Live music will continue its more than decade-long boom through 2023, though a streaming-reinvigorated recorded sector is nipping at its heels, finds PwC's Outlook 2019
The value of ticket sales for live music events will exceed US$25 billion for the first time in 2023 – with total industry revenues set to reach a record $31.5m the same year, reveal the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) figures.
The Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019–2023, the just-released...
Posted on: 26/09/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
As the ticketing sector continues its march towards consolidation, IQ explores the impact of some of the most critical deals
The past 12 months have seen big-money deals by global firms who have been expanding their reach through buying up existing companies.
Eventim's major expansion into the €800 million French live music market will see it establish a joint venture with the retailer by the end of 2019. Under the proposed new structure, Eventim would acquire 48% of France...
Posted on: 26/09/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
In the second panel of the International Festival Forum 2019, Mojo's Kim Bloem led a discussion on the often thorny politics around festival billing.
"The discussion about festival billing is becoming more and more unreasonable. Today we'd like to start a healthy and productive discussion."
That's how panel chair Kim Bloem, of the Netherlands' Mojo Concerts, opened the second session of IFF 2019, which dealt with the thorny subject of the ordering of festival bills. Joining Bloem...
Posted on: 26/09/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
As Electronic Nation's Creamfields festival prepares for its 15th edition at its home in Cheshire, organisers announce major investment in the festival site
The team behind electronic music event Creamfields has announced a £2 million overhaul of the brand's flagship festival in Cheshire, north England.
Creamfields, which began as a one-day dance music event in 1998, is now a 70,000-capacity, four-day camping festival that takes place every August bank holiday weekend.
The...
Posted on: 26/09/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) is pushing forward with its commitment to boosting the live events in the country, forming partnerships with event producers and creating "seasons" dedicated to different kinds of entertainment activities.
The GEA recently launched its own website, calling for applications from event organisers and potential partners ahead of the upcoming Riyadh Season, which is considered the biggest entertainment event in the country's capital. The...
Posted on: 29/08/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Bring the Soul: The Movie, the latest film by K-pop superstars BTS, broke the admissions and box-office records for an 'event cinema' release, the band's label, Big Hit, and the film's distributor, Trafalgar Releasing, have announced.
Bring the Soul, which opened in a record 112 countries on 7 August, gained 2.55 million admissions across 5,000 cinemas, for a global box-office take of over $24m.
Bring the Soul: The Movie, which finds BTS at the end of their Love Yourself tour of...
Posted on: 29/08/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
UK-based environmental organisations have urged for a deposit scheme to be implemented on festival camping tickets, with funds returned to those who take their tents home.
Clean Up Britain called for a £25 "tent tax" to be paid by all those bringing a tent to a festival, with founder John Read stating it was "very sad to see so many tents abandoned" this summer.
It is estimated that 250,000 tents are left at UK music festivals each year, resulting in almost 900 tonnes of...
Posted on: 29/08/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed award-winning singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam, commonly known by the stage name Cat Stevens and later Yusuf, for representation in all areas.
The singer joins the UTA roster, which includes artists such as Craig David, Mariah Carey, Ringo Starr and Pink Floyd. Yusuf continues to be managed by Yoriyos Adamos at Catch Bull Management.
Making his debut in the mid-1960s, Yusuf is best known for songs such as 'Peace Train', 'Moonshadow' and 'Morning...
Posted on: 29/08/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Double Grammy winner Dua Lipa and her father complete the gender-balanced conference programme, alongside Steve Lamacq, the Brits and 30+ speakers.
Organisers of the inaugural Futures Forum – the one-day event for young live music professionals which takes place as part of this year's International Live Music Conference (ILMC) – have announced double Grammy-winning pop sensation Dua Lipa as this year's keynote interview.
The Futures Forum Keynote: Dugi & Dua Lipa...
Posted on: 14/02/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The underground live music scene in Barcelona will receive protection from the council under the new "live culture spaces" category.
The Barcelona City Council has announced the creation of the Espais de cultura viva (live culture spaces) venue classification to protect its small live music venues, allowing flexible capacity limits and relaxing sound restrictions.
The council has finalised work on the category, which applies to spaces with a capacity of up to 150 people that host...
Posted on: 14/02/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Spike in sales for songs performed at 2019 Grammy Awards by Lady Gaga, Kacey Musgraves, Bradi Carlile, H.E.R. and Dolly Parton.
Songs performed at Saturday's 61st Grammy Awards by Lady Gaga, Kacey Musgraves, Bradi Carlile, H.E.R. and others, collectively contributed to a 480% increase in digital download sales, according to Nielsen Music.
