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ALL YOU KIDS THAT JUST SIT AND WHINE, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE BACK IN ‘79

Metal Health Market Focus: Germany 50 years of Mojo Countdown to Brexit New Bosses 2018 Touring with Dinosaurs E3S 2018 ISSUE 79

Contents

EVENT SECUR

IQ Magazine Issue 79

Cover photo: Nick Beggs performing with headliner Steven Wilson at ARTmania in Sibiu, Romania © Miluță Flueraș

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News and Developments

8 In Tweets The main headlines over the last two months 10 In Depth Key stories from around the live music world 14 New Signings and Rising Stars

A round-up of the latest acts that have been added to the rosters of international agents 16 Techno Files

Revealing the cutting-edge tech that’s helping the 21st century business

Features

18 E3S The 2nd Event Safety & Security Summit’s programme is announced and registration opens 24 Brexit: The Final Countdown Experts in six key sectors notate the various impacts that Brexit could have on live entertainment 28 New Bosses 2018 IQ’s annual list of the young industry executives who are making waves in their various careers 32 Dino Might Jon Chapple discovers the monstrous challenges of taking a Jurassic cast and crew around the world 38 Winds of Change Adam Woods heads to Germany to investigate the nation’s evolving live music business 54 Mojo Magic Mojo Concerts celebrates half a century of bringing live music to the Netherlands 64 Metal Health Paul Brannigan bangs heads with some of the leading figures in metal

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Comments and Columns 20 What makes a successful touring exhibition?

Arnold van de Water details the opportunities for, and threats facing, the touring exhibition industry 21 Is 2018 the year of French pop?

Géraldine Zanaska believes 2018 could be a breakout year for French music 22 Keeping the Doors Open for African Music Clementine Bunel highlights the horrendous visa issues facing African touring acts 23 Trust in the Power of Youth!

Glen Rowe explains the thinking behind establishing the NEKO trust 72 Members’ Noticeboard

ILMC members’ photos 74 Your Stars Our resident astrologer. Pessa Mystic, reveals your horrorscopes for the year ahead

IQ Magazine September 2018

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Issue 79

LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE

Favourable forecasts With promoters predicting a record-breaking summer season, Gordon Masson tempts festival organisers to highlight the importance of the sector by completing this year’s European Festival Report survey...

AS SUMMER IN THE NORTHERN bit of our planet starts to wind down, it has to be said that, by and large, across Europe we’ve enjoyed a pretty decent three months of dry weather, and promoters are signalling that 2018 could be a record year for the festival market.

Whilst there are still a number of festivals still to open their gates, let alone close them, in order to get a gauge on the overall stats for the sector in 2018, we’ve already launched this year’s European Festival Report survey. So if you organised an event this summer, please head to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Festival_ Report_2018 and provide us with your event’s details, and contribute to this year’s report. All answers are strictly confidential, will help us gauge the health of the market, and may help flag-up any potential open-air obstacles on the musical horizon.

Right, with that pitch for your attention out of the way, let’s run down what you can expect to discover in the following pages of Issue 79…

Our annual New Bosses feature (see page 28) profiles ten of the industry’s most dynamic, young professionals who have impressed colleagues and peers to the extent that they saw off competition from close to 50 other nominated individuals during this year’s voting process.

On page 54, we have the fascinating story of Mojo Concerts, as the Dutch powerhouse celebrates its first 50 years of operations.

And quite the tale it is, from early financial disasters to the soar-away successes of its 21st century festivals portfolio. Congratulations to all involved in Mojo’s history and to those helping shape the company’s future!

IQ Magazine September 2018

Elsewhere, this issue sees IQ adopt Planet Rock editor and metal connoisseur, Paul Brannigan, who provides a thorough health check on the booming international metal scene (page 64). With those working in that particular genre forecasting continued growth, we hope a focus on metal can become an annual stalwart in our publishing schedule.

One such extraordinarily successful phenomena we won’t be able to feature again is Walking With Dinosaurs (page 32), but as the Jurassic stars amble down the road for the final time, Jon Chapple discovers some of the secrets behind the edutainment production’s enduring popularity.

Talking of extinct creatures, Britain’s European-based politicians are facing the end of their own particular existence as the clock ticks ever onward towards the Brexit deadline of 29 March 2019.

Giving us all a better understanding of what this bewildering situation will mean, we persuaded six experts to share the various challenges that Brexit will pose to the live music business (page 24).

But, it isn’t just the Brits who are experiencing changes: Adam Woods discovers that Germany’s live music industry is also being forced to evolve, in this issue’s market report on page 38.

And as if all that wasn’t enough to keep you turning the pages of this issue in your grubby hands, we’ve also got a preview of this year’s E3S conference (page 18), thought-provoking comment pieces (pages 20-23), a special guest appearance of renowned astrologer, Pessa Mystic (page 74), along with the usual top tech tips, news analysis, emerging talent listings and incriminating ILMC members’ photos.

THE ILMC JOURNAL, September 2018

IQ Magazine

Unit 31 Tileyard Road London, N7 9AH info@iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0300 Twitter: @iq_mag

Publisher

ILMC and Suspicious Marketing

Editor

Gordon Masson

News Editor Jon Chapple

Associate Editor Allan McGowan

Marketing & Advertising Director

Terry McNally

Design

Martin Hughes

Sub Editor

Michael Muldoon

Editorial Assistants

Ben Delger & Imogen Battersby

Contributors

Paul Brannigan, Clementine Bunel, James Drury, Pessa Mystic, Glen Rowe, Manfred Tari, Arnold van de Water, Adam Woods, Géraldine Zanaska

Editorial Contact

Gordon Masson, gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0303

Advertising Contact

Terry McNally, terry@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0304

To subscribe to IQ Magazine: Imogen@iq-mag.net An annual subscription to IQ is £75 (print) or £60 (electronic).

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News

In Tweets...

@iq_mag

Eminem smashes Norway’s record books with the biggest concert the country has ever hosted, when Atomic Soul sold out all 55,000 tickets in six minutes for his Oslo Sommertid festival show.

Universal Music Group expands operations in French-speaking Africa, launching a new Universal Music Africa division in Ivory Coast and pledging further investment in music venues.

Troubled UK mobile ticketing start-up Active Ticketing is to be wound up on the orders of a high court judge, following a wind-up petition filed by creditors in March.

A group of former senior Ticketbis/ StubHub staff launch Tracer, a blockchain-powered ticketing solution with which they hope to “shake-up the ticketing industry” to make it fairer for artists and fans.

A leaked memo reveals the French interior ministry plans to charge festival promoters for the cost of policing their events.

Birmingham-based NEC Group, which operates five of the UK’s leading arenas and large venues, posts an earnings increase of almost 10% in its 2018 financials, its third as a private company.

Russia’s Tinkoff Bank, the world’s largest, fully online lender, acquires a stake in leading ticket seller Kassir.ru.

Promoters across Europe are owed tens of thousands of euros in deposits for a string of cancelled Phil Rudd dates, with some still waiting for refunds from shows called off as far back as June 2017.

Festival Number 6, the annual arts and music festival held in north-west Wales, is taking a “breather” after this year’s event, saying the event in its current state is “not sustainable.”

Performing for 7,500 fans at Stuttgart’s Jazz Open Festival, Kraftwerk welcomes European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst – currently

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Kraftwerk

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stationed on The International Space Station – via video link for a performance of Spacelab.

BookMyShow, India’s biggest ticket seller, closes a new round of funding, bringing total investment in the company since 2007 to $224.5million [€192.5m].

Performing in Sweden on their Not in This Lifetime…Tour, Guns N’ Roses break the attendance record for a hard rock/metal act, at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg.

Air charter company AirX welcomes Queen + Adam Lambert as its first music ambassadors.

Sweden’s Equality Ombudsman contacts organisers of the new Statement Festival as part of an investigation into whether it violates the Discrimination Act by prohibiting men from attending.

The Irish government gives its backing to the Prohibition of Above-Cost Ticket Touting Bill, paving the way for a ban on the resale of tickets for over face value in the Republic of Ireland.

Richard Robinson, the former CEO of influential music industry charity Help Musicians UK, resigns amid claims he presided over a “toxic” work environment where money was misspent and staff forced out by “unprofessional” conduct, according to Private Eye report.

British-born booking agent David Apps, a veteran of the iconic Tito Burns, Harold Davison, MAM and

March Artists agencies, passes away aged 83, after a short illness.

UK ticket agency Skiddle reveals it lost more than £65,000 [€55,750] as a result of last August’s disastrous Hope & Glory Festival, after refunding festivalgoers out of its own pocket.

Live Nation has built “the industry’s most scalable and unparalleled live platform,” says CEO Michael Rapino, as the concert giant reports another quarter of double-digit income growth.

The use of sniffer dogs at music festivals comes into question again in New South Wales, Australia, after data released by police reveals the huge extent of false positives made by the animals, leading to strip and general searches.

AUGUST Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, and US soul act St. Paul & The Broken Bones are announced as festival exclusives for the 30th Byron Bay Bluesfest, set for 18–22 April 2019.

The Shapes Collective, an artists’ collective founded by Seb Glover, owner of now-shuttered Hackney venue Shapes, announces the launch of Fold, a new 24-hour electronic music venue in industrial East London.

Pogoseat, a US start-up that provides access to last-minute tickets via text

IQ Magazine September 2018

News

message, agrees a partnership with Ticketmaster in the UK and Europe.

Eurosonic Noorderslag announces the launch of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, an EU-backed prize recognising the most promising up-andcoming European artists, replacing its European Border Breakers Awards.

CAA China acquires Momentum Sports, a leading Chinese marketing and talent agency for sports, e-sports and sportsentertainment crossover clients.

Townsend Music deploys its D2C on Tour solution – which sales director Bruce McKenzie reckons has the potential to revolutionise how albums are sold – at Download Festival with You Me At Six. The Rolling Stones’ No Filter European tour, which wrapped up in Warsaw on 8 July, grosses nearly $238m [€204m] from 28 sold-out shows.

London could soon be home to another major new entertainment venue, under plans drawn up by Hammersmith and Fulham Council to redevelop the Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Centre in Wormwood Scrubs into a 13,000-cap arena.

CTS Eventim becomes sole owner of Scandinavian ticket agency Venuepoint, after acquiring all remaining shares from its former partner Nordisk Film. Øyafestivalen, one of the biggest festivals in Norway, enters into an investment agreement with Superstruct Entertainment, adding a fourth festival brand to the James Barton-led outfit’s expanding roster of European events.

In what CEO Jeremy Zimmer calls a “transformative event” for the agency, UTA sells minority equity stakes to Investcorp and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).

Move Concerts, Latin America’s largest independent promoter, launches a new artist-management venture in partnership with Argentinian singer-songwriter Abel Pintos and his agency, 70MIL. AEG partners with Made Festival to launch Made for the Weekend, a new twoday, indoor festival debuting this October at Genting Arena in Birmingham, UK. In LA, seasoned artist manager and A&R Jaime Zeluck Hindlin launches Nonstop Management, which specialises in career development and management services for songwriters and producers.

Eventbrite acquires Vancouver-based ticketing and event-registration platform Picatic.

The group responsible for the terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils on 17 August 2017 had also researched music venues and festivals in Barcelona and Benicàssim as potential next targets, say Spanish police.

Live Nation announces the shuttering of its European secondary ticketing platforms, GetMeIn! and Seatwave, in favour of a price-capped system integrated into the main Ticketmaster site.

DEAG is among the German businesses bracing for a “hard” Brexit next March, with executive board member Detlef Kornett warning of knock-on effects on European touring if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

Sony Live, Sony Music Finland’s booking agency division, closes after a decade in business, with all operations being taken over by Fullsteam Agency.

There was no police presence at August’s Decibel Outdoor festival in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands, amid a row between police union ACP and the Dutch government over pay and working conditions.

Paul Latham, the long-time president of Live Nation UK and the company’s COO, international, announces his retirement.

Aretha Franklin, soul music superstar, voice of black America and one of the best-selling artists of all time, passes away aged 76.

LN-Gaiety Holdings, the UK promotion joint venture by Live Nation and Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments, acquires Desmond’s company MCD Productions, strengthening significantly the relationship between Live Nation UK and its chairman.

Hungary’s Sziget Festival celebrates its 26th anniversary with the biggest crowd to date: a mammoth 565,000 people across seven days.

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission announces plans to begin civil proceedings against Viagogo for allegedly making “misleading representations” to customers.

Friends and colleagues pay tribute to 30-year-old Jaime Sarrantonio, account manager at Nashville-based app developer Aloompa and a respected figure in

Nashville’s independent music scene, after she was shot and killed in an apparent robbery on 17 August.

Bill Monot, co-founder of US booking agency Paradise Artists and agent to Joan Jett, John Kay and Taylor Dayne, dies aged 62.

A growing number of unofficial Facebook Events pages are driving unsuspecting buyers towards resale sites, IQ reveals.

Taylor Swift’s Reputation stadium tour becomes the highest-grossing US tour by a woman, breaking her own previous record.

Universal Music Group’s Central Europe division agrees a multi-year partnership with e-sports promoter Electronic Sports League (ESL) to discover and promote new artists through ESL’s platforms.

RFID company PlayPass secures €1.9m in its latest round of capital funding, from Amsterdam-based VC Newion Investments.

CTS Eventim’s H1 2018 financial results indicate significant growth in revenue and earnings in the first six months of the year.

Confirming recent speculation, Eventbrite files for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The San Francisco start-up plans to raise $200m [€171m].

The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals renews its call for a Competition and Markets Authority investigation into Live Nation on competition grounds.

CTS Eventim tells investors to expect a “limited” decline in revenue of around €1m in its 2018 financial results, after Germany’s highest court ruled it could not continue to charge a €2.50 fee on print-at-home tickets.

The UK’s Larmer Tree Festival welcomes End of the Road Festival and James Strathallan as new partners, joining Coda’s Rob Challice and Norwegian promoter Bergen Live.

To subscribe to IQ Magazine: Imogen@iq-mag.net An annual subscription to IQ is £75 (print) or £60 (electronic).

Want to share your views on breaking industry news? Then get involved in the discussion on Twitter: @iq_mag

IQ Magazine September 2018

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News

Movers and Shakers Istanbul Jazz Festival has named Harun İzer as the event’s new director. İzer, who has been assistant director for the past seven years, replaces Pelin Opcin, who has taken on the role of director of programming at Serious, the producer of the EFG London Jazz Festival.

Matt Endsley has joined eps America as sales manager.

Endsley’s passion for music and sports has translated into the execution of a wide array of live events, including international projects with Guns N´ Roses and Metallica, and stadium shows with the likes of Billy Joel and Sir Paul McCartney, as well as large-scale festivals such as Coachella and Riot Fest.

AEG Presents has promoted Simon Jones to the newly created position of senior vice president live music international. He will head up the international promoting operations for AEG Presents UK, and will work closely with the AEG offices in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Mariana Sanchotene has been appointed director of the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), succeeding Richard Zijlma. Sanchotene has more than 20 years of experience in the international live entertainment industry, working with companies such as ID&T, Stage Entertainment and Cirque du Soleil.

Weezevent has appointed Isabelle Chevallier as executive vice president, Europe, working across its offices in France,

Jaime Sarrantonio: 1987-2018

Everyone at IQ Magazine extends their condolences to family, friends and colleagues of the late Jaime Sarrantonio, who lost her life in a robbery in the early hours of Friday 17 August.

Sarrantonio, 30, was client account manager at festival

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app developer Aloompa and a respected figure in Nashville’s independent music scene. “We are heartbroken over the loss of our dear friend and team member,” says Aloompa in a statement. “Jaime Sarrantonio was loved by everyone at Aloompa and by the many clients she worked with on our behalf over the years.

“She had a tremendously positive impact on everyone she spent time with. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to her family and friends at this time. We will all miss Jaime and her compassionate and joyful presence.”

Spain, Switzerland and the UK. She was previously European head of business development at Intellitix, and also spent 16 years at Sony Music Entertainment.

UK promoter and venue operator DHP Family has appointed Richie Deeney as head of brand partnerships. In the newly created role, Deeney – who has worked on music campaigns for brands including Vice, Fred Perry, Adidas and Absolute Vodka – will be tasked with building relationships with current and future partners and “developing new business prospects.”

Matt Felker has been appointed general manager of New York’s 17,000-cap Barclays Center, jointly operated by AEG Facilities and BSE Global. Felker was GM at the nearby Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Joe Zino will replace him. Both internal promotions, which become effective 1 October, follow news of the impending departure of Barclays Center regional GM Steve Rosebrook.

Becky Ayres, chief operating officer of Liverpool’s Sound City, has been promoted to managing director, replacing Dave Pichilingi, who will now focus his energies on Modern Sky, the Chinese entertainment powerhouse, which acquired a stake in Sound City in 2016.

Hannah Morris, Ticketscript’s former head of sales in the UK and Republic of Ireland, has joined Vibe Tickets as commercial director. Her CV also details stints at Groupon and video production company, Dreamtek.

SeatGeek has appointed James McClure as international general manager, to lead its continued international expansion. McClure has previously helped the likes of Google and Airbnb to expand into new markets.

‘Fake events’ flood Facebook The secondary ticketing sector, squeezed by hostile regulators and new restrictions on Google AdWords, is increasingly touting for business on Facebook, where a growing number of unofficial Events pages are driving unsuspecting buyers towards resale sites, an IQ investigation reveals.

Alongside other social platforms, Facebook Event pages

have in recent years become an important tool for promoters, with concert organisers and primary ticketers relying heavily on social media to market their events to potential event goers. But an increasing number of unofficial tour pages often compete directly for ticket sales for shows which have yet to sell out.

Read the full story on the IQ website, at goo.gl/52BvmE.

IQ Magazine September 2018

News

Hydro Celebrates Five Remarkable Years The jewel in Glasgow’s crown, The SSE Hydro, celebrates its fifth birthday this month having surpassed all expectations since the £125million (€139m) arena opened with a concert by local hero Rod Stewart in 2013.

By the time the fifth anniversary rolls around on 30 September, the 13,000-capacity venue will have hosted 639 event performances, welcoming more than 5.2 million visitors through its doors – equivalent to the entire population of Scotland.

Those numbers have consistently seen The Hydro rank among the top five venues globally, but management of the arena are keen not to rest on their laurels and have revealed ambitious expansion plans for the Scottish Event Campus, where The Hydro sits alongside the 3,000-cap Armadillo (which was also designed by renowned architects Foster +

Partners), and the adjoining SEC Centre exhibition halls, which have a combined capacity of about 22,000.

In July, the SEC applied for planning permission for a £150million (€167m) scheme that would see the construction of new conference suites and a significant extension of its exhibition space. “The new conference facility would allow us to stage two events simultaneously, or large conferences on a scale that we currently can’t offer,” explains SEC chief executive Peter Duthie. “We believe our expansion project will provide a significant economic impact, not just to Glasgow and Scotland, but to the UK.” Those plans are likely to receive a sympathetic hearing from Glasgow’s local authority, as the impact The Hydro has had on the city, and Scotland as a whole, is exceptional. Since the building opened, the

nearby area of Finnieston has been gentrified to cater for people making their way to concerts and other SEC events, and no fewer than 48 new bars and restaurants have opened as a result of “The Hydro effect,” leading to Finnieston winning the crown for hippest area in the UK, according to The Times.

Additionally, the local area has more than 1,000 hotel rooms within a five-minute walk of The Hydro, with more hotel projects due to begin construction on the arena’s doorstep.

SEC’s head of live entertainment, Debbie McWilliams, says, “Five years, over five million people through the doors, the SSE Hydro has exceeded all expectations! It stands as a beacon of city partnership and the people of Glasgow have responded by making it consistently one of the busiest arenas in the world.

The success of the SSE Hydro has made an impact, not just to Finnieston, but to Glasgow’s wider economy – we’re firmly placed now as a world-class venue.”

Healthy books abound as Eventbrite plots floatation Live music’s publicly traded heavy-hitters reported strong financial growth in the first half (H1) of 2018.

DEAG (Deutsche Entertainment AG) announced plans to issue a new corporate bond to finance further growth after a strong start to 2018. According to provisional financial results, the Berlinbased promoter recorded a 34.2% increase in turnover in H1 2018, to €118million – up from €87.9m the previous year – while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew to €8.1m, from €2.2m in H1 2017.

German rival CTS Eventim similarly recorded sig-

nificant growth in revenue and earnings in the first six months of 2018. Of all its divisions, live entertainment saw the biggest gains, with revenue rising 36% to €429.1m, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) up 57.4% to €28.5m. The ticketing division reported revenue increases of 3.1% to €183.4m and a normalised EBITDA of €65.6m, slightly higher than last year.

Live Nation grew turnover 7%, to $2.9billion (€2.5bn), in Q2 2018, with operating income growth again in the double digits, increas-

IQ Magazine September 2018

ing 19% to $135m (€116m).

Adjusted operating income (AOI, which excludes several expenses, mostly related to stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortisation) was also up 18%, to $260m (€223m). It follows a strong Q1 when turnover grew 19% and operating income 72%.

Elsewhere, New Yorkbased Madison Square Garden Company reported its financial results for the 2018 financial year in mid-August.

