. ”We are moving closer, step by step, to our goal of returning control of ticket prices to promoters and artists,” says BDV president Jens Michow. “For the public, this means protection against inflated prices. For promoters and artists this means that those who create the value embodied in the ticket price, rather than shady freeloaders, will benefit from it.”
News
Ticketmaster Launches in Belgium Live Nation Entertainment has filled one of its few remaining European territory gaps through the full acquisition of the Ticketnet platform to create Ticketmaster Belgium. Based in Brussels, the operation will be led by media sales and marketing expert, Didier Decaestecker in the role of MD, and responsible for the integration of Ticketnet into ticketmaster.be, as well as growing the local team of ticketing and live entertainment experts. Decaestecker says, “I’m looking forward to leading a passionate team that will bring the very best in technology and service to ensure that Belgian fans have an even better live entertainment experience.” Heralding the formation of the new company, Ticketmaster International president, Mark Yovich, comments, “We are delighted to be launching in Belgium where there is huge potential for growth and a vibrant live entertainment and sports scene.”
SFX Entertainment and the Passion for Cash The successful rebirth of SFX Entertainment on the stock market has been fuelling desires. Since Robert FX Sillerman cashed in $260million (€190m) from investors at NASDAQ last October for his new EDM empire, certain other players within the dance music community are also clamouring for a share of the spoils. In early February, a former consulting consortium consisting of Paolo and Gabriel Moreno, together with Lawrence Vavra filed a lawsuit at the US District Court of California, against SFX Entertainment, accusing Sillerman and SFX vice-chairman Sheldon Finkel of a breach of contract. According to the Wall Street Journal, the case (Moreno v SFX Entertainment Inc) alleges that Sillerman broke an agreement when he failed to reward the trio for their efforts to “identify, acquire, consolidate, and operate assets” in the pre-launch period of SFX
Entertainment. The plaintiffs say they identified seven targets, which SFX then bought. The trio claim that Sillerman was supposed to compensate them with 2.5million founder shares and even “operational control of the company” for their services, support and input, that later on led to acquisitions of companies such as Beatport, Disco Donnie Presents (DDP) and ID&T. They argue that, while Sillerman is new to the dance business, the Morenos and Vavra are seasoned veterans. Paolo Moreno worked as a manager for DDP, while Vavra is the cofounder and president of management company Deckstar. For its part, SFX Entertainment reacted to the legal case with just one sentence, saying, “We will vigorously defend this baseless lawsuit.” One day before the news of the lawsuit became public, SFX announced that it had closed an offer of “second lien senior secured notes”, worth more
than $220m (€161m) with an interest rate of 9.63% per annum until 2019. In addition, the company agreed a deal with Barclays Bank for revolving credit of a further $30m (€22m). Elsewhere in the dance world, German Technopioneer WestBam has decided not to take part in this year’s edition of indoor rave event Mayday, promoted by SFX subsidy I-Motion. As co-founder of the event, WestBam sold his stake to I-Motion in 2006. Since then, he has participated as a DJ and appeared in all 60 editions of Mayday across Germany, Poland, Russia and Hungary. In a press release, WestBam stated that he resigned due to “ideological reasons”. Nik Schär, MD of I-Motion refuted this statement in an interview with the trade paper MusikWoche and claimed WestBam had asked for a fee three times higher than last year.
Coda and Paradigm Formalise Global Alliance American agency Paradigm has acquired a 50% stake in Londonbased Coda Music Agency as the two companies formalise an agreement that will see them cooperate on artists’ careers around the world. Financial details were not disclosed, but the joint venture is the result of a longstanding relationship between Coda and Paradigm. The pact will allow the two agencies to pool their expertise and resources on a global basis. Coda and Paradigm share a common philosophy, which involves putting the artist at the centre of everything they do and a deep commitment to artist development. Coda director Rob Challice,
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explains, “We have had an excellent working relationship with the guys at Paradigm for many years. We share similar philosophies and values and are particularly aligned in our views on developing artists’ live careers. All the directors here at Coda are agents and will continue to be so. Our passionate, hands-on approach to our work and the way we run our business is not going to change at all.” Coda MD Claire Horseman comments, “We are both artistfriendly companies and it makes perfect sense to put in place a working structure that allows us each to benefit from the others’ knowledge, experience and resources, and to help our respective artists maximise the
opportunities available to them on a global level.” Sam Gores, chairman and CEO of Paradigm adds, “We could not be happier to start the new year with this partnership with Coda, a terrific group of agents who are dedicated to growing artists careers the right way. This furthers our strategy of aligning with agencies around the globe that share our values and our commitment to the highest quality representation.” Coda represents more than 500 artists and DJs across numerous genres, including Bastille, Bon Iver, Disclosure, Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sandé, Imagine Dragons, Jake Bugg, Rudimental, The XX and many others. The company’s
directors are agents Alex Hardee, James Whitting, Marty Diamond, Rob Challice and Tom Schroeder, alongside Greg Bestick, Dave Hallybone and MD Horseman. Paradigm employs more than 130 agents in Beverly Hills, New York, Nashville, and Monterey, guiding the careers of an elite roster of clients in motion pictures, television, music, theatre, comedy, publishing, digital media, physical production, commercials and voice-overs. Among its artists are Aerosmith, Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Ed Sheeran, Eli Young Band, fun., Imagine Dragons, Janelle Monáe, Jason Mraz, The Lumineers, Phish and Toby Keith.
IQ Magazine March 2014
News
ILMC’s Wally Gore Passes Away
We are sad to report that long-standing Showsec security staff member and ILMC stalwart, Wally Gore, passed away on 5 February following a lengthy illness. One of the most popular security men in the industry, Wally had worked for Showsec since its inception, and prior to that had worked in the 70s and 80s on tours with the likes of Queen, the Rolling Stones and The Osmonds. More recently, Wally regu-
larly worked at the ILMC, where he enjoyed catching up with his many friends in the international business. “Wally was one of our longest serving members of staff, and although he moved to the Isle of Wight a few years ago, he was only semi-retired and still liked to come to London for a run of shows – or to the ILMC every year,” says Showsec director Simon Battersby. “Wally was tremendous to work with – he always
had a story to tell. He knew everybody in the business and had a remarkable relationship with all the promoters. But more than that, he was a true character and a very genuine person who cared a lot for the people he worked with and his loss is felt hugely by us.” ILMC security chief Jon Corbishley recalls, “Promoters would heave a sigh of relief when they saw Wally on the back door because they knew that their backstage would be well protected. There was no point in saying ‘I’m with the band’ to Wally because he would know that you weren’t. He knew all the bands and they all knew him.” Corbishley adds, “Wally became a special part of ILMC for many years. Every delegate knew him and even after he’d retired he would return every March by special request to work for me in his accustomed spot. Now he’s probably replaced St Peter checking passes at the pearly gates. RIP Wally. We’ll miss you.”
Venues Trust Looks to Protect Iconic Clubs An organisation to prevent some of the UK’s most important live music venues from disappearing is making significant strides to achieve its goal after negotiating a major concession with legislators. The Music Venues Trust has leveraged the existing Community Right to Bid legislation to back its campaign to save as many grass-roots venues as possible, through a three-phase programme. “The Right to Buy law was introduced to protect the likes of rural pubs and community post offices, but we’ve persuaded government to extend that criteria to live music venues,” explains the Trust’s Mark Davyd. “That’s phase one – once a prem-
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ises gets Community Right To Bid status, it cannot be sold without the community being consulted and given the chance to put together an equivalent bid to buy.” Davyd, who owns the Tunbridge Wells Forum, took action after seeing numerous similar venues being redeveloped into housing or other business accommodation. “The common thing that all smaller venues share is that the bricks and mortar value of the building now outweighs the value of the business that operates there,” he states. “So when the owners are approached by developers, they are obliged to take such offers seriously. And with no young people com-
ing through – yet – who are eager to take over these live music clubs, we are losing many of them forever.” Phase two will involve compiling a list of clubs that music fans want to see on the protected list. “We’re expecting anywhere between 15 and 70 venues to be nominated – but it could well be 100,” Davyd continues. “Phase three will be the campaign to raise funds so the bid to buy can be exercised,” Davyd says.“The final goal is to buy the buildings and their freehold, place them in the Music Venues Trust and lease them back to their management so that they can continue to host live music and are secured permanently for the local community.”
Big Day Out Facing Huge Losses Promoter AJ Maddah has warned that Australian touring festival Big Day Out faces a financial black hole, predicting losses for this year of at least AUD$8m (€5.3m). In a frank interview, Maddah, who became a partner in Big Day Out last year, revealed to Australian radio station, Triple J, that the iconic festival had been in danger of being shelved altogether prior to his involvement, “They were on the edge of the abyss, on the edge of cancelling the event,” he told triple J. “It would’ve been very sad to me to watch it die without putting up a fight. That’s why I came on board. I was rowing the lifeboat back to the Titanic, rather than the other way around so to speak.” Explaining why the event’s Perth date is being dropped, Maddah stated, “Generally, you lose money in Perth. You’ve got two days to get there, three days to get back, all the trucking, all the production. A hotel room that you would pay $180 for in Sydney is $320 a night in Perth, in the same hotel chain. The price of hiring everything is ridiculous over there, security is two and a half times the rate of the east coast, so it becomes a situation where people struggle to go to Perth.” That, he added, was a reason for the high ticket prices, but with the remote west coast city now out of the equation, that’s something he hopes to address. “$185 [€123] was ridiculous, but that was [set] long before I came in this year ... I don’t want it to cost any more than $160 [€106] next year, give or take a couple of dollars.”
IQ Magazine March 2014
Comment
Welcome to Brazil! With over 15 years’ experience in international business development, Felippe Llerena, executive producer of ventureBR, outlines opportunities for the live industry in Brazil…
B
razil is now well regarded by the international live music community and has become an obligatory stop for major world tours. That is mostly due to Brazil’s economic growth in recent years, which increased the purchasing power of an emerging social class that now has a more disposable income with which to consume entertainment, gastronomy and travel. There was a ‘happy marriage of geopolitical, social and economic opportunities’, which gave Brazil strength particularly in the live show business. The market of South America can boast stronger growth
“Brands and sponsors realise how connected Brazilians are to live music and so everyone is gaining from this new scenario with larger festivals drawing larger audiences and bringing relevance to an increasing number of brands interested in participating in this new market” than the average growth of the rest of the world. In Brazil, the per capita annual expenditure on entertainment dollars grew by 39.4%, from US$125 in 2006 to US$174 in 2009, with the total expenditure in 2014 expected to be nearly $54billion (IPC). Until a few years ago, touring in Brazil was only feasible at big festivals such as Rock in Rio or Planeta Terra. Now there is a new and vibrant scene and the live industry has grown tremendously bringing in big players to compete in this dynamic market. Big companies such as Time4Fun (the biggest live entertainment company in Latin America), PlanMusic, and XYZ have been promoting the biggest festivals and tours Brazil has ever seen, which has in turn increased the demand for highly skilled professionals and best quality equipment to support the production of major events all over the country. Brands and sponsors realise how connected Brazilians are to live music and so everyone is gaining from this new scenario with larger festivals drawing larger audiences and bringing relevance to an increasing number of brands interested in participating in this new market. Another sector that has grown tremendously has been
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Broadway-style musicals. This new breed of Brazilian musical production has pushed Brazil almost to the top, and it is now the third largest market for musical theatre in the world, after New York and London. The number of musicals taking place in the country simultaneously has been unique in the country’s history, with more than a dozen international shows already adapted into Portuguese. There is also a number of musicals about famous Brazilians such as Tim Maia, Elis Regina, and Cazuza, which are playing an important role in developing the market. This is also providing a new industry for the youngest generation who did not have opportunities in the recent past for careers as dancers, musicians, arrangers, choreographers, designers, and other roles in the arts. Two associations are playing an important role in Brazil’s festival market: Rede Brasil de Festivais (Brazil Festival Network) funded by Brazilian oil company Petrobras to provide finance (from July 2013 to July 2015) for around 130 independent music festivals and six macro-regions of the country; and Festivais Brasileiros Associados, which unites the most established festivals – the ones that have been around for years. The emerging economy has been creating opportunities for entrepreneurs all over the country. For example, Queremos (WeDemand) based in Rio who recently opened a branch in the US, is a group of passionate music fans who were frustrated that popular international music acts often skipped over Brazil despite a major demand for shows. As a response, they developed a unique system that enables fans to help make the shows happen while minimising the risk for artists and promoters by confirming interest before shows are booked. In three years, Queremos has successfully promoted over 65 concerts with some of today’s top artists. One last important aspect to know about the Brazilian audience is that they are large consumers of social media, with their high consumption making the country the largest social media user in the world - the average time spent on social media portals by consumers is around 10 hours per month.. Brazil is also the second-largest consumer of YouTube in the world. For this reason, many advertisers are starting to migrate media budgets from radio and printed media to digital. If you are a musician, producer or booking agent, please contact me to discuss opportunities in my country, and have a great tour in Brazil in 2014! llerena@venturebr.com
IQ Magazine March 2014
Comment
The Ups and Downs of Kilimanjaro MD of Kilimanjaro Live, Stuart Galbraith, talks frankly about the varying fortunes of the independent promoter in 2013 and its plans and aspirations for 2014…
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013, the first full year as an independent promoter, has been interesting for Kilimanjaro. With some brilliant highs, and some disappointing lows, it certainly hasn’t been dull! We started in January by bringing Vegas to the UK arenas with Donny and Marie Osmond and our touring year ended on 19th December when Wet Wet Wet closed the final show of their tour in Glasgow. Our year may have been bookended by artists with a long history of success but in between we were proud to be involved with some incredible developing talent, such as The 1975, Bastille, King Charles, Frightened Rabbit, and Birdy, as well as some brilliant non-music tours such as The Illusionists, Nitro Circus, and comedy with David Sedaris and Aziz Ansari.
