LiveUK 159

issue 159 APRIL 2013 UK ÂŁ5.85

Teenage icons The Vaccines Come of Age

Hop Farm Fest returns despite 2012 losses Competition challenge to AEG-Wembley deal Committed to the unsigned and emerging live sector see pages 14-15

Dedicated to the Contemporary Live Music Industry

LIVE DIFFERENT THE WORLD’S LEADING INDEPENDENT LIVE MUSIC BUSINESS OWNING SOME OF THE UK’S MOST ICONIC VENUES AND AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONALLY ESTABLISHED FESTIVALS VVEEN UEESS NU THE

F E S T I VA L S

MEDIA

contents I 3

Contents

issue 159

4-12

News The business of live music

18-23 Sector Focus: Tour buses

8

Forthcoming Events Key industry gatherings

24-28 City Limits: Leeds

A review of a vital sector serving the business side of live music insight into the live music scene An in the country’s leading cities

14-15 NXT News

Business activity in the unsigned and emerging artiste sector

30-31 Production News

Developments in technology and show production

14-17

NXT Profiles Insight from venue operators, artiste managers and A&R executives

16-17 NXT Feature: Liverpool Sound City

Review of an industry sector that works with unsigned and emerging artistes

04

32-33

Tour Plans Artistes, their agents and tour periods

34

Backstage Stars

Interviews with the key people who shape the industry

10 27

18

30

Publisher & Managing Editor: Stephen Parker

Administrative Manager: Aimee Field

Design : Jax Palmer

News Editor: James Hanley

Accounts Management : Murali Sri Balaskanda

Subscriptions: Fiona West T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 E: fiona@liveuk.com

Editorial Contributors: Allan Glen, Christopher Barrett, Julian Marszalek, Mike Gartside, Rob Sandall Sales Manager : Gareth Ospina Advertising Sales Executives: Martyn Passey, Jonny Love Subscriptions Manager: Fiona West

Editorial: James Hanley T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 E: james@liveuk.com Advertising: Gareth Ospina, Martyn Passey, Jonny Love T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 E: gareth@liveuk.com E: martyn@liveuk.com E: jonny@liveuk.com

A subscription covers 12 monthly issues and includes: i) free access to a digital version, ii) 12 monthly issues of Audience, iii) four seasonal issues of Festival and other occasional publications and costs £70 per annum for UK residents.

Subscribe online at www.liveuk.com Print: Premier Print Group www.premierprintgroup.com Cover photograph: ©Rex Features ISSUE 159: April 2013

LIVE UK and sister publication AUDIENCE are published monthly by: Audience Media Ltd, 26 Dorset Street, London W1U 8AP, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)20 7486 7007 F: +44 (0)20 7486 2002 E: info@live.uk.com W: www.liveuk.com

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

4 I news

Newsbites THE 50,000-capacity Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield is set to close after the city council announced it was withdrawing its £700,000-a year funding.

Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and the Rolling Stones are among artistes to have played the stadium. In March, plans were unveiled to transform the venue into a new sport, technology and education facility.

THE ROYAL Highland Centre (cap. 10,000) in Edinburgh has appointed Erin Adam as events planner. Adam, who spent seven years working for BBC Entertainment in Australia, has worked on a wide range of events including concerts

by Stevie Wonder and Michael Bublé. Her new role will involve working between the client, the event sales team and the operations delivery team.

THE 8,500-capacity Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) took part in global environmental initiative Earth Hour on 23 March, when thousands of organisations across scores of countries switch off their lights for an hour, to highlight the issue of climate change. “Earth Hour is a great addition to the sustainable initiatives in place at AECC,” says the arena’s MD Brian Horsburgh.

LIZ HOBBS Group has announced the appointment of Tony Gardner as its new head of live event production. Gardner has over 20 years experience in the sector and has worked for a number of major festivals and events.

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Competition Commission to probe AEG’s Wembley deal AEG’s DEAL to manage London’s 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena has been referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), amid fears it could lead to higher ticket prices.

The company signed a management agreement earlier this year with the arena’s owner Quintain Estates & Development after Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) agreed to end its contract (see LIVE UK issue 156).

However, the OFT has now raised concerns the deal could “substantially reduce competition in the live entertainment venue sector”, as it would lead to AEG controlling three of the four largest indoor venues in the capital.

AEG already operates The O2 (17,000) and Hammersmith Apollo (5,000), and also won the contract to promote a series of Hyde Park concerts this summer.

“The O2 Arena and Wembley Arena are the two largest indoor live entertainment venues in London,” says

Wembley Arena

OFT senior director Jackie Holland, who is the decision maker in this case.

“This merger [sic] would result in a major consolidation of the indoor spaces where large concerts, sports and other shows can be held in the capital and may result in higher costs for promoters to hire suitable venues, which ultimately may be passed on to customers in the form of higher ticket prices.

“As such, we believe it is appropriate

that the Competition Commission reviews this merger in detail to ensure that the interests of consumers are protected.”

AEG Live president of international touring Rob Hallett has told LIVE UK the firm was not looking to “dominate” the market, insisting, “We are simply looking to take advantages of opportunities as they arise.”

The commission is expected to publish its final report by 5 September.

StubHub claims eBay switch will lead to ‘better pricing’ for buyers With around 500,000 tickets for sale MORE DETAILS of eBay’s plan to at any one time on eBay, the move move all ticket reselling from its UK is aimed at strengthening the resale website to subsidiary StubHub from operation, which is believed to have May, have been revealed. struggled to gain market Buyers and sellers using share from rivals Viagogo, eBay will be redirected to Seatwave and Get Me In! StubHub, which was launched eBay currently charges in the UK last April, and invited a listing fee of up to £1.30 to create a new account. Ticket per sale, and takes 10 per selling via eBay will then no cent of the final sale price. longer be possible.

Navin Kekane There is also a transaction While it takes a bigger fee of between 1.4 and slice of ticket sales than eBay, 3.4 per cent, plus 20p, for sellers StubHub insists the move is positive using PayPal. news for users, as the company StubHub will introduce a new will employ dedicated customer pricing structure from April, charging service teams and various ticket12 per cent commission, including specific extras.

VAT and with PayPal fees waived, “Buyers can see all the listings for and a booking fee of 15 per cent, a single event in one place and use including VAT. features such as interactive venue In comparison, rivals Viagogo and maps and the ability to see the view Seatwave each charge 15 per cent to from section for select events,” says buyer and 10 per cent to sellers, both StubHub director of country manageplus VAT. ment Navin Kekane.

Last September, the Daily Mirror branded StubHub a “hub for touts” in an article alleging the company organised a promotional meeting for ticket touts at its London office (see LIVE UK issue 153). A StubHub spokeswoman described the event as a “focus group”, but admitted the firm offered discounted introductory rates to “a select number of sellers with a proven track record”.

