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ILMC

ESNS 2021

The Road to Recovery

Register now for the digital edition of ESNS with panel discussions, keynotes, sessions, speed meetings, network opportunities and lots of new music at esns.nl.

THE EUROPEAN MUSIC PLATFORM

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ike the all-digital IQ Magazine you’re (not) currently holding in your hands, the leading global gathering of live music professionals is rebooting for 2021, inviting the industry’s top players to join us in the conference mainframe for a special one-off Virtually Live edition of ILMC. With events in the physical world forcing the concert business online, the industry’s leading networking event is similarly embracing this new virtual reality, taking advantage of the lack of physical restrictions to programme the largest and most international ILMC date, with an expanded schedule of panels, meetings, workshops and keynotes streaming live from a server room somewhere in London.

In another first, in recognition of March 2021 being such a critical moment on the road to restarting live music, we’re also disabling the password protection on the server-room doors, allowing non-members to attend ILMC for the very first time. That’s right: for this virtual edition, and for the first time in our history, ILMC will be open for both members (those who’ve attended at least two ILMCs before) and non-members to register.

Like any physical ILMC, virtual attendees will be able to help shape the conversation about the future of business by participating in conference sessions, with new live voting and Q&As making it easy for everyone to have their say. Other new-for-2021 features include instant

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video speedmeeting sessions that match relevant delegates, digital trade exhibitions, and new lounges and networking areas, allowing delegates to network without the risk of exposing themselves to a dangerous virus (we have very powerful antivirus software).

Elsewhere on the ILMC infobahn, the ILMC Production Meeting and Green Events & Innovations Conference return – as do the annual Arthur Awards, which have been overclocked for 2021 to introduce a number of new categories, and which are, for the first time, free for all delegates to attend.

Also making a welcome return is the schedule of evening entertainment and networking for which ILMC is renowned, with the poker tournament, Quiz of the Year, networking lounges and showcase gigs among the activities on offer to help delegates relax after a long day cruising the information superhighway.

So it’s time to take the red pill, don your Daft Punk helmet and prepare to enter the videodrome for the most virtual, most forward thinking, most technologically advanced ILMC to date. And with tickets priced at just £119/£139 until 29 January, you’ll need to be faster than a speeding lightcycle to ensure you don’t miss out…

ILMC 33: VIRTUALLY LIVE 2–5 MARCH 2021

ILMC

HOW TO HOW TO REGISTER REGISTER

WHO is WHO is PLaYING PLaYING? PLaYING?�

For this virtual edition, and for the first time in its history, ILMC will be open to both members and nonmembers to register.

For more information, or to register, visit 33.ilmc.com.

As the leading annual gathering for the international live music community, ILMC guest speakers include some of the industry’s best-known concert promoters, booking agents, artist managers, and venue and festival professionals. Speakers already announced include:

IRVING AZOFF

EMMA BANKS

SAM KIRBY YOH

TIM LEIWEKE

JON OLLIER

BOB LEFSEZT

TOM WINDISH

PHIL BOWDERY

RIC SALMON

NATASHA BENT

TOMMAS ARNBY

ALI HEDRICK

The full agenda, including all guest speakers, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Want to participate, or have an idea for a speaker or session? Get in touch with gordon@ilmc.com.

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TUESDAY TUESDAY 2 MARCH 2 MARCH 2021 2021 09.00–17.00 ILMC PRODUCTION MEETING

In 2021, the ILMC Production Meeting returns to its traditional slot the day before ILMC. The fourteenth edition (IPM 14) will welcome production managers; health, safety and security specialists; crewing companies; sound and lighting companies; venue personnel; tech companies; and production services and suppliers, as well as representatives from promoters, venues, and others with an interest in international event production.

According to organisers, next year’s programme is looking “bigger and bolder” than ever before, with additional sessions and speakers from across the globe. Topics slated for discussion at IPM 14 include the latest in concert trucking, sustainability, re-education and crew health and mental wellbeing.

The conference has also announced its first slate of speakers for 2021, welcoming many of the industry's preeminent production managers (and former IQ Gaffer Award winners), who will add their expert opinions to main panels Veteran gaffers already confirmed to participate include Chris Kansy (Roger Waters, Nine Inch Nails), Jesse Sandler (Bon Jovi), Bill Leabody (Coldplay), Wob Roberts (One

09.00–17.00 GREEN EVENTS & INNOVATIONS CONFERENCE

The thirteenth edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI13) is presented by A Greener Festival (AGF), in partnership with ILMC, and will honour the theme of transition and transformation, says AGF, which notes that the number 13 is associated with upheaval and destruction.

The conference will reflect on how the industry can be “both receptive and active to co-create a better future,” with topics including transport; food systems; equality and inclusivity; health and wellbeing; power systems; design; and

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Direction, Sam Smith), Tony Gittins (Depeche Mode), Chris Marsh (Ed Sheeran), Jason Danter (Lady Gaga, Madonna) and Arthur Kemish (Taylor Swift).

A ticket to IPM 14 will provide access to all panels, as well as the Production Notes sessions and a selection of breakout discussions shared with the Green Events & Innovations Conference (see below), which takes place simultaneously.

Delegates will also have numerous opportunities to network throughout the day, with options to organise one-to-one and private meetings; hang out in networking lounges; visit exhibition stands; and talk with old friends and make new ones, during virtual speed meetings.

Each edition of IPM is hosted by a renowned figure from the production world. Previous hosts have included Meagan Walker, Rachel Haughey, Dan Craig, Lee Charteris, Bryan Grant, Keith Wood, John Probyn and Carl AH Martin.

The full programme will be published in early February.

materials usage for circularity.

Some of the first confirmed speakers include Dale Vince, (Ecotricity, UK); David Ojay (NAAM Festival, KE); Tom Schroeder, Paradigm Agency (UK); Gina Périer, Lapee (DK); Gordon Masson, IQ/ILMC (UK); and Claire O’Neill, AGF (UK).

“We’re really happy to be launching this edition of GEI, albeit online,” says Claire O’Neill, AGF co-founder and GEI producer. “We’ve seen the determination and commitment from all parts of the events industry during this difficult year, to keep the eye on the ball and come together for sustainability, despite the financial hardships we all face.”

GEI 13 will welcome industry leaders, professionals, visionaries, governments and individuals and organisations working to bring environmental and social sustainability to the live events, sports and creative sectors. Tickets are on sale now.

The GEI 13 agenda will also include a selection of breakout discussions shared with the ILMC Production Meeting (see above).

The full programme will be published in early February.

ILMC

WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY 3 MARCH 3 MARCH 2021 2021 10.00–13.00 MORNING SESSIONS

A full morning of panels and workshops featuring the best in the business

13.30–17.30 AFTERNOON SESSIONS

A full afternoon of panels and workshops ahead of the evening entertainment

17.30–19.00 THE HANGOUT

With a day of conference sessions under our belts, it’s time to relax and enjoy the social side of ILMC in the company of cybernetic colleagues old and new.

While it’s not going to replace painting the town red in person, sit back and let London come to you with up to 90 minutes of networking and conversation with delegates from across the global village.

To find out how to host your own lounge, email: greg@ilmc.com.

18.00–19.00 THE BIG REPLAY

Missed the day’s meetings or joining late from a different time zone or another virtual world, and wondering what you missed? Join the ILMC team and one or two session chairs, as we discuss some of the key points, themes, comments and information from the day.

With every single session available to watch back on demand, we understand it can be daunting for new players to know where to start. So if you’re suffering from information overload, make this your spawn point for all the highlights and key takeaways of ILMC day one.

19.00–LATE THE BOB LEFSETZ PODCAST LIVE

Bob Lefsetz, Santa Monica-based industry legend and author of the e-mail newsletter The Lefsetz Letter, hosts a special live-streamed edition of his hit online show.

19.00–21.00 THE ‘ESCAPE FROM REALITY’ QUIZ (OF THE YEAR)

A fixture of the ILMC Gala Dinner, the annual Pop Quiz returns as an online think-’em-up, with players one to 32 going head to head in an epic battle of brains.

Expect questions on the industry and the people in it, as well as tests of your general knowledge and assorted popculture ephemera.

With some great prizes to be won on the night (and strict penalties for anyone caught googling the answers), it pays to be prepared. So, while we wouldn’t recommend artificially boosting your intelligence with drugs and virtual reality, Lawnmower Man-style, in advance, it certainly won’t hurt your chances. Well, probably not.

21.00–23.00 THE ‘BATTLE ROYALE’ TEXAS HOLD ’EM POKER TOURNEY

As ILMC goes virtual, so too does its venerable annual poker tournament, which this year takes place in a private online casino in the heart of hyperspace.

While the entry fee is being waived for this online-only outing, the tourney will continue to raise money for the Nikos Fund, which this year is raising funds for Stagehand, the Covid-19 crew relief fund operated by the Production Services Association.

With multiple tournament tables, as well as side competitions for anyone unlucky enough to go out early, it’s set to be another nail biter. Especially as there are prizes on offer for the top three players…

Bring courage, determination and, of course, your poker face – cameras will remain on!

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WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY 3 MARCH 3 MARCH 2021 2021

10.00–17.30 PULSE

A collaboration with senior booking agent Mike Malak (Paradigm) and digital entertainment expert Yvan Boudillet (TheLynk), PULSE is a new industry platform that sits at the intersection of technology and live events.

The first PULSE event will take place within this year’s ILMC, on 3 March, and will comprise a full day of discussion and debate with leading figures from both the live events and technology industries.

Companies already confirmed to be taking part include Driift, Moment House, MelodyVR, Maestro, Sansar, Live Nation, The Darkroom, LiveFrom Events and Locomotion.

Topics already slated for discussion include The New Fan Experience, considering fan engagement in the plethora of new virtual performance spaces online, with Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman (Best Friends Music), Sheri Bryant (Sansar), Ric Salmon (Driift), and Tommas Arnby (Locomotion Entertainment).

The Pitch sessions, a spiritual successor to ILMC’s popular New Technology panel, see the best new tech companies queuing up to present their innovations, with host and longtime tech evangelist Steve Machin (LiveFrom), while The Business of Live Tech looks at emerging business models and new deals around tech and music, with Cheryl Paglierani (United Talent Agency), Justin Lubliner (The Darkroom), Lesley Olenik (Live Nation), and Steven Hancock (MelodyVR).

Sweet Streams: Best in Class invites the leaders in the live-streaming space to share best practice and insight, with Sara Bollwinkel (Paradigm) and Natasha Bent (Mother Agency); and The Live-streamers’ Guide to Live Music collects a line-up of gamers, streamers and platform heads, including Trivium guitarist and vocalist Matt Heafy, to tell the live sector what’s in store.

Access to all PULSE sessions are included in your ILMC delegate pass. Full info on all sessions is at 33.ilmc.com/pulse.

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Your ILMC Your ILMC Pass Pass A delegate pass to ILMC’s virtual 2021 conference includes: ▶ Access to all conference sessions and workshops at the live music industry’s top annual gathering, including TEEM and Pulse@ILMC. ▶ Participation in all online networking elements, including video speedmeeting sessions. ▶ A ticket to the 2021 Arthur Awards, the live music industry’s Oscar equivalents. ▶ Access to all ILMC sessions for one month after the conference. ▶ Admission to an evening schedule of events and live-streamed showcases. ▶ A digital delegate bag stuffed with offers, discounts and new ideas. ▶ A 20% discount on an online subscription to IQ (if purchased as a bundle). ▶ Access to both the ILMC Production Meeting and Green Events & Innovations Conference on Tuesday 2 March for a small upgrade fee.

THURSDAY THURSDAY 4 MARCH 4 MARCH 11.30–17.30 TEEM

The Experience Economy Meeting (TEEM), the world’s only conference dedicated entirely to touring exhibitions and the experience economy, joins forces with ILMC for 2021.

Previous attendees will be familiar with popular formats, such as the ‘Flea Market’ presentations that showcase the latest venue-filling productions.

Alongside this, expect panels, meetings and demonstrations featuring the world’s most important touring exhibition professionals, including expo producers, promoters, venue bookers, suppliers and more.

Previously known as the Touring Exhibitions Meeting (TEM), TEEM formerly took place in locations including Berlin, Munich and Istanbul, organised by Christoph Scholz at Semmel Concerts’ SC Exhibitions.

By moving into ILMC for this year’s special virtual edition, all delegates will benefit from these unique sessions at the heart of the touring exhibition and experience world.

ILMC

THURSDAY THURSDAY 4 MARCH 4 MARCH 2021 2021 10.00–13.00 MORNING SESSIONS

A full morning of panels and workshops will be announced shortly

13.30–17.30 AFTERNOON SESSIONS

A full afternoon of panels and workshops ahead of the evening entertainment

12.30–13.30 THE ‘POWER UP’ LUNCH BREAK

YOU BRING THE LUNCH, WE’LL BRING THE COMPANY. A further 60-minute intermission in which to gobble up some powerballs and stretch your legs.

All ILMC 33’s networking lounges remain open, so can use the time to meet new contacts, catch up with colleagues, or just watch each other eat.

You can also pay a virtual visit to ILMC’s many trade stands, where our partners will be happy to demonstrate and discuss their products, innovations, services or shows.

15.00–16.00 SPEEDMEETINGS

These daily speedmeeting sessions see delegates matched with others by business type courtesy of some particularly clever computer algorithms. Turn up to meet your virtual matches for a five-minute video chat, before being automatically moved on to the next person.

16.30–18.00 THE (LATE) BREAKFAST MEETING WITH IRVING AZOFF

A true industry legend, Irving Azoff – artist manager, venue exec, investor, artist advocate, one-time Ticketmaster CEO and Billboard’s most powerful person in music – added the latest string to his multi-hyphenated bow in 2020, when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award in recognition of six decades at the sharp end of the business.

Speaking during the induction ceremony, Don Henley of Eagles paid tribute to the band’s long-time manager, saying: “I don’t think there’s anybody in the music business who has made as big of a difference, over as long a span of time.”

From the Eagles to Jon Bon Jovi, Gwen Stefani and John Mayer, to a music empire that includes Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights and sports and entertainment disruptor Oak View Group, this will be a Breakfast Meeting to remember.

Azoff will join former Dire Straits manager Ed Bicknell to discuss a lifetime at the top of the business, as the legendary dealmaker chats with one of the industry’s foremost raconteurs…

17.30–19.00 THE HANGOUT

With a second day of conference sessions under our belts, it’s time to relax and enjoy the social side of ILMC in the company of cybernetic colleagues old and new.

While it’s not going to replace painting the town red in person, sit back and let London come to you with up to 90 minutes of networking and conversation with delegates from across the global village.

To find out how to host your own lounge, email: greg@ilmc.com

18.00–19.00 THE BIG REPLAY

Missed the day’s meetings or joining late from a different time zone or another virtual world, and wondering what you missed? Join the ILMC team and one or two session chairs, as we discuss some of the key points, themes, comments and information from the day.

With every single session available to watch back on demand, we understand it can be daunting for new players to know where to start. So if you’re suffering from information overload, make this your spawn point for all the highlights and key takeaways of ILMC day two.

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ILMC

18.30–19.30 THE ARTHUR AWARDS 2021

20.00–22.00 SHOWCASES

FRIDAY FRIDAY 5 MARCH 5 MARCH 2021 2021

10.00-17.00 ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

For over a quarter of a century, the live music industry’s Oscar equivalents have been handed out during ILMC. Normally a ticketed event, this year the Arthurs is throwing open its virtual doors for all delegates to attend on 4 March 2021.

The most prestigious (online) award ceremony of the live music industry calendar lines up for a truly unique edition in 2021. The Arthurs will feature new categories, whilst some of our most popular category winners will line up to decide the Arthur of the Decade, and one special award winner will be determined on the night through a live online vote.

Fortunately, the ceremony is in safe hands, as cyberpunktress extraordinaire, Emma Banks (CAA co-head and Bottle Award winner 2020), will host the awards live from ILMC Broadcasting Centre in London.

All ILMC 33 delegates are welcome to join the event.

10.00–13.00 MORNING SESSIONS

A full morning of panels and workshops – details will be announced with the full agenda shortly

13.30–17.30 AFTERNOON SESSIONS

A full afternoon of panels and workshops – details of which will be revealed in the coming weeks.

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ILMC 33 is partnering with some of the top export offices and booking agencies in the multiverse to provide delegates with an evening of spectacular live-stream performances featuring some of the best new and emerging talent out there.

All showcases will be available to watch back on the ILMC platform after the event, and further details will be published in the coming weeks. To discuss becoming part of the showcase schedule at ILMC, please get in touch.

As usual, ILMC offers meeting space for a number of key industry associations (such as CPA, IJFO, Yourope, EAA, NAA and AIF) to hold their invitation-only annual general meetings.

12.30-13.30 THE ‘PAUSE BUTTON’ LUNCH BREAK

YOU BRING THE LUNCH, WE’LL BRING THE COMPANY. A final intermission in which to gobble up some powerballs and stretch your legs.

All ILMC 33’s networking lounges remain open, so can use the time to meet new contacts, catch up with colleagues, or watch each other eat.

You can also pay a virtual visit to ILMC’s many trade stands, where our partners will be happy to demonstrate and discuss their products, innovations, services or shows.

ILMC

IQ95 CONTENTS

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50 NEWS

FEATURES

COMMENT AND COLUMNS

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03 28

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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

ILMC 33: Virtually Live of Change Details about our spefically themed International Live Music Conference Unsung Heroes 2020 IQ pays tribute to some of the Unsung Heroes who have been putting the welfare of others first during this very challenging year International Ticketing Yearbook Industry leaders from around the world discuss the past, present and future of the ticketing business The Jewel of the Midlands The iconic Resorts World Arena celebrates 40 years Covid: New Year, New Kit Examining the latest armoury in the battle against Covid-19

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Creative Europe's Support for Music European commissioner Mariya Gabriel outlines some of the schemes estbalished in Brussels to ensure live music's survival A Rey of Light Will Larnach-Jones details how organisers recalibrated the Covid-cancelled Iceland Airways to benefit domestic talent Your Shout What’s the most positive aspect you can take from 2020?

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50 62

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In Brief

2020 VISIONARIES

A

s I write this, there are exactly 15 days – a French fortnight – to go until we can kiss goodbye to 2020. And with London going into yet another lockdown, this time under the guise of England’s ‘Tier 3’ Covid restrictions, that’ll be the only thing most of us will be kissing on 31 December. But with the vaccine already flowing through the veins of tens of thousands of people around the world, at least we can enter the new year with the same kind of optimism that we had 12 months ago, when the promise of the new ‘roaring 20s’ decade had some of us, myself included, looking forward to better days.

There’s not much point detailing the horrors that 2020 has inflicted on the live entertainment industry, or society in general, as we have all lived through it, and most, if not all of us, have lost friends, family, and colleagues to Covid-19. But as with all crises, certain people rise to the top, often discovering unrealised leadership skills, to help others, be they workmates, family, or complete strangers.

Despite being the first industry to shut down because of Covid – and, most likely, the last to reopen – we are all blessed to work in the live entertainment sector: undoubtedly the most creative and caring business on the planet. Our Unsung Heroes feature (see page 28) profiles 12 of the amazing initiatives that are making a difference in these dark times, but there are countless more individuals and organisations who deserve recognition for helping their fellow man, and wherever you are and whatever you do, we applaud you. We know you don’t do it for the plaudits, but nonetheless, I can assure you they do not go unnoticed.

Our end-of-year issue also hosts an abridged version of the International Ticketing Yearbook (page 40) – slimmed down for obvious reasons. However, the signs are in there that the live music business is ready to roar back when given the chance, with fans everywhere retaining tickets for postponed events and, more encouragingly, showing confidence to buy tickets for future concerts and festivals in 2021.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The misery of coronavirus will be with us for the foreseeable future, so we’ve also provided you with a rundown of some of the latest Covid kit (page 62) that could help events get up and running while conforming to existing virus restrictions.

One venue all too familiar with those restrictions is the Resorts World Arena, which should have been closing the year with a series of shows to celebrate its 40th birthday (page 50). Its NEC Group operators are among the heroes of 2020, having transformed their exhibition halls into a temporary hospital to treat Covid patients.

There’s a long way to go before everyone receives their vaccine, but at least the medicines are now here, and venues being returned to their intended use is a realistic possibility once again.

ISSUE 95 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 Head of Digital Ben Delger Contributors Mariya Gabriel, Will Larnach-Jones 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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Helping you return to live.

Virtual Events Digital Tickets Timed Entry Contactless Admission Fan Research Marketing Reach Say hello at business@ticketmaster.co.uk business.ticketmaster.co.uk

IN BRIEF INDEX The concert business digest

NOVEMBER More than 60% of Finland’s live events companies do not expect to survive the next six months, new research reveals.

