Audience issue 217

For the International Contemporary Live Music Industry ISSUE 217 FEBRUARY 2018 UK £6.25 EUROPE €9.40 ROW $12.25

The perfect medicine First Aid Kit ready for festivals

Ticketmaster under scrutiny German market drops 7 million sales Bankrupt Sillerman faces new claims

There’s always a particular excitement with bringing an established artiste over here for the first time Split Works Archie Hamilton in China

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Essential reading for live music industry professionals across more than 80 countries worldwide

Perspective

Contents

42

6-20 World News Industry news from around the globe

24-28 Feature: ILMC at 30 The story behind the music industry conference from those behind it and those who attend

32 Industry Events 34-42 Feature: Free-thinking mavericks

How Coda Agency founder Rob Challice created one of the world’s top booking agencies

44-48 Market Focus: China

50

Review of a touring market for international artistes

52 City Focus: Miami, United States 55-56 Production News

Developments in live show equipment and infrastructure

58-65 Tour Plans Artistes, tour periods, agents

66 Festival News International festival activity

66 Political Debate Ends in Confusion The trials and tribulations of tour manager Terry Tucker and his crew ublisher & Managing Editor: Stephen Parker P

News Editor: Neil Bracegirdle

Editorial Contributors:

Europe Christopher Barrett, Johnny Black, Mike Gartside

USA/Canada Jane Cohen, Bob Grossweiner

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Sales Executives: Craig Swan,Jason Scott, Tom Brint

Research Assistants: Sean O’Connor, Tom Phillips

Administrative Manager: Laura Matthews Re-subscriptions Manager: Laurie Burgess

Credit Control: Murali Sri Balaskanda

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Advertising: Gareth Ospina, Craig Swan,

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52 Jason Scott, Tom Brint T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 gareth@audience.uk.com craig@audience.uk.com jason@audience.uk.com tomb@audience.uk.com

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Cover photograph: © REX/Shutterstock Design: Imogen Chester

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Altruism is not one of the best-known characteristics of the live music industry.

Of course there are charitable events, cycle marathons and wealthy artistes (and others) raising money for good causes, but most effort goes into surviving and trying to achieve often fluid business goals.

Thirty years ago, not too many would subscribe to devoting large amounts of time for the greater good of a global industry that largely worked in isolation.

And thus it came to pass that one fellow, already incumbered with several international artistes to book and a company to run, decided, along with a handful of associates, that agents and promoters (especially the latter) might benefit from meeting each other.

It was only going to be one meeting, so nothing too much to worry about – a few invitations, a hotel bar and that would be it. Martin Hopewell certainly didn’t expect a queue outside the London hotel for what became the first International Live Music Conference. It wasn’t even a conference, just a get-together.

Those who attended thought another would be a good idea, so Hopewell obliged the following year, roping in Primary Talent staff to pull it together. Even more attended and it’s now a successful business under different management.

Hopewell’s intentions were certainly altruistic, as there was no sign of potential financial gain for very many years. The industry owes him a debt of gratitude, marked by our feature on pages 24-28 of this issue.

ISSUE 217: February 2018 AUDIENCE is published monthly from the UK by: Audience Media Ltd, 26 Dorset Street, London W1U 8AP, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 F: +44 (0)20 7486 2002 info@audience.uk.com www.audience.uk.com The opinion expressed by contributors to this publication are not always a reflection of the opinions or the policy of the publishers. Information on services or products contained within editorial sections does not imply recommendation by AUDIENCE. No responsibility can be accepted for errors or omissions. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form without the written authority of Audience Media Ltd.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

6 • World News

Rising ticket prices cited in 7.1 million fall in sales GERMANY

A

RISE IN ticket prices played a significant role in helping the country’s live events sector generate revenue of €4.99 billion ($6.1bn) between 2016 and 2017.

However the number of tickets sold has dropped by 7.1 million, according to a new survey.

The revenue figure represents an increase of 31 per cent, compared to the last time a similar survey was carried out in 2013, when total sales reached €3.822bn ($4.68bn).

Concerts accounted for 73 per cent of overall events, up from 70 per cent in 2013, turnover rose to €3.66bn ($4.48bn) compared to €2.76bn ($3.38bn).

The study, concerning the period between 1 July 2016 and 30 June last year, was conducted by consumer research body GfK on behalf of promoters and events association Bundesverband der Veranstaltungswirtschaft (BDV).

But the total number of tickets sold was down by 7.1m, from 120.6 million in 2013, to 113.5m in the

latest period. The drop must give this some was mitigated by a 39 thought. The higher per cent rise in averprices mean many peoage ticket prices, from ple can only afford to €31.70 ($38.8) to €44.04 attend one big concert ($53.9). a year or not at all.”

“The study demonThe survey also strates that the sales showed that the numgrowth is largely due ber of events people to increased ticket attended rose, from 3.7 prices and a higher visit Jens Michow to four. frequency, and not inThe study shows the creasing visitor numbers,” says BDV event industry is now the biggest president Prof Jens Michow. entertainment sector in the country, “Artistes and event organisers having overtaken the book market.

Class action lawsuit follows watchdog’s investigation CANADA

T

HE COMPETITION Bureau Canada (CBC) is taking action against Ticketmaster (TM) and Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) for allegedly making misleading claims to consumers when advertising prices for entertainment and sports tickets.

A CBC investigation concluded that TM’s advertised prices are “deceptive” because consumers must then pay additional fees that are added later in the process, a practice known as drip-pricing.

It also said that TM’s mandatory fees often inflate the advertised ticket price by more than 20 per cent and, in some cases, by over 65 per cent. Fees imposed by TM vary by ticket and include service fees, facility charges and order costs.

“We are filing an application with the Tribunal to stop Ticketmaster from making deceptive claims to consumers, having called on ticket vendors to review their marketing practices last July,” says CBC commissioner John Pecman.

“Together, these actions send a strong signal to online retailers - consumers must have confidence that advertised prices are the ones they will pay.”

In a statement TM says, “We remain committed to getting tickets into the hands of AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

fans and have long practiced transparency to enable informed purchasing decisions.

Ticketmaster continues to work closely with Provincial governments to enhance consumer protection and provide the best ticketing experience for fans.”

Meanwhile, Merchant Law Group (MLG) has launched a national class action lawsuit against TM and LNE over their marketing practices and booking fees, seeking “compensation and repayment to affected Canadian residents for all improperly collected fees, due to drip pricing techniques”.

MLG’s Tony Merchant QC, the lawyer for plaintiff Michael Lindenbach, tells Audience, “What these companies do is take advantage of their customers and they also know that tickets are resold through them at higher prices, and they profit.

“They encourage it and permit it. Often by official or unofficial arrangement, they get large blocks to scalpers and companies like it. This is because scalpers support the image that tickets sell-out immediately and scalpers carry some of the risk, but usually no risk and it’s a simple way to dispose of all of the tickets and then they’re out of that concert.”

Merchant says there are currently 476 in the class action, but he expects thousands more to join.

AEG expands in France “I’m confident we can do some excellent work with EG PRESENTS, the live di- both international and French vision of US venue opera- artistes as the new office gets tor AEG, has opened an office underway.” in Paris to expand its interest AEG has a stake in the in the market.

19,000-capacity Accors Hotel The office will Arena in Paris and be led by Arnaud partnered with Meersseman, who media investment joined promoter group LNEI last Miala - a subsidiyear to acquire ary of financial Rock En Seine services company (30,000) festival.

Fimalac – in Sep“The live music tember 2016 (see Arnaud Meersseman scene in France is Audience issue incredibly vibrant 200). He was previand one we very ously a booker at much admire,” national promoter says Homer. “In Nous Productions, Arnaud we have and has worked a highly experiwith acts including enced leader and Lana Del Ray, Kenlook forward to drick Lamar and Steve Homer achieving great Major Lazer. things together.”

Meersseman will report to Meanwhile in the US, AEG co-CEO’s of AEG Presents’ Lon- Facilities has increased its don office, Steve Homer and East Coast presence with the Toby Leighton-Pope. opening of a New York office “I have always considered headed by Richard Krezwick, AEG to be best in class in de- who will relocate from AEG’s veloping venues and festivals London office where he overthat meet the needs of today’s saw European arena and staconsumers,” says Meersseman. dium operations.

FRANCE

A

www.audience.uk.com

World News • 7

Sillerman’s promises bite back UNITED STATES

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OBERT FX Sillerman – the financier who changed the shape of the live music business in the late-‘90s and created what became Live Nation – is fighting yet another civil court case, despite having filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and again in February 2018.

Two Chicago concert promoters, React Presents and Clubtix, filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition against Sillerman in Manhattan Bankruptcy Court. They had won a judgment against Sillerman over a promissory note he guaranteed on behalf of his second EDM-focussed incarnation of SFX Entertainment and are trying to get paid.

In 2014 SFX acquired React Presents and Clubtix from Jeffery Callahan and Lucas King, and part of the payment was a

$10 million promissory note. and into Europe, Sillerman built In another lawsuit in 2016, the first SFX Entertainment and ESFX Holdings LLC asked a New promptly sold it to radio station York state judge to issue an or- and billboards giant Clear Chander permitting the forced sale of nel Entertainment for $4.4bn in a property owned by Sillerman 2000 (see Audience issues 1 and and his wife in 3). Five years Manhattan, to later, after fursatisfy a $14.6m ther acquisitions judgment it obhe renamed tained followClear Channel ing default on Entertainment, another promisand it was spunsory. off as promoter Sillerman Live Nation asked the with debts of court to disaround $750m. miss the case Robert FX Sillerman Sillerman and said the filtried the foring was an attempt to pres- mula again with EDM festivals sure him by threatening him as his target sector, but failed and his wife with the loss of to sufficiently understand the their home. sector and came seriously In a remarkably bold $1.3 unstuck. What was left of his billion, three-year acquisition SFX Entertainment ll is now binge across North America called LiveStyle.

Ready for anything WORLD

Rapper settles $10m dispute with insurer USA/EUROPE

A

$10 MILLION lawsuit between Kanye West and insurance underwriter Lloyd’s of London over cancelled tour dates, has been settled out of court.

West and his company Very Good Touring filed a complaint against Lloyd’s claiming it had withheld payments, following the cancellation of 21 concerts on his Saint Pablo tour (see Audience issue 211). The artiste pulled the shows in November 2016 after falling ill, and spent eight days in a psychiatric centre in Los Angeles.

Lloyd’s then launched a countersuit alleging West had been using marijuana and had “irregularities” in his medical history. The company said the reasons for the cancellations were not beyond West’s control and related to alcohol and drug use, which breached a clause in the contract.

Both parties have now agreed to settle the lawsuit with a Lloyd’s spokesman saying the issue had been “amicably resolved”, with each paying their own fees and costs.

Music, Film & TV PRODUCTION

FACILITIES

F

IRST AID Kit, consisting of Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg, are following up the release of their album Ruins with dates across Canada, the US, Europe and Australia.

The album marks a key point in the career COVER ARTISTE of the band, which began performing live 10 years ago, when the siblings were still at school.

They had attracted attention in their homeland with a cover of Fleet Foxes Tiger Mountain Peasant Song on Youtube.

With singles It’s a Shame and Postcard charting around the world, the band have forthcoming shows at venues such as the UK’s Roundhouse (cap. 3,100) in London, the Netherlands’ Paradiso (1,500) in Amsterdam, Australia’s Byron Bay’s Bluesfest (20,000) and US festival Coachella (125,000) in California.

“First Aid Kit appeal to everyone, from all walks of life, with all loves for music,” says their international agent Natasha Bent of Coda Agency in the UK. “Their live show is spirited, fun and the songs are stunningly crafted and beautiful. There is nothing and no one like them. Watch them headline more and more festivals.”

Laura Haber at Ciulla Management in the UK manages the band.

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8 • World News

Venue war escalates with MSGC London arena plan UNITED KINGDOM

F

OLLOWING THE revelation several weeks ago in our sister publication LIVE UK that New York’s Madison Square Garden Company (MSGC) was planning to develop a state-of-the-art arena in London, the company has made an announcement.

MSGC says the sphere-shaped music venue, to be located close to London Stadium (cap. 80,000) in the east of the city, would be similar to the MSG Sphere planned for Las Vegas, which will have a capacity of 18,000 seated and 5,000 standing. No capacity has yet been suggested for the London venue.

The project would be MSGC’s first venture outside the US and put the new arena in direct competition with arch rival AEG’s The O2 (cap. 21,000), also situated in East London, and The SSE Arena – Wembley (12,750), which AEG manages.

The two companies are already locked in an on-

going slanging match over their respective arenas in New York and Los Angeles (see Audience issue 210), where each is trying to restrict artistes to their own venues in each city.

“We believe that a large-scale, nextgeneration venue will not only become a premier destination, but also drive growth in London’s overall music and entertainment market - benefiting artistes and fans,” says MSG’s executive chairman and CEO James Dolan.

MSGC bought the five-acre London site from shopping centre operator Westfield for £60 million ($83.7m) last year. A spokeswoman for the London Legacy Development Corporation, the planning authority responsible for the area, tells Audience it is aware of the project, but a planning application is yet to be submitted.

Construction of the Las Vegas venue is expected

Artist’s impression of MSG Sphere

to begin this summer and be completed in 2020.

The arena is a joint project between the MSGC and Las Vegas Sands. Also involved are Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) and Oak View Group, owned by artiste manager and former LNE chairman Irving Azoff and former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke.

Venues operated by MSGC include New York’s Madison Square Garden (19,000) and The Forum (17,500) Los Angeles.

Government considers outright ban of resale AUSTRALIA

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HE GOVERNMENT is looking at a range of options to deal with problems associated with the secondary ticketing market, including a nationwide ban on resale.