Kekane says prolific sellers who “fulfil their orders with high quality and predictability”, will have the chance to qualify for “incentive schemes”.

Asked if the system would impact on touting, he says, “As with all open markets, increasing the volume of supply increases competition among sellers and therefore has a net downward effect on pricing, which ultimately benefits the consumer.” eBay acquired StubHub in the US for £205 million in 2007.

news I 5

Power to promote scaled-down Hop Seamless growth for The Vaccines Farm Festival cover artiste

DESPITE THE company behind last year’s event collapsing with debts of more than £4.8 million – with over £300,000 owed to artistes who performed – promoter Vince Power has announced he is promoting another Hop Farm Music Festival, set for 5-6 July at the same Paddock Wood site in Kent.

The new event will have a capacity of 10,000, down from 2012’s 50,000, and feature acts such as My Bloody Valentine and Rodriguez. Tickets with camping are priced at £135.

“Last year has been tough for me, as it has been across the board for the festival market,” says Power. “I wanted to keep the festival going, but I’ve had to make changes for it to continue.”

Among the 20-plus acts owed money by Kent Festival Ltd, which produced last year’s festival, are Peter Gabriel (due £100,000), Suede (£46,000), Damien Rice (£40,000), Primal Scream (£20,000) and Richard Ashcroft (£10,000).

See the April issue of Festival for the full story.

SPURRED ON by the success of debut album What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? In 2011 and 2012 charttopper Come of Age, The Vaccines sold out London’s Alexandra Palace (cap. 10,000) in November and are about to head out on their biggest headlining tour to date.

Upcoming venues include The O2 (17,000) in London, Millennium Square (8,000) in Leeds and Venue Cymru (1,500) in Llandudno, along with festivals such as Rockness (35,000) and the twin V Festivals (85,000 and 75,000).

“The Vaccines’ live career is going

from strength to strength,” says their manager James Sandom. “The transition to arenas in the UK and festival main stages globally is seamless, and testament to the band’s hard work in the last three years.”

Formed in 2010, the West London quartet are managed by Sandom and Cerne Canning of Red Light Management, while their agent is Paul Buck of Coda Agency.

“Following a run of festivals this summer the band will focus on America, beginning with a run of shows as support to Mumford & Sons,” adds Sandom.

Plan to bring back laughter Galbraith’s involvement KILIMANJARO LIVE CEO Stuart will see the show rolled out Galbraith has teamed-up with across multiple venues for the Steve Hutt at Highfield Productions first time. An to co-promote the arena tour is being festive annual Rock scheduled with eight With Laughter event. consecutive shows Since its launch planned from 13-22 in 2005, Rock December.

With Laughter has The event last established itself as a took place on key Christmas season December 2011 at show in Birmingham Birmingham’s LG that combines music Arena (cap. 14,000), and comedy. Past Stuart Galbraith with performers artistes include including Marti Pellow, 10cc and Chris De Burgh and Gabrielle, and Graham Norton. Tickets were priced comedians Jack Dee, Alesha Dixon up to £37.50. and Jimmy Carr.

Starship troopers:

See pages 18-22 April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

6 I news

Owner of The O2 Magnificent 7th year decides not to sell for Live at Leeds AMERICAN BILLIONAIRE Philip Anschutz has taken Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the owner of The O2 (cap. 17,000) off the market as interested parties failed to come up with enough money.

Anschutz was apparently hoping for at least $10 billion (£6.6bn) for the company, which operates more than 100 venues around the world and owns promoter AEG Live.

“From the very beginning of the sales process, we have made it clear to our employees and partners throughout the world that unless the right buyer came forward with a transaction on acceptable terms, we would not sell the company,” says Anschutz, chairman and CEO of the Anschutz Company.

Meanwhile, president/CEO of AEG since 1996 Tim Leiweke is to leave

The O2

by “mutual agreement” and will be succeeded by Dan Beckerman, who has been with the firm for over 15 years and has previously served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

Other changes include Jay Marciano, the current president/CEO of AEG Europe, relocating to Los Angeles from London, with Anschutz himself set to take on a more active role in the company.

THE LIVE At Leeds music conference and festival will see more than 100 artistes perform over 12 stages from 3-6 May. Venues will range from the O2 Academy (cap. 2,300) to the city’s Holy Trinity Church (300), as well as Millennium Square (8,000) which will host a show headlined by The Vaccines.

Other acts set to appear at the three-day event, which will begin with a one-day music industry conference, include the Pigeon Detectives, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, and Everything Everything.

“This will be the event’s seventh year and it’s come a long way in that time,” spokesman Simon Glecken tells LIVE UK. “It’s a national event on a par with [London’s] Camden Crawl, which gives fans the chance to discover new

Jenner joins IVS to promote RFID VIRTUAL FESTIVALS website founder and co-founder of the UK Festival Awards Steve Jenner has become business development director with the radio frequency ID (RFID) systems provider Intelligent Venue Solutions (IVS) as it expands in the UK and Europe.

The company provided cashless systems to the Isle of Wight Festival (cap.

Steve Jenner 55,000) in 2012, working with Mastercard and festival organiser John Giddings.

“IVS has done amazing things with this technology,” says Jenner. “Now they have perfected the technology, they want to roll it out to high profile music and sports events.”

Jenner could not confirm which UK events will see the system in use this year. But, as the supplier of RFID technology to Barclaycard, the company is likely to be active Wristband and scanner at British Summer Time (cap.

65,000) in London’s Hyde Park and other Barclaycard-sponsored events.

O2 Academy Leeds

Broadway Theatre put on the market THE BROADWAY Theatre (cap. 1,200) in Peterborough has been put up for sale with a £2.8 million price tag.

The venue, which opened as a cinema in 1937, underwent a £10 million revamp between 1999 and 2006, but closed following an arson attack in 2009.

It reopened in February 2011, only to close again six months later.

Owned by businessman Rinaldo Fasulo, the venue has hosted shows

by The Stranglers, Slade, Deacon Blue, Dionne Warwick, Boy George and Jethro Tull.

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“We have had bands such as the Wild Beasts and Pulled Apart by Horses play in the past and we have plans next year to expand the overall capacity.”

A multi-venue wristband for Live At Leeds Saturday costs £22.50. Tickets for the Millennium Square show are separately priced at £25.

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

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Expansion for Psych festival FOLLOWING THE success of its inaugural event last year, the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia has not only extended its duration to two days, but is also increasing its capacity from 1,300 to 2,000.

The festival will be held at the multi-purpose venue and exhibition space Camp and Furnace and will run from 2728 September.

“We’ve done it because of how good last year was,” says the festival’s Christopher Torpey. “The turn-out was fantastic and it was better than we thought. We also felt that we could do more by utilising the space more wisely.

“We had 28 bands on last year and we could have easily have doubled it then. It feels like the natural thing to do.”