The songs performed at the awards ceremony, including H.E.R.'s 'Hard Place' (up 102,000%), Kacey Musgraves' 'Rainbow' (up 9,430%), Brandi Carlile's...
Posted on: 14/02/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
London could be getting not one but two new classical concert venues, if the Wimbledon Concert Hall becomes reality.
Renowned architect Frank Gehry has begun drawing up plans for the Wimbledon Concert Hall, a 1,250-seat classical concert venue envisioned for the south-west London suburb.
Early designs have been prepared by Gehry – whose previous designs include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles – on behalf of Anthony Wilkinson,...
Posted on: 14/02/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
European venues are invited to apply to become aspiring members of the Liveurope network, which supports venues booking emerging, European artists
Music venue platform Liveurope is calling for aspiring memberships, with applications open to eligible European venues wishing to join the network. From the applications, one venue will be selected to join the platform.
Launched in 2014, Liveurope is an initiative supporting venues in their efforts to promote emerging, non-national,...
Posted on: 14/02/2019 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
As AEG abandons its O2–Staples Center block booking, both it and Sharon Osbourne – whose husband, Ozzy, sued over the policy – are celebrating
Lawyers for Ozzy Osbourne have agreed to drop their lawsuit against AEG after the US venues giant ended its 'Staples Center Commitment' tying booking between Staples Center in LA and the O2 in London.
The long-running 'booking war' between AEG and Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) reached its conclusion earlier this month...
Posted on: 27/09/2018 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The $3.5bn deal sees SiriusXM – majority owned by Liberty Media, whose CEO Greg Maffei is LN's chairman – become the "world's largest audio entertainment company"
SiriusXM has created the "world's largest audio entertainment company" by acquiring internet radio/streaming service Pandora Media, the US satellite radio giant said today, in news that is likely to reignite speculation about a potential merger with Live Nation.
The acquisition – an all-stock deal worth...
Posted on: 27/09/2018 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
NEC Group's Birmingham arena will be renamed after the shopping centre over the road this December
The UK's NEC Group has announced the rebranding of Genting Arena to Resorts World Arena, aligning its branding with the shopping and entertainment centre opposite the venue.
Genting UK, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Group, has held the title sponsorship of the 15,700-capacity venue since January 2015, and will continue to do so under the new name. Resorts World Birmingham...
Posted on: 27/09/2018 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The international music publishers' association has welcomed John Phelan, formerly of IFPI, as its new director-general
The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) appointed John Phelan as director-general, effective 1 October. He succeeds Coco Carmona.
The announcement was made public during ICMP's Central and Eastern European Music Publishers' Congress in Bucharest.
Irishman Phelan comes to ICMP with a background encompassing law, conservatoire training and several...
Posted on: 27/09/2018 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The regulator has ruled Live Nation will still face "sufficient competition" in the UK festival market following its acquisition of John Giddings' Isle of Wight Festival.
The Consumer and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Live Nation's acquisition of a majority stake in Isle of Wight Festival, finding the deal does "not raise competition concerns" and that British consumers will "continue to be able to choose between festivals owned by Live Nation and a variety of competing festivals".
Posted on: 14/09/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
TickX co-founder Steve Pearce says Spain presents the "ideal location" for country #3 for the innovative UK-based ticket search engine.
UK-based ticket search engine TickX today launched a localised website for the Spanish market, TickX.es, in partnership with the country's biggest ticket sellers.
"We're really pleased with TickX's growth since we appeared on BBC's Dragons' Den," explains CEO Steve Pearce. "We have secured funding from incredible investors, expanded our team and...
Posted on: 14/09/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The courier company is now AEG's official logistics partner, adding to deals with Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra and iEC's Stones retrospective Exhibitionism.
Courier service DHL Express has agreed a three-year deal with AEG to become official logistics partner to a number of its venues, including The O2 in London.
DHL – a division of Deutsche Post, the world's largest parcel company – inked the new partnership on the roof of The O2, the world's busiest venue, yesterday,...
Posted on: 14/09/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The UK capital is by far Europe's biggest city for live music, IQ can reveal—with what mayor Sadiq Khan calls its "world-class" venues hosting 19,940 shows in 2016 alone.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has hailed the UK capital's "world-class arenas" and "amazing grassroots music venues", as it emerges London hosted the most concerts of any city in Europe last year – a feat it is on course to repeat in 2017.
There were 19,940 total live music events in London in 2016...
Posted on: 14/09/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The inaugural Spanish edition of the famed rock/metal festival was welcomed by a community 'crying out for an event of this magnitude in the capital', says LN Spain.