As part of consultation paper Ticket Reselling in Australia, officials have asked for feedback and submissions from interested parties.

Five options are under consideration in the fight against the use of

ticket-harvesting software (bots), increasing cases of fraud and touting in general.

These include, keeping the status quo, with increased consumer education, a national prohibition on ticket reselling, an improved information disclosure arrangement for ticket sellers and a complete ban on the use of ticket-buying bots.

“While we are still working to properly address these problems, Australians can be assured that we will do

all that is necessary to protect them from any unfair or unscrupulous practices,” says the Government’s assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar.

The document highlights that consumers are often unaware they are using a secondary site and end-up paying inflated prices, even though face-value tickets are still available.

It cited a search for Ed Sheeran’s upcoming tour produced links to resale platforms Viagogo and StubHub as the top results, despite Ticketek

and Ticketmaster being the authorised sellers.

A study by consumer group Choice last year reported 79 per cent of 1,051 people surveyed believed they were using an official seller when on a resale site (see Audience issue 212).

In the face of widespread resale problems, the Government’s of Victoria and New South Wales both introduced a price cap of no more than 10 per cent of face-value on resold tickets, last year.

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World News • 9

Di and Gi acquired by CTS to organise Europe-wide concert tours,” says Galli. “The interests of artistes will reFTER 30 years as an independent con- main the centre of focus for everything cert and festival promoter D’Alessandro we do.” e Galli (Di and Gi) has been acquired by Since launching in 1987, Di and Gi has German pan-European ticketing giant promoted shows by Adele, Elton John, JenCTS Eventim. nifer Lopez and Paul Simon. It also organises CTS has struck a deal to buy a 60 per Lucca Summer Festival (cap. 50,000), which cent stake in the promoter, with found- featured the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams ers Mimmo D’Alessandro and and Green Day last year.

Adolfo Galli continuing to run “With TicketOne, we the business. have been the leading It is the third such deal in Italy ticketing provider in Italy in six months, with the company for more than 10 years,” acquiring a 51 per cent share in says CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Milan-based promoter Vertigo Schulenberg. “Now we last September (see Audience have progressed, within a issue 212) and a 60 per stake Klaus-Peter Schulenberg very short period, to bein Friend’s and Partners two come the market leader in months later. the live entertainment segment as well.”

CTS already owns one of the country’s Forthcoming Di and Gi shows includleading ticketing companies, TicketOne. ing Tears for Fears at Mediolanum Forum “This provides us with access to the (11,000) in Milan, Bod Dylan at Auditorium resources of a global player that not Parco della Musica (2,800) in Rome and Katy only has the most sophisticated ticket- Perry at Unipol Arena (18,000) in Casalecing platform in the world, but is also able chio Di Reno.

ITALY

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Adolfo Galli and Mimmo D’Alessandro

NEWSBITE UK The manager of Ed Sheeran, Stuart Camp, has left Rocket Music to run his own management company. Camp will operate as Grumpy Old Management, which had been running as a joint venture with Elton John-owned Rocket for three years. Sheeran will continue to be managed by Camp, who signed him in 2011 after joining Rocket four years earlier. “Rocket was a great home to me for 10 years,” says Camp. “With invaluable support and care from Elton and everyone there, which I will always be grateful for.”

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AUDIENCE • Issue 216 • January 2018

10 • World News

Google resale restrictions come into force WORLD

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EASURES TO stop the public being deceived and exploited by secondary ticketing sites have now been introduced by search engine Google.

Revealed in November, the restrictions (see Audience issue 215) aim to improve the transparency of resale sites such as Viagogo, eBay-owned StubHub and Ticketmaster’s Adam Webb Seatwave and Get Me In, They include resale companies requiring to be certified with Google before using its AdWords function, which allows them to pay to top its search listings.

In order to be eligible for the certificate, secondary platforms must state at the top of its webpage that

they are not the primary seller of tickets or in any way imply that they are, inform customers that prices may be higher than face-value, and include a breakdown of booking fees and taxes before payment is taken.

“When people use our platform to purchase tickets, we need to make sure that they have an experience they can trust,” says Google spokesman Elijah Lawal. “We think that event ticket resellers that agree to these new transparency requirements will provide a better and safer user experience on our platform.”

Secondary sites have regularly come in for criticism on the pages of Audience in recent years for misleading fans, listing tickets at vastly inflated prices, ignoring restrictions

that invalid tickets and pressuring people to buy.

Although resale companies are complying with the new rules on their websites, the paid advertising on Google by Viagogo, Get Me In and StubHub still fails to clarify they are resellers.

“In their online advertising, the largest resale sites still fail to make clear that they are secondary platforms, listing second-hand tickets,” says Adam Webb campaign manager of UK-based FanFair Alliance.

“Given their continued prominence on search pages, the implication remains that these are authorised primary sellers or official sites.”

From March, Google will also require resale sites to clearly display a ticket’s face value.

Meanwhile the UK Government has announced new guidelines as

part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to protect customers from ticket touts.

As well as listing the location of seats, original ticket price and any restrictions, including whether identification is required for entry, resale sites will have to supply a unique ticket number (UTN) if it has been specified by the event organiser or primary seller.

“If properly enforced, we believe these clarifications and updates will better protect UK audiences, artistes and event organisers,” says Webb.

“They should also provide greater clarity to secondary ticketing platforms of their legal responsibilities, and increase overall transparency in what is still a murky and underregulated sector.”

The updated restrictions will come into force in April.

Luger’s Fredriksson made director Festival Hall’s days numbered © Jenny Ingemarsson

SWEDEN

T

HE CO-FOUNDER of agency, promoter and festival organiser Luger, Patrick Fredriksson is to become partnership and creative director for both Luger and Live Nation Sweden, which has owned the company since 2007.

Fredriksson will be responsible for all partnerships involving the companies events, artistes and festivals, which include Way Out West (cap.

30,000) and Are Sessions (10,000).

“How we create and develop partnerships and events is something I’m passionate about, and to now be more involved in all projects will be

Patrick Fredriksson

very exciting,” says Fredriksson.

At the beginning of this year Luger opened a Danish office in Copenhagen, headed by Sarah Sølvsteen, formerly of Birdseye Agency (see Audience issue 216).

AUSTRALIA

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ELBOURNE’S FESTIVAL Hall (cap. 5,445) is expected to be demolished to make way for a AS$65 million ($51.4m) apartment complex.

The owners of the venue, The Wren family who run the building under their company Stadiums Limited, intend to sell the space for redevelopment with plans in place with Melbourne City Council for two apartment towers, shops and office space.

Acts which have played the Hall, built in 1915, include the Rolling

Stones, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Lorde and Tame Impala.

Director of Stadiums Limited Chris Wren says the venue is no longer able to compete with other newer and larger venues nearby, including Hisense Arena (10,000).

“We can see the writing on the wall and as responsible directors we’re probably going to close the shop,” he says.

Fellow director John Wren adds, “It is hard, but it’s a fact that we’ve got to move on.”

Artistes playing the venue include Mackelmore and Angus and Julia Stone.

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12 • World News

SWEDEN The country’s promoters’ association Svensk Live has appointed Andréa Wiktorsson as its new chairman. Wiktorsson, who is CEO of Storsjöyran festival (cap. 20,000) which takes place in Östersund, replaces Per Alexanderson in the role. “In 2016, live music in Sweden traded SEK 5.5 billion [$697 million] and is the fastest growing part of the music industry,” says Wiktorsson.

“At the same time, many pop organisers struggle with difficult finances, so working for better conditions must be a priority.” Svensk represents more than 200 concert organisers, festivals, venues and associations.

USA Promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) has signed a 10-year agreement with the Louisville government for use of Champions Park.

DWP stages Louder Than Life (cap. 60,000) festival and Bourbon & Beyond (50,000) at the site. It also plans to promote another festival on the park.

“Louisville has become our second home and we are committed to increasing our presence and investment in the community,” says DWP CEO Danny Hayes. Louder Than Life featured acts including Ozzy Osbourne, Incubus and Prophets of Rage last year, while Stevie Nicks and Eddie Vedder played Bourbon & Beyond.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

CTS files court complaint over exclusivity deals ban GERMANY

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ICKETING GIANT CTS Eventim has stepped up its fight against a ruling by competition authority Bundeskartellant which prohibits long-term exclusive ticketing agreements with event organisers and venues.

The watchdog says contracts between CTS and partners that stipulate exclusive or largely exclusive distribution represent an “abuse of market power”, which is banned under German competition law (see Audience issue 215).

The ruling says that in contracts that last longer than two years, CTS partners must have the option of selling at least 20 per cent of their annual inventory through other ticket agencies.

Deals shorter than two years will not be affected.

CTS has now filed a complaint against the ruling with higher re-

gional court the Oberlandesgericht of Düsseldorf.

“We believe that our exclusivity deals comply with all relevant legislation and do not hinder competition,” CTS’s Christian Steinhof tells Audience.

“The Bundeskartellant’s decision ignores the fierce competition in the German ticketing market, which is constantly increasing as a result of frequent market entries by digital companies both domestic and abroad.”

Steinhof declined to comment when asked whether the company’s ticketing deals generally run for longer than 24 months.

The Bundeskartellant has given CTS until April to comply with its ruling.

“CTS Eventim are in a very strong position and have had several mergers in the last few years,” the Bundeskartellant’s Michael Detering tells Audience. “We

© Bundeskartellamt

NEWSBITES

Andreas Mundt

had complaints from the market and when we looked in more details into the market as part of an investigation, found an abuse of dominance.”

The authority’s president Andreas Mundt says CTS has used it market power “to the detriment of the competition”.

“Completing abusive agreements with broadcasters and ticket agencies continue to seal-off a significant part of the competitive ticket market,” suggests Mundt.

According to the watchdog, CTS processes between 60-70 per cent of all tickets sold in Germany through its systems.

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World News • 15

seldorf to enter preliminary bankruptcy, which SC FESTIVALS, a diviis what you need to do sion of Dusseldorf’s SSC under German law,” he Group, which runs New tells Audience. “You have Fall Festivals, has filed for to show the Government bankruptcy. when you have problems However, SSC MD Sha- Shahi-Moghanni and they check this out.” hi-Moghanni says the decision to New Fall began in Dusseldorf in enter what he refers to as “prelimi- 2011, with a second event launched nary bankruptcy”, will not derail the in Stuttgart two years ago. Both festicompany’s festivals in Dusseldorf vals take place across the same weekand Stuttgart. end in October and share artistes.

“We have asked the court in DusShahi-Moghanni says SSC FestiGERMANY

S

vals encountered difficulties after increasing the capacity of the events to 16,000 in 2017, where acts included Tom Odell, Kensington and Michael Kiwanuka. They will revert to 12,000-capacites this year.

“We actually sold more tickets than 2016, but the gap between the capacity and sold tickets was too much,” he explains. “You can control the costs, but never the ticket income.”

Despite the setback ShahiMoghanni confirms this year’s festivals will go-ahead, under new com-

© FotoSchiko

Financial problems won’t stop festivals, says founder

New Fall Festival at Tonhalle Dusseldorf

pany New Falls Festival.

Shahi Moghanni declined to comment on the amount owed to creditors. The line-up for New Falls is due to be announced in March.

Row over Mariah Carey cancellations continue ARGENTINA

A

DISPUTE BETWEEN Mariah Carey and Fenix Entertainment Group (FEG) has taken a twist, with the concert promoter suing the singer over cancelled dates.

Initially Carey was bringing a lawsuit against Buenos Aires-based

FEG, claiming she pulled-out of shows in Argentina and Chile in 2016 because it had not paid her properly (see Audience issue 204).

Almost 12 months on FEG has turned the tables and is taking legal action of its own.

In a countersuit filed against Carey and her company Mirage

Entertainment, FEG is seeking $500,000 damages for each of the cancelled shows and $2 million for defamation.

“Fenix Entertainment Group was in full compliance with its contractual obligations to the artiste Mariah Carey and her management,” says FEG in a statement to Audience.

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“We were completely surprised by her decision to cancel the shows … and were not informed at any time by the artiste’s management of this decision.”

FEG had sent members of its team to receive part of Carey’s crew at Buenos Aires airport, but they never arrived.

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AUDIENCE • Issue 216 • January 2018

16 • World News

Tributes paid to ‘visionary’ Zard ITALY

D

AVID ZARD, who promoted shows with artistes such as Pink Floyd, Madonna and Michael Jackson, has died at the age of 75.

Zard became one of the country’s leading promoters after emigrating from Libya in 1967 to escape local unrest. Before arriving in Italy, he had been involved in organising concerts for the Italian community in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

In his adopted homeland Zard went on to promote concerts with Lou Reed, the Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, The Who, Elton John, Genesis and Cat Stevens. In 2001 he started to produce and promote modern operas and in later years with son Clemente, he set up Rome-based Saludo Italia which staged national and international concerts and musicals. He was

Tallin Music Week celebrates its 10th © Tõnu Tunnel

ESTONIA

M

ORE THAN 250 acts are expected to perform during showcase festival and conference Tallinn Music Week (TMW), set to take place on 2-8 April at venues across the city Now in its 10th year and organised by telecoms company Telia Estonia, the conference element of the event covers topics such as the new sources of revenue in the digital age and emerging markets in Asia.

“In 2009, at the first ever festival, we had 67 artistes altogether and so much has changed since then,” says TMW head of music programming Raimond Põldmaa. “Today we have an international programme

the

also the manager for Gianna Nannini from 2015.

“David had a unique charisma and personality, he was a visionary, proud and courageous, who challenged you with his deep, sometimes David Zard deriding glance,” says fellow promoter Claudio Trotta of Barley Arts Production, who adds that Zard was extremely proud his son, who is MD of promoter Vivo

Mantell becomes ICM partner UNITED STATES

I

NTERNATIONAL AGENCY ICM Partners has promoted six agents including head of international touring Scott Mantell to partner status, bringing the number of partners to 53.