Public live music companies Live Nation, CTS Eventim, and DEAG see their share prices soar following early results from the world’s first effective Covid-19 vaccine.

Viagogo offers to sell StubHub’s resale business outside of North America in a bid to address concerns expressed by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which has provisionally halted the $4billon (€3.3bn) merger.

Ticketmaster clarifies it will not check fans’ vaccine or Covid-19 test status for access to concerts, although it will allow its promoter clients to do so.

Mike Jones, co-founder of UK promoter TEG MJR, launches a new touring business, Europa Concerts, after leaving the former MJR Group earlier in the month.

In France, silent ceremonies mark five years since the series of co-ordinated deadly attacks on the Bataclan concert venue, Paris cafés, and the Stade de France.

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Authorities in China announce plans to legislate in order to prevent the organisers of live-stream events from falsifying viewer figures, according to local media.

Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai reopens for an urban music event, welcoming fans for the first time since February, in a Covid-secure format.

Festival promoter The Music Republic announces it will run the under-construction Casal España Arena in Valencia, Spain’s biggest indoor arena, when it opens later this decade.

Lil Nas X garners more than 35m visits for his in-game performance in Roblox, marking a hugely successful debut concert for the online gaming platform.

Artist management company Tap Music launches Tap Sports, a new business offering athlete management, branding, and entertainment services to the sports industry.

UTA has filed a lawsuit against Chubb, its insurance company, for allegedly failing to cover any of the $150million (€124m) worth of losses the agency says it has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.

The worth of the UK’s live music industry increased by 17% in 2019, according to UK Music’s flagship annual economic study, Music by Numbers.

The Hungarian live music business calls on the government to support the industry by slashing the skyhigh VAT levied on concert and festival tickets.

Spanish festival promoter Bring the Noise launches Rebel Beat Agency, representing some of the biggest urban acts in Spain.

Agency ICM Partners wins a legal battle over unpaid commissions from a deal negotiated and procured with AEG for former client Céline Dion.

Thanks to insurance compensation, the introduction of ticket vouchers in key markets, and tens of millions of euros’ worth of cost-cutting, CTS Eventim loses just €17.7m in the first nine months of 2020.

Pala Alpitour, the second-largest indoor arena in Italy, becomes the first Italian member, and fifth in total, of the International Venue Alliance.

Ed Sheeran agent Jon Ollier announces details of his new booking agency, One Fiinix Live, launched

following his recent departure from CAA London.

Pete Tong, along with The Heritage Orchestra and its founder Jules Buckley, announce the first show at London’s O2 Arena since the advent of the pandemic in March.

DEAG made money in the first nine months of 2020, its latest financial results reveal, turning a profit of €300,000 in quarters one to three.

The promoters behind Australian festivals including Bluesfest, Splendour in the Grass, and Falls Festival receive a share of the government’s AU$75m (€46m) Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (Rise) fund.

Madrid’s WiZink Center reopens to 2,000 attendees for the Spanish Padel Tennis Championship, with a number of Covid-19 health and safety precautions in place.

In Australia, artists including Tones and I, The Presets, Thelma Plum, Jimmy Barnes, The Veronicas (pictured), and Tash Sultana, sell more than 75,000 tickets for the Great Southern Nights live-stream series, a government-backed concert series that brought more than 1,000 Covid-safe gigs to venues across New South Wales during November.

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 number of new artists touring Europe has fallen by nearly 50% in 2019–20, according to a new report

by Liveurope.

Figures from across the UK’s live music business welcome a government U-turn on newly introduced restrictions that would have stopped venues selling alcohol without a full meal.

Rotterdam Ahoy completes construction of its new 7,800-capacity music and entertainment venue, RTM Stage.

Live Nation is identified as the preferred bidder to manage a new 15,000-capacity indoor arena in Cardiff.

DECEMBER Barcelona venue Apolo announces it will host a clinical study concert with more than 1,000 participants to determine whether concerts and nightlife can be safe spaces if certain measures are met.

A new research project will examine the physiological reactions of viewers during various streamed concert formats to determine which is closest to the effect of a gig experienced live.

Paradigm UK agent Natasha Bent announces she is leaving the agency after four years to launch a new management and agency business, Mother Artists, with her brother, Mark Bent.

Musicians Elton John, Jack Johnson, Milky Chance and Joy Denalane (pictured) are among the winners at the 13th German Sustainability Awards, held in Dusseldorf on 2-3 December.

Venues and festivals across Europe offer their services as vaccination centres as the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine nears roll out.

Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 becomes one of the most popular live-streams to date, recording over 5m viewers worldwide and selling nearly 300,000 tickets.

A new 800-capacity drive-in theatre set to open in Manchester, UK, will be permitted to operate even under tier-three restrictions.

Berlin mainstay David Swartz launches a new artist management company, Singular Arts Group, following his departure from !K7 Music in early 2019.

Eventbrite acquires ToneDen, a platform for automating social-media marketing and advertising for live events.

Smartphone manufacturer OnePlus organises a unique livestreamed concert by Mads Langer filmed using a ‘phone dome’ comprising 74 of its devices.

The Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition write to PRS for Music, the UK PRO, to protest a proposed new tariff for live-streamed concerts, which the associations criticise as “unworkable” and punitive to artists.

The German federal government announces a €2.5bn cancellation fund to allow event organisers to plan for the second half of 2021 without the financial risk posed by a potential Covid-19 outbreak.

Yourope, the European festival association, forms Solutions for Festivals, a new industry-led initiative that aims to ensure outdoor events are able to return as soon as it is safe to do so.

The Dutch government adds €3.7 billion to its financial aid for businesses that have been affected by the country’s prolonged partial lockdown. The latest lifeline comes on top of €33.7bn of earlier government support, and pledges that subsidies could amount to between 50-70% of the loss of turnover.

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

The Night Time Industries Association warns that with clubs closed and events banned, more than 5,000 unlawful parties are expected to take place in the UK over the new year weekend, sparking fears of a fresh coronavirus outbreak in January.

Believe in Christmas, a 12 December online concert event by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, becomes the most successful classical music live stream to date, selling more than 70,000 tickets to fans in 120 countries, according to producers, Driift.

Virtual live events platform Sansar launches an artist tipping feature in time for its late December slate of concerts, in partnership with Lost Horizon. Acts that could benefit include the Martinez Brothers, Infected Mushroom and Kill the Noise.

European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the Czech Republic pull the plug on indoor events over the festive period with tough new restrictions on both organised and informal gatherings.

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Analysis

BEN KOUIJZER 1984-2020

B

en Kouijzer, an agent who represented electronic acts including 808 State and Meduza, has passed, aged 36. He was a CAA agent, but formerly worked at MN2S and UTA. In mid-2019, Kouijzer was diagnosed with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST), a rare and aggressive type of cancer, for which he underwent surgery and radiotherapy. The cancer later metastasised to Kouijzer’s lungs, which doctors said was incurable.

Kouijzer and his fiancée, Lotte Bowser, moved to Tijuana, Mexico, in September for treatment, but he tested positive for Covid-19 in late October. He also battled pneumonia, influenza, sepsis and other infections while in intensive care.

His passing, on 14 November, was announced via his Go Fund Me page, which had been created to draw donations for his treatments. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised over £250,000.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Ben. He fought so hard and we are so so proud of him, but

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in the end it was too much for him. A combination of factors lead to kidney and liver failure and he passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning. We are beyond devastated. We are all hurting together,” the announcement read.

Emma Banks, co-head of CAA’s London office, says, “It’s a testament to the man that while he had only been working with us for a couple of years, we are mourning a lifelong friend. Everyone who encountered Ben immediately loved him – he was a fantastic agent but more than that, he was simply a great human being.

“He was so brave tackling his cancer and with his beloved fiancée Lotte by his side he was determined to try every possible option to beat the disease. Ben is an inspiration to us all.

He may be gone but he will never be forgotten and his spirit, soul and the love that he shared will remain with us forever.”

Kouijzer’s funeral was held in Pembroke Lodge, London, on 12 December and is available to view via Vimeo for anyone who was unable to make the ceremony. To watch the video, click here.

Analysis

“In the midst of this crisis, especially, we continue to bank on our strengths, namely technology and industry know-how”

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg | CTS Eventim

German football club Hannover 96 has become one of CTS Eventim’s latest ticketing clients

INSURANCE PAY-OUTS HELP GERMAN GIANTS LIMIT LOSSES

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ermany’s Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) made money in the first nine months of 2020, its latest financial results, released in late November, reveal – turning a profit of €300,000 in quarters one to three, even against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Berlin-based company, which trades on the Frankfurt stock exchange, turned over €39million in January–September (compared to €123.1m in the same period last year), resulting in earnings before interest, tax depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of €0.3m.

In Bremen, financials from larger rival CTS Eventim paint a similarly rosy picture, with the pan-European live entertainment group losing just €17m in the same period. DEAG revealed in March it is “fully covered” for coronavirus-related disruption.

For DEAG, in Q3 (July to September) alone, EBITDA was €0.6m, the company attributing

the success to new event formats, significant cost-cutting (the firm has almost halved its spending this year) and €10m worth of insurance compensation.

For the full year 2020, DEAG expects to at least break even, according CEO Peter Schwenkow, who says the company already has over €100m in sales for 2021, along with liquidity of around €50m.

“In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are comfortable with our results for the first nine months of 2020,” states Schwenkow. “Although large parts of our visible operational business are currently suspended, the DEAG team is working behind the scenes to continue our growth course successfully as the pandemic ebbs away and finally comes to an end.”

Commenting on his company’s figures, CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg says: “We have been convinced since the outbreak of the pandemic that the stresses imposed on our company must be seen as a trial of our strengths.

That is the basis on which we act. There is no such thing as standstill.”

Key to Eventim’s better-than-expected financials is the introduction of ticket voucher schemes, which allow promoters to offer credit, instead of cash, for postponed shows, in Germany, Italy, and elsewhere.

According to Schulenberg, the company has also made cost reductions worth a “double-digit-million [euro] figure” in 2020, with investments also “reduced to a minimum,” while insurance pay-outs for cancelled shows organised by its owned promoters have brought in another €43.3m this year.

“The breakthrough in the development of vaccines in November brings a tailwind for our entire industry,” adds Schwenkow. “We have significantly reduced our cost base and are taking advantage of available promotion and support programmes in our core markets. We are currently already planning for the opening of the market and a new start in live entertainment.

“In addition to our core markets of Germany, Switzerland, and the UK, we are also present in Ireland through our joint venture Singular Artists. We are seeking contact with artists and management, preparing the expansion of our successful formats and developing new offers.”

DEAG says its ticketing business, comprising MyTicket and the UK’s Gigantic, is becoming “increasingly important” for the company’s bottom line, adding that MyTicket now includes additionally functionality to ensure social distancing at events.

Eventim is similarly offering a reengineered ticketing package designed to help promoters organise Covid-secure, socially distanced events. “Maintaining minimum distancing and logging visitor data are the prime focus,” says the company.

“In the midst of this crisis, especially, we continue to bank on our strengths, namely technology and industry know-how,” continues Schulenberg, highlighting a new partnership with the European Handball Federation, as well as ticketing deals with football clubs Werder Bremen and Hannover 96, as evidence of the continued popularity of its platform in the sporting world.

“This is how we continue to convince our customers, both new and existing,” he adds.

CTS Eventim’s revenues were €228.7m – a 79% year-on-year decline – in Qs 1–3 2020.

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LIVE-STREAMING COMES OF AGE WITH BIGGEST EVENTS YET

Andrea Bocelli’s Believe In Christmas live-stream raised the bar for classical music events Photo © Luca Rossetti

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ua Lipa made live-stream history at the tail end of November, clocking up a record-breaking five-millionplus views for her first ticketed virtual show, Studio 2054.

Described as a ‘“kaleidoscopic, rocket-fuelled journey through time, space, mirror balls, roller discos, bucket hats, belting beats, throbbing basslines and an absolute slam dunk of the best times in global club culture,” Studio 2054 eschewed the computer-generated digital FX seen at previous similar events for a neon extravaganza that strutted its way through multiple physical spaces in a specially constructed set at London’s Printworks.

Featuring guest appearances from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Miley Cyrus and Sir Elton John, the 28 November show is believed to have attracted the biggest-ever audience for a paid livestream, with over five million people tuning in live, according to a post-event release put out by organisers.

Lipa’s management company, Tap – who staged the event, in partnership with live-streaming platform LiveNow – told IQ in early Decem-

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ber that total ‘hard’ ticket sales for Studio 2054 then stood at 284,000, with the final tally estimated to be in excess of 300,000.

Where it didn’t make financial sense to sell tickets, Tap struck deals with local streaming services to bring the show to their subscribers – in China, for example, the company partnered with Tencent to enable more than two million fans to watch the stream via QQ Music, Kugou, Kuwo and WeSing.

In India, Tap and LiveNow struck a deal with domestic music streaming platform Gaana, to broadcast the show to its subscribers, of whom 95,000 accessed the stream in real time.

“The most important thing, as a manager, was that we didn’t do a show that’s ‘just’ a live show – it wasn’t just a concert in an arena that you can’t

go to because of Covid,” says Lipa’s manager, Tap Music’s Ben Mawson. “The focus was on doing something different, and letting fans know we’re bringing something new to the market.”

Equally key to the show’s success was getting the price point right – something Mawson says he believes the Studio 2054 team achieved, and which was borne out by the number of people who tuned in. “I’ve seen other shows priced much higher, and that affected their viewer numbers,” he adds. “Dua was the right pricing.”

In the classical world, meanwhile, Believe in Christmas – a 12 December event by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli – became the most successful classical live-stream to date, selling more than 70,000 tickets (priced at $25/€21) to fans in 120 countries.

Held at the 1,200-capacity Teatro Regio in Parma, northern Italy, Believe in Christmas featured special guests including Zucchero Fornaciari, Cecilia Bartoli, Clara Barbier Serrano and, in her first public performance, Bocelli’s eight-year-old daughter Virginia, with visuals provided by creative director Franco Dragone (Cirque du Soleil).

Believe in Christmas was promoted and produced by Driift, the UK-based live-streaming business, co-founded by ATC Management’s Ric Salmon and Brian Message, behind a number of previous successful ticketed live-streams, including Niall Horan, Nick Cave, Kylie Minogue, Laura Marling and Biffy Clyro.

“We are privileged to work with a living legend. Once again, Andrea has delivered a masterclass in entertainment, setting a new standard for live-streaming events,” say Francesco Pasquero and Scott Rodger, from Bocelli’s management company, Maverick.

“Following on from his phenomenal Easter concert, this is another fantastic achievement for classical music. […] This has been a coming together of some of the greatest creative minds, working together tirelessly to deliver last night’s stunning performance.”

Salmon, Driift’s CEO, adds: “We are simply overjoyed with the success of Believe in Christmas. The opportunity to work with Andrea was an absolute dream, and having Franco Dragone sprinkle his visual magic on top allowed us to create the perfect festive show.

“For Driift, it was the essence of what we’ve come to understand about this new format, and the culmination of everything we’ve learnt over the 15 shows we’ve worked on over the last six months.”

“The focus was on doing something different, and letting fans know we’re bringing something new to the market” Ben Mawson | Tap Music

Analysis

Glastonbury Festival boss Emily Eavis has been vocal in her pleas for governmental intervention

GERMANY LEADS THE WAY AS CALLS MOUNT FOR GOVT-BACKED INSURANCE

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lastonbury organiser Emily Eavis, in December joined many across the UK’s live industry in appealing for a government-backed event cancellation fund to enable operators to plan for next year without the financial risk posed by a potential Covid-19 outbreak.

In an interview with the Sunday Times on 13 December, Eavis said the festival had struggled to get cancellation insurance from commercial underwriters to help cover losses if next summer’s event once again needs to be postponed or cancelled.

In the interview, Eavis called for the government to launch an insurance fund of its own – similar to schemes that have launched in Ger-

many and Austria – to provide a safety net so that organisers can still make plans in the hopes that it will be safe to hold festivals next summer.

Eavis’s appeal came after Germany became the latest country to announce it would effectively underwrite major events while Covid-19 is still a threat, with the federal government revealing a €2.5billion cancellation fund to allow event organisers to plan for the second half of 2021.

The cancellation fund was first announced by state secretary Bettina Hagedorn during a Reeperbahn Festival focus session on 3 December, and was later reinforced by finance minister Olaf Scholz during an interview with the Tagesspiegel.

Scholz said the federal government would like to reimburse all costs “which were made in optimistic expectation and cannot be real-

“Though we can't predict the social distancing requirements for 2021 at this stage, this won't matter if contingency insurance remains unaivailable; live events will simply not take place” Let Live Thrive

ised due to corona restrictions” for events in the second half of 2021. “Otherwise, the pandemic will be over at some point, but there will be no concerts. And so the whole machinery, with the many self-employed solo artists and musicians, can get back on its feet,” he added.

Scholz says he is also working on a funding programme to support cultural events that are financially impacted by capacity restrictions enforced due to coronavirus, as well as hybrid shows.

In October, the Austrian federal government announced a similar scheme to remove the risk for event organisers and allow them to carry on business as usual.

Under the country’s €300million ‘protective umbrella,’ the government pledged to bear the costs of shows that were organised during the restrictions (at the time, a limit of 1,000 people seated indoors or 1,500 outdoors) but were cancelled due to new rules.

In the UK, LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), the umbrella group representing the UK live music industry, has been in conversations with officials at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport for several months regarding a reinsurance scheme, and has submitted its own industry-wide proposal for a scheme.

The body has also backed a proposal from a new campaign group Let Live Thrive (LLT), which comprises members of parliament, peers, major events organisers, and insurers.

The lobbying group last week penned an open letter to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, warning that major live events across the UK will not go ahead in 2021 unless a government-backed insurance scheme is swiftly introduced.

It reads: “The planning, insurance buying and decision making is happening now. Though we can’t predict the social distancing requirements for 2021 at this stage, this won’t matter if contingency insurance remains unavailable; live events will simply not take place.”

LLT’s proposal is a solution similar to Pool Re (Pool Reinsurance Company Limited), a government-backed reinsurance fund for insurance against acts of terrorism set up after the IRA bombing of London’s Baltic Exchange in 1992. Steven Howell from Media Insurance Brokers told IQ recently that he believes this solution could work if premiums are raised in line with VAT. “Most people are used to paying 20% VAT. On insurance, you pay 12%, so even if you increase it to 15 and siphoned off that 3%, it would create a pot of money through insurance that is available to bail out in case of cancellation,” he said.

According to Scholz, the German government is also working on a funding programme to support cultural events that are financially impacted by capacity restrictions enforced due to coronavirus, as well as hybrid (part physical, part digital) shows.

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NEW SIGNINGS

LISTEN TO ’S ‘NEW MUSIC’ 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 tracks on January’s playlist are submissions from ATC Live, CAA, ITB, Paradigm, Primary, UTA and WME.

PINK SIIFU AGENT

Darren James-Thomas FMLY Agency

BÜŞRA KAYIKÇI AGENT

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(US)

Kai Lehmann Cabin Artists

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eftly shifting between styles, Alabama’s elusive Pink Siifu found underground success in the late 2010s with his experimental blend of genres. Piecing together aspects of his wide-ranging influences, the musician built an extensive catalogue, releasing a total of 46 EPs, albums, and mixtapes throughout the last decade.

He played his debut London show in May 2019 with an incredible performance at the Sebright Arms. Since then, he’s been described as “one of the most intriguing musicians in Black music,” by The Fader, after the release of Negro earlier this year. He has since followed that with a collaborative album project alongside Fly Anakin on Lex Records.

2021 will see him tour with a full live band, with dates across Europe including Le Guess Who? Festival in November.

M (TR)

ulti-disciplinary artist Büsra Kayıkçı is a pianist, composer, and interior architect, based in Istanbul. Her latest album, Eskizler, showcases her mastery of the piano, in a style that effortlessly combines classical and contemporary elements, to deliver exceptionally emotive pieces of music.

She was selected as finalist for the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival, while her track, Doğum, has been extensively used and played at the New York Theatre Ballet.

Kayıkçı is currently writing and recording her next album, which has already garnered much interest from a couple of labels, although no release date has been set as yet.