Over the course of the fiscal year, the group generated approximately $1.6bn (€1.4bn) in revenue, representing an increase of some 18%

compared to 2017’s efforts, boosted by “the performance of our bookings business, the [Radio City] Christmas Spectacular and sponsorships,” said CEO Jim Dolan.

Soon to join their publicly traded ranks, meanwhile, is self-service ticketing giant Eventbrite, which in July filed an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange later this year.

The San Francisco start-up, founded in 2006 by husbandand-wife team Kevin and Julia Hartz, plans to raise $200m (€172m).

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News

Viagogo lashes out while legal woes pile up British promoter Kilimanjaro Live dismissed as “ludicrous, laughable” and “totally false” allegations of “multimillion-pound fraud” made by Viagogo in a German court, rounding off a busy two months of litigation for the always-controversial secondary ticketer.

Viagogo’s August began with news that New Zealand’s Commerce Commission is to begin civil proceedings against the company for alleged breaches of the NZ Fair Trading Act. This was followed by plans for a similar claim for damages by German promoters’ association BDV and, significantly, by the UK’s Competition and

Markets Authority, which began legal proceedings in the High Court on 31 August.

Geneva-based Viagogo’s suit against Kilimanjaro – filed in Germany, home of Kili’s parent company, DEAG – accuses it and CEO Stuart Galbraith of “set[ting] up fake Viagogo booths at venues and conn[ing] our customers into believing that their tickets wouldn’t work” – a reference to the promoter’s invalidation of around 10,000 resold tickets for Ed Sheeran’s recent UK arena tour.

Viagogo refused a request from Sheeran’s team not to list the tickets for resale. Seatwave, Get Me In! and StubHub all complied, while tick-

ets on Viagogo were resold for up to £4,000 (€4,445).

“This is a transparent attempt to deflect attention away from [Viagogo’s] upcoming appearance at the DCMS inquiry and the wide-ranging criticisms, multiple legal prosecutions in many territories, including by the Competitions and Markets Authority in the UK, and condemnation of their business practices,” said Kilimanjaro in a statement.

Viagogo’s Cris Miller was due to attend said DCMS hearing – part of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee’s live music inquiry – but pulled out at the last minute, citing the pending legal actions. Viagogo

controversially snubbed a previous hearing, last March, leading committee member Nigel Huddleston MP to decry its “lack of respect to parliament and, by extension, the British public.”

Along with eBay-owned StubHub, Viagogo is one of the two remaining ‘big four’ secondary ticketing sites in Europe following the staggered shutdown of Ticketmaster’s Get Me In! and Seatwave. They are replaced by a price-capped system integrated into the main Ticketmaster site, set to roll out in the UK and Republic of Ireland in October, followed by a launch across Europe in the early part of 2019.

Record Summer for Europe’s Festival Business?

As the summer festival season in Europe winds down for 2018, the early signs are that the sector could be heading for another record year, as the appetite for live music outdoors shows no sign of waning.

Blisteringly hot conditions throughout the continent seemed to bolster ticket buyers with confidence, with event organisers the length and breadth of Europe reporting stellar business compared to years gone by.

Indeed, the summer began with FKP Scorpio festival chief Stephan Thanscheidt telling IQ that his biggest wish for 2018 was simply for “some sunshine” following a run of bad weather across multiple years.

And Mother Nature duly obliged, with many European events recording temperatures well into 30 degrees Celsius – a welcome change from similar centimetres of rainfall.

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From early on in the summer, things looked promising as the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park twin events in Germany enjoyed their first uninterrupted schedules since 2014. Founder Marek Lieberberg says the response from audiences and the industry to the “first Ring and Park festivals in four years without any disruptions by inclement weather and/or alleged threats” was “absolutely overwhelming,” with around 70,000 people attending each event. “We‘re back on track, and are confident of regaining some of those understandably absent fans next year,” states Live Nation Germany CEO Lieberberg.

Among those events reporting record crowds were Germany’s Highfield Festival (35,000); Hungary’s Sziget Festival, which celebrated its 26th year by welcoming a mammoth 565,000 people across seven days, as more than 1,000

performers entertained on 60 different stages; a record 13,000 tickets were sold for A Summer’s Tale in the woods and moors of Luhmühlen, Germany; Exit Festival in Serbia saw 200,000 people visit its 18th edition; in Slovakia, Pohoda sold out its 30,000 capacity; Norway’s Bergenfest chalked up 50,000 ticket sales in its 25th birthday year; and Sónar in Barcelona saw over 126,000 guests as it too marked 25 years.

In England, a combination of strong programming, high-quality production and sunny weather saw Parklife, the UK’s biggest metropolitan music festival, sell out all 80,000 tickets; in Denmark, Northside festival had its warmest weekend on record, helping to boost ticket sales; while in Sweden, the inaugural year of Smash Fest, held on the grounds of Stockholm’s Maritime History Museum,

sold out all 18,000 tickets a month before the event.

And even in Turkey, Istanbul Jazz Festival had a landmark 25th year, with 52,000 fans making it the festival’s most successful series in years, and rendering the events of 2016’s failed coup d’état all but a distant memory.

Backing up the anecdotal evidence of increasing demand, a report published in August by online festival booking platform Festicket shows a 29% rise in the number of UK festivalgoers travelling abroad for their festival experiences this season. According to the data, collected from Festicket’s 2.5 million users, Hungary saw the biggest rise in popularity with a 773% growth in visitors, followed by Spain, Portugal and Belgium, which all saw a surge in popularity across the season, with visitor numbers rising 132%, 127% and 120%, respectively.

IQ Magazine September 2018

The latest trades and handshakes from the agency world FONTAINES D.C. (IE)

Agent: Sarah Besnard, ATC Live fontainEs d.c. mEt as a quintet in Dublin, where, influenced and driven in equal measure by the rich history of their hometown’s counterculture, their response has been to make concise and immediately authentic indie-punk that has done anything but fall on deaf ears.

Following the release of a handful of singles in the past year, the band has played a number of shows across Europe, Ireland and the UK, supporting the likes of The Horrors and Idles, as well as playing festival slots at The Great Escape, Off Festival, Primavera Pro, Electric Picnic and Cabaret Vert.

Fontaines D.C.’s debut album is expected to be out early 2019, via Partisan Records. In the meantime, they will be touring the UK this autumn with Shame.

JOHN J PRESLEY (UK)

Agent: Amber McKenzie, ITB john j prEslEy GrEw up in Birmingham and, after some years in London, now resides in Brighton. With two hugely successful singles and an EP under his belt, he is gearing up for the release of his debut album this year, which is coming out through BMG and AWAL. With his first few releases, Presley gained an army of fans – his first radio play coming from Zane Lowe as his ‘Next Hype’ track, with follow-up support from radio DJs Phil Taggart, Alice Levine, John Kennedy, Tom Robinson, and hitting the Radio X, Virgin and Amazing Radio playlists.

The Guardian, Independent and The Times have also noticed his work, which has helped catapult his reputation across the Channel to Europe where he’s also found support on national radio stations and huge festival billings.

PREDICTIONS FOR NEXT MONTH Artists not in the current top 15 but rapidly rising KIAN (AU), THE BETHS, the (NZ), PRESS CLUB (AU), ALTOPALO (US)

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IQ Magazine September 2018

New Signings & Rising Stars

Artist listings AK Patterson (UK) Colin Keenan, ATC Live Alexandra Stréliski (CA) Colin Keenan, ATC Live Ali Barter (AU) Adele Slater, Coda Alma (FI) Alex Bruford, ATC Live Andy Black (US) Geoff Meall, Coda Andy Jenkins (US) Nikita Lavrinenko, Paper and Iron Baby In Vain (DK) Shaun Faulkner, X-ray Barrie (US) Will Church, ATC Live Black Belt Eagle Scout (US) Chris Meredith, ATC Live Black Midi (UK) Clemence Renaut, ATC Live Blvck Haze (NL) Sol Parker, Coda Body Type (AU) Alex Bruford, ATC Live Bossy LDN (UK) Mike Malak, Coda Bríet (IS) Olly Hodgson, Coda Bros (UK) Sol Parker, Coda Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard (UK) Jamie Wade, X-ray Cold Callers (UK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Creatures (UK) Sarah Joy, ATC Live Crumb (US) Will Church & Sinan Ors, ATC Live Colin Keenan & Stuart Kennedy, ATC Live Deer Tick (US) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Desta French (UK) Yusuf Bashir, MN2S Dr Meaker (UK) Roxane Dumoulin, ATC Live Duds (UK) Nick Matthews, Coda Dynoro (UK) Sinan Ors, ATC Live Emma-Jean Thackray (UK) Chris Meredith, ATC Live Estrons (UK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Etta Bond (UK) Yusuf Bashir, MN2S Exile Di Brave (JA) Sinan Ors & Marlon Burton, ATC Live Ezra Collective (UK) Matthew Pidgeon, MN2S Fede Lng (UK) Nick Matthews, Coda Flynn (IE) Sarah Besnard, ATC Live Fontaines D.C. (IE) Will Church, ATC Live Gently Tender (UK) Tom Schroeder & Lucy Putman, Coda Ghosted (UK) Mike Malak, Coda Global Dan (US) Beckie Sugden, X-ray & Mike Malak, Coda Grip (US) Erin Coleman, Paper and Iron Halo Maud (FR) James Whitting, Coda Hayley Kiyoko (US) Sinan Ors, ATC Live Henry Green (UK) Alex Bruford, ATC Live Hyukoh (KR) Clemence Renaut, ATC Live Jackie Cohen (US) Sally Dunstone, X-ray Jerry Paper (US) Beckie Sugden, X-ray Jesus Honcho (US) Sinan Ors & Will Church, ATC Live Joey Dosik (US) Amber McKenzie, ITB John J Presley (UK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Kaleem Taylor (UK) Tom Bull, MN2S Kansas Smitty’s House Band (UK) Colin Keenan & Stuart Kennedy, ATC Live Keb’ Mo’ (US) King Princess (US) Lucy Dickins & Chris Payne, ITB Marlon Burton, ATC Live Kojaque (IE) Krush Puppies (UK) Sarah Joy, ATC Live Mike Malak, Coda Kwengface (UK) Lewis Parker (UK) Samuel Rumsey, MN2S Rob Challice, Coda Luluc (US) Mac Ayres (US) Beckie Sugden, X-ray Sarah Joy, ATC Live Madonnatron (UK) Matt Goss (UK) Sol Parker, Coda Marlon Burton, ATC Live MiC Lowry (UK)

IQ Magazine September 2018

Missy Elliott (US) Alex Hardee, Coda MorMor (CA) Lucy Dickins, ITB Neue Grafik (FR) Tom Manley & Sinan Ors, ATC Live Night Beats (US) Paul Buck, Coda Noah Carter (DK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Oxide & Neutrino (UK) Samuel Rumsey, MN2S Pabllo Vittar (BR) Clementine Bunel, Coda Peaness (UK) Rob Gibbs, Progressive Artists PENGSHUi (US) Beckie Sugden, X-ray Petal (US) Stephen Taylor & Colin Keenan, ATC Live Phantastic Ferniture (AU) Alex Bruford, ATC Live Pizzagirl (UK) Jess Kinn, Coda Plastic Mermaids (UK) Jamie Wade, X-ray Post Animal (US) Roxane Dumoulin, ATC Live RYD (UK) Matt Hanner, ATC Live Sharky (UK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Shey Baba (US) Matt Hanner, ATC Live Shigeto Live Ensemble (US) Sinan Ors, ATC Live Shovels & Rope (US) Colin Keenan, ATC Live Sons of Kemet (UK) Rick Morton, Blow-Up Steven A. Clark (US) Sally Dunstone, X-ray Story Untold (CA) Martin Horne & Gemma Milroy, X-ray Swimming Tapes (UK) Matt Hanner, ATC Live Tanukichan (US) Erin Coleman, Paper and Iron Tenderlonious (UK) Clementine Bunel, Coda The Collier (UK) Geoff Meall, Coda The Skinner Brothers (UK) Geoff Meall & Paul Buck, Coda The Zutons (UK) Geoff Meall, Coda Tim Levy, MN2S Timmy Regisford (US) Tirzah (UK) Isla Angus, ATC Live Tori Kelly (US) Alex Hardee & Nick Matthews, Coda Toya Delazy (SA) Abi Hand, MN2S UPSAHL (US) Andy Clayton, Coda VRWRK (UK) Sally Dunstone, X-ray Wideboys (UK) Matthew Pidgeon, MN2S Willie Graff (ES) Tim Levy, MN2S Sarah Joy, ATC Live Yassassin (UK) Youngs Teflon (UK) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Youngsta (UK) Matthew Pidgeon, MN2S

IQ Magazine hottest new acts - Sept 2018

This Month

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Last Month 7 4 1 14 8 2 3 9 6 10 11 12 5 13 25

ARTIST

YNW MELLY (US) KING PRINCESS (US) FISHER (AU) STEFFLON DON (UK) MABEL (UK) DEREZ DESHON (US) SHORELINE MAFIA (US) RUEL (AU) FREYA RIDINGS (UK) SHECK WES (US) RAMZ (UK) CHARLOTTE LAWRENCE (US) YOUNG NUDY (US) KEY GLOCK (US) B YOUNG (UK)

Fastest growing artists in terms of music consumption. Aggregated across a number of online sources.

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Gig Gadgetry from the Frontline...

Food Waste Composting

nuraphone

The ultimate accessory for audiophiles, the nuraphone’s headphone technology personalises sound for each individual, delivering the acoustic output to suit the user’s hearing ‘fingerprint.’

Developed by Australian boffins, nuraphone plays a range of tones into the ear and then measures a very faint sound that the ear generates in response called the otoacoustic emission. This signal originates in the cochlea and vibrates in the eardrum, turning it into a speaker and playing sound back out of the ear, albeit 10,000 times quieter than the sound that went in.

Encoded in the returning sound wave is information about how well you heard the sound that went in. The nuraphone uses an extremely sensitive microphone to detect the returning sound wave and create the unique hearing profile. The process all happens automatically in about 60 seconds.

Nuraphone then sonically moulds your music so that it matches your hearing system, allowing you to hear music via your favourite player, in a way that you have never heard it before. It’s not cheap at about £349 (€399), but it could change the way you listen to music forever…

With questions being asked about what happens to recycled matter once it is handed to contractors, Slovakia’s Pohoda Festival this year partnered with JRK Waste Management to develop an ingenious on-site recycling centre to process its food waste.

This composting system uses GreenGood electrical composters – a technology that processes all food waste within 24 hours, at 90 reductions. This effectively means that when 100 kilogrammes of bio-waste is loaded into the composting machine, just 10 kilogrammes of nourishing compost is produced.

The technology has been developed by Oklin International Ltd and uses a combination of heat and micro-

organisms to help breakdown the waste into compost. The system is relatively easy to install and staff can be quickly trained to operate it.

Celebrity chef and food campaigner, Jamie Oliver, has already been involved with programmes that use GreenGood technology to minimise waste, while the positive experience at Pohoda, where 1,550 kilogrammes of waste were converted into 300 kilogrammes of compost throughout the event, means that the scheme will be a permanent fixture at the festival for many years to come. Pohoda reports that 5.5 tonnes of compostable packaging were also sorted and processed on-site at this year’s festival.

Pohoda’s ‘compost’ team with one of the GreenGood machines

TicketSauce San Diego, California-based TicketSauce has launched an advanced security feature for its e-ticketing solutions that incorporates a custom photo upload capability, enabling event organisers to add additional layers of security to their ticketing process.

According to the developers, the ability to upload a facial photo on all tickets, and match the photo with the name on each ticket, takes ticket security to a new level in terms of decreasing fraudulent activity and keeping events safer. “This is just another

step in our efforts to provide the most robust and secure level of ticketing to all our customers and their events,” says TicketSauce CEO Travis Fisher. “As one of the first e-ticketing companies to enable customised photo ticketing, we are raising the bar for manual photo/name checks upon entry, and look forward to opening the gates for the

next phase of e-ticketing security, with facial recognition software in the future.”

Not only does photo ticketing provide a next-level security layer, it can also provide an easy means for ticket filtering for VIP-only events or entries, exclusive benefits, quicker event access, and photo-only ticketing entry lines, to name a few.

Do you have a new product or technology to contribute to this page? Email gordon@iq-mag.net to be considered for the next issue…

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IQ Magazine September 2018

EVENT SAFETY & SECURITY SUMMIT

The Event Safety & Security Summit The second edition of ILMC’s security-focused conference – E3S – is taking shape, with a growing list of renowned security, venue and event experts already involved…

After last year’s sold-out inaugural event, the Event Safety & Security Summit (E3S) has moved to a larger venue for 2018, and has more than doubled the number of conference sessions that will take place. If you’re involved with running a venue or with the safety and security of live events, E3S is an important event in the calendar.

Launched in 2017, the one-day conference brings together leading international venues and festivals; touring and sport professionals; and security experts from around the world. The second edition, which takes place 30 October, will introduce two separate conference strands.

“For EAA members, the first edition of E3S was one of the most relevant and important events that we attended last year,” says association chair Peter van der Veer. “Looking at the agenda that’s been announced, this year’s edition looks set to be even more vital to attend.”

Registering For E3S

The Delegates

Presenting Partner

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The aim of E3S is to help with the development of best practice and harmonised standards; to showcase the latest ideas and innovations in the industry; and to encourage delegates to share information and initiatives that will benefit all. “We want E3S to be as practically useful as possible,” says ILMC’s Greg Parmley. “Which is why we are programming specific presentations about new ideas and products alongside the panels and workshops.

Everyone attending E3S should leave armed with new knowledge, contacts and tools to make their event or venue safer.”

E3S is organised by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in close collaboration with the European Arenas Association, the UK’s National Arena Association, MOM Consultancy, and other leading theatre and venue organisations, and live event security companies.

E3S is an invitation-only event for A full delegate pass costs £180 + VAT, and includes: venue operators; touring and sport • Access to all panels, presentations and workshop sessions professionals; and security experts.

• A conference guide containing the contact To receive your invitation, email information of all delegates E3S@ilmc.com.

• A five-star working lunch • Coffee & tea breaks • A closing drinks party

Companies already confirmed to attend E3S 2018 include: Live Nation, AEG Europe, Cricket World Cup, Festival Republic, Rotterdam Ahoy, SMG Europe, Showsec, G4S, The O2 Arena, The SSE Arena Wembley, SSE Hydro, Se2 GmbH, Arena Birmingham, KOKO, Rockhal, Bergen Live, Telenor Arena, and Big Concerts.

Associate Partners

IQ Magazine September 2018

E3S

The 2018 Programme E3S consists of a combination of presentations, panel discussions and workshops. The following will form part of the 2018 programme, with more topics and speakers to be confirmed and published at a later date.

Panel Discussions With some of the industry’s leading lights confirmed as guest speakers, panel topics at E3S so far include: Learning Transferrable Lessons, chaired by SEC’s Mark Laidlaw, considers security operations, ranging from the FIFA World Cup to state visits by US presidents, in order to learn lessons from each situation, before asking how best practice and information can be better shared across different sectors.

Flexible Solution to In-Work Training, chaired by MOM Consultancy’s Chris Kemp, looks at the development of the industry’s greatest asset – manpower – and asks how professional learning can be harmonised across a whole team or organisation.

Protecting the Future of Live Events, chaired by ID Resilience’s Ian Kerr, asks how the industry can future-proof its activity to make events more safe and secure, and examines what initiatives are helping develop an international safety culture.

Presentations The Kerslake Report: A summary

From Paris to Manchester: How far have we come?

Andy Smith from West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit considers recent changes in security protocols following the attacks in Manchester and Las Vegas.

Crowd & Crisis Communication: The rise of a new concept Daniel Brunsch (University of Cologne) introduces a new approach to crisis communications – The Guardian Angels.

Alternative Approaches to High Footfall Screening The Joint Security and Resilience Centre’s Shaun Hipgrave reports on a year spent trialling new methods and technology around high footfall screening.

Mobile Messaging in Emergency Communication Crowd Connected’s James Cobb explores the role of mobile messaging in emergency communication, and presents exclusive results of crowd movement data including evacuations, gathered from festival apps over several years.

Achieving Joint Situational Awareness through Logging Raven’s Ian Kerr explains the revolutionary developments in the ways that information is logged and shared.

Working with Group Psychology in Emergencies

University of Sussex’s John Drury explains how an understanding of the principles of group psychology, based on the social identity approach, can contribute to safer events.

Prioritising Terrorism Risks to Indoor Venues, Stadia & Festivals Arup’s Richard Bond suggests techniques that help to identify, assess and prioritise terrorism threats at events.

Integrated Safety & Security Planning

Author of the independent enquiry into the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, Lord Kerslake will present the key findings and recommendations of the report.

Chris Kemp highlights how the integration and consideration of security, safety and crowd management yields stronger results.

The Threat to Crowded Spaces

The Crowd as Participatory Threat Sensors

Carl Dakin presents an overview of the threat levels for live events across Europe currently.

Krowdthink’s Geoff Revill presents the United Nations’ Office of Counter-Terrorism-sponsored, researched and developed technology that digitally engages the crowd.

The full E3S agenda is online at www.e3s.world

Event Partners

IQ Magazine September 2018

Association Partners

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Comment

What makes a successful touring exhibition?