Mantell began at ICM as an assistant in 2003 and became an agent in the concerts department a year later, representing artistes such as Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, D’Angelo, Cyndi

& eventree ticketsellers

From on-sale to on-site

Lauper and Jill Scott. He also handles bookings outside of North America for J. Cole, Machine Gun Kelly and Melanie Martinez.

“Partner status entitles you to participate in a special bonus pool distributed each year,” an agency spokesperson tells Audience. “In addition, there are many perks that partners are entitled to.”

The other five agents work in areas other than live music.

SPAIN

Tallinn Music Week

and will showcase new talent from 30 countries.”

Confirmed acts include Iceland’s Malneirophrenia, The Magnettes from Sweden and the UK’s Suzi Wu. Live Nation Baltics and Latvia’s Positivus Festival (cap. 20,000) are among the supporters of the event.

Registration for the conference and festival costs €250 ($311).

Concertti, followed him into the music industry.

Clemente Zard tells Audience, “The most important thing that my father taught me was when you make mistakes, be sure you learn from them.”

Another fellow promoter, F&P Group’s Fernando Salzano, says, “He was unique, a special, innovative and extraordinarily brilliant man who was perfect for this business.”

Zard is also survived by his wife Patrizia Tomasich.

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World News • 19

NEWSBITES USA EDM festival promoter LiveStyle has appointed Neil Ryan as senior vice-president and head of North America production. Ryan joins LiveStyle from NRG Productions, which he founded in 2012, working on AEG Presents/Goldenvoicepromoted events such as Coachella (cap.

125,000), Stagecoach (85,000) and Desert Trip (75,000). LiveStyle was formed in September 2016 from the collapsed SFX, with Phillips joining two months later (see Audience issue 203). Among international festival brands owned by the company are Electric Zoo, Mysteryland, Tomorrowland and Awakenings.

USA Los Angeles based Oak View Group Facilities, a division of Oak View Group – created by Irving Azoff and Timothy Leiweike to offer a range of services to arenas – has secured a three-year, exclusive booking deal with the 23,500-capacity Ruff Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The venue opened in 1976 and has hosted acts such as the Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, Dave Matthews Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

www.audience.uk.com

APA agent Troy Blakely dies UNITED STATES

V

ETERAN AGENT Troy Blakely, most recently managing partner and head of music at the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA), died on 10 February at age 68. He had been ill for several years.

Blakely joined APA in 1994, be-

came head of music in 1998, made a partner in 2002 and elevated to managing partner in 2005.

Artistes he represented at APA inTroy Blakely cluded Fleetwood Mac, Robert Plant, Judas Priest, Boston, Poison, Lenny Kravitz and Whitesnake.

“All of us at APA are deeply sad-

dened by the passing of our friend and colleague,” says APA president and CEO Jim Gosnell. “We will be forever grateful for the numerous contributions he made to the success of our company over past 25 years. He will be dearly missed.”

Early in his career, Blakely also worked at Diversified Management Agency (DMA) in Michigan, Magna Artists and International Creative Management, before joining APA.

New Venuepoint CEO DENMARK

N

ORDIC TICKETING provider Venuepoint has appointed Jens Arnesen as CEO, effective from 1 March.

He was previously country manager at streaming service C More Denmark, and has also worked as

sales and marketing director at media company Berlingske.

Venuepoint is co-owned by Nordisk Film, a subsidiary of Denmark’s largest media company Egmont, and Germany’s CTS Eventim.

“We’ve already strengthened our market position under the Venuepoint umbrella in Denmark,

Norway and Sweden over the past two years and now Jens Arnesen we’re ready to expand on this,” says CTS’s senior vice-president of international business development Oliver Främke.

AUDIENCE • Issue 216 • January 2018

20 • World News

NEWSBITE EUROPE Serbian festival EXIT (cap.

50,000) won the best major festival and Hungary’s Sziget (70,000) scooped Lineup of the Year at the ninth European Festival Awards, held in January at Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, Netherlands. The event featured 15 categories, with other winners including Slovakia’s Pohoda (30,000), which won the Green Operations award, ATC Live’s Alex Bruford received Agent of the Year and founder of Switzerland’s Paleo Festival Nyon (35,000) Daniel Rossellat took the Lifetime Achievement award.

Focus sharpens on new markets Canadian and Australian bands performing at the Welsh showcase.

ULTI-VENUE SHOWCASE festival and “We want to make Focus Wales into an inconference Focus Wales is expanding its ternational destination for the music industry,” international partnerships, as it seeks to atThompson tells Audience. tract a global audience.

Focus has also announced it will showcase Based in Wrexham, last year’s event atsix acts at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Stella Dontracted around 8,500 visitors. In the run up to nelly, Rachel K Collier and Himalayas will be the festival, between 12-14 May, founder Neal among those performing.

Thompson has revealed Focus is partnering Neal Thompson “Presenting Welsh acts at SXSW is a natural with BreakOut West and Nova Scotia Music progression of what we do,” says Thompson.

Week in Canada, as well as Australian Music Week.

“We promote grassroots artistes and create opportuniThe link-ups will see an exchange of artistes, with ties for them. It’s our first major foray into showcasing Welsh acts traveling to Canada for the events and acts abroad.”

UNITED KINGDOM

M

Greek’s record year UNITED STATES

L

OS ANGELES’S iconic open-air venue The Greek Theatre (cap.

5,900) staged a record 70 concerts between April and October last year, welcoming an overall 338,000 people.

The achievement, which helped the venue record net revenue of $5.5 million, resulted in it being awarded the 2017 Red Rocks Award/Best Small Outdoor Venue at the annual conference of industry publication Pollstar.

“It was an Incredible year,” says

general manager Becky Colwell, “and partners Goldenvoice, Live Nation and Nederlander Concerts put together another jam-packed season of entertainment for this year.”

The Greek, which is owned

by The City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks department, has been managed

by SMG since 2016 (see Audience issue 189).

Greek Theatre

Artistes playing the venue include John Legend, Haim, Harry Styles and Pete Townsend.

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24 • Feature

Meeting of minds

Open Forum session - ILMC 28

What started as a one-off business meeting three decades ago, with only 40 invitations issued, has evolved into the biggest gathering of international promoters and agents in the world – an event at which issues are debated, tales exchanged and deals concluded, by people who often only get to meet each other once a year, at the ILMC. Christopher Barrett reports

T

© Guido Karp

his year’s International Live Music ConLem, who is now MD of Live Nation Norway, such amazing live shows should be regarded ference (ILMC) will see more than 1,000 recalls, “We felt it was very important to bring that way.” live music professionals from over 60 the business together at the highest level. The Leading players turned up to the inaugural countries descend on the UK’s Royal New York conference was event.

Garden Hotel in London, for three boring, too urban and too “We had a long line of individudays of meetings, panels, workAmerican for us.” als quietly queuing up outside the shops and events relating to the So, in 1989 Hopewell building, none of them knew each global concert and festival business. trawled his address book other, so none of them were talkThe event’s conception can be and invited 40 people to the ing,” says Hopewell. traced back to a windy street corner first International Live Music “When they came together in the in New York in 1988, where three Conference at London’s conference room there was an astonlive music businessmen found Rune Lem Mayfair Hotel. ishing reaction, the atmosphere was Phil Bowdery themselves in deep conversation.

By bringing agents and prowarm and open, people were talking The trio were attending the nowmoters together, Hopewell enthusiastically. It was magic.” defunct New Music Seminar, and hoped the ILMC would help Thomas Johansson, now head as the conversation progressed, attendees forge a more united of Live Nation Sweden and chairLondon-based international agent and professional approach man of Live Nation international, Martin Hopewell was struck by the to doing business with each remembers a moment at the first fact that the two leading European other.

ILMC when he knew the event was promoters he was with, Herman “At the time the induson the road to becoming a truly Scheuremans from Belgium and try was regarded as a loose global event.

Rune Lem from Norway had never Thomas Johansson collection of individual Wayne Forte “Martin was talking and all of a met. “We realised that the vast macowboys, often one-man sudden the room fell silent, I looked jority of the major European promoters had not operations, working without any rules or set around and saw [US promoter] Bill Graham had met each other and I thought that was absurd,” practices,” he says. “It seemed wrong that walked in,” he says. “Bill was a legend, famous for says Hopewell. a business that was capable of producing his work at Fillmore West and with acts including AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

www.audience.uk.com

Feature • 25 Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. drinks and sausages on sticks from the meeting “His arrival was very significant for ILMC, we area, proved a major hit. were confident it was going to go global and “It was Martin Hopewell’s obvious passion and become the most important live music industry immense hard work that made it a success,” says meeting in the world.”

Australian promoter Garry Van Egmond, who Live Nation Entertainment’s UK-based presi- was also at ILMC 1. dent of international touring Phil Bowdery also Hopewell insists that his initial vision was for it attended that first event, and has not to be a one-off meeting. missed an ILMC since.

“At the end, I went up on stage to “There had been nothing like it bethank people and Rune [Lem] said, ‘so fore, it was very much needed,” says what are we doing next year?’. It really Bowdery. “It was great to have everyhadn’t occurred to me to continue, one in one place – you could get an but from then on we were obliged opinion and do business without using to,” says Hopewell. the fax machine. One year I remember Barry Marshall putting a Tina Turner Getting serious Carl Leighton-Pope tour together between sessions.”

Needing a larger, more flexible Another attendee at the first event space, Hopewell staged ILMC 2 at the was New York-based Entourage Talent Portman Intercontinental hotel and Associates president Wayne Forte, his vision was to have one room with who had flown in from Hong Kong to everyone discussing the same issues. be there.

“If we caught people outside the “I do remember the Italian and room not taking part we would pick German promoters, each at opposite them up by the scruff of the neck and ends of a rather small room, shouting push them in, aided by several burly obscenities at their fellow countrypromoters from around the world,” men,” he says. “Other than that, there Garry Van Egmond remembers Hopewell. was a lot of interesting and good inAs delegate numbers grew it betentioned conversation.” came necessary to run simultaneous Carl Leighton-Pope, MD of The panels and breakout sessions with Leighton-Pope Organisation in the UK topics covering everything from tax remembers Forte being the subject of to deal structuring.

European frustration during a heated In order to maintain a degree of debate at that event. quality control, the attendance was “Wayne was a happening agent in limited to 250 delegates at the first New York, so we decided to vent our five invitation-only ILMCs. anger on him that North American Greg Parmley In the early days it was primarily agencies were bypassing European attended by Europeans, but it soon agencies and booking acts directly into Europe,” grew into a truly international affair and now atsays Pope. “We weren’t allowed to do that in the tracts executives from more than 60 countries, US.” including Australia, Chile, Brazil, India, Japan, One of the more outspoken attendees, Lebanon, South Africa and the US. Leighton-Pope soon became an integral part of As the delegate numbers grew it became the event, hosting a two-hour Friday afternoon necessary to find new venues to accommodate session. them. From the Portman, the event moved to Despite the occasional raised voice, the single the Regent Hotel, then the Intercontinental room event, which had a partition separating at Hyde Park Corner, the Landmark and

MAX-SCHMELING-HALLE

Martin Hopewell presents Herman Schueremans with The Bottle Award at the Arthur Awards 2017

finally Kensington’s Royal Garden Hotel, which has been its home since 1999.

“The problem with the other venues was that we didn’t have exclusive use of them, while at the Royal Garden we have sole use and the team there are great — they are as much part of ILMC as the ILMC team itself,” Hopewell says.

With Hopewell needing some serious assistance in managing the event, the late Alia Dann was taken on board to produce the ILMC in 2000. Hopewell says she was instrumental in both managing and growing the conference.

She produced ILMC until 2014, and consulted on the event in 2015.

Shaping the business

Since the ILMC’s inception, delegate numbers have grown six-fold. The number of panels, meetings, workshops and events have also snowballed, with the event now organised by a small army of 60 staff, led by conference producer Lou Percival and ILMC managing director Greg Parmley.

Understandably, registration fees have also increased somewhat from the modest £100 (then about $150) charged at the first three conferences. The 10th addition cost £275 (then $445) to attend, five years later it was £355 (then $565) for new delegates, and this year it costs up to £515 ($700) to attend.

Parmley began working on the ILMC’s content in 2006. That same year he became editor of the conference’s sister business IQ magazine, which had been launched by Chris Prosser in 2003 after he left Audience, where he had been head of marketing & advertising for three years.

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AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

26 • Feature terms of serious discussion and more playful aspects.

“During the first few years we kept the same level of incompetence going,” says Hopewell. “It was an important gathering, some of these big issues were being discussed for the first time, but it was also great fun.”

Amateur dramatics He recalls one particular panel session, coA far cry from today’s wellchaired by Australia’s Michael oiled machine, the first Chugg and Italy’s Claudio Trotta, ILMC was cobbled together that descended into a debacle at the last minute, says when technical issues derailed Hopewell.

Hopewell’s creative ambitions.

“When we started it was The theme of the panel was so amateur. The staff of the a look into the future of the live agency I was co-running, World Service, music industry, with the stage literally put it together on the night be- Michael Chugg adorned with a crystal ball hooked fore with people sitting around a table up to a dry ice machine. eating pizza and typing up names on little tags,” “The idea was that when Chuggy began talkhe says. ing about the future and gazing into the crystal Now with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the ball, dry ice would trickle out around his feet,” UK, Paul Franklin is a platinum delegate having says Hopewell. attended every year since day one. On the first “However, a member of the production crew two occasions, he was actually working on ILMC pressed the big red button too early, so durwhile an assistant at World Service. ing a serious conversation, a mushroom cloud “It was exciting, no one knew what to expect,” of smoke went up on stage and Claudio and he says. “It was small and intimate but worked Chuggy disappeared. All you could hear was very well.”

