IN BRIEF INDEX The concert business digest
FEBRUARY Russian regions, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk, are the first to remove restrictions and allow venues to host concerts at 100% occupancy. Health experts in Germany create a set of guidelines to enable the gradual return of audiences to cultural and sporting events. UK festivals including Reading and Leeds, Slam Dunk, Black Deer and Wide Awake plot comebacks as optimism grows. Matt Bates, director of Primary Talent International, is named head of international and head of Europe for ICM Partners. Roqu Group CEO details Health Passport Worldwide, a secure platform that combines mobile technologies with official Covid-19 tests and vaccinations. Dutch DJ Luuk van Dijk is announced as the first-ever DJ to play a live set in Hotel Hideaway, the virtual hangout from the makers of Habbo. Canadian venues, festivals and other live music organisations adopt the Safe Travels stamp, a mark that their events meet certain safety and hygiene standards.
6
iq-mag.net
Michael Rapino predicts a huge 2022 as shares in Live Nation Entertainment reach an all-time high of $91.18 (€71.45). Australian singer-songwriter Tash Sultana promotes their newly released album Terra Firma with a new Fortnite map based on its cover art. Reading Festival, Creamfields and Boomtown in the UK sell out their 2021 editions.
2021 event, cancelling its planned 20th-anniversary celebration for a second year in a row. The premier of Victoria, the home state of Michael Gudinski, announces they will hold a state funeral for the late promoter. UTA acquires Obi Asika’s Londonbased Echo Location Talent Agency.
MARCH
Event Management Forum condemns the German government for its phased reopening strategy, which offers ‘no perspective for the event industry.’
Jools Holland, Sir Cliff Richard and Robert Plant are among those that call for a governmentbacked insurance scheme for live entertainment in the UK.
Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon says he will wait as long as possible to make a decision on whether domestic festivals can take place this summer.
Festival Republic confirms the cancellation of Download Festival 2021.
Live Nation Concerts promotes Amanda Moore to lead the residency business for Live Nation Las Vegas.
Michael Gudinski, founder of Frontier Touring, and one of the best-known figures in the Australian concert business, passes aged 68.
The Beat Goes Live, a 48-hour livestreaming event, unites many of the world’s leading electronic music venues in support of the industry.
AEG joins forces with Japan’s Avex Entertainment to launch AEGX, a joint venture that aims to create new opportunities in both the Japanese and global live music markets.
Leading European cashless payment companies Weezevent, based in Dijon, and Playpass, headquartered in Antwerp, merge.
Primavera Sound calls time on its
Spanish indie-pop band Love of Lesbian announce a non-socially
distanced show for 5,000 fans at Barcelona’s Palau St Jordi arena. Oak View Group appoints three women to senior marketing, sales and partnership roles at Co-op Live, the upcoming arena in Manchester, UK. Thousands of Dutch residents take part in the latest Back to Live test events in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000). Claire Mas, the former head of digital for Island Records, joins UK-based live-streaming business Driift as chief operating officer. Dutch rock band Di-rect sells more than 14,000 tickets for their latest concert live stream, held at the Omniversum cinema in The Hague. Love Supreme Jazz Festival (UK), the largest greenfield jazz, funk and soul festival in Europe, announces its debut Japanese edition for May. Denmark’s ‘restart team’ submits a catalogue of recommendations on the reopening of the cultural and sports sectors to the ministry of culture. Italy’s music industry is allocated €50million by the government following ‘The Last Concert?’ (L’ultimo Concerto?) campaign.
