IQ 93

93 An ILMC Publication OCTOBER 2020 | £25 | €25

IQ93 CONTENTS

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COVER ILLUSTRATION: PHIL MILLARD

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18 NEWS

FEATURES

COMMENT AND COLUMNS

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Index In Brief The main headlines over the last two months Analysis Key stories and news analysis from around the live music world New Signings & Rising Stars A roundup of the latest acts that have found agents during lockdown Unsung Hero Music Venue Trust’s Clara Cullen talks about the passionate fight to preserve Britain’s grassroots venues

iFF Report Highlights from the interactive Festival Forum’s conference and showcase gathering Tune in to SoundCzech The Czech music export office provides a guide to some of the country’s hottest new acts The New Bosses 2020 Discover who the global industry has named as the brightest young professionals making waves in the live music business

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New Opportunities, New Challenges Annabella Coldrick examines the legal and licensing complexities around paid live-streams and urges us to put artists and creators first TMW’s World Helen Sildna reveals some of the key takeaways from this year’s rejigged Tallinn Music Week Your Shout Who is the most famous person, outside of music, that you have met?

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In Brief

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

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s this extraordinary year plays out, never before has the need for news and information been more apparent, not just in the live music industry, but in society in general.

This is borne out by the fact that the IQ website has been attracting visitors in record numbers, with unique visitors crossing the 100,000 a month threshold back in June.

And it seems the desire for knowledge extends to industry conferences and events, too. The interactive Festival Forum, held online 2–3 September to replace our usual International Festival Forum, also broke records, when more than 650 delegates – primarily agents and festival organisers – registered to participate in the workshops, panel sessions, speed meetings and networking events, as well as checking out some of the hottest new talent at the agency showcase gigs (see page 18).

Similarly, Helen Sildna, founder of Tallinn Music Week, reports an enthusiastic response to the decision to go ahead with that event in September, and helpfully discloses some of the key challenges and lessons learned, in her comment piece on page 15.

While Covid-19 continues to restrict the activities of the live entertainment sector, the experiences of those taking risks when it comes to organising shows, conferences, or the various outdoor events that we’ve seen in the past few months, will be invaluable for others who are plotting how – and when – they will attempt to relaunch their businesses. For that reason, I recommend you all continue to support those brave souls by attending as many such events as you can during the coming weeks and months. By sharing the experiences of others, the industry as a whole will benefit, especially when it comes to the success, or otherwise, of the many products and systems that are being used to allow people to safely gather together.

Talking of the future, this issue of IQ features our annual New Bosses shortlist (page 32), where you will find excerpts from interviews with 12 talented young professionals who have, thankfully, chosen this business for their careers. The full interviews with the class of 2020 will be posted on the IQ website throughout October, so keep your eyes peeled and learn a bit more about the individuals that have been chosen, by their peers, as the future leaders of our industry.

Elsewhere in this issue, (page 26), you will find a special feature, in co-operation with Czech music export office, SoundCzech, highlighting some of the fantastic new acts that are emerging from that country, as well as an update regarding the health of the market and some of the creative ways in which professionals there are planning to survive pandemic restrictions.

ISSUE 93 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE

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 Staff Writer Lisa Henderson Advertising Manager Steve Woollett Design Philip Millard Sub Editor Michael Muldoon Editorial Assistant Ben Delger Contributors Annabella Coldrick, Helen Sildna, Adam Woods Editorial Contact Gordon Masson gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0303 Advertising Contact Steve Woollett steve@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0304 ISSN 2633-0636

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IN BRIEF INDEX The concert business digest

AUGUST Scientists invite thousands of volunteers to take part in three experimental concerts in Germany to study the Covid-19 infection risks posed by large indoor events.

The German federal government commits €80million of its €1billion Restart Culture programme to organisers of music concerts and festivals.

Live music virtual-reality platform MelodyVR acquires Rhapsody International, which operates music streaming platform Napster.

On the back of the first-ever floatin music festival, cinemas get in on the aquatic entertainment action, as new floating movie theatres open in the UK, Italy, Israel, Canada and the US. Viagogo takes out a new $300m (€257m) incremental-term loan, increasing the secondary ticketing company’s corporate debt to $2.5bn (€2.1bn).

Eleven music festivals, including Pohoda in Slovakia, Busan Rock Festival in South Korea and Russia’s Ural Music Night, organise Antyfest – a miniature online festival taking place before an

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audience of ants.

Music streaming service Tidal spends $7m (€6m) on tokens issued by the company behind Sensorium Galaxy, a new VR “social metaspace” allowing users to attend concerts, nightclubs and festivals through a virtual-reality headset.

Indoor concerts may now go ahead without social distancing providing there are fewer than 5,000 people in attendance, the French prime minister announces.

Move Concerts, the largest independent promoter in Latin America, partners with influential urban show Damn! to grow its digital footprint while concerts are on hold.

Germany’s federal and state governments dash hopes of the country returning to live by announcing that non-socially distanced major events will be banned at least until the end of this year.

Following weeks of protests by beleaguered live entertainment businesses, the Dutch government agrees to a further €482m in emergency funding for the Netherlands’ cultural sector.

SEPTEMBER A temporary purpose-built, socially distanced theatre is announced for the Jaarbeurs exhibition and convention centre in Utrecht, Netherlands, with a capacity of 1,050.

Ex-Paradigm agents Marshall Betts, Avery McTaggart, Amy Davidman, Ryan Craven and Devin Landau launch a new US booking agency, TBA. Germany’s Deutsche Entertainment AG launches Singular Artists in Ireland, in partnership with veteran concert promoters Fin O’Leary, Brian Hand and Simon Merriman.

Marc Geiger predicts a boom time for live entertainment after the threat of Covid-19 recedes, telling iFF delegates that the current “claustrophobia economy” will give way to a second Roaring Twenties marked by high consumer confidence and economic growth.

Citing Covid-19-related financial pressure, United Talent Agency lays off around 50 employees, while reinstating full pay for remaining staff.

The UK’s Manchester Arena is renamed AO Arena, after

announcing a five-year sponsorship deal with the Boltonbased online electrical retailer.

Time for Fun sells its shareholdings in Vicar Sports Promotions, the promoter of Brazil’s popular Stock Car and Stock Car Light racing series, to focus on its core live music business.

In a bid to encourage event organisers to resume live entertainment, the French government announces €220m dedicated to the sector.

Indian event businesses under pressure to boycott China face increased production costs for nonChinese-made equipment.

CTS Eventim’s Semmel Concerts launches Germany’s first major Covid-compliant concert series, Berlin’s Back to Live.

Australian company XR Events launches Remix Hotel, a music festival with DJ sets broadcast live in suites and spaces at Ovolo the Valley, a Brisbane hotel.

Less than a month after buying into UK metal agency K2, Yucaipa Companies, the private-equity group controlled by billionaire investor Ron Burkle, makes a strategic investment in Los Angeles-based APA.

In Brief

GET INVOLVED

Want to share your views on breaking industry news?

Then get involved in the discussion on Twitter: @iq_mag

SUBSCRIBE The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, says mass testing for Covid-19 could allow live events to restart without social distancing before a vaccine is available.

Europe’s largest outdoor music venue, the new RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, opens with a performance by Italian singer Luciano Ligabue.

Facebook cracks down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music, with new terms of service that prevent artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes unless they have obtained the relevant licences.

The money generated by live music ticket sales and sponsorships has fallen 64% in 2020, with nearly $18bn (€15bn) having been wiped off the value of the international concert industry this year alone, new PwC figures reveal.

Five Belgian event companies sue the government to try and force an end to allegedly discriminatory restrictions on privately organised events.

Sweden’s governing parties announce an extra SEK1.5bn (€142m) for culture this year to compensate for the economic consequences caused by the

pandemic.

The Events Production Industry Covid-19 Working Group (EPIC) in the Republic of Ireland declares a National Awareness Week to highlight the plight of the event production sector.

Spotify announces it will start integrating virtual concerts into its music-streaming platform.

Music streaming service Tidal joins forces with Facebook’s virtual-reality platform, Oculus, for a series of live performances that can be streamed in VR to fans’ homes.

The final shows at the UK’s socially distanced Unity Arena are called off after the government announces new lockdown restrictions in north-east England.

Western Australia-based promoter Macro Music reveals a new ‘Covid-safe’ music festival format, set to debut at the forthcoming 5,000-capacity Good Day Sunshine Music Festival in the city of Busselton in October.

Paradigm Talent Agency is to permanently lay off 180 employees – around 70% of the workers who were let go temporarily in March – CEO Sam Gores tells the agency’s remaining staff.

Jan Smeets, founder and festival director of iconic Dutch festival Pinkpop, announces he is stepping down after 50+ years at the helm.

A coalition of Austrian live entertainment businesses warns that the European Union’s decision to deny it emergency aid could deliver a “fatal blow” to an already struggling sector.

Praha září (Prague September) brings together several leading Czech festivals for a large-scale event likely to be the last of its kind before a new lockdown.

A group of former WME, CAA, Paradigm and Madison House agents form Mint Talent Group, a new independent US booking and marketing outfit.

British prime minister Boris Johnson announces a 10pm curfew on nightlife businesses as part of a swath of new restrictions intended to combat a second wave of Covid-19.

The main publicly listed live entertainment companies have added $5.75bn (€4.93bn) – or nearly $1bn (€858m) a month – to their collective value since the worst of the Covid-19-induced stock-market crash in March, IQ analysis reveals.

Audiovisual Union, an association

An annual subscription to IQ is £90 (print) or £75 (electronic). info@iq-mag.net

providing support to Portuguese crew during the coronavirus crisis, stages a series of concerts to help raise money for food packages for out-of-work live professionals.

The UK live industry criticises the government’s new Jobs Support Scheme and Winter Economy Plan, which will cover, at most, 22% of an employee’s wages until March 2021.

San Francisco-based privateequity firm Vector Capital acquires Patron Technology, the company behind Greencopper, Marcato and several other familiar event technology products.

The professor behind a pilot scheme to explore whether dogs can be used to detect coronavirus in humans, currently underway in Finland, says the testing method could become a cheap, quick way to detect the presence of Covid-19 in attendees to sporting and cultural events.

Oak View Group is given the green light for a new arena in Manchester, UK, which will be called Co-op Live as part of a £100m (€86m), 15-year namingrights partnership.

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Analysis

PROMOTERS GET INNOVATIVE WITH PHYSICAL FESTIVALS

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orced to contend with ever-changing legislation, capacity restrictions, lack of cancellation cover and reduced financial viability, European promoters who didn’t want to go down the virtual festival route had to get creative this summer, going back to the drawing board in order to deliver to their fans.

Rather than compromising its brand with a socially distanced spin-off (a concern expressed by many organisers during the recent Interactive Festival Forum), Germany’s Electrisize decided to scrap its three-year-old model altogether.

Organisers chose instead to use coronavirus measures as a framework on which to build a brand-new event, rather than a set of limitations that would diminish the experience its fans had

Base Camp’s concept was broadcasting live music through an FM channel so families could listen on their own radio at their own pitch

come to expect.

While outdoor events in Germany were restricted at the time of planning, campsites with attractions were permitted to open. “At first we thought, that’s unfair,” says executive director Raphael Meyersieck. “But the longer we thought about it, the more we understood that we had found a loophole for the event industry.”

Thus Electricity was born and its “cake-shaped campsite” concept was conceived, planned and built within five weeks.

The campsite, located on the grounds of Hohenbusch House in Erkelenz, Germany, was divided into six camping sectors – or “cake pieces” – and featured a 360-degree stage at the centre, which could be seen from each sector.

The sectors each had several demarcated areas in front of the stage for up to ten people, in order to observe social distancing measures, while the 100-capacity sectors were colour-coded, with corresponding wristbands to ensure festival goers stayed within their allocated sector.

Electricity was unaffected by changing legislation around coronavirus; however, Primavera Sound wasn’t so lucky with its project, Nits del Fòrum. In the absence of its flagship festival, the

Spanish promoter organised a series of outdoor concerts throughout the summer specifically designed to comply with all social distancing regulations, capacity and hygiene rules. All gigs were seated, and guests assigned a demarcated spot on the tiered amphitheatre, 1.5 metres from the next.

However, a spike in infections in the region brought the series to a grinding halt between 18–31 July. The festival resumed on 1 August, with some shows rescheduled and others cancelled altogether.

Deer Shed in the UK had similar ideas to Electricity, using camping as the focus of its socially distanced family weekender, Base Camp.

The event took place between 24 and 27 July at Deer Shed’s usual home of Baldersby Park in North Yorkshire.

The site comprised 320 15 x 15-metre pitches, each with its own portaloo and space to park a car.

Families were contained within their own square, thereby maintaining social distancing, but could request to be allocated a pitch next to friends.

The masterstroke of Base Camp’s concept was broadcasting live music through an FM channel so families could listen on their own radio at their own pitch.

The programme included performances from artists including The Howl & The Hum, Shadowlark and Low Hummer, as well as spoken word, comedy, a Sunday paper review, bedtime stories, DJ sets and pre-recorded shows.

“We asked ourselves: how could we offer our audience a taste of Deer Shed whilst adhering to social distancing rules?” comments Deer Shed director Kate Webster.

“The creative aspects, delivering the essence of Deer Shed, and managing expectations of our audience took a lot of thought.””

NEW TALENT AGENCIES LAUNCH

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group of former WME, CAA, Paradigm and Madison House agents have formed Mint Talent Group, a new independent US booking and marketing outfit.

The founding of Mint marks the first time in the Covid-19 era that former employees of multiple major agencies have come together under one banner. It follows the launch of TBA Agency, founded by five ex-Paradigm colleagues, just over three weeks ago, and comes as the large corporate agencies slash staff numbers.