Chuggy’s voice saying, “Christ Claudio, I think As the event evolved and expanded, Hopewell your arse is on fire’.” and his team began to hone their organisation Always guaranteed to raise a smile is the skills and develop the event’s content, both in Breakfast Meeting, an interview session that for © Daniel Boud

cluding moving it from the weekend to midweek.

“Martin did a sensational job, he gave a lot of his time, emotion and passion to making ILMC a great success,” says Leighton-Pope.

Steve Strange, Donald MacLeod & Lightning Seed’s Ian Broudie at The Arthur Awards 2016

“We’d worked with ILMC for years, so it was good to go there with a fresh perspective and show what growth was possible with the event,” says Prosser. “And it was good to see the industry respond well to the changes we made in those early days.

“I am proud of all the people I have brought in over the years, as trying to grow a business without the right help is a recipe for disaster.”

Parmley, who also spent more than 18 months in editorial at Audience, says Prosser has played a key role in the ILMC’s commercial success ever since.

Hopewell handed over the ILMC reins to Parmley at the 2014 event and since then Parmley has overseen an array of changes, in-

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

www.audience.uk.com

Feature • 27 person who stood throughout the session. He virtually ignored me, which is hard to do, and informed the audience how to get Government subsidy to build a barn.”

The Arthurs

Ed Bicknell interviews Michael Eavis at ILMC 23

the past 15 years has been held on the final conference day and hosted by former Dire Straits and Brian Ferry manager and raconteur Ed Bicknell.

Over the years Bicknell has crossexamined many industry figures, including Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, U2 manager Paul Barry Dickins McGuiness and CAA’s Emma Banks.

This year it is the turn of Q Prime co-founder Peter Mensch, manager of acts such as Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Bicknell says that among the many highlights was a hilarious conversation with artiste manager Doc McGhee and a memorable enEd Bicknel counter with Eavis.

“It was a hoot,” he says. “Michael is the only

www.audience.uk.com

For more than two decades the ILMC has staged what was originally meant to be a spoof awards event, The Arthurs, and not to be taken too seriously.

“Martin and I started the Arthur Awards in the hotel bar in the mid 1990s,” says Leighton-Pope. “Later it became a gala dinner. I presented the awards and berated everyone that got one, it was always a funny evening, with me wearing ridiculous costumes.”

Among accolades up for grabs this year are the Second Least Offensive Agent and First Venue to Come Into Your Head awards. The evening climaxes with The Bottle Award, which honours an executive’s outstanding contribution to the live music industry.

Previous recipients of The Bottle Award include International Talent Booking co-founder Barry Dickins, who has only missed two ILMCs since the inaugural event, and he believes it has played an important role in the development of the industry.

What others say …

Jose Muniz, Mercury Concerts, South America ”My first one was 1990 and I think one of the greatest achievements of ILMC is that it helped open-up the live entertainment industry for people from all over the world, to have the opportunity to meet, to deal with the top leaders and create numerous opportunities to expand our industry.”

Rob Berends, Paperclip Agency, Netherlands “I think it was ILMC 3, this German promoter and I knew we were both going to be there and he still owed one of our bands money. I spotted him near the registration desk, which was busy as usual, and shouted across the room “Franz [not his real name], where the f**k is my bands’ money?”. He immediately pulled-out a cheque for the full amount, and it didn’t bounce.”

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

28 • Feature “It is an excellent event, there is fun to be had but also serious business done and issues discussed — a lot of good comes out of it,” he says. “Agents like me are usually at war with each other, but when we sit down together at the ILMC there is a real sense of camaraderie.”

Chugg Entertainment founder Michael Chugg says he has only missed a couple since first attending decades ago, and is in no doubt that beyond the high jinks, ILMC has made a serious and positive impact on the live music business.

“A lot of great ideas and fresh ways of doing business have spread worldwide because of the ILMC,” he says. “Anyone who comes has a voice.”

“Every year I usually confirm a tour or two, and certainly expand my list of like-minded people.”

What others say …

Stuart Galbraith, Steve Homer & Toby Leighton-Pope at ILMC 29

opposite the Royal Garden Hotel, which is now exclusively open to delegates throughout the event.

Since 2014, Parmley has set about enhancing the With so many aspects of the vast international ILMC and ensuring there is diversity not only in terms live music industry under the microscope at ILMC, of the subject matters explored during panels ses- it became clear that certain sectors warranted dedision but also among the people attending. cated meetings. As a result Parmley has overseen “We are very mindful when the launch of offshoot gathprogramming the agenda who erings including the ILMC “One year I remember we ask to chair sessions and Association Summit - a meetBarry Marshall putting a who the panelists are, so that ing of key live music industry there is a range of opinion, sexassociations.

Tina Turner tour together es and ethnicity,” he says.

Other ILMC side-events inbetween sessions” In order to reflect the nature clude the annual Event Safety Phil Bowdery of the ever evolving live in& Security Summit (E3S), a dustry, and to ensure there are one-day meeting bringing subjects of interest to all delegate, Parmley has short- together leading international venues, touring proened the length of the panels, increased the number fessionals and security experts. of sessions and introduced educational workshops.

In 2015, ILMC’s management team was behind the “We have introduced sessions that explore topics launch of the International Festival Forum (IFF). Held outside the core business, so that people can gain every autumn, the event is primarily attended by an insight into new areas and apply the knowledge agents and festival organisers. gained to their business,” he says.

Back at the grand gathering that is ILMC, as delAmong the many subjects discussed this year will egates wend their ways back to all corners of the be virtual reality, augmented reality, blockchain and planet, many will have made valuable new contacts, crypto currency. shared experiences with like-minded people and “For many, the primary purpose of ILMC is to meet probably done a bit of unexpected business. and do business, so it is a networking forum above Many delegates, especially those from thousands and beyond everything else,” says Parmley. “With that of miles away, find it reassuring to know they are in mind, we have revamped and carved-out more not alone and that promoters and agents worldmeeting space.” wide face many of the same challenges and enjoy Among the new networking areas is the pub similar successes.

Meeting demand

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

Karsten Jahnke, Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion, Germany “It’s funny, at the ILMC you always meet more Germans than at any German music business meeting.

The ILMC is the mother of all music business conventions and the reason why I come every year.”

Attie van Wyk, Big Concerts International, South Africa “I’ve been attending ILMC since 1993 and it is the one event that brings everyone together on an annual basis. It’s very important for industry stakeholders to meet each other face-to-face to discuss the issues that impact on the future of our business. My best memories are always Ed Bicknell’s breakfast interviews.”

Phil Rodriguez, Move Concerts, South America “The ILMC created a truly international forum for the live music business. The business today is all about international touring, which was not the case in 1988. So, to a certain degree, the live music business caught up with the ILMC’s original mission.”

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life A mental health stress support line and money service for the music industry. anxiety pressures Call 0808 802 8008 depression relationships illness or injury unexpected changes 24 hours a day 7 days a week

Email MMM@helpmusicians.org.uk

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E

32

Events 02-08 Apr

01-03 Mar

Tallinn Music Week

by:Larm

Norway, Oslo www.bylarm.no Annual showcase and conference promoting the Norwegian music industry, attracting around 1,800 delegates and featuring around 500 acts.

06 Mar

IPM

Estonia, Tallinn www.tallinnmusicweek.ee A showcase festival, aiming to stage Estonian talent on two nights in Tallinn’s live venues, as well as a networking event for the music industry professionals.

UK, London www.ilmc.com/index.php/ ipm/about-the-ipm A focused roundtable meeting between invited production professionals.

07-09 Mar

International Live Music Conference

10-13 April

Prolight + Sound

Germany, Frankfurt www.prolight-sound.de A gathering of audio professionals and enthusiasts, attracting delegates from over 100 countries.

07-13 May

Canadian Music Week

UK, London www.ilmc.com

The largest business gathering of international promoters and agents in the universe.

07-10 Mar

Canada, Toronto cmw.net

A key event for music, live and broadcast industries, including seminars, keynote speeches, music showcases and awards ceremonies.

Brazil Music Conference

17-19 May

The Great Escape

Brazil, Sao Paulo issuu.com/riomusicconference The official gathering for Electronic Music talents and trade in Latin America.

09-18 Mar

SXSW

USA, Austin www.sxsw.com Artiste showcases in a week-long conference, attracting industry professionals, including promoters, agents and managers.

UK, Brighton greatescapefestival.com A festival for new music, showcasing 450 emerging artistes from all over the world in more than 30 venues across the city.

23-26 May

144th AES Convention Italy, Milan www.aes.org/events/144 An event for light, sound and production in the entertainment and music industry.

31 May

Ivor Novello Awards UK, London www.theivors.com

The Awards celebrate, honour and reward excellence in songwriting and composing. They are presented by BASCA and judged by the writing community.

05-08 June

Midem

France, Cannes www.midem.com Conferences, showcases and networking across four days, attracting 8,000 business people from over 90 countries.

14-16 June

Sonar

Spain, Barcelona www.sonar.es Convention and festival dedicated to advanced music and new media art.

15-17 August

Pop-Kultur

Germany, Berlin www.pop-kultur.berlin Compromising three elements, Live, Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs and Networking.

23-25 May

13-16 Sept

Spain, Ibiza www.internationalmusicsummit.com

Russia, Moscow namm-musikmesse-russia. ru.messefrankfurt.com

IMS

An educational, inspirational and motivational leadership platform dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for electronic music.

NAMM Musikmesse

The largest exhibition of music instruments, professional audio and lighting equipment and technologies in Russia and surrounding territories.

The details shown above have been compiled from information provided to Audience and whilst we make every reasonable effort to ensure accuracy, we cannot be held responsible if data is incorrect.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

www.audience.uk.com

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34 • Feature

Free-thinking mavericks Many European booking agents and promoters had to self-educate and ended-up in places they didn’t expect, but Rob Challice’s 35-year journey from punk musician has led him to the extraordinary position of co-heading one of the fastest-growing, cutting-edge business’s in the game, Coda Music Agency. Johnny Black reports

W

Rob Challice

audience • issue 217 • Febraury 2018

hether playing bass in his anarcho-punk band, coheading the massively successful Coda Agency or pushing his body to the limit by cycling up yet another mountain, Rob Challice has always been about “striving to challenge the norm”.

As Challice enters his 35th year in the business, he’s celebrating the rise and rise of Coda Agency, which he co-founded in 2002.

Joined last month by another defector from United Talent Agency, Geoff Meall, Coda’s 20-plus agents represent a broad spread of artistes, including Take That, Bastille, The Prodigy, Ellie Goulding, Clean Bandit, Imagine Dragons, Jess Glynne, Example, The xx and Shawn Mendes.

Challice has no hesitation in describing the Coda team collectively as “mavericks”, but their successes prove that whatever may superficially appear to be somewhat cavalier, it’s underpinned by an unflinchingly logical method.

He was born in Southend-onSea, a classic English resort town, and launched himself into the world of music as bass player in Gravesend’s finest anarcho-punk outfit, Anthrax (not to be confused with the American band of the same name) in 1982, while still at Longfield School.

His father being a vicar, the band rehearsed in the church hall, which is also where another early Challice venture, the punkzine Enigma, was produced on an old Gestetner copier.

Leaving school at 15, Challice worked briefly as a toolmaker but was soon made redundant.

“Luckily,” he recalls, “I got a sizeable redundancy cheque, which enabled me to move up to London.”

His early adventures continued

from a none-too-glamourous squat at No 96 Brougham Road in Hackney.

By 1984 he had started a new band, Faction, but he was also clearly heading towards the business side of music, founding his own tape-based indie label 96 Tapes, then taking over the running of All The Madmen Records and Wot! Distribution, a mail-order company selling vinyl, fanzines and more.

His entrepreneurial spirit was already clearly in evidence. “In June we ran a gig for the GLC [Greater London Council] in Victoria Park with two flatbed trucks, and we realised it would be great to drive down to Wiltshire afterwards to visit Stonehenge Festival.

“We couldn’t get anywhere near that, so we carried on to Glastonbury, turned up early on Sunday morning and said, ‘We’ve come to pick up the PA’ and they just let us in. We parked up, went off and enjoyed the Sunday, and they assisted us off the site at the end.”

Come 1987, with his existing jobs providing precious little income, he nudged a shade more towards the mainstream when he joined Allied Agency, where, “I started booking acts like Desmond Dekker, Four Brothers, Real Sounds of Africa and a lot of Celtic and folk acts such as Oysterband and Davy Spillane.

It also enabled me to start doing bookings in mainland Europe.”

Six months later came another dramatic move, when Challice started his own agency, F.A.B. (Forward Agency Booking), which is where he first started working with a man who remains a close colleague, Steve Strange (later a co-founder of X-ray Touring).

“In the previous year I’d been promoting in Ireland, and the last www.audience.uk.com

Feature • 35 A selection of acts on Coda’s roster

First Aid Kit

shows I ever promoted were Young “The crowd went crazy as soon Gods, who Rob looked after and as Nirvana hit the stage. As was sold-out in Belfast and Dublin,” the way at punk/grunge gigs then, Strange recalls. we were our own pit security - a Challice invited Strange to join handful of us and their PR holding F.A.B. and he accepted. “Rob men- off a mad sea of bodies and limbs,” tored me a lot during that period. Challice remembers.

Among other things, he taught “We probably oversold the me how important it was to have room, it was 700 going on 1,200 a strategy,” he says. “He guided me people and I remember settling through my first experiences of with Russell after the show, we had working in mainland Europe, with more than doubled guarantee.”