Director of operations at FACTORR, Arnold van de Water, provides insight into opportunities for, and threats facing, the touring exhibition industry.

T

hese past few years, the family entertainment industry has seen a significant rise in the popularity of touring exhibitions. These travelling edutainment concepts are far removed from traditional museum exhibitions where visitors merely observe original artworks and read the accompanying information.

Whether it’s the intriguing life of an artist or a showcase for a popular movie: the public increasingly expects to be able to experience content by means of innovative technologies, rather than to just look and learn. As the line between entertainment and traditional museum exhibitions seems to be fading more and more, contemporary touring exhibitions are being continually developed, and the question arises: what makes a touring exhibition successful?

“These low-cost exhibitions will burn up the market for us all.”

A new way of presenting iconic brands Especially when it comes to museums, some would say that the only successful touring exhibitions are the ones that present “original artefacts.” I dare to question this.

Take the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, for example.

The museum is recognised as the world’s leading authority on the life and work of Vincent van Gogh, and engages millions of visitors each year. Although the interest in Van Gogh’s original paintings remains undiminished, the museum has recognised a growing public demand to experience arts and culture in a contemporary way. By combining the expertise of the museum with techniques commonly employed in the entertainment industry, the museum has transformed the story of Vincent van Gogh into the touring Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience.

Although the museum owns the largest collection of original artworks by Vincent van Gogh, they chose not to present them in the tour. Instead, they created a multisensory, interactive exhibition inspired by Van Gogh’s artwork and letters, bridging the traditional gap between entertainment and high-art, and making art accessible to a broader audience. Not only for the traditional museum visitor, but also for families, and so-called “digital nomads.”

It’s not a secret that successful brands sell, and that counts for touring exhibitions as well. The strong branding of the internationally acclaimed Van Gogh Museum assures visitors that they will receive the authentic story from a well-respected source.

Another example of a touring exhibition created around a successful brand is Nathan Sawaya’s Art of the Brick. Sawaya

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presents the iconic LEGO bricks in a way that is both new and entertaining, whilst maintaining the authenticity of the LEGO brand itself. Both these exhibitions show that by reinterpreting a well-recognised brand in an authentic and innovative way, you can open up the market for new audiences.

Production values In my experience on the production side of touring exhibitions, I’ve seen a lot of variation in quality when it comes to exhibition sets. Too often a production kit contains only a few video projectors, ragged text panels, and a worn out light and walling system. As a result, presenters need to invest heavily to get the production to the right level of quality. Bigger is not always better, but it’s all about applying enough resources in a smart, creative way. The end result should be a turnkey set that adds substantial value to both the presenter’s operation and the perceived visitor experience.

The industry threat: copycats Unfortunately, too often, when high-quality exhibitions become successful, copycats emerge. Some promoters choose a lowquality version mainly for financial reasons. I see this as a big threat for this fast-growing market segment. Visitors are often buying an expensive ticket for an exhibition that takes just 30 minutes to walk through, or that doesn’t contain the story or brand that is expected. As a result, they are disappointed and may not visit a similar exhibition again. There are, for example, various Da Vinci, dino, and space exhibitions, but only a few are authentic, have high production values, and are supported by a well-known brand. These low-cost exhibitions will burn up the market for us all.

All in In my opinion, the touring exhibitions market can only be successful if promoters consistently opt for brand and production values above price, and I think this proves to be the biggest challenge. If you aim to be successful and want to attract a large number of visitors on a consistent basis, there’s no cutting corners. The discussion is not about whether original artefacts need to be presented or not, it’s about telling the authentic story in an appropriate way by using the original brand; having high-quality production values; and engaging visitors with the use of innovative technologies.

Quality comes with a price, and promoters must go ‘all in’ to ensure that the touring exhibition market continues to be stable and successful. www.vangoghmuseum.com/experience

IQ Magazine September 2018

Comment

Is 2018 the year of French pop?

As Le Bureau Export celebrates its 25th anniversary in London, its project and event manager, Géraldine Zanaska, believes 2018 could be a breakthrough year for French music.

“T

hings gonna be alright, things gonna be just fine” sings 26-year-old French pop-star Jain on the first single from her second album, Souldier, which was scheduled for worldwide release at the end of August.

Debut album Zanaka (meaning ‘children’ in Malagasy, the language of Madagascar where her mother was born) came out in 2015 and quickly went multi-platinum in France, where she has already played hundreds of gigs to huge crowds of fans who sing along to every word.

In the UK, it’s quite a different story. Despite quite a few late-to-the-party but complimentary articles in the UK press, as well as some radio play and a few festival slots, Jain hasn’t ‘quite’ managed to break into the mainstream on this side of the channel. But this new release could well be the one that takes the UK by storm.

“As Le Bureau Export this year celebrates 25 years of championing French music around the world, the future has never looked so brilliant.”

I feel positive about it. I mean, if we can win the World Cup twice, who’s to say we can’t have more than one French act topping the UK chart in the same decade? And, as I sit in my local pub in London where French pop royalty Christine & The Queens’ new single is playing on repeat, I tell you, 2018 is a grand cru for French music, and not just in France.

Six years ago, after earning my figurative stripes (in addition to my Breton jersey) in the UK music business, working for various promoters, venues, and record labels in Paris and London, I was offered a job at Le Bureau Export, the French music export office, to help promote French artists in the UK and Ireland.

There, I discovered the world of music export, where there is no straight path to success, and no formula for helping artists that works the same way twice. From dragging amps to the Oui Love showcases we organise in London, to partnering with respected festivals worldwide; from connecting with leading tastemakers and bookers or small venues across France, to helping out with visa and immigration issues; from funding international tours, to organising trade missions, and songwriting camps, and creating networking opportunities for music professionals… we do it all.

And, as Le Bureau Export this year celebrates 25 years of championing French music around the world, the future has never looked so brilliant.

IQ Magazine September 2018

Back in June, we published a report on the international reach of the French music industry, examining the key trends in three branches of the industry: music publishing, recorded music, and the live sector. According to our findings, French acts are winning over more international listeners, concert-goers, and professionals than ever, with constant growth recorded.

In 2017, the French music industry’s international revenues accounted for €283million, of which €72.8m come from the live sector (+26% since 2014), making it the second source of revenues abroad after copyright and music publishing.

The report also highlights the effect of streaming as the main method of music consumption, with streaming representing 58% of the sales of recorded music outside France last year.

And there’s no denying that music’s worldwide availability, thanks to streaming, has also made a mark on French acts touring the world’s stages.

“I mean, if we can win the World Cup twice, who’s to say we can’t have more than one French act topping the UK chart in the same decade?”

In the report, we also introduced a new tool for analysing the live industry: the Live Charts. Each Live Chart highlights French artists that have made an impact through tours and live performances. And in 2017, many did. While established artists such as Justice regularly appear on festival line-ups abroad, newcomers such as rapper MHD, whose Afro-trap (a genre he created himself) videos first found fame on YouTube, and electronic groups such as The Blaze, and Her, have also appeared on line-ups at iconic festivals such as Coachella, Roskilde, Glastonbury, Sziget, Sónar, and more.

And let’s not forget DJ and producer Petit Biscuit – now selling out venues in Europe and across the US, after debut Sunset Lover was released in 2015, when he was just 16 years old. A track that has since racked up more than 277 million plays on Spotify alone.

So perhaps it’s time to brush up your French on DuoLingo, as it looks like music ‘made in France’ will be seeing La Vie En Rose for the foreseeable future. www.lebureauexport.fr www.ouilove.co.uk

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Comment

Keeping the Doors Open for African Music Coda Agency’s Clementine Bunel highlights the visa issues that are endangering the ability of African acts to visit Britain.

A

s a European living in London for over ten years, Brexit has thrown a little shade on what my future looks like here and like many others, I am anxiously waiting for it to unfold. But I feel fortunate that I currently live here, work here, and have freedom of movement.

Yet for over ten years, I have been working with some great artists who have always required a visa to come play in the UK, sometimes at great expense, with the cost of a UK visa being £244 per person for the ‘cheap’ option. Artists from Mali, for example, cannot apply in their own country and instead have to fly to Senegal to submit their UK application. Their passports then have to be sent to Sheffield (UK) for processing, which can take up to four weeks, and then they have to wait, anxiously, hoping that their visas are ready in time for them to travel. To the cost of the visa itself, you can add the expense of travelling back and forth and potential accommodation costs. If they are applying for an extended visa to cover a longer period then they will also have to for NHS fees and tests for tuberculosis, if applicable. It all adds up…

But the ambition to conquer the UK prevails and a lot of bands do invest, sacrificing their fees sometimes just to get to the UK. As an agent representing African artists, I spend a lot of my time handling visa-related issues. It’s getting more stressful but if this is what we have to do to ensure we welcome these artists to the UK/Europe in order to bring diversity into the musical landscape and to festival bills, then I will continue to do so with pride.

Today, one of the talking points in the music industry and one of the unforeseen consequences of Brexit is how it will affect non-European artists who start their tour in Ireland before heading to the UK. It will theoretically, no longer be possible for artists to do so without applying for a UK visa. I am angry that there is now another obstacle to enter the UK, and it is to the detriment of the arts, once again.

But this is a much wider issue and not only about Brexit, which is only the tip of the iceberg here. I am equally angry to see that it takes a situation that directly impacts American artists for the industry to stand up and make some noise and finally admit how bad the situation is. Yes, a UK visa costs £244 per person (add another £200 to that if you’re planning to apply for longer than six months) and if you happen to be a five-piece, ‘emerging’ guitar band from the US that is getting £500 a show (and that’s being generous)… well, you will either need very rich

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parents to help you, or you need to urge the world to get its s**t together and figure out how to pay artists better, maybe?

I’ve read comments by people who are scandalised at the thought of having to submit finger-prints, leave passports at consulates… Welcome! But no such fuss about nationals from other countries for whom it is already compulsory to apply for a UK visa at a high cost, right?

Artists from Africa who are booked to play UK festivals are here to perform, why wouldn’t their presence not be as important as American artists? They can also sell tickets, get radio playlists, gather impressive streams. They also have stories to tell, and all

“I am angry that there is now another obstacle to enter the UK, and it is to the detriment of the arts, once again.” that matters. From the Malian band Songhoy Blues that fought for their right to sing when Islamic jihadists banned music, to the gay South African artist Nakhane, who having embraced his sexuality had to leave his own country to find safety. Not your average indie band, right? While we get fed stories from the news painting Africa as a continent that “needs help,” how about getting the real stories about contemporary Africa that has something to say, and do something about it. This is something Coda Agency has supported me with since I joined.

This is where our industry has to do better. Since Brexit was announced I have seen more hunger from within the media and creatives to champion and support music that is not from the US or the UK. A door has opened but, unfortunately, to quote a recent tweet from Jon Snow, the Home Office is making it a “hostile environment” for touring musicians who do not hold a passport that doesn’t require them to apply for a UK visa. Price increases and processing times are getting to the point where some bands will refuse to play a UK festival or accept a UK tour just because of the sometimes humiliating process of applying for a visa. That directly impacted a number of festivals this summer and it will continue to do so if we do not react to this nonsense that is making the UK close its doors to diversity.

IQ Magazine September 2018

Comment

Trust in the Power of Youth!

Tour manager Glen Rowe on why he retired from the road in order to achieve his ambition of setting up a trust that will provide a future for young artists and crew.

L

ast month, after the cinema release of Muse’s Drones on Tour, I departed my 18-year position with the band by announcing my retirement from a life on the road in order to set-up a new charity adventure: NEKO trust.

Having been lucky enough to work with some of the best live bands on the planet, I’m struck by the absence of breakthrough acts with guitars, drums and attitude – I’m kept awake at night worrying who will headline Reading Festival in the future. So, this is a call to arms moment.

The UK has given the world some of the best music in modern times, and we need to continue. Where would Coldplay be but for the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town? Or Ed Sheeran if not for The Bedford in Balham?

At this year’s TPI awards, I proposed that the industry come together to tackle this problem. And so, ladies and gentlemen, please meet NEKO trust: a simple idea, with massive ambition!

We want to build five grassroots venues around the country – London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Edinburgh – that will be run by young people studying a

variety of subjects related to the live events industry. We also plan to add to the mix ex-military and ex-offenders who are in need of a new life.

The trust will see that the next Bastille or The 1975 are able to meet young crew in these new venues powered by youth, and be able to begin new working relationships. Young bands need young crew, so let’s unite the young, brilliant minds of the next generation of our industry.

Then comes HULLAbALOO, a music and arts festival totally created and run by students for students. A discovery festival with a difference. And this is where you come in…

NEKO trust is seeking industry mentors to provide guidance in advance of the festival, at the House Of Vans, London, 27-28 April 2019. The festival will be a microcosm of our beloved industry, involving students studying art, marketing, first aid, security, transport logistics, stage management, backline tech, sound, lighting, projection mapping, the list goes on!

All equipment needs to be industry-sponsored, proving that we care about the future crew.

To learn more about NEKO trust, please visit Nekotrust.org.

BREXIT

THE FINAL COUNT DOWN

In six months’ time, Britain is due to exit the European Union, but, at press time, the continent’s politicians seem no closer to a divorce settlement than they did 18 months ago when the negotiations started. With a “no-deal” Brexit now seeming ever more likely, IQ sought the insight of a number of experts in six key sectors to see just what the UK’s solo project could mean for the international live music industry…

March 2019

BREXIT TIMELINE

• For Brexit ratification phase to be completed, 72% of member states must give their consent.

• UK Parliament will pass a bill implementing the withdrawal treaty.

May 2019

European Parliament election.

End of 2020: Transition phase

• The UK will begin formal trade talks and will have to replace 750 EU international agreements.

• Both sides will prepare new immigration/customs/regulatory systems.

MB Presents is looking at ‘The Art of the Brick LEGO®: DC Super Heroes’ for its next exhibition

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IQ Magazine September 2018

BREXIT

Road Freight

By Richard Burnett, Road Haulage Association (RHA) There has been so much said and written about Brexit – but much less about what it will mean to the British music industry, an industry we know and love, and one that does so much to drive the British economy.

Last month, I attended a pre-Brexit meeting at the Department for Transport (DfT), with the secretary of state, Chris Grayling, and his team, to discuss the implications of a “no deal.” Our intention was to establish the best possible outcome for our members and the haulage industry, after March 2019.

Frustratingly, we left with very little – apart from a strong indication that neither the DfT nor the rest of government understands even the most basic needs of road-freight operators. Even now, with just seven months to go until the UK leaves the EU, there is not even a contingency plan – standard practice for any business, surely?

So far, all we have is the proposal of a lorry park at Dover to prevent tailbacks on the M20 – a proposal that we have already spurned as unworkable. The response of one RHA member was, “We would be sat there for days and days, costing a fortune [...]

The truck park would be full in half a day.” These comments were widely picked up by broadcast, online and printed media. We have got to have a clear government commitment, that in the event of a no deal it will seek an agreement that doesn’t impose new permits, quotas or limits on UK international operators, particularly those

for whom the ability to plan far ahead is critical.

For the movers of music, time is the critical element. Forward planning is essential. But with such long lead times, how can a logistics supplier accurately plan, when any date post-March 29 is such a grey area? Yes, there will be a transition period but that too remains shrouded in mystery.

One of the DfT spokesmen told us that the government is confident of reaching an agreement with the EU that maintains the same levels of commercial haulage accessibility, ensuring the benefits felt by both sides continue after Brexit.

This is not rocket science, although, as so eloquently put by one of our members when giving his response to the suggestion of a no-deal scenario by the official present, they “looked at me as though I was talking in a foreign language.”

Not very encouraging, is it?

Right now, all we have is words. But words alone are not enough. We need clarity, we need a workable, no-deal contingency plan in place, and – we need it now.

Without clarity, the industry that employs 2.4 million people, including the operators and employers of the 600,000 HGV drivers that keep the UK’s HGV fleet of nearly half a million trucks on the road, contributing £2.54billion [€2.8bn] to the UK economy, will just have to hope for the best.

But, for the industry responsible for moving 98% of the UK economy, hope just isn’t good enough.

Aviation

By Adrian Whitmarsh, Premier Aviation There are two vitally important points: The first is that the UK remains a member of the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Although the UK government has stated they want to, currently nothing has been agreed on the mechanism and how much we will contribute. Without this, UK aircraft and operators would be isolated and unable to continue flying – they would move wholesale to other EU states, as many are already making plans to do. UK-issued EASA pilot licences would no longer be valid outside the UK. The second point is flight permissions. Without agreements in place, UK operators will no longer be able to fly domestically within EU states nor fly internationally

from one EU state to another, as they currently have automatic rights to do. Likewise, EU operators will no longer be able to fly domestically within the UK nor, for example, would an Austrian operator be able to fly from Germany to the UK. Time is running out to agree these complex rules and, again, the result will likely be aircraft moving off the UK register to operations set-up by their owners in other EU states, e.g. as EasyJet has already done.

This latter point has great implications for the chartering of aircraft on European tours. Already, we are quoting flights for next summer and having to advise clients that operators may not have the necessary permissions.

Insurance

By Martin Goebbels, Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd With regard to our specialist area of insurance for the entertainment industry, there have been no indications of change, at this stage, from the insurance markets once Brexit kicks in.

Due to the specialist nature of our policies, we generally use UK insurers regardless of whether for EU or overseas policyholders.

There are certain countries, both within and outside of the EU, that have always had their own internal rulings and restrictions on how insurance can be placed and where.

IQ Magazine September 2018

Sometimes this has to be placed locally or in the local language, and for these reasons we tend not to work with music industry clients in those countries – any barriers related to insurance never really came down when the UK joined the EU, so leaving it probably won’t make too much difference either!

Perhaps on other types of insurance, such as large, industrial commercial policies involving international insurers, it may have a greater effect.

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BREXIT

Visas & Work Permits

By Tina Richard, T&S Immigation Services At the moment, (only) non-EEA acts need work permission to come here for tours, one-off shows, film shoots etc. The UK government has not yet indicated whether EEA nationals might need some form of work permission post-Brexit.

Tours currently fall into three categories of immigration complexity: Simple: EU/EEA nationals; they don’t need permission to travel to the UK and perform there. No costs incurred; no paperwork needed. This might change after Brexit.

Medium: Non-visa nationals; countries such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia. They need permission to perform in the UK but just need to present it as an entry document upon arrival. This is very cheap (as low as £21 per act).

Complex: Visa nationals; these include China, Russia, Jamaica, South Africa and more. They need permission to perform in the UK, plus a visa. These are often a nightmare and expensive (several hundred pounds per person).

It’s possible that non-British EU/EEA nationals might be pushed from category 1 to category 2 after Brexit. This will mean slightly more paperwork but it’s not too onerous.

If any EU/EEA country were to be pushed into category 3, that would make their lives more difficult, but it seems unlikely at this point.

However, for the last two summers, queues at UK airports have been hellish. It has become almost par for the course to wait two hours or more in order to clear immigration; if they add millions of EU passengers to the lines whose paperwork and intentions have to be checked, then it’s clear they need to hire a lot more immigration officers.

Taxation & Social Security

By Dr Dick Molenaar, All Arts Tax Advisers

There will be mixed taxation and social security consequences post-Brexit as follows: Artist taxation: this is based on the bilateral tax treaties and not on the EU treaty. This means that taxation in the performance state and tax credit in the residence state stays the same.

But the Gerritse and Scorpio decisions of the European Court of Justice have given non-residents within the EU the right to deduct expenses and file tax returns. After Brexit, UK artists cannot use this anymore and will be paying more tax than now in, for example, Germany.

US artists are better off in the EU than UK artists because

the US tax treaties have a minimum threshold of $20,000 [€17,209] per artist per year and allow an exemption for independent production companies.

EU artists performing in the UK can keep using the same FEU system because that is a UK unilateral tax measure.

VAT: there will be no reverse charge system anymore but goods and services will go in and out of the EU. Administratively, this will be more complicated but will not lead to higher taxes.

Social security: no A1s possible anymore for France and other states. If the UK does not create an alternative, this will lead to higher social security contributions without any rights.

Currency Exchange

By Simon Liddell, Centtrip Music

Big Ben may have stopped chiming but time has not stood still in Westminster. On the contrary, it is quickly slipping away: there are now just over 200 days before Britain leaves the European Union, and there is still much to iron out.

While the terms of a transition period have been agreed, negotiations are ongoing on the more contentious matters of the size of the divorce bill and the future status of Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, discussions over how the UK and EU will relate in the future have not even begun.

The biggest unknown remains the true cost to Britain of leaving the EU without a trade deal in place. Once thought remote, the chances of a no-deal Brexit are increasing and that’s already weighing on the pound, which has fallen to its weakest level in a year against both the dollar and the euro.

A weaker pound is not good for musicians or labels that

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have to pay overseas whether for touring or recording. For promoters paying US artists in dollars, the cost per show will have increased by more than 10% over the past few months.

Conversely, UK artists touring the US and Europe that are paid in those currencies will benefit. But what will happen next?

“Hard” Brexit is likely to push sterling to parity against the euro and a multi-decade low of 1.18 against the dollar.

While a good Brexit deal for Britain would boost the pound to 1.40 against the dollar and 1.20 against the euro.

Artist, managers, agents and promoters can escape the uncertainty of currency movements though. Fintech companies like Centtrip, which specialise in international payments, foreign exchange and treasury management services, enable you to lock in a rate today for up to two years and mitigate any adverse currency fluctuations. Whichever side of the fence you are on today, you can still have control of your money.