New Signings

ARTIST LISTINGS All Time Low (US) Matt Bates, Primary Talent And So I Watch You from Afar (UK) Graham Clews &

Stu Kennedy, ATC Live Anna (IT) Lucia Wade, ITB Ash Walker (UK) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Beaux (UK) Matt Bates, Primary Talent Büşra Kayıkçı (TR) Kai Lehmann, Cabin Artists CMAT (IE) Olly Hodgson, Paradigm Daytime TV (AU) Steve Zapp, ITB De’Wayne (US) Olly Hodgson, Paradigm Death From Above (CA) Stu Kennedy & Alex Bruford, ATC Live Digga D (UK) Myles Jessop, Echo Location Talent DJ Lag (ZA) Ishsha Bourguet & Hannah Shogbola, Echo Location Talent Dylan & Dakota (US) Scott Mantell, ICM Partners Eliza Legzdina (LV) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Falle Nioke (UK) Alice Hogg & Sinan Ors, ATC Live George Cosby (UK) Rob Challice, Paradigm Grace Cummings (AU) Clemence Renaut, ATC Live Gustaf (US) Sarah Besnard, ATC Live GWAR (US) Ross Warnock & Neil Warnock, UTA Hachiku (AU) Eleanor McGuinness, Pitch & Smith ILL Considered (UK) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Jack Botts (AU) Tom Taaffe, Paradigm Jay Electronica (US) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency KAMAUU (US) Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners Kathleen Frances (UK) Alex Bruford, ATC Live King Promise (GH) Ishsha Bourguet, Echo Location Talent

HOTTEST NEW ACTS

LISTEN TO ’S NEW SIGNINGS AGENCY PLAYLIST HERE

LAST MONTH 22 19 18 33 18 47 31 20 2 55 4 63

PREDICTIONS FOR JANUARY 2021

ARTIST SERENA ISIOMA (US) CJ (US) WILBUR SOOT (UK) FRANCES FOREVER (US) PENELOPE SCOTT (US) FUMEZ THE ENGINEER (UK) HVME (ES) MORGXN (US) LYN LAPID (US) CENTRAL CEE (UK) LILDEATH (AU) FOUSHEE (US) ROMY (THE XX) (UK) 347AIDAN (CA) LIL EAZZYY (US) ENNY (UK), POPP HUNNA (US), MORRAY (US), A92 (IE), PAWPAW ROD (US)

Artists not in the current top 15, but growing quickly

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

DECEMBER 2020

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

Lavish K (UK) Craig D’Souza, Primary Talent Lex Amor (UK) Kazia Davy, Echo Location Talent lullahush (IE) David Exley, Paradigm Merci, Mercy (AU) Andy Clayton, Paradigm Miloe (US) Matt Pickering-Copley, Primary Talent Moore Kismet (US) Paul McQueen, Primary Talent Nala Sinephro (UK) David Exley, Paradigm Oracle Sisters (FR) Felipe Mina Calvo, ATC Live Orchestra Baobab (SN) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Pink Siifu (US) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Pixey (UK) Matt Bates, Primary Talent Q (US) Ari Bernstein & Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners Sam Burton (US) Nikita Lavrinenko, Pitch & Smith Serena Isioma (US) Noah Simon, UTA shiv (IE) Marlon Burton, ATC Live Surf Mesa (US) Obi Asika & Tom Jones, Echo Location Talent Tai Verdes (US) Nick Matthews & Ryan Penty, Paradigm The Heliocentrics (UK) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency The Magnetic Fields (US) Colin Keenan, ATC Live Tom Everett (UK) Nick Matthews & Lucy Putman, Paradigm Toosii (US) Myles Jessop, Echo Location Talent Tora (UK) David Exley & Tom Schroeder, Paradigm Trunky Juno (UK) Adele Slater, Paradigm Whispering Sons (BE) Graham Clews, ATC Live Wild Pink (US) Joren Heuvels, Hometown Talent Agency Wyatt Waddell (US) Sinan Ors, ATC Live Yazz Ahmed (UK) Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency

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Comment

Leveraging Creative Europe to Support Music Mariya Gabriel, European commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, outlines some of the schemes that she has helped to set up to ensure live music survives the pandemic

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e are all too aware how severely this unprecedented crisis has affected the cultural and creative sectors, in particular the world of music. It was heartbreaking to see clubs and concert halls forced to shut down, leaving the artists and those supporting them without any income. This happened at a time when, due to the changing patterns of music consumption, live acts and concerts had become one of the most important income sources for music performers. My priority was to act quickly, within my remit, to help the cultural and creative sector including the music sector.

Over the last eight or nine months, we have seen, on the one hand, the sector’s extraordinary capacity to mobilise and be creative at all levels, but on the other, the need for resources, targeted investment, and greater support in such critical moments.

Indeed, it was to music that we turned to keep our spirits up; music has helped us maintain a sense of community at a time when social distancing became the norm. I take this opportunity to thank all the professionals from the music industry for what they gave us.

For this reason, there are strong calls for Member States to dedicate at least 2% of national recovery and resilience facility budgets to culture. This would come in addition to other horizontal measures that we introduced to kickstart the economy, which are also beneficial for the cultural and creative sectors. We have promoted these measures and encouraged our partners in the cultural sectors to tap into the possibilities these actions provide.

Let me highlight some examples of our recent initiatives to help the cultural sector and music in particular.

First, we provided maximum flexibility to the beneficiar-

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ies of Creative Europe, the EU funding programme for the cultural and creative sectors, and allowed them to adjust their projects to the new realities. We also accelerated the selection process for this year’s Creative Europe co-operation projects.

This means in practical terms that €48.5million is going directly to both small and large cultural projects that need our support the most in the middle of the pandemic. In May, we launched the Creatives Unite platform to offer a common space for all cultural and creative sectors in Europe and beyond to share their initiatives in response to the crisis. Six months later, it has demonstrated great results, with over 26,000 visitors and 600 published posts. This illustrates the cultural and creative sectors’ tremendous capacity to work together.

Second, we came up with quick responses to address the challenges faced by the music sector under our Music Moves Europe initiative. A €2.5m call for proposals, which closed in November, will help support the sector’s recovery and sustainability post-crisis. Environmental, economic and social sustainability of the European music ecosystem is indeed more topical than ever before. We can expect that the post-crisis revival will bring and require structural changes in the way the music ecosystem is operating, and we will be there to support the green, digital, just and social recovery of the sector. We also launched a call for tenders to support European music export, taking into account the specific circumstances of the crisis. The call builds on the study prepared by the European Music Export Exchange with our financial support. Here, again, I would like to congratulate the music sector, which has been, from the very beginning, part of the solution, with the Music Declares emergency initiative using the power of music to promote the cultural

Comment

“Music has helped us maintain a sense of community at a time when social distancing became the norm” change needed to create a better future.

Music Moves Europe is also about music information and data. We have just published two studies on the feasibility of establishing a European music observatory, and an in-depth analysis of the European music market. We also launched four calls this year to support professionalisation, music education, co-operation of small music clubs, and co-creation and co-production schemes. The selected projects can start early next year. In difficult times, these small amounts can make a great difference and can help clubs, creators, and performers resume their activities and survive the crisis.

Finally, let me stress the importance of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards co-funded by our Creative Europe programme. This EU prize for popular and contemporary music puts a spotlight on young exciting talent and displays Europe’s vibrant and diverse music scene. It is even more important this year to help these young musicians find an audience. The winners of the 2021 edition will be announced on 15 January 2021 at Eurosonic.

With Music Moves Europe, we will continue our support to the music sector, especially with targeted funding through the Creative Europe programme. I am very proud that we achieved a significant increase in the budget for the next seven years, this will allow us to continue our support to culture, including music, in the future.

Looking forward, beyond Creative Europe, the music sector will also benefit from further support through other instruments. For instance, via Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation framework programme, which will have, for the first time, a dedicated cluster on culture, creativity and society, as well as a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on cultural and creative sectors and industries to drive innovation and support recovery in these industries. Erasmus+ is another example. Recently we launched a Special Call worth €100m for Partnerships for Creativity, which focus on formal, informal and non-formal educational skills development and inclusion through creativity and the arts. My aim therefore will be to work on synergies among all these different instruments.

Music is our universal language. It holds a unique, creative, and cohesive power, for societies and for individuals. It is a vital part of our cultural heritage, and contributes to our European identity. For all the reasons we will continue to support the sector, and the people behind it.

I look forward to working and strengthening our dialogue with the music sector.

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Comment

A ‘Rey’ of Light Will Larnach-Jones, director of Iceland Airwaves, details how organisers were able to showcase homegrown talent by recalibrating the Covid-cancelled event as Live from Reykjavik

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fter a strict lockdown in March, and a huge effort to contain Covid with track-and-trace measures and widespread testing, it felt like Iceland and its live music scene was gearing up to return to normal for the second half of the year.

Then the second wave hit, bringing in measures that rendered live shows next to impossible for now – strict curfews, distancing rules, and significant reductions on gatherings. While Iceland Airwaves had been optimistic about going ahead in real life, we were forced to pivot quickly.

Thus, Live from Reykjavík was developed – a two-day virtual Iceland Airwaves. For this edition the decision was to focus entirely on local talent and to use the moment to showcase Icelandic music to the world. We selected the artists for the event. Given the situation this year there was an unprecedented number of Icelandic acts “at home.” It was important for us to give this special edition a real Icelandic focus. The idea for the stream event was to combine some better known names with some newer artists, or artists who had yet to enjoy significant exposure outside of Iceland. We’re spoilt for choice in Iceland, the musical talent in this country and the creative output is oversized in comparison to its population.

Iceland Airwaves has, for many years, worked to balance gender in its programming. Reaching the pledge in 2018 (and having worked to this brief before Keychange’s inception) meant that it felt entirely natural to bring the same approach to the digital space.

When it came to finding gender parity in the stream, it felt like an easy choice for us. The remit for Iceland Airwaves has always been talent first, not meeting quotas. We choose who we believe to be the best talent out there, and for us, we believe as a festival there’s more than enough talent across the gender spectrum for us to make balanced choices.

Nanna from Of Monsters and Men and Emilíana Torrini have been some of Iceland’s biggest success stories.

For bands working hard to break through internationally, we had so much strong and diverse talent to choose from: the dark synthwave of all-female trio Kælan Mikla, the jazz inflected cool soul of GDRN, longtime Airwaves rockers Mam-

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mút, the sucker-punch delivery of rapper Cell7, and Bríet, who’s currently Iceland’s most popular radio artist.

Many of these artists are award-winning performers at home, and leaders in their respective genres and on top of their game, so it’s no surprise that many of them are part of the Keychange programme.

It was important to select performers who had honed their live shows and that were willing to embark on this adventure with us, stepping up to the challenge of performing with no audience and being filmed in such an intimate way. The artists were filmed in some of the venues and spaces we normally use for Iceland Airwaves such as Gamla Bío, Iðnó, and The Reykjavík Art Museum. We also went further afield with Bæjarbíó in Hafnarfjörður, and to a couple of recording studios.

We had around 90,000 viewers, including around 12,000 from outside of Iceland. As a boutique festival, Iceland Airwaves typically enjoys 4,000-5,000 international visitors per year, so we were very happy with this as a first step into streaming/broadcast.

The response from viewers to the performances and how they were captured was phenomenal – we’ve learned so much from the event.

We know that while not everyone can attend Iceland Airwaves each year, many people are keen to “stay in touch” with the festival and the Icelandic music scene, and giving some people the option to view online creates more opportunities and excitement for all.

The four core team members were split evenly gender wise. Over 50% of the team leaders from our stakeholders and sponsors were female. While the production and film crew was predominantly male, the chief producer/director on the film side was female.

As with any other year of our festival, gender equality is part of our identity and the Keychange gender pledge is an important marker of success for us. I would encourage all music organisations to get involved and to keep monitoring representation, so we’re all, as an industry, working towards wider progress and sustainability together – whatever your genre, sector or location.

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Feature_Unsung Heroes

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Unsung Heroes_Feature

It has been a year unlike any other, with restrictions placed on mass gatherings decimating the live music industry worldwide. But despite hundreds of thousands of people earning nothing for the past nine months, numerous Unsung Heroes have gone above and beyond to help others, be that through their efforts to protect the industry, or helping those who were in desperate need.

We did not want the year to pass withough paying tribute to at least some of those organisations and individuals who have stepped up during 2020 to help readership and others. As a result we turned to the asked you to nominate worthy causes and personalities for consideration as the inaugural members of our Unsung Heroes awards.

On the following pages, we highlight the dozen most nominated Unsung Heroes for 2020. Congratulations to everyone involved, and to the countless others who have devoted their time and energy to helping others this year, we thank you.

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Feature_Unsung Heroes

#FEEDOURCREW

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stablished just after lockdown in April 2020, #feedourcrew’s objective is to provide temporary support, through food vouchers, to technical and casual event crew personnel across South Africa.

Founding members Tamsyn Strydom (MGG Productions), Kagiso Moima Wa Masimini (Black Motion Productions), Marcia Alves (We Are Boundless) and Daria Higgins (True North Events) wanted to assist the members of their teams who contribute tirelessly towards creating memorable events, but as freelance technical staff were unable to access any form of relief funds or grants.

Almost all 526 freelancers assisted to date are the sole breadwinners in their families and rely heavily on a normally robust industry for their livelihoods. That, however, changed when the strict lockdown rules were introduced in South Africa, leaving hundreds of crew members without any income.

To date, #feedourcrew has raised ZAR344,564 (€18,684) and has paid out ZAR333,500 (€18,084), with 122 applicants still on the waiting list for help, As the live industry begins to get back to business in SA, #feedourcrew has partnered with organisations such as the Kagiso Education Fund, which provides on-the-job stagehand training for students aged 18-30 through various industry partners. It also develops community arts space for young

“It is not unusual for crews to work up to 36 hours in a row with no rest. We need to change that” Lefa Tsiane | production manager

people, women, and people living with disabilities.

In August, #feedourcrew also gave birth to #flightcasemovement in an effort to unite members from the live events and technical production sectors. On behalf of those working in the business, #flightcasemovement hand delivered a memorandum of demands to South Africa’s Department of Sports, Arts & Culture (DSAC) in response to the devastating effect that the government’s prohibition on gatherings has had on the live events industry.

Founded by Kagiso Moima Wa Masimini, Tamsyn Strydom, Aubrey Ndaba (Tech Forum), Sizwe Mokoena (Ugqozi Entertainment), and freelance production manager Lefa Tsiane, #flightcasemovement is providing the live events production community with a vehicle to lobby politicians and give a voice to the sector.

Among its early activities, the organisation was able to participate in and present the findings of a survey conducted by media group Sun Circle, examining the impact Covid-19 has had on the business and the people who depend upon it.

As a result, #flightcasemovement’s memorandum of demands to the government includes: The reopening of the live events industry at 70% capacity, following strict Covid-19 protocol in line with Event Safety Council-proposed guidelines.

A specific ZAR2billlion (€108million) relief fund for businesses in the live events and technical production sector.

Compulsory extended relief from financial institutes for businesses and crew members (covering such areas as rent/ bond repayments, school fees, car repayments, insurance/ medical), until the live events sector has recovered.

Monetary assistance to the organisations that stepped in and assisted freelance technicians and casual workers, such as #feedourcrew.

Relaxation of relief fund application requirements for freelance crew members.

Recognition of the live events and technical production sector with different representation across the board and a seat at the DSAC table.

A strategic, deliberate and sustainable plan on how to support the live events industry.

On the final point, #flightcasemovement is hoping DSAC will help it draw up guidelines for a sustainable plan to best support the industry and to start the process of regulation within the production business. “While we are one of the strictest industries worldwide in terms of health and safety, there is no regulation on the hours worked in South Africa and it is not unusual for crews to work up to 36 hours in a row with no rest,” states Lefa Tsiane. “We need to change that.”

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Unsung Heroes_Feature

MICHAEL KILL CEO of the UK’s Night Time Industry Association

A ALEXANDRA AMPOFO Metropolis Music (UK)

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n addition to her regular duties as a promoter at Metropolis Music, Alex Ampofo has won praise from bosses for her consistent, caring communication with colleagues, as well as her tireless work with industry organisations Women Connect, Acoustic Live and Embrace Nation.

Ampofo launched Acoustic Live as an effort to keep stripped back music alive. “Over the last few months, we have been putting together webinars focused on moving the diversity dial in touring, hosting socially distanced music and poetry workshops and continuing to support up-and-coming musicians with free services,” she tells IQ. “I also now sit on the board of directors for The F List, a directory of UK female musicians. Our mission is to help female and gender-minority musicians overcome structural barriers in the music industry.”

Also a not-for-profit female collective, Women Connect has a remit to create safer, inclusive “Our mission is to help spaces and equal opportunities female and genderfor women, non-binary and genminority musicians der-fluid people in the creative overcome structural industry. Ampofo reports, “This barriers in the music year we managed to throw a soldout international women’s party industry” at Sony Music (pre-Covid), hosted themed online events to raise money for different charities, and started our own mentoring scheme with a full house of 20 mentees.”

She continues, “Embrace Nation is also doing really well. We’ve had some great interaction in our company communications, and we’re doing our best to keep the conversations going, especially those about appropriate terminology, background, and culture. Our aim is to bring a new depth to understanding what our privileges are and encourage a safe space for open dialogue.”

Also one of IQ’s New Bosses in 2020, Ampofo is inspiring other young people in the industry to engage in extra curricular activities that, over time, will help make the live entertainment industry a better working environment. She concludes, “It’s so important to communicate while we are all isolated, I think times like these can really highlight how vulnerable people actually are, and how much we rely on physical interaction in our day-to-day lives. Social media has made it easier to check in on our loved ones, that’s something to take advantage of if extra support is needed.”

s the CEO of the Night Time Industry Association (NTIA), Michael Kill’s primary goal is to ensure that both its members and the wider industry has a voice. “We aim to protect, serve, and redefine the narrative surrounding nightlife without being engulfed by restrictive government structures and assumptions,” he states.

“Needless to say, the arrival of Covid-19 in March has made the past eight months the most testing and demanding in the NTIA’s short, six-year history. Fortunately, myself and the majority of the team share over two decades’ worth of experience in the night-time industries, and that’s positioned us well to tackle each obstacle as it arrives.”

Covid has taken a tremendous toll on the night-time economy in the UK, with tens of thousands of businesses and millions of employees facing hardship, as government restrictions time and again ignore their plight – until Kill and his NTIA team step in…

“From the very beginning of campaigning, we realised that one of our biggest strengths was the night-time community itself, and so we’ve worked hard to bring together and support businesses and individuals at every level,” says Kill. “We’ve focused heavily on strong communications, not only to galvanise our own community but also to realign the night-time industries within a cultural context so it’s recognised for its achievements and gets the backing it deserves.”

He continues, “It has been a political rollercoaster. In a bid to secure financial support packages and government clarity, we’ve come up against various task forces and departments, many with their own differing objectives and opinions. Nevertheless, campaigns like #LetUsDance and #Savenightlife have secured vital funding for the electronic music scene, raising £350k [€390k] in support of venues across the country, and securing unrivalled visibility for the cause. And there’s much more to come.

“At the NTIA, we continue to work tirelessly on behalf of the industry so that future generations can build the same connections, experiences and values that have been so pivotal to all our lives. For me – both personally and professionally – I know I wouldn’t be the same without it.

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Feature_Unsung Heroes

MARIA BRUNNER Musically Fed

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usically Fed was initially formed five years ago with the purpose of taking leftover backstage catering from concerts and live events in the United States and repurposing it to those in need, with a special focus on serving veterans organisations.

“We have repurposed food from local concerts and festivals in Phoenix, and special events like CMA Fest and The Grammys, and we were working national tours with artists like Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Shawn Mendes, The Lumineers, the Zac Brown Band and more to repurpose backstage catering in each market of their tour,” explains founder Maria Brunner.

“When live events stopped happening and we realised our own industry workers were now in need, we quickly pivoted.”

Including the planned service for the remainder of December, since the pandemic shut down live events, Musically Fed has provided 122,462 meals.

“In March, we reached out to [food and beverage supplier] Levy [Restaurants] to take Phoenix Suns catering from Talking Stick Resort Arena and distribute it to the community in Phoenix. In addition, we reached out to The Staples Center and The Los Angeles Convention Center and were able to repurpose everything they had for school lunch programmes across the city of Los Angeles.”

Brunner continues, “In April, our drive-through food distributions started with a phone call to Jake Berry, who quickly brought in Jeff Giek from Rhino Staging. It was obvious from that phone call that gig workers across the country were either not going to qualify for unemployment, or what they were going to get was not much. Because Rhino's corporate office is located in Phoenix, we decided to try a drive-through food distribution programme that would provide prepared meals and produce to families in need.”

The concept began with 50 cars, and throughout the months the process has been refined to the point where nobody has to leave their car. Rather, Rhino volunteers put boxes of produce, prepared food, and dry goods in the boot of each recipient’s car.

“Once we had the programme refined, we launched it in Denver, thanks to a partnership with Conscious Alliance. That programme serves 50 families in need every week. Phoenix serves 50-100 families twice a month. And thanks to a grant and partnership with World Central Kitchen, we have been conducting drive-through food distributions every other week in Nashville, where special thanks is being given to Clair Global and Bandit Lites for hosting these drive-throughs.”