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Mint Talent’s co-founders are CJ Strock, formerly of WME, and Patrick McAuliff and Phil Egenthal, formerly of Paradigm Talent Agency.

The company’s founding agents include Mary Allen and Cassie Siegel (ex-Madison House); Michael Morris and Ryan Owens (Paradigm); Peter Wiederlight (WME); and Logan Handelsman (CAA).

The agency’s roster includes The Allman Brothers Band, Art Garfunkel, Blackberry Smoke, Brian McKnight, CloZee, Erasure, George Porter Jnr, Mavis Staples, The Orb, Rising Appalachia, Stick Figure, Trevor Hall, Steel Pulse, Stephen Marley and Taj Mahal.

TBA’s co-founders, meanwhile, are Marshall Betts, Avery McTaggart, Amy Davidman, Ryan Craven and Devin Landau, all formerly of Paradigm Talent Agency, who between them represent The War On Drugs, Courtney Barnett, Chvrches, Tune-Yards, Cut Copy, Beirut, Guided By Voices, Jungle, Cuco, Purity Ring, José González, Tycho, Caribou and Alvvays.

The former Paradigm agents were among those let go in the early days of the pandemic, along with around 250 other employees. CAA, UTA and WME are also known to have made lay-offs during the coronavirus crisis.

Analysis

MAJOR PUBLIC LIVE BUSINESSES BOUNCE BACK

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espite the grim picture painted by their Q2 2020 financial results (see IQ issue 92), the main publicly listed live entertainment companies have actually added $5.75 billion (€4.9bn) – or nearly $1bn (€0.9bn) a month – to their collective value, since the Covid-19-induced stock-market crash in March, IQ analysis reveals.

Combining the market capitalisations of Live Nation, CTS Eventim, DEAG, Time for Fun and Eventbrite, as well as a relevant percentage of Vivendi’s business, reveals that the six companies were worth nearly $6bn (€5bn) more on 21 September than on 20 March, in spite of the sixmonths-plus shutdown of most live events.

As in previous IQ coverage of live music’s (pre-coronavirus) stock-market performance (see IQ 85), Live Nation Entertainment – the world’s biggest live entertainment business – is the biggest mover, growing its market cap by nearly 60% in the period analysed.

Worth $7.29bn (€6.23bn) on 20 March, with a share price of $33.97 (€29.01), Live Nation (LYV)’s market cap stood at $11.55bn (€9.86bn) six months later, with most financial analysts confident that the concert behemoth will bounce back strongly post-pandemic. As of 9 September, of the 12 firms covering Live Nation stock, seven have assigned it a ‘buy’ rating, one a ‘strong buy’ and one a ‘hold,’

with none recommending a ‘sell.’

While the recovery of Live Nation – which has made an estimated $600million (€512m) in savings this year, believed to include widespread redundancies globally – is impressive, five of the six businesses included have rebounded strongly over the last six months, with only DEAG shares having declined in price as of 21 September.

Berlin-based Deutsche Entertainment AG, which trades on Frankfurt’s Xetra exchange, had around $11m (€9.4m) shaved off its market cap after the value of its stocks fell from €3.48 on 20 March to €3 on 21 September. As of the later date, DEAG’s market cap was €58.9m, down around 14% on €68.3m six months previously.

DEAG stock, too, is strongly rated by market watchers: analysts’ ratings similarly lean heavily towards a ‘buy,’ with even the most pessimistic financial observers giving the company’s stock a price target of €3.50 in the short term (while noting that DEAG should “return to pre-corona

levels” by 2022).

Of the other four businesses, another German company, pan-European concert and ticketing giant CTS Eventim, was the stand-out performer, growing its market cap more than $1bn (€0.85bn) by adding nearly €10 to its share price.

Compared to 20 March, when its share price was €31.78 and market cap €3.05bn, CTS Eventim (EVD) shares traded at €41.14 six months later, giving the company a market capitalisation of €3.95bn at the time of writing.

Brazil’s Time for Fun/T4F Entertainment (SHOW3) – the largest promoter in South America – has seen its value increase 42%, from R$131m (€19m) to R$186.1m (€28.2m); while USbased self-service and club ticketing specialist Eventbrite (EB) is up 61%, growing its market cap from $649.2m (€554.3m) to $1.06bn (€0.91bn) in the same period.

French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV), meanwhile, has witnessed its market cap rise from an estimated €20.9bn in March to €26.4bn on 21 September. The company’s Vivendi Village unit – which incorporates its live (Olympia Production, U Live, festivals and venues in France and Africa) and ticketing (See Tickets, Starticket, Paylogic) businesses – accounts for some 0.34% of the business: €26m in revenue, of €7.58bn total, as per its H1 2020 report.

While it should be noted that the industry is far from back to its pre-Covid-19 value – Live Nation stocks were once worth nearly $75 (€64), while Eventim shares hit a high of €60 in January – investor loyalty bodes well for a sector often described as the first to close and last to reopen.

Additionally, the live music industry welcomed two newly public businesses – MSG Entertainment, spun off from the Madison Square Garden Company; and Warner Music Live/ Umbrella Artists owner Warner Music Group, which floated in April and June, respectively – in the same period, and which would likely have pushed the $5.75bn (€4.91bn) figure even higher, were those companies trading in March.

With second lockdowns looming in many territories, it remains unclear how global markets will perform in the months ahead, as well as the effects, positive or otherwise, that any volatility will have on live music stocks.

One thing, however, that many outside observers seem to agree on, is that live music’s recovery will be complete by 2022. (See p10 for more on this story).

While it should be noted that the industry is far from back to its pre-Covid-19 value, investor loyalty bodes well for a sector often described as the first to close and last to reopen

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INDUSTRY OBSERVERS PREDICT FULL RECOVERY BY 2022

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fter the unprecedented collapse in concert revenues this year, the industry will rebound in 2021, with money generated by live music ticket sales and sponsorships growing 82.6%, to over $19billion (€16bn), as concerts resume.

That’s according to the latest figures from auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), whose Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020–2024 illustrates both the economic devastation wrought on live music by the novel coronavirus –nearly $18bn (€15bn) in lost revenue, or 64% less than in 2019 – and the speed with which the industry will bounce back, predicting a full recovery by 2022.

In total, live music will generate a projected $10.4bn or €8.9bn (consisting of $8.3bn [€7.1bn] in ticket sales and $2.1bn [€1.8bn] in sponsorship) in 2020 – down from nearly $29bn (€25bn) in 2019, and far short of the $30.4bn (€25.9bn) generated by recorded music this year, according to the report. The fall in live revenues has also helped wipe some $17bn (€14.5bn) off the value of the global music industry as a whole.

This year also marks the first time since the great recording industry slump of the 2000s – when touring overtook physical sales as artists’ main source of revenue – that the recorded sector (including digital) has been worth more than live, reflecting continued strong growth in music streaming, particularly during the Covid-19 era.

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While the 2020 figures make for grim reading, Mark Maitland, PwC’s UK head of entertainment and media, says a strong recovery is expected in 2021 for industries reliant on “in-person” experiences.

“Parts of the media sector have been hit very hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in-person activities or those reliant on advertising revenue,” he explains. “This will drive a c.

7% decline in sector revenues in 2020, but in recent months we have already seen improving performance, and, as such, we expect the sector revenues to return to 2019 levels in 2021.”

Looking further ahead, PwC’s numbers tally with previous predictions made by investment bank Goldman Sachs – another seasoned music industry observer – whose head of media and Internet research, Lisa Yang, said at the Interactive Festival Forum (iFF) last month, that she expects the live music industry’s recovery to be complete by 2022.

Similarly, the Outlook 2020–2024 shows global revenues of $29.3bn (€25bn) – over $300million

(€256m) higher than in 2019 – for the concert industry in 2022, with ticket sales having rebounded to $23.3bn (€19.9bn), compared to $22.9bn (€19.6bn) in 2019.

Despite a ‘lost’ year in 2020, then, PwC’s analysts see consistent growth for live music in the years ahead, noting that even though the business has ground to a halt, M&A activity continues.

“With global live music revenue expected to grow at a 1.4% CAGR [compound annual growth rate], despite disruption to the sector in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is much to gain from having a broad-based live offering,” reads the report.

“Providing more venues reopen,” PwC UK forecasts that live music will “ bounce back immediately next year from its growth loss this year.”

Speaking to Yang at iFF, keynote interviewee Marc Geiger, the former global head of music, also predicted a boom time for live entertainment after the threat of Covid-19 recedes, saying the current “claustrophobia economy” will give way to a second Roaring Twenties marked by high consumer confidence and economic growth.

Geiger compared the current coronavirus pandemic to the Spanish flu, which gripped the world from 1918–20, killing an estimated 50m people. Years of “everyone being cooped up at home,” he said, “created a joyous time called the Roaring Twenties, and I think 2022 [his estimate for when the current pandemic will subside] will give way to a second Roaring Twenties, 100 years later.”

Speaking to iFF delegates, Geiger compared the festival business to a field of crops, and factors such as rising ticket prices and supposedly same-y line-ups as taking nutrients out of that field. By 2022 – after two disrupted festival seasons – “everyone will be screaming to get out” of their houses, he explained, so those who are able to survive until then will reap a “bumper crop” in the renewed soil.

He urged those who can, to put in place funding to ensure they are able to capitalise when social distancing is a thing of the past. “Everyone who’s suffering right now, if you can hold on – whether it’s through financing, debt, equity – the bumper crop will be significant,” he urged.

“Figure out how to bridge your way until the industry comes back.”

“The market is going to come back at a very, very fast clip,” Geiger added, “and […] when it comes back, the rate of return will be huge.”

“Figure out how to bridge your way until the industry comes back.

The market is going to come back at a very, very fast clip” Mark Geiger

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NEW SIGNINGS

LISTEN TO ’S ‘NEW SIGNINGS’ AGENCY PLAYLIST HERE

has partnered with a number of agencies to compile a monthly playlist of new music, much of it released by the new signings to their rosters. Among the 50 tracks on September’s playlist are submissions from the following acts, represented by Primary Talent and UTA.

BLU DeTIGER

B (US)

AGENTS Paul McQueen,

Peter Elliott & Will Marshall Primary Talent

NANA ADJOA

A (NL)

AGENTS Jules de Lattre &

James Masters UTA

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lu DeTiger is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, DJ, performer, bass virtuoso, and so much more. Born and raised in New York City, she’s been slaying the bass guitar since she was seven years old. Despite still being too young to get into clubs, Blu has been a staple in the New York club, fashion, and creative scenes since she started DJing at the age of 17. As of 2020, Blu’s been a touring member for multiple acts including Caroline Polachek, Fletcher, The Knocks and more.

Blu has soared to new heights this year. Not only has she gained over 600k followers on TikTok since March, but her song Figure It Out (which is on the October IQ ‘New Signings’ Agency Playlist) has gone viral in 31 countries. With an EP due out before the end of the year, there will be plenty of music and content to feed her ever-growing fanbase.

msterdam-based singer-songwriter Nana Adjoa is a sonic explorer, armed with a deft poeticism and a fierce sense of musicianship. Behind the multi-instrumentalist’s bold approach to songwriting is an unflinching sense of curiosity and an openness to endless possibility.

Her debut album, Big Dreaming Ants, was released in September, and the resulting critical acclaim has seen her winning countless new fans as a Facebook artist of the day, whilst receiving similar accolades across many radio stations.

Nana Adjoa’s latest track, No Room, is on the October IQ ‘New Signings’ Agency Playlist.

New Signings

ARTIST LISTINGS Aaron Frazer (US)

Lost Horizons (UK)

Paul McGivern, Pitch & Smith

Anna Bewers, Paradigm

Alice Hogg, ATC Live

Lucero (US)

Paul McGivern, Pitch & Smith

Michael Harvey-Bray & Tom Schroeder, Paradigm

Luna Li (CA)

David Exley, Paradigm

Addison Grace (US) Alewya (UK)

Ana Frango Elétrico (BR) Andy Frasco & The U.N (US) Anjimile (US)

Felipe Mina Calvo, ATC Live Graham Clews, ATC Live Colin Keenan & Stu Kennedy, ATC Live

Balmorhea (US)

Angie Rance, UTA

Blu DeTiger (US)

Paul McQueen, Primary Talent

Brandon Banks (US)

Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners

Bull (UK)

David Sullivan-Kaplan, UTA

Charley Crockett (US) Declan O’Rourke (IE)

Beth Morton & Christina Austin, UTA Angie Rance & Sarah Casey, UTA

Elder (US)

Tom Taaffe, Paradigm

Florence Arman (US)

Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners &

Will Marshall, Primary Talent

G Herbo (US)

Ari Bernstein, ICM Partners

Goose (BE)

Paul McGivern, Pitch & Smith

Hare Squead (IE)

Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency

JW Francis (US)

Michael Harvey-Bray, Paradigm

Kapil Seshasayee (UK) Kiko Bun (UK) Leifur James (UK)

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

Molchat Doma (BY)

Jules de Lattre & James Masters, UTA

Nana Adjoa (NL)

Jules de Lattre & James Masters, UTA

No Devotion (US/UK)

Geoff Meall, Paradigm

Penelope Trappes (UK)

Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency

Pink Siifu (US)

Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency

Rachel Sermanni (UK) seeyousoon (US)

Angie Rance, UTA Nick Matthews, Paradigm

Silvana Estrada (MX) Simpson (US) The Pleasure Dome (UK) Theo Katzman (US) Towns (AU) TWST (UK) We Want You To Dance (UK)

Olly Ward, UTA David Exley, Paradigm Anna Bewers, Paradigm Colin Keenan & Stu Kennedy, ATC Live Anna Bewers, Paradigm Andy Clayton & Tom Schroeder, Paradigm Peter Elliott, Primary Talent Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners

David Sullivan-Kaplan, UTA

Yard Act (UK)

Sarah Joy, ATC Live

Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency

LISTEN TO ’S NEW SIGNINGS AGENCY PLAYLIST HERE

ARTIST SALEM ILESE (US) RITT MOMNEY (US) TOOSII (US) ROYAL AND THE SERPENT (US) SISTA PROD (IT) S1MBA (UK) KENNYHOOPLA (US) JEAN DAWSON (US) CLAIRE ROSINKRANZ (US) COCHISE (US) ZOE WEES (DE) ALUNA (UK) SPILLAGE VILLAGE (US) AVENUE BEAT (US) SAULT (UK) KINNERET (US), BACKROAD GEE (UK), WHOHEEM (US), JVKE (US), ANIK KHAN (US)

Artists not in the current top 15, but growing quickly

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Tom Taaffe, Paradigm Ari Bernstein, ICM Partners

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LAST MONTH 34 22 18 16 41 67 12 106 5 3 2 31 34 6 76

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Comment

New opportunities, new challenges Music Managers Forum CEO Annabella Coldrick examines the legal and licensing complexities around paid live-streams, urging the industry to learn from the confused early days of music streaming to put artists and creators first

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n the digital era, pretty much every technological shift in music has brought with it a degree of legal uncertainty, provoking industry lawyers to redefine emerging formats and forms of consumption and retrofit them to artist and composer contracts.