As for expansion, he continues, “We’re going to open the space behind the bar – the Camp section – and that’ll be another main space like the Furnace, adding another 700 people. It’ll be transformed into something suitably psychedelic and mindblowing. We can also use the smaller Blade Factory room for different kinds of installations, film and art.”

Bands so far confirmed include Fuzz, Clinic and Psychic Ills. Earlybird tickets cost £17.50 for the two days.

Drury returns to Festival Awards FORMER FESTIVAL Awards MD James Drury returns to the event under its new owner, Mondiale Publishing, which purchased the business last year.

He becomes general manager of the UK and European awards and conference organiser, with responsibility for growing the events.

“When Mondiale took over I retained my directorship but explored other projects,” says Drury. “The company restructured the events’ production and asked me if I was interested in rejoining.

With Mondiale running the production side, I can concentrate on developing the awards and conference content.”

The UK Festival Awards, staged at London’s Roundhouse last December, saw attendance grow by around 10 per cent

James Drury

to 1,100.

“In Europe the awards are growing fantastically,” says Drury. “It was launched in 2009 and has grown to 500,000 people voting and 320 participating festivals. It hasn’t reached its full potential so I’m expecting that to grow.”

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

8 I news

Goldsmith preaches the value of customer care

10-11 April Wide Days Edinburgh www.widedays.com

19-20 April Plasa Focus Leeds www.plasafocus.com

LEGENDARY PROMOTER Harvey Goldsmith was one of the star panelists at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), held in London from 8-10 March.

The 66-year-old discussed his origins in the business and offered his advice and opinions on a range of topics during The Dragon’s Den with Harvey Goldsmith session.

“The single most critical thing to me is to take care of the audience,” he said. “They’re absolutely vital and I think today a lot of promoters forget about their audience, they just assume they’re going to be there.

“The key is the family that is buying tickets, because without them, the whole business is dead.”

Goldsmith stressed the importance of creating demand for a show.

“When I was building my business up my adage always was, if I can sell 12,000 seats, do a 10,000-seater, if I could sell 2,000 seats, do an 1,800-seater,” he said. “Always create a sell-out, because once you’ve got a sell-out, you’ve already got two to three hundred people that are going to be first in line next time.

“We’ve been bamboozled and bullied by the artistes into doing that one more show and that one more show, in my opinion, is what breaks the back.”

2-4 May Liverpool Sound City Liverpool www.liverpoolsound city.co.uk 16-18 May The Great Escape Brighton www.escapegreat.com 6-9 September PLASA 2013 London www.plasashow.com 16-17 October LIVE UK Summit London www.liveuksummit.com 17 October Live Music Business Awards London www.livemusicawards. com

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The single most critical thing to me is to take care of the audience Harvey Goldsmith

He also weighed in on the secondary ticketing debate, saying, “A ticket is an entry into an experience, it is not a commodity to be traded.

“Everything I do when I negotiate with an agent or with a manager is based on a set of costs, and you finally come to a deal and set the ticket price. So how come people [touts] can buy a load of them and then resell them for 10 times the price?

“It turns off the real fans.

Every time we rip them off it’s another tick in the black book and eventually they’re going to say ‘forget it’.”

Organisers say the event attracted more than 1,000 delegates from 62 countries. A more comprehensive review of the 25th edition of ILMC will be published in the April issue of our sister publication Audience.

City Limits: Leeds See pages 24-28

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

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10 I news

Stadium prepares for bumper year WEMBLEY STADIUM (cap. 80,000) is heading for one of its most successful years since its 2007 reopening, thanks in part to a significant investment in its infrastructure.

Bruce Springsteen is due to open the season on 15 June, followed by The Killers’ UK stadium debut a week later.

Robbie Williams is then scheduled to play four nights, with Roger Waters’ The Wall tour currently the last show of the year on 14 September.

“It is probably our equal-best year Jim Frayling since reopening,” says the stadium’s head of music and new events Jim Frayling. “We have already announced four headliners, with hopefully more to come.

“Our best year since re-opening was 2009, when AC/DC, Take That, Oasis, U2 and Coldplay played a total of 12 shows. Although we’ll have fewer shows, this year’s variety and appeal puts it

on a par with 2009,” he says.

“Historically, the stadium has typically attracted two headliners per year on average.”

Frayling puts the success down to a number of factors. “We’re a lot more competitive commercially,” he says. “We recognise we are in a competitive marketplace and react accordingly.

“Secondly we have invested a couple of million pounds in deepening our stage pocket, which has enabled us to hold gigs outside our core June/July period for the first time since 2009, as we can now do shows with the stage off the pitch.”

Live Nation is promoting the Springsteen and Roger Waters shows – the latter in conjunction with 3A Entertainment, with The Killers being presented by SJM Concerts and Robbie Williams

by Metropolis Music.

Wembley Stadium

“We are delighted overall, without being complacent about it – it’s still a tough market out there,” adds Frayling. “Quality sells, but you have to work harder than ever to make sure it does.”

Also see Backstage Stars on page 34.

MAMA seals deal for East London venue MAMA & Company has acquired East London’s Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen (cap. 450) as part of planned expansion following its £7.3 million management buyout from HMV. The Shoreditch venue has hosted early shows by acts such as Mumford & Sons, Paloma Faith, Vampire Weekend and Jessie J, with upcoming shows featuring CSS, Bleech and Story Books.

“The axis of London’s music scene has definitely shifted East over the years and we have long coveted a space where we could do what we do best, promote up and coming artistes,” says MAMA CEO Dean James. “With Hoxton, we think we have got the best site in East London.”

James revealed the firm’s expansion plans

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen

in an interview with LIVE UK shortly after the long-rumoured management buyout, backed by Lloyds Development Capital, was completed in December (see LIVE UK issue 155).

“We’ll be expanding by taking on more venues,” he said. “We’re looking at a couple in London. If you look at what we have, we’ve got a gap in East London. A lot of what we do is on this side of the town, so we should have a venue here.”

MAMA-owned venues include The Forum (2,350) in London, The Picture House (1,500) in Edinburgh, The Institute (1,500) in Birmingham, The Ritz (1,500) in Manchester and The Masque (1,500) in Liverpool.

Its festival business operates Global Gathering (50,000), Lovebox (25,000) and Wilderness (10,000).

Garage brand could expand “Aberdeen has been lacking a GLASGOW-BASED promoter and decent mid-size venue since the venue operator Donald MacLeod closure of Moshulu [in 2010],” he has not ruled out moving into other says. “The city is well cities, after opening a new serviced with smaller venue in Aberdeen. venues and events in the MacLeod launched Aberdeen Exhibition and The Garage (cap. 700) in Conference Centre [8,500], the former MAMA Group but there’s been a real gap venue Moshulu on the west in the market. side of the city last August “It took a lot of work to after spending £500,000 Donald MacLeod turn the venue into what it refurbishing the building. is today. When we took it over, the As well as owning The Garage sound proofing was so poor you (700), The Cathouse (400) and The could hear pool balls rolling Tunnel (900) in Glasgow, MacLeod around on the tables in the pool is also co-director of Edinburghhall upstairs.” based promoter Triple G Music and The venue has since been fully chairman of Nordoff Robbins Music soundproofed, with new bars added.