“Putting on a major festival as an independent promoter isn’t for the faint-hearted and there is a point at which you have to accept that the risk is too great.” We started 2014 strongly with The 1975 in early January and are thrilled to have just announced Ed Sheeran’s first UK arena tour for October. Our schedule for 2014 also includes tours with established artists as well as new and developing talents that will progress into arenas and stadiums very quickly. We are already on sale or about to announce shows including Andrea Bocelli, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Hollywood, Frank Turner, Rizzle Kicks, Rick Wakeman, and John Newman, with dozens more still to come. In 2013, the 400+ shows that we were involved in sold over 850,000 tickets and it already looks as if 2014 will top this. We are certainly not at the level of the large multinational promoters in our industry, but we are having great fun carving out our own business in many different areas. The festival world wasn’t an easy place in 2013. In 2012, we’d taken the heart-breaking decision to cancel Sonisphere because the interest from the ticket-buying public just wasn’t there. We’d tried something different where the headliners were concerned, but we had to accept that it didn’t work. We’d spent three years working extremely hard to build up a
IQ Magazine March 2014
brand and a reputation as a festival with a great atmosphere, an easy layout and an amazing line-up. It was a really hard decision to take but the whole team felt strongly that it was wrong to compromise on our customer experience and it was agreed that we had no choice but to cancel. We’d planned to bring Sonisphere UK back in 2013 but it became clear that the headline talent we were targeting wasn’t going to be available. Putting on a major festival as an independent promoter isn’t for the faint-hearted and there is a point at which you have to accept that the risk is too great. We did, however, have Wakestock to keep us busy. The North Wales festival always brings its own unique challenges due to its fairly remote coastal location. We’d dealt with floating bridges and impromptu lakes in 2012 due to appalling weather, even by Snowdonia standards. In 2013, we had glorious sunshine and those who came had long days on the beach before coming up to the site. It seemed that 2013 was an unusual year for the festival market. The established majors took a bit longer and a bit more effort to sell (Glastonbury aside, of course) and medium-sized events had lower numbers in general. The real successes as far as I could ascertain were the smaller, lifestyle events. There is a breed of festival-goers who are attracted by festivals that are clearly rooted in a specific area and have eschewed the homogenisation prevalent at the larger events. Despite 2013 being a tough year for us on festivals, we are heading into 2014 with great optimism. The headliners we have confirmed for Sonisphere are tremendous and certainly gave us the confidence we needed to go ahead with what will be an amazing year and we’re looking at plans to develop Wakestock into a regionally focused festival. Festivals are important. Leaving aside the significant level of work that the events produce for supplier companies, the financial impact on the location of a festival shouldn’t be underestimated. Wakestock brings £2.5million worth of income into a remote seaside area annually. At Knebworth Park you can see the results of our site fee contributions in the renovations to the historical house and grounds and we are happy to bring Sonisphere back to celebrate Knebworth’s 40th anniversary in 2014. Every festival will be having a similar impact in their local area and it is important that local authorities, the police and residents actively support the festivals taking place locally to them. Here’s to 2014, and all the excitement it will bring…
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Comment
Noise Vs Music: The Real Loudness War At a time when there are a multitude of online sites delivering gig information, Name PR’s Hugo Mintz questions their effectiveness …
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aving embraced digital marketing as a means to promote concerts and gigs, the noise that the consumer deals with has steadily increased – there is no shortage of sites offering to list a gig, but how many people actually read them? As stalwarts NME and Time Out have gone from comprehensive gig listings to curated recommendations in their magazines, the days of the trusty all-you-need-to-know physical listings guide seem to be numbered. Web designers and entrepreneurs have tried repeatedly to fill this void by reproducing an online version of physical listings, perhaps with the addition of ticket links for added revenue opportunities. But in my mind, the power of the digital revolution lies in young, fresh thinking that turns the model on its head – companies that look to ‘pull’ demand from an engaged fanbase, rather than ‘push’ out information.
“In my mind, the power of the digital revolution lies in young, fresh thinking that turns the model on its head – companies that look to ‘pull’ demand from an engaged fanbase, rather than ‘push’ out information.” Listings sites have been popping up since the internet started, taking hold as a real and convenient portal for information. We now have a plethora of websites billing themselves as the ‘allinclusive one-stop-shop’ for those looking for gigs or bands wanting to get the word out; and there’s no doubting their ambition to slice through the noise, but unfortunately, they just end up adding to it. In an attempt to monetise the online listings model, sites such as Skiddle.com and Ents24.com offer click-through ticketing, and have achieved large audiences (20K-900K) and direct translation from views to sales. Some of these ticket-funded event sites may start losing integrity, however, as secondary ticketing sites have discovered the model as a means of boosting traffic to their platforms. Sites like 5gig.co.uk and BritEvents.com heavily recommend clicking-through to secondary sites, while Eventful.com (founded by an eBay veteran), seems to exclusively list StubHub’s events. For a band or promoter trying to spread the word, the sheer number of sites can be daunting. As a result, services such as Event.ly and Evvnt.
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com have popped-up offering easy distribution to a range of aforementioned listings for a fee, promising up to 50 or more listings per gig. Whilst this looks good in a report, it’s practically the equivalent of pasting 50 posters down a dark alley – yes, they’re up, but who’ll actually see them?! One must, of course, concede that it all adds to an internet presence and gig visibility in Google rankings, but if the fan doesn’t know about the gig then why would they search for it? Newsletters and music publications have a successful formula for listing events, that continues to this day. The 405, Line of Best Fit, Pitchfork or Stereoboard all have loyal followers who trust the writers on both reviews and recommendations. Newsletters (Le Cool, Londonist, Urban Junkies, Time Out) also have ardent readers who part with their prized email address in exchange for a curated guide from those in the know. Getting into these publications is a coup for any promoter, but it often requires extensive amounts of work, contacts or a PR company. Eleven years ago, Last.fm sparked a refreshing change in strategy as it drew music fans into its radio-style music service. A captive audience (30m) and detailed analytics on bands’ fanbases meant they could recommend gigs in their locality. Whilst not the only service trying to do this, Last.fm perhaps did it best, although unfortunately, the site’s subsequent sale and redesign meant that popularity started to wane. In my mind, however, one of the biggest developments to the live music scene is Songkick. The platform’s model isn’t particularly complicated, simply telling registered users what bands are playing locally. The site knows which artists its customers like, by user-tagging favourite bands (as well as with Facebook and Spotify data) and sending an email when a band announces a gig in their area. It effectively takes the baton from Last.fm and pushes it forward, providing a manageable platform that Songkick claims makes a fan twice as likely to attend a gig. Songkick has also introduced a service called Detour, whereby fans register their interest and money for a potential gig that doesn’t yet exist. Eventful has got in on the idea with their own version of Detour and if the ‘pledge-gig’ is where the live sector is going then promoters’ roles might change dramatically. So as the noise reaches fever pitch and more bands have more channels to seed gig-goers with more information, it seems that those quietly responding to consumer needs may well prove to have the power. The gauntlet has now been thrown down for the rest to up their game. Be creative and listen to the fans – they definitely prefer music over noise.
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Comment
Festivals: More than Music Katch Holmes, freelance producer and organiser of Knockengorroch World Ceilidh Festival in Scotland, makes both the social and business case for the fuller festival experience…
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n 1969, more than half a million people came together for a festival that featured not only some of the greatest bands of the age but also a message of peace, openness and cultural expression. Ever since Woodstock, music festivals have grown in number and popularity, with events of all shapes and sizes presenting all genres of music. They can be commercially very viable, but are they losing their way in an increasingly international and saturated marketplace? All music festivals must choose whether to focus their brand and apportion their budgets more on the festival environment or a big music line-up. When one of the biggest threats to the industry is not enough big headliners to go round and consequent rising artists’ costs, it makes sense to recognise that atmosphere, sustainability and the festival experience is as or more important than big names. As the UK Festival Awards concede, “Music may be the vital heartbeat of all our festivals, but it’s often the ‘extras’, such as pop-up performances, mass participation games, quirky installations or just spectacular attention to detail which fill heads and cameras with memories that last a lifetime.” Glastonbury Festival is proof of this. The largest green-field
festival in the world, it is billed as a ‘festival of the contemporary arts’. This year it sold all 120,000 tickets in less than 2 hours, long before any of the line-up was announced. It is a festival bursting with creativity and community. Areas of the festival are not defined by which bands are playing but by theatre; circus; green issues and debates; comedy; dance; visual installations; performance artists; and immersive experiences. The Knockengorroch World Ceilidh is also run by a family who live on the farm. Since 1998, we have offered opportunities to experience and connect, grounding the musical experience in the mythology and wildlife of the area. Traditional craft workshops sit next to audio-visuals. ‘Knockengorrochers’ are tolerant, open-minded and experimental, as well as being purveyors of fine music, who know how to party. Music has always offered a space for non-conformity. Music festivals have the potential to provide a space for people to express and create; step out of the norm and challenge the status quo; connect with others; engage with their environment and find new models of relating. It is the idealism and capacity for social change that made music festivals popular in the first place. And it is this that will sustain them into the future.
Comment
United We Stand Clothilde Fery is the coordinator of Live DMA (linking initiatives and venues in Europe by developing musical actions). Here she tells us about the aims and aspirations of the network, and its work in progress...
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s a young European network of small- and mediumsized live music venues and festivals, officially born in 2012, Live DMA tries to answer the challenges that the live music sector is facing nowadays. Through international cooperation between the members, we address such problems as the sometimes fierce competition, rising costs and growing regulations on different levels. Live DMA members are made up of a national network of associations that today represent more than 750 venues and festivals in Western and northern Europe. All are driven by passion and share their love for music with the local audience. These venues are the place to be if you want to discover new and upcoming artists. It is here that the audience gets the feeling they are experiencing a concert, right at the front of the stage. Live DMA is a story of people meeting people, finding common interests and trying to improve the recognition of independent live music venues and festivals in Europe and develop the cooperation between live music sector professionals. Although officially founded in May 2012, the process of building this network began in 2008, with the
“These venues are the place to be if you want to discover new and upcoming artists. It is here that the audience gets the feeling they are experiencing a concert, right at the front of the stage.” cooperation of two national associations of venues: Fédurok (France) and ACCES (Spain). It was more than a one-off action, since it resulted in a long-term cooperation, dealing with aspects such as professionalisation of the field, exchange of knowledge and contact with public authorities to improve the situation of independent live music venues. This was the cornerstone of the network as it exists today. Between 2008 and 2012, the network grew slowly but steadily, gradually integrating the current partners. Today, Live DMA gathers together seven associations in six European countries. From France and Spain, Live DMA extended to Belgium (Court Circuit and Clubcircuit) and step by step integrated Denmark (Dansk Live), Netherlands (VNPF) and Germany (Live Musik Kommission). The network is now
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ready for the next step, and always on the lookout for future collaborations. Originally set-up as a cooperation framework to apply for European funds, the members felt the need to formalise their work and to work within certain guidelines. This resulted in an ethical charter based on three main working themes: artistic; social and cultural, and political issues, whilst at the same time not losing sight of the economic reality. The ethical chart can be found on our website (www.live-dma.eu). Writing this ethical charter was an important step in Live DMA’s construction, laying solid foundations for the future of the cooperation network. Live DMA is now facing new challenges. The basis exists and feels solid, so the time is right to develop concrete projects for the members and the associated independent European venues and festivals. Since 2011, the network has set-up projects regarding the professionalisation of staff in venues. The current project, Lighthouses, funded by the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute, focuses on this topic with an exchange of good practices and experiences. The target audience is artistic directors, communication managers and in-house promoters. For the participants from the different countries it is an excellent opportunity to share knowledge about how the music sector operates in neighbouring countries and at the same time to have a clear vision of what the live music sector will be in the future. This should result in common tools and cross-border cooperation. We believe that professionals are the gatekeepers, and if they cross the borders, and build informal networks together, upcoming artists will benefit from this mobility and will be booked in other countries than their homeland. The big issue to be recognised as an important negative factor in the cultural sector is a lack of data. This is also the reason for the lack of recognition of live music venues as part of culture with a capital ‘C’, as a potential employer and as an important social stakeholder. A survey conducted by the different national networks within Live DMA will be our own live music health index and a basis for further research and spotting of trends. The next challenge is to reach eastern and southern territories, where there are too few nationally structured networks, in order to help the structures, the professionalisation, and the recognition of our venues. This should lead to cooperation on a larger territorial scale. Since Rome wasn’t built in a day, Live DMA is a work in progress, leading to an essential long-term project for independent venues.
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March 2014 November 2013 IQ Magazine
Chuggi’s 50th
Fifty Years
In The Black T-Shirt March 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Michael Chugg’s first show as a promoter. Internationally renowned as one of the live music industry’s most colourful and popular characters, Chuggi spent time with IQ’s Lars Brandle ahead of his half-century milestone... Michael ‘Chuggi’ Chugg is many things to many people. He’s passionate; and parochial. He’s a loudmouth; with a touch of shyness. He’s sometimes wrong; but mostly right. His language is colourful and abrasive; his message is always clear. But above all else, he’s a great entertainer. The legendary Australian concert promoter this year celebrates his 50th year in business and there’s not a whiff of him slowing down. Indeed, Chuggi’s business empire is expanding. The Chugg brand is breaking into new markets, and busting into new business fields. When Michael Chugg’s autobiography Hey, You in the Black T-Shirt was published in 2010, he found himself in an unusual position. For the first time, he was hitting the road promoting himself. Chugg has lived some life, and it’s there in black and white (though not all of it). As he celebrates his half-century in the entertainment game, Chugg is mulling over some necessary updates to his memoirs. “We’re looking at adding four or five chapters. We’ll probably also release a CD of some of the tracks that have changed my life. As long as the majors don’t want too much fucking money for the songs,” he says in his distinctive, grumbling tone. “There was tonnes of stuff we didn’t use, but more importantly that book was written three years ago.”
Much has happened in those three years. Chugg has toured Coldplay, Radiohead, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton and many others. He has also launched new business division Chugg Music, which includes recording and artist management activities. In years from now, when Chugg’s life and career are studied in retrospect, it’ll take a hefty tome to fully tell the tale. Chugg has worked on some of the biggest tours to visit Australia. He was tour director on Abba’s mighty swing into the country back in 1977, a trek that was immortalised in the feature film Abba: The Movie. He’s toured Frank Sinatra, and Fleetwood Mac in their heyday. He helped put AC/DC in stadiums across the country. He’d need a spare room to house all his awards, which include the 2005 Promoter of the Year trophy from the International Live Music Conference as well as ILMC’s Bottle Award in 2008, Los Angeles’ keys to the city at A&R Musexpo in 2012, along with Helpmann Awards, Pollstar’s International Promoter Of The Year 13 times, and Rolling Stone awards. Did he figure he’d ever get to the big Five-Oh in business? “When we were growing up I thought if we made it to 30 we were doing well. Jimi [Hendrix] and Janis [Joplin], they dropped off before they turned 30. It was like the magic number.”