As explored in detail in the MMF’s Dissecting the Digital Dollar reports, this process has not been without problems, as highlighted by the advent of audio streaming, which appeared to sit somewhere between a radio broadcast and a download, while simultaneously being nothing like either. Eventually, the likes of Spotify and Apple Music were licensed by music publishers as incorporating both performance and mechanical (or reproduction) rights, like a kind of hybrid format. The tangle of recorded licensing deals, permeated with large upfront advances to the major labels and secretive breakage clauses, may never become transparent to artists and creators.

With that in mind, and given the economic outlook, it’s important that history doesn’t repeat itself in regards to the current pandemic-driven surge of live-streamed online events.

While this particular medium isn’t exactly new (20 years ago, Madonna was reaching a global audience of 9 million from Brixton Academy, mostly on dial-up, via a partnership with MSN), the current shutdown of gigs and festivals has undoubtedly elevated the importance of live-streaming and triggered a wave of online activity.

This has incorporated everything from lo-fi, free-to-view (FTV) at-home lockdown performances over Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or Twitch, to innovative, high-end pay-per-view (PPV) models and in-game experiences on Fortnite and Minecraft. Further innovation will undoubtedly come from virtual-reality technologies and other subscription-based platforms.

In what’s been a bleak and catastrophic year, the uptake of live-streamed concerts has provided our sector with one of its few shots of optimism. Although born of necessity, it’s been inspiring to see music managers at the heart of these innovations, building opportunities for their artists and jumping feet first into the space.

This feels like an important shift. Aside from the constrictions of the here and now, there’s a firm prospect that

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live-streaming will play a permanent and considerable part in music’s future. Rather than audiovisual content being treated as “free” to the consumer, as it historically has been, there will be an increasing desire to monetise these experiences.

Which is where it gets more complex. While a genuine one-off, not-to-be-repeated live-stream might be considered equal to a live “in-person” performance, with clearances required only for publishing rights via the relevant PRO, elsewhere things are less clear cut.

What happens if your live-stream is pre-recorded, or retained online for playback, or re-broadcast, or if the act is signed to a 360 deal?

All would potentially move away from territories traditionally reserved for “live” and deeper into record company territory – since artist contracts typically give a label ownership over both audio and audio-visual recordings.

There are other issues, too. Live streams have set-up costs.

These are potentially significant for PPV events. Many will require staffing, as well as marketing and ticketing. Others will be hosted in venues, which in turn opens up further challenges around event licensing and health and safety. And what about platforms and the events themselves? Are they fully licensed for these activities? Should artists involve their agents or a promoter? These are some big and, in many cases, unanswered questions.

Thankfully, the majority of record labels appear to be adopting a pragmatic approach. In the middle of a pandemic, the last thing we need are business affairs teams playing hardball and making a contractual land grab.

With the market in its infancy, it would be preferable to see a “tour support” approach to live-streaming, on the basis that labels will ultimately benefit through increased physical sales and streams – much as they would with a traditional live show or festival. We should all have a mutual interest in ensuring that platforms hosting live-streamed events have the necessary publishing licences in place. It’s absolutely critical that artists, songwriters and performers get paid their dues.

As we know from streaming, ad-supported and paid can happily coexist – but if live-streaming is to blossom, then it is vital we nurture this exciting space, not allow the biggest actors to define and control it.

Comment

TMW’s world Helen Sildna, founder of Tallinn Music Week (TMW), details some of the organisational obstacles and key takeaways from this year’s rejigged conference and festival

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romoting TMW 2020 was by far the most challenging experience that our team has had in our 12 years of festival history. It is fair to say that organising events with huge financial risk, at times like this, can be done only by putting your organisation under a pressure it has never been under before.

Going ahead with an event is a tough decision for any company leader to make. He or she will need to analyse and decide whether it’s reasonable or sustainable to do so; and ensure that the event not only lands on its feet, but bounces back afterwards. If the experience gained can then help to promote workable measures for the music industry, it was a necessary investment.

Greatest challenges:

Photo © Kertin Vasser

International travel – had we foreseen in March that there would be no joint travel measures in place even within the EU and the Schengen area by August, we would have made a decision to go regional (Baltic-Nordic) with our music and conference line-ups, instead of European. International work in the field of the performing arts, in circumstances where every country – on the basis of their individual virus rate, testing capacity and political pressure – sets their own travel restrictions system, cannot be done.

As a matter of principle we did not want to give up on the international collaboration aspect.

Rapidly changing event restrictions – our governments have gone for the easiest, but probably not the most efficient means of restricting social gatherings, basing the entire logic on capacity numbers instead of zooming in closer to look at how the virus actually spreads. Six months later, we should be smarter than that now.

Confusing public messages – even when events are officially allowed, our media space is flooded with ”expert” advice, discouraging people to attend events. “Allowed, but not recommended” is a damaging concept. The result is a drop in public attendance as well as a lack of trust in our sector.

What we discovered:

The human desire to physically meet and share physical space is strong. This longing for human connection will most probably increase in the coming autumn months.

When communicated well, in a clear and calm manner,

audiences are ready and willing to maintain social distances and follow health guidance.

During the summer season, when events in Estonia of up to 2,000-capacity were allowed outdoors, and 1,500 indoors, not a single case of Covid was registered at professionally organised events.

There is a lack of general trust in the professional capacity of our sector. We need to consciously upgrade this by strategic work and clear communication.

There are competent private sector medical aid companies ready to offer tailor-made solutions.

In collaboration with security companies, a new level of crowd-control expertise can emerge.

These competences need to find a permanent role at the core of our event teams. Health and safety is a topic that needs our full attention both during industry conversations as well as at the top management levels of our companies.

Future considerations:

The events and culture sector across Europe and the rest of the world should join forces to achieve the following: To find new solutions for the sector, we need direct collaboration links with scientists and health specialists – only then can we find new pathways. Letting our governments base their decisions on venue capacity numbers alone will bankrupt the sector and still not solve the health crisis.

The psychological impact of reduced social interaction should be measured more seriously and the culture sector should play a bigger role in addressing this. The topic of health should not only consider physical but also mental health and wellbeing.

There needs to be a much stronger lobby at EU level to balance travel restrictions. Freedom of movement is one of the core functional aspects of the EU and Schengen area. International collaboration can only temporarily progress with digital-only meet-ups.

We need to pay closer attention to how our basic freedoms are being compromised. We should confidently stand against any moral judgement upon our sector, constantly striving for better and smarter professional solutions. We need to turn the situation around and lead the conversation, with pride and with the knowledge that we now have.

TMW 2021 will take place 6–9 May. Passes via: www.tmw.ee

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CLARA CULLEN As venue support manager for the Music Venue Trust (MVT), Clara Cullen is having the busiest year of her life as she and her MVT colleagues work tirelessly to ensure that as many grassroots venues as possible survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

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aised in an environment where classical music was predominant, Cullen says her introduction to working in music came via Banquet Records in Kingston upon Thames. “It became my haven and gateway into contemporary music, DIY ethics and independent culture. Through Banquet I discovered their live in-store gigs and records. I remember being genuinely blown away that acts like Bombay Bicycle Club, Ed Sheeran or You Me At Six would come and play.”

She started a music blog and made a deal with her parents: “As long as I kept my school grades up, they were happy for me to go to the in-stores at Banquet after school and interview the bands.

From that point on I was obsessed, going to stores and spending hours in the record shop.”

Her interests grew, and persistence saw her land internships at Rock Sound and NME. “I remember sending the NME team an email every two weeks until they eventually relented and said I could come in for a two-week internship and I got to be at NME when the likes of the amazing Eve Barlow and Laura Snapes were journalists there.

“Through this, I began to meet people in the music industry; continued going to gigs at grassroots music venues; and getting advice about different roles within the industry. This helped me realise how varied the roles in the music industry actually are. It makes me happy that ten years on there are still people in the industry that I met then who continue to act as mentors to me today.”

Converting her interest into a paid career was challenging, she admits. “Despite living near London, where most of the music industry opportunities are, and having a supportive, if somewhat bemused, family, I was applying for

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paid internships with very little success. With no longer-term prospects, I decided to put a career in music on pause and go to university. Far from being a step back, this actually turned out to be the best thing for me as I discovered a love for politics and policy, which are topics I have been able to build on at MVT.” A self-confessed “academic nerd,” Cullen’s main interests are politics and current affairs, hence her decision to study history and politics at Exeter University, before embarking on a master’s in international relations at the London School of Economics (LSE). “Once my course ended, I was at a crossroads between going down a more traditional career path into a job in politics, or following my gut and trying to break into the live music industry. It was at this point I was introduced to Music Venue Trust. As a music charity that does a lot of government-facing work, it really managed to coalesce all my interests into one.”

Cullen states that one of her biggest champions has been the musician Frank Turner, who she first met as a teenager through an interview at Banquet Records. “Frank has very strong DIY ethics — you can find his email on his website, which he replies to directly. When I was leaving the LSE, I emailed him about not really know-

ing whether to keep trying to pursue a job in music or go down a more traditional career path. Without prompting, Frank introduced me to the Music Venue Trust team. Given my interest in music and policy, he suggested I connect with them and help out at their Venues Day 2017 event. I did this and a few weeks later, a paid role came up as an administrator at MVT, which I applied for. In November 2017, after years of trying, I could finally turn around to 16-year-old me and say I had a job in the music industry.”

Justifiably proud of the work MVT does, Cullen says, “It makes me feel really happy knowing that we have helped create a network of maverick and innovative people working in venues.

This is even more apparent during the Covid-19 crisis, with venues working together to share knowledge, best practices and support. In many ways, the crisis has acted to solidify the work MVT has been doing, and shows why having a representative body who can communicate with the government is so vital.

“In a time of crisis, our team has actually expanded, and this has allowed MVT to really rise to meet the challenge of Covid-19. For example, MTV’s Save Our Venues campaign started off as a small idea in one of our team meetings and has now helped to galvanise live music fans to rally around their local venues raising over £1million (€1.1m) in donations.

“Likewise, MVT’s lobbying of the government has, in my opinion, been the most effective of any organisation in the music industry. Getting the opportunity to work with the government, devolved administrations, and the London mayor’s team to ensure that support reaches grassroots music venues, and seeing tangible results in the creation of different emergency funding for grassroots music venues, feels both like a personal win for myself and also for the organisation. I think it shows that the boundaries of what people perceive to be ‘possible’ are never static and can move if you’re relentless in pushing them.”

In her role as venue support manager, Cullen runs MTV’s Crisis Service, which gives practical assistance and crisis funding to venues facing immediate threats of closure. “There have been cases I have dealt with this year where a venue operator also lives in their venue. The biggest challenge is to prevent the closure of the venue as it would also mean the loss of someone’s

“Whilst there is a lot of uncertainty, what we do know for certain is that live music fans have been incredible in their support of venues and have helped prevent the complete collapse of the grassroots circuit”

Unsung Hero home. For many this isn’t just about where they work and what they do, it runs to the very fabric of their life.”

At the beginning of the Covid crisis, MVT predicted that up to 94% of all grassroots music venues in the UK were facing permanent closure within six months. As a result, it launched the Save Our Venues campaign and created a central MVT crisis fund, to which the public can donate.

In London alone that fund has amassed £759,000 (€829,800) in direct donations.

“We also have the Passport Back to Our Roots events taking place,” she continues. “The concept is that big acts return to grassroots music venues where they first played when coming up in the industry. The public can enter a prize draw to win a spot at these gigs and they will take place sometime in the future when non-socially distanced gigs are allowed, with a portion of the money raised donated to MVT’s Crisis Service.

“We’re also working on plans to try and revitalise the live industry to get shows up and running again in the grassroots music venue sector.

This will require funding support and buy-in from promoters, agents and artists. We hope to have more news on this soon.”

Citing some of the bigger lessons she has learned, so far, through the pandemic experience, Cullen says, “The key takeaway for me has been the need for direct lines of communication with local councils, regional administrations and central government, alongside a strong social media campaign. You need things to work in tandem if you want to influence policy at a local, regional and national level: direct conversations with policymakers, backed by indisputable economic analysis, a menu of practical options for them to consider, and a strong public narrative that can push your case, is the winning combination.”