Indeed, noting just how much the live music production community has stepped up during the pandemic crisis, Brunner reveals Musically Fed has been able to launch a national

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programme, focusing on key cities in need.

“The first was Nashville on 12-13 July,” she recalls. “We distributed food to over 200 live music and entertainment industry workers in need, and distributed 22,000 meals to those in need throughout the city overall, through outlets like The Store and Nashville Rescue Mission.

On Labor Day, Musically Fed partnered with Just a Bunch of Roadies, and Loaves and Fishes to host a 200-car drivethrough in Minneapolis for industry workers in need. “We have since held similar large-scale initiatives in Atlanta in partnership with Midwest Food Bank and The Infinite Energy Center, as well as in San Diego,” reports Brunner.

“All of these have been made possible by the support of Jake Berry of Jake Berry Productions, Charlie Hernandez of Just a Bunch of Roadies, Jeff Giek of Rhino Staging, Rutger Jansen of Insomniac Events, and Chris Schuman of James Thomas Productions. Through private donations and creative peer-to-peer fundraising, we are able to bring food into these cities in need, rather than deplete their food banks.”

With no end to the pandemic certain as yet, Brunner comments, “Through 2021, we plan to keep up bi-weekly food distributions January through June for Phoenix, Nashville, and Denver, and we would like to do major distributions in Austin, Dallas, and New Orleans if we can get the funding.

“I think the vaccine is going to be helpful, but I also think it's going to take time to work with local and state governments to come up with a very focused and organised game plan to get live music back on its feet, depending on the tour and the artist. Musically Fed hopes to serve those in need as long as they need it.”

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MUSIC VENUE TRUST

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ed by husband and wife founders, Mark Davyd and Beverley Whitrick, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) also counts Clara Cullen, Sarah Claudine and Menna Grasser as its core team.

However, during the pandemic, MVT has enhanced its team with a number of national and regional co-ordinators who include Nick Stewart, Sam Dabb, Stu Fletcher, Jay Taylor, Danni Brownsill, Chris Sherrington, Harkirit Boparai, Luke Hinton, Sophie Asquith, Keiron Marshall, Sam Jones, Geoff Priestley, Barney Jeavons, Tom Maddicott, Matt Otridge, Toni Coe-Brooker and Lucy Stone.

Strategic director Beverley Whitrick explains, “Music Venue Trust started 2020 with plans to build on the success of 2019 – the first year in which more grassroots music venues (GMVs) opened than closed in the UK. Having spent the last few years trying to build understanding of the vital role that these venues play as cultural, social and economic hubs and creating a community of “We have worked with venues (the Music Vencultural funders to help ues Alliance or MVA), design funding, and then we planned to move to a guided venues through more formal, paid memthe process of applying bership model and travel around the country confor funding – most of sulting widely with the them for the first time” people who run these venues.”

As the coronavirus pandemic spread and restrictions hit live music and venues hard, that strategy, of course, had to be scrapped. “Instead we found ourselves completely changing plans, appointing lots of temporary team members, and the MVA growing from 600 venues in January to over 900 by November (membership is still free).”

At the start of 2020, MVT had only two full-time members of staff, but Whitrick pays tribute to the committed team members who stepped up to focus full-time on the plight of the UK’s small venues, which, in history, have never needed more help.

“Our early surveys and reports identified that we needed three things: more money, more people and more lobbying power,” says Whitrick. “We created #SaveOurVenues to try and tackle all three, embarking on a huge crowdfunding campaign to pay for a bigger team and raise money for venues, while also creating a focus for PR and lobbying.”

That effort worked. Since the end of April, more than £3million (€3.3m) has been raised thanks to artists, photographers, designers, merch companies, music industry donors, music fans and the Mayor of London.

That money enabled MVT to appoint MVA co-ordinators

across the UK to work individually with every venue in the network and to assist clubs and businesses to apply for any money they could claim from governments or local authorities.

“Key to our work has been giving all layers of government reports about the financial interventions needed to sustain venues. We have worked with cultural funders to help design funding, and then guided venues through the process of applying for funding – most of them for the first time.

“This work is ongoing, but so far £60m [€67m] has been secured by GMVs, exceeding our expectations of the recognition they would receive for their cultural value. Our team has been incredible at teaching, supporting and encouraging people who had never thought they could (or should) have to lay out why their work is as eligible for support as any theatre, concert hall or arts centre.”

Unfortunately, not everyone was eligible or successful in obtaining funds, so the work continues. Whitrick adds, “MVT always aims to be practical and effective. We also understand the need for mental health support, and are grateful that our venue community exists and is well supported by other parts of the music ecosystem. We are still working on ways to reopen every venue safely, and hope that will happen soon so we can all get back to experiencing live music in intimate spaces.”

MVT’s core team: Sarah Claudine, Mark Davyd, Menna Grasser, Clara Cullen and Beverley Whitrick

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Feature_Unsung Heroes

CHARLIE HERNANDEZ Just a Bunch of Roadies

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he concept for Just a Bunch of Roadies began following the 2004 Christmas tsunami in South East Asia, when Charlie Hernandez was in Malaysia for client Petronas, working on a glitzy event to roll out a new Formula 1 car.

“We shifted our focus into a humanitarian effort for the people of Malaysia, and their government gave us support with the aircraft and freight that we needed to move into Malaysia,” he recalls.

Hernandez visited the disaster zone and describes the horrifying scene “as though a bulldozer of immense proportions had just devastated a city.” However, on returning to his hotel in Kuala Lumpur, a pre-show cocktail party was in full swing and along with fellow production worker Lori Tierney, they hatched an idea for roadies to handle such initiatives themselves, rather than involve pop stars, and Just a Bunch of Roadies (JABOR) was born.

Since then, the organisation has helped people in dire situations such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and flooding in Pakistan; typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013; and Project C.U.R.E. in the likes of Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Indeed, the network involved in JABOR consistently likes to think outside the box. “For example, there were some hospital beds that were used in the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London. Tait were making the beds as props but put in the extra work so that they could become proper hospital beds, while Rock-it Cargo then delivered them to a children’s hospital in Tunis,” says Hernandez.

JABOR can call on numerous production suppliers in its efforts, such as Sound Moves, Clair Global, eps, Live Nation, and Upstage Trucking; and individuals like Jake Berry, David Bernstein, and Opie Skjerseth. While Hernandez also notes

that JABOR principals Lori Tierney, John Campion, and Dan Parise all passed away during 2020. “They are a huge loss to us all,” he says.

He continues, “Many people and companies do extraordinary things and we’re very blessed to have their support. Our industry is the last bastion of the handshake, and we basically run on the compassion of the roadie, who would rather crawl across broken glass than see someone get hurt or in pain.”

With Covid devastating the live events industry, this year JABOR turned its attention to its own. “Food is security for people in our industry, so we shifted our mission and tried to communicate the message that people are not alone in their suffering,” he says. “We set up food drive-throughs and partnered with the likes of Musically Fed with Maria Brunnel, to feed people in Nashville. And since then, we’ve had similar food drives in Minneapolis, Denver, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Phoenix.”

JABOR also liaises with local food banks to identify where they can help make a difference. “Basically, we’ve learned how to do it, but then applied what we all do for a living as production crew and used the knowledge of our industry to do it better and feed more people.”

Hernandez explains that using those principles, JABOR ran a Labor Day effort in Minneapolis where 300 cars were each loaded with enough food to feed a family of six for an entire month. Similar efforts around Thanksgiving distributed 400 meal kits, each to feed 6-8 people through that holiday period.

“We’re able to make a difference and give people hope, but there are so many people involved and they are the true unsung heroes – I would not be Charlie Hernandez without them,” he says. “We have a mantra that if you truly want to help out in a crisis, go and fucking do it yourself because individuals really can change the world.”

Charlie Hernandez and some of the JABOR volunteers

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SANDRA BECKMANN & TOM KOPEREK Alarmstufe Rot

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s a single mother of three children, Sandra Beckmann embodies the mantra that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. A 25-year veteran of the live entertainment industry, she began her career as a freelance technician for light and video installations, but over the years developed a specialist network dedicated to providing all kinds of services to run events and stage shows.

At the end of 2019, she launched service agency Event-Kombinat, for which the future was looking bright until the coronavirus took its hold and she realised that without live events, the industry would face a wave of insolvencies.

Beckmann took it upon herself to raise awareness of the plight of those working behind the scenes and began banging on the doors of politicians to highlight the situation, which helped her gain access to some of the earliest high-level coronavirus crisis meetings in Berlin.

Aside from her lobbying activities, her social media campaign drew together more than 3,500 members across all parts of the live entertainment business for the Initiative für die Veranstaltungswirtschaft (Initiative for the event industry.)

However, when the design of the first support programmes did not meet the needs of those working in this business, she decided to revise her strategy.

Beckmann teamed up with Tom Koperek from LK Aktiengesellschaft to work on the Night of Light campaign, which won nationwide attention on the night of 22 June when more than 8,000 buildings in over 1,000 cities were simultaneously illuminated red as a flaming memorial in reference to the terrible situation in the event industry.

The project’s mission was to force dialogue between industry representatives and political players to underline the dire circumstances of the live events business and establish tailor-made support measures for the industry.

In fact, the Night of Light was more than just a media suc-

cess. Companies all over the world have joined the campaign and the idea has helped businesses and individuals internationally in their battles to win government aid and support.

Ironically, in Germany, its organisers say that the concept was perceived as a nice ambient lighting event, and that politically, it moved nothing. “Instead it caused the alliance of #AlarmstufeRot to be born,” says Beckmann.

On 5 August, demonstrations took place simultaneously in front of the houses of provincial governments in several federal states, and every Wednesday at 12:05pm, demonstrations under the banner of #AlarmstufeRot took place nationwide, leading up to the first major demonstration in Berlin on 9 September, where around 15,000 protesters took part in a march, as well as about 500 vehicles on the car route.

This demonstration finally achieved one of its main mission targets, as the first serious dialogue with various governmental officials quickly followed and Beckmann even had a meeting with Olaf Scholz, the minister of finance, which paved the way for a dedicated rescue summit.

"I am so proud of this movement, its joint efforts and achievements, but above all of my ‘job family,’ which has once again shown that we as an industry are capable of great things,” Beckmann adds.

For his part, Koperek says, “At the beginning of the corona crisis it almost seemed to me that politicians apparently have never even heard of the term ‘live events industry.’” However, thanks to the work of everyone involved in the AlarmstufeRot alliance, he reveals, “We now have a community of almost 50,000 followers on Facebook and almost 40,000 followers on Instagram. This makes the alliance #AlarmstufeRot the largest group to advocate for the various segments of the live entertainment industry in Germany.”

But the battle is ongoing. Rather than running his own business enterprises, Koperek says he now spends 80% of his time working for Alarmstufe Rot. He pays tribute to LK Aktiengesellschaft business partner Sven Robusch, and adds that, “A small core team are working tirelessly and intensively on all corporate issues.” He ends by saying, “We can't stand by and watch the world's hottest industry hit the wall. We must not give up. There will be a life with events, even after corona!”

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JAVIER AJENJO

E Barrie Knight with Roy Edwards

BARRIE KNIGHT

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specialist in security and artist liaisons, Barrie Knight is a well known figure around the world, with regular clients including Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason, Peter Gabriel, Ronan Keating and events such as Isle of Wight Festival.

His efforts throughout lockdown have ensured that tens of thousands of people in London have not gone hungry, following an accidental encounter in the street. “I do an occasional club night called Big Knight Out, so when Covid hit we organised an online event called the Big Knight In, which went out to 11,000 people,” he recalls.

“The day after the show, I was walking past a local school, St Paul’s, where my friend Roy Edwards works, and he was there, feeding the children of key workers. I was a free-school-dinners kid myself, so after chatting to Roy, I started making sandwiches for the kids and went along to the school to help out. When I was there, one of the parents thanked me for feeding them and it turned out some of the kids were taking the food home to share with their families because it was the only regular food they were getting.”

Determined to help as many families as possible, Knight hit on the idea of a JustGiving page to ask Big Knight In attendees to donate money for the food drive. Within an hour of that going live, it had raised £5,000 (€5,565).

In total, supporters raised close to £9,000 (€10,018), but Knight wasn’t finished there. “I asked Joe Lock, the manager of our local Morrisons [supermarket], if we could do some kind of deal with them, and straight off, they gave us six pallets of food, free of charge, to help out.”

Knight also leveraged his showbiz connections to solicit support from the likes of Ronan Keating, Peter Gabriel and Annie Lennox.

As media coverage spread, Morrisons pledged to match the donations raised by the Big Knight In and, as a result, the initiative was extended to provide a second school and food banks across London with bulk orders of provisions, as well as women’s refuges, soup kitchens and projects supporting the elderly – all of which needed help as the lockdown continued and people lost their jobs.

The scheme ended when the schools reopened, post lockdown, with Knight admitting he was overwhelmed by the response, which to date has helped more than 38,000 people across London.

“It’s shameful that people in one of the world’s richest cities can be starving: we’re going to do our best to prevent that. So, the Big Knight In is doing a one-off Christmas Special on Saturday 19 December, where every pound raised will again be matched by Morrisons,” he adds.

To contribute to that fundraising initiative, visit the YouTube channel of Big Knight Out.

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ach year, Sonorama Ribera Festival, in the Spanish town of Aranda De Duero, dedicates itself to a special humanitarian cause, with a sum of its profits in the recent past donated to organisations such as UNHCR’s air for refugees and the Acción Contra El Hambre NGO, which battles world hunger.

When the pandemic meant that the 2020 edition of the event could not go ahead, festival co-ordinator Javier Ajenjo, who was born and raised in the town, decided that there must still be something that the event could do to contribute to the greater good.

“Due to Covid-19, the possibility arose of using the venue where the festival is usually held as a field hospital that would help and support the Aranda de Duero hospital,” states Ajenjo. “We got in touch with the health authorities, to put at their disposal all our infrastructure, materials, and the human capacity that we had to start it up.”

In less than a week and in co-ordination with various health workers, Ajenjo and a team of 20 from Sonorama, constructed and started running a 1,500m² hospital, with capacity for 200 beds.

“A few days later, the hospital started receiving the first patients,” reports Ajenjo. “Despite being somewhat transitory, one of the fundamental things that we wanted during its preparation is that the people who went to work on the premises had a rest space, a dining room, and the best conditions to be able to carry out such hard work.”

Ajenjo reveals that had the 2020 edition of Sonorama Ribera gone ahead, plans were already afoot to thank those who had been risking their own health to help the general population. “We were planning a special edition to dedicate to all the people who had worked on the front line fighting for us,” he says. “The idea was to invite 1,000 health workers to enjoy two days of concerts, with all security measures.”

Although the high infection rates resulted in Sonorama’s cancellation, Ajenjo tells IQ that alternative plans have been made for those key health workers. “We do not give up, so this Christmas they will have their online festival with some of the best artists in our country performing for them. It will be our way of thanking them.”

Looking ahead to 2021, Ajenjo believes that the forthcoming vaccines, allied with everything the Sonorama staff had been learning about in the run up to this year’s festival season, strengthens the probability that the next edition of the festival will go ahead.

“With the new vaccines I hope that we will celebrate the festivals with some normality, and that music and concerts will return to our lives,” he says. “We will take all the necessary measures and be attentive to all the advances to achieve our most important challenge, not only that the people who come to Sonorama Ribera know our land, our roast lamb, and our Ribera del Duero wine, but also enjoy our festival safely and happily!”

Unsung Heroes_Feature

PAUL REED Association of Independent Festivals

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s chief executive of the UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), Paul Reed has been an invaluable resource for the association’s 75 member events as they battle for survival until mass gatherings can once again become a reality.

Reed has been running AIF single-handedly since April, but his drive and determination have seen him take on a multitude of tasks, winning him plaudits from numerous festivals and their organisers.

Reed’s work this year has included: Lobbying the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and presenting a detailed report and case for festival inclusion in the £500m Culture Recovery Fund; supporting members through webinars; and appointing a funding consultant to assess each application. 71% of member applications were successful in their funding bids, resulting in more than £5.5m of support into the independent festival sector. Reed also submitted a report illustrating impact and where further intervention is needed. He is lobbying alongside the rest of the live industry for a provisional restart date, a Government-backed reinsurance solution and further targeted financial support where required.

Following conversations between AIF, the DCMS select committee and relevant members of parliament, a select committee enquiry into the future of UK Music Festivals was recently announced and Reed will be responding to this and providing key points to members.

AIF’s Ops Group has led on festival guidance and planning considerations that were published on the Purple Guide website recently.

Earlier in the crisis, he publicly called upon government for urgent clarity on a ‘mass gatherings’ ban following the announcement of the initial social distancing measures.

Launched an extensive media campaign highlighting the extent to which independent festivals are at risk (92% of members were facing potential collapse in May), the importance of audience rolling over tickets and the need for ongoing support from government. This gained impactful and extensive coverage in the media.

Pro-actively lobbied DCMS and the Treasury for measures to alleviate the sector, including clearly introducing a ban on gatherings, VAT deferments, further clarity on the eligibility of festivals for grants and business interruption loans. The UK Government subsequently introduced a categorical rolling ban on gatherings, introduced VAT deferral for businesses and confirmed a temporary 5% VAT cut for businesses including festival tickets, which has been extended to March 2021.

Briefed DCMS ministers and organised regular catch-up calls with senior officials at DMCS and liaised with the wider industry.

Organised countless specialist Zoom sessions for members, with lawyers, crisis communications experts, business management and accountancy advice.

Sent multiple updates to all members each week and provided them with bespoke advice and support throughout, responding around the clock to a high volume of enquiries.

Actively grew the AIF membership, announcing 17 new members at the organisation’s AGM in September. AIF now represents 75 festivals across the UK, with a collective capacity of more than one million.

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EVELYN RICHARDSON & GLEN RAINSBURY Live Entertainment Industry Forum

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n late May of 2020, when it was clear that the industry was looking at a long and uncertain return to normal operations as Australia came to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic, the concept of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF) was brought to life by TEG chief executive Geoff Jones and Roger Field, president of Live Nation Asia-Pacific. They enlisted key players from across the music, sport and venues sectors to form an executive committee that was representative of virtually every industry sector and each state and territory across the country - the first time that parties from the full breadth of the entertainment industry had gathered around a table to collectively advocate for the industry.

One of the key deliverables identified in the first meetings was to develop guidance for the industry to which venues and promoters could operate as safely as possible in the new Covid world – a task that Frontier Touring’s Glen Rainsbury was asked to co-ordinate.

“Working with LEIF chairman James Sutherland, we developed a structure that included ten separate working groups led by subject matter experts,” says Rainsbury. “The teams were tasked with developing guidance specific to their areas of expertise and which had to be general enough to be applicable to a broad range of event settings and reflect the regulatory advice of every state and territory, and venue types from clubs to stadiums. It required a very particular approach and discipline.”

Rainsbury says the commitment of the 50+ contributors was immense. In a matter of weeks, the heavy lifting was largely complete and it was a case of honing the mountain of submissions into a cohesive work. “As it stands, the work has

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been used by clubs, arenas, stadiums, festivals, and promoters in the development of their Covid-safe plans on their way back to operating,” he says.

Various states and territories have also drawn upon the guidelines in drafting their solutions, while Rainsbury and Tim McGregor, also from LEIF, have become the sole representatives from the commercial sector on the National Covid-19 Arts and Health and Advisory Committee.

“It was a privilege to work with the extraordinarily talented people from across the industry who gave their time and IP to deliver something that has assisted the industry to bounce back so quickly. It was the team’s fine work and effort,” adds Rainsbury.

As the chief executive of Live Performance Australia, Evelyn Richardson’s dedication to the live entertainment sector has never been in question, but while many in the industry were forced to pause their careers, Richardson doubled down on her workload to help LEIF lobby for assistance.

With LEIF’s support, the LPA led the industry advocacy for federal government to provide emergency funding to the live entertainment industry. The AUS$250million (€156m) package provided by government included AUS$75m (€47m) in grants and a AU$90m (€56m) loans scheme targeted at the commercial sector.

LEIF and LPA have further called for the establishment of a Business Interruption Fund to offset risks of cancellation or postponement over the next three years as the industry rebuilds.

Richardson tells IQ, “The most significant achievements of LEIF have been firstly, the collaboration with our sporting colleagues with information sharing and support during a tumultuous period across the country and globally; and secondly, providing a united voice to governments with respect to advocacy, and raising the profile of the commercial entertainment industry, both in terms of its economic and social contributions to the broader economy.