Therapy in Scotland.

Acts playing the venue include Mark Although this is the first expanLanegan, Yashin, Peter Hook & The sion of The Garage brand outside of Light, The Stranglers, Enter Shikari Glasgow, MacLeod says he hopes and Glasvegas. there will be “many more to come”.

The Garage

Ticketscript teams up with Songkick TICKETSCRIPT HAS linked up with Songkick to provide fans with personalised emails and push messages for upcoming events featuring their favourite artistes.

Online music tool Songkick allows its six million monthly users to track their choen acts and receive alerts for upcoming events and tour dates from their music library, which is connected with their Spotify and Facebook account.

The new deal provides users with a direct link to the Ticketscript

ticketshop to buy tickets.

“With Songkick, we have added another strong promotion and sales channel to our platform,” says Ticketscript CEO Frans Jonker.

“We can now market to passionate fans, but with the advantage that our clients are in total control of their own ticket sales and data.”

Fans will also be able to buy tickets on mobile and tablet devices, through Ticketscript’s mobile ticketshop and the Songkick app.

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

12 I NEWS

Spa-rkling future for seaside complex?

THE COMPANY which operates the multi-room Scarborough Spa complex plans to significantly increase the number of live music shows held at the venue.

The initiative follows Scarborough Council’s appointment of Sheffield International Venues (SIV), operator of Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena (12,500) and City Hall (2,346), to run the complex last October.

“We have got some great spaces here and can really see the opportunity for live music in all genres,” SIV general manager Dominic Stokes tells LIVE UK. “There is the Grand Hall which is 1,800-capacity, or 1,300-seated, then we have the Spa Victoria Theatre [cap.

565], the Ocean Room [800] and the Promenade Lounge [300].”

The Spa has welcomed acts such as Ocean Colour Scene, the Pigeon Detectives and Toploader, as well as the annual Scarborough Jazz Festival, since reopening in 2011, following a £6.5 million refurbishment.

Scarborough Spa

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

This year it will features shows by The Darkness, Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Enter Shikari and Patti Smith.

“We are not necessarily on promoters or agents’ hit lists at the moment and one of the challenges is to get them to come across and take a bit of a punt,” explains Stokes. “We are working with local promoters and agents to try and create a bit of history, and then we can go to SJM and Live Nation and show them that we can sell here.”

The nearby Scarborough Open Air Theatre (6,500) has a summer line-up featuring Status Quo, Leona Lewis, Katherine Jenkins, McFly, The Wanted, Olly Murs, The Saturdays and the Happy Mondays, while the Futurist Theatre (2,155) recently hosted a Gary Barlow concert.

“Scarborough’s had some tough times but there is now a hell of a lot going off,” adds Stokes. “I think there are some really exciting things about to happen.”

QUEEN GUITARIST Brian May (right) and drummer Roger Taylor (left) accepted a plaque from PRS for Music at Imperial College, to commemorate the band’s first London concert at the venue on 18 July 1970. The plaque was presented by PRS chairman Guy Fletcher (centre). The performance royalty collection body established its Heritage Award scheme in 2009 to recognise important music venues where iconic acts performed. Previous recipients include Blue, Elton John, Snow Patrol, James and Supergrass.

Report reinforces paperless benefits THE FOUNDER of ticketing provider WeGotTickets has called for paperless tickets to become the norm following the publication of an environmental report.

The Carbon Assessment of Ticketing Delivery Systems was compiled

by Sam Chapman of En-Count, a sustainability consultancy specialising in life cycle assessments.

The report states that mailedout tickets consume 100 times the amount of energy of completely paperless tickets, adding that the energy used in ticketing a sold-out show at London’s The O2 (cap.

17,000) via paperless tickets would do less environmental damage a 200-capacity venue using paper tickets.

“This report resoundingly illustrates how a modern ticketing system would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 100-fold,” says Dave Newton of WeGotTickets, which employs paperless ticketing.

“It behoves the ticketing sector to make sure that paperless becomes the norm and that gig-goers are educated and encouraged to never print out an email confirmation again.”

rfu.com/twickenhamstadium

14 I

in association with

Dedicated to the business people who drive the unsigned and emerging artiste sector, ensuring a future for the UK music industry

Unsigned Guide marks milestone THE UNSIGNED Guide (TUG), which features more than 8,750 music business contacts working with unsigned acts across 50 sectors of the music industry, has celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Published by Manchester-based mcr:music, the guide is targeted at helping artistes, managers and industry service providers. Originally released as a printed directory, it has been an online-only resource

Louise Dodgson

since November 2011 and has accumulated more than 4,500 users.

“Being just online means we can add listings all-year-round, which makes it more flexible for us and our customers,” explains TUG editor Louise Dodgson. “Rather than pay one sum for a print version, they can have a monthly subscription and come and go as they please.”

TUG includes a Survival guide,

Acoustic events for the whole family A SERIES of free community music events is being held at London’s newly-refurbished Crypt Café at St. Peter’s Church in De Beauvoir Town on the first Sunday of every month.

Acoustic Sundays are free acoustic music events which are intended to foster a relaxed, party-like atmosphere.

The initiative was started in 2010 by SoundAdviceUK (SAUK), which is run by volunteers, at The Vortex (cap. 100), in Dalston, to provide performance opportunities, particularly for local musicians and a physical presence for music and media project SAUK. “Evening events are rarely accessible to children and older

people and we want to make live music more available, with reasonably priced food and drink and a friendly atmosphere,” says Oli K-H, who managed the project for a year at The Vortex.

“We also invite schools to encourage talented young musicians to play a short set and the added bonus is that their whole family can come too.”

Instead of money, musicians are given a free professionally produced performance video.

Future plans include performance and video workshops, where musicians of all ages can practice, while others learn to use cameras, before they all test their skills at an Acoustic Sunday.

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

which offers discounts and packages on services such as recording and rehearsal rates, photography and video shoots, and PR material.

“We also feature five of the best tracks submitted by our members, which get sent on to key music industry people,” adds Dodgson. “We get a lot of responses from people who have found managers, have worked with labels or have got radio airplay through the guide.”

Glasto competition names finalists THE EIGHT finalists of Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent competition have been revealed.

A Band Called Wanda, Black Balloons, Bridie Jackson & Arbour, The Dancers, Isaiah Dreads, Lillian Todd Jones, Port Isla and Rhys Lloyd Morgan were selected by judges from the best 120 artistes chosen from the thousands that entered.

“This year the standard was particularly high and we had a real struggle to cut it down to only eight finalists, but we are extremely happy with the finalists,” says organiser Emily Eavis.