Outside the everyday grind of trying to protect the grassroots sector of the business, Cullen has a passion for old-school film photography.

“You can only take 36 shots per roll of 32mm film, so without being able to see the shots before they are developed makes every shot count.

I find that this helps me to slow down and re-evaluate everyday scenarios. I am also very big into my Eastern European history and am currently reading Anne Applebaum’s brilliant Twilight of Democracy.”

Ever on point, Cullen concludes that more support is needed for MVT’s Save Our Venues initiative. “Whilst there is a lot of uncertainty, what we do know for certain is that live music fans have been incredible in their support of venues and have helped prevent the complete collapse of the grassroots circuit. We also need the larger parts of the live music industry to continue to work collaboratively with the grassroots sector to help get shows up and running. If we can do all of those things, then I believe our venues will be able to make it through this.”

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AGENCY SHOWCASE PARTNERS

The Interactive Festival Forum (iFF) took place on 2 and 3 September, as the annual event went virtual for a one-off digital edition.

Featuring 65 guest speakers, six hours of live-streamed showcases by leading booking agencies, and a range of opportunities for networking and meetings, iFF 2020 brought the international festival community together after the most difficult summer in memory.

A total of 650 delegates “attended”, with the absence of space constraints presented by IFF’s traditional north London home allowing for more festival organisers and booking agents to attend than ever before.

For those readers who weren’t there, here’s what you missed…

MEDIA PARTNERS

ASSOCIATION PARTNERS

EVENT PARTNERS

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WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER NEW THREAT, NEW RISKS

THE BIG REBUILD: FESTIVALS BOUNCE BACK

VIRTUAL EVENTS: LOST HORIZON & WIRELESS CONNECT/DOWNLOAD TV

Led by CAA agent Maria May, this panel saw speakers debate the lack of confidence in the return of live events next year.

The second workshop of the day saw Emily ScogJim King, CEO of European festivals at AEG gins, head of marketing and PR at Festival RePresents, said he thinks the UK has a “huge con- public, share the success of Download TV, 2020’s fidence issue” that won’t subside until the indus- virtual version of the festival. try has united and created a foolproof plan.

“We’re really proud of the event we’ve “We, as an industry, need to show that we achieved. We’re now focused on using our newhave mitigated risk on every ly bolstered YouTube audience level. Then we need to deliver and speaking to our new audithat plan in a unified tone, with ence on Twitch,” said Scoggins.

Thank you to the IFF a level of confidence that transScoggins then passed the team for arranging. lates to artists and fans. Until baton to colleague Lucy Carter, It was brilliant! Next then, we’re just pushing the digital content producer at Fesyear in person in same piece of paper around the tival Republic, who took deleLondon again. table. I don’t think we’re ready gates through the organisation

Pascal Viot, from Paléo Festival Nyon, kicked off the first workshop of the day by declaring that from a health and safety viewpoint “we are all in a very confused position.

“We are having to consider next year’s festivals on strategic, political and operational levels,” Viot told delegates.

Coralie Berael, director at Forest National Arena, agreed but added that public opinion is also a critical factor for next year’s return to live.

“We are getting through at a political level now, but it’s also important that public opinion evolves regarding what we do, too,” she explained. “At the end of the day, we can talk pol- yet but we will be by next sumitics and strategy, but in this crisis, there is an mer,” he said. individual engagement and responsibility that is Russell Warby, partner and agent at WME, different from dealing with the standard risks. said he’s already experienced the spirit of coopIt’s up to everybody to adhere to new measures.” eration that King is hoping for.

Berael’s point prompted a discussion about “Promoters and agents are talking more than whether it should be a festival’s responsibility to they ever have done about practical things, not provide masks and temperature checks. just fees. We do stick behind the promoters.

Nick Morgan, from We Are The Fair, said: They’re going to be on the frontline. We repre“We can only make suggestions. sent the artists but we are led We shouldn’t have to inherit the by what’s happening in front of costs. If people feel vulnerable us,” he explained. or at risk, they shouldn’t attend With regard to Belgium’s Had a great couple festivals.” of days. Was a bit live industry, Herman SchuereMorten Therkildsen, head mans, CEO of Live Nation Belstrange that my of security, health and safety at first IFF was in front gium, said he believes the key to Roskilde Festival, concurred, confidence lies in lobbying the of my laptop, but saying festivals shouldn’t have the panels were audience. to bear the burden when there very informative, so “The suggestion is that – as are so many other hurdles to all concertgoers are very loyal – thanks to the whole overcome.

IFF team, and I look let’s contact them and say if you All panellists agreed that the want to go to festivals next year, forward to doing opinions of health experts need next year in person. you will have to get tested on the to play a bigger part in order to day of the event,” he said, adding avoid sending mixed messages that 15- and 30-minute Covid to the public. tests will be available in the coming months.

Henrik Bondo Nielsen, Roskilde’s head of Schueremans was optimistic about the indussafety and service, concluded: “We need to make try’s return to live, and its ability to solve proba strong chain with health experts and com- lems: “We are not amateurs. We are a strong and bine our knowledge about having many people constructive business.” together, and try and create an alternative to This stoicism was echoed by Roberta Medina making restrictions. Our industry needs to work from Rock in Rio, who added: “Society is mature together and join forces.” enough to find solutions fast.”

MERLE DOERING

MARTIN JARVIS

of Wireless Connect.

The virtual-reality edition of Wireless was available for one weekend only in 360° immersive virtual reality on smartphones and VR headsets via the MelodyVR app.

“The audience loved the experience,” said Carter. “There was a constant stream of chatter in the YouTube chat and artists were also interacting – all while the festival was streamed. It had a real live energy to it,” she says.

Chris Tofu and Rob Collins from Lost Horizon festival discussed creating a temporary venue, monetising the virtual event and connecting with a bigger audience for their virtual edition.

“Virtual reality is as far as you can go in terms of live-streaming and connecting with your audience,” said Tofu. “The result of us doing Lost Horizon virtually was 4 million individual views, and the links are still being watched now.”

REFUNDS, DEPOSITS & FORCE MAJEURE

The first panel of the afternoon kicked off with a discussion about whether the terms and conditions of force majeure clauses have served their purpose.

Ben Challis, general counsel at Glastonbury Festival, said, upon reflection, they haven’t: “There is no standard definition of force majeure. It’s a construct of contract lawyers, not politicians. So it’s not a matter of interpretation; Magazine

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Above left: RemiWolf was one of Paradigm’s featured acts.

Above right: Luke La Volpe played during the X-ray Touring showcase.

Left: A posse of independent operators shared their Survival Stories during the Thursday panel of the same name.

Below: Marc Geiger and Lisa Yang provided a fitting closure to the serious side of proceedings on the opening day (and some much needed optimism) during the iFF keynote.

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it’s a matter of what’s included.” new research on festival-goers’ confidence (or lack tics that face an industry trying to “rise from the UTA agent James Wright said confusion of) with regard to returning to live events over flames.” around contracts has done nothing to instil con- the next 12 months.

Diamond highlighted the challenge of bookfidence in his artists.

With Public Health England’s Dr Mark Salter ing global tours when there’s likely to be discrep“When there’s ambiguity over the paperwork having technical difficulties, ROSTR CEO Mark ancies between venues’ protocols and capacities. and the interpretation of the clauses – certainly Williamson delivered the final presentation, in “I think there’s going to be a lot of adaptabilwhen you’re talking about decreasing revenue which he examined the agency world in num- ity required. There are going to be a lot of movand the like – that’s where it gets very challeng- bers, looking at each agency’s number of artists, ing parts to this. We’re going to have to collecing for an artist to feel safe, and insure against it their genres, genders and more. tively put our heads together and find solutions,” from either side.” he said.

While Peter Elliott, agent at Primary Talent Koopmans says that for new tours, FKP is tryInternational, said insurers have generally been ing to put in a miscellaneous clause to allow for quite good during the pandemic, but, looking to changes. the future, some things need to change.

“We’ll be adding 10-15% per tour in case “They’ve covered us for this summer but not Chaired by iFF’s Greg Parmley, this panel saw things become more expensive or companies next year. We’re still in the middle of it. We need some of the industry’s leading figures discuss is- aren’t available. Labour is a big issue in Germato have Covid things within force majeure.” sues surrounding ticketing and artist fees. ny – it was before Covid. Most of the sound and Tamás Kádár, CEO of Sziget Festival, said he’s CAA’s Emma Banks kicked off by commend- lighting companies are bankrupt,” he explained. not had any issues with deposits ing festival organisers who had Tours aside, Banks says that when it comes to but that next year it will depend been forced to cancel their festivals, organisers don’t need to overcompenmore on trust. events this summer: “Generally, sate with booking more acts, they just need to Speedmeetings “There are a lot of learnings the live industry did really well “do what they do well.” are great! from the past couple of months. under difficult circumstances, In the beginning, everyone was considering we’ve never dealt in the same boat. Now we’ve with anything like this before.” come to the next phase, when everyone starts to “Frankly, I think it was lucky we were in prepare for the next agreements and the lawyers March, rather than May, when [the industry] come into play, it should be a rational approach.” would’ve been further down the line,” she added.

“We need to figure out a way to solve these isThis sentiment was echoed by Marty Diasues together, acknowledging that everyone has mond, head of global music at Paradigm Talent Day one concluded with WME’s former head of costs, and larger companies can absorb more,” Agency, who said: “Everyone has tried to ap- global music, Marc Geiger, in conversation with acknowledged Challis. proach this with the best intentions. The wealth Goldman Sachs’ Lisa Yang. of creative ideas isn’t stopping. I’m really encourGeiger – an executive renowned for spotting aged by people’s resilience and music business trends – shared adaptability.” his predictions about the live Folkert Koopmans, MD of industry’s recovery, as well as FKP Scorpio, is one such profesthoughts on the live-streamThank you very much for organising this Deer Shed director Kate Webster kicked off the sional who managed to weather ing model, the boom in world event. It was very first of five ten-minute presentations with a look the storm and is now looking music, and outside capital’s informative and fun! at the festival’s socially distanced camping week- forward to next year. growing interest in the music ender, Base Camp.

Koopmans told delegates industry.

In Sounds of Space, Tim O’Brien of Jodrell how within one week FKP reRead the full interview – inBank Centre for Astrophysics presented a mix of booked all bills for next year. “We know if we cluding his prediction that the industry’s shutsignals from spacecraft at the dawn of the space communicate with people, they stay with us. So down will give way to a new “roaring twenties” age; the rhythmic beats of pulsars, black holes, we directly contacted all agents and managers from 2022 onwards – here. the Big Bang and more. and confirmed the same deal and same slot for Vivid Inter- next year.” face’s Geoff DixHe says 85% of fans stuck with their tickets on presented for next year’s festivals, noting “events are hotter Paradigm Agency, Primary Talent International You know what, I’m Getting Back to than ever.” and Solo Agency presented live performances by thoroughly enjoying Work: The fan’s While the panel expressed optimism for the BIIG PIG, Lynks, Remi Wolf, Thomas Headon the digital IFF. p e r s p e c t i v e , year ahead, and confidence in fans’ hunger to and Working Men’s Club; Amahla, Beach Bunwith exclusive return to live events, the trio addressed the logis- ny, Blu DeTiger, I SEE RIVERS, James Vincent

TICKET PRICES, ARTIST FEES & DEALS

SEMYON GALPERIN

THE IFF KEYNOTE MARC GEIGER, IN CONVERSATION WITH LISA YANG

SOAPBOX SESSIONS: FIVE IN 55

BECKIE SUGDEN

DIRK LEHBERGER

AGENCY SHOWCASES

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iFF 2020 Agenda

McMorrow and Third Son; and X-ray agent Beckie Sugden join 2020 festival season and shine a light on what Asylums, Lawson and Taylor Big Bear Management’s Berna- promoters might expect from their insurance Castro, respectively. dette Barrett for a panel that policies from 2021 onwards.

Thanks so much The second round of showlooked at the impact of March’s Howell spoke about the lack of consistency on IFF – brilliant two cases, began with UTA and industry shutdown on artists. pay-outs this summer, explaining: “The reason days of information, X-ray Touring presenting perWith both festivals represent- for that is simple: the underwriters can’t afford showcases, coming formances by AURORA, Oscar ed booking many international to pay the claims. One said to me that if they paid together, sharing, Jerome, Teddy Swims, Scaryheadliners – Soler said Primave- out every claim it would cost a billion pounds caring and allowing poolparty and Nana Adjoa; and ra is 60–70% non-domestic acts. and bankrupt the insurer.” us to connect.

Luke La Volpe and The Ninth Panellists also spoke on the diffiThornhill explained that the impact on inWave, respectively, while day culties presented by potential re- surance policies worldwide is now estimated at one of iFF came to a close with ITB showcasing strictions on global travel into next year. “It will $2billion (€1.7bn), with speakers warning that LIFE, Kyle Daniel, Hardwicke Circus, JOSIN and be difficult for artists to build premiums are going to go up Demob Happy. their careers like they were planpost-Covid for those insurers ning to,” said Kyyrö, with Soler who still offer cancellation cover. adding that, “the local scene is However, Howell was upbeat It was great. Well the only thing you can develop about 2021, saying it should done and thanks to everyone involved. right now.” become easier to secure public Bates said it’s the mediliability insurance for events um-sized artists for whom taking place next year. “We’re “touring is their living,” who are being hit hard- only 3-4 months into the pandemic and we’re est by the pause on concerts. running events successfully now,” he said, “so However, there are new opportunities, said I’m extremely confident that the social distancSugden, who added that she’s signed many art- ing requirements and any other pandemic proists during the pandemic, including a TikTok tocols will be less and less, and it will be easier The second day of iFF commenced with a star. “I don’t know if that’s something I would to obtain cover.” workshop hosted by A Greener Festival’s Claire have done if not for lockdown,” she explained.