Photo © Guido Karp
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Chuggi’s 50th
Tasmania is as beautiful as it is cold and remote. The small island off Australia’s south-east tip was once a prison for the worst-offenders during Australia’s early days of European settlement. An oversized Alcatraz, if you will. Today, its population base barely nudges the needle toward ‘growth’ as its young look to the ‘mainland’ for a different pace of life. Tassie (as it is known) is a synonym for ‘quality’– its dairy, fruit and beer are among the best around. And it has produced a surprising volume of quality talent. Hollywood great Errol Flynn was raised in the Apple Isle. Retired cricket star Ricky Ponting is a home-grown hero. Michael Chugg also belongs to that list. The milestone will drop on 14 March, the date when 50 years ago, Chugg ran a fundraising dance for the local Launceston Cycling Club. “I was the cyclists’ representative on the cycling club committee and I suggested we run the dance,” he recalls. “My mate was bass player in a Launceston band called The Dominos. We booked the Trade’s Hall in Launceston, with his band and another band on the bill. We had about 250 people and made £80 for the cycling club, which in 1964, was a fair bit of money.” By day, the teenage Chugg worked as a junior salesman in the soft furnishing department at Young’s Furniture in Launceston, whilst at weekends, he worked at the local office for racing and trotting events. And then one night, Chugg was introduced to the mic. “The person who called the amateur cycling didn’t turn up to the York Park Velodrome. I volunteered to call the bike race, so I got into sport announcing as well.” He didn’t know it at the time, but Chugg was already honing his sales technique, studying the form guide and now he had a taste for the spotlight. “I’ve never been far from a microphone. I always
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Chuggi is always a delight to work with, one of the real characters in our business. Artists love him as he is very sociable and likes a glass of wine, occasionally.”
“One, two; one, two.” Chuggi’s early broadcasting career
Glen Dhu Primary Aussie Rules Penant 1958 (Chugg middle row, far right)
Rod McSween, ITB
wanted to be a DJ, but I was fucking hopeless,” he laughs. Indeed, the title of his book comes from his now familiar rant that he unleashes over the PA system at unruly concert-goers. World War II had a direct influence on Chugg’s career path. Though he was born in 1947, the deployment of Allied soldiers in the region would give Chugg a taste for travel and adventure, and an ear for music from ‘over there’. Chugg’s father served with American troops in the Samoan Islands. His grandmother used to bake fruitcakes – “of course, the Yanks can’t make a fruitcake” – and send them to the servicemen. The care packages continued after the war, while gifts would come the other way. Chugg’s family would receive music: “The latest Benny Goodman and Woody Hermans and Fats Dominos and Oklahoma and all those great Broadway shows.” Chugg’s Aunt Barbara had a remarkable collection of Sun Records catalogue, from Elvis to Jerry Lee Lewis. “I grew up listening to all this amazing music.” The youngster began running dances in church halls and around Launceston, and then hosting shows up the north-west coast. He would walk between Launceston, Devonport and Hobart to catch the hottest bands. “Everyone in my family was horrified, because hardly any of them had been to Hobart, just 100 miles away.” The teen would save up his cash and fly to Melbourne for a weekend. “Once, in the mid-60s, The Who
A promoter is born - Chugg 1947
Golden Years in the Apple Isle
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March 2014 IQ Magazine
Michael Gudinski, Frank Sinatra, Tony Cochrane and Chuggi
Chuggi’s 50th
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Chuggi is a class act – a real music lover and someone who is always available to help!”
Rob Markus, William Morris Entertainment were at Festival Hall on Friday, and the Rolling Stones at the Palais on Sunday night. I’d go to the shows, hang out with all the Mods and go to all the discos.” On one of his early visits to Melbourne, Chugg met a young, enterprising man who was connected with the local music scene. His name was Michael Gudinski, and they would go on to make some history together.
The Gudinski-Chugg Legend Gudinski was working with Michael Browning at Consolidated Rock Agency (ConRock). “Here was this bloke from Tasmania, who was older than me, who was managing a band part-time,” recalls Gudinski. “We started to get a bit of work, we liked him and we gave him a full-time job in the office.” ConRock shut down in 1973, and Chugg went on to launch the Sunrise agency in Sydney alongside Roger Davies. Sunrise
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grew wings when it amalgamated with Phillip Jacobsen’s Let It Be agency, which had on its books Daddy Cool and Spectrum, two of the country’s big acts. Three years later, Davies headed off to the US, where he embarked on a glittering career. The very first act he took on was Olivia Newton-John, who at the time was terrified of performing live. He helped turned her into a massive star, and he then went on to guide the likes of Tina Turner, Pink and Sade to global fame. Chugg and Jacobsen joined Gudinski’s Premier Artists in 1975, where Chugg managed acts and worked as a freelance tour co-ordinator with British trailblazer Paul Dainty, whose handle on the business made him the leading promoter Down Under in the 1970s. In 1978, the Harbour Agency came into being. From 1977-80, Chugg spent a lot of time overseas with his management acts, Kevin Borich and Richard Clapton. In 1978, Borich took him to the Lyceum in London to see a new wave band, making some serious ripples. That band was The Police. Returning to Australia, Chugg suggested to Dainty that they tour British new wave acts including The Police, The Clash, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker & The Rumour and Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Dainty didn’t buy it. And so The Frontier Touring Company was created, with Chugg and Gudinski among the directors. Gudinski was thinking of the
March 2014 IQ Magazine
Chuggi’s 50th Business partners: Matthew Lazarus-Hall and Chuggi
Testimonials One story I heard about Chuggi was when he promoted Bon Jovi. He was having drinks with the band and, being a little worse for wear, his false teeth fell into Jon Bon Jovi’s drink. Chuggi leant over, removed the false teeth from Jon Bon Jovi’s drink and put them back in his mouth. This story can only be about Chuggi. You have to love the guy. Barry Dickins, International Talent Booking What Michael Chugg has contributed to the Australian music industry is unmeasurable. The time that he has given to a countless number of people over the years is a true reflection of the person that he is. We are all fortunate to have experienced a Chuggi in our lifetime. Congratulations on 50 great years. Love you Chuggi. Tony Grace Guarrera, The Harbour Agency
We love Michael Chugg. He is an “old school” Aussie promoter with huge balls. In 2006 he stood up and took a risk, putting Mr Williams into stadiums when no one else “down under” had the courage……he was proved spectacularly right! David Enthoven, Tim Clark and Josie Cliff, IE Music So…I’m in Wellington, New Zealand. Robbie Williams has just sold-out three stadium shows and all is well with the world. Chugg has cleaned-up health-wise and no doubt financially – no more late nights, cigarettes or alcohol: yeah right! Pleasant morning spent strolling around, when I bump into Chugg, fully tracksuited following a jog, puffing away in a corner. What a man! Ian Huffam, X-ray Touring Molly Meldrum tries to stop a party thrown by Chuggi in the ladies toilets after the ARIA Awards in 1983
big-picture, and looking also to license the bands’ music for his music publishing company. “Gudinski had just got back to London, he had his big leather briefcase which he used to carry in those days, he had every fucking publishing contract for everyone of those fucking bands,” recalls Chugg. Their first tours were with Squeeze and The Police. Gudinski says, “We were the young guys on the street. We went after a genre of music that a lot of other people didn’t understand. We were prepared to do a lot of new acts. And it started to snowball quickly.” The trio built Frontier Touring to be the biggest concert promotion company in Australia. As its GM, Chugg organised and promoted tours by The Police, Frank Sinatra (with Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli), R.E.M., Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Billy Joel, Madonna, Sting, Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss, Pearl Jam, Tom Jones and The Cure. And then, after some coaxing from his close friend, the late rock great Billy Thorpe, Chugg left Frontier and founded Michael Chugg Entertainment in 2000.
Michael Chugg is a legend. There is nothing more to say. But I will go on to say that he is also a thoroughly nice legend, good company, a great promoter and a very smart man who has surrounded himself with a brilliant team. He inspires us all! Emma Banks, Creative Artists Agency UK
Taught by the Best Australia’s elite concert promoters are a special breed. They’re high-rolling gamblers who’ve evolved in isolation, the product of the ‘tyranny of distance.’ To play the game here, the big guns spend a big chunk of their life living out of a suitcase, jetlagged, speaking to northern contacts at silly hours. And then there’s the risk: the giant cost of pulling acts from North America and Europe to the other side of the world. The likes of Michael Coppel and Dainty are the quietly confident types. And in the other corner, you have the tough-talking alphas such as Michael Gudinski and AJ Maddah. Whilst Chugg falls into the latter category, he’s been trained in both camps. Paul Dainty played a key role in Chugg’s development as a promoter.
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Chuggi receives his freedom of the city accolade from the Mayor of Los Angeles
Chuggi’s 50th
“Dainty had the contacts, was English and he became the biggest promoter here. Back in those days, the bands didn’t take 80-90% of the net, they just got paid,” says Chugg. “There was a lot of money to be made, and Paul made a lot of money. He taught me everything – that the acts come first: look after the acts; treat them properly. That’s helped me throughout my life. That’s why we have so many clients who’ve been with us since they virtually first came to the country. It was a magical time. We used to have competitions on the road to see who could spend the most on room service.” Chugg’s relationship with Dainty all came unstuck in a Christchurch restaurant, the precise moment when a bottle of red wine sailed toward Chugg and “nearly took my head off”. Dainty declined to give his version of events for this article. “The biggest transition in Frontier was when we set-up with Chuggi. It worked really well,” Gudinski notes. “Chuggi had started to go overseas a little bit, and he really wanted to spend a bit of time doing that, whereas I’d done nearly all of the overseas travelling and the contacts and work. Chugg would be the king of the road, running all the tours.” Chugg was “the king of Sydney,” notes Gudinski, and “because I lived
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Chuggi has dealt successfully with all kinds of characters, even animals, in his professional career some of which were probably donkeys too! I can vouch for the fact that he is not only very convincing, but that he also is capable of teaching French donkeys a new way to express themselves, because when Chuggi visited me on my farm in the South of France he immediately took over as ‘head donkey’ of my little group and now they bray with an Australian accent! Ossy Hoppe, Wizard Promotions Konzertagentur I don’t know Chuggi that well as he is of a different, older generation. But I see him as the prototype of the promoter that is passionate and whose life is his job – he’s had great success in bringing artists to Australia and cracking them big there. Also, Chuggi’s sense of humour is known worldwide. Herman Schueremans, Live Nation Belgium Chugg is definitely not American… neither shy nor silent, but always very present with loud and heavy Aussie-ly funny comments. Chugg is our super Croco’ Dundee Hero. Francois Moreillon, SwissAmp
March 2014 IQ Magazine
Chuggi with his partner Maam on her 40th birthday
Chuggi’s 50th
in Melbourne, it gave us a two-pronged attack.” These days, Chugg and Gudinski get along fine. Indeed, Gudinski attended Chugg’s 60th birthday party in Phuket, Thailand in 2007, and Chugg returned the favour when his former business partner hit the milestone in 2012. “We talk a lot,” Chugg says. “I don’t quite trust him and he doesn’t quite trust me either. But we have a good relationship.”
Expansion Overseas
I think the only reason Chugg comes to the ILMC is because it coincides with the Six Nations [rugby tournament]. Most years my memories of the ILMC invariably include sitting next to him in Bertie’s Bar shouting at the telly. We share a certain kinship as I am Welsh, so we can gang up together and hate the English. Looking forward to seeing him for England v Wales. Andrew Leighton-Pope, Leighton-Pope Organisation I’m honoured that Chuggi considers me a friend. I have been heckled, berated, and embraced by him. He’s one of the most complicated people I know. A bundle of contradictions. Hard as nails and rambunctious, but, in truth, a very warm and shy man with a grand smile. He loves music and musicians more than anyone I know, but he loves his family and Australia most of all. Chuggi, you’re a star mate. Larry LeBlanc, CelebrityAccess
The Chugg Entertainment Christmas party 2013
Laneway’s expansion into Singapore represented Chuggi putting his money where his mouth was. For years, he’s been singing the praises of Asia as a sleeping giant – one that is ready to be woken. Future Music Festival, now part of Gudinski’s empire, now has a leg in Malaysia, and another Mushroom affiliate, Artist Voice, has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The thing you often hear about Michael from those who know him is that he is fiercely loyal. In an industry that’s not always famous for this, it’s refreshing to see one of its leaders showing these sorts of values. Michael’s impact on the Australian music scene cannot be underestimated. He continues to promote home-grown talent, creates countless jobs in our industry and his commitment provides constancy for live music venues across Australia. Michael’s impact on the industry can’t be underestimated, either in terms of the massive contribution he makes and continues to make to promoting home-grown talent, or the economic impact of his work. It would be fascinating to understand the number of jobs created through Chuggi’s work over so many years. And would we have the number and quality of arena’s we have in Australia if the ‘big four’ (Chuggi, Paul Dainty, Michael Coppel, Michael Gudinski), hadn’t committed themselves to the cause over so many years?! Harley Evans, Moshtix
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March 2014 IQ Magazine
Chuggi’s 50th Chuggi and Sting
I have run the Palais Theatre in Melbourne for the past seven years and Michael is one of our key hirers. I have also worked with Michael in my life before the Palais when I was tour managing and executive directing tours and events. A great testament to Michael is that when I talk to my staff about which organisations they like dealing with, Chugg Entertainment is always given as an example. This reflects the combination of attributes of Michael that I respect and that have also permeated his staff – passion, enthusiasm, focusing on the best result, fairness in relationships and respect for individuals in all roles. Michael’s support of developing artists is outstanding, as recently seen when I sent a request to all promoters to offer some support to a music development scholarship the Palais Theatre was developing. First to reply and ring to say what a great idea and offer support – Michael Chugg. Also, when we introduced fan-to-fan ticket resale to help reduce fraudulent ticket resale, Chugg Entertainment was the first to allow us to run this system. Surprising when you think about it, that under the loud shirts and language peppered with four-letter words, there is a man of great vision and humanity. Finally, I must acknowledge my bias toward Michael as we both passionately follow cycling and the Sydney Australian Football team, but hey, that means he is a good sport too! Neil Croker, Palais Theatre – Melbourne
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Chuggi with Ossy Hoppe and his donkeys
“Asia is definitely the growth area, there’s no doubt about it,” says Chugg. “Australian bands are starting to go up there now. Korean pop acts can go pretty much anywhere in the world and sell-out arenas. Every week there’s a Thai band selling out arenas somewhere in the world. But it’s still got a long way to go.” Fueled by that belief, Chugg saw an opportunity to gather the Austral-Asian music business for an annual powwow, with the One Movement showcase and industry event in Perth. The event buckled after its second year in 2010, when a parliamentary committee was established to investigate whether the millions tipped into the event had delivered “value for money to the Western Australian taxpayer.” Chugg has had a hand in numerous festivals over the years. Some infamous, like the loss-making, three-city, 1995 Alternative Nation, Chugg, Gudinski and Coppel’s joint attempt at blowing-away the Big Day Out. Chugg has been involved in the Bluesfest and the country-music-angled CMC Rocks events, but none of his festivals has done what Laneway has achieved. Laneway began life without Chugg’s involvement,
March 2014 IQ Magazine
L-R Matthew Lazarus-Hall, Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton, Chugg, Gary van Egmond & Neil Warnock
Chuggi’s 50th
“
It’s never been dull working with Michael. We have elements of yin and yang. People said we wouldn’t last six months, but it’s been almost ten years. I wouldn’t say we’re the odd couple, but we complement each other. He’s a great teacher and a great mentor. The one thing that sets Michael apart is his passion and enthusiasm for music and artists. It’s the stuff that gets him up every morning. He’s been doing it a long time, he’s still really passionate about it, and he loves the people that come with it. He’s proud of what he’s done, and proud of the changes in Australian music. You can’t beat his passion and energy.”