IQ Magazine September 2018

NEW BOSSES NEW BOSSES 2018

We received more nominations than ever for this year’s New Bosses - IQ’s annual celebration of the people aged 30 and under who are helping shape the future of our business - and the number of young, talented people around the world who nearly made the list was enough for IQ to contemplate running profile pieces in every issue for the next year. But that’s not how the process works, so the following pages show you the cream of the crop from this year’s nominees.

The individual profiles are heavily edited versions of each New Boss winner, but we would encourage you to read the full responses of our New Bosses on the IQ website, www. iq-mag..net, which will be published over the coming weeks.

Kevin Jergenson (29) Agent: ICM Partners (US)

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A native of Los Angeles, Jergenson graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in business management. During his studies, he was accepted into ICM’s summer internship programme.

Interning for now-mentor, Scott Mantell, became a full-time job, which led to Jergenson being promoted to co-ordinator, and then agent, in 2016.

What’s the most exciting event you have been involved with in 2018?

Having H.E.R. sell 5,000 tickets in London her first time in the market, without an official album release, was incredibly exciting to see and be involved with.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned at ICM? Representing an artist takes a village. As a full-service agency, our clients are not only looking to be represented for touring but also film and television, branding, digital, etc. I am extremely fortunate to work with some amazing colleagues who really help us touring agents surround our clients in all areas of the business.

Where is the most exotic place that your work has taken you?

This summer I covered Haven Festival in Copenhagen and Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to get into the live music business?

This business is a true grind – nothing comes easy. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a quality business for yourself, and you should always be eager to keep learning. I learn a lot from my colleagues on a daily basis, which in turn only helps my business and my clients.

...we’re an industry of specialists, and the sooner you figure out what you’re going to specialise in, the better

”

Michael Jones (29) Co-founder/promoter: The MJR Group (UK)

Jones has been promoting shows since the age of 12, primarily because his friends’ bands were terrible and nobody else would book them. Aged 14, he began promoting American and European touring acts and then ran TJ’s venue in his home town of Newport, in the UK, before setting up a chain of live venues with The Intertain Group, which led to establishing MJR with fellow promoter, Rich Buck.

What are you working on at the moment?

The outdoor Summer Series at Domain Park in Sydney, Australia, headlined by The Jacksons. Elsewhere, we’ve got 50 Cent’s UK and European tour, along with some new venues opening in Birmingham, which I’m very excited about.

Who was your mentor?

John Sicolo who owned TJ’s was a big part of my life. He passed away a few years ago, but he gave me my first real chance and made me believe in myself.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to get into the business?

Decide what specific sector you’d like to work in, and concentrate solely on doing your absolute best in that role. If there’s not an opening with an existing company then get out and make your own. A lot of young people coming through try to be all-rounders, which will get you up to a point, but really, we’re an industry of specialists, and the sooner you figure out what you’re going to specialise in, the better.

Crying Nut feat. Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols - DMZ Peace Train Music Festival

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IQ Magazine September 2018

New Bosses

Meryl Luzzi (30)

Agent: Paradigm Talent Agency (US) Luzzi graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in integrated marketing communications. She worked as an event producer in Boston and New York, before buying a one-way ticket to LA in 2012. Shortly after, she joined AM Only, which had just formed a partnership with Paradigm.

Which acts are you currently working with?

Sofi Tukker recently sold out two nights at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn Steel in New York; Anjunadeep, whose notable highlights were a sold-out Brooklyn Mirage & Treasure Island; and I recently signed Mac Ayres, whose debut album comes out in September. He’ll be touring North America in November and I can’t wait for the world to get to know him.

Who do you turn to for advice?

Matt Rodriguez, Paul Morris, Emma Hoser and Alan Gary have provided me with guidance and helped me find my voice within this business. There are also so many women in this business that I can rely on and am continually inspired by and in awe of.

As a New Boss, how would you improve the way the business is done?

Check your ego at the door. No one has time for it. Be a good human being first, and great at your job second.

How has the role of an agent changed?

Agents are at the forefront of music discovery – they are the new A&Rs. Also, there are so many artists touring, that agents must find ways to tour more strategically.

Maxim Karlik (30) Agent: United Talent Agency (US) Karlik studied commerce at Monash University, Australia, with a major in finance. When he moved to Los Angeles, he found an internship with TV producer Marty Katz. Through Katz’ recommendation, Karlik landed in the UTA mailroom and has since worked across the agency, including assisting CEO Jeremy Zimmer who created a brand-new music crossover department that Maxim now helps to lead.

Which acts are you currently working with?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a diverse group from developing artists through to arena headliners across various genres, including Muse, DJ Khaled, Dagny, and X Ambassadors.

Who do you turn to for advice?

Jeremy Zimmer – nobody’s advice is more sought after than his.

Whether it was given to me directly or learned from him through

osmosis, it’s become part of my repertoire in doing business.

As a New Boss, how would you improve the way the business is done?

I would love for the music elements in film and TV production to be considered earlier in the creation process. Obtaining music rights, especially on a budget, can be a complicated process that if thought about too late can lead to missed opportunities.

If you had to choose one highlight from your career so far, what would it be?

Earlier this year, we connected DJ Khaled with acclaimed director Ava DuVernay, who wanted him to write and produce an original song for the end-credits of Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time. It was the first time Khaled had written a song for a film, and it came out great.

Aino-Maria Paasivirta (26) Promoter: Fullsteam Agency (FI) Paasivirta interned at Fullsteam Agency while studying for a degree in cultural management in Helsinki.

After graduating, she returned to the company as assistant to founder Rauha Kyyrö, working with acts such as Big Boi, José González, Franz Ferdinand, Wiz Khalifa, Jack White, Volbeat and Justin Bieber. She has recently taken on the role of full-time promoter.

What’s been the most exciting event you’ve been involved with in 2018?

The 40th edition of Provinssi Festival: the festival looked great, we had a wonderful line-up, and it was just great to see that all the hard work has paid off.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to get into the live music business?

Always try to see as many sides of the business as you can. If you have the chance to do an internship or get a job opportunity abroad, take it. You’ll not only learn about the business but about yourself.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned while at Fullsteam?

When you get to work with people you can call your friends, you’ll always be ready to go that extra mile for them, and they’ll be ready to do the same for you.

What do you do in your spare time to relax?

I like going to shows. Sometimes when I really need to clear my head I read, go to dance class, or study a language on an app. It’s good to activate your brain with something that has nothing to do with your job every now and then.

“

When you get to work with people you can call your friends, you’ll always be ready to go that extra mile for them, and they’ll be ready to do the same for you

”

IQ Magazine September 2018

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New Bosses

Kelly Bennaton (30) Head of marketing: DHP Family (UK) Bennaton has been promoting since the age of 17 under the moniker Default This Promotions. Her first full-time job was with the Association of Independent Music where she was events & marketing co-ordinator. In 2014, she moved to DHP and worked her way up the ladder to become head of marketing in 2017.

As a New Boss, is there anything you’d like to change in the industry?

There is still a distinct lack of women in the live industry and it’s to its detriment. A diverse workforce yields the best results, so I’d really like to make an active contribution in changing this.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned while at DHP? To be confident in my opinions and trust my own judgement.

The live industry is full of big personalities and for someone that is naturally introverted it can sometimes be easy to second guess yourself.

What hint would you give to a friend who had a limited marketing budget for a show?

Be DIY with your approach. Spend the limited budget you have on Facebook ads and making sure your Facebook event is popular – posting in an active event is far better than posting on a Page for reach. Print flyers and posters at home or cheaply online and hand them out yourself at relevant gigs. Get it listed with local magazines and event listing websites – most have a free submission form you can use. Finally, tell all your friends about it!

Bradlee Banbury (30) Agent: Creative Artists Agency (UK) Banbury studied music, advertising and event management at London College of Music. Alongside the team at KOKO, he promoted Club NME and ran stages at festivals under the banner “The Melonheads” before meeting Caroline Reason and getting his foot in the door at CAA. Tell us a bit about your role.

My focus is to find our clients new revenue streams outside of their conventional touring business. The kind of areas I’m working in can change drastically from deal to deal. Currently, I’m working a lot with Nile Rodgers who has partnered with American Express in the run up to his album release later this year; and with Jorja Smith and her team, I’m helping to increase her presence in the high-end fashion world.

Do you think more acts could be tapping into private/ corporate/branding opportunities?

Yes, provided that it’s done in the right way, which complements the artist’s brand and doesn’t alienate their fans.

Do brands typically approach you, or do you find yourself pitching ideas to brand partners?

Both. I’m often pitching concepts created in-house to find a suitable brand partner, but my favourite deals are the ones driven by the artist. If we can get a concept off the ground that an artist is truly passionate about, with the help of a brand, then everyone’s likely to win. I never try to put an artist in the mix for a campaign or event when they may not be the right fit. Thankfully, we’ve usually got a client on our books to suit most briefs.

Erin Coleman (29) Agent: Paper and Iron Booking (DE) Born in Illinois, Coleman attended college in California, where she cofounded Scripps Live Arts, which put on live performances for Claremont’s student population. After graduating, she managed a Chicago record label and ran live in-store events at its record store, including performances by Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Ryley Walker, Circuit Des Yeux and more. She moved to Germany five years ago, where she joined Paper and Iron as an agent.

You moved from Chicago to Berlin in 2013. How difficult was that?

The transition was pretty freeing. I was prepared to start from scratch and loved navigating new professional and social terrains, and in the end built a life in Berlin on my terms. I started at Paper and Iron in 2014.

You had no experience as an agent, was that a problem?

It would have been much more difficult if Paper and Iron didn’t already have their structure in place. It was very helpful having insight into other aspects of the industry such as the label, distribution, PR and putting on shows. Those experiences gave me perspective into what my place would be in a team supporting an artist, and what my role in their development could look like.

What are you working on at the moment?

My roster is currently around 25 artists, including Ryley Walker, Nadia Reid, Molly Burch, Anna Burch, and Halo Maud.

Typically, I am working with 100-1,000-capacity venues.

Who do you turn to for advice?

Paper and Iron founder, Nikita Lavrinenko, who has been there for guidance since day one. I was pleasantly surprised at how honest and supportive so many agents are; how open they are about their experiences, both good and bad; and how excited they are by what other agents are working on.

The lure of crystal-clear seas and white-sand beaches helped Kala Festival achieve a successful first year

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IQ Magazine September 2018

“

New Bosses

Check your ego at the door. No one has time for it. Be a good human being first, and great at your job second

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Tom Bownes (28)

Leo Benton (27)

Promoter: Live Nation (UK)

Agent: K2 (UK)

Bownes fell in love with Bristol’s music scene while studying at the city’s university and started to organise gigs and club nights. He then landed a job as a ticketing assistant at AEG Live before moving to Live Nation’s promotions department.

While studying for his business management degree at Newcastle University, Benton began promoting local club nights. He found an internship with John Jackson at K2 and worked his way up the ranks to his current role as a booking agent.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m promoting tours for Idles, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Halsey, King Princess and many more, whilst working closely with Reading and Leeds, Latitude, and The Great Escape to help provide a pathway, alongside touring, to help break emerging acts, as well as helping to progress already established acts.

Give us an example of what you are working on.

A wide variety of metal acts including Sevendust, Lost Society, The Raven Age, and The Shrine, alongside assisting John Jackson in booking his roster (Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Mastodon, Ghost, Gojira etc). So from 100-capacity clubs to 60,000-cap stadiums.

What do you see yourself doing in five years’ time?

Promoting shows – there’s nothing better.

As a New Boss, is there any practice that you would like to change or introduce, to improve the way the business is done?

To work on the pathways that help promote ethnic diversity and gender parity, especially encouraging and providing a framework for those already doing well to kick on and break through to that top 5-10% of their field.

If you had to choose one highlight from your career, so far, what would it be?

Probably my first Reading and Leeds festivals working at Live Nation. I had numerous acts playing, and from going there as a kid and dancing at the front, to being stood the other side of the fence, watching the acts I represent play, was a real privilege.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned at Live Nation?

Never be late for the office quiz (11.30am every Friday).

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You work for the artist and not the other way round

As a New Boss, how would you improve the way business is done?

I’d ban above face value secondary ticketing. Whilst the introduction of companies like Dice and Twickets to the industry, and artists such as Iron Maiden and Foo Fighters introducing paperless ticketing are helping, there’s still a long way to go.

What has been the most exciting event you have been involved with recently?

Alter Bridge’s two sold-out Royal Albert Hall shows appearing with the Parallax Orchestra in October 2017 is pretty tough to top.

The metal genre doesn’t get a lot of mainstream support – how tricky does that make it for you to break new talent?

Metal has always been aimed at a specific demographic, and whilst we don’t get included on major Spotify playlists, metalspecific playlists have comparatively large and dedicated fan bases. The same goes with radio – the likes of Planet Rock and Kerrang! specifically cater to the rock and metal community.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned while at K2?

You work for the artist and not the other way round.

”

IQ’s New Bosses will be automatically shortlisted for the Tomorrow’s New Boss Award at the Arthur Awards in March 2019 - voting for which will open in mid-November. Last year’s winner, Anna-Sophie Mertens from Live Nation UK, says, “Nothing beats being able to call yourself Tomorrow’s New Boss! The best part is your colleagues and business partners never fail to highlight the title, whether to celebrate or to mock you. I remember pitching for an act and the agent subtly mentioned I had won the award, to the artist and manager; They were so impressed, I am now their national promoter. Congratulations to this year’s New Bosses”

IQ Magazine September 2018

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TV presenter Michaela Strachan and tyrannosaurus rex

DINO MIGHT

Nearly two decades ago, the BBC series, Walking with Dinosaurs, hit TV screens in the UK. The success of the mini-series spawned a major touring production – which is currently roaring back to life for the final time. Jon Chapple catches up with the producers, promoters, suppliers and prehistoric reptiles, getting ready to party like it’s 70 million BC.

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS

For a six-part TV miniseries, Walking with Dinosaurs has – much like the Mesozoic lizards for which it’s named – had a remarkably long life. Initially airing on the BBC in 1999, Walking with Dinosaurs has spawned several television spinoffs (2001’s Walking with Beasts and 2005’s Walking with Monsters); a 2013 feature film, also called Walking with Dinosaurs; along with books, video games and, perhaps most successfully, a live show, Walking with Dinosaurs – The Arena Spectacular.

Walking with Dinosaurs – The Arena Spectacular (WWD) debuted in Australasia in 2007 as Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience, and has since been seen by more than nine million people in 250 cities around the world, picking up ILMC’s Best in Show 2012 award along the way.

Final T-recks The latest, and final outing for WWD began in the UK at the Metro Radio Arena (11,000-cap) in Newcastle, on 20 July, and is scheduled to close in Russia at St Petersburg’s Ice Palace (12,300-cap), on 26 May 2019, although more dates are set to be announced.

The show is doing “superstar” numbers in Ireland, says Noel McHale of MCD Productions, which is promoting shows in Belfast in August/September, and Dublin in December.

McHale says he anticipates selling more than 150,000 tickets over nine days (five at SSE Arena and four at 3Arena) largely on the back of the buzz around previous WWD tours. (The production last visited Europe in 2013, although it toured North America in 2014 and Australasia the following year.)

“We’re on target to sell over 150,000 tickets, so it’s real superstar business,” McHale explains, adding that the show is “doing a lot of repeat business, as the word-of-mouth praise for the last tour is phenomenal.”

Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of Global Creatures, the Australian company behind the show, says the fact that 11 years after its debut WWD is embarking on its third world arena tour is “a testament to the strength of our production and the popularity of dinosaurs with fans all over the world.

“The world’s fascination with dinosaurs is enduring,” Pavlovic, also executive director of the production, tells IQ. “We’re fortunate to have developed a loyal base of promoters who are excited to introduce the show to the next generation in their local markets.”

That next generation is key to WWD’s lasting popularity, suggests McHale. “There will always be a new crop of kids getting into dinosaurs as they are endlessly fascinating,” he says. “And parents who bring their kids are blown away by the sheer size and quality of the production.”

T-rucks For the new tour, Global Creatures’ touring crew is tasked with operating, maintaining and transporting across the world a total of 18 dinosaurs, representing nine separate species.

These range in size from nine ‘large’ dinosaurs, operated by a team of three (one driver, and two ‘voodoo’ puppeteers each taking either the head and tail or minor movements, such

IQ Magazine September 2018

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WALKING WITH DINOSAURS

No reptile dysfunction In spite of a gruelling touring schedule – the show is doing several split weeks, which naturally leads to dino wear and tear – regular maintenance means that technical problems are mercifully rare, according to Grace. “This is tempting fate, but the dinosaurs, who receive daily maintenance, never break down,” he says. “They are much easier to deal with than the touring crew, as they don’t need visas, hotels, per diems or flights…”

As a bonus, the dinosaurs’ riders are “really quite modest,” jokes Mary Shelley-Smith, global operations director of the show’s caterer, Eat to the Beat. “Some hay for the herbivores, and the odd human sacrifice for the T-rex and it’s done – no sorting the M&Ms or fancy water for them.”

Waller, meanwhile, pays tribute to the work of the technical team, who he says quite literally do the bulk of the heavy lifting. “It is quite busy for our actors and suit performers, but the main workload is done by our technical team, who have to continually take down the show and put it back up again,” he comments. “They take the real brunt of the work.”

Worked to the bone C O N T R IB U T O R S (l to r) Manu Braff, MB Presents; Scott Farris, Walking with Dinosaurs; Nick Grace, Walking with Dinosaurs; Jasmina Krstić-Latinović, Štark Arena; Noel McHale, MCD Productions; James Morden, PRG; Carmen Pavlovic, Global Creatures; Mary Shelley-Smith, Eat to the Beat; Ian Waller, Walking with Dinosaurs; Marta Wnuczynska, Live Nation Poland

“Some hay for the herbivores, and the odd human sacrifice for the T-rex and it’s done – no sorting the M&Ms or fancy water for them.”

Mary Shelley-Smith, Eat to the Beat

as blinking or roaring); a 7m-tall adult T-rex and two 11m brachiosaurus; and four smaller ‘suit’ dinosaurs, including two 2.5m utahraptors. (Not the raptors made famous by Jurassic Park, which were modelled on utahraptor’s smaller, not-technically-a-velociraptor, cousin deinonychus. And not actually from Utah.)

As with previous tours, historical accuracy is a key consideration for WWD’s technical team, which once again consulted with palaeontologists to ensure the appearance and behaviour of all dinosaurs match the latest scientific consensus. “We have added rudimentary feathers to the raptors, liliensternus and T-rex, which we didn’t have on the first tour,” explains resident director Ian Waller, “as it wasn’t proved to be fact then, but now is.”

Ferrying the 18 dinos around the planet they used to call home Are Transam Trucking, who are using no less than 23 trucks – a number that’s actually down on 2012, when it was 27, says general manager/booker Nick Grace, largely due to the use of more compact lighting, sound, video and rigging designs.

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Team WWD’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed by Europe’s promoters, many of whom are returning customers. Manu Braff of MB Presents, who was also involved with the 2012 European tour, says “the WWD team and producers are among the finest people to work with” while Marta Wnuczynska of Live Nation Poland – a first-time dino promoter – hails the realism achieved by the design team, saying: “From the very first moment, we knew this was something really spectacular, and it made a staggering impression on all of us. We didn’t hesitate even for one minute – it was obvious we simply had to bring the dinosaurs to Poland.”

“This is a top-production show, on the level of most demanding concerts,” says Jasmina Krstić-Latinović of Štark Arena in Belgrade, which has the show from 3 March to 5 May 2019, after seven sell-outs in 2010. “But it is a family show, and the shows last for three days [as opposed to a one-evening concert], so there is constant work in the venue for a minimum of eight days.”

Load-in takes around a day and a half, adds Grace, who has a 52-strong touring crew at his disposal. “We load in early morning on day one, around 6am, and are ready for a full rehearsal and a 7pm evening show on day two,” he says.

Adding to the logistical challenges of keeping such a massive production on the road, Grace says, is the need to hire local actors to play Huxley – the palaeontologist narrator of the show – in each territory. (In the UK, Huxley is TV presenter Michaela Strachan.)

“Having local actors in most of the European cities is almost as much work as touring the actual show, as we need to audition, cast, rehearse, translate and then find time on the road for a full dress run on stage for all the actors throughout a packed touring schedule,” he explains, “which is not easy, as you can imagine!”

“From the very first moment, we knew this was something really spectacular […] it was obvious we simply had to bring the dinosaurs to Poland.”

Marta Wnuczynska, Live Nation Poland

IQ Magazine September 2018

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS Raptors squabble

Vital statistics The average large dinosaur weighs 1,500kg and contains: 132m of hydraulic hose 295m² of fabric 132m³ of foam 200l of paint 1,000m of cabling 24 microprocessors to control movement, along with 15 hydraulic rams and six hydraulic motors 7kW of power from 12 truck batteries Six roller-blade wheels

“They [dinos] are much easier to deal with than the touring crew, as they don’t need visas, hotels, per diems or flights…”

Nick Grace, Walking With Dinosaurs

Gift-rapt You know you’re onto something, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, when your event starts spawning imitators, and Pavlovic says the market for dino-related events is far more congested than when WWD started out. “There is definitely more competition when it comes to forms of dinosaur entertainment, such as exhibits and displays,” she says, from “virtual experiences to smaller petting zoo-style experiences.”