More than 8,000 entries were submitted for the contest, the winner of which will get the chance to play a

main stage set at the festival, which takes place from 26-30 June.

To enter, they were asked to supply an online link to an original composition.

The live final will take place at Pilton Working Men’s Club (cap.

250) on 6 April and will be streamed on the Glastonbury website.

Successful entrants from previous years have included Scouting For Girls and The Subways. Emily Eavis

NXT news I 15

in association with

Scott celebrates awards hat-trick EMMA SCOTT, who won Indie Promoter of the Year at last year’s Live Music Business Awards, has picked up another accolade.

Scott, who is also a radio presenter, was named Promoter of the Year at the Pure Rawk Awards, the third successive year she has been recognised by the website, which gives coverage to unsigned, breakthrough and nonmainstream acts.

She turned her hand to promoting to help her “favourite bands out with decent gigs”, and started organising events under the banner Emma Scott Presents (ESP) in 2005. She has kept it up since relocating from Portsmouth to the Midlands in 2007.

“We see each booking as more than just a gig,” she says. “We interview each band

for our website and organise reviewers and photographers to attend the show. We also get mentions on local radio, giving them even more exposure.”

Scott supports Emma Scott unsigned acts through gigs, radio podcasts, the record label In At The Eye Records, which she co-owns, and her Break Your Band seminars.

Recent ESP-promoted shows in Birmingham include Your Demise at O2 Academy 3 (cap.

289), Greenwood Park at The Roadhouse (250), and Formula Fight The Bear and Lightfire at The Flapper (200).

Chance for unsigned act to win INmusic festival slot held at The Assembly (1,000) in Leamington Spa. FESTIVAL TRAVEL specialist eufest has teamed “We’ve always been great supporters of the with Croatia’s INmusic Festival (cap. 25,000) to European festival scene, and especially offer an unsigned act an expenseswhen it comes to working with new paid trip to perform at the event. or start-up festivals,” says eufest’s The band will be selected from Dermot O’Flynn. “But we’re also keen entrants to the competition, All About to promote the next generation of the Music, which is open to unsigned successful acts and give them the artistes who write and perform their opportunity to share their music with a own material. larger audience.”

The winner will be chosen Headline acts confirmed for the by a panel of judges including Dermot O’Flynn 24-26 June event, which is in its eighth representatives of Band Crusade, year, include Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party and Iggy a campaign launched to counter the chart & the Stooges. dominance of X Factor-type acts, at a live final

Stage break Key venues for aspiring talent

The Factory Jenkin St, Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF39 9PP Bookings: John Davies T: 01443 687080 E: john@valleyskids.org Capacity: 300 In-house PA/lights: Yes Dressing rooms: Four Booking policy: Open weekends and occasionally weekdays. Monthly acoustic, comedy and under 18’s nights. Unsigned and touring acts.

Best unsigned/emerging acts currently playing the venue: Roosevelt, Kizzy Crawford, Peasants King, Rhys Lloyd Morgan, Zinc Bukowski Best advice for managers: “Make sure you have accessible or easy to find YouTube videos. Ensure that they have the best sound quality possible.

With that, a live performance is preferable as it gives us the chance to see exactly what your act is about.”

Acts to have played the venue: Queens of the Stone Age, Keane, Tom Jones, Victoria Beckham, The Libertines

John Davies

The Factory

8,500 FERVENT FANS FROM ACROSS SCOTLAND ARE WAITING FOR YOU! ABERDEEN AND AECC, A ROCKING COMBINATION FOR YOUR NEXT GIG IN THE WILD, WILD NORTH! For more information, call the team on 01224 824824 or visit aecc.co.uk IT’S ALWAYS THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE GIG April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

16 I

in association with

Mersey feat Liverpool’s music scene has enjoyed five years of increasing interest from both the domestic music industry as well as internationally, thanks to the steady expansion of showcase festival and conference event Liverpool Sound City.

Rob Sandall reports

W

ith the specific intention of bringing a city other than London or Manchester to the forefront of the UK and International music industry, Liverpool Sound City (LSC) will shortly be staging its fifth annual event, and giving a host of aspiring artistes the chance of a break.

Incorporating over 360 artistes in more acts including Temper Trap, Professor Green, than 25 venues across the city, along with DjangoDjango and Alt J, continued a trend of conference and music and technology expo, steady growth, and Pichilingi expects the success LSC runs from 2-4 May and expects to welcome to continue. in excess of 40,000 festival attendees and around “Once the recession lifts we’ll see an even 3,000 business delegates, including artistes. stronger uptake – we met our expected targets LSC founder and CEO David Pichilingi believes last year with 41,500 people attending the that Liverpool has long been deserving of more festival, and 3,082 delegates – and there are no attention, and that the city itself that plays a signs of us slowing down,” he says. huge part in LSC’s continued success.

“This year we’re also working with “There’s nowhere in the UK [venture capital investors] Ingenious quite like Liverpool, particularly Media, who will be equity partners because we’re now a truly river-facing with LSC, which will put us in an even city,” he says. stronger position.”

“The Mersey has always been Pichillingi notes that while the a feature here, but since more and event will focus on “generally more more development has gone into of the same, but with even bigger making it the focus of the city it’s ambitions”, both live entertainment created a unique experience. It’s like and the conference will see some the Barcelona of the UK. notable changes.

“People might not realise Dave Phichilingi “We’re making more use of a wider variety of it beforehand, but once they visit they’ll venues,” he says. find it hard to stop themselves from “We’ve looked at places far more diverse than coming back.” the expected black-box buildings and have added Last year’s event, which played host to

performances in anywhere from cathedrals to car parks.

“The conference will have a real breadth of speakers this year, and to make sure there’s a good balance of male and female, you’ll see Matthew Murphy from The Wombats talking about relatively recent success, alongside the likes of Tracey Thorn, who has decades of experience to share.

“The Expo is also being brought far more fully into the conference – up until now it’s been a somewhat separate idea against the rest of the weekend, but we’re making sure there’s much bigger connection to the event.”

The right fit

Steve ‘Revo’ Miller, one of Liverpool’s most prolific promoters and overseeing the acts booked across the event, says that the wealth of talent playing LSC this year is always carefully picked for the benefit of acts and punters alike.

Liverpool Sound City - Conference Session

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

PAST/COMING SHOWS INCLUDE Example | Chase & Status | The Wombats | Marina & The Diamonds | Eliza Doolittle | Labrinth | Feeder | The Streets | Modestep | Noah & The Whale | Bombay Bicycle Club | DJ Fresh | Zane Lowe | Sub Focus | Nero | Benga | Annie Mac | Wild Beasts + more BOOKINGS/PRODUCTION Rob.Chamberlain@warwicksu.com PRESS/PROMOTION Vas.Stylianos@warwicksu.com

1/24/2013 12:31:18 PM

I 17

in association with

On the beat Scouting the frontline

Matt Ingham, 26 “It’s always been important for me that we steer clear of hype bands,” he says.