Matthew Lazarus-Hall, Chugg Entertainment in a Melbourne laneway in 2004. Chugg entered, and Laneway grew into a national touring event, focusing on cutting-edge bands. It then added a New Zealand connection, an event in Singapore, and in 2013, Laneway opened in Detroit, Michigan – understood to be the first time an Australian festival brand has entered the US. “Chugg has taught me a lot,” says Lunatic Entertainment chief and Laneway founder, Danny Rogers. “But one thing I learned that I’ll have with me for life is that, even in the eye of a storm, you need to keep your personality. Everything works itself out.”
Onwards, Upwards If you bump into Chugg at a conference nowadays, there’s a strong chance he’ll press a CD into your hand. His record and artist management activities, through Chugg Music, are showing some early promise. One of Chugg’s signings, Sheppard, went platinum and grabbed a 2013 ARIA Award nomination in the Best Independent Release category for Let Me Down Easy. Chugg’s international relationships will come into play on some releases, whilst others will be dropped
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Me and Chuggi are always stirring each other. He’s been my business partner and he’s still my mate. Have we had rows? All the time. We didn’t speak to each other for three months last year. They always sort themselves out. Chuggi is the sort of guy who turns up at your birthday party. There’s only so many people you call a friend, and I call Michael a real friend. He’s headstrong and will leap into things others would think twice about. He only went out on his own a bit more than ten years ago. That’s a big step to take in your life in your 50s. Congrats Michael. I was trying to figure out how long I’ve been in the business. It’s between 49 and 51 years. I’m an actual rock ‘n’ roller. If you fucking remember; you weren’t there. It’s been a pleasure knowing you, Michael. Now give up the smokes. It’s time. Peter Noble, Bluesfest I’ve known Michael forever and ever. People constantly look for mad drunken stories, but I’ve decided to go a completely different way. This guy knows how to promote shows and sell tickets. He is a dear and loyal friend and a pleasure to have in my life. Carl Leighton-Pope, The Leighton-Pope Organisation My most memorable moment together with Sir Chugg was during the respected Helpmann Awards ceremony (2009) where, as luck would have it, we had won the award for Best Special Event for Sound Relief. After the award presentation, we were ushered backstage for a group photo where we found ourselves standing next to the one and only Cate Blanchett (whom, at the time, was also basking in the glory of her depiction of Bob Dylan in the film I’m Not There). With Michael having toured Bob Dylan previously, he just couldn’t help himself and to my star-struck horror, he turned to Cate and without hesitation declared in his own inimitable style, “You fuckin’ do Dylan better than he does!” Congratulations boss... thank you for sharing your work, your wisdom, your life and friendship for part of those 50 glorious years. We love you and look forward to the next 50! Joe Segreto, IMC Australia
March 2014 IQ Magazine
Chuggi’s 50th
independent into various territories. The Griswolds have signed with Windup Records in NYC and their debut album is currently being recorded in L.A. Chugg Music’s label Chugg Records will be launched in the United States in February. The Lime Cordiale EP Falling up the Stairs will be the first release. All three acts will tour north America February-April. The Chugg of 2014 is tighter on the finances than the model of years past. “We’ve taken a distinct stance this year; we won’t get into any bidding wars. I don’t want to do Beyoncé and have to do 95% out of it to break even. I’d rather stick with my clients and break some bands. That’s what we’re doing.” For a guy with such a meaty vocabulary and a hard-earned reputation for partying, Chugg has a surprisingly long track record for backing fundraising activities. He co-promoted the Sydney leg of the 2009 Sound Relief concerts, which raised more than AUD$8million (€5.2m) for bushfire and flood victims. He was also closely involved in the entertainment activities for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In addition, he organised the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfire Appeal; he was the Australian co-ordinator for Bob Geldof’s Live Aid in 1985; co-ordinator of the Newcastle Earthquake Appeal; and played his part in the Live Earth (2007) and 2005 Wave Aid (2005) concerts, which raised more than AUD$2.3m (€1.5m) to benefit those affected by the Indian Ocean tsumani. Chugg
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In 1971, I purchased three bands from Chuggi (two showed up) to play in my father’s picture theatre, using someone else’s money (I was not yet 17 but had done my research). The gig tanked and ticket sales did not ‘reach expectations’. The rider stated that each band needed to do two sets, so we played dumb and said the 2nd set was an hour away in a neighbouring town (with a better vibe). Apparently, an admin error on a Saturday (thank goodness there were no mobile phones). The bands were pissed off until we produced ‘the vibe’. Result: I didn’t have to work for a year! Don Elford, AEG Ogden Agent Rod McSween with Chuggi and Pearl Jam
Chuggi and Robbie Williams
Chuggi and I go back to before electricity was invented and in all that time he hasn’t changed a bit. He uses the word ‘fuck’ in one sentence more than its used in the entire Wolf of Wall Street movie. He is noisy, wild, cantankerous, the oldest teenager I know and very often a nightmare to deal with! But somehow, we all love him – because he lives and sweats the business with 100% persistence and passion. Not only have I seen Chuggi throw people out of gigs, I have seen him throw people into them as well. He deserves special recognition for always being the first to put his hand up for charity causes in Australia. I really respect him for that and we will all never forget Wave Aid and Sound Relief. He really does live by the statement – it’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years that count. Congratulations Chuggi on the 50 years and the great honour today. I hope you all have a lot of fun and that you are wearing the best black T-shirt you can find. Denis Handlin, Sony Music Entertainment Australia & New Zealand
March 2014 IQ Magazine
Chuggi and Gwen Stefani
Chuggi’s 50th
Rob D’Orazio, Ticketmaster Australia & New Zealand was also coordinator of the Crowded House Farewell concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1996, which raised more than AUD$500,000 (€325,000) for the Sydney Children’s Hospital. In recognition of his hard work, Chuggi was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1998 for his charity work and for services to the music business. Few folks with such a title can get away with the use of profanity as Chugg does. In an onstage grilling at the 2011 Bigsound conference, Chugg managed to drop the ‘F’ word nearly 40 times during his captivating and hilarious hour-long session. In the same session, he admitted that he had a streak of shyness – an insight that had the audience collectively gobsmacked. Chugg’s passion for music is something he wears openly. Sometimes it’s passion beyond reason. In years gone by, the music man has gone with his gut rather than his brain on ventures where prudence ought to have ruled. Stuart Coupe’s essential read on the history of Australia’s concert promoters devotes a chapter to Chugg and his exploits – and some of his financial disasters. Alternative Nation – or “Mudstock” as Chuggi describes it – comes in for some column inches. “Gudinski and Jacobsen would come in and tell me that I had to control Chuggi,” Coppel says in the book. “When I asked them why it was my job, they simply said, ‘because we can’t do it’.” Chugg admits he’s cooled-down considerably as his years have advanced. “I used to yell a lot in those days, it seemed to get a lot done. I do it very, very rarely now. You learn over the years how to get things done. I’ve always had
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So many ‘Chuggisms’ to choose from, but one that still makes me laugh to this day happened at an early ILMC meeting when he was co-chairing a session with Claudio Trotta. The topic was split between looking back into the past to see how live music had developed, and peering into the future to see where it might be heading. After a masterfully crafted opening, in which our heroes gradually appeared against a primordial dawn sky (complete with a Charlton Hestonesque, voice-of-God commentary by Gary Smith), the idea was that the second half of the session would begin with the pair of them peering into a crystal ball while dry ice trickled gently around it. The control for the dry ice was a large, appealingly red button that had been placed on the mixing desk – and which was just begging to be pressed. And that is exactly what one of our techs did when – on seeing the button for the first time around 10 minutes into the session – thought he’d find out what it was for by pressing it. Hard. The result was a huge explosion of smoke, which instantly engulfed the whole stage area in something like a nuclear mushroom cloud – completely obscuring our chairmen from view. The assembled members cracked up laughing – and all that could be heard amid the chaos was Chuggi’s Aussie drawl: “Christ, Claudio,” he said, “I think your arse is on fire!” Martin Hopewell, ILMC Chuggi with Sheppard – Sonic Bang, Thailand
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Chuggi has helped so many people get involved and ultimately make careers out of the music business. He has given many an opportunity. He helped me. Most are still involved today. Thanks mate.”
March 2014 IQ Magazine
One of the supposed rules we learn in business on the way up is that knowledge is power, and a lot of people learn this and keep the knowledge to themselves to establish their power. Not Chugg. His greatest attribute is passing on knowledge and information, and introducing people to each other to expand their nets and create an overall better business. That’s why I love him. In the 30 years I’ve known him, working in and around his orbit, he has never been overtly angry in defeat. An enormous attribute. Long may he reign. Amanda Pelman, Caddman Enterprises Michael Chugg’s contribution to the Australian live music industry over the last 50 years is impressive. His commitment to the local scene has been unwavering in an often fickle environment and he has been a constant force on the rollercoaster ride that is contemporary music. His support of the industry and Live Performance Australia, the peak industry body, is gratefully acknowledged. We wish him and his wonderful team all the very best for the future. Evelyn Richardson, Live Performance Australia Michael, you were the first person in the Music Business in Sydney to give me the time of day when I was a young artist manager from Tasmania who knew nothing and no one back in 1978. We’ve been great mates ever since and great business partners for the last ten years. Aussie music wouldn’t have been the same without your passion, belief and commitment. 50 Years and you’re still leading the way!! Love ya. Rob Potts, Entertainment Edge
Chuggi with his family
great teams of people working with me. I love working with females. I figured out a long time ago you get a lot more done by being nice.” These days, Chugg tries to manage himself carefully. “I try to not have too many big nights when I’m on the road. I try to not drink every night. I try and do conference calls early – 9am or 10-11pm at night.” Chuggi doesn’t need to be everywhere at once. His company’s MD Matthew Lazarus-Hall has been representing Chugg’s interest in LA since last August, and will stay there until June. Colleague Susan Heymann, GM of touring, lived in New York for a few months in 2012, generating contacts and relationships “that have been amazing and are starting to pay-off now,” Chugg says. And he hasn’t ruled out establishing a full-time presence stateside. “We are working the world these days. You have to. Live Nation is paying far too much money for their acts, because they need the cash flow to offset their debt. AEG are paying too much to compete with Live Nation. To be independent and still be here, you have to work it,” he observes. Chugg has quite the story. And he’s willing to share. “One thing I‘ve learned, is you get so wrapped up in these tours for three or four months beforehand and at the end there’s this big void. You have to move on quickly. It’s the same with bad events, bad tours. I’ve had people say, ‘Hey! I like your t-shirt.’ To which I respond, ’yeah, it only cost $750,000.’ That’s how you’ve got to take it: take it on the chin and move on.” Strangely, Chugg seems to hang onto those shirts – a constant reminder of his financial failures. “One of the interns was doing a clothes drive for the Philippines. I don’t have many of the winning shirts, but most of the losing ones. It must be a way of whipping yourself, by wearing the t-shirt. It’s my penance.” Ian James, managing director of Mushroom Music Publishing, has the last word. “Michael Chugg is best-in-show in two categories – Larger Than Life and Creative Use of Swearing. Quite often when you get typecast, you tend to have to constantly work on your act until that consumes you and you eventually become a cliché. That will never happen to Chuggi because that public persona has a counterbalance. He is kind to the people he works with, and the acts that he tours or has managed show great loyalty. That is the real test: the human test. He is just a top guy.”
With Larry LeBlanc at Oppikoppi 2013
Chuggi’s 50th
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March 2014 IQ Magazine
Without giving too much away, the teams of people who work hard to run Europe’s biggest indoor venues seem to be looking with confidence at the year ahead, given the responses we received to our latest survey of the continent’s arenas management. A total of 50 arenas participated in this year’s European Arena Report from 16 different territories – or 19 countries if you count England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as separate entities. As usual, we’d like to thank all the venues that took the time to fill out our survey and we hope that the results and trends that we have identified can assist those arenas, and others, with their operations in the months ahead. While we have used a variety of comments from the individuals who completed the surveys on behalf of their venues, individual arena returns remain confidential. But, as you will read in the following pages, we have spoken to key executives around the continent to record their opinions on where the sector is heading… Gordon Masson, Editor
For many people who evaluate the health of the arenas business, the number of people attending events is the key statistic that they point to as the popularity gauge. While there are several factors that can contribute to attendance numbers – most importantly ticket prices – on the face of it, Europe’s arenas enjoyed a decent 2013 when it came to live music events, welcoming more people through their doors than in previous years. As with all of our statistics, some arenas do not complete every question in our survey, leading to some categories having fewer respondents than others. That caveat taken into consideration, total attendance was down on 2013. A total of 45 venues divulged their numbers for 2012 and reported total audience numbers of 29.65million. For 2013, 47 arenas shared their data with us, but only amassed a total of 29.16m visitors across all events, meaning fewer customers visited arenas last year than in 2012, despite more venues disclosing their box office totals. However, when it comes to live music, it was a better story: across 47 venues, concerts attracted 13.85m fans last year – an increase of 9.5% over the 12.65m who attended live music events in 2012. That’s a significant upturn year-on-year and, following last year’s 0.5% growth and 2011’s 2.6% increase, it would appear that consumer appetite for live music is growing. While that might be music to the ears of the continent’s arena show promoters, for the venues themselves, the picture is somewhat less rosy. In 2012, 44 of our participating arenas reported that their non-music events had pulled in a total of 14.8m punters. But that figure dipped 4.5% in 2013 to 14.14m visitors, despite 45 venues replying to that question in our survey. When it comes to possible reasons for that decline – price and venue usage – we’ll get to those later. But while nonmusic suffered, the fact that more big-name acts were on the road in Europe in 2013 certainly seems to have helped boost demand among music fans throughout the continent.