However, she maintains that WWD “remains in a class of its own [when it comes to] providing a combination of largescale arena entertainment with an educational experience based on scientific fact.”

Krstić-Latinović agrees, saying the show’s lasting success is proof that audiences appreciate its “‘real’ approach and

36

innovation of the production, which attracted us from the beginning. Plus, everyone loves dinosaurs, especially when they’re life-sized…”

“It’s all about the dinos,” says Wnuczynska. “The way they were made, they look like they’re alive – when you watch them, it’s stunning. You never forget the image of these giant creatures walking past you. It’s way more memorable than watching them in movies or theme parks because you can really compare yourself to them: you can feel the ground shaking when they walk, you can see them in their original size, you can observe them in their natural environment, you can experience their normal daily activity, they will look you in the eye, they will sniff you. You can’t have all that anywhere else. That’s the secret.”

“We take the audience on a journey back in time and show them how the dinosaurs might have actually looked in their prime: huge, sometimes frightening, sometimes comical monsters that fought for survival every day of their lives,” comments show director Scott Farris. “Our dinosaurs move exactly like they are real – with all the roars, snorts and excitement that go with it.”

Walking with Dinosaurs “appeals to ‘children of all ages, from three to 103’, as the game box would say,” adds James Morden of PRG, which is supplying video equipment and crew for the tour. “The success of the show is very much on the creatures themselves, with the other departments – LX [lighting], audio, set and us – adding to the setting to make the dinosaurs more real.

“Ultimately, this show is about suspending your disbelief, so that you believe the dinosaurs are real and stood in front of you.”

Do-you-think-they-saurus?

One thing all children, be they three or 103, have in common is that when they see a show they love, they want to take part of it home – and WWD fans are no exception, with all promoters “Ultimately, this show is about suspending your disbelief, so that you believe the dinosaurs are real and stood in front of you.”

James Morden, PRG

IQ Magazine September 2018

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS Stegosaurus and Allosaurus © Aleksandar Dmitrovic

saying they expect merchandise and other souvenirs to be in high demand as the show makes its way across the continent.

Pavlovic says all merch has been revamped for the new tour, partially out of palaeontological necessity: “We have refreshed our merchandise line to reflect the addition of feathers to some of the biped dinosaurs, as well as adding many new items to the line,” she explains. “The souvenir programme – the most sought-after merchandise item among our fans – has also been updated and refreshed.

“Also new to the UK and EU tour this year is a green-screen photo experience, where fans can select to combine their photo over a background of various dinosaurs and scenery.”

In addition to the cosmetic changes, the smaller footprint of the new-look WWD means it can visit smaller venues than on previous tours, Pavlovic continues, with the goal of improving the show’s flexibility while losing none of its impact.

“With technical updates and modifications to the production, we have opened up the opportunity to be able to consider playing in smaller venues that previously we have been restricted from playing,” she says. “Reworking the design of the production without losing the wow factor is something that we have spent the last three years focusing on; we want to be able to offer the same spectacular production to new audiences around the world in cities and countries that we’ve previously never been able to tour.”

Due to its size, says Braff, WWD requires a significant financial outlay on the part of the promoter, making it a “highrisk endeavour” compared to some other shows. “Because of the breadth of the production,” he says, “costs are high – you can’t make it work for small audiences.” However, he says demand is “very, very strong,” with anticipation for the show in Belgium equal to, if not higher than, previous tours.

Veloci-rapture As in Ireland, Krstić-Latinović says the legacy of WWD’s last visit to Serbia is still generating buzz ahead of its return to Štark Arena next spring. “Those who attended the shows in 2010 made some great memories,” she says, “and people have been asking for eight years when it’s going to come back again.”

At press time, WWD was mid-way through a week-long

IQ Magazine September 2018

“It’s all about the dinos.”

Marta Wnuczynska, Live Nation Poland

Dino roll call 9 large dinosaurs • • • • • • •

1 1 1 2 1 2 1

plateosaurus (3m tall x 9.5m long) stegosaurus (5.5m x 11m) allosaurus (4.5m x 13m) brachiosaurus (11m x 17m [adult], 9m x 15m [baby]) ankylosaurus (3.5m x 10m) torosaurus (4m x 9m) tyrannosaurus rex (7m x 13m)

4 suit dinosaurs • • • •

2 5 1 1

utahraptors (2.5m tall x 4m long) baby plateosaurus baby T-rex (2m x 4m) liliensternus (2m x 5m)

“…people have been asking for eight years when it’s going to come back again.”

Jasmina Krstiæ-Latinoviæ, Štark Arena

run at The O2 in London, having already visited Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, Arena Birmingham, Liverpool’s Echo Arena, Manchester Arena, Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena and FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield. “So far, on our UK tour, the audience reaction to our show is as strong as it has ever been since first touring in the UK in 2009,” concludes Pavlovic.

“We’ve enjoyed putting the show before millions of audience members to date, and we look forward to growing that number over the course of this tour.”

37

Germany

Winds of Change As arguably the biggest live music market outside of North America, Germany is enjoying another stellar year. But with corporations threatening to dismantle the regionalised structure of promoters, and politicians forcing event cancellations, the industry is experiencing an unexpected period of upheaval. Adam Woods reports...

It made fun headlines around the world, the story of how one of Ed Sheeran’s five German concerts in July had to be moved from the German city of Essen because of nesting skylarks and unexploded bombs on the site, and then from replacement city Düsseldorf because 104, 40-year-old trees would have needed to be felled.

But for the show’s promoter Folkert Koopmans, there was no funny side, just the almighty cost and upheaval of migrating 85,000 ticket-holders from one show in Düsseldorf to two nights at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, and a nasty suspicion that live music was being used as a political football, with daunting implications for the future of the business.

“Usually, you go to a city and lay out the plans and the city kind of gives you a go-ahead: okay, this looks good, there’s no reason there shouldn’t be permission,” says a smarting Koopmans, a few days after Düsseldorf city council’s late-June decision not to let the show go ahead at D.Live Open Air Park. “And then you sell tickets, and a couple of weeks before [the event] get the final permission.

And this time, the political parties were fighting over it, but it was more like a fight between them and we were in the middle of it.

“And it’s weird because it has not happened before,” he says. “It’s a bit worrying that political parties can decide which event goes ahead and which doesn’t. And now it’s like, okay, are we really able to do these big greenfields anymore?

38

Because if you are not sure about the permission when you go on sale, you are taking a big risk.”

The Düsseldorf travails of Sheeran and FKP Scorpio have struck a strange note in an otherwise pretty healthy year for the German business. Koopmans himself says FKP could be on course for its best year ever in that market, and others say similar things.

Of the other big companies that take a larger than average share of this complicated, busy market, DEAG is heading for 5.5m ticket sales and a 40% increase in operating profit, with shows from Roger Waters, Iron Maiden, Die Toten Hosen, Limp Bizkit and Deep Purple, as well as family entertainment from Disney on Ice, Video Games Live, Nitro Circus and others.

Live Nation GSA reports a decreased volume of stadium and outdoor shows compared to 2017, when it put on 20 stadium concerts, but has still seen Lana Del Rey, Metallica, Depeche Mode, Eminem and Jay-Z/Beyoncé come through this year, and is getting ready for Justin Timberlake, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Britney Spears and U2 in the second half.

AEG’s Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, meanwhile, is having its best year yet in its 10th anniversary year, with its new Verti Music Hall poised to open next door, and for the first time ever Eventim announced global revenues of more than €1billion in 2017, pointing to its new Brazil and Scandinavia operations and the FKP majority stake it picked up in January 2017.

IQ Magazine September 2018

Germany

Böhse Onkelz worked with Wizard Promotions to sell out the Waldstadion in their home town of Frankfurt, earlier this year

Against a backdrop of such money-making, the German live event market generated revenue of nearly €5bn in the year ending 30 June 2017 – an increase of 31% since 2013 – according to promoters’ association BDV, cementing its position as the biggest live market in Europe, ahead of the UK and France.

It must be said, however, that this increase came in spite of falling visitor numbers that saw total ticket sales decline from 120.6m in 2013 to 113.5m in 2016-17. In other words, the sales growth reflected higher ticket prices, rather than increased demand. Prices in fact rose by nearly 45% in those four years, with artists’ ever-increasing fees, and rising production and operational costs the drivers, according to BDV president Jens Michow.

“Artists and event organisers must give this some thought,” he reflected.

There are, of course, other challenges and changes afoot.

The uniquely decentralised German system of local promoters, specialists in the distinct media and infrastructure of a particular region, remains in force. But gradually, the distinctively German culture of co-promotion is being challenged, as national promoters – who for decades have bought tours for the territory and sold them bit by bit to local partners – edge into local promoting themselves. In a large market, with huge numbers of locally focused companies, it clearly has the potential to be a significant shift.

“It’s not a secret that we have a development towards centralisation,” says Detlef Schwarte, co-founder of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival and Conference. “We have Live Nation, and all the big promoters are part of stock exchange-listed larger companies. It gets more and more difficult for small companies to get artists and to keep them in their roster.

“On the other hand, Germany is still a market of very small, very specialised companies. We have 12-13,000 music companies in Germany – some on the live side, many working in Internet or technology – and 90% have a yearly turnover of less than €2million. So it’s important that we protect the ecosystem of small- and medium-sized companies, and there is a lot of talk about the best way to do that.”

Along with the rising price of tickets, another distinct trend in Germany is a speeding-up of the sales cycle, particularly for big shows. “I remember management screaming at me: ‘Belgium is sold out! Amsterdam is sold out! Schwarz, what are you doing?!’’’ says Matt Schwarz, Live Nation GSA COO/managing director. “Germany is the biggest Central European market, with more shows than any other country, and as a decentralised market with four or five major cities, was always lagging behind.

“Recently, we have seen a substantial shift, with the on-sale now being even more important. Our biggest mission is to create a paramount impact right from the announcement. With respect to smaller clubs and theatres, continuity counts. There, we see weekly sales patterns similar to our family and entertainment shows. With so much talent out there, sensitive scheduling is vital.”

Mainstream blockbuster festivals, too, are having a tough time, suffering from rising costs, a shortage of headliners, and unhelpful weather conditions, of which more later. And then, of course, there’s that disturbing incursion of local politicians into outdoor shows.

There have been certain changes to the fundamentals, too. In November last year, German performance rights organisation GEMA concluded three years of negotiations with promoters’ associations when it announced a new concert tariff rate. The new rate, effective from 1 January, collects 5.75% of net receipts for events under 2,000 people (up from 5% on gross receipts),

IQ Magazine September 2018

7.6% for 2,000-15,000-capacity shows (currently 7.2%) and 8% for events with a capacity of 15,000+ (currently 7.65%).

Meanwhile, the BDV announced in July that it intends to merge with the other German association, Verband der deutschen Konzertdirektionen (VDKD). The new body, which will launch this autumn, will be known as the Bundesverband der Deutschen Konzert und Veranstaltungswirtschaft – BDKV for short.

For all its complexities, Germany remains a market of great opportunity. As large festivals wobble – and it may only be a wobble – newer, smaller ones appear and thrive. And while it is all too easy to focus from the outside on big cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt, as Schwarte points out, Germany has 80 cities of more than 150,000 people.

“So there are a lot of opportunities, and as a band or a promoter or a manager, it is really important to study the market and create a proper plan,” he says. “Where Germany is concerned, you really have to do your homework.”

Promoters As in almost any territory, the obvious reality of the German business is one of increasing consolidation and corporate strength. Live Nation GSA, launched in August 2015 by Marek and André Lieberberg and friends, has made a powerful push, while also upping its efforts in Austria and Switzerland.

Fellow international players DEAG and FKP Scorpio are also strong, while FKP parent Eventim also holds numerous other interests, and controls an estimated 50-70% of the country’s ticketing market. AEG, meanwhile, holds a significant position with its Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin and the neighbouring Verti Music Hall.

Globalisation is not particular to Germany, but far more unique is its decentralised market. The German media landscape is uniquely fragmented, making local knowledge a necessity for promoters.

But in the past four or five years, prompted by declining margins and the standardisation of the global live business in general, a growing trend has been for national promoters to roll their sleeves up and promote shows in their locality.

“Most national promoters still rely on local partners in the cities they are not based in,” says Europe-wide agent and Berlin-centric promoter Nikita Lavrinenko of Paper and Iron Booking. “I think what is actually happening more is that national promoters do the double-duty of local promoters in the cities where they are based.”

Some of the larger national promoters, such as FKP and Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion, have promoted locally for years, but more and more mid-size and smaller national promoters have started to do the same, for their acts and those of other people.

This transitional moment has created a diverse landscape,

“ This business suffers from a lack of strong headliners, strong competition, and a saturated festival landscape. And meanwhile, budgets are increasing…”

Christian Diekmann, DEAG

39

Germany

17.DÖRPSTEDT

72.WEISSENHÄUSER STRAND 59.ROSTOCK

71.WACKEN

10.BÖNNINGSTEDT

44.LUHMÜHLEN

11.BREMEN

14.DIEPHOLZ

52.NEUSTRELITZ

29.HAMBURG

74.WURSTER NORDSEEKÜSTE

32.ISERNHAGEN

51.NEUSTADT-GLEWE

4.BERLIN

73.WOLFSBURG

30.HANNOVER 6.BIELEFELD 55.OBERHAUSEN 26.GELSENKIRCHEN 18.DORTMUND 48.MÜLHEIM 22.ESSEN 8.BOCHUM 20.DÜSSELDORF 13.COLOGNE

5.BEVERUNGEN

7.BITTERFELD 28.HALLE

27.GRÄFENHAINICHEN 41.LÖBNITZ

39.LEIPZIG 19.DRESDEN

67.TROISDORF 9.BONN

61.SAALBURG-EBERSDORF

47.MENDIG 40.LORELEY 34.KASTELLAUN 45.MAINZ 57.PUTTLINGEN

24.FRANKFURT 36.KIST

66.TREBUR

46.MANNHEIM

62.SAARBRUCKEN

3.BAYREUTH

31.HEIDELBERG

69.UBSTADT-WEIHER 33.KARLSRUHE

60.ROTHENBURG OB DER TAUBER 54.NUREMBERG

38.LEIMEN 43.LUDWIGSBURG

15.DINKELSBÜHL

58.REGENSBURG 64.STRAUBING

65.STUTTGART 63.SEEBRONN 25.FREIBURG

2.BALINGEN

53.NEU-ULM

70.UNTERFÖHRING

49.MUNICH 23.FELDKIRCHEN

50.NEUHAUSEN OB ECK 42.LÖRRACH

56.PASSAU

1.ASCHHEIM

17.DORNSTADT

37.KONSTANZ

35.KEMPTEN

21.EGMATING

68.ÜBERSEE

12.BUCHENBERG

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IQ Magazine September 2018

Germany 1. Aschheim

14. Diepholz

2. Balingen

15. Dinkelsbühl

3. Bayreuth

16. Dornstadt

4. Berlin

17. Dörpstedt

Appletree Garden Festival

Air-Media

Summer Breeze Open Air

Bang your Head!!!

Obstwiesenfestival

Semmel Concerts Entertainment AEG Apassionata Concertbüro Zahlmann Four Artists Booking Hörstmann Unternehmensgruppe Loft KBK Konzert- und Künstleragentur Powerline Agency Pushken Star Entertainment Transmusic Booking Z|Art Agency Deutsche Entertainment AG F-Cat Productions KKT Landstreicher Booking MCT Agentur Melt! Booking Streetlife International Trinity Music Columbiahalle Max-Schmeling-Halle Mercedes-Benz Arena Olympiastadion Berlin Stadion An der Alten Försterei Velodrom Velomax Berlin Verti Music Hall Lollapalooza Berlin

ICS Festival Service

18. Dortmund

Konzerthaus Dortmund Westfalenhallen Juicy Beats Festival Mayday Way Back When Festival

KBK Konzertagentur Passerotto Concerts

22. Essen

Grugahalle Pfingst Open Air

23. Feldkirchen P.S.E. Germany

24. Frankfurt

Live Nation Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur Wizard Promotions Commerzbank-Arena Festhalle Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt World Club Dome Festival

Sputnik Spring Break

Enjoy Jazz M’era Luna

32. Isernhagen Life-music

33. Karlsruhe

Nature One

35. Kempten bigBOX Allgäu

36. Kist

Umsonst & Draußen Festival

37. Konstanz

Koko & DTK Entertainment

38. Leimen

New Star Entertainment

39. Leipzig

Arena Leipzig Red Bull Arena Highfield

40. Loreley

Picknick Open

41. Löbnitz

With Full Force Festival

42. Lörrach

Stimmen-Festival/Burghof Lörrach

43. Ludwigsburg Arena Ludwigsburg

25. Freiburg

44. Luhmühlen

26. Gelsenkirchen

45. Mainz

27. Gräfenhainichen

46. Mannheim

Vaddi Concerts Veltins-Arena

9. Bonn

Melt! Festival Splash! Festival Ferropolis

10. Bönningstedt

x-why-z Konzertagentur

28. Halle (Westfalen) Gerry Weber Stadion Picknick Open

Hurricane

Allgäu Concerts

ConcertTeam NRW DR Entertainment SSC Group Esprit Arena ISS Dome Open Source New Fall Festival

21. Egmating

Vibra Agency

12. Buchenberg

31. Heidelberg

34. Kastellaun

7. Bitterfeld

11. Bremen

Hannover Promotions HDI-Arena TUI Arena

20. Dusseldorf

6. Bielefeld

Out4Fame Out4Fame Entertainment

30. Hannover

A.C.T. Artist Agency

Orange Blossom Special

Contra Promotion Lars Berndt Events

MS Dockville Reeperbahn Festival Stadtpark Open Air Überjazz Festival

Das Fest Happiness Festival

19. Dresden

5. Beverungen

8. Bochum

29. Hamburg

13. Cologne

Dirk Becker Entertainment Just Jazz International Kingstone Konzertbüro Schoneberg La Candela Musikagentur Peter Rieger Konzertagentur Riegerous Artist Management Kölnarena Lanxess Arena Live Music Hall RheinEnergieStadion Stadion Köln King Georg C/O Pop Summerjam Festival

IQ Magazine September 2018

Music Pool Europe Neuland Concerts WB-Entertainment Alsterdorfer Sporthalle Barclaycard Arena Docks Club Große Freiheit Mehr! Theater Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld Volksbank Arena A.S.S. Concerts & Promotion Christoph Uerlings Productions FKP Scorpio Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion Mewes Entertainment Group Elbjazz Inferno Events

A Summer’s Tale

Love Family Park

HR Booking BB Promotion SAP Arena Maifeld Derby Time Warp Festival

Map Key Promoter Agent Agent/Promoter Venue Festival

50. Neuhausen ob Eck Southside

51. Neustadt-Glewe Airbeat One

52. Neustrelitz Immergutrocken

53. Neu-Ulm

Ratiopharm Arena

54. Nuremberg

Arena Nürnberger Versicherung Frankenstadion Rock Im Park

55. Oberhausen

König Pilsener Arena Ruhr in Love

56. Passau

MWS Werner Forster

57. Püttlingen

Rocco del Schlacko

58. Regensburg Donau Arena

59. Rostock Ostseestadion

60. Rothenburg ob der Tauber Taubertal-Festival

61. Saalburg-Ebersdorf SonneMondSterne

62. Saarbrucken

Joybringer ElectroMagnetic Festival

63. Seebronn Rock of Ages

64. Straubing

Bluetone, Jazz an der Donau

65. Stuttgart

C2 Concerts Contour Music Moderne Welt Opus Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle Porsche-Arena Jazz Open

66. Trebur

Trebur Open Air

67. Troisdorf

European Event Services

68. Übersee

Chiemsee Summer

47. Mendig

69. Ubstadt-Weiher

48. Mülheim

70. Unterföhring

49. Munich

71. Wacken

Rock Am Ring S.T.E.P.

Global Concerts MünchenMusik United Promoters ARTconSCENT DMC Musikmarketing Gary Richmond Music Shamma Concerts Triple M Entertainment Olympiahalle Olympiastadion München Tollwood Festival Rockavaria

ITM Agency

Starwatch Entertainment Wacken Open Air

72. Weissenhäuser Strand Metal Hammer Paradise Rolling Stone Weekender

73. Wolfsburg

Volkswagen Arena

74. Wurster Nordseeküste Deichbrand Festival

41

Germany

“ It’s a bit worrying that political parties can decide which event goes ahead and which doesn’t.”

Folkert Koopmans, FKP Scorpio packed with promoters, in which some co-promote in the timehonoured style while some larger corporate and indie players aim to cover all key cities on their own, and many others specialise in either a region or a musical niche.

Every city still has skilled local promoters, from Hannover Promotions, which last year promoted more than 500 events and sold a million tickets in its city and surrounding areas, to Munich’s Global Concerts, which with DEAG-owned Wizard Promotions won concert of the year at Germany’s PRG Live Entertainment Awards for Aerosmith’s show at Munich’s Königsplatz last year.