Ash and the other artistes I had F.A.B. continued for 11 years back then.” until, in 1999, Challice In this period Challice teamed-up with Clive also continued to proUnderhill-Smith to mote shows in the capiform Concert Clinic. tal, the most celebrated One lasting relationof which was Nirvana’s ship he made in his first London concert, in three years at Concert which they supported Clinic was with Ron Sub Pop label mates TAD Euser of Amsterdamat the School Of Oriental Steve Strange based Mojo Concerts, And African Studies who says, “It’s not just (cap. 600). about the money, with Rob. I think “I co-promoted that with Simon he has to be moved by the music Aldis of the Student Union and we he gets involved with. booked the Nirvana/TAD double “You still see him at a lot of gigs bill from the agent Russell Warby and showcases, and he’s always shortly after the release of Bleach. looking for new artistes. I think he

www.audience.uk.com

Bon Iver

knows, when he starts working with certain acts, that the ceiling for that act might never be more than 1,000 people a night, so his commission will be moderate, but it’s about working with music he enjoys.”

Festival extension

Another of Challice’s distinguishing features is that he likes to break new ground, even when that involves taking a sizeable risk. There’s no better example of this trait than the Summer Sundae Festival, which he started in 2001 as a joint venture with the 2,000-capacity De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

Richard Haswell, manager of the hall at that time, remembers how the idea first surfaced Ron Euser while he and Challice were having a drink in a local pub.

“I’d worked with Rob before, and we got talking about how we could see a gap in the market for a festival with a diverse range of music, that would appeal to all age ranges,

Clean Bandit

where people would be treated nicely,” Haswell says. “Incredible as it sounds, festivals like that barely existed then.”

What they came up with, the Summer Sundae Weekender, was in the vanguard of the boutique festival development which was then in its infancy.

The first, headlined by Lambchop in the hall, and Morcheeba in De Montfort’s garden, drew 2,000 people and by the time it ran its course in 2012 it was a three day event which had overflowed into a nearby park and was reaching 8,000.

Another of the most significant relationships in Challice’s career also started in 2001.

“I was invited to the MPI [agency Miracle Prestige International] Christmas party at a pub in Camden, where I saw this guy win the quiz and then throw the trophy out of the window, before setting his chest alight.” © Bart Heemskerk

Rag’n’Bone Man

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

36 • Feature

What others say …

Marty Diamond, Paradigm Talent Agency, US “Rob is thoughtful, artiste sensitive, knows what he thinks, and he’s a total gentleman. He’s quiet and introspective and that’s an important part of his thought process. He takes time to listen, and form smart and intelligent decisions.”

Team meeting

Needless to say, his curiosity was aroused and he soon befriended the unusually extrovert agent, Alex Hardee. As luck would have it, MPI was suffering from staff departures and, as Challice was simultaneously having doubts about the viability of Concert Clinic, “a merger of the two seemed to make sense”.

Asked to reflect on their momentous coming together, the engagingly idiosyncratic Hardee offers, “I wasn’t as straight-laced and clean-living then as I am now, but I do seem to remember that he had a nice head of hair back then.”

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

As is his way, Hardee chuckles at the memory, before adding, “Rob leans towards generally guitar-based and more sophisticated artistes like Calexico and Bon Iver, as opposed to the stuff that I look after. My musical tastes are more, er, mainstream.”

The merger moved ahead with alacrity and, “By January we’d moved into the MPI offices in Camden. The new venture was named Coda, and it was a limited company. MPI directors Phil Banfield and Miles Copeland had the bulk of the shares, Clive [Underhill-Smith] had some and I had mine.”

Frank Nes, BergenLive, Norway “With Rob you always get a straight answer, and his team are hard working decent people. I like that.

Also, you always know that the acts he takes on are quality acts, even if not always chart-topping prospects.”

Ruud Berends, ETEP/Eurosonic Noorderslag, Netherlands “We go back a long way. I remember him being the promotor of the London School of Oriental and African Studies show for Nirvana when I was the European agent.

Rob is a good, straight, mostly honest agent, and nice guy.”

www.audience.uk.com

Feature • 37

Juliet Wills, manager of Billy Bragg, UK “Along with a diplomatic, no frills, no fuss, problemsolving manner, Rob is extremely organised and considered, looks way ahead so his artistes don’t have to. He is the definition of a safe pair of hands.”

Kelly Chappel, Live Nation Entertainment, UK “Rob is a great listener and always makes everyone feel like they are a key part of the team. He takes his acts’ careers very seriously, but still sees the humour in it all. We often put the world to right over breakfast, sharing stories, debating the music industry, but mostly gossip.”

Andre Lieberberg, Live Nation Germany “I really love Rob, he’s an amazing man. Whenever we get together we laugh a lot. I think what makes him a great agent, apart from his excellent taste in music, is that he’s a respectful and credible person with a great sense of humour.”

Andre Bechir, ABC Productions, Switzerland “My links to Coda go back long before the agency was started. I have known Phil Banfield since the 1970s, Sol Parker for many years, and I’ve done a lot of business with Alex Hardee. It’s a great agency, really good at picking-up new acts, always growing, with more people there every time I visit.”

www.audience.uk.com

Family feeling

Thus Coda was launched with six agents, seven support staff, and about 180 acts.

“Finally I felt like I was part of a real agency,” recalls Challice. “Up until then I’d run small agencies and made things happen, often in a very hand-to-mouth way. At Coda I really started being an agent, and making major decisions as part of a team.”

Although Copeland, original manager of The Police and then Sting, had been a part of the company since his and Banfield’s Prestige Talent merged with Steve Parker’s The Miracle Agency in 1992 [Parker left in 1998], his involvement with the new entity required some refinement.

“He was based in LA and I didn’t want people to have the perception that Coda was run by Miles, so a deal was done,” says Challis. “It was all very amicable, whereby he got a cheque.”

The newly-established Coda boasted a mix of savvy veterans and fresh young blood. Having

been agent for artistes such as Black Sabbath and Sting, MPI boss Banfield, for example, came with an invaluable fund of experience, and the inclusion of accountant Dave Hallybone meant, says Challice, that “suddenly we had an accounts department”.

“Finally I felt like I was part of a real agency” Rob Challice Coda started out as an Limited company but, perhaps understandably for a former anarcho-punk rocker, Challice says, “I don’t like pyramids. I like to feel that the boss is in the trenches along with everybody else. It’s a huge driving factor when you know that the people around you are fighting similar battles to yours.”

From his perspective, then, “the key thing in Coda’s history happened in 2007, when we decided to become an LLP [a limited liability partnership]. That meant Phil,

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

38 • Feature

What others say …

Fiona Glyn-Jones, Showpony Management “Rob was incredibly supportive of the idea that my client John Grant should do a tour with the Royal Northern Sinfonia. A lot of agents would have shied away because it required a lot of funding from the Arts Council, lots of paperwork, a lot of personnel, but Rob was 100 per cent involved. They were some of the most stunning shows that John has ever performed.”

Nick Hobbs, Charmenko, Turkey “I’ve worked with Rob for over 20 years and he is always happy. He’s a music person through-andthrough, he’s intelligent, he listens and he’s not a shifty obnoxious shark.”

Warpaint

Dave, Alex, James [Whitting], Tom [Schroeder] and me could sit at a table as equals, with equal responsibility for the risks, bringing in staff, bringing in other agents. That gave us all real drive.”

The week at Coda is still structured, as it was back then, around two lively weekly meetings, held in a specially constructed arena-like section of the office where everyone sits on semi-circular rows of benches. Tuesday brings the agents meeting, attended by all the bookers.

“It’s a really good talking shop looking at every aspect of what we’re doing,” says Challice. “When new agents join us, they find it very refreshing.”

Wednesday is the management meeting. “Those are where we learned how to take risks, and not be scared of failing. If somebody has a really good idea and they’re going stick their neck out and make it happen, then we’re going to back them.”

Another cornerstone of the Challice approach to staff inclusion is that, “You have to be able to laugh at your own cock-ups. Before I started Coda, I was quite guarded. I kept myself to myself. Then you meet a big character like Alex who tells it all.

“When he lost Calvin Harris he was completely open to everybody about what had happened. So his experience became something we could all learn from rather than feeling miserable about.”

Enter the Shame Up Trophy. “If you screw-up,” he explains, “maybe not winning a pitch, or losing a band, putting a show on sale and it bombs … rather than hide and pretend it didn’t happen, you can claim AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

the trophy.

“We had one agent who won it by asking, ‘How often does Music Week come out?’”

The Nordic connection

In 2009, after Richard Haswell had departed from Leicester’s De Montfort Hall and Summer Sundae, Challice approached another long-standing friend, Frank Nes of Norway’s BergenLive festival to step in.

“Back in 1996, Rob had been the first agent to trust us with an international act, Nine Below Zero, to play at our festival,” declares Nes. “Unfortunately, Summer Sundae didn’t last much longer, but after that experience, we made a more successful partnership with Rob as part-owner of the UK’s Larmer Tree Festival [4,000].”

Having booked bands into Larmer Tree for over 25 years, Challice knew its founders, James Shephard and Julia Safe, very well. “I’d driven bands down there in vans in the early days.

I’d watched it grow, so Frank Nes and I thought it might be a good event to buy into.”

It has proved a happy marriage, and endures to this day, with artistes such as Tom Jones, Caro Emerald, Jamie Cullam, Tom Odell, Squeeze and The Levellers playing the festival.

Decisions, decisions

Asked to list some of the most significant moments in Coda’s history, apart from the decision to become a partnership in 2007, Challice includes the company’s move to new offices in Compton Street in 2011.

Karsten Janke, Karsten Janke Konzertdirektion, Germany “I’ve been working with Rob for a really long time and it has always been great. He has the unique ability to recognize mainstream potential in artistes that many of us would have never imagined in big venues. His straight-forward approach and loyalty make him stand out in this business.”

Andreas Moeller, Schöneberg Concerts, Germany “Rob is a music fan first and he really respects the art and personality of each of the artistes he represents. Rob always thinks and works on a partnership basis with his managers and also promoters.”

Dominique Revert, Alias Production, France “Rob has a beautiful roster, very attractive for the French market, especially the cultural market. He is a very composed man and at the same time, very classy.”

Herman Schueremans, Live Nation Belgium “I like Rob for three reasons: he loves music and cycling and he is a fantastic human being, who believes in building careers for his quality acts, and therefore we are supporters of him.”

Mads Sorensen, Beatbox, Denmark “Rob has great musical taste, and always gets the job done in the smoothest possible way. Doing Bon Iver with him, going from 200 people in clubs to an arena in Denmark, has been an amazing journey.”

Jason Colton, Red Light Management, US “With me being based in Seattle, Rob is often my last email before bed and the first email I respond to in the morning. Even after many years of working in Europe, the shifting international touring landscape requires ongoing education for many US-based managers like me, and Rob always has the patience to explain what I need to know.” www.audience.uk.com

Feature • 41

“We felt we’d won a battle around Sam Gores who, says Challice, “fosthat time,” he points out, “because ters an environment where those another agency was trying very kinds of people could continue hard, almost every week, to steal being themselves. So, like Coda, it’s acts from our agents, particularly in an agency run by its agents for the the dance/pop area. Facing that off benefit of the clients. That’s what made us stronger.” stops us becoming corporate.”

What has been perhaps Coda’s The union with Paradigm in most momentous decision came 2014 brought its 2,079 clients in 2014. into the fold alongside Coda’s “We were increasingly 823. Despite his love aware that the wind of the partnership, was changing more toCoda had to become a wards managers, and Limited company again people were talking to enable Paradigm to about global stratebuy equity. gies,” explains Challice.

Paradigm’s senior ex“Then Alex Hardee met ecutive agent Jonathan Marty Diamond of the Levine observes, “I think Paradigm Talent Agency Jonathan Levine Rob is driven by what in the USA, and they hit moves his passions it off immediately.” rather than just whatever will swell It quickly became evident that his bank account. The success Coda Paradigm was structured in a simi- maintains with its artistes and the lar way to Coda. “Their agents were incredible quality of the people all mavericks who ran their own who work there, is because of the companies, but they all pull to- commitment that they make from gether, and it was easy to see how day one.” we could work with them.”

The sheer scale of their joint Paradigm is owned by billionaire operation is daunting but, as a

What others say …

Fra Soler, Primavera Sound, Spain “Rob has supported Primavera Festival since day one and I am extremely grateful for that. Probably our first booking together was Yo La Tengo in 2001, but we have worked in many many artistes since then. He’s a very thorough agent, has the whole picture in his mind and builds mutual trust between agent and promoter.”

Folkert Koopmans, FKP Scorpio, Germany “I think we first worked together when Rob was at F.A.B. in the early ‘90s. Since then we’ve worked on a lot of acts like Billy Bragg, Warpaint, The Civil Wars and more. I find him to be very grounded and

you are able to discuss everything - he is listening, but of course he always wants the best for his artiste.”

Matt Wooliscroft, SJM Concerts, UK “Rob’s not a mainstream agent for the most part, but he really understands where his artistes belong in terms of venues, festivals and promoters.”

Dmitry Zaretsky, Pop Farm, Russia “I have worked with Coda for many years and over 70 per cent of the shows we put on come through Coda agents like Alex Hardee and Sol Parker. As an agency, Coda has an ability to get the coolest bands very early.”

PA R A D I G M TA L E N T A G E N C Y I S P R O U D T O PA R T N E R W I T H

RO B CH A L L I CE AND

O N MORE THAN 40 0 A M A ZIN G ARTISTS WORLDWIDE.

www.audience.uk.com

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

42 • Feature result of his typically meticulous planning, Challice is confident that, as well as their switched-on team, they have the technology that will enable them to keep abreast of any challenges.

First, he singles out Coda’s CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.

“We started developing our contract system 10 years ago,” he states. “We’ve had to invest significant amounts of money, but we finally got it right, and it is now one of the best in the business.