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Across the Atlantic, our good friends at Pollstar estimate that the total size of the North American concert business market reached a record high of $5.1billion (€3.7bn) in 2013, with the top tour globally being that of Bon Jovi who grossed $259.5m (€190m) by selling more that 2.65m tickets. Next in Pollstar’s year-end hit list was Beyoncé, who grossed $188.6m (€138m), and Pink, whose efforts brought in $170.6m (€125m). When it comes to the top performing venues, with more than 2.5m visitors in 2013, 1.7m of which were for live music events, The O2 arena in London easily retained its crown as the most popular venue in the world. Manchester’s Phones 4u Arena (also in the UK) was the second busiest venue with more than 1.8m visitors, while third place was claimed by the Barclays Center in New York, with just under 1m visitors. Indeed, the dominance of European venues was underlined with the fact that six of the top ten global arenas last year were in Europe, which also claims ten of the top 20. Unlike its rivals, however, the numbers buying tickets for the top-selling venue were just the tip of the iceberg, as operators AEG have been hugely successful in making the
Attendance: 2012 v 2013 30
2013
25 Millions
Attendance and Capacity
2012
20 15 10 5 0
Total attendance: all shows
Total attendance: music
Total attendance: non-music
March 2014 IQ Magazine
What are the first and second most
0
Number of responses
25
Total attendance: all shows
Total attendance: music
Total attendance: non-music
What are the first and second most important factors affecting the arena industry currently?
20
Most important
15
Second most important
10
And some are definitely thinking outside the box – literally – when it comes to expansion. Stefan Pichler at the Salzburgarena in Austria explains that the venue launched a new configuration during 2013, which involves, “A new combination between an open air and indoor show.” He adds, “Also with our new hall 10 we can offer more space for events.” While the arena can offer the capacity for 6,000 people, the open-air format gives Salzburgarena room for an audience of up to 15,000. Pichler adds, “The first open air was in July 2013 with approximately 10,000 people for a Xavier Naidoo concert.”
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Ticketing Licen regulatisoing ns
Producti on costs
In Consoli dustry dation
State economof y Competi tion for artist tou rs
Artist es/ ticket pfe rice
Com other vepetition from nues/are nas A lack o f suit headlinaeble rs
0
campus surrounding the area a real entertainment destination for even those not attending shows. “The last 12 months was truly remarkable as we achieved our best ever year,” says The O2 arena’s Stephanie Moses. “This included 195 events in the arena and more than nine million people through the doors of The O2. In 2014, we will also continue to work closely with promoters and artists to ensure that The O2 is their venue of choice when touring the UK.” The growing perception that we’ve seen the worst of the global recession also saw arena owners continue the trend of recent years when it came to investment in their buildings. While average capacity across our participating venues was 13,573 in 2012, that had increased by 3.8% to 14,087 in 2013.
As we have reported in years gone by, ticket pricing, unsurprisingly, has a direct effect on the volume of sales and it appears that, once again, Europe’s promoters are plugged into what fans are prepared to pay to see their favourite artists. In our report a year ago, the average ticket price for music events had fallen marginally (from €43.85 in 2011 to €43.65 in 2012). And prior to that, prices had risen by only 1.2% from 2010 to 2011. Those frugal times appear to be over though, as the average cost for live music tickets across the 42 arenas that disclosed their prices in 2013, was €47.82 – a whopping 9.5% increase on the average price in last year’s survey. Given that the number of punters going to concerts also increased by 9.5%, it could be argued that the concert business across Europe – at arena level, at least – has well and truly emerged from the recession. And when it comes to our business concerns section (see page 67 and chart, above left), that assumption seems to be borne out by the falling number of venues who cite the economy as a worry, looking ahead. But while the concert business appeared to thrive in 2013,
Rolling Stones - The O2 arena, London
IQ Magazine March 2014
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arenas that shared their non-music numbers with IQ (only 39 of our 50 participants) revealed a sizeable 23.6% price increase compared to last year, with punters being asked to stump up an average €38.38 per ticket last year, compared to €31.04 in 2012. While we at IQ are not economic experts, the demand and supply theory seems to hold water here. In our report a year ago, a 15.8% decrease in ticket prices at non-music events in 2012 coincided with a 19.4% increase in the number of people attending those events. In 2013, that near-24% increase in the cost of tickets no doubt contributed in some part to the 4.5% decline in audience numbers. Mind you, doing a very crude calculation based on our respondents’ figures and average prices, that would value their non-music business at about €542.5m gross in 2013, compared to just €459.4m in 2012. So it would appear that, once again, promoters are getting their sums right when it comes to pricing, at least in the short-term. National Arenas Association (NAA) chairman Guy Dunstan notes, “If I look at our non-music events, the top tickets for the likes of Cirque du Soleil were £57 (€69.50), while Strictly Come Dancing were £45 (€55). But family shows were still in the £20s because if you start going north of £25, that starts affecting your position when you’re trying to attract families.” Again, our colleagues at Pollstar tracked the average ticket price across the top 50 worldwide tours and calculated that punters were paying $86.11 (€63.14) to be entertained by the A-listers, while in North America, the average ticket price across the top-selling 100 tours was a more reasonable $69.52 (€51), which still makes them considerably higher than the average cost of tickets across the 42 European arenas who disclosed their average prices to IQ.
Ticket Prices 2012/13 Average ticket price (music) 2013: €47.82 Average ticket price (music) 2012: €43.65
9.5%
Average ticket price (non-music) 2013: €38.38 Average ticket price (non-music) 2012: €31.04
23.6%
Box Office and Sales Outlets One particular trend that we have been tracking at IQ over the past few years is the desire among Europe’s arena owners to have more of a say in ticket distribution. Every year since we launched our arena report, we have seen more and more venues launch in-house box office sales operations – and this year is no different. Of our 50 surveyed arenas, 42 now have in-house box offices, meaning that 84% now fall into that category. The similar statistic in 2012 was 74.5%, while in 2011 it was just 70%. But those efforts to try to drive more ticket sales through the venue’s in-house systems appear to be having mixed results. Our pie charts on page 63 show just how successful those venues that have in-house box offices are in their sales initiatives. While a year ago, 40% of our surveyed venues revealed that they sold more than half of all tickets through their own box offices, that figure dipped this year to about 36%, suggesting that rival ticketing businesses are clawing back some of those sales from the venues. Backing up that theory, those arenas that sold between 26-50% of all tickets inhouse fell from 29% in 2012 to 19% in 2013. And the number of venues that sell 10% or fewer event tickets, unsurprisingly, grew from 14% in 2012 to 28% in 2013. With arenas investing so much time and money over the past few years into developing their box office divisions, it will be interesting to see whether they will now increase marketing spend to support those investments in the year ahead, or whether other ticketing platforms will continue to chip away at the box office model. But it’s not rivals that box offices have to fear, according to Stuart Cain, MD of The Ticket Factory, which includes the box office for the LG Arena. “We’re finding that box offices are still keeping their share of the house in the venue deal, but it’s very much on a use-it-or-lose-it,” explains Cain. “The promoters are basically saying that here is your allocation, but if you can’t sell it in the first hour of going on sale, it is aggressively taken back and given to another ticketing platform.” That situation prompted LG Arena’s in-house set-up to invest more than £300,000 (€365,000) in new software to speed up its sales process – leading to another frustration for Cain. “Now we can’t get enough tickets,” he sighs. “For Michael Bublé we had 4,000 people waiting in a queue but we didn’t have any tickets left to sell them. We asked the promoter for more – or even for Manchester 80 miles up the road, but we couldn’t get any extras.” He adds, “In the UK alone, we reckon there are more than 60 ticketing agents fighting for allocation – there are not enough shows and tickets to sustain that many agents, so it allows promoters to get more aggressive on rebates.”
VIP On the back of the slew of new state-of-the-art venues that have been built over the last decade, existing venues have had to step up their game and many have undertaken multimillionEuro refurbishment programmes in order to compete with their newer rivals. Buildings such as The O2 in London set the bar high when it came to VIP seating, catering and packages, and those moves helped create a trend among European arenas Pink at the O2 Prague
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March 2014 IQ Magazine
76-100%
5% 0-10%
%
28%
51-75%
11-25%
17%
11-25%
17%
26-50%
19%
29%
Proportion of ticket sales via in-house box office 2013
via 2
76-100%
0-10%
9%
14%
Comedy
6.5% 11-25%
17%
51-75% Other
31% 14.7%
Music
Music
41.5%
43.5%
26-50%
29%
Family
13.6%
NAA chairman Dunstan says, “All the arenas are looking at each other when it comes to VIP. The O2 definitely raised the bar and the profile of what you can do with a state-of-theart building. But content plays a part in it too – for instance, this year is looking very encouraging in terms of the calibre of artists on tour and their ability to play more than one night.” He adds, “The likes of Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé and the Eagles are playing multiple nights and that’s when your investments into improving hospitality kick in – those are the kinds of artists that you need when it comes to VIP offers.”
Par
Plans for Expansion
31%
6-50%
Hallenstadion, Zürich
whereby any redevelopment plan worth its salt now includes some sort of VIP initiative. Of our 50 survey participants, 43 currently offer VIP packages, meaning a total of 86% have facilities and services to target corporate clients, as well as well-heeled consumers. Such VIP amenities and the extra revenue they generate are crucial elements of long-term arena business plans, when it comes to recouping their investments, and our survey reveals that even those buildings that already have implemented VIP services are looking to expand on what they can put on sale to their more affluent visitors. With 48 respondents answering our question about plans for VIP expansion, nearly half (23) report that they have plans to add more VIP packages in the future. Wembley Arena is typical of those. The venue’s Gareth Booker says, “We are planning the refurbishment of a number of the public and VIP areas.” And it isn’t just the historic venues that are looking at their VIP business. In the Czech Republic, although it only opened in 2004, the O2 Arena Prague is also beefing up its slate of high-end packages. “This year we plan to extend the VIP area and open a new restaurant on the sky boxes floor. It is an investment of around €750,000,” discloses the venue’s Stanislava Doubravová. “The purpose is to create a comfortable environment and offer a higher quality of services to our VIP clients.”
Proportion of ticket sales via in-house box office 2012
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It isn’t just VIP services that venues are examining. As the average capacities of European arenas creep ever upwards, it’s obvious that venue management are reconfiguring their buildings to create additional seating – and standing – areas, while backstage areas and dressing rooms are also being given the luxury treatment. Studying IQ’s report data over the past couple of years reveals that average capacity has steadily risen. Last year, we tracked a 1.3% increase in average capacity among our surveyed venues – a similar rise to that recorded from 20112012. This year’s report,76-100% however, revealed a 3.6% increase 5% that venue management are in average capacity, suggesting 0-10% accelerating expansion plans throughout the continent. 28% Louise Lonie at the GE Oil & Gas Arena in Aberdeen comments, “In Scotland, and the UK as a whole, arenas are 51-75% definitely31% having to up their game in terms of facilities and customer experience. This is largely due to the introduction of new purpose-built arenas and renovations coming on stream in the last year. We all have to remain very competitive. [Artist] management and the acts themselves have a much better choice out there when making decisions on tour dates and venue selection.” In Central Europe, Martina Kuso at the Wiener 11-25% Stadthalle in Austria observes, “Entertainment formats are in a permanent 17% 26-50% changing process, this requires flexibility and openness from 19% the leading arenas. We have to avoid high risks, but be open Proportion of same ticket sales enough to try new formats at the time. We via notice also a closer cooperation with the festivals – they work as a teaser for in-house box office 2013
Sport
23.7%
Venue Usage IQ Magazine March 2014 2012 Comedy
5.5%
63 Comedy
6.5%
11-25% 26-50%
29%
26-50%
17%
19%
Proportion of ticket sales via in-house box office 2013
Proportion of ticket sales via in-house box office 2012 76-100%
5% 0-10%
28%
51-75%
Comedy
31%
5.5%
Other
11-25%
12.7%
17%
Music 11-25%
0%
Family
%
13.8%
43.5% 17%
26-50%
19%
a
Proportion of ticket sales via in-house box office 2013 Sport
24.5%
Venue Usage 2013
Comedy
6.5%
Other
14.7% Music
Music
41.5%
43.5% Family
13.6% Sport
23.7%
Venue Usage 2012
the individual concerts after the festival.” In neighbouring Germany, Arena Leipzig has plans to increase the size of the venue’s box office, while Joe Waldron at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield reveals a strategy to “Launch a new venue within a venue, with a capacity of about 4,000.” Indeed, from simple upgrades such as Odyssey Arena’s
new drape system and Hallenstadion Zurich’s new smoking Comedy lounges, to more substantial construction projects, Europe’s 6.5% tradesmen and contractors are being kept as busy as ever by the arenas sector. For instance, while Marcia Titley at Telenor Arena in Norway describes work to “Create a new entrance way to the arena and put in new exterior lighting,” across the Other North Sea in Scotland, bigger plans are afoot, despite the 14.7% opening of the €150m SSE Hydro in Glasgow last September. Music “Aberdeen City Council will proceed with plans 41.5% for a new, larger Aberdeen Exhibition Centre together with commercial development partner Henry Boot Developments,” reports GE Family Oil & Gas Arena’s Lonie. “The plan is to move forward on a 13.6%for the existing AECC, to be built at a site near replacement Aberdeen International Airport. This will enable AECC to take a quantum leap forward as a world-class centre for business Sport events and entertainment, and to increasingly contribute to the 23.7% Venue Usage region’s economy going forward, as a key element of Aberdeen City’s infrastructure.” Those2012 plans include a 15,000 squaremetre, multi-purpose arena, due for completion in 2017. Dan Roberts at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff takes this viewpoint: “I think that arenas will need to maintain a larger capacity for shows and improved conference and exhibition facilities in order to remain competitive.” As a result, he adds, “We are looking at ways in which we can increase our capacity, and improve the conference and exhibition services we offer.” Meanwhile, iconic French venue, the Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy has extensive plans. “We are planning 18 months of refurbishment in two [projects], from March to October 2014 and from December 2014 to October 2015,” says Bercy’s Raphaelle Plasse. “Thanks to this refurbishment we will increase the number of VIPs and hospitality access. Also, we will increase the quality of services and accessories for productions and spectators.”
Venue Usage Last year’s European Arena Report highlighted the effect that major sporting events can have on the business passing through the continent’s biggest indoor venues. With the London Olympics and UEFA’s Euro championship taking place in Poland and Ukraine, it appeared that a number of A-list artists had decided to skip touring Europe during 2012.