Wizard have also enjoyed phenomenal success with Böhse Onkelz, who have sold a phenomenal number of tickets since their reunion in 2014. “This year we had Böhse Onkelz for two nights in the Leipzig Messe and stadium shows in Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen,” reports Wizard managing director Oliver Hoppe. “That was more than 150,000 tickets, but since 2014 the band has sold about 1 million tickets in total.”

Berlin is by far the most populous city in Germany, as far as both promoters and punters are concerned. In Berlin’s indie/alternative realm, to offer one snapshot, independent promoters such as Powerline Agency and Z|Art Agency promote on a national level, while players such as Puschen work both nationally and locally. Prominent local promoters in Berlin also include Trinity, which works closely with Live Nation, and Loft, a longstanding local partner of Hamburgbased FKP. Meanwhile, a smaller group of larger veteran indies such as Konzertbüro Schoneberg (Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt, Münster) and Landstreicher Konzerte (Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden) run offices in multiple cities, promoting shows in and around those areas.

The corporates take a range of approaches to this evolving market. Live Nation continues to sub-contract to local promoters on smaller shows, but has built its German operation with a view to handling most of its large-scale promoting with its own bare hands, just as it does in most other territories.

“The way the music ecosystem is changing, being a highrisk, low-margin business, we basically need to produce and promote ourselves,” says Matt Schwarz.

“We still co-promote mid-size and emerging acts, but understandably we fully self-promote all our major tours.

Hence, we need boots on the ground in all GSA cities to ensure we deliver the best service to the artists. We have almost tripled staff headcount in two-and-a-half years to 65 employees and growing. We have amazing and dedicated people in our team, as well as offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, Zürich and Vienna, plus our sponsorship and media unit in Hamburg.”

Eventim, which already owns majority stakes in not only FKP Scorpio but Semmel Concerts and Peter Rieger Konzertagentur, has been working to strengthen its local hand. Last year, it established Vaddi Concerts in southwest Germany to promote concerts in the Freiburg area, although its planned acquisition of a stake in Berlin-based agent/promoter Four Artists was blocked by the competition regulator in November last year.

The Bundeskartellamt judged that the addition of 500,000 to 1m tickets a year to its ticketing operation would further weaken the expansion prospects of its smaller rivals. The following month, the same regulator prohibited Eventim from signing exclusive ticketing agreements with concert and festival promoters. Eventim indicated it would mount a legal challenge, declaring there was “lively competition” in the ticketing market.

For its part, Semmel is enjoying a great year, working with the likes of Helene Fischer, Scorpions and many others, while co-promoting Highfield Festival with FKP. And on the family entertainment front it remains busy with productions such as the sold-out Hollywood in Hamburg concert series, Cesar Millan, Hans Klok, Soy Luna, WWE Live, Harry Potter in Concert, Sandsation, Star Wars in Concert and The Nutcracker Reloaded.

Semmel’s Christoph Scholz says, “Whilst we are very strong in our domestic market, with acts like Helene Fischer and other German schlager music stars, we are also expanding

Contributors Paul Cheetham, Verti Music Hall; Christian Diekmann, DEAG; Michael Hapka, Mercedes-Benz Arena; Folkert Koopmans, FKP Scorpio; Nikita Lavrinenko, Paper and Iron Booking; André Lieberberg, Live Nation GSA; Oliver Hoppe, Wizard Promotions; Jens Michow, BDV; Ben Mitha, Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion; Jürgen Schlensog, Opus Live; Detlef Schwarte, Reeperbahn Festival; Matt Schwarz, Live Nation GSA; Hamed Shahi-Moghanni, SSC Music Group; Christoph Scholz, Semmel Concerts.

42

IQ Magazine September 2018

Germany

“ It gets more and more difficult for small companies to get artists and to keep them in their roster.”

Detlef Schwarte, Reeperbahn Festival our business internationally. Germany is an export nation, and we recently produced and exported a Marvel exhibition, as well as crossover dance show Flying Bach to the USA. Luckily, there’s no import tariffs on shows.... yet.” He adds, “We are also working on a global tour of World of Hans Zimmer, an arena spectacular curated and co-produced by the Hollywood composer.”

Besides its Sheeran irritations, FKP is having a year to savour, selling out its 60,000-capacity Foo Fighters show in June at Hamburg’s Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld harness-racing track. That added to sell-outs and near sell-outs for Sheeran and the Arctic Monkeys, not to mention last year’s three Rolling Stones shows in Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf, co-promoted with DEAG, which shipped almost 200,000 tickets in four days, grossing $32.2million (€27.7m).

In addition to its rock & roll adventures, DEAG is also doubling down on family entertainment in its home market.

Christian Diekmann speaks of the importance of indigenous productions, citing the Christmas Garden attraction, which will run this year in Berlin and two other cities, and the virtual reality TimeRide experience, which has been in Cologne since 2016.

But overall, he suggests, the focus is on efficiency and effectiveness. “From my point of view, the strategic challenge is to push the convergence of content, ticketing and marketing,” says Diekmann. “This is the key to a sustainable market position and has to be an essential part of the company’s culture.

Marketing, media partners, venues, ticketing companies, online and offline, are not separate fields. Everything is connected to everything else.”

For the indies, the challenge is, as always, to find a niche in it all. Karsten Jahnke MD Ben Mitha admits that the market is competitive, with high barriers to entry. “It’s definitely challenging for us, as small independents, to get our hands in the game. Everything is so money-driven, all these big deals being signed in the US. Certain stuff, you don’t have any chance to get involved with any longer. So we have to find more and more niches to get into, and we are doing pretty well in that way at the moment.”

One good angle concerns the current heavy demand for domestic pop. A few years ago, nervousness about the declining influence of domestically produced German pop music in its own market led to calls for radio tariffs, Mitha recalls, but now the market can’t get enough.

“German-speaking music is doing really well,” he says.

“We have three big domestic radio pop acts, Johannes Oerding, Max Giesinger and Michael Patrick Kelly, and each is playing roughly 50 festivals in the summer. And they are only part of a whole scene. It seems like every small German town has set-up its own festival, and domestic artists have the availability. You experience your country from a new direction. I’m booking artists in so many towns I have never heard of.”

Germany

“ The way the music ecosystem is changing, being a high-risk, low-margin business, we basically need to produce and promote ourselves.”

Matt Schwarz, Live Nation GSA

Festivals Live Nation has had major bad luck with the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals it co-promotes with CTS Eventim in recent years, with storms and lightning strikes in 2015 and 2016, and a precautionary terror-related evacuation in 2017. But in 2018, both events – at Nürburg and Nuremberg, respectively, on 1-3 June – came off without a hitch, albeit with an attendance of 70,000 for each, compared to 90,000 and 75,000 last year.

“The fact that we had no incidents, interruptions or cancellations at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park for the first time since 2014 makes 2018 a very satisfactory year for us,” says Live Nation GSA president André Lieberberg, who adds that the first year of Live Nation’s involvement in the Swiss Openair Frauenfeld saw the festival sell out in record time.

Nonetheless, no one is pretending that big festivals are an easy win just at the moment. “The festival landscape is

undergoing relatively substantial changes, and audience preferences are very different to a few years ago,” says Lieberberg. “Boutique and lifestyle events seem to be much more in demand than mega-festivals in open-field locations.”

The malaise afflicting larger events is not a purely German one, and nor does it have roots that are likely to surprise anyone, according to Diekmann at DEAG. “This business suffers from a lack of strong headliners, strong competition, and a saturated festival landscape,” he says.

“And meanwhile, budgets are increasing due to growing safety requirements, bad weather conditions and the interruptions and cancellations of the last three years.”

Diekmann notes that comparatively smaller festivals – including in DEAG’s case, Munich’s Rockavaria – generally appear to find conditions more favourable.

Not all large-scale festivals suffer, with genre specific events historically doing great business. Not only is Germany home to one of the biggest goth gatherings in the world, M’era Luna, which attracts between 20-25,000 visitors each August, but the northern village of Wacken is invaded annually by Metal fans for Wacken Open Air – the biggest metal festival in the world.

And so popular is that event that next year’s festival sold out all 75,000 tickets just a week after the 2018 edition had closed its gates (see page 64).

FKP brings a stack of festivals to the German market, including Highfield, A Summer’s Tale, Chiemsee Summer, Deichbrand, and Metal Hammer Paradise, but its twin flagships are June’s concurrent Hurricane festival at Scheeßel and Southside at Neuhausen ob Eck, both of which have had

Germany

“ The festival landscape is undergoing relatively substantial changes, and audience preferences are very different to a few years ago.”

André Lieberberg, Live Nation GSA their own problems with the elements lately. But this year, the rain stayed away and a cumulative 125,000 people came.

“Hurricane wasn’t sold out, but we mainly think it was because of the last two years when we had really terrible weather,” says Koopmans. “I think some people were just fed up with it. This year, it was a little cold, it could have been five degrees warmer, but it was dry, it wasn’t muddy. You could go there with your normal shoes. I think that’s what people needed – one good year and then they say, ‘oh great, it can be better.’”

Karsten Jahnke has experienced good times for its festivals, which include Überjazz in Hamburg, Way Back When in Dortmund, and Reeperbahn, a joint venture with Schwarte and Alexander Schulz’s Inferno Events. “All of them experienced stronger sales than last year,” says Mitha, “and our Stadtpark Open Air series [in Hamburg] has sold 120,000 tickets for 30 shows, and we still have certain shows that are not sold out yet.”

Opus Live’s Jazzopen Stuttgart has grown from 18,000 attendees in 2013 to 44,000 this year, its 25th anniversary. “We are growing every year, but this is our maximum capacity at the moment,” says promoter and Opus Live managing partner Jürgen Schlensog. “If we want to increase the festival further, we need new venues. We have increased security costs – who hasn’t? – and fee levels for the big-name artists are increasing as well, but we have done our homework and 30% of the festival budget now comes from sponsorship.”

Other key German festivals in a packed, dance-heavy calendar include Hörstmann/Melt!’s electronic Melt! and hip-hop festival Splash!, both in Gräfenhainichen in SaxonyAnhalt, and Hörstmann/Melt!/Festival Republic’s Lollapalooza Berlin, which, despite the challenges of moving site four times in four years, still ranks among Germany’s biggest events with around 90,000 daily visitors; Kopf & Steine’s MS Dockville

in Hamburg; techno fest Time Warp in Mannheim; I-Motion’s Nature One in Kastellaun in Rhineland-Palatinate; and BigCityBeats’ Frankfurt EDM spectacular World Club Dome.

Amid such heavyweight competition, it’s easy to see how a festival can miss its targets now and again. Düsseldorf promoter SSC narrowly staved off the insolvency of its SSC Festivals arm earlier this year with some help from its friends, after its New Fall Düsseldorf festival failed to break even in 2017. New Fall will take place once again in October, this time with 10,000 tickets on sale instead of last year’s ambitious 15-16,000 target.

“It made me very happy that we had so many people helping us to start the festival again,” says Hamed Shahi-Moghanni.

“Especially the suppliers – they said, ‘you have worked 20 years in the business and you have had one bad year.’ It’s good to have people who believe in you.”

Another event, New Fall Stuttgart, might return next year, but in the meantime SSC is retrenching in Düsseldorf, with Mac DeMarco and Ibeyi headlining.

“We have gone back to the roots and to quality over mainstream. I think festivals work if you are different from other festivals,” says Shahi-Moghanni, who also operates as a local and corporate promoter. “You can’t book the same bullshit as everyone else. If I do the same thing as FKP Scorpio or Live Nation, then I don’t have any chance between these massive big companies. But if you are unique and you do your thing, it can work.”

Venues In Berlin, the big venue story of the year is the opening of the 4,500-cap Verti Music Hall in October, with expectations of more than 100 concerts a year, starting with Jack White on 12 October. The venue is one more part of AEG’s Mercedes Platz destination, which for ten years has also featured the 17,000-cap Mercedes-Benz Arena, formerly O2 World. AEG also manages the Barclaycard Arena and the Volksbank Arena in Hamburg.

“The second venue offers us lots of great new opportunities,” says Mercedes-Benz Arena managing director Michael Hapka.

“We have been able to get content into arena from 5,000 up to 17,000. Now we will be able to bring in content from 1,000 up to 4,500-capacity, which more or less gives us the right venue for everything in between, at one location. It’s a great opportunity to approach our existing promoter partners, but also new ones.”

Verti Music Hall director of booking Paul Cheetham, formerly of Heartburst Management and Live Nation Finland adds: “We are working with almost all of the local promoters, and across the board they have told us that Berlin really needs another venue.”

It’s not the only city that does. Mid-sized spaces are generally lacking in Germany, notably in big cities such as Hamburg and Munich. To take Hamburg as the example, there is a yawning gap shortly to open up between the clubs and the Sporthalle as the 3,500-capacity Mehr! Theater devotes itself to Harry Potter und das verwunschene Kind, and promoters aren’t quite sure what they will do “In Hamburg, it narrows down to the Docks and Große Freiheit, each with a 1,500 capacity,” says Schwarz. At Sporthalle, you are already looking at 7,000. In the summer, we can make use of the boutique Stadtpark open-air location, which holds 5,000, but there is a big gap between clubs and the larger venues, which makes it difficult for several artists to find the right location.”

The DEAG-promoted ‘Nitro Circus’ © Nitro Circus

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Germany Lollapalooza Berlin 2017 © Johannes Riggelsen

Germany is set fair for arenas, stadiums and greenfield sites, including Hannover’s TUI Arena, SAP Arena in Mannheim, Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the ISS Dome in Düsseldorf, and Munich’s Olympiahalle. Sheeran’s run of six eventual shows visited some of Germany’s most esteemed stadiums, including Berlin’s Olympiastadion, FC Schalke 04’s Veltins Arena, and Munich’s Olympiastadion (the latter two twice each), as well as Hamburg’s Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld. Frankfurt has the Commerzbank Arena, which can hold 51,000 football fans or 44,000 concert-goers.

Nationally, however, and as usual, it’s the health of the club scene that gives greater concern. Lavrinenko at Paper and Iron extols King Georg, the 100-cap venue in Cologne that has hosted many soon-to-be-famous bands in recent years, including The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile and Angel Olsen. “A lot of bigger independent names, when they were starting out, these guys picked them up and made shows for them,” he says. “When venues were struggling to get people through the door, they had queues on the street. It’s a really good example of one promoter, or one venue, building a scene or a hub.”

Lavrinenko’s worry is that there doesn’t seem to be very much of that kind of grass-roots initiative around, and not enough support for the small venues that exist. “In the live music business, a lot of people would rather join someone established and do an internship, instead of getting out there and starting something themselves,” he says. “People don’t want to take a risk in Germany sometimes. And German people would rather wait until a band has broken in other territories before giving them a shot.

IQ Magazine September 2018

MojoMagic

Mojo Concerts’ 50 years in business have not only seen them dominate the Dutch live music business, but also become a global name for innovation. James Drury discovers half a century of rock & roll history. whEn BErry vissEr opened Delft’s first discotheque in the late 1960s, he could never have imagined the decision would impact the lives of millions of people for half a century to come.

With fellow students, he ran a small cabaret venue called Mojo Theatre, but despite a weekly 100 guilder grant from the city, it needed to make more money. So they opened disco Polly Maggoo, and it was packed within a fortnight. It was the first time Visser had heard pop music and it changed his life.

Shortly after, at a concert by The Doors, Visser decided he was going to promote concerts. “So I just went to London and met Neil Warnock at [Brian Epstein’s] NEMS, and asked to book Spooky Tooth and Traffic.”

“I remember the first time I met Berry,” says United Talent Agency’s Neil Warnock. “He had long hair and looked a bit like a hippy.”

Returning to the Netherlands, Visser banged on the door of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and asked to rent the main room.

They took one look at him and turned him away. So he went back to Warnock, secured Julie Felix, and tried again at the venue. They sold 300 tickets – and Mojo Concerts was born.

Bitten by the promotions bug and inspired by Woodstock, Visser contacted Bath Festival of Blues founder Freddy Bannister, who agreed to share bands with the Dutchman’s as-yet-unnamed festival. “I had no site and no money,” Visser laughs.

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In 1970, a young architecture student called Leon Ramakers went to an address in Delft to buy tickets for a Led Zeppelin concert that was taking place in The Hague.

There he found Visser, “a long-haired guy sat at a table with an electric heater at his feet.” The two got talking, and Visser told Ramakers of his festival plans with Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, and Soft Machine.

Full of enthusiasm and keen to be involved, Ramakers wrote to the Minister of Culture asking for money, but not expecting a response. To his amazement, a week later the minister called him to a meeting and later granted the young student 25,000 guilders. “As a result of the ministry’s contribution, Coca-Cola agreed to put money in too, because they thought that if the festival was backed by the ministry then it must be OK.” Meanwhile, Visser received a visit from Georges Knap, “dressed like a salesman,” and pitching an idea for a festival in Rotterdam. The long-haired Visser took one look at him and slammed the door. But Knap persisted, and eventually drove Visser to the site he had in mind in Kralingen. Visser was convinced, and from 26-28 June, 1970, Holland Pop Festival (known locally as Kralingen Music Festival) took place near Rotterdam. Headlined

by Pink Floyd, and featuring The Byrds, T. Rex, and Santana.

Taking place two months after fellow Dutch festival, Pinkpop, it was one of the first rock festivals on continental Europe.

IQ Magazine September 2018

Mojo’s attention to detail in making fans their top priority is evident at the Down The Rabbit Hole Festival

“It was a fantastic day,” remembers Warnock. “I was on the bus with Jethro Tull and one of them was playing the violin while we tried to get Pink Floyd into the country because they didn’t have a carnet. It was chaos, but it was frontier times back then.”

Dubbed “Europe’s answer to Woodstock” Holland Pop was a cultural success but a financial disaster. “We lost a million guilders,” remembers Ramakers. “We sold 28,000 tickets but the gates were crashed early on and lots of people got in free.”

Although the festival was organised through a foundation, creditors pursued the fledgling Mojo Concerts. For the next four years, Visser and Ramakers lived hand-to-mouth, borrowing money wherever they could to advance bands because box offices wouldn’t release ticket money until after the shows.

But they weren’t discouraged. “We were young and we loved what we were doing,” says Ramakers. “We were convinced that eventually we were going to make it so we just kept on going.”

This work ethic and passion for music has been integral to the success of Mojo Concerts. Ramakers explains: “It’s good that we’ve made money but the primary reason we do this is it gives us pleasure. If you do something for the love and you do it properly, the money will follow.”

Then in 1977, everything changed. Arena shows became commonplace, and Mojo Concerts were at the forefront.

“All of a sudden there was a major boost in business,” says Ramakers. “We were doing three shows with Pink Floyd, three with Supertramp, two with The Eagles, Bob Marley.

“Before then you were lucky if you made 2,000 guilders on a night. Then it was boom time.”

What put Mojo ahead of their competitors when booking the biggest artists was their attitude – a refreshing change from the dominant long-standing Dutch jazz promoters of the time. “They had the approach that the artist was their employee because they were paying them,” remembers Ramakers. “From the beginning, we understood that we were not the boss – the artist was. All the jazz promoters were stuck in the past and couldn’t adapt to the new rock business.

We would make sure the artists had breakfast in the morning, which was something those others never did.”

ITB’s Barry Dickins recalls: “The biggest promoter in the Netherlands at the time was Muziek Expres magazine owner Paul Acket [founder of the North Sea Jazz Festival]. He said to me ‘why are you dealing with these bootleggers?’ and I told him ‘because they get it, and you’re an old man who doesn’t.’ Berry and I were about the same age – about 20 or 21, so to me working with Acket was like dealing with your dad. Berry got it. We had similar music tastes. I’ve been working with Mojo ever since.”

“ Some men and women copy aggressive behaviour because they see that’s the way to get power and influence, but it’s not all about power, it’s about doing your job well.”

Kim Bloem

IQ Magazine September 2018

Mojo Concerts

Opening Pandora’s Music Box In a story familiar to many promoters, as the years went on, the deals got worse. “I watched them go from 60/40 to 80/20 and then 90/10,” says Visser. His solution, in 1979, was Casa Nova, a ten-day cultural fair for young people at the Ahoy Rotterdam. Rather than relying on increasingly unreliable deals, Visser decided to create other entertainment.

Alongside music, it was to feature tech showcases, poetry, circus, lectures, nightclubs, film and more. It didn’t work and Mojo Concerts went bust. The pair bought the name back a few months later for 4,000 guilders.

Then in 1983, came Pandora’s Music Box – a combination of music, theatre and art. Visser brought in artist and composer Michel Waisvisz and the pair created a programme of what they called “phenomena” – interactive and immersive performances mingling with the audience.

“We had sheep walking the marble floors after midnight; a massage parlour; a lemonade girl standing in a bikini in a glass basin filled with lemonade handing out lemonade in paper cups; old people playing cards. One year we brought in barrels of petrol and set them on fire on the roof of the venue.

It caused quite a commotion,” recalls Visser.

The immersive theatrical experience blew everyone’s minds. Pandora’s Music Box became legendary, and a blueprint for most festivals today. “Barry Dickins was doing a show with Diana Ross at the Ahoy, and came over to see it,” remembers Visser. “He was flabbergasted and told me if we did it in New York, we’d smash it.”