Paradigm are basing their system partly on what we’ve developed over here.”

The company also has what Challice calls, “Our A+R intranet which means that the A+R process we developed here over 10 years is now on the system.

“Everybody here and at Paradigm feeds information in, about who’s hot, who’s being looked at and so on, so we can go in globally on an artiste in ways we couldn’t have done before. With this, we know what’s going on with any act that’s starting to happen.”

Looking ahead, he tells me that Hardee has started a relationship with ITG (UK-based Independent Talent Group), which could see Coda branching out in an exciting new direction.

“They look after actors like Daniel Craig and Maggie Smith. It’s still coming together, but I’d like to see us moving ahead with that.”

As a coda, using its literal meaning, to the Coda story so far, Challice adds, “And did I mention that we’ve got a record-breaking, standingfloor run of eight nights by Bon Iver at London’s Eventim Apollo [5,200], starting on 22 February.”

What makes it work?

The Coda team, as described by Rob Challice, is essentially a group of maverick spirits who have chosen to work together and share their expertise for the general benefit of their artistes.

Alex Hardee “The Coda board is made up of very, very different types of people, and it keeps getting bigger. When Rob and I started we only had about 10 people on staff, now we have 10 just on the board. And all these different people bring different values to the table.”

Tom Schroeder “I was just a young whipper-snapper starting out, when Rob joined us at Concert Clinic, whereas he had been there and sold the T-shirt. There is more to Rob than meets the eye initially. Alex and James can be a whirl of ideas, whereas Rob has an invaluable calm, measured authority. I sit somewhere in the middle, but we simply wouldn’t be where we are without the chemistry between us all.”

Natasha Bent “I’ve only been with Coda for a year, but being the mother of a three-year-old I’ve found it to be a fantastic and vibrant company, which is ever-changing and forward-thinking. They allow me to work at home three days a week, which is hard work, but whenever I’m in the office, I love the camaraderie and openness … and it’s fun too.”

Solomon Parker “I joined Coda because Chris Hearn [having returned from a sojourn at Primary Talent International] said he would give back the car he nicked from my

Dad when he left Concorde [for MPI in 1992]. I think humour is the key element in Coda’s success.”

James Whitting “Rob Challice is the most unlikely person to get kicked-out of the pub at our Christmas party. But it did happen once, because he got absolutely smashed. Not even Alex Hardee was kicked out, that year.”

Cris Hearn “After over 20 years of working at agencies, Coda offers a unique outlook both in terms of teamwork in the office and the culture of developing artistes. Most of all, its a fantastic environment to work in.

Geoff Meall “I met Rob Challice back in 1992 and one of the first things he tried to do was fire me, hardly surprising given my skill levels back then. The thing that makes Coda the most dynamic agency in the business is their independent, maverick spirit - employing the right people who are driven to deliver the right longterm career goals for their clients.”

Congratulations Rob on 35 years in the industry and to all the wonderful team at Coda.

All the best from Geoff, Dave C, Dave M, Craig and all the team at DF Concerts & Events.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • Febraury 2018

www.audience.uk.com

44

MARKET FOCUS

China Shenyang BEJING

Dalian

Zhengzhou Xi'an Nanjing

Taipei Hong Kong TAIWAN Macao

fter a concentrated push to develop its economy, following the death of communist leader Mao Zedong in the 1970s, China has become a major global force and the populations living standards have dramatically improved, although political controls remain tight.

Where once the idea of international acts doing tours in the region would have caused raised eye-brows, the untapped potential in the market is starting to become a reality, with international festival brands among those looking for a slice of the action.

One man who knows his way around the local live scene is senior vice president of AEG Asia Presents, Robb Spitzer, who was previously Edward Liu MD of Live Nation China and has been based in Shanghai since 2002.

“Though it’s been a gradual evolution, we seem to have entered a new era where China’s major cities have become solid international touring destinations,” says Spitzer.

“Artistes and managers continually look to include multiple stops here in their overall Asia and global touring plans.

“Where pop has ruled for decades, we’re

Population (billion): 1.4bn

Language: Mandarin

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

now seeing potential for more genres to garConvention & Exhibition Centre (6,000). ner a significant Chinese audience. Between Competing alongside AEG to be the internet platforms and multi-genre festivals, region’s dominant promoter is Live Nation audiences are getting exposure to more China (LNC), which has recently presented styles of music which then feeds into the concerts with OneRepublic, Ariana Grande live business.” and Imagine Dragons.

But there is still much work to be done, “More and more people from the younger and Spitzer believes in order to become fully generation are listening to western music,” established, the market needs to work from says MD Edward Liu. the bottom up.

“OneRepublic’s Shanghai concert “There are still a few at Mercedes-Benz Arena [18,000] components that must sold the most tickets during the develop to support whole Asia run, as did Imagine organic growth of artistes Dragons, and the two upcoming from their local roots Bruno Mars Shanghai shows were up to national scale,” he sold-out within a couple of minutes.” says. “Over time, I think Liu also has concerns about the you’ll see more small and lack of mid-sized venues, even in the Robb Spitzer medium-scale venues big cities. able to support emerging local artistes and “It’s either an 800-cap live house or 11,000a touring landscape that bridges the current cap arena,” he says. “There is nothing in divide between 1,000 capacity and arenabetween, which prevents lots of international sized shows.” artistes from coming.”

Among AEG promotions are Katy Perry Perhaps with this in mind LNC, which at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo Arena (cap. stages around 20 shows a year, with EDM divi11,000) and Taipei Arena (12,000) in Taiwan, sion Live Nation Electronic Asia (LNEA) also Celine Dion at the Cotai Arena (11,000) in promoting DJ tours, has begun to change its Macao and Russell Peters at Hong Kong tact lately.

GDP per capita (US$): 68,954

Currency: Renminbi (CNY)

US$ exchange rate: 0.158

Broadband households: 567 million

Internet users: 734 million

(Source: IFPI)

A

Holding a particular appeal for many international artistes, not to mention its enormous commercial potential, China is steadily relaxing the bureaucratic and political restrictions that made it difficult for western acts to visit, allowing promoters and venue operators greater opportunities to grow the market. Neil Bracegirdle reports

www.audience.uk.com

Market Focus • 45 “Instead of just doing arena and stadium shows, we are doing shows at all different levels and did 10 theatre-size shows last year,” says Liu. “It was surprising to see how the fans reacted to the artistes they love, even though they are not big, mainstream acts. Some fans thought these acts would never come to them.”

Forthcoming shows include Oh Wonder at Bandai Namco Shanghai Base (1,500), with tickets at 380 yuan ($60), LANY at the same venue and ticket price, and two concerts by Bruno Mars at Shanghai’s Mercedes Benz Arena, with tickets priced at 580-2,280 yuan ($91-359).

Positive moves

Founded in 1997, Beijing-based Modern Sky Entertainment is one of a handful of companies that have led the festival sector, now staging Strawberry Music Festivals in more than 20 citits festivals abroad, with Modern Sky Festival ies, having branched out from Beijing in 2010. in New York’s Central Park and an event in Event capacities range from 7,000 to 8,000 for Los Angeles. the smaller sites and up to 100,000 in Beijing and “We’re working on adding more North Shanghai, where acts playing have included The American and European cities,” reveals LoJudice.

Prodigy, Justice, Mogwai and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

“Things are looking good, always challenging “The live music and festival market but also always exciting.” is still going strong,” says Modern’s In Hong Kong the largest general manager Michael LoJudice. music festival is ClockenFlap “The festival scene is not as (30,000), which is held on crowded as it was in years past, which the West Kowloon harbouris quite positive for us, but those that front, and started out as a are here are established.”

1,500-capacity event.

As well as promoting festivals, Magnetic Asia runs the Modern is also a booking agency and festival, as well as Sonar HK Michael LoJudice Ivy Ng management company and plans to (15,000) festival, and proput on around 500 live events this year. motes around 12 concerts annually in “We just had The xx at venues ranging in capacity from 300 Beijing Exhibition Theater [3,000, in to 4,000.

Xizhimen], which was great and a Upcoming shows include The xx at long time in the works,” says LoJudice.

Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld Expo (5,000), “Many of the Chinese acts we manage where tickets cost HK$720 (US$92), do quite well and are big in the marRide at Macpherson Stadium (1,600), ket. Our Strawberry Music Festivals HK$560 (US$72), and Die Toten Hosen Justin Sweeting always draws huge crowds.” at KITEC MusicZone (600), priced at However, LoJudice says getting HK$490 (US$63). permits for festivals can be problematic and “The market is certainly challenging and organisers need to have solid partners to stage highly variable here,” says Magnetic Asia music large-scale outdoor events. director Justin Sweeting. “In general, tickets are In recent years the company has also taken not an easy sell. There isn’t a regular gig going

Magnetic Asia - Clockenflap harbourside stage

community to draw from, and so we’re still in the process of trying to develop and grow the market.

“The lack of suitable venue space across capacities in Hong Kong is well documented and continues to hinder positive momentum for international and local development.”

Sweeting says Hong Kong lacks a comprehensive music strategy from the grassroots level upwards and education, infrastructure and support for live events all require improvements.

Although he’s pleased to see more festivals entering the scene.

“We encourage this as it gives our own brands context and helps build the market,” he explains.

“The opportunity for Hong Kong is that it occupies a unique position being part of China, yet enjoys certain cultural freedoms and operational certainties which don’t exist on the mainland. However, the demand there is not here yet, and the city remains more aligned to financial rather than cultural pursuits.”

Acts for ClockenFlap in November are yet to be announced, although early-bird threeday tickets are on sale at HK$1,410 (US$180).

Massive Attack, Feist, Blossoms, Supper Moment and Tinariwen were among artistes performing last year.

There’s much more to an Audience subscription T h e Wo r l d ’s B e s t S t a d i u m s F o r C o n t e m p o r a r y L i v e M u s i c

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AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

Market Focus • 47

Modern Sky - Strawberry Music Fields

A hot ticket

AsiaWorld-Expo is the largest indoor venue in Hong Kong and has welcomed artistes such as Madonna, Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears and Ariana Grande.

“Tickets are on hot sale, especially for internationally well-known artistes coming in early 2018,” says Ivy Ng, director of business development at AsiaWorld-Expo Management, which manages the venue in partnership with the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

Jim Foss “Strong sales were also recorded for Korean and Japanese pop singers, namely Big Bang and BTS.” Having opened in 2005, the arena staged 49 concerts in 2017 and aims to put on one show a week this year, except through April and October when trade events take over.

Ng says the venue is expecting to see further upturns in audience demand due to improvements in transport links between Hong Kong and mainland China, such as the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Express Rail Link and the airport’s third runway.

“Hong Kong is an important leg of any Asia tour, with frequent return rates of western artistes, while more and more Korean bands return within a year due to market demand,” adds Ng. “There is demand for larger venues to allow flexible stage design and to accommodate more audience and generate more ticket revenue. Stage productions are getting more extravagant, which increases show costs, not to mention the artiste fee and crew expenses.”

Acts playing AsiaWorld include John Legend, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars.

Pricing it right

In Shanghai the Mercedes-Benz Arena is operated by AEG China and hosts around 100 shows a year, with Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung selling 100,000 tickets across six sell-out www.audience.uk.com

Imagine Dragons promoted by Live Nation China in Shanghai

concerts there in 2017.

“There’s a lot of hunger for international live “Shanghai is a very strong market in Asia music,” he says. “China has been overlooked for with most tours routing around Mercedes-Benz a long time, so there’s always a particular exciteArena,” says arena general manager Jim Foss. ment with bringing an established artiste over “Tickets generally sell-out for most shows and here for the first time. the market has responded positively to “The market has its idiosyncrasies and parthe ticket prices. ticular tastes – post-rock, post-punk, UK bands, “Promoters do a considerable American trap and Japanese indie tend to do amount of due diligence regarding relatively well. pricing and the sell-outs speak for “Ticket sales depend on a host of complex themselves.” factors, but broadly speaking Shanghai people Multiple dates with Bruno Mars in tend to buy tickets in advance, with shows soldApril are among the shows enjoying out soon after announcement, while Beijing particular success, with tickets priced leans towards buying tickets at the door, or in at 580-2,280 yuan ($91-359) and John the last week before show dates.”

Legend at 380-1,080 yuan ($60-170).

Hamilton says those operating in the sector The arena complex also includes a 700-seat quickly become accustomed to setting aside a theatre, six-screen cinema and retail outlets. longer timeframe to secure the correct paperFoss says the aim is to become a “365-days-awork and develop different means of marketyear entertainment destination”. ing, due to restrictions on internet “The sky’s the limit in terms of what access. the future holds,” he says. “China has a He adds that the region’s festivals huge appetite for live entertainment, are often subject to boom and particularly music. As more venues are bust cycles, with many failing to built, look out for world tours to stratesurvive past their first year, although gically route in and around China’s Tier he expects the influx of interna1 and Tier 2 cities.” tional brands such as Live Nation AEG also operates the Damai Center Archie Hamilton Entertainment EDM events Electric (18,000) in Dalian, which was opened Daisy Carnival and Creamfields, to in 2013 to co-host the China National Games. have more The arena was previously known as the staying power.

Zhongsheng Center, before a naming rights deal “We’ve seen growing interest in bringing was agreed with ticket agency Damai. Acts playshows outside of the so-called Tier 1 cities to ing the venue include Backstreet Boys, Zhang places like Wuhan, Changsha, Chengdu, Jie, Li Ronghao and Jacky Cheung.

