Index In Brief

IN BRIEFINDEX

The concert business digest

APRIL

Hamburg’s Barclaycard Arena prepares to open its doors for the first time in a year to host the Restart concert series, organised by Hamburg Concerts.

The US Small Business Administration is forced to close the portal for Shuttered Venue Operating Grants before a single application is received.

AmazeVR, the LA-based startup, raises $9.5m (€7.9m) in new funding to accelerate the company’s growth in the world of virtual reality concerts.

Brussels venue KVS plans to open its doors on 26 April, defying current restrictions, in a bid to increase pressure on the Belgian government to reopen the cultural sector.

Frontier Touring announces the second edition of Music from the Home Front, a special Anzac Day concert spearheaded by the late Australian industry icon Michael Gudinski.

Live Nation and Veeps equip more than 60 venues around the US with a permanent live-streaming set-up. Working guidance for UK festival organisers is updated to provide “support and strategic direction” in the planning of events ahead of the ERP.

Fieldlab’s largest test event yet, the 10,000-capacity 538 Koningsdag festival in the Netherlands, receives more than a million applications.

Finland’s 2021 festival season shrinks dramatically with the cancellations of major festivals such as Ruisrock, Ilosaarirock, Provinssirock, and Sideways.

Switzerland’s cultural industry welcomes the federal government’s decision to allow audiences at concerts again amid a wider rollback of restrictions.

iconic UK venue, Forum Birmingham, which previously welcomed artists ranging from Bob Marley to Ed Sheeran is set to open its doors for the first time in a decade.

The organisers of a surprise AJ Tracey gig are fined £10,000 (€11,503) after huge crowds gathered in a park in Manchester to see the rapper perform.

Denmark’s Smash!Bang!Pow! hires one of the country’s most experienced concert promoters, Xenia Grigat.

Norway’s biggest rock and metal festival, Tons of Rock, is the first major Norwegian festival to cancel its 2021 edition.

Ken Watts, a much-loved tour director for the likes of George Michael, Duran Duran, Natalie Imbruglia, Bond, Blues Brothers, Jamiroquai and Duran Duran, passes away.

Fieldlab, the Dutch initiative behind the Back to Live series, receives permission from the government to scale-up its forthcoming test events.

Dutch DJ Don Diablo sells what is thought to be the first-ever fulllength concert NFT (non-fungible token) for cryptocurrency to the value of $1.2million (€1m).

Stagehand’s Covid-19 relief fund is bolstered by a £75,000 (€11,000) donation from PPL, the UK’s music licensing company for performers and recording rights holders.

Ten historic independent venues in the US, as well as NIVA, will benefit from more than $200,000 (€165,343) raised through a ‘golden ticket’ NFT fundraiser. ASM Global signs on to comanage operations, run the commercialisation, and oversee the development of a new entertainment and sports arena in Cantù, Italy.

Sefton Park in Liverpool will host a new music festival, simply called the Sefton Park Pilot, as part of the British government-backed Events Research Programme.

5B Artists and Media, the international music management company that is home to hard rock/metal acts, hires artist manager James Vitalo.

Color Sound, the long-running Italian booking agency, sells a “significant stake” in the company to Milan-based record label and music distributor Artist First.

Live Nation Spain president Pino Sagliocco galvanises celebrities for a benefit campaign supporting the music industry.

Fieldlab’s 10,000-person test event, 538 Koningsdag, is cancelled by local authorities.

FKP Scorpio joins forces with Berlin-based booking agency Area One to form new agency business FKP Area One.

The Canadian government reserves up to CA$50m (€33m) in the newly announced budget to help the live music sector weather the pandemic during 2021 and 2022.

The UK live industry writes to the prime minister asking for a ring-fenced portion of the Culture Recovery Fund to create a new contingency fund for live events.

British concert promoter Joff Hall joins Kilimanjaro Live, becoming the London-based live music firm’s latest hire, after four years with TEG MJR.

Senbla, the Sony-backed promoter and producer based in the UK, acquires a majority stake in live music and production business GEA Live.

Lukiškės Prison, an early 20thcentury former jail in central Vilnius, will be turned into a versatile entertainment and arts venue.

ATC Live, the UK booking agency, welcomes agent David ‘Skully’ Sullivan-Kaplan into the fold.

The Republic of Ireland finally outlaws the reselling of tickets to large events such as festivals or concerts at above face value (see page 10).

The Scottish live industry dubs the government’s roadmap out of lockdown ‘meaningless’ and ‘vague’ for the return of live entertainment. Casey Wasserman announces the launch of Wasserman Music, the new booking agency formed following the completion of its acquisition of Paradigm’s North American live music business.

The Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) announces the launch of a special GEI Summer Edition taking place on 16 September 2021.

Live Nation Entertainment announces the launch of new guidance that will help artists and their teams develop sustainable tours after live music returns.

The 2021 Brit Awards ceremony will go ahead with a live audience of 4,000 people, as part of the UK government’s Events Research Programme.

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group announces the reopening of four of its most popular shows, which have been closed for more than a year.

Moment House, the LA-based live-streaming platform backed by the likes of Scooter Braun, Troy Carter and Jared Leto, makes seven new hires.

Earth Day marks the culmination of a week of action aimed at raising awareness and securing support for the global movement for environmental protection. Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment (LIVE) appoints Chris Carey to the role of chief economist.

Live music, entertainment, exhibitions, events, and indoor sports associations and businesses pledge their support for Covidstatus certification.

Driift, the UK-based concert live-streaming company, hires Sasha Duncan, formerly of BBC television, as head of production.

Climate Live, a youth-led global environmental campaign, announces a 24-hour concert live-stream.

Midnight Mango, the UK booking agency, announces the hiring of four booking agents as part of its agent freelancer platform.

An Italian court rejects an appeal by Viagogo against a €3.7m fine for hosting listings for tickets sold in contravention of Italian law (see page 10).

Barcelona city council announces half a million euros’ worth of subsidies for large-format concerts in the city this summer.

Richard Young, the well-liked British production manager known for his work with Radiohead and Adele, passes aged 47.

NITO partners with companies across the live music sector for Vax4Live, a campaign aimed at countering misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines. IQ announces the launch of the Recovery Sessions, a new monthly series of half-day webinars that will keep the live music industry updated about the international roadmap to reopening.

Danish festivals with more than 10,000 participants should not go ahead as usual, according to the government’s advisory expert group.

Brussels venue KVS holds the first-ever Belgian test event.

Festivals per la Cultura Segura announces that its recent 5,000-capacity pilot concert in Barcelona on 27 March had no impact on Covid-19 transmission among attendees (see page 9).

CTS Eventim launches its face-value ticket resale platform, fanSALE, in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Greek festivals are in fight-or-flight mode as the summer season draws closer and uncertainty about Covid restrictions looms.

The Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Relief Grant finally reopens, more than two weeks after its failure to launch.

United Independent Music Agencies, the association of Dutch booking agencies, releases a green rider for artists wishing to tour sustainably.