In 1986, Mojo took on someone who would become another pillar of the company’s success – and a globally renowned name in the live music business. As a lighting designer since the age of 22, the then 30-year-old John Mulder had been Mojo’s go-to production guy for years.

Mulder’s inventive, problem-solving attitude and attention to detail dovetailed with the Ramakers/Visser ethos, and the trio made a formidable team.

The following decades saw them not only dominate the Dutch live industry, but also make an impact worldwide.

Perhaps most prominently thanks to the invention of the Mojo Barrier (see page 56).

By 1993, Visser, whose love for music was matched by a passion for cabaret and theatre, got bored. “I felt I couldn’t push my creativity as much as I wanted, so gradually I came to the conclusion I had to leave.

“I wasn’t that interested in making Mojo a big company.

Leon was the guy who gave Mojo wings. And he became one of the most respected promoters in the world.”

Mo’ money no problem in 1999, the financial juggernaut SFX Entertainment – the precursor to today’s Live Nation – came knocking. American entrepreneur Robert Sillerman’s company had been on an acquisition spree, buying-up established European promoters such as Stockholm-based EMA Telstar and the UK’s Midland Concert Promotions (creator of Monsters of Rock), for vast amounts of money.

“I didn’t want to be like Asterix and Obelix – I didn’t want to be this little independent village in the middle of a huge sea of Roman occupation,” says Ramakers. “Plus, the money was crazy.”

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Mojo Concerts Being part of a global network under Clear Channel also appealed, although in practice it didn’t quite transpire, he admits. “Clear Channel didn’t know what to do with promoters, so they just left us alone.”

In 2005, Clear Channel spun off its live entertainment arm as Live Nation, and Michael Rapino was hired to head the business. “That was OK because he knew us already,” says Ramakers. “As long as the money came in and we hit our targets, he let us do it however we wanted, within the confines of the US Wall Street rules.”

That year, Dick van Zuijlen took over as Mojo’s general manager whilst Ramakers stayed on in a consultancy role while booking his roster.

In 2012, Mulder left Mojo after 26 years saying that he “wanted to make room for the youngsters to come up,” and to start his own management firm. He remained involved with production on North Sea Jazz Festival and Lowlands and managed Dutch artists such as Marco Borsato and Doe Maar.

Then in 2015, long-time CEO Van Zuijlen left following a “difference of opinion on the future of the company.” He was replaced by Wilbert Mutsaers, who lasted only nine months before stepping down, later joining Spotify.

In January 2017, Mulder was appointed joint CEO with the company’s lawyer of ten years, Ruben Brouwer – who humbly confesses he was “surprised” to land the role.

Mulder says: “I’m really enjoying it. We have a great way of working together. The company is doing extremely well and people are happy.

“ I was on the bus with Jethro Tull and one of them was playing the violin while we tried to get Pink Floyd into the country because they didn’t have a carnet.”

Neil Warnock, United Talent Agency

TESTIMONIALS Dealing with Leon is a pleasure. He is charming and intellectual and arty. He’s very professional and an astute businessman. He’s doing other things now, but he’s brought up a team of excellent people to run the different parts of the business. Gideon, Kim and Rob have all come through the company and they all have his ethics – they’re excellent.

Barry Dickins – ITB They’ve always been my leading choice of promoter in Holland, initially with Leon Ramakers in the 70s, and more recently with Rob Trommelen. Safe, solid, creative, reliable, honest. The whole team are great.

Rod MacSween – ITB

How can you write anything about Leon that isn’t 100% positive? In my opinion, an excellent promoter, an honest man, an officer and gentleman. NO LEON: NO HOLLAND. I am a huge fan of his. (I’m desperately trying to get in his will.)

Carl Leighton-Pope – Leighton-Pope Organisation

Many congratulations on the 50th anniversary. It’s always a pleasure working with the Mojo team. Whatever issues arise they always get resolved. They’re great partners and are always thorough and responsive. We look forward to many more shows together.

Tony Goldring – WME

We are proud to say that we have worked with Mojo since the beginning.

Berry Visser was prominent in those early days – very focused and innovative – and together, he and Leon Ramakers made a formidable team.

Mojo was – and remains – the major force for all live presentations in Holland. This is a company with integrity, attention to detail, and an overriding love for music that they know will result in the most successful audience attendances and the best money available to artists.

Berry decided to leave the business to pursue new avenues – he was very much a free spirit – and Leon has continued to steer the ship and carry the flag for his very excellent team.

I sometimes allowed my feelings to overrule a more measured perspective – and it was Leon that made me realise that one should think things through carefully.

We are delighted to say our friendship with Leon has lasted through the decades. It’s a relationship we treasure – and it makes us very proud and happy. Here’s to 50 more golden years for Mojo!

Barrie, Jenny, Doris and the team – Marshall Arts

The Mojo way is to go above and beyond when it comes to satisfying the audiences and performing artists, with a special interest in production and safety. They are so professional and allow their partners to share the success, which is not common in the entertainment business. It is a privilege to have been part of this journey over the last couple of decades, and we hope to be aboard for at least the upcoming years.

Dennis van der Haagen – Ampco Flashlight Rental

In Holland, there’s Heineken, Amstel and Mojo. Not much else matters.

Marc Geiger – WME

My 15 years of working with Mojo has been an absolute pleasure... huge congratulations to all the team on reaching the 50th anniversary, and here’s to many more!

Alex Bruford – ATC Live

MTD congratulates Mojo Concerts on their 50th anniversary!

We have been co-operating successfully with Mojo for more than 25 years. We have the same vision and philosophy to professionalise the event world, and to provide, together with Mojo, a better service for visitors. We wish the whole team of Mojo a wonderful golden jubilee and a successful and pleasant celebration.

Hans Verhoeven – MTD

Back in the 70s, I received my first ever Gold Disc*. It was from the record label in Holland following the tremendous success we had there for Emmylou Harris with Leon Ramakers and Mojo Concerts. *A Gold Disc was an ancient symbol of success for record sales in the last century.

Paul Fenn – Asgard

MOJO 50 YEARS! For generations, your passion has been to make fans happy. We hope to share this passion with you for many years to come. CONGRATULATIONS!

Ticketmaster Netherlands Leon Ramakers and Jan Smeets have been collaborating on Pinkpop since its 1986 edition

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IQ Magazine September 2018

Mojo Concerts “It’s never good to have three CEOs in a year and a half, but we’ve managed to get everybody back on track.”

Brouwer, who’d been on the company’s management board for seven years before his appointment, adds: “We don’t really operate under a top-down culture, it’s more like a collection of businesses. That’s a real strength.”

In fact, it’s this structure that Brouwer sees as an important part of how the team was so resilient during the turbulent period of change at management level.

Mojo today Everyone we spoke to cites the company’s culture as why they love working at Mojo, describing the ethos as hardworking, team-oriented, and full of autonomy.

Deputy head promoter Kim Bloem started there in 2001 and spent three years booking North Sea Jazz Festival and developing the jazz circuit in the Netherlands.

Then, in 2004, head promoter Robert van Ommen (who left the company in 2016 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s) said it was time to move up to promoting arena and stadium shows, and showed her the ropes.

“He and Rob Trommelen taught me the skills needed to promote big shows, and introduced me to the grumpy old men’s world,” Bloem jokes. “The first thing I learned is to have a thick skin because some people choose to make things personal when it’s about business. Today I can handle pretty much anything people throw at me.”

TESTIMONIALS I’ve worked with Mojo since almost the beginning of my agency career, and together we’ve built up many successful artists in the Netherlands. One great memory that stands out for me was the two nights with Eminem at Amsterdam Arena, but I also have great memories of many successful triumphs with Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age and many others. Congratulations guys – here’s to the next 50!

Steve Strange – X-ray Touring

First of all, I would like to sincerely congratulate Mojo Concerts on their 50th anniversary. We, as Mojo Barriers, go way way back with Mojo Concerts. We have done sooo many great projects together, and always kept a very very close relationship. With John Mulder as the founding father of Mojo Barriers.

Even after the split between Mojo Barriers and Mojo Concerts, not much has changed between the two companies. We still work together very closely. And this for almost 30 years now. We have really grown up together.

And we hope this relationship will go on at least 50 more years, with even more beautiful projects as we did in the past.

We would especially like to congratulate John Mulder, and to thank him for all he did for Mojo Barriers in the 30 years we have existed. Good luck in the coming 50 years!

Erwin Sprengers – Mojo Barriers

The Kurland Agency would like to wish the team at Mojo Concerts a very happy 50th anniversary! We have done close to 500 shows with them over the past several decades, and their level of professionalism has always remained constant. An absolute pleasure to work with – here’s to another 50!

Gunter Schroder – The Kurland Agency

Mojo Concerts

No barrier to success

After seeing 250 people get pulled out of the crowd at a Michael Jackson concert in 1988, John Mulder says he was worried people were going to get seriously hurt or even killed in the crush. “I told Leon, ‘we have to find a solution to this because if we don’t we’re going to be risking lives.’”

In Ramakers’ true entrepreneurial style, the promoter told him to get to work, so Mulder started designing a system of barriers that would keep the crowd separated and prevent crushes at pinch-points.

It was trialled at a Stones gig who loved it so much they took it on the road with them. As did Tina Turner.

“Our big break came at the end of the 80s,” remembers Ramakers. “Prince’s agent said he’d done a show in Oslo and seen people carried over the barrier; he thought the fans were in danger. We were told that unless we could guarantee it wouldn’t happen at our show, Prince would cancel.”

Mulder showed the musician his innovative barrier system and he also loved it. The shows went ahead, with no one needing to get pulled to safety. Prince was delighted and insisted on Mojo Barriers for the rest of his European tour.

“That was the start of Mojo Barriers. It has been saving lives ever since.”

Today, she says she’d like to inspire other women to do what she does. “It’s still very much a man’s world. Some men and women copy aggressive behaviour because they see that’s the way to get power and influence, but it’s not all about power, it’s about doing your job well.”

Booker Gideon Karting has an eclectic roster including Arctic Monkeys, Michael Kiwanuka, and Lady Gaga. “I don’t really believe in genres,” he says. “I just believe in good songs.

If I’m honest, I think my roster developed because I only work with nice agents – life’s too short to deal with assholes.”

Hidde Pluymert who joined in 2012 from Melkweg and whose roster includes Stromae and Sam Smith, Jorja Smith and Disclosure, says “I love working here because there’s always scope to be entrepreneurial – you can create new things.”

According to Bloem: “It’s a flat organisation, so there’s no hierarchy to speak of – everyone’s opinion is valued equally.

That motivates everyone and we work well as a team.”

Mulder says: “Leon and I always had this thing that we were not money driven. The first thing to look at when booking a show is whether it feels right, is it good quality, and will it have a good atmosphere? Can we make it comfortable for customers, with good food and drink, quality security, and so on? Once all that’s in place you look to see if it’s doable financially. If you start out the other way round, you start thinking about how you can cut the amount of facilities to make more money and that isn’t right.”

The approach works. People know if they go to a Mojo show it’ll be a quality experience, says Mulder. “It doesn’t pay in the beginning but it pays off in the long run.”

Mojo Concerts

Contributors

Kim Bloem, Mojo Concerts; Ruben Brouwer, Mojo Concerts; Barry Dickins, ITB; Ronny Hooch Antink, Mojo Concerts; Ide Koffeman, Mojo Concerts; John Mulder, Mojo Concerts; Hidde Pluymert, Mojo Concerts; Leon Ramakers, Mojo Concerts; Eric van Eerdenburg, Mojo Concerts; Maarten van Vugt, Mojo Concerts; Berry Visser, Mojo Concerts; Neil Warnock, United Talent Agency; Jan Willem Luyken, Mojo Concerts

Mojo rising The business is going through its busiest year to date, says Mulder. 1.2million people attended their shows in the five weeks from 1 June. Brouwer points to the fact that in the past that’s the total number of tickets they’d sell in a year.

It’s investing in its local artist booking department. Inge Verdegaal joined in 2016 and manages a versatile roster of Dutch artists. “I really enjoy working with local artists since there’s the opportunity to establish a closer connection with them and to build on a long-term career,” she says.

The company is also building for the future, through its approach of entrepreneurship. It launched Wolf booking agency this year as a joint venture with artist management company SPEC, which focuses on urban artists.

“Of course, from time to time we fail but it’s not a problem.

If you do it with an open mind and tell everybody that’s how we did it, that’s fine,” says Mulder.

“Everything we do, every show, whether it’s a club or a stadium, you have to prove you’re the best or you tried your best to make it happen for the band. We’re only the connection between the band and the crowd. That’s it. Nothing more than that. Apart from maybe the festivals, no one really buys a ticket because it’s organised by Mojo – they buy it because they want to see the artist. If you’re the act on stage you have to deliver but the organiser has to deliver too and that makes the crowd happy. And that’s the best thing.”

“ We were young and we loved what we were doing. We were convinced that eventually we were going to make it so we just kept on going.”

Leon Ramakers

IQ Magazine September 2018

LEON’S LESSONS:

• The act is the boss. We learned that early on.

• Holland is healthy but it’s a small market. You have to know your place in the hierarchy.

• Love what you do. It’s good that we’ve made money, but the primary reason we do this is it gives us pleasure to do it. If you do something for the love and you do it properly, the money will follow.

Festival Mojo Taking place just a few months before Mojo’s ill-fated first festival in 1970, Pinkpop enjoyed completely different fortunes to Holland Pop, thriving until the mid-80s, when competition from large-scale, greenfield concerts saw attendance drop from 50,000 in its heyday to just 15,000 in 1985. It was about to go under.

However, Ramakers says he saw how he could make improvements and struck a 50/50 deal that would leave the festival production in the hands of founder Jan Smeets. The 1986 show, headlined by The Cure, sold all 50,000 tickets.

Today the festival draws 89,000 people for three days with acts including Justin Bieber, Green Day and Kings of Leon (no relation).

Festivals are a core part of Mojo’s offer today, as co-CEO Brouwer explains, “We’ve created new festivals because we didn’t want to rely solely on Lowlands, Pinkpop and North Sea Jazz, as well as the touring schedules. Having additional events such as Down the Rabbit Hole – which sold out in its fifth year – and Woo Hah! Festival, which sold out at double its previous capacity this year, protects us from the ups and downs of the touring market. It means if you get a year where there’s

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Mojo Concerts

“ We’re only the connection between the band and the crowd. That’s it. Nothing more than that.”

John Mulder

not a lot of big acts touring, there’s no major drop in income.”

Hand-in-hand with the history of Mojo’s festivals is production company LOC7000. Founded by Joost Carlier in the 1970s, the firm partnered with Mojo on many of its largescale concerts at the Goffertpark site in Nijmegen.

Ronny Hooch Antink, who today is Mojo’s festival operations director, started his music career at LOC7000 in 1993 and was at the firm until January this year when he officially joined Mojo.

“For about 15-20 years, we did about 50% of our work with Mojo Concerts and I don’t think there was a contract between us. That’s the sort of relationship we had.”

1993 was a landmark year for LOC7000 and Mojo. It was the year they launched a new festival: A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise.

“We wanted Lowlands to be different from just a series of rock concerts – we wanted it to be an experience,” says Ramakers. “So we introduced street theatre, added art and movies, and improved the catering. Before then, most festivals only had burgers and chips. We had 12 different kinds of food. I think we were one of the first to do that.”

“The first edition of Lowlands had terrible ticket sales,” remembers Hooch Antink. “They were so bad that about five weeks before the festival was due to open, we discussed

whether we should cancel the whole thing.

“Leon was on holiday and he called us up and said ‘don’t worry, just go for it – let’s just see how it ends up.’ So we did it. There hadn’t been a festival like it in the Netherlands before, but we realised we had something important on our hands and that we should develop it.”

At the time, there was no blueprint for the team to follow.

They went to some of the existing events to see what they could learn. Some ideas they adopted but Hooch Antink says they also wanted to do things differently. “We decided we wanted quality facilities, such as flushing toilets and hot showers in every campsite, and we wanted every stage to be in a big tent because it gave the performances a feeling of being like a club show, as well as protecting people from the weather.”

The problem was, there weren’t many festival suppliers. So these new facilities and innovations had to be created, often from scratch.

In 2000, current Lowlands director Eric van Eerdenburg joined the team for another sell-out year. But the next edition, (the 11th edition) saw ticket sales drop 25%. It was a gut-wrenching moment for Van Eerdenburg but he realised the festival had to change. “We were the same weekend as [UK festivals] Reading and Leeds and we’d become so big that we were competing with them for bands – and they beat us. So we moved Lowlands a weekend earlier, altered the line-up, and changed a lot of the site decoration.” The following year it sold out again.

That it’s remained one of the elite festivals in the world in such a competitive field is testament to the hard work of the team, and the willingness to listen to audiences as well as take risks and innovate. “It’s a tough job and it puts pressure

Mojo Concerts The crew behind Mojo’s hugely successful Lowlands Festival

TESTIMONIALS All Areas rental and sales congratulates Mojo Concerts on an amazing 50 years of shows and festivals – here’s to the next 50! We’re proud to be working with Mojo Concerts.

Roberto Traxel and the All Areas team

Mojo and the Ahoy have been working closely together for 47 years. Without Mojo, live entertainment in the Netherlands would not be what it is today – we have a great respect for what founders Berry and Leon, and later John built.

Mojo developed many of the most successful festivals in the Netherlands. We are very proud and happy to host the North Sea Jazz Festival; it’s a great pleasure working together on this festival.

Ahoy Rotterdam

We have a very long history with Mojo. Working with them is a pleasure because their focus is always on the visitor and artist experience, and never the money. We invest with them in big structures for events like Lowlands, and a smaller version for Down the Rabbit Hole. From the early days until today, John is still ‘one of the guys’ – he’ll talk to everyone, asking how they are and offering to help. They are always good to their people, and they always expect the highest standards and are prepared to pay for it.

Eddie Slotboom – Stageco

The team at Preferred Hotel Reservations congratulates Mojo Concerts on its 50th anniversary.

We are so proud and honoured to have been your preferred hotel supplier for 20 years. We very much feel like colleagues, the intensive way we work together, respect each other and feel mutually responsible for the organisation of hotel accommodation for every event. Thank you all so much for this special co-operation, it’s a true pleasure working with your amazing team; we are looking forward to the next 50 years!

Preferred Hotel Reservations

I have known Mojo for the whole of their existence, working first with Berry Visser and then Leon Ramakers and now for many years with Rob Trommelen and Kim Bloem.

The great thing with everybody at Mojo is they work with you on every artist, big and small.

They look at proper artist development, always looking at solutions, not problems.

Great friends, great business partners. Long may they continue.

Neil Warnock – United Talent Agency

“ If I’m honest, I think my roster developed because I only work with nice agents – life’s too short to deal with assholes.”

Gideon Karting

IQ Magazine September 2018

on you, but it’s also a challenge in a really positive way,” enthuses Van Eerdenburg.

Today run by Mojo, North Sea Jazz Festival was started by former competitor, Paul Acket, in 1976. Current festival director Jan Willem Luyken joined Mojo in 2001 and became director five years later. “This was more than a dream come true. I’d never missed an edition of the festival since 1982, when my father took me there for the first time,” he says. “It was a big step for me – I was just 33 years old – but I took the chance and never regretted it for one second.”

A move to Rotterdam’s Ahoy in 2006 faced stiff opposition from regulars, who had come to associate it with The Hague, but opponents were won over immediately.

“The move to Rotterdam has changed the festival in lots of ways but the basics of the formula invented by Paul Acket in 1976 are still the same today,” says Luyken. “We were able to stay loyal to our roots, but music is always on the move, so you have keep up with new trends to keep younger audiences interested. This is how we’ve kept North Sea Jazz timeless and ageless after 44 years.”

Among the company’s newer events is Down The Rabbit Hole, a 35,000-capacity, three-day event that won Best Medium-Sized Festival at the European Festival Awards 2017. Director Ide Koffeman, says: “We developed a concept that had just three stages, which means the programmers have a very limited number of slots, so they’re very keen to get the best acts possible. And for the audience it means they’re not running between stages trying to catch all their favourite acts, so it makes for a more laid-back atmosphere.

“But it’s also about the location and the scenery you create. The scenery adds a lot to the quality of the show, the performers and the quality of the audience, and how people interact with each other.”

The newest festival in Mojo’s stable is the hip-hop and urban music-focussed Woo Hah! Festival, which has proved a runaway success and is the company’s fastest-growing festival.

Launching in 2014, it first attracted 4,500 people. This year, it doubled 2017’s capacity to 30,000 and sold out in record time. Booker Maarten van Vugt says: “The market is definitely more crowded than ever in the summer but festivals that have a niche can find a place. We’ve more than doubled capacity for Woo Hah! compared to last year and it’s sold out. It’s an achievement for us as a team but also for the genre itself. The Netherlands always had a strong market for urban music but it’s become really mainstream.”

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Metal Health Often described as having the most dedicated fans in music, the metal genre has never been in better shape, despite a continued lack of mainstream media support. Paul Brannigan, editor of Planet Rock magazine, speaks to some of the protagonists facilitating metal’s global growth...

I

n early August, a quirky news story about two elderly Germans escaping from their care home to attend Wacken Open Air, the world’s largest heavy metal festival, went viral. Less well publicised was the fact that, within five days of the 2018 event concluding, all 75,000 tickets for the festival’s 30th anniversary staging in 2019 had been sold. For Thomas Jensen, CEO of International Concert Service and co-founder of the event, the achievement is both a testament to the loyalty and support of the Wacken community and, in a broader sense, a signifier of the current robust health of the live music industry in regards to metal.