“Regardless of the press an act may or may not be getting, what matters to me in particular is whether they can perform well live.

“In terms of new and established acts on the bill, I try to ensure that there’ll be a good mix at each venue and performance, so that less experienced acts have the chance to play with the veterans, and so that the crowd can benefit from new music.”

Miller adds that the huge number of performances during LSC has meant a thoughtful approach has had to be taken to finding available space, and that some venues have been harder than others to accommodate.

“Obviously we have the long-standing places booked – The Cavern [cap. 380], the O2 Academy [1,200], but we’ve had to think a bit bigger,” he says.

“If we weren’t using car parks and warehouse spaces and so on, there’d not actually be anywhere near enough room to put on the acts we have booked this year.

“And there are extra things to think about with some of the venues – Liverpool Cathedral (2,000) for instance was tricky as trying to book someone like My Bloody Valentine doesn’t go down well with the priests.

“In the end we went with the Walkmen, who have an album entitled Heaven, which was good, and of course Noah and the Whale, for their biblical name.”

Emerging acts to play LSC this year include Hawk Eyes, Silent Sleep and Big Deal.

Wristbands for venue access to the three-day event cost £45, while delegate passes are priced at £120.

Company: Cherry Red Records, London E: matti@cherryred.co.uk When joined the company: 2010 Company signings: Big Country, Todd Rundgren, The Fall, Go-Kart Mozart, Sanguine Hum, Parlour Flames, Suzi Quatro, Pig Iron Among favourite emerging acts: Ghost, Max Raptor, Kvelertak

Favourite venues for seeing unsigned acts: Water Rats, London. Old Blue Last, London. O2 Academy 3, Manchester Importance of playing live: “It is incredibly important. The more gigs you play the better you’ll become as a unit and that will translate across all aspects of your career.”

Best advice to unsigned act managers: “Don’t forget the physical side of music. Great artwork, innovative packaging and the personal touch always help get the message across.”

Emerging new acts on the label: Pig Iron, Parlour Flames (Former Oasis guitarist Bonehead’s new band), Sanguine Hum

Managing talent Building emerging careers

Sabira Hud, 30

being able to gauge the audience response to new songs and iron out anything that might not quite work in a song.”

Other emerging acts to watch: Soley, Petite Noir, Sykur, Action Bronson, Bhi Bhiman

Company: CMO Management, London E: sabira@cmomanagement.co.uk Artiste roster: Elle Watson, PSM, The 13 Favourite venues for showcasing/playing: Old Blue Last (London). King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (Glasgow), Thekla (Bristol) Importance of playing live: “Playing live is so important. It helps strengthen the performance and building confidence, which can also lead to more confidence whilst working in the studio. It’s great

Greatest lesson learned: “Get as much sleep as you can while you’re touring, it really takes it out of you.”

Worst live experience: “Everyone has to play at least one show where there is hardly anyone there, it’s like a rite of passage. Everything that happens at a show is manageable and a massive learning curve.”

Current Projects: Elle - spending the summer writing and playing a few low key shows. The 13 working on a new record. PSM - Mexican tour.

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Sector Focus

18 I

Vans For Bands interior

Starship troopers When an artiste decides to head out on the highway and cars and a rental van won’t quite do it anymore, they turn to a hierarchy of specialist operators, who can cater for all levels of success, from splitters to spacecraft on wheels, as Rob Sandall reports

W

Tim Fortnam King

hether a four-piece band with a modest road crew or an entire touring family comprising scores of personnel for stadium shows, they all have to get from A to B somehow, with timing, efficiency and comfort all key factors.

‘Somehow’ is certainly apt in live entertainment, where all manner of difficulties threaten to scupper best laid plans.

It’s down to a determined few specialist bussing and van companies to provide the vehicles and drivers to ensure safe and passage, and for Phoenix Bussing operations manager Paul Hattin, business is almost too good.

“It’s been a fantastic 12 months,” he says. “It’s a strong year ahead too and we’ve had to turn down some of our longest-standing customers.

“It’s gotten to the point that they’re

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

almost disbelieving, as we’ve worked with many acts for a long time now.”

Hattin points out that this isn’t too surprising considering the huge demands some tours can place on transport. With new acquisitions this year, the Phoenix fleet is 31 buses.

“When you consider that a band like Muse now use seven buses, and the likes of Lady Gaga go up 16 buses - individual transport for managers as well as the huge number of crew for the live shows - we’re very quickly booked up.

“We’d love to expand further of course, but you can’t simply buy more busses when business is up in high season - you have to think about the costs of a bus being off the road.

“They need to be stored somewhere, they need rigorous checks and they need a huge amount of maintenance,” explains Hattin.

“If you consider that the average bus will do 80,000 miles in a year, which is three times what a normal vehicle would normally do, they need a lot of attention to ensure that they’re safe and comfortable on the road.”

Hattin says that while the notion of tightening budgets is all very well, it’s not something he believes is necessarily the right approach when dealing with clients.

“I see this in a very practical light,” he says. “If I’ve quoted someone a price and they then ask me to drop it, and I do, then they’re well within their rights to ask why I didn’t drop it in the first place. So I’d rather give them the fairest price I can right from the off and stick to it.”

Expectations rising

“We now have over 50 of the newest, highest-quality buses on the road,” states Tim Fortnam King of Beat to the Street

sector focus I 19

(BTS), who suggests that the industry as a whole has more recently factored in higher budgets for the transportation.

“It’s noticeable that more tour managers and organisers realise that spending just a little bit extra gives them peace of mind - and a much happier band and crew - without the worry of constant breakdowns.

“We’re definitely busier across the whole year now - the summer is still as manic as ever, and we could put another 20 buses on the road between May and August.

“It can be a worry though, knowing that you’ve pencilled in 10 buses for a particular tour, that if it cancels then there is a very large hole to fill, but things usually work out.”

He’s also quick to point out that the human element of the transport sector will make all the difference to custom and repeat business, regardless of the more obvious spends on vehicles a company such as BTS could make.

“Although the buses are the high profile hardware that gets noticed, it’s still a business where relationships are very important - the drivers, office staff and so on,” he says.

“Our drivers in particular have to be able to join a group of people that may have been working together for a long time, and immediately fit in.”

Founded and headquartered in Austria, BTS opened a UK base several years ago, after winning a significant share of the touring acts’ business across mainland Europe.

Knowledge is key

Mick Tresnan at Crossbow, who established the company in 1999 but has been working within live entertainment for 30 years, stresses the importance of

Beat The Street bus

specialist experience when catering for high-end customers.

“You have to have first-hand experience, which can only be gained by doing the job for a long time,” he says. “When producing a budget, all costs have to accounted for and that includes allowing for the unexpected, which happens constantly on a tour. No training can teach you most of that stuff.”