Hartwall Areena, Helsinki
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71%
But while expectations were that the calendar would be awash with arena tours in 2013, in actual fact, the proportion of music among our survey respondents was only slightly up compared to 12 months previously. Nonetheless, music still dominated the event schedules in the arena business. In 2013, music events accounted for 43.5% of all arena shows – an increase of 2% on 2012. As many arenas are home to local sports franchises, such as ice hockey and basketball, it’s no surprise that sports events were the next most booked events and had nudged about 0.8% higher to 24.5% of arena dates. Also, marginally up on the year before in terms of venue usage, were family events at 13.8% of show days, while comedy shows dropped about 1% to 5.5% of all bookings, and other dates such as conferences and exhibitions were 2% down on 2012 to claim a 12.7% share of the arena calendar. Overall, those statistics reveal a second consecutive year of decline for comedy across Europe. In 2011, comedy shows claimed 9.4% of venue usage. That dropped to 6.5% in 2012 and 5.5% in 2013. However, live music is once again stamping its authority as top dog in the value chain, having grown from 35.3% of show dates in 2011 to 43.5% in the past year – giving music promoters more leverage when it comes to negotiating hold dates for touring acts. Commenting on the comedy numbers, Dunstan states that 2013 was a tough year, but the coming 12 months and 2015 are looking healthier. “The kind of comedians that can do multiple arena nights were not on tour last year – people like Michael McIntyre, Peter Kay and Lee Evans. There are only a few acts that can do multiples but our diaries suggest they are going to be back on the road this year and next, which is good news because comedy has been a great growth area for the arena business.”
Business Concerns Although the majority of our annual European Arena Report results have to rely, by default, on historic figures, such as the previous 12 months’ ticket prices and attendance numbers, the data provided to us by participating arenas helps us to identify trends and flag up investment programmes that other venues may wish to consider. Looking to the future, we also ask Europe’s arena community, on an annual basis, to share their opinions about the most significant factors that they believe are affecting their business in the current environment. And the good news from this year’s survey is that among management there is growing confidence that Europe is emerging from its economic recession. In our 2012 report, the state of the economy was by far the biggest concern of venue management, and last year, the financial landscape was only beaten by artist fees/ticket prices as the element that was worrying arena operators most. But, our 2014 report relegates the state of the economy much further down the list of factors affecting the arena sector and, coupling that confidence with an apparent acceleration of investment programmes, the message from the arena industry appears to be that live entertainment is shaking off the shackles of financial gloom through a belief that consumer spending power is on the rise. Ian Congdon, Echo Arena Liverpool, voices that confidence. “Hopefully, as the economy picks up, customers
will have more disposable cash to attend more shows, so the demand will increase for more shows,” he says. “The venue is planning a concourse refresh which will include signage changes, painting and new lighting installed. There will also be refurbishments on all of our VIP boxes and there are plans to build a VIP bar in the Arena Concourse.” Ingo Schäfer at the Rittal Arena reports, “The economy in Germany is stable and the demand for good events and entertainment will continue.” In Ireland, meanwhile, The O2 Dublin’s John Johnston states, “The arena sector will continue to grow as the numbers attending live events increase.” And he notes that, “More artists [are] playing live in an effort to increase their fan-base, as well as their income, to stave off the drop of [revenues] from retail sales due to music streaming services.” Of course, the introduction of new buildings increases competition, but for some existing venues, it also means the end of the line for hosting live music. Julie McKinnon at the SECC in Scotland, says, “The SSE Hydro opened in September and we will be doing very little concerts or live events in the SECC from now on.” Predictably, artist fees/ticket prices remains the number one concern among our survey respondents. Competition from other venues is now the next biggest factor identified by arena executives, which perhaps points to another reason that so many buildings are looking to upgrade their existing facilities. And the third most mentioned factor currently affecting the arena sector is a lack of suitable headliners, suggesting that arena operators are concerned that supply of talent could fall short of their wish lists. Gareth Booker at Wembley Arena observes, “As a select number of venues take the majority of the headline music product, the others will have to diversify and look at other areas to fill the diary.” And when it comes to competition, it’s not just other arenas that executives are setting their sights on going forward. Jorge Vinha da Silva of the MEO Arena in Portugal comments, “I believe it will be important to compare open-air festivals and arenas activity once they are competing for the same market and audiences from May to September.” That’s a point that Dunstan picks up on. “There’s a need to maximise revenue opportunities, but that’s why lots of venues are working to improve facilities to make sure customers keep coming,” he says. “There’s a real focus on customer care now, whereas 15 years ago, it was more about just putting
Malmö Arena, Sweden
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MEO Arena, Lisbon
on big-name acts to get people through the doors. But we are competing with sports and theatre for customers, so improving the customer experience is key.”
Staffing Sometimes in surveys, unexpected results can be recorded and this year’s arena report delivered some confusing data regarding employment in the arena sector. In years gone by, survey participants had established that arenas were not only improving services and infrastructure, but that they also were investing in human resources by taking on more full-time staff. That, we concluded last year, made the arena business one of the safest career choices in Europe. However, this year’s respondents have thrown a spanner in the works. While our 51 survey participants in 2013’s report had 6,118 staff, 1,979 of whom were full-time, this year’s gang of 50 reported vastly different numbers. Of their total 10,787 workers, 2,773 were employed full-time. That means that while on the face of things it appears thousands more people have been hired by arenas over the past year, it should be remembered that last year’s participating venues are not exactly the same as those which responded to this year’s survey. Therefore, the statistic that full-time arena staff during 2012 made up 32.3% of all arena employees, while last year that ratio had fallen to 25.7%, should be read with caution. Rest assured, next year we will ask participants to provide us with year-on-year staffing data to avoid such anomalies. Thankfully, NAA chairman Dunstan suggests a reason for the skewed statistics. “One of the things that we went through at NEC Group 18 months ago was we outsourced security, cleaning and facilities management,” he tells IQ. “When I looked at our staffing levels this past year, those people are not on our books any more, although they still work in our arenas, but are being paid by someone else. A lot of arenas have outsourced, so maybe they are now starting to count those outsourced jobs as full- and part-time employees, which would account for the increase in staffing numbers.”
Conclusion After a big sporting year in 2012, with both the Olympic Games and the UEFA Euro Championships diverting consumer attention away from other forms of live entertainment, European arenas got back on track in 2013. Live music was the main beneficiary and despite threats in previous years that comedy and family shows were stealing diary dates, concert promoters strengthened their dominance on venue usage with a 2% increase on show bookings, to claim a 43% share of
arena sector business. Although the organisers of non-music events appeared to increase their revenues, that was at the expense of footfall and for the sustainability of family shows and the likes, it will be interesting to watch ticket prices in the non-music sector in the months ahead. Prices for concert tickets at arenas, meanwhile, increased by close to 10% and while the rules of economics usually would suggest the effect being a fall in audience numbers, those too were up by close to 10% compared to 2012. That strong performance in the live music sector not only suggests that demand for arena shows is healthy, but that venue management confidence over improving economic conditions is being confirmed by consumer behaviour. Dunstan says, “In the last six months we’ve seen strong sales and NAA members appear more confident that people are buying tickets – there’s a positive feeling out there. Certainly from the perspective of the NEC Group arenas, we are slightly ahead of where we were last year in terms of live music, so we’re predicting further growth this year.” Paul Tappenden at Metro Radio Arena sums up the returning confidence: “I expect small, steady growth as we come out of the current prolonged recession.” Despite promising growth numbers, complacency in the arena business doesn’t seem to exist and with even the most modern buildings looking at ways to increase capacity, adding to their VIP experience packages and investing in the latest equipment and infrastructure to keep visitors happy, the entire European arenas market has rarely been more vibrant. Additional reporting by Eugenia Durante
PARTICIPATING ARENAS Ahoy Rotterdam (NL), Alexandra Palace (UK), Arena Leipzig (DE), Arena Riga (LV), Capital FM Arena Nottingham (UK), Earls Court (UK), Echo Arena Liverpool (UK), Edinburgh Corn Exchange (UK), Fondazione Arena di Verona (IT), GE Oil & Gas Arena (UK), Hallenstadion Zürich (CH), HannsMartin-Schleyerhalle (DE), Hartwall Areena (FI), Ippodromo del Galoppo Milano (IT), Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Jahrhunderthalle GmbH (DE), LG Arena (UK), Löfbergs Arena (SE), Lotto Arena (BE), Max-Schmeling-Halle (DE), Malmö Arena (SE), Mediolanum Forum (IT), MEO Arena (PT), Metro Radio Arena (UK), Motorpoint Arena Cardiff (UK), Motorpoint Arena Sheffield (UK), NIA Arena (UK), O2 Arena Praha (CZ), O2 World Berlin (DE), O2 World Hamburg (DE), Odyssey Arena (UK), Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (FR), Phones 4u Arena (UK), Porsche-Arena (DE), RheinEnergieStadion Köln (DE), Rittal Arena (DE), Rockhal (LU), Royal Albert Hall (UK), Salzburgarena (AT), SAP Arena (DE), SECC (UK), Sportpaleis Antwerpen (BE), Telenor Arena (NO), The O2 (UK), The O2 Dublin (IE), The SSE Hydro (UK), TUI Arena Hannover (DE), Velodrom (DE), Wembley Arena (UK), Westfalenhalle 1 Dortmund (DE), Wiener Stadthalle (AT).
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March 2014 IQ Magazine
Agencies
The Big Fish While the balance of power in the music industry has swung very much in favour of the agent, learning from the mistakes of the record business means that not all bookers are looking to take over the world. Not alone, at least. Adam Woods reports…
I
f the tribulations of the music industry in the past 15 years have been a cartoon brawl, an angry dust cloud of arms and legs, it’s increasingly apparent that agents are the ones who reached in, grabbed the all-important talent and walked away whistling. Promoters too have thrived in the boom years that followed the slump in record sales, but today, it’s hard to escape the sense that agents increasingly direct the music business – from sniffing out raw potential at the grass roots to brokering superstar deals at the top. When Midem needed a keynote speaker to pick apart the recorded music industry and offer a road map to safety, they chose an agent, William Morris Endeavor’s global head of music, Marc Geiger, founder of Lollapalooza and ARTISTdirect. And, like an agent does, he peered into the turmoil and pulled out a streaming- and advertising-driven business model he thinks could return $100billion (€74bn) a year – two-and-a-half times the size of the recorded music industry at the turn of the millennium. Given the momentum of the leading booking agencies, you wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they were the ones who found themselves running that business, if and when the time comes. Geiger himself indicates that he would happily discard the record industry CEOs who have let their business dwindle by half, with no clear rescue plan in sight. “I don’t see them trying,” he said from the Midem stage. “I would think that those type of people would be fired.” If they worked for an agency, they probably would. Giants like WME and CAA span Hollywood, sport, music and the literary world, and their appetite for growth is notoriously – and increasingly – rapacious. Already straddling the globe, they continue to expand horizontally and vertically, bulking up in all directions and right across the talent spectrum. In recent years, whilst building its strengths in the allconsuming US EDM market and across the music space (where it can claim to have dominated in the last decade or more), CAA has been busily redefining the image of what an agent can get involved in. It has negotiated everything from sponsorship rights for the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium to European football TV deals, while creating marketing campaigns for Coca-Cola, investing in fashion, retail and mobile apps and
IQ Magazine March 2014
founding an investment bank, Evolution Media Capital. In the agency arms race, meanwhile, WME has made a much-anticipated sports play, bringing American sports and media giant IMG Worldwide into the fold, thereby overtaking CAA in terms of overall scale. In music, it also wields fearsome EDM clout and numbers Rihanna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake among its clients. Tony Goldring, a partner in WME’s music department with a deep international involvement, is perfectly placed to observe both the globalisation of the live business and the increasing intensity of the agent’s role. “There’s just so many opportunities now worldwide,” he says, at the end of a packed January. “In the old days, people would just focus on a few overseas markets, and that would be it. With so many emerging markets, you have really extensive touring internationally nowadays, especially with the number of festivals.” From an agent’s perspective, the skills required to maximise those opportunities have changed too - or at least become more acutely tested in recent years. “You need to be able to put tours together really fast,” comments Goldring. “Things move around so much, it is important that you can execute the plan as quickly as possible.“You also really do have to have a high level of expertise in the market,” he adds. “It’s not just about knowing the one or two big promoters in a market, and the one or two big festivals. You need to have an understanding of the media in each country, the TV and radio, the ticketing and the other agents too, because some of them may end up being promoters that you want to deal with. It’s not just about booking gigs anymore, it really isn’t.” Rob Light, managing director at CAA, puts his own agency well ahead of the trend that locates booking agents squarely at the heart of an artist’s business. “We were the first agency to have an in-house tour marketing department, and the first agency to have a digital marketer,” he says. “That department now has 11 full-time employees. We are always exploring and identifying ways in which we can best service a client.” Debates rage in Hollywood and in the press about which of the two leading agencies wields the most power at any given
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“When I started at this 20 years ago, I was just told where to book the bands and on what days. And now it’s the opposite – the label is asking me what I think is happening.” Tom Windish, The Windish Agency
time. For his part, Light says, “We have never looked at scale for the sake of scale. Size is only a function of identifying great executives who can work well together. And the key qualities that will be important going forward are the same qualities that make for a strong agency today: a passion for music, strategic thinking, teamwork, the ability to identify new trends and be ahead of the curve, and being able to provide opportunities for artists that extend their reach.”
Agency-led A&R
E
ven among US indies, there is a degree of ambition only occasionally seen in today’s record business. Outgrowths into new territories and new sectors are routine occurrences, and there is a sense at all levels that the
agent is the one who picks the talent up first, and the one the artist calls when they want to figure out what to do next. “I guess booking agents are providing more strategy and direction towards developing artists’ careers than they ever have,” says The Windish Agency’s Tom Windish. “Usually I pick up artists maybe a year before they have a label; sometimes up to two years before there’s a big release.” Windish famously found fast-rising New Zealand singer Lorde when she was 16, and picks The xx, Metronomy, Darkside and Lykke Li as fast-rising names to watch in the US this year. He launched his agency 12 years ago from his Chicago apartment and now operates from Chicago, LA and New York, with satellite offices in Toronto, Boston and Oakland. His agency books 13,000 shows a year for 700 artists, but has also branched out into licensing, tour marketing and brand partnerships. “We are leading strategy for a lot of artists, and increasingly, I think artists are going to develop without having a label,” Windish says. “The shows and the festivals will be how the artist develops, and I can see them releasing new material around those appearances. When I started at this 20 years ago, I was just told where to book the bands and on what days. And now it’s the opposite – the label is asking me what I think is happening.” Eric Dimenstein, co-founder of Brooklyn-based indie Ground Control Touring, notes the very same trend. “As the touring has started to play more and more of an important role in an artist’s career, I’ve seen the role of the agent increasing. We’re doing more to build careers, and more and more artists are looking to us for advice.” Dimenstein, whose acts include She & Him, Neutral Milk Hotel and Perfect Pussy, also puts the agent on the scene earlier than the label and, very often, the management. “Back in the day, it was often managers and labels working with them first and suggesting them to us. The tables have turned a bit in that regard,” he says. “We are often instrumental in helping them take steps to find one.”