Xi’an and Shenzhen,” says Hamilton. “A larger number of small promoters have emerged, Catching-up focusing on mid to niche-level indie and Shanghai-based promoter Split Works puts underground bands.” on an average of 14 tours each year and also Acts promoted by Split Works include runs the two-day, five stage Concrete & Grass Damien Rice, Cigarettes After Sex and MIKA, (10,000) festival at Shanghai Community Sports while it has upcoming tours with METZ at club, with 60 acts performing. venues including Yue Space (300) in Beijing and Company founder and MD Archie Hamilton Yuyintang (300) in Shanghai. The company also reports the Chinese music market as definitely has Devendra Banhart at Shanghai Symphony taking off.

Orchestra Hall (1,200).

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

48 • Market Focus Crossing the divide

Previously known as the MasterCard Center, Beijing’s Cadillac Arena (18,000), which is sponsored by the car manufacturer, was built for the 2008 Olympic Games. It is managed

by Bloomage International Culture & Sports Development and plans to stage 45 concerts this year.

“For a venue in Beijing, political restrictions restrain artistes who have had an unpleasant history Cadillac Arena or background from entering the Chinese market,” says general Island status manager Jin Fei. “This limits the amount of interLocated on the autonomous peninsular provnational talent, making it so that local talent is ince of Macau, a Portuguese colony until 1999, is focused on.”

Studio City Event Center (5,000), which opened Despite this, artistes playing the venue in 2015. include James Blunt, Fall Out Boy, Show Lo and The venue is part of a complex built by Melco Pu Shu, with ticket prices ranging Crown Entertainment, an owner-operator of between 180-1,280 yuan ($28-202). casino gaming and entertainment resorts across “Ticket prices are reasonable in big Asia. It is managed by Spectra, a subsidiary of US cities as there is a large variation that facility management giant Global Spectrum. allows for all sorts of people to attend, “Entertainment shows in Macau still highly whether they are hardcore fans or depend on tourists and visitor supjust want to experience the port, while the locals usually only take atmosphere,” explains Fei. part mainly on particularly hot shows,” “However, in second or third Jin Fei says Studio City assistant director of tier cities, these prices may events Adriana Lucas. be a bit high.”

“We target to have at least two This isn’t the only issue shows per month and our aim is to delaying progress in live increase the amount we have each entertainment, according Adriana Lucas year. Last year we had 18 shows, to Fei. compared to 15 in 2016.”

“Promotion in smaller Among the venue’s biggest events have been cities is lacklustre due to a lack of shows with Mariah Carey and Madonna, along infrastructure and generally lower with Alan Tam, A-Mei, Leon Lai and Han Hong.

GDP,” he says. “Touring in China typiJim Wong Forthcoming concerts feature Joyce Chu and cally consists of only the four largest Kim Jong Kook. cities, whereas smaller cities are left by the side Meanwhile, 180 kilometres off China’s east which creates a lack of diversity for both the coast in Taiwan is the 15,000-capacity Taipei performers and citizens in those places.”

Arena, owned by the city authority and operHowever Fei is hopeful that change is on ated by Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation. the way.

The venue has played host to acts Bob Dylan, “Smaller venues suited to less popular Sting and Ariana Grande, and this year will see artistes are beginning to sprout up around the performances from Katy Perry, Celine Dion and country and I believe live music can prosper Wan Fang. here,” he adds.

Another who is keen to see trends change is Colleen Ironside of Hong Kong-based Live Limited. Ironside began operating in the region after moving from Australia in 1999 and has promoted Elton John in the region on a number of occasions.

“China is continuing to grow as a market, with lots of acts going there these days at all levels and the festivals are also growing,” she says.

“Shanghai is still the main market and Beijing still has its problems with permits and restrictions. There can be problems with permits and police and security, although it’s a bit more relaxed in some cities than it used to be.”

New arrivals

Among the international festival brands arriving in China are the aforementioned Electric Daisy Carnival, which will be staged at Shanghai’s International Music Park in April (see Festival News), and Creamfields.

Having staged shows in Hong Kong and Taipei last year through Live Nation Electronic Asia, it’s Cream brand is planning a series of further events and festivals in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xiamen and returning to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“We’re looking forward to taking the brand to the next level and making an even bigger impression on what is a really exciting and ever-growing market,” says Cream MD Scott Barton.

Acts confirmed for Creamfields GuangZhao in April include Axwell & Ingrosso, Kungs and Don Diablo.

A number of Cream Presents shows will also be held in Wuhan, Hangzhou, ChangSha and Shenzhen.

“I believe in 2018 Creamfields China will open a new chapter in the country’s electronic dance music history,” says Live Nation Electronic Asia MD Jim Wong.

It certainly feels like China is turning a page in its live music story for international artistes and there are plenty of promoters and venue operators keen to help the sector grow.

We will help revolutionize your business.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

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52

C I T Y FO C U S Miami, United States Audience takes a look at the world’s major cities and venues most used by international artistes

American Airlines Arena

James L Knight Center

A: 601 Biscayne Boulevard, FL 33132 T: +1 786 777 1000 E: jdiamond@heat.com W: www.aaarena.com Principal Contact: Jarred Diamond Policy: Hire only Capacity: 15,500 In-house Concert Sound System: No In-house Concert Stage Lighting: No Past/forthcoming shows: Demi Lovato, Lorde, Justin Timberlake, Sam Smith, The Killers, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Depeche Mode, Kendrick Lamar

A: 400 SE 2nd Avenue, FL 33131 T: +1 305 416 5970 E: rmurray@jlkc.com W: www.jlkc.com Principal Contact: Bob Murray Policy: Hire only Capacity: 4,569 In-house Concert Sound System: Yes In-house Concert Stage Lighting: Yes Past/forthcoming shows: Van Morrison, Tyler The Creator, LCD Soundsystem, Kid Cudi, Gucci Mane, Kool & the Gang, Los Panchos, Ana Gabriel

Watsco Center

Fillmore Miami Beach

James L Knight Center

© Justin Namon

American Airlines Arena

Watsco Center A: 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146 T: +1 305 284 8686 E: watscocenter@miami.edu W: www.watscocenter.com Principal Contact: Kevin Retchless Policy: Hire and self-promote Capacity: 8,000 In-house Concert Sound System: Yes In-house Concert Stage Lighting: Yes Past/forthcoming shows: DMX, DJ Khaled, Bryson Tiller, Arcade Fire, Marshmello, Kodakblack, Bazanji AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2017

Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theatre A: 1700 Washington Avenue Miami Beach, FL. 33139 T: +1 305 673 7300 E: FillmoreMiami.FB@livenation.com W: www.fillmoremb.com Principal Contact: Bill Sisca Policy: Hire and self-promote Capacity: 2,713 In-house Concert Sound System: Yes In-house Concert Stage Lighting: Yes Past/forthcoming shows: Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Bastille

Adrienne Arsht Center

Adrienne Arsht Center A: 1300 Biscayne Blvd, FL 33132 T: +1 786 468 2265 E: rentals@arshtcenter.org W: www.arshtcenter.org Principal Contact: Oscar Quesada Policy: Hire and self-promote Capacity: 2,400 In-house Concert Sound System: Yes In-house Concert Stage Lighting: Yes Past/forthcoming shows: Morrissey, Jason Mraz, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Weird Al Yankovic www.audience.uk.com

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Production News • 55

PRODUCTION NEWS Newsbites EUROPE Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør chose a DPA d:facto Vocal Microphone following a solo performance in the Netherlands, and now uses up to eight on stage to capture her own voice and those of her backing singers.

Touring venues including Copenhagen’s Dr Koncerthuset (cap. 1,800) in Denmark and Munich’s Black Box (225) in Germany, Sundfør specifies that her vocals should be clear but not protrude too much from the overall sound, according to audio engineer Jørgen Brennhovd. “The d:facto is a lifesaver every time,” he says. “She’s always happy with her sound.”

ITALY Audio manufacture Outline s.r.l. has appointed Leonardo Dani as deputy general manager of sales, following his many years’ experience as a systems technician and 10 years in international pro-audio sales. According to the company, he joins Outline in a period of strong growth, driven mainly by the global touring and installation success of the company’s GTO loudspeaker family.

Artistes who use Outline systems include Jamiroquai, Justin Bieber and country singer Justin Moore.

USA French lighting manufacturer Ayrton has appointed ACT Lighting as its exclusive US distributor. The company, whose lights are used by artistes including Korn, Take That and Lady Gaga, says it is entering a new stage of growth. “With our product range expanding and a team increasing rapidly, we need a strategy to cope with the extra demand,” says Ayrton’s global sales director Michael Althaus. “ACT Lighting is well-placed to meet those demands.”

Wolf Alice deliver on detail WORLD

T

HE LEAD singer of Wolf Alice, Ellie Rowsell, collaborated closely with lighting designer Davy Sherwin to devise a pared back look to the band’s Visions of a Life tour.

Although the lighting was sparse, says Sherwin, it needed enough variety to make each song different and match the peaks and troughs of the music.

“The band was keen to develop a fresh new look,” he says. “They wanted clean lines with no onstage ‘contraptions’ and were interested in the detail of the look for each song. I had to create a scope of looks, which were easy to tour with limited crew.”

He selected a range of fixtures from Lancashire-based specialist concert touring provider Lights Control Rigging (LCR) for shows including Dublin’s Olympia (cap.

1,250) in Ireland and Birmingham’s O2 Academy (3,000) in the UK, with forthcoming shows including, Sacramen- LCR at work with Wolf Alice to’s Ace of Spades (1,000) and Los Angeles’s Mayan Theater (1,700) in “Keeping the focus on the band while the US. being able to see Ellie Rowsell’s face was Sherwin deployed GLP X4 Bars for a priority,” Sherwin says. “I was looking side, back and up-lighting, with addi- for something dramatic and easy-to-rig, tional side lighting provided by Martin so the GLP X4 battens with their variable MAC Auras and MAC Viper Spots for the focus, moody colour palette and videoFOH face lighting. mappable pixels did the trick.”

Clouseau in the lounge with the chandelier EUROPE

T

O RECREATE a lounge style ambience on the set of Belgian rock band Clouseau’s 30th anniversary tour, lighting director Luc Peumans designed a chandelier featuring 120 individually controlled light sources.

The founder of Belgian lighting company Painting with Light, Peumans operated the tour lighting for many dates personally, his first time on the road in 10 years.

“I wanted to keep the set uncomplicated and emphasise the directness of Clouseau,” says Peumans. “It’s all about their great connection with the audience which has always underlined their

live shows, and letting 30 years of music speak for itself.”

He specified a Hog 4 console for the shows at venues including The Netherlands’ Amsterdam’s Koninklijk Painting with Light at work on Clouseau’s 30th anniversary tour Theater Carre (cap. 1,750) and Muziekgebow EindThey used 120 Lucenti Pearl RGBW hoven (2,000), both Netherlands’, plus bulbs, which feature an intricate RGB Antwerp’s De Roma (1,500) in Belgium, LED ring plus a warm white ‘filament’ programming the show with fellow op- to create the chandelier, a product deerator and Painting with Light colleague veloped by Belgian light specialist eXPaco Mispelters. plorentis and distributed by Face.

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AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

56

MLA has it covered for the Killers WORLD

W

ITH SEATING either side of the stage at some venues on the Killers’ Wonderful Wonderful tour, audio company Capital Sound deployed a secondary PA for “deluxe” coverage to the side seats, as well as the main front of house (FOH) system.

Audio engineer Kenny Kaiser says the precision and power of the MLA by manufacturer Martin Audio, persuaded him to specify the system for dates including Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena (cap. 13,350) in Finland, Bolton’s Macron Stadium (28,000) in the UK, Adelaide Entertainment Centre (11,300) in Australia and Mexico’s Arena Monterrey (18,000).

“My main focus is clarity,” Kaiser says. “Then, I mix tonality second. When we’ve had some challenges

such as [reflective architectural features] at Brixton Academy [UK, 4,900], I cleaned everything up using the MLA’s ‘Hard avoid’ feature.”

The main hangs comprise 17 MLA elements plus two MLD downfills per side, with side hangs consisting of 12 MLA and one MLD downfill per side.

The secondary side hangs of 10 MLA Compact enclosures are deployed on each flank for the side-ofstage seats.

The low frequencies require five MLX subwoofers flown on each side at a 45° angle between the main and side hangs, while a further 21 MLX are aligned Capital Sound’s MLA system in full throttle with Killers across the front, in seven by three array ground stacks. To complete the coverage, six of Capital says Kaiser. “At one show, the LP producer Jacknife Sound’s Martin Audio DD12’s are used as front fills. Lee walked the room and said it was great coverage “In any arena, you just put the system up and go,” everywhere.”

Ragan makes his point on Dead & Company tour NORTH AMERICA

L

IGHTING DIRECTOR Chris Ragan was keen to deploy new technology for a tour by Dead & Company, featuring original members of the Grateful Dead.

Working with a trussing configuration featuring a “straightforward” 48ft (16.5m) downstage truss, with six overhead trusses mid-stage and a 14ft. diameter circular upstage truss, he distributed moving lights across the entire structure, using Robe Spiiders, BMFL Spots, BMFL Blades and BMFL WashBeams.

Ragan says he was most excited, though, about the arrival of the Czech manufacturer’s latest model, the Robe MegaPointes, which be-

came available shortly before a tour of venues including Mexico’s Barceló Maya (cap. 1,350), plus Orlando’s Amway Centre (20,000) and Boulder’s Folsom Field (53,600), in the US. “The MegaPointe is an incredibly useful and flexible light,” says Ragan.

“I love its crisp, intense beam and the fact it can be fuzzed out smoothly and elegantly to form a nice rare wash across the band.”

He says he’s still discovering “new and cool” MegaPointe looks as they go, and the fixtures are used extensively throughout the show.

“They are perfect for indoor shows, and for small to medium venues: all that’s needed for a complete profile and wash combination,” Ragan adds.