Noting a significant increase of artistes working across Europe, Tresnan has also noticed the business becoming more professional and operating with much tighter financial controls.

“It’s not like the old days when someone would actually put their own money in to book a band, cover all the expenses and hope they sold enough tickets,” he says.

“It is all finance, grants and accountants these days, which has benefits to some, but can make it hard for others in the industry.”

Paul Ward at Silvergray says that after last year’s relatively tough market, this

year is far more promising, but is holding out until summer to make further decisions regarding expansion.

“It’s been 12 months of hard work, but that said, we’ve had a good start to 2013,” he says. “I’m still waiting to make sure that it continues into the next season before I buy two new buses for the fleet, which will cost half a million pounds.”

The new purchases, Ward says, are necessary because there’s always demand from artistes for the most modern vehicles available.

“Everyone wants their show touring with the newest buses,” he says.

“Unfortunately, this is while still wanting to pay old prices, which can makes it difficult to provide the service wanted for the budget given.”

Ward adds that justifying the purchase of a bus means a significant amount of time on the road every year, and a quality of care that will prevent unnecessary charges when the vehicle is touring outside of the UK. “A bus needs to have around 250 days

Paul Hattin

Mick Tresnan

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Sector Focus

20 I

of the year out on the road to create a profit, against the tight margins and time spent in a garage,” he says.

“And there’s a real danger of incurring fines if they’re not kept up to European standards - if you’re not careful there’ll be points on the tour when you’re at the side of the road being charged €80 [£68].”

Mike Moulds

Online opportunities

Malcolm Farrey at Four Seasons Travel says it’s enjoying both strong repeat business as well as the benefits of an early investment in online advertising.

“We were one of the first companies in the sector to have a website, just as the Internet was starting to become a real business proposition,” he says.

“It makes all the difference that a customer can look through the specs of our busses and see exactly what they’re getting for their money.

“It’s an uncomplicated way of dealing with us, and I think it’s important that clients understand that we provide an easily-bookable choice.”

Farrey notes that the quality of the buses he uses and uniform spec sheets

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Phoenix Bussing - Crew Bus Lounge

have helped to bring in the bigger acts, but adds that he would be loathe to turn down more modest propositions.

“At the end of the day, work is work, and as long as the buses are out on the road, we’re happy,” he says.

“Every one of the vehicles is spec’d identically, so there are no surprises or changes if you rebook.

“If we need to upgrade by adding

something, we upgrade the whole fleet, even down to the edging on the leather chairs - I think that attention to detail can make a real difference.”

Repeat reassurance

Mike Moulds at MM Band Services credits a large part of his success over the past 12 months with increased touring by heritage acts, as well as newcomers hitting

sector focus I 21

the road in growing numbers.

“There’s been a noticeable increase in business due to more tours going out, but we have also seen a massive increase in repeat business,” he says. “To meet that, we have two further buses arriving ready for the summer season.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have been well supported by the management of acts including Plan B, Mumford & Sons, Travis, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Paul and Katy B to name a few.”

The company has steadily built a varied fleet of vehicles and Moulds notes that a decade-plus of service has allowed companies like his to tailor transport for all manner of specific clients.

SilverGray bus

“We have been in business for 13 years,” he says, “and since we started, all we have ever done is work within the music industry, which has meant that we’ve learnt what bands really want.

“We have budget buses for those who are starting out doing the smaller gigs and universities, and then we have a fleet of extra long crew and band buses - both double- and single-deckers. We also have two specialist Star buses with double beds and extra bunks.”

Been there, done that

Tarrant Anderson, owner of Vans for Bands and bassist in Frank Turner’s band The Sleeping Souls, says that specialist

companies’ experience within the industry makes all the difference to clients looking to be guaranteed service.

“I worked as a tour manager and frontof-house sound engineer from around 1998 to 2008, with a range of artistes mainly in the rock and indie genre, and started the company in 2005,” he says.

“Everyone who works at Vans For Bands has got years and years of experience on the front line of touring, which non-entertainment-savvy hire and transport companies just don’t have,” says Anderson.

“So we’ve pretty much done everything already - been to most of the venues in Western Europe, and encountered most of the myriad of problems that tend to crop up on tour.

“We’re able to offer a wealth of experience that you can’t tap into with a non-specialist transport. This is particularly important when things go wrong; as anyone who has toured seriously will attest. Things have a habit of going wrong on tour.”

Anderson also says that while budget tightening remains a lingering effect

Tarrant Anderson

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Sector Focus

Scott Fury

of economic climate, his company is able to provide different levels of transport to best meet all needs.

“We operate a fleet of 25 nine-seat splitter vans that are separated into two categories – Basic and Luxury.

“The Basic splitter vans start at £70 + VAT per day and the Luxury splitter vans start at £110 + VAT per day,” he says.

“We also have a number of mini-splitters and MPVs based on the Mercedes Vito, and recently added a high-end, 12-berth sleeper bus to the fleet.”

Anderson adds that hiring transport brings with it a responsibility to ensure that the self-drive vehicles are being used safely.

“I guess the biggest issue for us is to do with educating people,” he says. “I find it constantly surprising, and worrying, how little many people know about safe driving, road and transportation practice.

So part of what we do is to try to guide people in the right direction without being patronising or overbearing.

“When you work with a vehicle fleet

Phoenix Bussing - Crew Bus Kitchen

Beat The Street interior

for a number of years, inevitably some of them get involved in serious accidents, and it doesn’t take long to learn that you need to take this stuff really seriously.”

Inside knowledge

Scott Fury at Bandrunner has provided transport for his own musical endeavours and a wide variety of clients. He

believes that his familiarity with life on the road makes a real difference to the service he provides.

“I’ve played in bands most of my life,” he says, “and after passing my driving test in 1986, I did a lot of the driving between gigs, so I feel as though I’ve been doing this job for a long time, although only strictly for the last four years as a committed business.

“Being a musician who has played hundreds of gigs helps me to understand what is required of a tour driver and, obviously, being a safe driver is the most important bit.”

However, he is quick to point out that a passion for music is also a bonus.

“So much of the time on the road is spent in the company of the bands themselves,” says Fury. “The difference between a standard minibus driver and entertainment driver is subtle, but it can mean a lot to the client and makes the job easier for them.”

One of Fury’s main frustrations is the maintenance costs involved.

“The fact that components are designed to fail after determined time is a real irritation. Most of my outlay is replacing fuel pumps, alternators etc.”

Supplying vehicles to function bands has proved a steady line of business and fills the gaps between work for more established acts.

“I still work with the larger acts and, for example, tomorrow I will take Big Country to play at a private party in Glasgow.”

So, although the sector seems to be relatively buoyant, it’s clear that while the big players survive from high-budget, multi-vehicle tours, the companies further down the scale need to find business all year round.