Historic Tastemakers
I
t would be wrong, of course, to suggest that agents haven’t always had their ear close to the ground. While with Buddy Lee Attractions, Paul Lohr of Nashville agency New Frontier Touring picked up the Dixie Chicks before anyone else, and to this day, he reckons to pick up most of his acts at a similar stage. “With the Avett Brothers, it was different, because the manager was the label, but still, we got in on the ground floor,” Lohr says. “We were working with them when nobody knew who they were, playing Mexican restaurants. I think that has remained the same.” Lohr agrees with the premise that agents have a privileged exposure to local, ground-level buzz that record companies sometimes lack. “We talk to the promoters and the clubs, and they are the ones who are going to hear it first,” he says. “So a lot of our leads will come from the guy on the street. In this day and age, I get an enquiry a day, maybe more, from bands that are finding us, but supposing they’re from Seattle, I still go back to my guys on the ground there and say, ‘Are you hearing
William Morris client Rihanna
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Agencies
“Each year, things come back around and you get these great surprises – there’s that artist that you laboured over, and now here they come again, bigger or different than before. It’s so exciting, and that’s really the grace of this job.” Marty Diamond, Paradigm
of these guys? Are they hot?’.” While all agents pride themselves on their ability to get in first, and their ability to carve out careers for those artists, there is still a distinct culture gap between the largest players and those dealing with the smaller, more niche acts. Ground Control operates in the US, South America, Asia and Australia, but even as a company that reaches out halfway across the world, Dimenstein doesn’t find much common ground with the giants of the agency world. “While some of the basics of what we do are the same,” he muses, “I generally feel I’m in a different sort of business than a lot of the larger agencies, in many ways.”
Only in 2012. “For us, it’s about having deeper roots in Europe,” Diamond says. “We are no longer in the day and age where a single coming out in the UK is an isolated incident. Everything travels virally now, and success in the UK breeds success in America and around the world, and vice versa. “We give props to the Coda guys in terms of their awareness of things on the rise. The way a story can develop on a band is much more immediate than it used to be. Many times, too, the story on a foreign act might be able to develop faster in America than it could in the UK or Europe, and vice versa.”
Hands-on Indies
T
he prevailing perception, true or otherwise, is that indies will love even their smallest artists just that little bit more than the very biggest guys ever could. Marty Diamond, head of Paradigm’s East Coast music division, sums up the heartfelt position of the modern agent. “It’s not just about booking dates and selling a calendar,” he says. “It’s about career development and empathy and protecting people’s selfesteem and growing people’s careers. And that’s the fun part. Each year, things come back around and you get these great surprises – there’s that artist that you laboured over, and now here they come again, bigger or different than before. It’s so exciting, and that’s really the grace of this job.” A&R, not globally minded empire building, is the stated impetus for the recent union of Paradigm, home to Aerosmith, James Blunt, Janelle Monáe, The Lumineers and others; and London’s Coda Agency, with its strong repertoire of British and US indie talent. The deal, announced in January, saw the US agency acquire 50% of its UK counterpart (see page 26), with a specific focus on pooling cultures and beefing up their respective transatlantic talent-spotting capabilities. In a similar kind of spirit, Paradigm linked up with US dance specialist AM “I know there are a lot of guys who feel it can be done easily here in the US… But I find on the smaller scale, you really need to have somebody who is on the ground overseas, with a feel for what’s going on and a broader scope.” Paul Lohr, New Frontier Touring
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The Avett Brothers – one of New Frontier Touring’s major clients
All the World’s a Stage
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lobalisation, of course, is the overwhelming industry trend, and agents have done as much as any to drive it. The global reach of companies such as CAA, WME and the Agency Group has ushered in an age of global contracts for international artists, although in many cases, the model of two agents for any given act – one for the US, South America and Asia; one for Europe – still holds reasonably firm. The concentration of booking power on the West Coast of the US, and the American invention of the dedicated international department, inevitably fuels a vision of a world in which tours everywhere are routinely managed from the US, but it remains clear that for developing and medium-sized acts there is no substitute for an agent on the ground. “I know there are a lot of guys who feel it can be done easily here in the US, and if an act gets to be big enough where they are only looking to do 12 big dates overseas each year, then yeah, there’s an argument to be made,” Lohr says. “But I find on the smaller scale, you really need to have somebody who is on the ground overseas, with a feel for what’s going on and a broader scope.” Among indies, there is resistance to the notion of global coverage as an end in itself. The aim of the Paradigm/Coda deal, both parties stress, is not to attempt to railroad artists into global representation. “It doesn’t mean that I sign a band and someone at Coda has to book it,” Diamond points out. It is not about trying to sign acts for the world; you are signed here, and we will talk to our
March 2014 IQ Magazine
Best in Show
global partner and see if it is the right fit. And vice versa.” Nonetheless, indies are discreetly globalising in their own ways, and Coda’s Rob Challice – one of six partners, all working agents, notes that there is no harm in an agency with strong links to key markets other than its own. “I think if you imagine a manager going into an office in Nashville or New York or the West Coast, linking up with a suitable agent there and then being told they have some very exciting partners in the UK they can speak to about other territories, that probably does help a negotiation,” Challice says. “It’s a people business, it’s about networking, and it’s really about helping your clients match up with the most suitable agent possible.” Windish agrees that the priority for a responsible agent is not to own a client for the world, but to ensure that whoever is doing the job is doing it right. “What is more important than just being a global company is having agents in territories that are really, really into the act and know what to do with them,” he says. “That’s much more important than having one company do it for the world. Those big companies usually have a lot of different people booking the bands – a guy in the southern US, one in the north-east, one on the West Coast. Then they split up Europe and Asia, Australia, and all these people are booking 50 other bands, so they don’t necessarily care at all about this act.” The big agencies themselves wouldn’t necessarily concede that point, of course, and WME’s Goldring is adamant that, where international coordination is concerned, all voices get heard.“We look at it globally, we really do,” he says. “We have weekly meetings, and that is the forum for all this information.
“If you imagine a manager going into an office in Nashville or New York or the West Coast, linking up with a suitable agent there and then being told they have some very exciting partners in the UK they can speak to about other territories, that probably does help a negotiation.” Rob Challice, Coda
We collaborate closely with London, New York, Miami, Nashville, and we really map out the best times to be in the different territories.” The record business would like to believe it is in the process of rebuilding its power base. According to Geiger’s analysis, it faces the prospect of another imminent crash if it doesn’t give its all to the streaming business. But whether or not agents eat further into the record companies’ former heartland of A&R, strategy and artist development, in the meantime, the agents’ share of the business seems assured. “Whatever side of the argument you are on regarding record labels, it seems to me that the staying power is in the touring,” Lohr says. “I mean, obviously, the staying power is in the music and the songs, but however people are listening to them – on the radio, or streaming it – the experience you can’t take away is the live experience, with your friends and family, going out to see a show.”
The Baltics While the rest of Europe, if not the world, has endured some tough times because of global recession, Poland has found itself hampered by those economies, while escaping the economic downturn. Meanwhile, writes Adam Woods, the neighbouring Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are prospering through their routing connections and shrewd investment in infrastructure‌
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Europe’s biggest music festival - Przystanek Woodstock in Poland
Don’t say it too loud, because virtually every comparable country in Western Europe might get jealous, but Poland never quite got around to having a recession these last few years. A bit of stagnation, not much growth – but no recession. “We came close, but we never quite got down to that level,” says Mikołaj Ziółkowski of leading independent promoter Alter Art. “I think we were the only country in the European Union that escaped.” If there’s any lingering international perception of Poland as a market damaged by years behind the Iron Curtain, it’s rather hard to justify these days. Certainly, international agents have long since chalked up this Central European giant, with its population of close to 40million, as a guaranteed tour stop. Its venues are new, thanks to football and public investment, and its festivals, including Alter Art’s legendary Open’er, the impressive OFF Festival and the vast Woodstock Festival Poland, are the equal of anyone’s. “As a live music market, we are pretty stable,” Ziółkowski says. “It’s not one of the best markets in Europe, but it’s in
IQ Magazine March 2014
the middle. If I compare it to ten or 15 years ago – there was no festival market, the touring was very irregular. Of course, there were some shows then but now you have smaller acts coming in autumn and spring, summer festival routing, club routing, stadium routing – everything happening on a regular basis. It would be better, and would have grown much bigger, if not for the five years of crisis across Europe, but it’s stable, it’s reasonable.” There’s a refreshing sound to the notion that crisisstricken Europe has been holding Poland back for the past few years. For the country that initiated the domino-collapse of communism, the least it deserves is respect from the international touring circuit. “For 40 years after the Second World War, very few artists visited Poland,” says Janusz Stefański of large indie Prestige MJM. “In the last decade, Poland transformed from the country that was off the main thoroughfare of world tours, into the country that is considered by almost every artist on a European tour. That’s because of both a more
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The Baltics
“There’re two ways you can go around the Baltics now: either you can start in Denmark and go down, or you can go from Poland and pick up one or two shows on the way up here.” Thomas Johansson, Live Nation
Poland has a strong crop of ambitious, professional promoters, from Live Nation, under Steven Todd, to Alter Art, Prestige MJM and rock specialist Metal Mind. Most of the big-ticket events are international – local acts tour widely, but generally at a level below 2,000 – and, in the international booking business, numerous high-quality shows in recent years have established the Polish contingent as an easy bunch to work with. “Poland is doing well,” Todd tells IQ. “It has improved greatly over the past four or five years: steady growth in concerts, steady growth in ticket prices, more and more acts coming through.” Adding to the challenge, and therefore the achievement of Poland’s well-disciplined, highly professional hardcore of promoters, is the fact that, while ticket prices are roughly on a par with those of, say, Germany and France, consumer spending power still falls comparatively short. “The average monthly salary is 4,202 PLN gross, which is about €1,000,” reports Paweł Kwiatkowski, co-CEO of music and events agency STX Jamboree. “After tax, that is about €700. In larger cities, it’s probably around €1,000 after tax, but you still need to remember that the purchasing power of the Poles is significantly different from the people of Western Europe.” Warsaw, the largest city in Poland, with a metropolitan population of around 2.7m, is inevitably the focal point of the Polish live business, in terms of the volume of events and the spending power of inhabitants. Stefański of Prestige MJM talks about staging shows in Rybnik, 300km to the south-west, and still selling the majority of the tickets to people in Warsaw. But that’s not to say that Poland isn’t spreading out. Live Nation recently staged a two-centre visit from Iron Maiden, in the new arenas of Łódź and Gdańsk, and sold out both nights. “That was the first time I had done a double show in Poland,” Todd says. “With Kraków coming on stream down in the south [a new 18,000-capacity arena is due for completion this year], we will have three cities where we can do arena shows. And Poland is a real sleeping giant, outside the major cities. There’s a good half a dozen towns of half a million people we have never even done a gig in.” Stefański likewise notes the potential of Poland’s smaller Metalmind’s Judas Priest show in Katowice, © Anna Michalska
affluent society that can afford to buy expensive tickets, and a better concert infrastructure.” With the first flush of superstar-lust now thoroughly out of its system, Poland is an increasingly discerning market, too. First-time performances arouse the most interest – Jennifer Lopez sold 22,000 tickets for Prestige MJM in Gdańsk, while Michael Bublé sold out in three weeks – and smaller, more niche festivals are on the rise, according to Marcin Matuszewski, CEO of leading Polish ticketing company eBilet. “The majority of the revenue still comes from large events, mostly organised in the National Stadium,” says Matuszewski, who estimates the Polish concert business at around 200million zloty, or €50m. “But I think there is still huge room for growth, and lots of smaller events in Poland are getting more and more popular.” The increasing strength of Poland and other Central European markets has inevitably had a bearing on the small, but significant, trio of Baltic countries to the north, which nowadays form a bridge from Central Europe to the Nordic region, or else are a stop on the way to or from St Petersburg. Lithuania, with its population of 3m, is the largest of the three, followed by Latvia (2m) and Estonia (1.4m), whose capital Tallinn, just 88km across the Baltic by ferry from Helsinki, is Live Nation’s new hub in the region since its acquisition of leading indie, BDG Music. These days, the region is far from unknown for international acts – Peter Gabriel being one current example – to stop in two of the three capitals, or even Kaunas, which, with its new arena, is challenging Vilnius as Lithuania’s key music city. Tiketa, the market-leading Lithuanian ticketing company, reports that the country’s entertainment market has grown for three years in a row. The company sold 752,000 tickets to 7,500 events in 2013, and, while the latter figure didn’t rise year-on-year, the former rose by 13%, while Tiketa’s own turnover increased by 23% to 37.5m litas (€11m).