Proteus holds off rain at Riptide

Riptide Music Festival

USA

A

LTHOUGH WINTER in Florida is generally mild, the 25,000 capacity Riptide Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, featuring Weezer, Salt-n-Pepa and Andrew McMahon, needed a “stunning” lighting rig capable of holding off occasional bad weather, according to lighting designer Rob Morgan.

With a downstage area fully exposed to the elements, Morgan, also president of Technical Entertainment Services (TES) which supplied the event,

deployed Proteus Hybrid lights by manufacturer Elation on the downstage truss.

“Riptide was their first outing,” says Morgan. “The intensity of the fixture is great. It cuts through in outdoor environments, even in daylight. I was quite happy incorporating them into the design, where they held their own.

“It rained one day and they definitely caught some weather, but I was impressed with the performance and output of the light. They got a good soaking but didn’t miss a beat.”

Morgan used the hybrids both for thick beam looks and for aerial spot effects with gobos. “It was a big stage, approximately 60 feet deep by 80 feet wide, so there was a lot of real estate to cover and the Proteus did it well,” he says.

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58

Tour Plans Artistes

Period/Territory Contact details

Adam Naas Jun-Dec Clotaire Buche, Junzi Arts

Worldwide T +33 61 7153 539 Clotaire@junzi-arts.com

A guide to Artistes, Tours and Agents Subscribers to Audience can submit their artistes for free listing in Tour Plans, subject to available space and at the discretion of the publisher. Send your info to: laura@audience.uk.com

Aleem Jun-Sept Sarah Casey, The Leighton-Pope Organisation

Europe T +44 20 8741 4453 sarah@l-po.com Alice Jemima Sep-Dec Zac Peters, DMF Music

Worldwide T +44 7837 681905 zac@dmfmusic.co.uk Ana Moura Jul-Nov David Flower, Sasa Music

Europe T +44 207 359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.uk Andy Frasco & Jul-Aug Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking The UN Worldwide T +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Anna Calvi

May Steve Backman, Primary Talent International Worldwide, excl. T +44 20 7400 4500 North America stevebackman@primarytalent.com

Ape Shifter Jul-Aug Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Europe +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Arturo Sandoval Oct Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Atari Teenage Riot Aug-Sep Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Worldwide T +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumbooking.com

Grace Jones

Artistes

Period/Territory Contact details

Ben Glover May Nigel Morton, MoneyPenny Agency

Europe T +44 7977455882 nigel.morton@moneypennymusic.co.uk Billy Ocean Jun-Aug Sarah Casey, The Leighton-Pope Organisation

Europe T +44 20 8741 4453 sarah@l-po.com Blues Overdrive Sep-Nov Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Europe +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Bobby McFerrin Jun-Jul Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Boomtown Rats Jun Alan Cottom, Alan Cottom Agency with Bob Geldof Europe T +44 1254 668471 alan@alancottamagency.co.uk CC Smugglers Jun-Sept Sarah Casey, The Leighton-Pope Organisation

Europe T +44 20 8741 4453 sarah@l-po.com Charles Lloyd and Jun-Jul the Marvels with Europe Lucinda Williams

Greg Howe

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com

Chassol Jun-Dec Clotaire Buche, Junzi Arts

Europe T +33 61 7153 539 Clotaire@junzi-arts.com

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61

Tour Plans Artistes

A guide to Artistes, Tours and Agents

Period/Territory Contact details

Chick Corea Jun-Nov Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Craig David Jun-Sep Gary Howard, United Talent Agency

Europe T +44 20 7278 3331 gary.howard@unitedtalent.com Dagny Jun-Sep Sarah Casey, The Leighton-Pope Organisation

Europe T +44 20 8741 4453 sarah@l-po.com Dave Mason Jun-Jul Wayne Forte, Entourage Talent Associates

Europe T +1 212 633 2600 booking@entouragetalent.com Dreadzone

Sept-Dec Worldwide

Zac Peters, DMF Music T +44 7837 681905 zac@dmfmusic.co.uk

Elvis Costello & Jun-Jul Paul Charles, Asgard Promotions The Imposters UK, Europe +44 20 7387 5090 pc@Asgard-UK.com Foreigner Jun Georg Leitner, Georg Leitner Productions

Europe T +431 914 86 15 gleitner@glp.at George Clinton Jul Parliament/ Europe Funkadelic

Nina Pernica, Georg Leitner Productions T +431 914 86 15 npernica@glp.at

Graham Bonnet Jun Alan Cottam, Alan Cottam Agency Band Europe, Asia T +44 1254 668 471 alan@alancottamagency.co.uk

Inner Circle

Artistes Grace Jones

Period/Territory Contact details Jul-Sep Georg Leitner, Georg Leitner Productions Europe, Africa, T +43 664 111 5177 Asia gleitner@glp.at

Greg Howe Oct-Nov Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Europe T +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Hannah Sanders Oct Chris Wade, Strada Music & Ben Savage Europe T + 44 1377217662 info@stradamusic.com Inner Circle Jun-Aug Michael Genrich, Georg Leitner Productions

Europe T +43 664 111 5177 mgenrich@glp.at Jack Broadbent Jul-Nov Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Jacky Molard Jun-Sep David Flower, Sasa Music Quartet Worldwide T +44 207 359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.uk Joe Satriani

Elvis Costello

www.audience.uk.com

Jun-Nov Wayne Forte, Entourage Talent Associates Europe T +1 212 633 2600 South America booking@entouragetalent.com & Australia

Jools Holland and Jun-Aug His Rhythm & Europe Blues Orchestra

Nick Peel, Miracle Artists T +44 20 7935 9222 nick@miracle-artists.com

AUDIENCE â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 217 â&#x20AC;˘ February 2018

62

Tour Plans Artistes

Period/Territory Contact details

Julian Marley Jun-Aug Walter Laurer, Georg Leitner Productions GmbH & The Uprising Europe T +43 664 111 5177 wlaurer@glp.at Karbido – Jun-Jul Presents Europe The Table

Ania Marzec, Central European Organisation T +48 22 894 60 35 ania@centraleuro.org

Keid Jun-Oct Debra Downes, Dawson Breed Music

Europe T +44 207 733 0508 debra@dawsonbreedmusic.com King Pleasure & Jun-Dec Tim Jenning, Big Bear Music The Biscuit Boys Europe T +44 121 454 7020 tim@bigbearmusic.com Kool & The Gang Jul-Aug Georg Leitner, Georg Leitner Productions

Europe T +431 914 86 15 gleitner@glp.at Lisa Fischer Jun-Nov Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Lo’Jo Jun-Nov David Flower, Sasa Music

Europe T +44 20 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.uk Luis Fonsi Jun-Aug Harald Buechel, Georg Leitner Productions

Europe T +431 914 86 15 hbuechel@glp.at Lutan Fyah & Jun-Jul Isabelle Messer, Georg Leitner Productions The Riddim Worldwide GmbH Rebels

T +43 650 522 9232 imesser@glp.at

Keid

Artistes Manny Charlton Band

Period/Territory Contact details Jun Alan Cottam, Alan Cottam Agency Europe, T +44 1254 668 471 South America alan@alancottamagency.co.uk

Maya Youssef Jun-Dec David Flower, SASA Music

Worldwide T +44 20 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.co.uk McNally-Waters Jun Alan Cottam, Alan Cottam Agency Band Europe T +44 1254 668 471 alan@alancottamagency.co.uk Mila Mar Oct Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Europe +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com MISIA Jun Henry McGroggan, Central European

Europe Organisation

T +48 22 894 60 35 henry@centraleuro.org Moon Hooch Jul Zac Peters, DMF Music

Europe T +44 7837 681905 mailto:zac@dmfmusic.co.uk Morbid Angel Jun-Aug Nick Peel, Miracle Artists

Europe T +44 20 7935 9222 nick@miracle-artists.com

Maya Youssef

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

Nazareth Jun Alan Cottom, Alan Cottom Agency

Europe T +44 1254 668471 alan@alancottamagency.co.uk

www.audience.uk.com

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65

Tour Plans Artistes

A guide to Artistes, Tours and Agents

Period/Territory Contact details

Niteworks Jun-Sept Chris Wade, Strada Music

Europe T + 44 1377 217662 info@stradamusic.com Orbital Jun-Sep Dan Silver, Value Added Talent

Worldwide T +44 207 704 9720 dan@vathq.co.uk Pat Metheny Jul Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com Paul Carrack Jul-Aug, Oct Paul Charles, Asgard Promotions

Europe T +44 20 7387 5090 pc@Asgard-UK.com Ritchie Jul Blackmore’s Europe Rainbow

Alec Leslie, Consolidated Artists T +44 1829 730 488 alecconsol@aol.com

Paul Carrack

Artistes

Period/Territory Contact details

Roberto Fonseca Jul-Aug, Oct David Flower, SASA Music

UK, East Europe T +44 20 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.co.uk

The Horrors Jun-Aug

Worldwide,

excl North America

Sidestepper Sep David Flower, Sasa Music

Worldwide T +44 20 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.uk

The Kilkennys Oct-Dec Bauke Algera, Diba Int. Concerts

Europe T +31 5154 205 10 bauke@diba.nl

Skapel Jun-Jul Henry McGroggan, Central European

Europe Organisation

T +48 22 894 60 35 henry@centraleuro.org

The Oh Hellos

Sound of the Sirens

Jun-Aug Worldwide

Zac Peters, DMF Music T +44 7837 681905 zac@dmfmusic.co.uk

Stacey Kent Jun-Nov Gunter Schroder, The Kurland Agency

Europe T +1 617 254 0007 gunter@thekurlandagency.com System 7 Jun-Sept Dan Silver, Value Added Talent

Worldwide Tel +44 20 7704 9720 dan@vathq.co.uk 10cc Jul-Aug Steve Parker, Miracle Artists

Worldwide T +44 20 7935 9222 steve@miracle-artists.com Tedeschi Trucks Aug-Sep Wayne Forte, Entourage Talent Associates Band Europe T +1 212 633 2600 booking@entouragetalent.com

www.audience.uk.com

July Europe

Steve Backman, Primary Talent International T +44 20 7400 4500 stevebackman@primarytalent.com

Zac Peters, DMF Music T +44 7837 681905 zac@dmfmusic.co.uk

Tipitina Jun-Dec Tim Jennings, Big Bear Music Big Bear Music

UK T +44 121 454 7020 tim@bigbearmusic.com Toploader Jun Mark Lundquist, MLM Concerts

UK T 01483 224118 mark@marklundquist.com Willie & The Aug Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking Bandits Europe T +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Yasi Hofer Sep-Oct Jeff Aug, Maximum Booking

Europe T +49 8324 933 851 info@maximumBooking.com Zamilska May-Jul Ania Marzec, Central European Organisation

Europe T +48 22 894 60 35 ania@centraleuro.org The details shown above have been compiled from information provided to Audience and whilst we make every reasonable effort to ensure accuracy, we cannot be held responsible if data is incorrect.

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

66

Festival News

Sounding out change River fest moves upstream M

ORE THAN 30,000 volunteers will be involved in running the 80,000-capacity Roskilde festival, as the event continues its drive for social and environmental sustainability.

Since being launched in 1972 the non-profit festival has raised over 320 million krone ($53.7m) for charity and this year is paying close attention to the impact its ethos has on those attending.

“We believe that art and music have the power to change attitudes, so this ambition is also reflected in the way we curate the festival with music, art and debates being linked closer than ever before,” says Roskilde’s Christina Bilde.

“We’re working hard on making an even bigger difference and inspiring actual changes through a programme

CANADA

© Jonas Laurien

DENMARK

L Roskilde

that will both challenge the audience and hopefully inspire an even greater sense of togetherness.”

Around 175 acts will be performing at the festival, from 30 June to 7 July, with Meyer Sound delivering the sound to all eight stages as part of a new partnership.

Artistes playing include Eminem, Bruno Mars, First Aid Kit, Stormzy and CV Jørgensen. Full-week tickets cost 2,100 krone ($352), and one-day passes are 1,050 krone ($176).

IVE NATION Canada is partnering with the organisers of Rockin’ River Music Fest (cap. 20,000) to produce the annual country music event.

Founded in 2009 by Kenny Hass, the festival will take place between 2-5 August in Merritt, British Columbia. More than 30 acts will be performing across multiple stages, with Eric Church, Brett Eldredge and Dallas Smith already announced as headliners.

“Kenny and his team are developing Rockin’ River Music Fest to be one of the most celebrated destination events in the country and we are excited to now be a part of it,” says president of Live Nation Canada Paul Haagenson.

Hass believes the link-up with Live

Rockin’ River

Nation will help take the festival to the next level, as it prepares to mark its 10th anniversary next year.

“This partnership with Live Nation will give us the ability to access the company’s scale and talent pool, bringing more acts and an even better experience to country fans,” says Hess, who is also an award-winning country music artiste and Hall of Fame member.

Four-day tickets for the festival cost C$249 ($203).

EDC heads for China CHINA

O

RGANISERS OF festival brand Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) are to take the event to its sixth international location after announcing it will be staged in China.

Insomniac has teamed up with local promoter Zebra Entertainment Enterprise and will put on the electric dance music festival at Shanghai’s In-

ternational Music Park (cap. 30,000) from 29-30 April.

“China marks EDC’s sixth international location, and I’m excited to connect and create beautiful new moments with the country’s passionate and ever-growing dance music community,” says founder and CEO of Insomniac Pasquale Rotella.

“To bring EDC halfway around the world is a milestone for our entire In-

Pasquale Rotella

somniac family.”

The festival will consist of three stages, with artistes expected to be revealed shortly.

EDC was started in Los Angeles 20

Electric Daisy Carnival

years ago and has gone on to be held in Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan and the UK. Tickets for the two-day China event cost 880RMB ($140).

Tour Manager Terry Tucker’s Touring Tribulations by Newman-Parker

AUDIENCE • Issue 217 • February 2018

www.audience.uk.com