More than 100,000 people attended last weekend's inaugural Download Madrid, exceeding the expectations of Live Nation Spain and cementing the event as one of Spain's "rock and metal festivals of reference", says the promoter.
Read...
Posted on: 28/06/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
A record-high 21m people tuned into BBC Music's coverage of Glastonbury 2017, with Ed Sheeran's set also achieving record viewership for a BBC Glasto programme.
The BBC's 21st year covering Glastonbury Festival was also most successful, the corporation announced today, with BBC Music's television and online coverage of the event reaching a record audience of almost 21 million.
Read...
Posted on: 28/06/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
A storm on Thursday notwithstanding, Mother Nature was kinder to FKP's twin festivals this year, with 138,000 people lapping up the German sun.
FKP Scorpio founder Folkert Koopmans has hailed the success of this year's Hurricane and Southside festivals, which last weekend made a triumphant, (mostly) sunny return after a disastrous 2016.
Posted on: 28/06/2017 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Con artists have been posing as venue staff to trick National Theater and Concert Hall customers to hand over their bank details
The National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) in Taipei – Asia's oldest purpose-built music/performing arts venue – has warned customers against disclosing their personal information after scammers targeted those who'd used its online booking system.
Posted on: 27/09/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Electric Zoo: Countdown Shanghai, the franchise's first festival in China, will attract "world-class artists and performers" to Expo Park this November
Electric Zoo, Made Event's New York EDM festival, is following Electric Daisy Carnival to mainland Asia with the launch of its first event in China.
Electric Zoo: Countdown Shanghai, which takes place on 12 November at Shanghai Expo Park, will be produced in partnership with Shanghai-based distribution/promotion outfit Kanjian....
Posted on: 27/09/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Scala, Jamboree and the Hackney Empire were among the London venues which observed a minute's silence at 17 September's demonstration in support of Passing Clouds
Some 30 London music venues fell silent at midnight on Saturday 17/Sunday 18 September to protest against the closing by property developers of Dalston venue Passing Clouds.
Venues including the Hackney Empire (1,275-cap.), Scala (1,145-cap.), Rich Mix (main room 350-cap.), Dalston Superstore (220-cap.), Jamboree (120-cap.)...
Posted on: 27/09/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
CITES, which regulates the movement of instruments constructed from threatened species, is hurting touring artists, says Pearle* and others
The Pearle* and six other music industry bodies have called for a revision of CITES resolution 16.8 – the regulations covering the cross-border movement of musical instruments made with endangered flora or fauna – stating they are currently "deeply concerned about the difficulties encountered by the professionals we represent when they...
Posted on: 27/09/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
A replacement for the 81-year-old Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens will be part-bankrolled by property mogul Norman Springford.
Edinburgh may soon have a new outdoor concert venue after city councillors agreed to partner with property tycoon Norman Springford to push for a replacement for the ageing Ross Bandstand.
City of Edinburgh Council leader Andrew Burns says that while the 2,000-capacity Ross Bandstand (or Theatre), which was built in 1935 and stands in Princes Street...
Posted on: 07/04/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
The Performance Fund, backed by the PRS for Music Foundation, Wigwam Acoustics and the Musicians' Union, will offer the chance to win a 1D-worthy audio system.
The PRS for Music Foundation, a charitable foundation run by the UK's Performing Rights Society (PRS for Music), has announced The Performance Fund, the latest iteration of its Flash Funding initiative.
In association with sound company Wigwam Acoustics and the Musicians' Union, The Performance Fund will give touring artists...
Posted on: 07/04/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Kelly Bryan sold tickets to up to 100 people for a concert that didn't exist
A New Jersey woman has pled guilty to 'third-degree theft by deception' after being caught selling tickets to a non-existent Sheryl Crow concert.
Burlington Township resident Kelly Bryan admitted the charge at Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly yesterday. The Burlington County Times reports that Bryan faces up to five years of probation when she is sentenced on 14 June, and will also have to pay...
Posted on: 07/04/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine
Promoter Michael Dorf raised $45,000 from live-streaming The Music of David Bowie, which included performances by Blondie, Pixies, The Flaming Lips and Michael Stipe.
Last week's David Bowie tribute concerts in New York were live-streamed by 32,000 people worldwide.
The two The Music of David Bowie gigs, at Carnegie Hall on Thursday 31 March and Radio City Music Hall the following night, could be streamed live over Skype for a recommended minimum donation of US$20 or £15 to...
Posted on: 07/04/2016 Categories: News from IQ Magazine