Poland – promoters
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The Baltics
“The average salary is still only €500, which means that food, heat and clothes are first, and books, movies and concerts come afterwards. So if anyone is stating that this is not an emerging market any longer, please do not take it very seriously.” Juri Makarov, Makarov Muusik towns and cities, where tickets often sell better than they might reasonably have been expected to. “That is a phenomenon of the concert market in Poland,” he says. “Oświęcim has only 40,000 residents, and Life Festival has been very successful there, with Sting, Peter Gabriel, James Blunt and, this year, Eric Clapton. Toruń has had shows by José Carreras and Rod Stewart; and in Ostrów Wielkopolski, which has only 70,000 residents, Scorpions sold 15,000 tickets.” If there is a cloud on the Polish horizon, according to Ziółkowski, it is a tendency for grabby new promoters or over-eager councils to over-pay for big names. “Sometimes it’s corporate money, sometimes new people coming into the market and trying to make a quick impact, or sometimes it’s city money, trying to fill the stadiums after the football, but we are getting situations where an act who might get €50,000 anywhere else in Europe, is being offered maybe €85,000 here,” Ziółkowski says. “It drives up ticket prices, and it is hard to compete against when you are trying to develop the market in a steady, reasonable way. Speaking for ourselves, we are not just here to do the big shows, get some money and run away. We are here to stay.”
have more than 150 artists, five stages, over four days, with 60,000 a day, and around 85,000 unique visitors.” Alter Art also runs two smaller events, the 30,000-capacity Coke Live down south in Kraków, and 15,000-capacity boutique electronic festival Selector in Warsaw to the east. Ziółkowski notes the geographical spread with satisfaction, since it gives an indication of how far the Polish market has come. “The most important thing is, we built the audience,” Ziółkowski says. “Compared to 15 years ago, participation in concerts and festivals was quite small. Now, it is seven or eight times more people, I would say.” Other Polish festivals include June’s diverse Orange Warsaw Festival, which, along with July’s Sonisphere, has moved into the National Stadium in Warsaw. This year’s electronic Audioriver, by the Vistula River in Płock, sold out within three days of going on sale, and last year drew 22,000 a day. Kraków, meanwhile, hosts the commendably arty Unsound festival each October. On the rock front, there’s Live Nation’s rock-powered Impact Festival, which last year took place at Bemowo Airport in western Warsaw and this year will move to the Atlas Arena in Łódź for two nights of Aerosmith and Black Sabbath; and the nine-year-old OFF Festival, organised by Artur Rojek, former frontman of successful Polish band Myslovitz, which in 2013 brought My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins and Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Katowice. Though the rock market is a notably successful one in Poland, Polish rock festivals have had a fairly chequered time
Poland – festivals In spite of its borrowed name, there is nothing else in the world quite like Przystanek Woodstock – the largest openair festival in Europe. Free, originally as a thank you to the 120,000 volunteers who supported the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, the event has added international acts in recent years and brings more than half a million people to the small town of Kostrzyn nad Odrą in western Poland. “Most of these people come to the Polish Woodstock for a full three-day-long festival experience,” says founder Jerzy Owsiak. “About 100,000 to 200,000 only come to one selected day of the event. There’s a clear and consistent formula, which has proved to be successful over the years: all Woodstockers know that the event is organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation and its leader – me. They know the rules and help us maintain them: stop violence, stop drugs – these are not just empty mottos, these words are real.” If Przystanek Woodstock is the social conscience of Polish festivals, Alter Art’s Open’er has incontrovertibly been the commercial pioneer of the Polish business. Founded in 2002, and staged since 2006 at Kosakowo Airport in Gdynia, on Poland’s northern Baltic coast, Open’er has “done wonders for Poland”, according to Steven Todd, and is evidently a source of much pride to its founder Ziółkowski. “Generally, it established the market, because it was the first and still is the most important and biggest and most influential,” Ziółkowski says. “Now we
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Depeche Mode at Live Nation’s show in Warsaw Stadium
The Baltics
“We feel that we have found a great niche in the European festival scene because we believe this part of Europe will someday be a big discovery for the festival audience in Western Europe” Ģirts Majors, Positivus of it. Katowice-based rock promoter Metal Mind hopes to bring its Metal Hammer Festival back in 2014, but managing director Mariola Dziubiński says that, with notable exceptions, old-school outdoor rock festivals feel like a dying breed. “For years, we organised Metalmania, the pioneer metal festival in Poland, dating back as far as 1986,” Dziubiński says. “For the last few years, we haven’t been able to bring back the festival, mostly because the market expanded and now we have several other rock and metal festivals to compete with. “Sadly, it seems indoor festivals work better in Poland than the outdoor ones. Last year’s second edition of Metalfest in Jaworzno was unfortunately the last one, and big festivals like Impact or Sonisphere moved from outdoor locations to arenas and stadiums, respectively.”
Baltics – promoters and festivals With its acquisition of Baltic market leader BDG Music last June, Live Nation formalised links with the region that were first formed before the countries were liberated. Thomas Johansson, Live Nation’s Swedish chief and president of international music, oversees the Baltics as part of his broadly defined Nordic territories. “We have always extended dates into the Baltics, and now, with Poland and the Czech Republic down the road, and virtually motorways all around, it seems crazy not to incorporate the Baltics into the Live Nation world,” he says. Johansson continues, “There’re two ways you can go around the Baltics now: either you can start in Denmark and go down, or you can go from Poland and pick up one or two shows on the way up here. They are very small markets, but they are markets we can develop, and given time, we will develop them into very good markets. They have good venues, they are all in the EU, they will all soon have the Euro [Lithuania, the only one still out, is due to join in 2015] and the spending power is increasing now.” Under founder Peeter Rebane and general manager Eva Palm, Live Nation’s Tallinn-based operation is instantly the biggest promoter in the Baltics, as BDG was before it. But, while Live Nation may be the biggest, it has solid competition, too. Vilnius-based Makroconcert operates in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, staging large local shows while also bringing in international talent. Lithuania also has Seven Live and Medusa Concert, while other players include Latvia’s Positivus and Estonia’s Makarov Muusik. Like all of Central Europe, the Baltics like rock, and like any market that has had a reasonable number of concerts and now wants more, there is a raging appetite for new sensations. “There is always a demand for acts who are coming for the
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first time,” says Juras Vėželis, president of Seven Live. “We promoted Lana del Rey last year, and that sold very, very well. There is always a demand for rock acts, and there is always a demand for shows that are unique, like Cirque du Soleil, who we also did last year.” Juri Makarov has staged shows by David Copperfield, Lord of the Dance and the Shaolin Monks over the years, as well as many sporting events and a handful of rock shows by Sting, Joe Cocker and others. But a one-day festival last year on Tallinn’s Song Festival Ground drew disappointing numbers, and he advocates realism where the Baltics’ spending power is concerned, claiming that unrealistic expectations in the past have led to nothing good. “The myth of economic wealth made agents believe we were able to pay high fees and can pay ticket prices that are okay in western countries,” Makarov says. “Some years ago, Estonia implemented a 20% VAT on tickets, which reduced the amount of successful shows tremendously. After joining the Euro, most of the prices went up 15% or more, and two years ago our electricity prices were equalised by EU standards and the 30% raise sent a lot of households to the edge of bankruptcy. Realistically, the average salary is still only €500, which means that food, heat and clothes are first, and books, movies and concerts come afterwards. So if anyone is stating that this is not an emerging market any longer, please do not take it very seriously.” In Latvia, Positivus makes no bones about the embryonic nature of the market, but the promoter is working hard to grow the audience. Its three-day festival of the same name is perhaps the most successful in the Baltics, taking place in a large clearing surrounded by forest near the coast in the picturesque coastal town of Salacgrīva. Positivus co-founder Ģirts Majors believes the festival is the cheapest of its kind in Europe, despite a line-up which this year includes Kraftwerk, The 1975 and Bastille. He also says they don’t intend to grow the event, which already draws 30,000 a day, past 35,000. “We feel that we have found a great niche in the European festival scene because we believe this part of Europe will someday be a big discovery for the festival audience in Western Europe,” he says. “But this will always be a boutique festival, even if we sometimes have had bigger headliners, like Muse.” Each of the Baltic countries clearly has different geographical advantages. Shows in Latvia can pull fans from Lithuania and Estonia, being the country in the middle – Positivus, for instance,
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The Baltics
Jerzy Owsiak, Przystanek Woodstock which takes place near the Estonian border, drew around 4,000 fans from there last year, as well as a couple of thousand from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Russia. Shows in Tallinn, meanwhile, can draw audiences from neighbouring Helsinki, while Vilnius is little more than 30km from the Belarusian border, and less than 200km from Minsk. “At a concert in Vilnius, maybe 20% to 25% of the audience will be from Belarus,” Vėželis says.
Venues There’s nothing like an international football tournament to either dot a country with stadiums it can’t seriously use, or jump-start a nation’s open-air concert business. Poland, co-host of Euro 2012 along with Ukraine, chose the latter route. Warsaw National Stadium, one of four built for the tournament, has a handy removable grass surface, and has ushered in an immediate golden age of stadium shows to the Polish capital. “We have done seven major open-air show shows there already: Madonna, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Roger Waters, Depeche Mode, Paul McCartney, and Metallica,” says Live Nation’s Todd. “We haven’t had a stadium like this before, and this one is spectacular. I know a lot of the stadiums in Europe, and I would say it’s up there with the best of them.” Kwiatkowski echoes Todd’s praise for the flagship stadium, and also notes the recent arrival of two new arenas in Łódź and Gdańsk – the Atlas Arena and Ergo Arena, respectively – and the construction of one more in Kraków, but highlights a need in Warsaw for an indoor arena of a similar kind. “We have Torwar Hall, with a capacity of 4,500, but you can’t compare it with modern venues all over Europe,” he says. “In our opinion, the best place for concerts is Warsaw, because it has the greatest potential and the largest audience. In other cities, like Gdańsk and Łódź, you have the big halls, but you also need lower ticket prices.” Certainly, at the current rate of building, there is every chance Poland will have every venue it needs within a couple of years. “We have new, fantastic venues opening every year,” says Wojciech Kaluza, booking and production manager at Metal Mind. “Quite recently, Progresja Music Zone opened in Warsaw, immediately becoming an interesting alternative to other clubs with its 2,000 capacity. The two problems I would say we still have is the lack of a greater number of venues between 2,000-4,000 capacities and the Polish withholding tax, which is quite high and rather difficult to get around.” There isn’t an abundance of clubs in the Baltics, though
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there are certainly some, such as Rock Café in Tallinn and Tamsta in Vilnius. In Riga, three years ago, Positivus acquired a Soviet former cinema and began developing it as the 1,600-capacity Palladium, a dedicated venue of a kind Majors says the city has never had. “In the former Soviet Union, the reality is there is no small- and midlevel circuit,” Majors says. “We had more than 100 events last year, and it is like the festival: you are teaching your audience that a festival is cool, and it is the same with the club – people aren’t used to going to shows. We are taking a risk and losing money in the short-term to develop this scene, which we know will make money in the long-term. We are giving bands a place to play and make money, and there has never been a place like that before.” In the Lithuanian second city of Kaunas, the big news in recent years has been the 2011 opening of the state-of-theart 15,700-capacity Žalgiris Arena, designed with basketball and music predominantly in mind, and with exhibitions and conferences on the side. Since the arena opened, events director Renatas Načajus believes local music has grown up. Lithuanian hip hop pioneers Sel played a sell-out in December, while others have played to up to 12,000, and international visitors have included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rammstein, Lenny Kravitz and Elton John. “Yes, we are not in the capital, but we are in the middle of the country and people are coming here for shows much more than to the capital, so it really works,” Načajus says. “People just love our venue and enjoy being entertained here.” In Vilnius, the opening of the 12,500-capacity Siemens Arena in 2004 drove the first big influx of international acts, and it is currently advertising Peter Gabriel and André Rieu. “A lot of fans come to the Siemens Arena from neighbouring countries,” says Andrius Žiauberis, head of Tiketa, which, with Siemens Arena, is part of the Seven Live group. “We saw that with Lana Del Rey, Disney on Ice, Cirque du Soleil and the Scorpions and, surely at the concert of Lyapis Trubetskoy, who is banned in Belarus.” Žiauberis notes, with satisfaction, the same local upsurge observed by Načajus. “2013 was exceptional for the way the most popular Lithuanian artists moved from the club environment to the biggest arenas in the country. It was not only Sel, Marijonas Mikutavičius, and Andrius Mamontovas with Foje that were celebrated by thousands of fans, but the representatives of the older generation as well, like Stasys Povilaitis, Gytis Paškevičius and Rondo.” Positivus Festival
“All Woodstockers know that the event is organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation and its leader – me. They know the rules and help us maintain them: stop violence, stop drugs – these are not just empty mottos, these words are real.””
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Your Shout
“What’s the thing you fear most, or the strangest phobia you’ve encountered?” Having to face the first ILMC panel on Saturday morning after having left the delegates’ bar at stupid o’clock the previous night/morning. Pamela Choat, Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers
The thing I fear the most – the bar bill at the end of ILMC! Terry McNally, IQ Magazine
TOP SHOUT Cartophobia: The feeling of horror experienced by agents upon looking at a map and realising that they’ve booked consecutive shows with impossible driving distances in between. The condition can generally be cured by looking at a smaller map. Charidementia: A feeling of impending doom, often accompanied by severe depression when receiving a phone call outlining a massive project, full of complexities and fraught with danger, ending in the words, “and it’s for ‘charidee’, there’s no budget”. The condition can be cured by refusing to continue the conversation in anything other than Navajo, or simply referring the caller to a competitor. Laminitis: Extreme hyperventilation brought about by the effect of walking a mile and a half to the blue/white/green/ red gate at a major event/festival and being told that your pass is only valid for the purple/yellow/puce gate that is a mile and three-quarters back the way you’ve just come. The only known cure for this condition is to stay at home and watch it on TV, but that can in itself lead to guilt, depression and self-loathing only alleviated by changing channels and opening a bottle. Bryan Grant, Britannia Row Productions
Axlroseophobia – fear of turning up on stage at the correct time. Anonymous
I have worked with quite a few dance promoters around the world. As a rule of thumb, if your promoter or his rep turns up sporting a DJ’s record bag... you’re in trouble! Rick Smith, Rule Out Loud Management
Carl Leighton-Pope dressed as a clown. Harvey Goldsmith in full Papal regalia. Barry Dickins in a Bob Dylan shirt. Martin Goldsmith, Event Merchandising
Generally I work in the capacity of production manager for major concert promoters in various countries in Eastern Europe, and my phobia in this situation is English touring production managers. I cannot easily put a name to this phobia but, perhaps ‘engpromanophobia’ might suffice. In my experience they generally have massive egos and their most used phrase is: I am going to cancel the show. I recall two cases in particular, both in Sofia, Bulgaria: one with Peter Hillier (Mark Knopfler) and the other with Dick Adams (Iron Maiden). Peter for some reason took a strong dislike to my stage manager who is an exceedingly professional, polite and kind man – so
I have absolutely no idea why! The other was when Dick was asked why, when we had supplied exactly the correct three power supplies, were his crew drawing too much power from the smallest one intended to be used for onstage equipment, because for some reason they were using this supply for the lighting. Present at this discussion were Dick, his electrician, and I. I pointed out to Dick that what he said about the conversion of the power from KVA to Amperes was wrong, which, he said, was rubbish. His electrician rapidly pointed out that he was totally wrong and that I was in fact correct. Just two examples from very many… leading to my phobia!!
Gerry Stevens, Talent Care International
It has to be beancountia. Those dreadful hours of sitting down with a tour accountant after a show that prompts losing your will to live as the crew load out and drive off while you are still sitting in the production office. Anonymous
I suffer with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia*. Mooncat, ILMC
*A fear of long words.
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