O’Neill and Go Group’s Holger Jan Schmidt, and “From a management perspective, a lot of looked at how the business can restart in a green- this comes down to the artist,” added Barrett, er way than pre-pandemic. referencing Sugden’s signing. “As agents, proIn this packed early morning session, which moters, managers, we can’t do anything without saw around 150 people tune in, including dele- them being creative in the first place.”

Running an independent festival or agency is gates from LA (where the local time was 1–2am), Soler said it’s important to urge artists to be difficult at the best of times, let alone during a veteran eco-campaigners tackled issues including “creative and try and put out as much stuff as pandemic – so this panel checked in with some the environmental impact of the Internet, why possible,” though Bates warned that live-stream- mainstays of the independent sector to find out drive-in concerts are problematic, and the ongo- ing can be expensive, when taking into account how they are weathering the Covid-19 storm. ing need to minimise the use of plastics, while costs for crew and rehearsal One of the major lessons of highlighting notable socially distanced events, in- times. the crisis is the need for indecluding the recent Electricity festival in Germany.

One thing to remember, pendent firms to join a representThe session poll showed that festival profes- though, is that the pandemic has ative body, said Progressive ArtFirst time sionals consider green issues to be important, affected everyone equally – and ists’ Rob Gibbs, with the Mighty participating, it was even amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis; 85% everyone will be able to beneHoopla’s Jamie Tagg agreeing very much needed of those who voted said it’s a “necessity” that fit when concerts restart – said on the festival side, saying it had and very well people engage in international campaigns for Bates. “I keep trying to hammer recently joined the Association presented!! Thank you for this! climate activism. home to my artists that you’re of Independent Festivals to get not being left behind here: a “direct link” to those making you’re all in the same boat.” decisions that affect the industry.

Tagg said while coronavirus has been “an awful time for all,” one positive is that there has been “goodwill across the board. No one’s really The second session of the day saw Primavera The day’s first workshop invited MIB’s Steven been a dick about deposits or things like that.”

Sound booker Fra Soler, Primary Talent partner Howell, Tysers’ Tim Thornhill and Sound Chan“I was in the industry a long time ago, when Matt Bates, Fullsteam founder Rauha Kyyrö and nel UK’s Karina Ann Gaertner to reflect on the promoters didn’t like agents and agents didn’t

BEV BURTON

MARV RUDNICK

THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER SUSTAINABILITY BEYOND 2020

SURVIVAL STORIES: THE INDEPENDENTS

NATALY ANDRIA

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT: THE LOST YEAR 22

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INSURANCE & COVID-19

Above: The Big Rebuild panel proved to be one of the most popular sessions of iFF. Right: Providing a light-hearted end to the conference agenda, the This Is Why We Do It panel saw some of the industry’s biggest characters trading funny stories from their careers.

Below left: Amahla raised the curtain for the Primary Talent International showcase.

Below right: Taylor Castro showed exactly why she has become the latest act on John Giddings’ roster at Solo Agency.

Magazine

23

Above: Josin gave festival promoters an insight into what they can expect if they book her for their 2021 events during ITB’s showcase event.

Left: Thursday’s panel entitled Artist Development: The Lost Year, was a fascinating discussion about Covid-19’s effect on emerging talent, but also the opportunities that scenario has delivered when it comes to the careers of domestic artists around the world, during a time when international acts are unable to travel.

like promoters, but now people share, and that’s so encouraging,” confirmed chair Gill Tee of Black Deer Festival.

Both Tee and Bella Concerts founder Isabelle Pfeifer spoke of their optimism that festivals will return bigger and better than ever when the Covid-19 threat has passed, with Pfeifer joking: “I’ve been in the music industry since I left school – I don’t know what else I could do!”

MetalDays booker Nika Brunet spoke of the importance of “positivity and words of encouragement” from both fans and the industry, in keeping the sector going during the current crisis. “We see how eager people are to get back, and that keeps us going,” she said.

SOAPBOX SESSIONS: FIVE IN 55

Day two’s Soapbox Sessions focused on The Lost Causes temporarily sidelined by coronavirus, with Mark Salter (technical difficulties resolved) presenting ahead of Attitude is Everything’s

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Gideon Feldman (accessibility), Keychange’s Francine Gorman (gender equality), MITC’s Tamsin Embleton (mental health) and Youth Music’s Daniel Williams (ethnic diversity).

started to get back into normal practices. It feels like we’re back to, ‘You need to push the guarI’ll be back next year. antee, you need to up the ticket Can’t wait to see price…’” and hear everyone’s Alex Bruford of ATC Live news after COVID said that regardless of the out2020. Thank you come, the relationships that are IFF, the panelists, built on trust will survive the delegates, et al… the speedmeetings coronavirus. With those peowere a hoot! Take ple, he said, “if you get on the care and let the phone to them, 99 times out of music play!

100 you can reach an amicable solution.”

“Most people have been very very reasonable,” added Meersseman. “Your relationships pre-exist and you keep on building This panel explored whether the current spirit them. I haven’t felt any pressure or disrespect or of industry co-operation and bonhomie will last anything else like that.” into the post-pandemic world.

“The camaraderie has been great, the discusArnaud Meersseman of AEG Presents France sions among ourselves have been great,” added isn’t so sure: “At the start of this, I think every- Theresho Selesho of South Africa’s Matchbox one thought that the industry is going to be Live, “but we need to [do more than that: We completely different, but I feel that we’ve already need to] band together, and set up actual legal

SHIFTING LANDSCAPES: COVID’S EFFECT ON CORPORATE RELATIONSHIPS

ELI CASANOVA

entities that can represent our voices and engage with the government.”

With discussion moving on to wider changes in the business, UTA agent Sophie Roberts spoke about new challengers coming to market, such as FKP Scorpio UK and Ireland’s Singular Artists, and their potential to “challenge the monopoly” of the existing major players.

More agencies, meanwhile, is “good news,” added Bruford, providing “more routes to market for the talent.” “More competition keeps us at the top of our game,” continued Roberts.

In France, said Meersseman, another development Dear IFF team!! Thank is promoters you so much for this reinventing fun, informative and themselves as beneficial two days!!

Hats off! managers, mirroring similar

MARTON NARAY

changes in the film industry.

“A lot of independents are in a very good position to ride this out,” said Bruford, given they don’t have “massive offices and high overheads.” Selesho agreed, adding that in South Africa many companies are partnering up to do bigger shows jointly. “That’s going to be a big trend,” he said.

THIS IS WHY WE DO IT

It was a great couple of days and I loved being able to pop in and out as needed.

Well done everyone, organisers and delegates.

The day’s programming wrapped up with a light-hearted panel that welcomed Superbloom MD Fruzsina Szép, Glastonbury booker Martin Elbourne, Paradigm’s Alex Hardee, film mega-agent Duncan Heath, and chair Anna Sjölund (LN Sweden) to trade funny moments, bizarre situations and tall touring tales.

Spatial Intelligence for Live Events.

Meshh helps festivals, promoters, brands and rights holders understand + measure fan behavior at live experiences of all shapes and sizes.

Understand how fans move through and interact with key landmarks, activations and more

NIGEL MORTON

Quantify engagement for brand partners and key stakeholders to redfine the fan experience

Say hello at info@meshh.com!

Delegates in attendance heard about Hardee’s run-in with a septic tank, Elbourne dining with sea lions, Szép being a hedgehog midwife, and the reason why Heath only lasted six months at the original William Morris Agency…

THE IFF COCKTAIL COMPETITION & SOCIAL

To finish iFF 2020, delegates left the conference platform and headed over to Zoom for an event hosted by the team at Wide Days. Competition categories included best-looking cocktail, top cocktail name and most fabulous Zoom background. The IQ team, alas, won none of them…

Feature_SoundCzech

TUNE IN TO SOUNDCZECH

While pandemic restrictions continue to hamper live music shows around the world, Czech music export office SoundCzech is taking advantage of the industry’s desire to get back up and running by promoting its home-grown talent. Adam Woods reports.

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touring world has hit pause, the Czech Republic holds a strong hand in terms of talent these days.

Many of the ESNS delegation (which also included one-woman musical sensation Bohemian Cristal Instrument, Baltic party band the Circus Brothers, bagpipe-toting punks Pipes and Pints, acoustic troubadour Thom Artway, the self-descriptive Lazer Viking, and cinematic jazzers Zabelov Group) had begun to make international inroads at club- and festival-level and were demonstrably building momentum.

“To be honest, my realistic expectation is never to get [a band] to the headline billing, because that’s not realistic for the Czech Republic,” says Náray. “It’s about, in a few years, having a lot of bands that are genuinely going out onto the European club circuit. There are several like that,” he adds, mentioning Mydy Rabycad, the Circus Brothers, Floex and Manon Meurt, as well as the currently resting Pipes and Pints, “but that’s the level we would love to raise [to].”

Talent-wise, the Czech Republic is in a similar position to many non-English-speaking territories.

There is no shortage of homegrown, locally loved talent, from

long-running funkers Monkey Business to newly reformed ’90s legends Lucie. But to break across borders requires rare luck, as well as a delicate balance of international appeal and something unique.

“It’s the usual problem,” says Paul Elsasser of London-based, Eu-

ropean-focused Minimal Surface, whose artists include edgy Czech solo prospect Giudi. “If you want to make it big in a country, you have to sing in their language.”

Numerous Czech bands have taken that advice to heart. At the same time, says Náray, if you pick

© Radek Holeš

I

f you could take Czech music back to a more hopeful moment than the present one, it might be worth heading to January 2019, when the nation, alongside its former other half Slovakia, was part of the first-ever dual-country focus at Eurosonic Noorderslag.

In a snapshot of a diverse, ambitious scene, 11 Czech acts travelled to Groningen, including internationally noted pop favourite Lenny, London-raised female rapper Hellwana, shoegazing indie-rockers Manon Meurt, UK/Czech electronic alliance Floex & Tom Hodge and well-travelled Glastonbury and Sziget veterans Mydy Rabycad.

“It was nice, and I think it was good for the scene,” says Márton Náray, director of Czech music export office SoundCzech. “We did that in collaboration with Pohoda festival in Slovakia, and that was fantastic – Michal Kaščák is one of the legends of live music. We got into a situation where we were brainstorming to do more than a simple country focus, and I think we inspired each other.”

The exposure from ESNS and surrounding events was still in the process of bearing fruit when the current crisis struck. But while the

DECULTIVATE

“We have strong genre scenes, and right now, they are stronger than ever before. When it comes to extreme music, it is stunning to watch so many young and wild bands creating intense music comparable to anything in the world.” facebook.com/DecultivatePrague

up another country’s style too well, then why would they need you? “If you have a band with a Brit indie sound, especially, it is really, really difficult to do anything, because there are so many similar bands already playing [it].”

Then again, he points out, if you are good enough, exceptions may be made. “Manon Meurt are close to that sort of sound, but they are playing amazing shoegaze music and they have been capitalising a lot on Eurosonic.”

Full-blown international Czech stars have been limited since the days of Karel Gott, “the golden voice of Prague” who struck gold in German-speaking countries from the 1960s to the 1990s; or Jan Hammer, the jazz-fusion musician who scored two major hits in the mid1980s with music from Miami Vice.

Those that have made some impact on the international stage in more recent years include Oscar-winning Once star Markéta Irglová, Czech psych-rock pioneers Please The Trees, electronic twins Bratři, and a strong and diverse rock and metal contingent including Gutalax, Cult of Fire, Modern Day Babylon, Hentai Corporation and Lvmen.

The ESNS generation may yet add some additional names to those, but it may take a while. “Usually – and I know other export offices agree with this – it takes two or three years to raise the awareness around a country after the country focus,” says Náray. “We have had a rise in concerts abroad since then, but of course, then all this happened…”

Náray’s aims are, in any case, broader than just industry showcases. In addition to its own Nouvelle Prague event, the three-year-old SoundCzech operates schemes to mentor local bands and live music workers and to connect the Czech scene with the wider world. It participates in HEMI, the European co-operation across central and southeastern Europe. When Covid hit, Náray says, an immediate priority was to help bands create high-quality live videos for a temporarily gig-less world.

There is also a belief that a country such as the Czech Republic has more to offer than just fodder for festivals, clubs and showcases.

© Ondřej Ždichynec

SoundCzech_Feature

LAMBDA

“The Czech music scene is pretty small compared to other EU countries, still kinda frozen in time due to the Iron Curtain, but it’s unusual, playful and unique because of the location in the heart of Europe, where East meets West. We have loads of great musicians with projects that are focused mainly on the domestic market. Not many mainstream or underground bands are brave enough to go and play abroad, take risks and try something different, even though, from our experience, it’s actually easier to book shows in Germany, Slovenia or Poland. We would like to see more bands break this fear, because in the end, music has no borders.” facebook.com/lambdacz

“The simple fact is that the Czech Republic is right in the middle of the European touring circuit,” says Náray. “There are very good service companies here. That is already an important asset. There are studios, there are musicians, backline companies – so many other aspects of the music scene.

“Our viewpoint is really based on how connected we are. That is more important than having a huge budget to focus on a few artists and try to push them as much as possible. Even the term ‘export office’ is obsolete. It comes from a bit of an imperialist way of thinking,” he reasonably notes.