“As we move forward, we hope to build on this, so our industry is recognised for the significant role we play as employers, providers of content to commercial and government-owned venues, and our critical economic alignment with other industry sectors such as tourism and hospitality.”

Unsung Heroes_Feature

BOBBY BÄHLER Gurtenfestival

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rustrated by the Swiss government’s handling of the pandemic restrictions, the Gurtenfestival team’s initial interaction with the authorities was to scold them for their haphazard approach, and bemoan the lack of dialogue regarding the live events sector.

However, director Bobby Bähler soon realised that, rather than bad will, the government actually didn’t understand the festival industry; the complexity of building a temporary festival ‘city,’ and the fact that an event that lasts four days can have a planning phase of several months, involving several hundred people.

“We went out on a limb and told them that if they had a problem we could solve it, no matter what it was,” recalls Bähler. “A week later we received a request to build a [coronavirus] test centre that could test up to 1,500 people per day.

After two meetings and 12 hours conception, we had the solution. And after nine days, the first person was tested.”

Bähler and his colleagues used Gurtenfestival subsidiary, EventOn, to build a software package for the test centre, making sure it could map the entire test process and handle everything automatically from registration to reporting the test result.

“We developed the entire medical process, engaged our event physicians, trained laymen to become test persons, and created the entire public and internal communication,” he tells IQ. “Our team at Gurtenfestival has really done a very extraordinary job, and it is an honour to work with them.”

All too aware of the serious strain coronavirus was having on the health care system, Bähler turned to the experts he knows to run the centre. “In order to not deprive the health care system of specialist staff, we wrote to all of our employees – around 1,900 people – from the Gurtenfestival. Within 48 hours, we had well over 250 applications from people who wanted to work with us,” says Bähler.

“In this way, we were able to relieve the burden on the health system and provide jobs for people from our industry and the catering trade, where they could earn good money with a meaningful job. All these people were laymen and were trained and prepared for their work by specialised personnel. Now, we have tested almost 10,000 people since 9 November and to date no significant errors or false results have been found.”

“We are used to creating playgrounds for artists and demanding guests under the most difficult circumstances... this time we created a ‘testival’ instead of a festival”

For the construction of the test centre, Bähler hired regional companies to deliver tents, containers, heaters, vehicles, etc. “Maybe we were able to save 2020 for some of the suppliers, with a good order before the end of the year, as many had suffered a 90% drop in sales this year.”

At press time, about 150 people from the live events industry remain employed part-time at the test centre. “But what is much more important is that we were able to show that we are professionals and that we can simply create something big and good out of nothing, with almost no time,” states Bähler.

“We are used to creating playgrounds for artists and demanding guests under the most difficult circumstances... this time we created a ‘testival’ instead of a festival.”

The Gurtenfestival staff expects the centre to become increasingly busy as the holiday season rolls around, with concerned citizens anxious to know they are virus-free before attending family dinners and gatherings.

“Most likely we will run the test centre until the end of January 2021 and by then we will have tested 20-30,000 people,” adds Bähler.

But the work might not end there, as the Swiss government has also asked Bähler if the Gurtenfestival crew can assist in creating vaccination centres when the medicines start to become available.

“We must stand together through this time,” adds Bähler.

“The virus will pass, but what remains is the deep desire to be together, to enjoy music, theatre and culture of all kinds in one place… When the post-corona period begins, a new and very promising time for us will begin. Society will appreciate that we exist and will take pleasure in compensating for what the pandemic has so miserably forbidden for so long.”

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For the past five years, has published the standalone International Ticketing Yearbook (ITY), highlighting the ticketing business in more than 40 key markets around the world, as the live events business continued to grow. Rather than skipping the 2020 edition, given the lack of concerts, festivals and shows, this year, we are paring back the yearbook to provide an overview of the past few months during the pandemic, and examining what ticketing experts have been working on while the industry plans to get back to business in 2021…

2020 Event Ticket Sales Despite international touring grinding to a halt in March 2020, the ingenuity of artists, event organisers and promoters has provided a limited number of shows and festivals around the world, while pay-per-view live-streaming concerts have also proved popular with fans internationally.

Every company IQ spoke to for ITY 2020 states that the sales slump has been unprecedented – mostly down by more than 90% – as physical events have all but disappeared over the past nine months.

Reporting its fiscal results for the first nine months of 2020, Europe’s largest ticketing firm, CTS Eventim revealed a 79% decline in turnover,

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to €228.7m, in financial quarters one to three.

For its part, Ticketmaster parent company, Live Nation, reported that festivals where fans can retain their tickets for next year’s show had seen approximately 63% of fans are keeping their tickets.

The company’s sales and survey data suggests that fan demand will be there when the time is right. “Our refund rate on rescheduled shows remains consistently low, with 83% of fans globally keeping their tickets,” says Live Nation in its latest financial results. “Our recent global survey indicates that 95% of fans are planning to return to live music events when restrictions are lifted, the highest point of confidence since the start of the pandemic.”

The pandemic has taken its toll on markets large and small.

In Dubai, Vassiliy Anatoli, managing director of events guide and ticketing platform, Platinumlist, tells a similar tale. “Sales stopped mid-March with lots of refunds to follow. We resumed sales with comedy events in July, which sold out, with most post-Covid events being supported by the UAE government.”

Comedy proved successful elsewhere, too.

Emil Ionescu, general managing partner of Romania's leading ticket company, iaBilet, says local event organisers’ association AROC has worked diligently on a reopening plan, with promoters able to put on open-air shows to a maximum of 500 people from the start of June.

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“Drive-ins worked like a charm for a few weeks, then they halted. People lost interest. But standup comedy took their place,” he states.

“Concerts didn’t work so well, although some club venues did outdoor, all-standing events with 100-150, even 200 people, which sold out.

But that was the best we had. It seems Romanians can’t replace that live music feeling with something that holds them at a two-metre distance, with masks on their face.”

Also hit hard by the termination of mass gatherings, event discovery and ticketing platform DICE swiftly tweaked its model to exploit the demand for live-streamed shows. “We’ve worked on more than 4,000 live-stream shows, broadcast from 30 countries, and sold tickets in 146 countries,” reveals their chief revenue officer, Russ Tannen. “From Laura Marling’s breathtaking performance at Union Chapel [London] to Kylie’s glittering disco performance, live-stream events on DICE are attracting bigger and bigger audiences.”

That experience is echoed by Zack Sabban, CEO of Event Genius and Festicket. “It’s been really interesting to see that during the height of the pandemic in Europe, our top performing events have been our FesticketLive live-streaming gigs, which sold more than 50,000 tickets.”

Despite that positivity, the results are, of course, a shadow of what Festicket had expected in 2020. “At the beginning of the year, sales were strong, especially for the summer festival season – we were beating all previous records,” says Sabban. But he is confident that fans’ pent-up demand can help the market make a strong comeback. “After the summer, our recovery began and as some of our festival partners launched on-sales for 2021, sales returned and we actually began to record improvements on last autumn’s numbers,” he claims.

Kenton Ward, CEO of Live It (formerly known as Bookitbee) says, “When lockdown was announced we hit a wall in the first month, with sales down by 97%. Since then we have seen this recover over time as we have worked with promoters and organisers to adjust their offerings. Currently, we

“…any crisis not only leads to problems but also provides new opportunities”

Vladimir Ageev | MTS Entertainment

are seeing about 45% of previous revenues for the corresponding time.”

Similarly, Rob Casson, Skiddle’s head of new business for UK and Europe, reveals Covid hit ticket sales by 82%, initially. But he notes “a positive outlook on 2021 sales with a lot of promoters putting new events on.” He also says that Skiddle has worked on numerous alternative events, in line with changing government guidelines.

“With a lot of promoters moving tickets over to next year, we forecast a continued impact on sales for 2021,” he warns. “However, we are already beginning to notice promoters being agile around

ALEXANDER RUOFF

COO of CTS Eventim “In the first nine months of 2020, we recorded a decline of approximately 60% in both ticketing sales and online ticketing volume. Our top sellers included artists that address young audiences, for example, in the rap genre.

“Approximately 85% of fans are holding on to their tickets and are still looking forward to a live experience with their stars, even though the actual dates are currently unclear in many cases. This shows us once again how great people’s longing for live entertainment and the bond with their stars is.

“Without giving detailed figures, only a fairly small proportion of fans, so far, have expressed a wish for a refund or a voucher. The promoter voucher schemes, backed by law, are a very important step towards preserving cultural diversity. At the same time, the vouchers are pure consumer protection, as they give organisers the vital liquidity they need to survive during and beyond the coronavirus crisis.

“CTS Eventim is participating in the programme called Solutions for Festivals 2021, a group of industry leaders from across the European festival sector working together to ensure fans can return safely to full-capacity outdoor live events at the earliest opportunity. At the invitation of Yourope, industry leaders including AEG Presents, Eventim Live/FKP Scorpio,

the types of events they’re hosting in 2021.”

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Total Ticketing managing director, Pete Gordon, recognises the issues of his peers elsewhere, but he reports success with online events, where “music, literary talks and workshops [have sold] relatively well.” Gordon adds, “We see a strong future for these events and expect them to continue to thrive alongside the face-to-face events once these return.”

One remarkably strong market for livestreaming has been Russia, where the vast geography often leaves fans outside of the main cities starved of live events.

Goodlive, Live Nation, and Superstruct Entertainment are working together on the Solutions for Festivals initiative.

“Our CEO, Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, said that crises are, above all, an opportunity for a company to show its strengths.

Thanks to prudent management in the past, to the solid cashflow situation we have as a result, to rigorous cost-cutting and efficiency-boosting measures, to our forward-looking technologies, and thanks, last but not least, to our highly motivated employees, we are also well placed to face such a difficult market environment as it is at present.

“In the midst of this crisis, especially, we continue to bank on our strengths, namely technology and industry knowhow. This is how we continue to convince our customers both new and existing. We are also firmly convinced that CTS Eventim will emerge from the crisis stronger and more agile.

“We have known since summer, based on a survey we commissioned, that the thirst for live entertainment is enormous, and that this thirst is intensifying the longer the bans and restrictions are in force.

“It is very encouraging that vaccines have been developed and will be available so quickly. This news also gives us hope, therefore, that the very difficult situation our industry finds itself in will take a turn for the better in the foreseeable future and that people will once again be able to enjoy art and culture the way they did before the pandemic. CTS Eventim is ready and perfectly positioned to go into action as soon as circumstances return to normal.”

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Vladimir Ageev, head of strategy for MTS Entertainment, underlines the nation’s enormous appetite for live-streaming. “The pandemic allowed us to launch a series of [VR format] online concerts this summer that introduced viewers to our MTS Live brand. We delivered 21 online concerts, which reached a total audience of 60million viewers.”

Determined to exploit that popularity, he adds, “Online concerts allowed us to continue promotion of other MTS products: the number of traced audience for further monetisation totals approximately 63million new clients, so we are planning further development of this line of business in the near future.”

Refunds and Voucher Schemes The world’s ticketing operations were faced with their own unprecedented problems when Covid took hold earlier this year, as the prospect of having to refund billions of euros, dollars, etc, quickly became all too real, and exposed the entire live entertainment industry to some worrying home truths over cashflow, in particular.

Thankfully, millions of fans around the world proved their loyalty by opting to keep tickets for postponed events, rather than demand refunds, while in a number of territories, voucher schemes were approved by governments and local authorities, to provide the industry with some breathing space.

“In terms of our arena events, particularly music events, we have had a much higher number of people holding on to tickets than we expected,” observes Richard Howle at The Ticket Factory in the UK. “If fans want to see an act, they are prepared to book tickets up to a year in advance. The pandemic hasn’t changed their desire to see their favourite artists, so at the moment they seem willing to hold on a bit longer.”

However, Howle warns, “As dates get rescheduled for a second or third time, or as people get more concerned about their finances, this may change and we may very well see more people

ROB WILMSHURST

Global CEO, See Tickets “I think some actors in the segment have been amazing to their staff, suppliers, and customers – both large and small. Conversely, there have been others who maybe could have acted differently, and I’ll leave it at that, other than to say, it has been challenging for all concerned and everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do and relationships in the future will be strengthened or weakened because of it.

“We don’t pivot – we stuck to what we always do and that is providing the right solutions for the right conditions. We cannot help fight Covid, but we have a bunch of tools and services that have been

requesting a refund.”

Total Ticketing’s Gordon also reports that the majority of fans in Hong Kong have held on to the tickets for postponed events. “We have had some events that have been subject to multiple rescheduled dates, and fans have, on the whole, kept their tickets despite the moving target,” he says.

Tannen says that 90% of tickets for live shows that have been rescheduled have not been returned to DICE. “Our flexible returns and Waiting List functionality mean that, on DICE, fans can often get a refund any time before the gig, so many fans will hold on to their ticket in the hope that they’ll be able to make the date of the new show. If they can’t, they’ll offer it to the Waiting List.”

The extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic put every government and economy in the world on alert, but in a number of territories, arts and culture industry associations have persuaded officials to allow voucher schemes.

Romania is one such country, thanks mainly to the patience of music fans. Ionescu reveals that live music trade body AROC worked closely with government on a twopronged solution for fans: either keeping a

“…the appetite and demand amongst fans across the globe is huge at the moment – everyone is searching for something to look forward to” Zack Sabban | Event Genius/Festicket

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extremely useful to reduce the pressure on our clients and their customers with regards to cancellations and reschedules. That said, we are all ears and minds towards anything that gets the lights back on, and we remain on standby to help anyone.

“We have not wasted the crisis and have doubled down on tech investments.

Not just for Covid but more for using what has been ‘quiet’ time in music to reformat some old tools and introduce some new ones. I haven’t been this excited about opportunity since the late 90s early 2000s.

“I hope not too much supporting talent has left the sector and that all actors, up and down the sector, can be mobilised to get the shows on into the summer. I fear a traffic jam in production assets and people. I also fear the international situations will not align in good time, making touring across borders difficult.”

ticket that is valid for the rescheduled event; or requesting a voucher that can be used until September 2021 on future shows by that promoter.

“If people don’t use the voucher before September 2021, they can request a full cash refund,” Ionescu explains. “If the show gets cancelled, the fans receive a voucher, also valid until September 2021, for shows by the same promoter. So, most of the fans kept their tickets – less than 5% requested a voucher. What’s surprising and pretty awesome is that some people even bought tickets for the rescheduled events during the pandemic, just to help a little.”

Returns and refund requests vary depending on territory, culture, and even genre. Sophie Belova, former head of Europe and CIS for MyMusicTaste, has been specialising in taking K-pop acts around the world, and while she reveals, “K-pop fans are trying to keep their tickets for as long as needed,” she adds that 10-15% of tickets needed to be refunded.

The returns dilemma was less complicated for some. Platinumlist’s Anatoli says almost all shows were refunded, while in Hong Kong, Gordon says, “We’ve seen a higher rate of refunds where international travel would have been involved, presumably reflecting customers’ scepticism.” He notes, however, that customers have generally been happy to keep their tickets for domestic events. ▶

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That delicate act of persuading people to be patient has been an international effort. “We saw less than 10% of refunds across all our events. This was as a result of a PR plea to event goers,” comments Shai Evian, CEO of South African ticketer, Howler.

Live It operates a slightly different model to many ticketing companies in that it is not the merchant of record for sales. “This means that the promoters and organisers get all of their funds in advance of their events, and we have worked closely with them to help manage cancellations, reschedules and refunds,” explains Ware. “As such, Live It do not have tickets outstanding but many of our clients have resched-

JONATHAN BROWN

Chief executive, Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers “As the contractual link between events and customers, ticketing companies have been crucial in the customer-facing response to the pandemic. While promoters and venues have worked hard to reschedule events and navigate the huge commercial challenges, it’s at the doors of the retailers that ticket holders have been knocking, needing more information about new dates or when they’ll get their money back. Pressures have been felt acutely across all sectors of the industry, but it is ticket sellers that have been holding the consumer frontline.

“On the one hand, there’s the law and good customer service. On the other, there’s the huge potential detriment to the live industry and its need to manage the situation in the best possible way; to preserve businesses, jobs, public confidence. Ticketing companies have needed to manage those opposing tensions, deliver great customer service, and tackle their own commercial and personnel issues at a time of near zero income.

“There have, of course, been some difficulties along the way, and STAR, which is an approved body for alternative dispute resolution, has fielded a much higher

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uled, and ticket holders have agreed to move their attendance to a future event.”

In Russia, Ageev details how MTS tweaked its systems to help ticket buyers stay safe. “We introduced online mass ticket refund services for cancelled events, which was also made available to those who bought tickets at offline ticket offices. This made it possible to refund hundreds of thousands of tickets quickly and smoothly, without forcing people to leave their homes or lose money spent.”

Such attention to detail is admirable, but Festicket’s Sabban notes that different partners have different refund and exchange policies.

“For events where keeping hold of tickets for

number of disputes than usual. There was always the potential for live entertainment to draw the same level of complaints as, say, the travel industry, but the standard of customer service in ticketing has in contrast been very high.

“At STAR we’ve benefited from tremendous camaraderie across the industry.

Our members have worked collaboratively and positively with promoters, venues, and event organisers. Industry co-operation through trade bodies and associations has proved to be essential.

“Many ticketing companies have needed to reduce their workforce considerably, with the consequence that there are hundreds of years of elite ticketing experience looking for new opportunities.

This is devastating, both for the individuals and for the employers that have to make those decisions.

“Just as ticketing has been at the front line of dealing with the downside of the pandemic, it will be there to play a crucial role as recovery begins. There have been speedy developments by some ticketing companies and software suppliers to enable social distancing, as well as the rapidly expedited adoption of mobile tickets and venue scanning. However, we all know that it is only with a return to ‘normality’ that we can expect to start creeping along the long return path. News of rapid tests and vaccines provide a warm glimmer of hope that the industry can begin that journey as early as possible in 2021.”

rescheduled dates was an option, the majority of customers are choosing to do so. Not only because they want to attend the event next year but also because they actively want to support the event and make sure it will survive, go ahead next year, and continue to flourish.”

Advance Sales for 2021 While uncertainty has undoubtedly been one of the keywords of 2020, optimism and, perhaps, a longing to return to normality, have resulted in healthy ticket sales for 2021 – a situation that news of vaccines is only helping to bolster as the new year approaches.

“2020 was definitely a tough year for the entire live shows and ticketing industry. Nevertheless, any crisis not only leads to problems but also provides new opportunities,” offers optimistic Ageev. As a result, MTS is planning a raft of new services to reinvigorate sales. Ageev lists these as, “Gift cards for events of certain organisers, the launch of a last-minute sale service (providing an extra discount a day before the event), and the launch of ticket sales for streaming events."

While die-hard music fans are happy to secure their access to concerts and festivals in 2021, The Ticket Factory’s Howle observes, “Fair-weather fans are still reluctant to book. So, when we have a new on-sale, we are seeing the usual sharp spike, but the drop off is much sharper than we would expect in normal times.”

In Asia, Total Ticketing’s Gordon believes vaccine news is helping confidence return. “We have seen a definite surge in interest and enquiries, although the outlook for the early part of the year is still far from certain. Once events are onsale, uptake has generally been good, and there is definitely a strong appetite for getting out and having experiences again.”

Tannen also reports heartening results.

“Next year’s Primavera Sound Festival sold out on DICE in record-breaking time – just over a week – while our exclusive Communion Presents series of socially distanced live shows […] sold out in a couple of days.”

Underlining that growing confidence, Casson tells IQ, “We expect consumer demand to be pent up from 2020 and even more events to be put on by promoters in 2021, especially in light of the news about a potential vaccine.”

But the story isn’t the same everywhere. “It’s certainly not the case here,” says Ionescu. “Sales are still down by 95% for future events, so events that sold 100 tickets per day now sell around 1 or 2.”

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MORITZ SCHWENKOW

Chief ticketing officer, Deutsche Entertainment AG Revealing some of the technological development the company has been working on during lockdown, Schwenkow says, “Together with our partner and licensor, Secutix, we have, among other things, the following major developments advanced and integrated into myticket: Organic social distancing Seatmap Due to Covid-19 and resulting social distancing regulations, venues, promoters, and festivals may only reopen under the condition they can enforce such regulations. This new feature will help you ensure free seats are blocked around customers ordering tickets together, while optimising attendance and allowing customers to choose their own seats. The social distancing rules are customisable and are applied on-the-fly, keeping the actual availability up-to-date.

Personalised tickets We can support venues, promoters, and festivals in collecting personal data per ticket, in order to document this, in the context of Covid-19, based on official orders. This data can also be used to carry out manual controls onsite.

Collection of data: The so-called ticket holder can either be queried before the tickets are printed out, or directly during the sales process. This applies to both

However, local knowledge means Romanian promoters have been holding back on confirmed shows for next year, even where A-list acts are concerned. “No big shows have been put on sale for 2021, so we don’t have any numbers,” confirms Ionescu. “Small shows that have gone on sale sold just a few tickets, so people are still very careful about what they spend their money on.”