“The climate for metal right now is really strong,” says Jensen, who first staged the festival in the northern German village in 1990, with just six bands and an audience of around 800. “We have always said that Wacken is as much about the fans as the bands, and when we talk to those fans, it’s clear that the hunger for metal worldwide is only increasing.”

“I

Precious metal

n terms of global ticket sales, I have never known the genre to be stronger,” agrees John Jackson, CEO of international booking agency K2, which represents metal giants Metallica and Iron Maiden, alongside Slayer, Ghost, Gojira and Mastodon.

Metallica, who later this month will announce a summer 2019 European stadium run as part of their on-going WorldWired Tour, broke attendance records no fewer than 29 times on their last European tour, while Iron Maiden’s recent Legacy Of The Beast run, which wrapped with two sold-out nights at London’s 02 Arena on August 10/11, saw the English band play to 750,000 fans across 38 shows.

Elsewhere, AEG/DWP’s World’s Loudest Month festival series, which kicked off on 28/29 April with Ozzy Osbourne and Godsmack headlining Fort Rock in Florida and concluded on 2 June with the Five Finger Death Punch-headlined Rockfest in Kansas City, sold in excess of 500,000 tickets; the 13th staging of Hellfest in June drew 55,000 metal fans per day to Clisson, France; and Mexico City’s Hell & Heaven Metal Fest saw 80,000 headbangers (plus this writer) show up to the Autodrómo Hermanos Rodríguez to watch Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Deep Purple on 4/5 May. “Metal is still seen as an outsider genre but it’s a huge business globally, it transcends borders and languages,” says Alan Day, promoter at Kilimanjaro, who booked the company’s Sonisphere festival series across Europe. “People say metal isn’t on the radio anymore but it never really was, and the live scene is bigger than it’s ever been, and going from strength to strength.”

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“One of the most exciting music documentaries in recent years for me was Iron Maiden’s Flight 666, seeing them fly into different territories and being greeted by hysteria everywhere,” says Paul Ryan, agent for Bring Me the Horizon, Bullet for My Valentine, Lamb of God and more, at UTA. “You can’t stop the rock, it’s as simple as that! Metal is a lifestyle, not a trend. I’ve been booking bands for 16 years, promoting for 3-4 years before that, and it’s clear that the appetite for this music is still growing.”

B

Babymetal

y common consent, heavy metal was born in Aston, Birmingham, officially brought into the world on 13 February 1970 when, amid the sound of thunder, driving rain and an ominously tolling church bell, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi first employed ‘The Devil’s Interval’ on the title track of his band’s self-titled debut album. Though Sabbath brought down the curtain on their storied career with a final performance at Birmingham’s Genting Arena on 4 February 2017, their influence is imprinted in the DNA of every single metal act who succeeded them: “We made a good mark,” Iommi told this writer proudly as Sabbath bade farewell.

“Sabbath may have bowed out, but metal has never gone away,” says Andy Copping, Live Nation’s president of UK touring and the promoter of Download festival, which rose from the ashes of the legendary Monsters of Rock, the world’s first bespoke heavy metal festival series. “Metal has never got the recognition it deserves, and I’ll be flabbergasted if it ever will, but the fans are out there, in bigger numbers than ever. This idea that rock is dead is a myth. I remember one year where the media were talking about how rock is dead, and that year we did 100,000 tickets at Download with Sabbath, Metallica and The Prodigy, in the same summer where the Isle of Wight Festival sold 30,000 tickets. Unlike some other genres, this is a genuine community. We have a great relationship with other festivals – Wacken, Bloodstock, Graspop, Hellfest – and we talk to one another and look at each other in terms of ideas and inspiration. We’re in this together.”

“…for us it’s always more about the variety and the depth of the programme than about booking the biggest names or the bands who can sell the most tickets.”

Thomas Jensen, International Concert Service

Caption

IQ Magazine September 2018

Metal Health Behemoth perform at Wacken Open Air 2018

IQ Magazine September 2018

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Metal Health 5B is working with Slipknot to take KnotFest to multiple countries in 2019 © Matthew Stubs Phillips

“This idea that rock is dead is a myth.”

Andy Copping, Live Nation

Thomas Jensen at Wacken confirms this, and points out that ICS are also shareholders in a number of smaller German metal festivals – Elbriot, Reload, Werner Rennen – “where we try to help them avoid the mistakes that we made early on!

“One of Wacken’s biggest supporters was Lemmy from Motörhead,” he points out, “and he always had a great attitude to help smaller, younger bands. That was always an inspiration to us, and there’s a big connection between our festival and the spirit of Motörhead. At Wacken we don’t see ourselves like the world championship of metal, we see ourselves more like the Olympic Games: for us it’s always more about the variety and the depth of the programme than about booking the biggest names or the bands who can sell the most tickets. And we’re always looking to extend our family.”

“You can’t stop the rock, it’s as simple as that!

Metal is a lifestyle, not a trend.”

Paul Ryan, UTA

As part of Wacken’s commitment to uncovering and promoting new talent, in 2004 Jensen launched WOA’s Metal Battle to offer bands from around the globe the opportunity to compete to play at the festival. “It’s not a battle against one another,” he emphasises, “more that we’re all together fighting for metal.” In 2018, bands from more than 40 nations applied, with the five finalists chosen to play the festival including China’s Die From Sorrow, Motanka from Ukraine and An Theos from Romania. “It’s inspiring to talk to these people from all over the planet,” he says. “There are so many global influences coming into metal now, always new sounds to explore. It’s exciting.”

Cory Brennan, president/CEO of 5B Artist Management, who represent Slipknot, Trivium, Poland’s Behemoth and Japan’s Babymetal, among others, is equally evangelical about metal’s global appeal in 2018. He credits streaming services, not generally regarded as one of metal’s staunchest supporters, for facilitating access to the genre worldwide. “The barriers to entry internationally are just not there anymore,” he insists.

“Radio isn’t as relevant as it used to be in terms of driving people to venues, but outlets like Apple and Spotify are.

Everywhere I go, I see a kid with a cell phone, and he or she might not have nice Nike shoes, but on that cell phone they’ll have Spotify or Apple or Pandora. We’re definitely seeing increased ticket sales for all our acts globally.”

As part of their vision to promote metal worldwide, on 16 August, 5B announced that they are launching Knotfest, Slipknot’s own bespoke festival brand, in Bogotá, Colombia, on 26 October. Knotfest events have previously been staged internationally in Mexico and Japan, and Brennan exclusively reveals that in 2019, the brand will expand to take in “ten different festivals in nine or ten countries around the world.

Contributors Cory Brennan, 5B Artist Management; Andy Copping, Live Nation; Alan Day, Kilimanjaro; Julia Frank, Wizard Promotions; John Jackson, K2; Craig Jennings, Raw Power Management; Thomas Jensen, International Concert Service; Rod MacSween, ITB; Chris O’Brien, Destroy All Lines; Paul Ryan, UTA; Adam “Rad” Saunders, X-ray Touring; Jeps Salfischberger, Mojo Concerts

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IQ Magazine September 2018

Metal Health “In terms of global ticket sales, I have never known the genre to be stronger.”

John Jackson, K2 “I could do more,” he insists, “the demand is there. When the climate of the world becomes as politically contentious as it is right now, it drives people to more extreme shows.

Knotfest is the biggest worldwide metal festival at this point.

We plan on taking it to Brazil, to Peru, to Chile, to Argentina: that part of the world is really thriving.

“The two territories that we’re focusing on are South America and South East Asia. In South East Asia, we’re seeing a gigantic swing on the EDM side but I know they crave metal, so we need to put together something attractive at not too high of a ticket price. With Spotify, you can clearly see what we always suspected, that there’s a huge appetite for metal in those territories. Before, I just had my gut instinct, now, I have data, I have proof.”

“Years ago, you could almost bluff your way through getting a band up the ladder but these days everything is so transparent because the numbers are there for all to see,” agrees Craig Jennings, CEO of Raw Power Management, whose roster includes Bring Me the Horizon, Bullet For My Valentine and While She Sleeps. “Obviously, if you’re a manager or agent you’re going to use those stats to your advantage. It used to be just headline numbers and record sales that signified a band’s worth but increasingly those digital stats are coming into the game, even more than six months ago.”

While Jennings shares Cory Brennan’s enthusiasm for the development of the South American market, he additionally pinpoints Russia’s increased accessibility to metal acts, noting that Bring Me the Horizon can play to 6,000 fans a night in Russia, while Bullet For My Valentine can comfortably sell 4,000 tickets per gig. Paul Ryan at UTA, who books both bands, says he is “always looking for new opportunities” globally.

“Anytime there’s a market where there’s no political unrest or very specific reasons not to visit, we’re very supportive of bands exploring,” he says. “India is another market where you have lots of metal fans but not much infrastructure for touring. At some point, that will become an enormous market for metal. From a financial perspective there are hurdles to jump over but the bands that I’ve had go over there, including

Lamb of God, have found it a very interesting experience.”

As Iron Maiden’s agent for more than four decades, Jackson has done more to break down barriers for touring metal acts than anyone else in the business. Asked which new territories he sees as key to the future expansion of the genre, his answer is laced with humour but indicative of a hunger to push on: “As soon as they get electricity on the moon,” he says, “we’ll be there.”

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Doom metal

midst all this positivity and optimism, it should be noted that there has not been sustained growth in all markets. In 2015, Soundwave festival, which at its peak saw 95 international acts touring across five Australian cities, filed for bankruptcy with debts of AU$28million (€17.7m).

Sonisphere, jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro, is currently on a break, having scaled down its operations from staging events in 13 European countries in 2011 to just two in 2016. And this May, Japanese promoter Creativeman announced that Japan’s largest metal festival, Loud Park, held in the Tokyo area since 2006, would not be held in 2018. But just as nature abhors a vacuum, so one promoter’s misfortune can be another’s opportunity: Download staged its first festival in Australia on 24 March, and recently announced an inaugural Japanese edition for March 2019.

“As one door closes, two open,” says Rod MacSween, cofounder of ITB, who represents Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss and more. “Branded festivals like Download, Hell & Heaven, Hellfest and many other shows are expanding into different territories. Australia lost two festivals in recent times and is now bouncing back with new ones.”

“We had a period of instability for a couple of years since Soundwave ended,” says Chris O’Brien, general manager of touring for Australia’s Destroy All Lines, and formerly GM for Soundwave. “Soundwave put heavy music in this country on the map, and what took its place, initially, was greed

“Metal is still seen as an outsider genre but it’s a huge business globally.”

Alan Day, Kilimanjaro

Iron Maiden’s ‘Legacy of the Beast’ tour has been thrilling fans all around the world, including those in Tallinn, Estonia, on 26 May 2018 Photo © John McMurtrie

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IQ Magazine September 2018

Metal Health Destroy All Lines enjoyed success with Max & Iggor Cavalera’s five-date ‘Return to Roots’ 2017 tour in Australia

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Metal poll-ish

2015 Spotify study of international streaming habits concluded that heavy metal fans are the world’s most loyal music listeners: in each country polled, metal was positioned in the top 10 most-listened-to genres.

That survey, however, took its data from a small sample of well-established artists: Metallica, Slayer, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Pantera, Cradle of Filth and Anthrax.

Julia Frank at Wizard Promotions is typical when she sums up the nature of the fans. “German Metal fans are very loyal and it is one of the strongest genres. Independent festivals like Wacken and Summerbreeze grew strong based on this.” She adds, “Even if you have a weaker year/bill the fans will still come out.”

Among the A-list metal acts Wizard has worked with this year are Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Megadeth, while Slayer will bring their farewell tour to Germany in November.

Wizard also includes emerging metal talent such as Zeal & Ardor, Windhand, Ihsahn, Kreator, Dimmu Borgir, Hatebreed and Behemoth on the company roster.

unfortunately. We had a couple of new players come into the market possibly without the best expertise, putting bands into rooms that were too big with ticket prices that were too high, which was disappointing to see, and hurting everyone. I suppose money talks to a fair extent. But it’s starting to calm down, because, fortunately, there are agents and managers who have a longer term vision.”

As Rod MacSween explains, a strong festival circuit serves the interests of both the industry and consumers. “It’s a mix that suits the audience,” he says. “A festival gives multiple choices for fans to see similar-style acts on a day out or weekend, and generally a single show gives greater intimacy with the fans. There is also a financial angle: festival shows tend to be higher fees and less expenses for a band, which enables them to play smaller shows for lesser fees, thus pleasing both large and smaller audiences.”

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New model army

here are, of course, alternative strategies. In 2014, ahead of the release of his band’s eighth studio album Bloodstone & Diamonds, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn revealed that his band had “passed” on offers from Wacken, Soundwave, Knotfest, Hellfest, Download and “a plethora” of other festivals, opting instead to do only extended headline shows for the duration of the album cycle. “We’ve been doing festivals since 1995,” said Flynn, “we’re burnt-out on them.” It’s a model with which the band has persisted.

“That decision was based on the simple fact that Robb wasn’t enjoying playing festivals, but has turned into a business model,” explains Adam “Rad” Saunders, the group’s agent at X-ray Touring. “We’ve actually increased our ticket sales because people know that the only place they can see Machine Head is at a Machine Head show. Making that change gave us a lot more freedom and flexibility: freed from festival exclusivity deals, we can tour whenever we want, wherever we want. You end up building a fan base in new markets just by getting out there.”

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Death metal

he perennial concern among the more anxious constituents of the metal media is what happens when that generation of bands, as with the godfathers of metal Black Sabbath, finally passes on. Here though, every industry figure IQ spoke with was bullish. Jeps Salfischberger, the senior booker at Mojo Concerts (see feature on page 50) in Holland, nominates Bring Me the Horizon, Bullet For My Valentine, Parkway Drive and Avenged Sevenfold as metal’s bands most likely to ascend to superstar status, to which others interviewed added names such as Ghost, Mastodon, Lamb Of God and Architects.

“B

Nu metal

ullet [For My Valentine] and Bring Me [the Horizon] are probably the perfect templates for any band that wants to make any market a success,” says Chris O’Brien. “Those bands have put in the hard yards over a long period of time: they’d take financial hits to do the right festivals and the right tours and get in front of the right people, and that’s reaped the dividends.”

“The bottom line is to work with the record industry to build a fan-base demand,” says MacSween. “It’s a long route but playing great songs live is a winner.”

“I can’t see Metallica nor Iron Maiden stopping anytime soon,” adds Jackson. “I am already planning into the next decade.”

For Thomas Jensen at Wacken, this is all good news. As he begins to plot out his festival’s 30th anniversary celebrations, his guiding principles remain the same as in 1990: to secure bands that are faster, harder and louder than the mainstream for his extended metal family.

“Metal is never going to get tired or dated,” he enthuses. “It still has the aggression and the energy and the power, all the things that drew me to it in the first place. For our community, metal is life.”

IQ Magazine September 2018

Members’ Noticeboard

CODA AGENT CLEMENTINE BUNEL and client Songhoy Blues from Mali, enjoy the sunshine at Larmer Tree Festival on the picturesque Wiltshire-Dorset border in the UK.

ROCK-IT CARGO’S David Stone and wife Aoife welcome home the latest addition to their family, Alice Aine.

THE TRANSYLVANIAN CAPITAL city of Sibiu hosted the second annual East European Music Conference (EEMC) in July, where delegates witnessed the launch of the Romanian Music Export Office.

PROMOTING BÖHSE ONKELZ at their sold-out show at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Oliver Hoppe takes the opportunity to grab the DFB Cup that his heroes, Eintracht Frankfurt, won in the German cup final earlier this year.

X-RAY TOURING agent Beckie Sugden married Chris Murray in a ceremony held at the Monkey Island Estate, Bray, near London.

DF Concerts’ Dave McGeachan, Geoff Ellis and Colin Rodger travel with Air Clumpas, as DF’s founder, Stuart Clumpas (now boss of Live Nation New Zealand – and an accomplished pilot) surprises them with a trip to Brittany. Says Ellis, “He said he would take us for lunch, but to bring our passports…”

SHAMBALA FESTIVAL’S core team gets into the swing of things with their high-vis apparel during the August event.

ILMC REGULARS Wayne Forte and Dan Steinberg visit The Fox Theater in St. Louis in the US, where they meet legendary promoter Steve Litman at the sold-out Tedeschi Trucks Band show.

If you or any of your ILMC colleagues have any notices or updates to include on the noticeboard, please contact the club secretary, Gordon Masson, via gordon@iq-mag.net

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IQ Magazine September 2018

Your Horrorscope VIRGO (23 August-22 September)

Don’t let the fact that others snigger at you, hold you back in life. You are a proud virgin – half of the star signs ‘want’ you, the other half want to be you. Some of them ‘want’ you and want to be you. Use your perceived innocence to plot an underhand and vengeful approach to business, if you don’t already. Lucky item of office stationery: mirror.

LIBRA (23 September-22 October)

with a rEmit to help those souls toiling in the live music industry, our neighbourhood guru, Pessa Mystic, studies the movement of the stars, planets and dark matter to provide you with completely arbitrary guidance for your future.

ARIES (21 March-19 April)

As the high priest of the zodiac, it’s your mission to persuade the other 11 star signs that this bullshit is actually real. Tell them that Uranus is ascending so that if they don’t buy into it, at least they’ll have sympathy for you and might even buy you a special cushion.

Lucky medication: Preparation H. TAURUS (20 April-May 20)

Taurus: the bull. One of the cooler signs that actually looks good as jewellery, so count yourself lucky that you’re not depicted by a set of scales or a virgin or a f***ing goat (see Capricorn). According to Google, Saturn is in retrograde, so best get to work on that project you’ve been putting off by reading IQ. Lucky swear word: shit.

GEMINI (21 May-20 June)

Are you in two minds about something? Well that’s because you’re Gemini and therefore a split personality. It’s why so many people don’t trust or like you. Use it to your advantage by being clever in deals and stuff, like fellow Gemini, Donald Trump. Lucky colour: orange. Obviously.

CANCER (21 June-22 July)

As the only star sign named after a tumour – you say you prefer to be alone because you’re introverted, but actually it’s because people tend to avoid you. But about one in three people will get you – and that used to be one in four, so that’s something positive. Embrace your inner anger and make all negotiations hell for the other party. Like you usually do.

Lucky number: -1.

LEO (23 July-23 August)

Surely the rock star of the zodiac – you’re a lion! You are in the same pride as Jennifer Lopez, Robert de Niro, Barack Obama, and my dad - all great humans (although only one of them has a fantastic bottom. Which sadly I didn’t inherit.)

Expound this roll call of fellow predators at dinner parties to highlight how amazing you are compared to everyone else. Virgos even try to steal a day from you, but they just don’t have your majestic mane and arrogant swagger. Lucky snack: human.

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You, my friend, are supposed to be the most balanced star sign that we know. So start acting like it FFS. We don’t care how good/bad (delete as appropriate) a year you are having, your obsession with doing the best job you can is downright tedious.

Spend more time and money on your Aries friends, because they’re worth it. Perhaps they’d like a new cushion? Try doing something for pleasure that doesn’t involve a spread-sheet.

Lucky item: manila envelope.

SCORPIO (23 October-21 November)

That sting in your tail gives you a killer instinct but for everyone’s sake do not act on it. Serial killers Charles Manson, Carl Eugene Watts and Belle Gunness were all Scorpios and were subsequently removed from ILMC’s invite list (although they can still come to the karaoke). We beg you not to follow in their footsteps – make your own path. Lucky death toll: 119.

SAGITTARIUS (22 November-21 December)

Half man, half horse, you can legitimately shit in the street without fear of reprisal. But public indecency isn’t all you’re good at. Apparently, you’re also pretty adept with a bow, so consider giving up your current dead-end career to become an Olympic archer. Fellow Sagittarian Dai Xiaoxiang won a bronze for China in the London 2012 games, you know.

Follow your dreams! Lucky snack: hay.

CAPRICORN (22 December-19 January)

Goats aren’t to be trusted. Have you seen the shape of their eyes?! Never trust anything that can climb a tree in hooves.

Sorry, Capricorn but according to a trusted source (the Internet) you are a tedious combination of humourless and driven. You’re in the same tribe as Mao Tse-tung, Richard Nixon, Idi Amin, Sun Myung Moon and Benedict Arnold, none of whom were famed for their stand-up comedy routines. Consider cosmetic contact lenses and start lying about your birth date. If you’re not very good at lying, ask a Scorpio to help you. Lucky muse: Satan.

AQUARIUS (20 January-18 February)

Someone just pointed out to me that horoscopes are meant to be about predicting the future, but who would be gullible enough to believe that? You, Aquarius, that’s who! Jupiter will be in ascendance at some point so the coming year will bring you surprises, good times, and disappointments. A bit like always. Probably.

PISCES (19 February-20 March)

The big fish eat the little ones. Not just a Radiohead lyric, but also a lesson for life, especially in the live entertainment business. If you’re a little Pisces, then try and find a pond small enough to make you look big. If you’re a big fish, then devour: devour them all! Just think of the resulting share price. Unlucky accompaniment: chips.

IQ Magazine September 2018