Studios in and around Prague make a virtue of their easy access

for foreign acts – Faust in the central Bubeneǒ district has entertained Lady Gaga, local expats Killing Joke and Damien Marley; while Sono in the western suburbs is hailed as one of the best recording studios in the world and has seen David Bowie, Joss Stone and Glen Hansard pass through its doors.

Meanwhile, companies like back-

line rental company Nomads of Prague and Fluffwheels have been crisscrossing Europe for years.

“It’s a great location and I think its importance will be that a lot of people will use it as a base for Europe,” says Elsasser. “Bulgaria and Romania are getting bigger as well – all those territories you didn’t really tour years ago. Suddenly, if you are

“Suddenly, if you are an American band and you want a base for Europe, the Czech Republic is right there in the centre” Paul Elsasser, Minimal Surface Magazine

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© Alexandra Hrašková

Feature_SoundCzech

BRATŘI

an American band and you want a base for Europe, the Czech Republic is right there in the centre.”

Náray is also very keen on the possibilities of international cross-pollination. Please The Trees have worked with John Grant; while electronics acts Bratři and Floex, likewise, have efficiently tapped into the international fellowship of their particular scene, as have plenty of Czech metal bands. “Acts like that are going their own ways, because they are in genres that have great circulation,” says Náray.

Others are also doing their part to improve the Czech Republic’s international connections. London-based DJ, producer and curator Ben Osborne has visited Prague frequently over the past 15 years, and in the past three, with local live music pioneer Jaroslav Raušer and landmark Prague venue the Cross Club, he has built a musical exchange programme with London bar and club The Social.

“It is by no means exclusive, but there is a cool organic connection between what we are trying to do, so it is not just an artist coming over to play once; there are cross-flowing ideas. Giudi has come over and played The Social, and so have Bratři and Silver Spoons, who are Czech

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has never been taught in the Czech Republic, it was necessary to set up educational processes that will help Czech bands and artists to prepare for the British audience better through foreign workshops.”

And while the English-speaking world is an important target, it is worth remembering, too, that the Czech Republic is culturally one half of another former country, along with Slovakia, and Náray believes that connection is worth nurturing.

“We don’t even perceive it as a foreign country – it is a unique relationship,” he says. “And I would be very, very happy if there were more collaborations with the neighbouring countries. One country by themselves might make a breakthrough, but when there are other territories that are able to book those bands, it really helps.”

© Daniel Salač

“We have many famous classical composers from the past who are well known around the world: Dvořák, Martinů, Smetana. Me and my brother are into techno and electronic music, and there are many interesting Czech artists we like – Floex, HRTL, teepee. We have excellent festivals, including Colours of Ostrava and Metronome.” facebook.com/bratriveseli

but with a Manchester connection.

And so far I have had people like Tom Findlay from Groove Armada come over to play with me at the Cross Club, and then Booka Shade at Lucerna Music Bar.” Another mutually beneficial jaunt was a Czech/ UK contingent at French festival Chateau Perché in summer 2019.

Raušer, the drummer of the legendary band STP (Soubor Tradiǒního Popu), set up one of Prague’s first venues, the Palác Akropolis, in the immediate aftermath of 1989’s Velvet Revolution.

Since 2008, through his company Move Association, he has promoted events and established workshops for young Czech artists.

“The main intention was to co-operate on a new music mobility and exchange network, which did not exist until then,” says Raušer.

“Due to the fact that modern music

THOM ARTWAY

“Every country has a unique approach to music, rooted in its history. Some people say that Czech music is not good enough for export. But we all are all “descendants” of Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana and Janáček.. We still have quality musicians. We were stuck because of the regime we were caged in. But nowadays, everything is connected – people can connect and co-operate and, mainly, be free of fear, so they can release what they want. So go and listen to some Czech playlists on Spotify!” facebook.com/thomartway

SoundCzech_Feature

THE DOMESTIC CZECH MARKET

I

n any other year, it might have sounded like great news: a cluster of Prague festivals from the worlds of music, theatre and film, coming together for a large-scale open-air event across three weeks in September.

In 2020, however, it represented the probable end of the year’s festival calendar, both for the country and for the surrounding region, as Czech Covid cases hit new highs and a strict new lockdown loomed.

In compliance with the government regulations, Praha září (Prague September) divided the Výstaviště exhibition grounds into four sectors, each with a maximum capacity of 1,000 people, as festivals such as United Islands of Prague and Metronome produced mini versions of previously cancelled events. Better than nothing but inevitably a bittersweet end to a terrible year for live music.

The beginning of the year hadn’t

been great, but it might have been worse. After a prompt spring lockdown and a strong start in containing the virus, the Czech Republic was able to reopen in the summer and do reasonable business – until the clouds began to gather again.

At the time of writing, legislation was becoming stricter by the day and the autumn season was almost certain to be lost.

“There were many outdoor gigs in the summer, we played DJs in the streets, clubs were open, so it helped us to earn some money after the lockdown in high spring season,” says Martin Kozumplík, owner of the Kabinet Muz club in the second city of Brno, as well as a label boss, music magazine publisher and vinyl distributor.

“Now we are trying to work as hard as possible to have some income. Lot of gigs, local artists; but

we have to finish at midnight, and with masks it is very uncomfortable and people are afraid to enjoy the culture. A lot of shows are postponed from spring, and even if they are sold out, a significant amount of people just don’t come.”

At the time of writing, the news was getting gloomier on a daily basis. “Things are actually getting worse – same as everywhere, I think,” says Josef Ženíšek, CEO of Smart Production and technical director of the Colours of Ostrava and Soundtrack Poděbrady festivals. “The Ministry of Health just announced another restriction, with no standing events for more than 50 people outside or over ten inside. A lot of clubs are closing, and some rental companies are in big trouble already.”

Every country in the world appears to think their government

Key venues

GERMANY

POLAND

Barrak, Café V Lese, Cross Club, Fabric, Fléda, Forum Karlín, Futurum Music Bar, Jazz Dock, Jazz Tibet Club, Kabinet Múz, Klub 007 Strahov, Lucerna Music Club, MeetFactory, Palác Akropolis, Divadlo Pod Lampou, Rock Café, Roxy Prague, Sono Centrum

Studios

CZECH REPUBLIC

Studio 3bees, Faust, Golden Hive, Jámor, SONO, Svárov

Backline

Fluffwheels, High Lite Touring, Nomads of Prague, Vans for Bands

AUSTRIA Festivals

Alternativa, Artu Kus, Beats for Love, Beseda u Bigbítu, Brutal Assault, Colours of Ostrava, Creepy Teepee, Folk Holidays, Hip Hop Kemp, JazzFest Brno, Jazzinec, Jazz Of Four Continents, Jazz On5, Let It Roll, Lunchmeat, Masters of Rock, Metronome, Mighty Sounds, Mladí Ladí Jazz, Na jednom břehu, Nerudný fest, Obscene Extreme, Respect Festival, Rock for People, Spectaculare, Struny Podzimu

SLOVAKIA

Showcase festivals

Central European Jazz Showcase, Czech Music Crossroads, Nouvelle Prague

Agencies

10:15 Entertainment, Conspiracy Concerts, D Smack U, Earth Music, Fource Entertainment, Heartnoize Promotion, Charmenko, JazzMeetsWorld, Live Nation, Obscure Promotion, Pragokoncert Bohemia, Rachot

Media

Alter Echo, Fakker!, Full Moon, Harmonie, Headliner, iReport, Musicserver.cz, Spark, UNI

Radio stations

Český rozhlas Jazz, Český rozhlas Vltava, Evropa 2, Radio 1, Radio Express, Radio Wave

Labels

Animal Music, Axaminer, Bigg Boss, Červený kůň, Day After, Genot Centre, Indies Scope, Insane Society, Kiosek, Krmelec, Magick Disk Musick, Minority Records, Moving Pictures, Phobia Records, Polí5, Pushteek, Silver Rocket, Starcastic, Stoned to Death, Supraphon, Tranzistor, XION Magazine

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Feature_SoundCzech Rock for People festival has announced its 2021 dates as 10–12 June

has made a mess of its Covid response, and the Czech Republic is no exception. Petr Blažek of 420 Production, who manages fast-rising Czech bands including Noisy Pots and Mydy Rabycad, was enroute to a mini spin-off of the long-cancelled Colours of Ostrava festival in August with another band, N.O.H.A., when the second lockdown struck in earnest.

“We were headliners on the third day. The singer had flown in from Germany at 4 o’clock in the morning, we were in a van with all the equipment, and the promoter called and said, ‘stop for an hour because it might be cancelled again.’ And they did it. So we all just went back home. The whole summer, they’d opened everything, we didn’t need to wear face masks, everyone went to Croatia on holiday, even though we were sure it was going to come back. And now here we go.”

One of the few silver linings to the Czech Covid thundercloud, most agree, is the new sense of fellowship in a formerly fragmented

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market. A new industry association, the AHP, spearheaded by Live Nation, numbers 30 companies, including promoters and leading festivals such as Masters of Rock, Benátská Noc, Hrady CZ and others, has valued the industry at more than CZK4billion (€148m) and is pushing hard for state support.

“Aside from the enormous losses mounting each day because we are not able to organise music events, we perceive a lack of systematic approach by music industry subjects, especially when negotiations with government institutions are concerned,” says Live Nation Czech Republic CEO Robert Porkert.

“These negotiations are often led by different people with different interests, who often lack any significant experience with large event management. The association’s goal is joining all these subjects that under normal circumstances are not dependent on state and city subsidies and financial assistance.”

The Czech independent scene has been making its own pitch to the same authorities, but Blažek

“If there is a second lockdown, the old live culture will disappear” Martin Kozumplík, Kabinet Muz

says money that was initially set aside is hard to access for most companies. Of CZK1bn (€400m) initially touted, only around a tenth has been allocated. “There are 130,000 people who work in this industry and there were 100 successful applications, mostly from promoters,” says Blažek.

In ordinary times, Prague is a busy component of the international touring circuit. The 18,000-capacity former Sazka Arena, renamed the O2 since 2008, ushers a steady stream of big names into the city, with Elton John, Ariana Grande and Twenty One Pilots among the more recent visitors.

But it is also a highly self-motivated market, with relatively few big international conglomerates and a lot of local initiative. Its highly developed festival scene, where

major names include Colours of Ostrava, Rock for People, Brutal Assault, Masters of Rock, Obscene Extreme, Let It Roll, Metronome and Mighty Sounds, remains mostly independent, and there are concerns that established brands could easily falter or become prey for well-funded international operators.

“I have a slight fear about how the festival sector stays afloat during these years,” says Náray. “Last year, at this time, I would have said the Czech festival sector seems to be full and I wouldn’t have advised anyone to start a new one. There was a time there were 400 festivals, plus the smaller city ones. Every year, new ones would come up and the same number would go bankrupt. Maybe a third of them, constantly changing.”

Rock and metal promoter Ob-

SoundCzech_Feature scure’s Brutal Assault festival, which takes place in an atmospheric 18th-century army fortress in the north-eastern part of Bohemia, has sold out a month and a half in advance for two years in a row. Like most prominent events, it has earmarked a 2021 date and is hoping for the best, but Obscure is looking at a 95% drop in its normal revenue for 2020.

“The worst thing is the ever-present uncertainty of not knowing how much longer the current situation is going to last,” says booker Tomáš Fiala. “Still, we are feeding the optimism and believe that we will be able to bring the festival back in 2021. The ‘worst case scenarios’ don’t expect festivals to go ahead until 2022, but as an optimistic person I’m keeping my fingers crossed for next year.”

Serge Grimaux, the promoter and founder of Ticketpro and Intellitix, is a veteran of the Czech live music business, having staged the Rolling Stones in 1990 and sold InterKoncerts, his business with Porkert, to Clear Channel in 2005.

In 2019, he became CEO of Forum Karlín, a 4,000-capacity, purpose-built concert venue in Prague, but he isn’t counting on a speedy return to normal.

“It will never return like it was before,” says Grimaux. “‘Never’ is a big word, but it will take a lot of time.

We have to create new forms of entertainment. And we have to connect with local artists. International artists will probably come and go, but they will not tour, and I think this is a situation that won’t get fixed until 2022. That’s my feeling.”

In the meantime, Grimaux

Forum Karlín is relying on its versatility and the ingenuity of the creative community to survive the Covid-19 pandemic

has developed an immersive surround-sound exhibition based on the work of impressionist painters such as Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh. He is also working on a production with Russian dancer Sergei Polunin, and is grateful for the versatility of Forum Karlín, which he billed as a ‘smart’ venue at the time of its relaunch.

“Now we have to prove it,” he laughs. He isn’t sure the industry shutdown has entirely sunk in for Czech promoters yet. “I think people are still stunned, to tell the truth.

And I am one of them, because it is ‘stunning’ to see what is going on.” But Grimaux is convinced this problem won’t evaporate in another six or 12 months, and in the meantime, he wants to press on.

“I’m looking for partners, people with ideas,” he says. “I have a venue – come up with something.

I’m trying to encourage my fellow friends and colleagues to try things.

I’ll throw the venue in the deal. I’m not asking for rent, just pay the electricity and the cleaning – but come up with something.”

Prague, of course, has plenty of enterprising promoters including market-leader Live Nation, D Smack U, Fource Entertainment, 10:15 Entertainment, as well as rock and metal specialists such as Conspiracy Concerts, Obscure Promotion and Pragokoncert Bohemia, and the indie-leading Heartnoize and Charmenko. Its venues, too, are a good bunch, and vary from the O2 arena and the Forum Karlín to the countercultural Cross Club, Lucerna Music Bar, Sono Centrum, Roxy Prague and Futurum.