Future sales are not a viable prospect in South Africa, as yet, either. But Howler has used the lockdown period to concentrate on internation-

online sales and offline sales. We can customise our data input mask to collect any personal data, as required by any regulation, in relation to Covid and as approved by the customer.

Timeslots In order to regulate the flow of visitors, we offer our partners a special form of tickets, namely the Visit Pass. Visit Passes are sold with a time slot, which means that visitor flows can be regulated much better, as the capacities stored on these Visit Passes can be flexibly designed.

There are certain events and target groups that sell better than others for the coming year, but by far not at the normal level. You have to distinguish between genre, target group, and so-called ‘sure shots.’ Promoters were hesitant to put events on sale again after the summer, but we will get the on-sales when the consumer confidence is fully back.

It is also important to focus on diversity in the event sector and to offer a wide range of event types. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that, even in such difficult times, there are event formats that can be implemented successfully and at the same time comply with distance rules and almost exclude the risk of infection.

It will probably take a while, maybe until Q3 2021, before the events industry can start again, but I believe we all agree, that once the majority of the population has been vaccinated and thus the pandemic is over, the entertainment sector will experience a real boom. The long-term outlook is therefore very positive.

al expansion, with at least one solid result, so far.

“We have signed an exclusive long-term ticketing deal with Spanish promoters elrow,” says Evian.

“This is one of the largest and most sought-after contracts in the industry and something that we are very excited and proud to have won, over all the global major ticketing companies.”

Also in growth mode, Festicket’s Sabban says, “We’ve experienced strong sales for those promoters who have been willing to go on sale over the past few months for 2021 events. Unsurprisingly,

the appetite and demand amongst fans across the globe is huge at the moment – everyone is searching for something to look forward to.”

Live It’s Ward notes, “We are seeing stronger than expected sales for events planned for 2021, which we put down to pent-up demand and (currently) lowered competition for share of wallet in the sector.”

He continues, “We are picking up a number of new clients who have found that their previous ticketing provider was no longer able to provide funds before the event – many of these are poised to go live as soon as they feel the time is right to launch.”

Hopes of the various vaccines may have injected a much-needed shot of optimism, but while those programmes will take months to roll out, international touring will remain unrealistic. But Dubai-based Anatoli believes that the demand for entertainment can still be met by a supply of local talent. “Our strength is the reach to the local audience,” he says. “Since traveling is currently restricted, we have seen a significant rise in sales for local attractions and we have become the leading OTA for most local attractions during this time, which is a welcome relief.”

And in Russia, there are signs that the market could come roaring back. “The easing of restrictions delivered sales figures above our expectations,” says Ageev. “The pace of market recovery in August-September exceeded our forecasts by 50%. Then there was a second wave [of the virus] and new restrictions followed. Overall, we expect the market to rebound next year as the restrictions again ease, with full recovery to pre-crisis volumes in 2022.”

As a result, Ageev and his colleagues are confidently making “big plans” for 2021 and beyond. “MTS aims to maintain a leading position in Moscow region and actively develop in other Russian regions. We are feeling optimistic about the future,” he says

Industry Co-operation Across the live entertainment industry, Covid has proven a unifying force, with once-bitter rivals declaring a truce to work together to lobby governments. Whether such amnesties will continue post-pandemic remains to be seen, but in a number of territories, new associations have been set up that should ensure an element of co-operation going forward.

“The collective effort across the whole industry has been really heartwarming. And, ▶ Magazine

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although there’s always an element of rivalry between our companies, in ticketing we are a group of people that get on well as individuals,” says Howle. “The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) has played a really important role in uniting and representing the industry – the whole team there have been amazing. STAR have facilitated regular online socials where ticketing companies can gather, crack open a beer and share war stories. These have been invalu-

ASHISH HEMRAJANI BookMyShow

In its two-decadelong-plus journey, BookMyShow has always been at the forefront of innovation. Through our vast data intelligence and deep consumer insights, we were able to usher in the trend of virtual entertainment, which paved the way for in-home entertainment across different genres in the industry here in India. We started by providing free entertainment to millions of our users in the initial weeks of the lockdown, using the time to assess genres, price points and formats that customers preferred during this time, to come up with a sound and economically viable pricing model. That helped us significantly to get to where we are today, with over 70% of the events on the platform being ticketed, and we have seen an encouraging spike in ticket sales month-onmonth, with most of these events streaming on BookMyShow Online, our streaming platform for live entertainment, which launched as the first such platform in the country during the early days of the lockdown.

Some of our top-performing paid categories include comedy, music, magic shows, performances, and workshops and masterclasses. As an example, in the three months between April and June, comedy as a genre grew more than 300% in revenue. By the end of August, theatre, plays and gaming had all grown consistently by an average of 110% monthly since the lockdown began. The ticket sales for music offerings also surged, increasing multifold in less than three months.

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able – there has been real comfort in knowing that you are not alone in the trials and tribulations of this pandemic.”

At DICE, Tannen says the pandemic has improved relationships with talent, as 80% of the live-streaming shows have been arranged directly with artists and their management. “We’re enabling artists to make the events happen,” he states.

Total Ticketing’s Gordon says promoters have rallied round to support each other during the

Refunds Initially many consumers chose to hold on to their tickets despite a refund option being available when we rescheduled events to a date later that month or the next. However, once it was clear that the pandemic and its impact would be drawn out, we reiterated the available refund option to consumers who had purchased tickets and all of them received a complete refund within 7-10 working days.

Future Sales 2021 is definitely providing us with a reason to be optimistic about the recovery of the entertainment ecosystem, the world over.

However, the pick-up in ticket sales has been dependent on geographical locations where the pandemic is receding and normalcy is slowly returning. For BookMyShow, the sale of tickets for events in markets such as UAE and Singapore are encouraging. In fact, Singapore’s most-anticipated, three-week, year-end live entertainment extravaganza, Christmas Wonderland at Gardens By the Bay has been selling spectacularly well, with over 30,000 tickets sold in the first weekend of sale.

Covid Lessons As a company, we have overcome many challenges during our twenty years in business, and have successfully remodelled ourselves to survive such challenges as the dot-com bust in 2000-01 and the recession in 2008.

Situations like the pandemic, commonly referred to as ‘black swan’ events, are testing times for businesses, but provide opportunities to evaluate existing approaches and methodologies. For a large-scale business such as BookMyShow, planning well with a constant focus on

pandemic. But he flags up one area where work is needed. “Venues, in general, remain a difficult area in Hong Kong with rental prices making the sustainability of small venues very challenging, whilst the larger venues are often exclusive with specific ticketing companies – a situation which sadly seems not to be changing.”

Sabban emphasises that the Covid crisis accelerated the need for greater co-operation, given the numerous festivals, concerts and shows that were

building a sustainable business model is the key, and that is what we continue to focus on each day.

High burn rates and high spends on overheads can be unfortunate headwinds for businesses during such extraordinary times. Our experience with deep macro-economic crises in the past has taught us to maintain a conservative approach while being mindful of the unit economics, and this has helped BookMyShow stay strong even during such an unusual period.

Optimism With the investment and innovations that have emerged during the pandemic around virtual models, the digital entertainment format will live on even when we return to real-world live entertainment experiences. We foresee real-world live experiences and live-stream experiences coexisting perfectly well, and BookMyShow will sit right in the middle of that to ensure an augmented entertainment experience for users, in whichever format they may prefer at any given time.

The virtual format helps grow the reach of quality content, bringing artists closer to their audiences across the world and providing them with the opportunity to experiment with newer formats and build a potentially new and steady revenue stream. However, such a model can be successful at scale only if all stakeholders across genres and formats of entertainment – from talent managers, artists, promoters, production entities and labels to marketing and distribution channels, and regulatory bodies – work together and remain flexible to ensure a new economic model is created and sustained.

REPORT INTERNATIONAL TICKETING

MARIA O’CONNOR

chairman, Ticketmaster Australia & New Zealand

Much like a traditional international tour, Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 live-stream show used multiple ticketing partners around the world.

Photo © Pixie Levinson

hit by lockdown restrictions. “As ticketing companies, we all have a responsibility to the industry to offer fans a great level of service and make sure that a poor set of communications for a cancelled event or a delayed refund doesn’t put fans off buying tickets to their next event,” says Sabban.

That’s certainly the case at ground level, where K-pop specialist Belova reports agents have gone above and beyond, while, “Venues [have been] kind enough to propose mutually agreeable deals where penalties won’t be applied if acts wish to move dates again.”

Fighting Covid One area of co-operation and collaboration that often goes under the radar has been the effort that companies have put in to help fight the coronavirus.

The Ticket Factory, for example, tasked its tech team with devising a way of selling socially distanced events and methods to collect and manage track-and-trace data. Similarly, Total Ticketing has been working on real-name tick-

“The incredible demand we’ve seen for tickets to events of all kinds is proof that artists and fans alike are eager to get back to the magic of live. The endless creativity of artists, plus the true love fans have to see their favourite act live creates the perfect supply and demand synergy.

All signs point to a very busy summer season and a very busy 2021.

Australia’s management of the pandemic has already resulted in a return to live across several genres, with new initiatives such as socially distanced seating, entry rate monitoring and timed entry implemented through unprecedented industry collaboration.

Technology such as the SmartEvent suite allows us to be ready for any situation and to be flexible and adaptable as things change.

Every region will have its own unique path back to ‘normal,’ and happily, it’s not if

eting and ID/contact data capture for track and trace. “[We’ve been collaborating on] how to use our seating algorithms to handle reduced capacity and seating layout restrictions, and how to handle electronic health declarations ahead of the event and on arrival,” says Gordon.

IaBilet used the time to create social distancing tools to help ticket buyers and promoters, while it also published regular newsletters for the 1,000+ promoters it works with to inform them of new laws, ordinances, and government measures, related to ongoing Covid restrictions. “But the most important thing I think we did was the Client Service,” states Ionescu. “Our team managed to keep the industry on track, and we kept the fans informed, the promoters informed, the authorities informed. We didn’t get much sleep for three months, but hard work is no stranger to us, especially during these times.”

Festicket’s focus on how to help organisers get back to business includes developments in track-and-trace ticketing; unmanned self-service scanning terminals that allow fans to scan themselves into events, thus “improving audience flow

events will return, but when, with artists and fans eager to get back out and enjoy shows.

The ingenuity and resilience of the industry has been inspiring as we continue to navigate the path back to ‘business as usual.’

The creation of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF) and the tireless work of Live Performance Australia and the Australian Festivals Association are testament to the focussed industry co-operation and collaboration this year. Work with government to educate key stakeholders on the economic value of our industry has established relationships that will continue, ensuring a lasting and healthy future for the industry.

The ongoing partnership between the industry and state/federal governments is more important than ever to allow audiences back to venues with the CovidSafe Guidelines produced by LEIF in place for all operators in the sector.

The acceleration of the adoption of mobile (digital) tickets [will be] at the forefront of contact tracing compliance. Ticketmaster is leading the way and fans have come to expect the innovation and flexibility that Ticketmaster’s platform provides.

whilst reducing staff-to-fan contact points significantly”; and marketing cashless solutions that Sabban believes will be widely adopted in 2021.

“To make things even more Covid-secure, our egPay solution now offers mobile and self-service unmanned top-up stations in addition to a contactless system, allowing organisers who feel the move to a full RFID/NFC cashless system is not right for their event, to take offline contactless card and mobile payments. We’ve put a big emphasis on flexibility and ensuring we have solutions for all events and promoters,” adds Sabban.

Speaking on behalf of Live It, CEO Ward discloses that the company is launching an affiliate and promotion network. “We have developed an entirely new booking app and front end, and have support for socially distanced seating and dynamic planning for seated events in line with social distancing guidelines in different territories,” he says. “The Live It platform now has additional functionality allowing organisers to (optionally) require positive confirmation of vaccination or negative testing for attendees booking tickets and a process for managing the ▶ Magazine

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REPORT INTERNATIONAL TICKETING

“Big-scale ticketing is about trust. So when we start rebuilding, empathy will be our keyword in everything we do” Emil Ionescu | iaBilet

collection of proof of this.”

For its part, Platinumlist has developed an automatic seating-gap system, which Anatoly claims can maximise venue seating capacity while keeping groups of people safely separated. And 7,000 kilometres across the equator in South Africa, Evian says Howler created a Covid Screening Application that can pre-screen event goers for Covid symptoms in line with government regulations. “This is helping event organisers successfully host events amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Evian.

Lockdown Lessons Emil Ionescu at iaBilet believes empathy has been key over the last few months. “We learned you need a lot of empathy, understanding and patience in everything you do, especially in ticketing,” he says. “Empathy for the fan who spent his savings on a ticket and doesn’t know if his favourite band will play or where his money is; empathy for the promoter who needs information, a little pat on the back or a hug during hard times, and most importantly to know that his money – and future – are safe.

“Big-scale ticketing is about trust. So when we start rebuilding, 'empathy' will be our keyword in everything we do.”

Communication has been another key component during the pandemic, with a number of companies highlighting the importance of human contact. “We are proud that we managed to keep our phone lines open throughout lockdown, and that has been invaluable in providing comfort and support for our ticket-buying customers,” says Howle.

“All ticketing companies went into this pandemic not knowing how to deal with it, so we knew that having experienced staff on hand would be crucial,” says Casson. “Skiddle’s phone lines stayed open throughout the lockdown and we responded and solved thousands of enquiries

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TICKET INSURANCE The uncertainty that Covid-19 has imposed on the live entertainment industry could take a prolonged period before consumer confidence returns to previous levels, but that dilemma maybe a catalyst for growth for services that offer ticketing insurance coverage.

Ben Bray, development director of TicketPlan tells IQ, “We’ve worked hard over the past couple of months to widen the coverage we offer in relation to Covid-19 and other areas of the protection provided to ticket buyers. This enhances the value of TicketPlan to ticket buyers, which in turn leads to additional take-up and further revenue for our partner ticketing companies.”

Indeed, Bray explains that turbulent times have seen a surge of interest in TicketPlan’s services. “We have started to have conversations with organisations from a wider range of sectors, that may be selling tickets in advance for the first time, or at a more important scale than previously, and we have a number of

each week. There was, and still is, regular government updates regarding events, and it is our job to make sense of these, and provide guidance to customers and promoters as best we can.”

“The pandemic made us stop and really think about what we could offer to the industry,” recalls Festicket’s Zack Sabban, who cites the importance of agility, communication and resilience. And he notes there are definite avenues of opportunity, as a number of clients have spoken of desires to “streamline their ticketing, travel, access, marketing and onsite payment processes with one provider.”

DICE’s Tannen contends that the advent of pay-per-view concert broadcasting has been the biggest takeaway from 2020. “We’d never had a conversation about live-streaming until March,” says Tannen. “Now it’s a huge part of ours and our partners businesses. But the real lesson was the emotional engagement that a live-streaming concert can create, fans love live-streams, and they’re here to stay.”

Agreeing that live-streams will provide new revenue streams to the industry from now on, Sophie Belova cites the ability of the pandemic

ongoing enquiries and potential launches in the pipeline.

“I believe that ticket protection is now genuinely a customer expectation. We recently conducted some market research to get more detailed insight as to how ticket refund protection and insurance is perceived. One interesting response to come out of this research is that 74% of people surveyed would be more likely to purchase tickets from a ticket seller who offers ticket protection, than from a ticket vendor who does not. The market research also suggests that the majority of people have missed live events and are willing to return as soon as practical.”

He adds, “We will continue to work with our partner ticket sellers to provide their ticket buyers with as much confidence as possible to book tickets into 2021 and help them welcome fans back to live events as soon as is safe to do so. We, as an industry, will get through these difficult times together and as treatments and vaccines develop, and we learn to live alongside the virus more, we can hopefully all look to a brighter future.”

to level the playing field, fuelling one of the reasons behind her faith in K-pop. “You are never at the very top forever and even the biggest names are vulnerable as well,” she says. “Younger audiences will return first, so [promoters should] consider hip-hop, rap, K-pop as the top ticket sellers for 2021-22.”

Also concentrating on the paying public, Total Ticketing MD Gordon comments, “It’s been a challenging year for everyone in the industry, and remaining positive and supporting each other is critical. Customers have had a disappointing year too, so making sure they are looked after and know that they can buy from us with confidence is a key focus.”

Green Shoots of Optimism As 2020 clicks through its final days, unfortunately there is still no green light for mass gatherings to resume. However, with vaccines already being given to patients in a number of territories, there is at least a shaft of light, rumoured to be in the vicinity of the end of a tunnel.

REPORT INTERNATIONAL TICKETING

Indeed, some glass-half-full proponents are predicting that festivals may return to the northern hemisphere when the summer months roll around, although under questioning, uncertainty looms large when the subject of international artists is raised.

The ticketing community is similarly cautious.

“My personal view is that rapid mass testing is going to be key to the recovery of our sector,” states Howle. “Once that happens, then this industry will be back with a vengeance.

“The diaries are already packed for the second part of 2021 and for 2022, and I truly believe that after this year of lockdown and misery, the public are going to be craving the excitement and joy of live entertainment and will pack our arenas, theatres and stadia once more.”

Live It’s Ward observes, “The events sector is traditionally not as impacted by economic reces-

BRYAN PEREZ CEO, AXS Due to the shutdown, all of our events for 2020 have been cancelled or postponed, so sales figures are unavailable. However, advance sales for 2021 events have been strong, notably for UK festivals, which have exceeded their 2020 advance numbers.

Fans have been incredibly supportive and eager to hang on to their tickets in hopes of seeing their favourite artist when they are able to, with over 80% of them choosing to keep their tickets. AXS did not have a voucher programme, where refunds were available, they were all cash.

Dialogue throughout the industry has been very positive with all stakeholders – ticketing agencies, promoters, venues and agents all pulling in the same direction – to take care of the fans who need help in such difficult times, and to ensure a solid foundation and safety protocols for when the industry restarts. Fans have responded in kind with the vast majority of them electing to hold on to their tickets.

In many ways, the AXS platform already provided the flexibility to help our partners navigate the constantly changing

sion as many other sectors and whilst the global economy as a whole will recover slowly, events will see a V-shaped recovery as vaccination programmes allow the roll-back of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus.

“2021 is not going to see everything back to normal but the pent-up demand from people wishing to get back to a level of normal and the ingenuity of the sector is already providing opportunities for growth and expansion into new sectors. There will be casualties within the industry from organisations that are over extended or were performing poorly prior to the pandemic, but there will equally be businesses that thrive.”

In the southern hemisphere, Shia Evian at Howler tells IQ that 500-cap events are already reopening in South Africa. “We expect regulations on the large-scale events to be in place for another 6-9 months, and hopefully we’ll be back

situation. Things like forced socially distanced purchases, contact tracing, and contactless entry via identity-based digital tickets were all core features of the platform pre-pandemic. In addition, we have added safety protocol messaging and icons, and self-serve refund capabilities to further enhance event organisers’ ability to serve patrons better.

We always knew our people and culture were our greatest strength, and in times of crisis that assessment will be put to the test. There’s simply no time to change – it’s either part of your organisational fabric or not.

The commitment of our team to provide high-touch service and support to our clients in such an uncertain and rapidly changing environment has been truly amazing, and their creativity and resolve to find solutions to anything and everything has been the foundation of our efforts throughout the crisis.

It’s always darkest before the dawn, and while we are still largely shutdown as an industry, consumers continue to tell us they are eager and ready to get back to live events, and with recent progress on vaccines and treatments, we are very optimistic that things will get back on track during 2021, with 2022 likely being the best year the industry has ever seen.

to full force this time next year,” he predicts.

Anatoli forecasts a long road to recovery in the Gulf States, but says Platinumlist believes that autumn next year will start to hit 2019 sales levels.“We are selling a lot of events in December with even bigger plans in January and February, and I believe that by Q3 2021 the local market will recover back to its usual volumes.”

Sabban agrees. “From the event partners we work with who have launched 2021 on-sales over the past couple of months, it is clear that the demand from fans is huge,” he says. “We have no doubt that our industry will rebound and it’s highly likely that lots of new events will spring up once a return to some form of normality has arrived.”

Ahead of ‘normality,’ however, Sabban reveals that Festicket is working with event organisers to evaluate methods to introduce Covid-19 testing kits pre-event, as a possible additional entry requirement.

Internationally, positive vaccine trial results are undoubtedly buoying both fans and organisers, and from an Asian point of view, Pete Gordon says, “It’s clear that there’s huge demand from customers to continue to go out and have meaningful in-person experiences with their friends and other people. We see great uptake for each and every event that manages to go ahead, so as the world starts to recover and reopen, we believe that it will be a particularly fruitful period for the industry.”