Brno, in comparison, is the cool

CONTRIBUTORS

PETR BLAŽEK | 420 PRODUCTION TOMÁŠ FIALA | OBSCURE SERGE GRIMAUX | TICKETPRO/INTELLITIX/FORUM KARLÍN TOMÁŠ KELAR | POP MESSE MARTIN KOZUMPLÍK | KABINET MUZ ROBERT PORKERT | LIVE NATION CZECH REPUBLIC JOSEF ŽENÍŠEK | SMART PRODUCTION

younger sibling to Prague. A university town with a wealth of clubs, shows and festivals, it is a UNESCO Creative City of Music and a major centre of Czech folk music. “We don’t have a lot of tourists in our city, compared to Prague, so all culture – restaurants, cafes, clubs – is oriented just for the people of Brno,” says Kozumplík. “And thanks to all the universities here there are about 100,000 students in a city of 450,000 people, so we have a very young and progressive audience.”

This year, a new festival, Pop Messe, was set to launch in Brno, with an impressive range of ambitions, including helping to revitalise a rundown district of the city; providing a platform for alt-pop artists in the Czech Republic; and finding ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a festival of its size.

Like everything else, Pop Messe has kicked all of those ambitions into 2021, at the earliest. “We began negotiating this very early on as a precaution, so the eventual move and announcement wasn’t as problematic as it might have been had we just waited for things to pan out,” says founder Tomáš Kelar.

“Most new artist booking negotiations had stopped at this point as well. We were, and still are, approximately two headliners and a few

artists short of the full line-up.”

He is confident the festival will launch, only a year late, but he acknowledges that there are other potential outcomes. “The general mood is a sombre one, with many companies on the brink,” he says.

At the time of writing, news had just broken that iconic Brno venue Fléda might close its doors for good in response to Covid. Kozumplík, emailing IQ a few days earlier, just before the second lockdown was announced, had already predicted the worst.

“If there is a second lockdown, the old live culture will disappear,” he wrote. “It could cause a unique change in the whole industry. Music professionals will look for new jobs in other industries – they will need money to pay their living costs and families. Only the ones with lots of money and reserves can survive, but there will not be enough specialists to employ.

“Old clubs will disappear and slowly there will appear new ones, from the underground culture. The same with promoters. I am sure the kids will always be hungry for live music and live playing. People here love music, so the culture will never disappear completely, but it could be a hard time for the next two years.”

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New Bosses_Feature

The New Bosses 2020 – the latest edition of ’s annual celebration of the brightest young talent in the live business today – has been our most engaged process to date, with hundreds of people around the world taking the time to nominate some of the finest young people in our industry.

The class of 2020 is undoubtedly enduring the strangest, most challenging time of their careers, but the hard work that they are putting in to ensure that the business, globally, is ready to resume at the earliest possible opportunity, is generating a lot of enthusiasm among their peers, who have recognised them as future industry leaders.

Our distinguished dozen this year comprises promoters, bookers, agents, A&R and production experts, all involved in the international business, in some shape or form, and each whom is making a real difference in their respective sector.

These individual profiles are heavily edited versions of full interviews that will appear on the website in the coming weeks.

These promising young execs will also play a key role in forthcoming editions of Futures Forum, the discussion and networking event for the next generation of industry leaders that has become an integral part of ILMC over the past couple of years.

Congratulations to everyone who made it into The New Bosses 2020 – being selected by a jury of your peers is truly one of the finest accolades you can receive.

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Feature_New Bosses

Madie Cavilla (28) SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER PARADIGM TALENT (UK) Following work experience at Marshall Arts Talent during her penultimate year at school, Cavilla hastily finished her final year and returned to take on a full-time job, before joining The Agency Group.

She then took a break to go backpacking, and on her return to London, Dave Hallybone at Paradigm offered her a six-month contract, which quickly turned into a permanent role.

What impact has Covid-19 had on your job?

As strange as this may seem, I’ve enjoyed some of the difficult moments over the past few months. It’s made me realise I’m a lot more resilient than I thought and that I’m capable of any task thrown at me.

Filippo Palermo (27) FOUNDER UNTITLED GROUP (AU) After cutting his teeth on the Melbourne nightclub scene, aged 18, Palermo co-founded Untitled Group, which has grown to encompass a portfolio that includes music festivals and artist management, along with a booking agency, record label, international touring division and a music-tech investment arm. Since its first music festival in 2014, the group’s festival roster has grown to over ten touring and camping properties and bespoke metropolitan events, selling more than 250,000 tickets annually.

What are you working on right now?

I'm in the process of hunting down, negotiating terms and actioning compliance and feasibility studies on new, exciting locations in preparation for our return. I've enjoyed discovering new breakthrough talent and brainstorming all-Australian line-ups for when mass gatherings return but before travel sanctions update to allow for international touring again.

Did you always want to be a promoter?

As a child, I was a passionate guitarist and drummer. I always wanted to be the star on stage until I started promoting clubs at 18, discovering my true passion was in project managing and curating an event experience holistically from behind the scenes.

What's it like working in the Australian market?

We're traditionally an afterthought for a lot of artists. However, our stunning Aussie outback, unique architecture, pristine wineries, CBD parks and state-of-the-art venues provide us with some fantastic location opportunities I personally haven't discovered abroad.

What does the live music industry do well, and what can we do better?

It needs to improve on its diversity in programming and subsidising costs associated with accessibility infrastructure. At Beyond the Valley Festival, we've pledged a 50/50 line-up gender balance from 2022 onwards and we're proud co-owners of Australia's first all-inclusive festival, Ability Fest. However, I know that there's a lot more we, and the rest of the industry, could be doing.

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Do you have a mentor in the industry?

Gillian Park, MGR Touring, is a true angel. She has taught me so much and is never too busy to help when I’m stuck. She’s also taught me how to laugh through the madness: if we weren’t laughing we’d have most definitely been crying!

What does the live music industry do well, and what can we do better?

Equality. We’re great at having conversations about it, but the actions aren’t always consistent with what we’re saying. There’s no singular answer — from the festival bills down to staffing — but by creating an inclusive culture across the board we’ll eventually achieve and consistently improve.

Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Prior to 2020, I felt somewhat certain about the future. That changed this year. I’ve had the opportunity to learn elements of the business that wouldn’t typically land on my desk, so I’m interested to see where that will take me. Ultimately, I know I’ll be happy, successful and have accomplished more than I ever thought possible when I walked into my first job in this industry more than a decade ago.

New Bosses_Feature

Alexandra Ampofo (26) PROMOTER METROPOLIS MUSIC (UK) In addition to her work as a promoter, Ampofo, a Coventry University business management and leadership graduate, heads up Metropolis Music’s diversity employee resource group, and started Embrace Nation at Live Nation UK – a cultural and learning hub that strives towards racial equality in and out of the workplace for all Live Nation employees. She also works across The End Festival, Black Music Coalition, The F List and Unicef Music Group.

Ampofo started her career in 2013, founding events company Acoustic Live, which focuses on stripped-back, acoustic live shows. Her second not-for-profit organisation, Women Connect, is a collective creating safer, inclusive spaces and equal opportunities for women and non-binary and gender-variant people in the creative industries.

Virág Csiszár (30) INTERNATIONAL BOOKING MANAGER SZIGET CULTURAL MANAGEMENT (HU) Having finished her university studies, Csiszár joined Sziget Cultural Management, which organises Hungary’s leading music festivals such as Sziget, VOLT, Balaton Sound, Strand Festival and many other events. She is involved in more than 150 shows every year, primarily through the festivals and headline gigs at Akvárium Klub in Budapest. In 2019, she received the highest state award for young talent in tourism from the Hungarian government.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

Being blessed enough to be part of the team who put together the SiR tour at Shepherd’s Bush Empire [in London] in February. I’m such a big fan of his, so that was definitely a bucket-list moment for me.

Another highlight is starting my company Acoustic Live – founded when I was 19 and now an award-winning events company dedicated to keeping stripped-back music alive. I’m able to facilitate free services for artists of all calibres; all I’ve ever wanted is to help break the glass ceiling. Acoustic Live provides artists with tangible opportunities, and that’s priceless.

What are the biggest challenges you face as a promoter?

Ageism, race and gender. Sometimes people can be reluctant to work with younger promoters because they associate age with inexperience, which I find isn’t always the case.

Gender and race have played similar roles in my personal journey; the disparity that follows marginalisation is a huge one, but I am pretty hopeful. The industry is slowly changing and there are so many women and people of colour spearheading that change.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

I will always be proud that I was working on the first Hungarian festival appearances of Foo Fighters and Depeche Mode, and the first ever Hungarian shows of Linkin Park, Lana Del Rey, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes. Bringing artists to our country and introducing them to the Hungarian audience is an important mission for me.

Did you always want to work in festivals?

I grew up in a family of artists. I remember when I was about five years old, my parents took me to see the stadium shows of Michael Jackson and Rolling Stones in Budapest. I’m lucky to be able to work in an industry that I’ve loved from a very young age.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

A few years ago, I lost an amazing mentor, colleague and friend, Dan Panaitescu, who was the international booking manager of our company. I never felt ready to take over such an important and responsible role, but I feel privileged having the support of all these amazing people around me every day.

What are the biggest challenges you face as a festival booker?

Coping with constantly growing artist fees; finding a solution for a billing on our poster that all our headliners are happy with; and, on the human side, finding the right balance between private life and work.

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Kedist Bezabih (28) PROMOTER FKP SCORPIO (NO) Born in Oslo, Bezabih studied cultural project management at University of Innlandet from 2014 to 2017. In her first year at university, she was introduced to Torgeir Gullaksen, the founder of Goldstar, and began an internship at the company while also working at Red Bull Sound Select and Oslo venue Parkteatret.

After finishing her degree, she started working as a promoter at Goldstar, which became FKP Scorpio Norway in late 2017. Her roster includes Juice WRLD, Conan Gray, Aitch, Lennon Stella, Jay Rock, Yxng Bane, Omar Apollo, Jay1, Not3s and ZE. What are you working on right now?

Still moving a few shows from 2020 and looking at new dates for 2021/22. I haven’t been that busy the last few months, but this time has opened up room to be more creative, look at new possibilities and develop solutions for the years to come.

Bilge Morden (26) AGENT CAA (UK) Istanbul-born Morden started promoting shows while studying at Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (LIPA), putting on soldout events with artists including Bastille and James Bay. In his third year at LIPA, he interned at promoter Communion Presents, where he starting working with various booking agencies. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be an agent,” he explains.

“I always saw CAA as the pinnacle, and when they introduced a two-month internship programme that summer, I jumped at the chance to get my foot in the door. Emma Banks gave me a shot, and three years later I became an agent.”

What impact has Covid-19 had on your job?

There’s been no touring in the last six months, so there is a clear financial impact across every part of the food chain, which presents all sorts of challenges for agents and the wider industry.

From a social aspect, we have been working from home during this time and I miss walking up to someone’s desk and having conversations in person, or overhearing people on the phone and gaining information in all sorts of ways that does not rely on video conferencing. I can’t wait to never use Zoom again!

Despite the very real challenges our industry faces, I think I’ve become a better agent in this time. I’ve got more perspective than ever, and I am more astute and creative in the way I approach problems. It’s opened my eyes to other ways I can service clients, as well as shine a light on the new clients I’ve taken on over the past few months.

Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Living in a nice house in Chiswick where my kids go to private school, and playing golf on Fridays. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re successful in the music industry, right?

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What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

Growing up, we didn’t have places where we could experience the music we loved and listened to. To be able to book UK/US hip-hop acts, and seeing kids from where I grew up having the time of their lives in the mosh pits has really been one of the most rewarding things about my job.

Also promoting the only headline show with Juice WRLD in Norway. I was a huge fan, so I appreciate that I was lucky enough to have met him.

What does the live music industry do well, and what can we do better?

We’re really good at doing it for the art. At the end of the day, the passion for music is what drives most of us, and that is extremely important.

We have a way to go in terms of diversity. I think that the last few months have been a real eye-opener in terms of the issues certain groups face, where we as an industry have fallen short, and that we have a lot more work to do. I’m feeling hopeful that we’ll see many changes in the coming years – it’s about time.

New Bosses_Feature

Camila Salinas (26) BOOKER PRIMAVERA SOUND (ES) Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Salinas moved with her family to Madrid aged five, leaving Spain 15 years later to seek her fortune in London. “I started flyer-ing, doing doors, repping shows for different companies,” she explains, “which led me to do a few internships. However, it never really led to a job with a decent salary, so when I couldn’t handle the economic instability I moved back home.”

Back in Spain, Salinas started doing production work for a management and booking company. Then, one day, the call came from Primavera Sound: they wanted her to join their booking team.

Jolien Augustyns (27) JUNIOR PROMOTER LIVE NATION (BE) A graduate of Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp, Augustyns specialises in promoting indoor shows at Live Nation Belgium.

After beginning her music biz career interning at Sony Music Belgium, Augustyns “lost her heart” to the live music industry while working as a festival assistant for Rock Werchter in 2014. After graduating the same year, she had to make a choice: chase her “teenage dream” of being an A&R manager at a record label, or “take a leap of faith and stumble into the live music industry.”

As you’ve probably already guessed, she “did the latter, and haven’t once regretted it,” she explains.

What’s it like working in the Belgian market?

We have such an interesting market, with a clear difference between the French-speaking part and the Flemish-speaking part of the country. I mainly operate in Flanders – we have some great venues and I’d like to think we’re quite the early adapters with some genres. It’s such a small country, and yet we’re able to put on massive shows.