And with a nod to the continued development of live-streaming, Gordon says, “If the parallel income streams being generated by remote events continue alongside that too, then we think the future is bright indeed.”

That’s music to the ears of DICE. “We’re now seeing how successfully live-streams and live events can work in tandem with hybrid events – where you have socially distant live events with the opportunity to live-stream to fans at home,” says Tannen. “We’re at the forefront of something genuinely innovative. We’ve only scratched the surface, but there’s so much the medium can offer artists, fans, venues and the industry.”

Ionescu concludes that the need for culture and human contact will ensure a healthy future for the ticketing sector. “The comeback will be atomic,” he proclaims. “I am an optimistic guy, I have faith in people and in this business, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it for more than half my life.

“Fans will realise after this big break how important culture, music, entertainment is for the soul and their mental development.”

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THE JEWEL OF THE MIDLANDS:

RESORTS WORLD ARENA @ 40!

As Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena reaches a milestone editor Gordon Masson talks to management, anniversary, clients, and admirers about the building’s rich history and the difference it has made to the UK’s venue circuit.

T

his month should have marked a huge party at Resorts World Arena as the iconic NEC Group venue chalked up its 40th birthday. While those celebrations were inevitably muted, given that 2020 has been the quietest in the building’s long history, IQ could not let the occasion pass without paying tribute to this pioneering arena.

Prior to 1980, there had not been many gigs at the National Exhibition Centre, which was opened by the Queen in 1976 as the largest exhibition space in the UK. However, as the fledgling live music business began to grow, promoters were eager to find suitable venues for shows by 70s superstar acts and, more by accident than design, the NEC’s halls started to prove popular for touring acts.

At that point, there were no major venues outside of London, where Earl’s Court and Wembley Arena hosted the larger touring acts, so it was a somewhat brave leap of faith that saw NEC’s hierarchy decide to add a seventh hall to the Solihull complex. And so it was, on 5 December 1980, that the Birmingham International Arena made its debut on the UK tour circuit.

And what a debut it was! “I was working with Harvey Goldsmith, and the first band to play the venue was Queen,” says Andrew Zweck of Sensi-

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ble Events. “This was the first new arena built in the UK in the 1970/80's [and] I’m very happy to say that it's gone from strength to strength, with lots of additions, improvements, and upgrades over the years, and is really a favourite venue for artists, promoters and, of course, fans.”

For his part, Harvey Goldsmith recalls that he first heard about the NEC in 1975 and used the complex a number of times prior to the arena’s construction.

“In 1977, Barry Cleverdon, who had become the MD of the NEC, phoned me and said that they were creating a venue in Hall 7 and could I bring a big artist to open the venue. So I brought the first of many major artists, Queen, to the venue.”

Goldsmith adds, “At first the venue was a bit rough and ready, but it had a great atmosphere thanks to the Brummie audience. [Prior to that] I had been producing a lot of concerts at Bingley Hall as that was the biggest space in the region, and The NEC was light relief compared to the cattle showroom.”

With a history with the arena that dates back to its opening, the list of artists that Goldsmith has taken to the venue is endless. “From The Who to New Kids On the Block to Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles; award shows like Smash Hits and the last show of the original Black Sab-

With its iconic tower, Resorts World Arena has helped transform Europe’s venue circuit over the past 40 years

bath,” he notes.

“It is now a great venue, with a fabulous team who run it. It all works – from the ticket selling to the car parks. We are lucky to have this well-run venue, and long may it continue,” adds Goldsmith.

Local Knowledge

Those early concerns about the height of the arena roof have, over time, become a selling point for the venue, as its design has helped to foster a reputation as one of the most intimate arena performance spaces in the world.

“In 1978, the NEC’s exhibition halls were used for a few shows before the arena opened, and that was the catalyst for the construction of the arena,” says Guy Dunstan, who is the current managing director of arenas for the NEC Group.

Resorts World Arena_Feature

“But when the arena opened, it retained the capability to be converted into an exhibition hall – so the seats could be removed, for example.

“The roof height of 12 metres helps retain an intimacy,” he continues, noting that the original design of the building tried to make the arena as audience-friendly as possible. “The building was initially a 12,300-capacity arena, and its design is iconic, as it is pillar-free to minimise sightline issues.

“Back then, the arena was a pioneering venue in the UK market. There were only really Earl’s Court and Wembley Arena, so the addition of the Birmingham International Arena in 1980 gave promoters the opportunity to start looking at bigger UK arena tours.”

As with many in the Resorts World Arena team, Dunstan is a local lad whose history with

the venue dates back a lot farther than 1996 when he joined NEC Group.

“I went to my first ever concert at the arena,” he tells IQ, confessing that he’s recently been able to use NEC archives to check the exact date.

“It was 18 December, 1984, it was a mate’s birthday and we went to see Howard Jones, who must have been big at the time because he played two dates. I was 13, and I remember we were dropped off at the arena by my mate’s dad and I was buzzing about going to my first gig.”

He continues, “I’d been to events at the NEC before that, as my parents took me to see the Harlem Globetrotters and we’d also been to showjumping events because my sister was into that. But my passion for concerts and live music all centres around the arena – I just never imagined that I’d end up running the place.”

Alan Goodman, general manager of arenas, started working with NEC Group in 1991, initially at sister venue, the NIA, in Birmingham city centre, and adding the NEC Arena to his remit later on. But he, too, has a longer history with the venue.

“My first concert was at the NEC Arena in 1986 – it was a show called Heartbeat 86, which was a charity gig to raise money for a children’s hospital. I remember that I sat under the same awful lighting rig that I was responsible for taking out in 2008.”

Growth & Improvement

Dunstan and his former boss, Phil Mead, have been instrumental in the venue’s development in recent years, starting with the expansion that Goodman hints at. ▶ Magazine

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LIVE MUSIC’S GLOBAL GATHERING REBOOTS TO A NEW VIRTUAL REALITY

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Resorts World Arena_Feature

Testimonials

The design of Birmingham International Arena was iconic, as it created a pillar-free auditorium for fans

“We first started looking at what we could do to transform the venue in 2007, when Phil Mead joined us,” says Dunstan. “At the time, there were lots of new, purpose-built venues opening up and the NEC Arena was showing its age, to the extent that the customer experience was not where we wanted it to be,” he admits.

“Our approach was to have a venue that was fit for purpose, and at the forefront of the arenas business worldwide, so we looked at different options and spoke to a number of architects about how we could achieve that. The ace up our sleeve was that we were able to create this unique arena environment because we have the Forum as an entrance area, which gave us 4,000 square metres of space to utilise as part of the rebuild, welcoming people from outside, where it can often be cold or wet, into this vibrant entrance atrium.”

Mead recalls, “When I had a look at the NEC Arena before I got the job, I could see it was crying out for refurbishment – there hadn’t been any significant investment for a long time.”

He, too, talks fondly of his long relationship with the venue, telling IQ, “I went to college in Staffordshire, so one of the first gigs I went to was when Bob Dylan played the arena in 1991. I was at the back of the arena where the seats levelled out, so it wasn’t a great view, but I took my chance to make my way down to near the stage to get closer to the action. It was a brilliant show and the whole arena atmosphere got to me. Little did I know that 25 years later I’d be writing to people to tell them about the importance of keeping the aisles clear.”

That initial experience was not too far from

his mind when it came to the expansion of a decade ago. “A lick of paint wasn’t going to be enough for the refurbishment, and I remember hiring a photographer in and instructing him to take bad photos, so we could use them in the presentation for our refurb proposals. Photographers don’t like to take bad photos, but we’d wheel bins into shot and things like that. Fortunately, the board bought into our proposals.”

The expansion programme proved a little more complicated than its then local authority owners simply signing a cheque. “The caveat was that they would provide us with the £29million [€32m] as long as we could underwrite the costs with a naming rights sponsor for the arena,” discloses Mead.

Dunstan is convinced that utilising the entrance atrium was crucial to attracting its first naming rights partners, electrical giants LG. “The Forum gave the sponsors the space and scope to integrate with us and make the new arena an exciting place to showcase the LG brand and their products. At one stage, LG built a cinema in the Forum to showcase their 3D television technology. But they also brought in gaming and mobile phone experiences, as well as all kinds of technology experiences – all of which helped make it an exciting place for visitors as well.”

“Getting LG on board was a milestone moment,” states Mead. “We wanted to reinstate the arena into the premier league of venues and gaining the support and enthusiasm of LG unlocked any concerns of the board, which gave us the money for the project.”

But that wasn’t the only constraint the NEC

With the 20th-year mark at the NEC fast approaching for Horse of the Year Show, there are so many moments that we proudly recollect as organisers.

We’ve cheered on Olympic heroes, been immersed in equestrian displays and held our breath for the next upand-coming superstar as they make their way around the arena.

As is the joy of events, it is a dynamic experience, no year is ever the same and the unexpected happens – it’s not at every show you hear, ‘Darth Vader is on the horse walk’, over the radio!

We’ve learnt that dragons can only let off so much smoke, carpeting can be laid by anyone and the NEC team can appear with thousands of carrier bags from nowhere. Most importantly, we know that the Arenas team at the NEC is happy to help, they will go above and beyond to deal with the random requests, the unexpected happenings and they are behind the event being a success as much as we are.

Emma Wardell, Grandstand Group I have been going the venue as a customer and promoter almost probably since it opened. From sitting on a freezing train platform after Elvis Costello played on 27 December 1980, refusing to watch UB40, but not realising there were no trains till the show had finished! day!

Taking my sister and cousin to see the Kids from Fame matinee show on New Year's Day, to getting a letter published in Sounds as I complained about the box office cashing my postal order and not posting my David Bowie tickets, only to find the tickets arrived the next day!

As a promoter, working in a venue you have grown up with is a real joy, as you get to go places where you never could before – watching Lynyrd Skynyrd literally blow Deep Purple off stage, with The Darkness opening the bill in 2003 and then returning to celebrate my 40th birthday at the venue with The Darkness headlining a sold-out show and singing Happy Birthday to me from the stage. Sometimes you can't make this stuff up!

Steve Homer, AEG Presents

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Feature_Resorts World Arena

Testimonials In December 2017, Phil Collins was scheduled to play at the then named Genting Arena and as always, we admitted our Amplify hospitality guests into the hospitality spaces slightly earlier than general doors at about 5:30pm. One of my duties was to escort any guests located in the Westside Restaurant around the forum area of the arena to the restaurant located on the other side. Just at the moment I was escorting a group of guests, Phil Collins himself burst into song from behind the secure curtained off arena bowl. His utterly amazing voice carried right the way through the venue and my party of guests were ecstatic to hear this and said it would be an everlasting memory.

Sally Walder, NEC Group It was the final concert of Black Sabbath’s The End Tour – back in their home city of Brum. It felt such a momentous occasion – national press outside the venue, a sold out crowd of fans from all over the globe desperate to see them… and there was me and some of the arena team stood backstage in front of Ozzy, Tony and Geezer, presenting them with some (extremely heavy) metal presentation plaques. It was a great moment, but in hindsight could have gone so wrong.

Had one of those plaques dropped on one of the band member’s feet… the end of The End would have been a little premature!

Becky Humphries, NEC Group In December 2010, when we first held the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, it really threw it down with snow on the day. We were on the verge of having to remove all of the rigging from the roof of the building as the total amount of weight including the snow could have potentially collapsed the roof.

Therefore, a group of us went up armed with brooms and shovels, cleared all the snow off the roof and turned the heating on full. Any further snow fall instantly melted and the show happened. Freezing cold outside – absolutely tropical inside.

Tony Hayes, NEC Group

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team had to contend with. “The key to the re- fans, knowing that audiences often do not take furbishment was that we kept the building open kindly to change. But they needn’t have worried.

Mead says, “We used a Tom Jones show for as much as possible throughout the construction project, which was a huge logistical task in it- our soft launch, then Green Day for the official opening. And we could immediately see that the self,” says Dunstan.

Mead agrees. “One issue with the project was Forum Live area was hugely popular and workthe speed that we had to do it, especially as we ing well, so it made the investment worthwhile.”

Dunstan adds, “When we reopened with wanted to stay open as much as possible while working on the construction,” he says. “When it Green Day, I walked in and checked to see what came to the refurb project, I think a bit of my the numbers were with the box office. Pretty Bob Dylan gig was still in me, because I made much the entire audience had already scanned sure the number of seats on the flat were re- in, but the building did not look full at all beduced, while others in the bowl were reconfig- cause of the space in the Forum that we had designed. And I have to say, it still looks as fresh ured to improve the sight lines.”

While enhancing the arena’s acoustic creden- and new now as it did then.”

Mead has nothing but fond memories of the tials was an uncontested element of the 2009 refurb, the prospect of changing the seating set-up accomplishments of 2009. “When it comes to my can prove to be a significant deterrent when it highlights of working at the arena, that first seacomes to enticing promoters and touring pro- son after the refurb is up there – Tom Jones, then ductions. But the architects were able to quickly Green Day, and then WWF – it was amazing to see the arena transformed,” he says. allay such fears.

Another seminal moment involved Prince “Looking at the arena bowl, it was crucially important for us to keep the capacity numbers and a last-minute deadline. “Prince was in the so we could remain viable,” says Dunstan. “But UK for a festival performance or something and the actual design we chose more than delivered, he decided he wanted to tag on an arena date because we were able to increase the capacity while he was here, so his appearance at the arena from 12,300 to 15,600 by redesigning the seating was put together in just three weeks, which must system, and instead of effectively having three have been the shortest lead time in the venue’s stands, we filled in the corners to create a true history,” says Mead. “That day I had a report to write for the board, but time just flew by, so I arena bowl.

“The design allowed us to increase the seat- found myself watching the show with my laptop ▶ ing, but also increase the width of the actual seats and give people more legroom. All in all, it “We were able to increase the capacity was great news for the fans, but from 12,300 to 15,600 by redesigning the also for agents, promoters and, of seating system, and instead of effectively course, the artists.” having three stands, we filled in the As with all major projects, corners to create a true arena bowl” management were understandably nervous about the reaction of Guy Dunstan | MD of arenas for the NEC Group

THE WORLD’S TOP PRODUCTION SPECIALISTS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS IN A DAY OF DISCUSSION AND NETWORKING

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Feature_Resorts World Arena

Testimonials I believe Kennedy Street promoted the second to last ever arena concert at one of the NEC halls, way back in 1979. It was a Boney M concert on 19 September 1979. At that time they had a string of top hit singles and it was a tremendous evening with all the crowd up on their feet singing along to hits such as Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl In The Ring, Ma Baker, Rasputin, Daddy Cool, Mary’s Boy Child etc. The ticket prices…. £6, £5 & £4.

Some years later, I was sitting in the arena’s promoters room on the last night of a Stevie Wonder tour, when I suddenly hear Stevie booming out ‘Danny Betesh where are you?’

Apparently he had called me up on stage to thank me and the Kennedy Street team for such an enjoyable and wonderful tour. So I rather sheepishly walked onto the stage, completely dazzled by spotlights while Stevie very graciously thanked us. Being onstage is not my thing!!!

Congratulations Resorts World Arena on your 40th Anniversary and here’s to many more great nights.

Danny Betesh, Kennedy Street.

Congratulations on the 40th Anniversary milestone… a huge achievement and I’m glad that we could be a part of the history and future of such an iconic venue.

I know we are very proud of our achievements over the years of presenting multiple brands and selling hundreds of thousands of tickets….the frenzy of High School Musical springs to mind and how we all had to work together to accommodate the demand as much as we could.

Overall, it’s the professionalism of you and your team, plus the personal relationships we have developed over the years that have made the experience a very enjoyable one.

Here’s to another 40 years!

Steven Armstrong, Feld Entertainment I have to say that consistently the NEC the staff have been some of the most helpful and cooperative for promoters in the whole country.

Andrew Zweck, Sensible Events

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on my knee, writing the report to the In 2009, electronics backing of Prince. And at the end of giant LG became the the show, one of the fans told me that arena’s first naming he’d been watching me and that he rights partner hoped it was going to be an amazing review!

“Another highlight was in 2016, when my wife insisted on going see Adele. Just seeing someone at the top of their game singing brilliantly for a couple of hours was fantastic. Same goes for George Michael with his orchestra, which was a standout moment, as was Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show, and the Sports Personality of the Year Awards.”

For his part, general manager Goodman tells IQ, “One of my personal highlights was when Jeff Lynn of ELO went back on the road – and that was the first time I’d seen him since my first ever gig at the Heartbeat 86 concert.”

Dunstan has too many highlights to mention, but he remembers a particular Spinal-Tap moment that speaks of the arena’s accessibility. “We had a big international band playing at the “We could immediately see that the arena, and that night I was observForum Live area was hugely popular ing the car park and traffic team, so and working well, so it made the I joined the marshals, etc, to see how investment worthwhile.” they ran things,” he relates.

Guy Dunstan | MD of NEC Group Arenas “At the end of the evening I had two choices: join the traffic team for the exit process for the fans; or the more appealing chance to join the getaway vehicle for the artists leaving the site as soon as created groundbreaking internal leadership they left the stage. strategies that will not only improve the efficien“So I was in the NEC traffic vehicle and the cy of the NEC going forward, but are having a band’s driver told me that they had a jet waiting domino effect on the greater UK production serfor them at Birmingham Airport. I asked where vices sector as a whole. they were going next and he laughed and said, Arenas GM Goodman says, “We’re unique ‘London’. It turns out they were flying to Luton in that we have our own in-house event servicAirport and had ignored their driver’s advice, so es team, who I see as being at the centre of an he dropped them off at Birmingham, then drove egg timer, taking all the outside information to Luton Airport and was there waiting for them and requirements from the promoters and tour when they got off the plane…” production and passing that on to our internal venue staff.

“For many years we’ve had our own rigging In-house Expertise As the jewel in the crown when it comes to ven- team, and we’ve been groundbreaking with our ues in the Midlands, Resorts World Arena pro- training programmes. Our apprenticeships, vides everyone who works there with a sense of which we have been championing for many years, are more formalised now. And during the justifiable local pride.

The redevelopment of the arena in 2009 past couple of years we’ve done the same with precipitated the council selling NEC Group to our electricians. The fact that we have our own Lloyds Development Capital in January 2015 for in-house teams gives us great control over the a whopping £307m (€337m). However, underlin- here and now.”

Those training schemes are beginning to ing the incumbent management’s impressive ongoing stewardship of the venues group, in benefit the UK’s touring circuit as a whole, as apOctober 2018, private equity investment firm, prentices move on to work at other venues. “All Blackstone, acquired NEC Group from Lloyds of our existing riggers are ex-trainees, which is fantastic, and it’s definitely something we want for a reported £800m (€877m).

In the meantime, the group’s hierarchy has to continue in the future,” states NEC Group ▶

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Feature_Resorts World Arena

The Genting Arena team present Black Sabbath with a special plaque to mark the final show of their farwell tour

Testimonials I have had many great experiences going to the NEC throughout the years and have had many successful shows in the venue, as well. I remember occasionally going there as a fan in the 80s as, being from Northern Ireland, there were many artists that did not come over in the times of The Troubles.

I have had several successful shows there – memorable shows include Scissor Sisters and another was 50 Cent many years ago, on his breaking album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ Steve Strange, X-ray Touring Resorts World Arena has had a tremendous impact both on Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. Not only is it a huge economic driver alongside the other parts of the NEC Group, helping to attract millions of people to our region each year, but it has also helped establish the West Midlands as a key player in the global live events sector. The last 40 years have been extremely successful and I have no doubt the next 40 will continue to build on that success.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands It has always been a pleasure to work there – the people that work there are always welcoming and helpful… They created the arena circuit as we know it today. The early days were the most exciting – seeing the faces of Alison Moyet or Paul Young when they first walked in there and saw the size of it.

We all now take it in our stride, but if you got to play the NEC you had made it!

John Giddings, Solo Agency

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head of rigging, Paul Rowlands, who tells IQ he has been working at the arena since 1991. “In those days, from a rigging perspective, a heavy show was 12 tonnes. Now we’re in excess of 80 tonnes for the larger shows, and that’s a real challenge for an older venue.”

Goodman adds, “When you see the way tours have developed, there are periods of the year when we have back-to-back shows and the way we deliver them is just an amazing achievement.

That wouldn’t be the case if we hadn’t spent the time and effort into developing our teams.”

As his job involves working at height, Rowlands is all too familiar with the Resorts World Arena roof and reports that at one time it was a haven where George Michael liked to sunbathe.

“We also used to have our snow patrol to shovel snow off the roof when we had to, but thankfully that’s now done with the flick of a switch,” he says.