Also, what a luxury to be able to travel through the whole country in a matter of hours. No need to take flights or to have different offices at key locations. Everything’s within reach. The sky is the limit, basically.

Did you always want to work in the festival business?

Not really, because when I started to feel like music was something that I wanted to dedicate my life to, I wasn’t aware of that entire universe… [but] once I [had] spent my first summer going to festivals, obviously that changed.

When I started to develop a bigger interest in music, when I was around 14, and I started to pay attention to all the soundtracks from the shows I was obsessed with – Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and The OC – I definitely decided that I wanted to work with all these bands that made me so happy, and help them to go to places. And, if it was possible, to go to those places with them!

What can the live music industry do better?

It needs more diversity in every aspect. More open doors for women, for people of colour, for the LGTBQ community, for people who are not wealthy enough to do hundreds of internships for free in order to get a real job. That is something that really needs to change.

What advice would you give to someone who’s new to the business?

To persist, to ask questions, and to be a sponge everywhere you go.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

There is one person I’d like to mention in particular: Tom Van der Elst, festival manager at our festivals, and my mentor while I was interning there. He gave me a chance at a time when I hadn’t achieved anything yet, and introduced me to the team I now call my work family.

What are the biggest challenges you’re facing currently?

Growing as a promoter definitely is a big challenge for me right now.

While wanting to go full steam ahead at the start of the year, the industry obviously has drastically changed these past few months. In no way could I have guessed I would be spending most my time cancelling and rescheduling shows, instead of starting to work on my own shows.

Luckily, we’re already working on 2021 and 2022, and even though it’s going a lot slower than I hoped, I’m confident that whatever’s happening now will help me become a better promoter in the end.

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Sally Dunstone (30) AGENT X-RAY TOURING (UK) Admitting to a lifelong passion for live music, Dunstone moved from Barnsley to London to study music and events management at university. After completing many short-term internships and spells as a casual broadcast assistant across various BBC programmes, she joined Live Nation as a receptionist. After working a year at Live Nation, she moved to X-ray six years ago and has been building an impressive roster ever since.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

The shows that mean the most to me are the ones that feel like a significant turning point in an artist’s career: Places+Faces at KOKO; Rina Sawayama at Heaven; and Kelly Lee Owens late-night set at End of the Road 2019. Kelly’s show at End of the Road was the final live show of her first album campaign. The set was flawless, and the crowd had an incredible energy. It felt like a celebration for all the team’s hard work on the first album and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the next album.

Artur Kasper (28) AGENT DER BOMBER DER HERZEN (DE) Despite wanting to be a journalist when he was younger, Kasper joined Melt! Booking as a booking assistant in 2016 and was responsible for looking after urban domestic and international acts, while his remit also saw him take on the role of booking assistant at the company’s splash! Festival. Last year, Kasper’s hard work saw him promoted to booking agent at Der Bomber Der Herzen, where he mostly takes care of domestic urban talent.

What are you working on right now?

Mostly on postponing touring dates due to Covid, but also booking my acts onto festival line-ups for 2021. This summer I had a few seated, open-air gigs and live-streams.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

During my time as a festival booker, seeing the result of my work at the festival was a highlight. Also selling out the first tour of a newcomer act, who I believe in, is always a highlight.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt working in live music?

You really need a passion for music because it becomes a big part of your life, because you become emotionally involved and you may lose the separation between private and professional life. This can be very unhealthy sometimes, but I love my job.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

My Der Bomber Der Herzen colleague, Ilke Ulusoy.

What does the live music industry do well, and what can we do better?

There are many great and talented people in this industry who are very passionate about their job. As we’re all profiting from the culture, I think as a promoter the first aim of the job should be to help talented newcomer acts to grow, and to respect the culture, not just exploit it.

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What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt working in live music?

Never be afraid to ask questions or take advice. Learning from my colleagues has helped benefit my clients greatly.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

I am grateful to Beckie Sugden who has provided endless support to me throughout my time at X-ray and taught me a lot about being an agent and about the wider industry landscape in general. Beckie’s determination continues to inspire me every day. I’ve also learned a lot from Josh Javor whose encyclopaedic knowledge of venues, capacities and festival routings never ceases to amaze me.

What advice would you give to someone who’s new to the business?

Believe in yourself and be determined, I have had many doors slammed in my face, figuratively and literally, over the years and have always found a way to get myself in the room.

New Bosses_Feature

Joe Skarzynski (30) PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR (US) Also known as “Jersey Joe” or “Joe Skarz,” Skarzynski has been working in the live event industry since 2013, touring extensively for the last seven years. He began his career as production assistant on a Jay Z tour, which led to production co-ordinator for the first Jay Z + Beyoncé On The Run tour. Since then he has worked with the likes of Linkin Park, Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor, Mike Shinoda and Beyoncé around the world in amphitheatres, arenas and stadia.

What are you working on right now?

I have been taking weekly industry-related courses, OSHA 30 classes, and working with colleagues on their independent projects.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?

The last two years I’ve spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia. In 2018, we successfully held the first concerts in the country where men and women could attend together. While challenging professionally, it was extremely rewarding personally.

Bertie Gibbon (29) A&R ATC LIVE (UK) Manchester-born Gibbon got his start in the music business promoting shows at the University of Sheffield, where he first came into contact with agents and managers. After graduation, he moved to London, where he interned at a management company and label before joining ATC Live in 2013 as a scout and general assistant.

The same year, he founded a management company with Rough Trade’s Paul Jones, Gross Management, which became part of Rough Trade Management in 2018. Today, he continues to work in management while bringing artists to agents at ATC Live and managers at ATC Management. He is also developing a start-up label in Camden, London, called Ra-Ra Rok.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt working in live music?

It takes a village to create incredible and responsible events. The more brainpower, expertise, and co-ordination, the more you can achieve.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

Jim Digby and Bobby Schneider gave me my first chances in the touring world. Both men took me around the world, teaching me along the way while giving me space to grow.

What advice would you give to someone who’s new to the business?

Don’t talk, listen. Ask questions, but know when to ask them. Even if time is of the essence, being correct is more helpful than a quick wrong answer. Be helpful and positive. Communication is key. Let your own work define you, and be consistent. Be proud of what you can accomplish in a day. Find passion. Do this job for the right reasons. Working often leads to more work. Never stop learning, no one knows it all.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?

Alex Bruford from ATC Live, who hired me about eight years ago, has taught me almost everything I know about the live business (I originally applied to be his assistant – glad I didn’t end up doing it!).

Also Paul Jones from Rough Trade, who I’ve been working in management with for about the same amount of time, and Dan Market at Sony, who gave me a leg-up into the industry in general and has consistently shared his unbound wisdom on A&R for over a decade now.

What impact has Covid-19 had on your job?

There have been a few bits some colleagues and clients alike have experienced related to mental health, which have presented some new challenges. Not being able to develop ideas in the office or dressing room on the road together has been tough at times; keeping people motivated and feeling part of the team has been something we’ve had to keep on top of week to week.

Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

Hopefully working in a greener, more ethically driven music business with my current roster, and still part of the team at ATC Live.

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Your Shout

“Who is the most famous person, outside of music, that you have met?”

TOP SHOUT

Sometime around 1986, I was staying at the Ritz Carlton in New York. The entrance featured a large and ornate revolving door. As I was returning one evening I stepped into the door space and gave it a shove. Simultaneously a rather attractive blonde lady entered on the other side. As the door started to move, the whole thing jammed and the section dividing us swung open. As it shuddered to a halt I realised the other party was Kim Basinger, then starring in 9½ Weeks with Mickey Rourke, which I’d seen 37 times. Or maybe it was 38.

The hotel staff panicked, and whilst they pushed and pulled we said, “Hello, nice to meet you,” and sat on the floor. Eventually maintenance arrived but it took about 45 minutes for them to release a broken bolt, so we chatted, as you do. She could see the humour and I was thinking I was making headway (deluded) when suddenly the door lurched open and we “shot” into the lobby where her husband Ron was waiting, vastly amused… they invited me to join them in the bar.

She wasn’t the most famous person I’ve met, that would have to be Clint Eastwood, but she was certainly the best looking.

Ed Bicknell, Damage Management

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Paul Bolton with Leicester legend Claudio Ranieri

I have met former US president George H.W. Bush four times. The second two times he did not remember me… totally understandable. The fourth and final meeting he told me that he remembered who I was. That fourth meeting was at the regular season home opener of the new New England Patriots’ home, Gillette Stadium.

Todd A Dyer, CAPS At the start of my career and before the days of high-speed rail links, there were limited seats on my train home from a gig in London so I chose a seat next to an older gentleman who was welldressed in a brown suit.

I had my Chewbacca rucksack with me at the time, which was always a bit of a talking point.

The gentleman leaned towards me and a deep husky voice quietly said, “I take it you are into sci-fi?” and smiled. I replied, “Oh, yes, I’m a bit of a geek regarding sci-fi, especially Star Wars.” He said, “I’m a bit of a time traveller myself,” and chuckled.

We got talking and he asked where I had been. Of course, because I was still buzzing about the gig, I jabbered on about the band. I

Your Shout

discovered that the guy I had been talking to was none other than Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai multibillionaire who had just been ousted from power as prime minister of his own country after five eventful years, and was wanted on many, many international corruption charges. Lovely guy, though.

Chris Kemp, Mind Over Matter Consultancy The most famous person, outside of music, that I have met is Buzz Aldrin – the second most famous person in the solar system.

I was in the lobby at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, when I recognised him walking into the building so I went over and introduced myself. As he walked away, I happened to glance at the car he had driven to the hotel – a Chrysler Cruiser with the registration number plate ‘starman.’

Ed Grossman, Brackman Chopra

asked where he had been and he replied that he had been invited to attend a premier in London.

He leaned forward, offered me a jelly baby and said, “This bag is full of them. They always give me jelly babies. Not a nice bottle of scotch, oh nooo, it’s either jelly babies or ridiculously long scarves.”

At that point, his grey curly hair and sideburns and brown suit suddenly became very familiar, but I, of course, remembered him with brown curly hair, long scarf and a far more youthful face. I had only been jabbering away for an hour with Dr Who – Mr Tom Baker.

Sharon Richardson, K2 Agency In 2007, I was a guest of Manchester City Football Club and was in the directors’ box. Just before we were due to start lunch, I went to the gents. In there was a small Asian guy. I washed my hands and we both left the toilets at the same time. He shook hands with me and we spent a good ten minutes talking about the club and the different managers, its history and tactics. He seemed to know little about football but was a really nice guy. When I returned to the box, I

one afternoon that voice actor John DiMaggio was doing the promo for the latest season but he only wanted to conduct interviews in character.

Cue me doing my one-and-only interview – 30 minutes with a swear-y obnoxious robot. We talked beer (of course) and heavy metal(s) and I’m proud to have offended him enough at one point for him to tell me to “Hey! Bite my shiny metal ass!” Great fun.

Phil Millard, IQ Magazine

A couple years back, a group of us working on developing the greatest new arena in the world, were in Edmonton, to benchmark and to learn.

In our hotel lobby, we bumped into Wayne Gretzky. Now, for any of us Nordics, Canadians, Russians, Czechs, Slovakians, i.e., the liquor belt, ice-hockey countries, this is perhaps the biggest living legend.

All of the guys in the group froze completely.

As a life-long Leicester City fan, this (left) is I realised that it needed a woman to melt the ice the only photo I have ever asked for from a and to seize the day, so I walked up to him, intro“famous” person – Claudio Ranieri. It was July duced myself, and told him why we were there 2016, just three months after Leicester had won and about our new arena development in Tamthe Premier League. pere. Mr Gretzky was excited, kind and wonderPaul Bolton, X-ray Touring fully tipsy, since he was out and about with his best friends, three other hockey legends. He said I met James Gandolfini once. He asked if he could he had been to Tampere before and had fond come to see Genesis at the Hollywood Bowl that memories of it, and that he would definitely night. I said yes, if I could take his picture. I swear come to the 2023 hockey world championships to God, I thought he was going to kill me. there. And yes, we took the photos and all the John Giddings, Solo Agency frozen guys woke up as well. What a nice man!

And what a genuine love for his sport.

I had the pleasure of meeting the playwright Paulina Ahokas, Tampere Hall Václav Havel twice during the dissident years, long before he had any inkling of becoming We were presenting a gala event in Barcelona president of a free country. He was under house in the run up to the Barcelona Olympics. Fredarrest and somewhere between prison spells, die Mercury and Montserrat Caballé were the and had to sneak out. main stars (singing Barcelona). I received a call The first time I met him was backstage at an from the Palace saying that the king and queen unofficial concert we organised in Prague in 79. of Spain would attend and wanted to meet the The second was in the flat of the spokesperson artists. We arranged the time of arrival and I of Charter 77, if I remember correctly. He was duly lined up all the artists and their managers crazy about music and generally remarkably backstage to await the arrival. affable considering the pressure he was under Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity and from the small-minded and nasty Czechoslovak in marched the king and queen and a coterie of authorities. palace guards and assistants. We were in one line Nick Hobbs, Charmenko and they lined up opposite. Nothing happened.

It was like a Mexican stand-off. Finally, I rushed Not strictly ‘met’ but I once interviewed Bender forward, grabbed the king and said, “King, folfrom Futurama. I was the designer at a popular low me,” to the utter disdain of the palace offilm and TV consumer magazine early in my ca- ficials, including some police who drew their reer and, crucially for this story, the only mem- revolvers. But he followed and finally the meetber of the team who watched Matt Groening’s and-greet took place, to everyone’s relief.

Futurama with any regularity. A call came in late Harvey Goldsmith Magazine

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