But the roof remains something of a hindrance for Rowlands and his team, so he is happier than most about the prospects of the next arena construction scheme. “The arena was never designed for the loads it’s asked to take these days, so we have a lot to do in the next expansion project,” he says.

Britain’s Biggest Arena?

Not content with running one of the world’s most popular venues, the Resorts World Arena recently revealed plans that could transform the building into the biggest arena in the UK. “Everybody knows everybody in the arenas business, so we’ve been incorporating and learning from the lessons of everyone else in terms of what works and what doesn’t at arenas around the world, as well as what promoters expect and what they are – and are not – prepared to pay for,” says Rowlands. “Using that information has allowed us to come up with a venue redesign that will make the Resorts World Arena the most flexible venue in the country.”

Rowlands tells IQ that he is familiar with a lot of venues around the world, while the Resorts World Arena’s location next to Birmingham Airport has meant that the venue has been used

for more than its fair share of arena association meetings over the years – giving him and the NEC Group team an advantage when it comes to developing facilities and services.

“We have a system that will effectively be designed by other venue operators, based on their problems,” explains Rowlands. “For instance, I opened an arena in Hong Kong once and it was an incredible building, but what they overlooked was that the loading doors faced the South China Sea, so when shows were loading in and out, things would blow everywhere. Those are the kinds of lessons you learn from others when planning construction.”

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has placed all construction plans on hold for the time being.

“Our plan is to take the capacity up to 21,600,” explains Dunstan. “We’d achieve that by putting an additional tier on the existing facility and raising the roof. That will also allow us to strengthen the roof so it’s better equipped to handle future productions. Again, the idea would be to keep the arena open as much as possible during the expansion project.

“We’ve got the planning consent but because of Covid the project is now on hold,” he continues. “We were due to start the project in May or June 2020, but we’ve decided to pause it for the time being. We need to get back into the recovery of the business before we re-evaluate the market to see where we are.”

Commonwealth Hub

There’s no time to grieve over the paused expansion plans, however, as the NEC Group is being kept busy by the surprise selection of Birmingham as the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

On hand to assist in that regard is none other than Phil Mead, who has taken on the role of Commonwealth Games delivery chairman – a position that is close to his heart, as he was a contestant in the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, where he represented the Isle of Man at badminton. “I remember winning the first point at doubles when we played the Malaysians, who were the world champions. That was sort of the highlight,” he laughs.

Mead says that six sports will be hosted at NEC Group facilities, which will also be home to the international broadcast centre. But the fact that the Resorts World Arena is involved at all is a surprise.

“We originally were working on a bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which in theory, would have coincided with the opening of the high-speed rail link adjacent to the NEC complex,” says Mead. “Durban had won the bid for 2022, but when the organising committee visited the city, they found that a lot of the requirements had not been met, so they decided a new

Resorts World Arena_Feature

Testimonials Our adventures with the NEC started very much as it launched, and it has always been the most welcoming venue, with fantastic management teams – currently under the splendid guidance of Paul Thandi and Guy Dunstan (with so many amazing team players who are too numerous to mention in this short note), the future is secure!

We have been privileged to present many wonderful events throughout these decades, including Spice Girls, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Pink, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Cher, George Michael, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion, Janet Jackson, Sade, Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Garth Brooks, Rod Stewart, Eurythmics, Eagles, JeanMichel Jarre, Backstreet Boys, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice… Fantastic memories for a wonderful venue that set the standard for so many other arenas to follow. Happy Birthday, NEC! Barrie, Jenny, Doris, and all the Marshall Arts Family

host city was needed. One of the reasons Birmingham was chosen was that 90% of the venues were already in situ, and the city has hosted lots of international sports events over the years.”

Mead reveals that the whole NEC team is

Plans to raise the roof and extend the arena capacity to 21,600 have already been approved by the local authorities

working on the Games preparation, as the complex will be central to the gathering. “We’re going to have netball in the arena, which is great because England will be one of the favourites,” he says. “Weightlifting, powerlifting, table tennis, boxing and badminton will be in the NEC halls, while the city-centre arena will host the gymnastics.”

That’s not the only major event in the calendar for Resorts World Arena in the near future.

Dunstan states, “The next expansion was to coincide with the opening of the high-speed rail line to London. […] There are also ambitious office, retail, and residential projects planned nearby, so there are a number of exciting opportunities for the NEC Group, and Resorts World Arena in particular, during the next decade.”

Already enhancing the arena’s pulling power is Resorts World, which is adjacent to the venue and has proved to be a tremendous asset for the entire NEC campus with its retail outlets, restaurants, hotel, and casino.

40 Years at the Top

As the Resorts World Arena team prepare for a return to live events in 2021, the NEC has been playing a major role in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, being the location for the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham, and cementing itself even deeper in the hearts of the local population.

The arena’s reputation is no less embedded among artists and their crews. “The NEC Arena, or Resorts World Arena as it is now, is iconic, and anyone touring around the world would recognise the building from a photo,” comments Rowlands. He adds, “My highlights of working here are constant: they’re basically the challenges we have to meet and find solutions for all the time, because

the arena was not designed for the size of shows we now have visiting. It’s all about problem solving – how can we make the next production work?”

Those challenges will undoubtedly change when the venue goes through its next redevelopment stage, possibly as early as 2023, paving the way for a new generation of artists and state-ofthe-art productions to herald the next 40 years of success at the arena.

Dunstan concludes, “There are members of the team who were not even born when the arena opened, so it makes me feel really old that the venue is now 40.

“There are a slew of new venues due to make their debut in the next few years – in Newcastle, Cardiff, and Manchester, for example – so it’s up to us that we put the work in to ensure that Resorts World Arena remains as relevant in the next 40 years as it has in its first 40.”

RESORTS WORLD ARENA TIMELINE 1979 Construction begins in April 1980 Building opens as 12,300-capacity Birmingham International Arena 1983 Venue changes name to NEC Arena 2008 Work begins on £29m redevelopment 2009 Venue reopens as LG Arena with an extended 15,600-capacity 2015 Venue is renamed Genting Arena 2018 Name changes to Resorts World Arena 2020 Planning permission is given for expansion to 21,600-capacity

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COVID: NEW YEAR, NEW KIT

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A number of vaccines to thwart Covid-19 are on the horizon, but with the programmes of immunisation expected to take the best part of a year, live events will still need special kit and systems to operate, well into 2021.

Lisa Henderson looks at some of the latest products and services available to venues and event organisers‌

Covid Kit_Feature

SAFEWATCH

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vents industry web portal and mobile app specialists VenuIQ has recently released SafeWatch, a wearable device and monitoring solution designed to assist event organisers in creating safe, socially distanced spaces for attendees of exhibitions, conferences, venues, and membership groups.

The SafeWatch is a fully rechargeable, wearable device providing rapid location tracking and heat-map technology, which ensures organisers have a clear view of who is where at an event, as well as numbers per room. This allows action to be quickly taken to avoid potential crowding situations that may compromise current health and safety requirements.

SafeWatch will also automatically remind attendees when they are within two metres of each other with a gentle nudge by emitting light flashes and vibrations. This also allows organisers to offer a robust track-and-trace facility, providing comfort to delegates, and compliance for local regulations. SafeWatch watches are rechargeable and can be safely disinfected between use. Rental prices start from ÂŁ4 each per event and can be sourced from VenuIQ. venu-iq.com â–ś Magazine

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ANYBRAND

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uring the spring lockdown AnyBrand introduced HeiQ Viroblock, a Swiss textile technology that is added to fabric during the final stage of the textile manufacturing process.

The new treatment, which AnyBrand says is scientifically proven to be effective against the virus that causes Covid-19, has been used on face coverings – which are fully brandable – and surface coatings. According to AnyBrand, tests showed its treated face coverings to be 20 times more effective than untreated products, protecting the wearer and those around them.

While the HeiQ surface coating is aimed at keeping venues clean with an antiseptic application effective against the virus, when applied to surfaces from door handles, bars and seats, AnyBrand claims that the coating lasts two months and removes the need for expensive, recurrent deep cleaning.

“We have spent months having conversations about getting back to business safely, with trade associations and leading organisations, spanning music, venues, sports, conferences, and exhibitions,” says AnyBrand co-founder Colin Graham.

“With vaccines set to ease and remove lockdown measures, preparations to re-open doors safely can begin. We hope the ‘One Industry One Voice’ campaign can galvanise the industry and the government to create safe pathways, with new products and procedures, such as ours, being part of a holistic approach (with testing for example) to effective risk management. We’re ready to be part of reopening venues and stadia safely, with scalable, cost-effective products and support.” anybrandmask.com

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ONEPLAN

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vent-site-planning platform, OnePlan, has unveiled a suite of social distancing tools and calculators built in collaboration with crowd management experts that help venues and events respond to Covid. Used by festivals worldwide, including Glastonbury, as well as sports teams in the Premier League, NBA, and MLB, OnePlan enables festival producers to instantly assess capacity, queueing and space requirements to ensure safe and successful events.

Its Crowd Spacing Calculator measures any area with a set distance between each person, providing data to inform risk assessments and suggestions for site design. While the Arrival Calculator works out the wait time and physical space required to manage queues, based on a predicted attendee arrival profile, and the Exit Calculator estimates the duration of egress based on the number of exits, their widths, and number of people.

The company has also just announced the launch of its 3D and 3D+ platform, with realistic views of how an event would look in any scenario. It's set to reduce the need for site visits, with partners and stakeholders able to collaborate in real time, plotting how all aspects of their event will actually look. oneplanevents.com

SWALLOW EVENTS S

wallow Events is offering MHRA- and CE-approved 15-minute (99.68% specificity), pop-up testing facilities conducted by government-approved healthcare professionals on

any size and scale, therefore enabling large-scale gatherings to be held in a Covid secure environment. The company also offers a supply-only option and ships worldwide.

Swallow Events also offers a full-consultancy service, covering critical information and advice to enable events in all sectors to open safely and compliantly. The company says its consultancy service is in line with UK Government guidelines from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and also in conjunction with any local authority restrictions and necessary health and safety precautions.

“Our rapid testing kits used in conjunction with track-and-trace data-collection, and other Covid secure protocols will help event organisers in all sectors from large-scale festivals, concerts, stadia, business conferences and trade shows through to agricultural shows and small boutique festivals,” says Oli Thomas, founder and MD of Swallow Events.

“Our mission is to support and lobby for events of all nature, working in close conjunction with local authorities and ultimately enabling organisers to open in a safe, responsible and Covid-secure environment.” swallowevents.com/covid19-testing-and-compliance ▶ Magazine

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TERRAPLAS

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ith increasing news of viable Covid-19 vaccines, there’s hope on the horizon for a return to some kind of normality in the sports and entertainment industries.

Turf protection company Terraplas admits that while there is “no magic wand” that can be waved to get spectators and fans back in stadiums, there are measures that can be put in place to facilitate this.

The company has designed a number of health-and-safety compatible and financially viable products to meet Covid-19 requirements and help stadiums welcome fans back.

TerraPOD aims to remove the cattle-market appearance of group social distancing and maximise stadium concert attendance in a safe environment.

The modular design means the PODs are simple to store and construct, are easy to clean and

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sanitise, (manufactured from HDPE with clear perspex viewing panels) and offer an ideal showcase for sponsorship opportunities.

TerraPOD is designed to be assembled in blocks of six – allowing around 420 PODs per standard-sized stadium pitch, which will provide additional revenue to the organisers through the rental of the PODs to concertgoers. This makes events that utilise pitch space for patrons, financially viable.

In conjunction with a stadium app, the PODs can further facilitate social distancing and eliminate the need for unnecessary movement around the facility, with food and beverages delivered to the POD. However, when it is necessary to leave the POD, for example to use the toilets, the four-metre-wide walkways ensure that social distancing is maintained.

Terraplas is also offering an all-in-one virus

defence station for spectator arrival at the facility. TerraSAN is a sanitising mist gateway with built-in temperature gauge that tests each patron’s temperature before they walk through the motion-activated, LED-lit, multi-nozzle misting decontamination unit.

With terraSAN units at all entry points, and each unit processing up to 700 people per hour, facilities and venues can deliver safe access for patrons, marshals, concessionaires, employees and others. Organisers can also use terraSAN units in conjunction with a timed ticketing solution that will enable streamlined entry into the facility.

Terraplas hopes that terraPOD combined with terraSAN will facilitate stadiums to take the necessary steps to open up for large-scale populated events in a clear, safe way, sooner rather than later. terraplas.com ▶

Covid Kit_Feature

VIRTUAL CROWD

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aunched by Fireplay, in partnership with Production Resource Group and Clair Global, Virtual Crowd is a customisable and scalable multimedia technology that allows artists, speakers, and performers to interact with their fans, employees, or clients in real time with “minimal latency,� the company claims.

Last month, Metallica used the technology to interact with their fans around the world during their performances for the Helping Hands Concert & Auction charity event. The band rocked out while surrounded by walls of video screens displaying faces of their fans, some of whom the band engaged with during breaks in the music using Interview Mode.

Interview Mode allows the client or production team to choose one or two guests and interact with them directly. The company imagines this facilitating an interaction between a fan and a performer, a journalist asking a question at a digital press conference, a remote emcee, or a speaker stepping up to deliver a keynote at a virtual conference. Another feature of Virtual Crowd is Moderation Mode, which ensures that moderators have full control over who participates in the event, as well as how they interact. fireplay.com

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GSUV UV AIR

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oldensea UV, a manufacturer of UV-C disinfection products, has released a new AIR range designed to cleanse the air of bacteria and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

The Air range employs multi-stage filtration technology that combats the virus in an aerosolised form. Circulating air is taken in and purified before being returned to the room, with tests showing that 99.9% of viruses are inactivated after just one pass through the UV AIR unit, which can be used continuously, even whilst events are taking place. Products can be either ceiling or wall mounted for upper air purification, or freestanding for convenience.

The AIR range consists of three models, all of which use Philips UVC lamp tubes – the only lamps certified as effective against Covid-19.

UVAIR 72 is a compact and stylish mobile model suitable for medium-sized spaces up to 300m³. The UVAIR 216 is designed for disinfecting spaces up to 800m³ and is wheeled for easy transportation. Whilst the UVAIR 300-F is designed for permanent installations in spaces up to 1,000m³. Its features include high-volume air exchange, variable settings, and three-stage filtration. It can be wall or ceiling mounted. All products are CE, ETL and FCC compliant and listed. Goldensea UV is manufactured by industry leading, hi-tech lighting design and manufacturer Golden Sea Professional. goldenseauv.eu

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Covid Kit_Feature

RESYSTEN

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ungarian start-up Resysten is manufacturing an anti-microbial coating that kills harmful pathogens (including the new coronavirus) on any surface, with an effectiveness of 99.9% and a lasting effect of up to one year, according to the company.

Photocatalytic coating means that the sprayed solution, upon contact with light (whether natural or artificial), produces hydrogen peroxide, which prevents the presence of pathogens on any surface. It takes under a minute to monitor the presence of activity on a surface.

As a non-biocide solution, it allows surfaces to be cleaned without the product being wiped off.

According to Resysten, its effectiveness has been backed up by public and private sector clients in its native Hungary through extensive testing, including Budapest’s International Airport, the city’s public transport network and the country’s own public health system.

The coating is also used in restaurants, shop outlets, shopping malls, offices and many more.

Clients include Philip Morris, T-Mobile, Metro Stores, Audi and Vt-Arriva. The company says it recently quoted a low-cost airline where the cost worked out at nine cents per passenger.

The coating was developed in response to the SARS epidemic of 2003 as a way to combat hospital acquired infections (HAIs). resysten.hu/

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Your Shout As there was no Isle of Wight Festival, I joined the Heavy Metal Truants bike ride, which they normally do to Download. I was determined to beat Rod Smallwood, on the road and in donations, so I cycled 677 miles in 12 days and came fifth, raising £20,000 for their charities and winning a bottle of Lemmy’s rum.

I was stopped by the police at 5.30am for jumping a red light in Richmond – there wasn’t a car within two miles…

Anyway – it was good to do something constructive and to help other people instead of eating and drinking (I did that too). It is a great idea and we should steal it for our festival!

John Giddings | Solo Agency

TOP SHOUT

We were blessed with not one but two new grandchildren this year – one from each of our daughters – named Ethan and Ollia.

And I’ve found an interest away from the live music business by doing an online Oxford University course in politics. A long-overdue attempt to make up for my last visit to university many years ago, which was spent getting stoned and going to gigs.

Mike Donovan | MD Tour Accounting

Gideon Karting | Mojo Concerts

Cycling and cooking for the family have kept me sane this year. I’ve done over 10,000 km, with 125 km of climbing on the bike. Maintaining a schedule beyond Zoom calls is essential for wellbeing.

Work-wise, it’s felt like live [music] more than proved its worth; pulling together the live industry and achieving some notable wins with UK Government. Hats off to all involved.

Rob Challice | Paradigm

What’s the most positive aspect you can take from 2020?

I started painting again and ended up with an expo at the biggest venues in Holland – Ziggo Dome and Rotterdam Ahoy – via 360-degree stream, a walkthrough, AR and video. This is happening online only on Friday, 18 December (Rotterdam) and Saturday, 19 December (Amsterdam).

Gideon Karting with a selection of his exhibition artwork

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Your Shout

Christian Doll with C2 Concerts mascot Roxy

That pandemic, with its necessity for social distancing helped to build a stronger bond, a common spirit and identity between the members of my team at C2 Concerts, as well as in my family.

Speaking of which, I took the opportunity to get a puppy a month ago – Labrador Roxy is now the new company mascot, as well as the absolute favourite of all my staff members.

So if there is anything positive from Covid-19, it is the extra time we were able to spend at home, and now together with Roxy of Dollywood.

Christian Doll | C2 Concerts I was able to do a camping trip in the middle of the summer season, which was pretty amazing. Foraging also became a thing from October to November, when normally I’m flying or travelling here and there for touring season in the fall…

Oh, and we welcomed the gift of a beautiful granddaughter, Melody, into our family.

Sharon Richardson | K2 As a “mature” father (59 years old!), I spent a lot of wonderful time with my young daughter, who is now 19 months old, and my family became much closer than they would have been in normal times.

I have tried to learn Mandarin Chinese for quite a long time, but being busy I never studied enough to master it. Since lockdown, I’ve been studying 1-2 hours a day; since then my Mandarin has improved a lot. I might say that !

Corrado Canonici | World Touring Exhibitions

Jan Quiel and neighbour Marcus at their purpose-built Christmas bar

My proudest achievement this year was finishing a book of 400 photos (mostly by yours truly) documenting the route (countryside, villages, historical sites, and waterways) of the projected Kanal Istanbul, which we are doing what we can to oppose. With luck, Istanbul Municipality (also against the project) will shortly publish the book.

Nick Hobbs | Charmenko 2020 gave me the opportunity to take a step back and launch myself into new parts of the industry. From starting Coldpress, my label and publishing company, which was a childhood dream, to immersing myself in the tech space and trying to find new ways and models we can make our beloved live industry better in the future. I also got to welcome my little niece this year, which was a bonus and great surprise. Now to bring her to some shows!

Mike Malak | Paradigm/Coldpress My most positive experience this year has been launching TEG MJR Éire together with Martin Nolan (we are learning a lot from Richard Buck and his incredible team.) Working on exciting projects every day, for legendary artists like Snoop Dogg and the next generation of icons like Versatile and JyellowL, makes it easy to keep the fire lit.

Julian O’Brien | TEG MJR Éire I have been volunteering at a community park every Tuesday for three months. It really has got me through, sometimes, and I’ve met a whole bunch of people who I would never have met.

I hope to keep doing it when the world starts turning again, so I will be unavailable Tuesday mornings going forward.

Andrew Leighton-Pope | LPO I started woodworking. I drew the office space and built it myself from scratch. I found all of this very calming considering the effect of the lockdown.

Lefa Tsiane | production co-ordinator I started to discover the beauty of my own country, Austria, enjoying skiing and hiking in the mountains, as well as the beautiful lakes. And I went sailing a lot, in Spain as well as Croatia.

I also spent lots of time with my family, practised piano, and read the books of Yuval Noah Harari, which I can enthusiastically recommend to our free spirited community. I also engaged in Rotary, which gives me an opportunity to give back.

And last but not least, cooking. Since Anna Kallina, our chief executive, turned vegan, we all sort of joined in and the GLP lunches went more and more in a vegan direction.

Georg Leitner | Georg Leitner Productions Spending so much extra time with the kids and my wife this year was definitely something I won’t forget about 2020. Working on our online festival, Wacken World Wide, was another great new and exciting experience. And me and my neighbour, Marcus, built our own private Christmas bar in his backyard – if you can’t go to the glühwein, the glühwein has to come to you!

Jan Quiel | Wacken Open Air Magazine

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