T: +44 1361 884714 • Mobile: 07836 32224 Email: info@fourseasonstravel.co.uk • www.fourseasonstravel.co.uk

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

“Everything you want from a home on the road. Great friendly service from both the office and the drivers.”

Thomas Stone, Artist Tour/Production

Acer Glade, Black Tup Lane, Arnold, Hull HU11 5JA t: +44 1964 563464 f: 01964 564312 e: mike@mmbandservices.co.uk w: www.mmbandservices.co.uk March 2013 • issue 158 • www.liveuk.com

24 I

City Limits City Limits

Leeds Leeds Arena

With the city’s first arena about to open its doors, Leeds’ promoters and venue operators are working hard to ensure they hang on to their shares of the market when the big acts start coming to town, charging up to £75 for a ticket. Allan Glen reports

W

Andy Smith

hen a new venue is about to open its doors in a major city, a certain anticipation is created and when that venue is a 13,500-capacity arena, the expectation can be considerable.

Such is the buzz about the Leeds Arena, with some of the world’s top touring artistes being lined-up to appear after its the grand opening later this year.

Following a Live Nation-promoted, pre-launch concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in July, with tickets at £65, the venue will officially open in September with a performance from Elton John (promoted by Marshall Arts, with tickets at £75).

Other acts playing the venue include Boyzone (3AEntertainment, £35), Nickelback (Live Nation, £37) and JLS (SJM Concerts, £27.50).

According to general manager Ben Williams, the £60 million SMG Europe-operated arena is a state-of-the-art venue, working on a theatre-style concept.

“Where traditional arenas have four sides of seating around a sports pitch, the Leeds Arena will have one large supertheatre seating bowl that fans out from the stage,” he says.

“The furthest seat in the venue is only 68m from the stage as opposed to up to 110m in standard arenas.”

As well as promoting individual shows, Williams believes

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

that with SMG’s portfolio, which includes the Odyssey Arena (cap. 11,000) in Belfast, Manchester Arena (15,000) and Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena (11,000), the new venue is in a good regional position.

“Controlling over 55,000 entertainment seats puts us in a unique position to offer attractive terms to promoters routing UK tours,” he asserts.

Unsurprisingly, the impending opening of the new arena is a hot topic among promoters. While some believe the arena could take business out of the emerging acts market, others believe it will be a benefit.

“I think there was a concern from grassroots promoters that people would spend less money to see gigs they put on as they’ll now be spending money at the arena,” says Andy Smith, booker for Leeds promoter Futuresound. “However, we think people will spend money, regardless of these big acts.”

Indeed, Futuresound hopes to make good use of the new venue themselves, co-promoting Kaiser Chiefs with SJM there later in the year.

With two of the company’s directors also in charge of sister promotions company Slam Dunk Music, Futuresound is the largest promoters in the city region. In recent years it has hosted events with The Specials, Example, Fallout Boy and

Exploring the live music networks in our key cities and towns I city

Ben Williams

The Pigeon Detectives at Millennium Square (7,500), and Kaiser Chiefs at Kirkstall Abbey (10,000).

As well as owning The Cockpit (500, 250, 125), the company also promotes the metropolitan festival Live at Leeds, with up to 15 venues taking part this year. These include the O2 Academy (2,300), Leeds Metropolitan University (1,100), The Wardrobe (460) and The Brudenell Social Club (400).

Acts who have played the event include Mumford & Sons, The Maccabees, Jake Bugg, Hurts, Wild Beasts and Pulled Apart By Horses, while emerging Leeds acts to perform at the event this May include the Hookworms, Swimming Lessons, Witch Hunt and Post War Glamour Girls.

Uncertain times

Denny Rankin

limits I 25

To many promoters and agents, 2013 will be guitar music’s year while for others the early signs of a second coming may just be slightly premature.

If any city can gauge whether its much-heralded return will come to fruition this year then promoters in Leeds whose alumni include Kaiser Chiefs, The Sisters of Mercy, The Gang of Four and The Pigeon Detectives - are well placed to offer an opinion.

“I personally remain a little cautious about it,” says Dennis.

“Although relatively new bands such as Peace, Swim Deep, The 1975 and Kodaline are selling really well.”

Futuresound’s impact on the city’s music scene also extends to the Festival Republic-promoted Leeds Festival (75,000) - twinned with Reading Festival (87,000) - where winners of its emerging talent competition can find themselves playing in front of a large audience every August.

“The festival gives young musicians in Leeds a real outlet,” says Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “Sometimes the winning acts [in Futuresound’s competition] have played on the Festival Republic stage, sometimes they have played on the

The Cockpit

BBC Introducing Stage.”

According to Benn, the festival’s reputation for bringing some of the biggest bands in the world to the region, such as Foo Fighters and Green Day, has had a major and lasting impact not only in Leeds but also across the north.

“This year, for example, we have Eminem headlining, which is giving people in Leeds the opportunity to see a major international artiste,” says Benn. “Often Leeds Festival is the first time young people will go and see live music [and] it really inspires people to pick up guitars, pick up microphones.”

Mid-level strengths

One venue that has had a major impact on the music scene in Leeds is Academy Music Group’s O2 Academy, where guitarbased acts consistently do good business.

“Artistes such as The Vaccines, The Courteeners, Jake Bugg and Two Door Cinema Club always do well here,” says general manager Denny Rankin. Other acts playing the venue include Biffy Clyro, The Killers, Simple Minds, James [all SJM], and

Leeds University Union Venues Available for hire: The Refectory 2100 / Stylus 1000 / Mine 450 standing capacities Recent acts include FRANK TURNER, DINOSAUR JR, JAGUAR SKILLS, PARKWAY DRIVE, THE PHARCYDE, NETSKY, BASTILLE, LIANNE LA HAVAS, SWANS, TEED, SPECTOR, NEW FOUND GLORY

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Contact Steve Keeble at s.w.keeble@leeds.ac.uk or 0113 3801 334 Ali Peek at a.peek@leeds.ac.uk or 0113 3801 333 2010 hire rates held www.leedstickets.com April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

City Limits

26 I

John Keenan

George Clark

Tom Odell [Futuresound].

Yet it is not only guitar-based acts that go down well in Leeds, according to Rankin. “The rise of dance and electronic live acts has moved out of the club scene into live venues and is working really well.”

Throughout the 1960s, the University of Leeds Refectory (2,100) played an important part in the music scene and the decision by The Who to record their seminal album Live at Leeds there on 14 February 1970, took the venue to a different level.

Ever since, it has been a must-stop destination for different genres of musicians and that continues to this day with shows from Everything Everything (£22.50), Frank Turner (£18.50, both Futuresound), Parkway Drive (£16) and All Time Low (£34, both Slam Dunk Music).

Other University-operated venues are Stylus (1,000) where recent shows include Dinosaur Jr (Futuresound) - and Mine (450), where acts have included The Revival, promoted

by DHP. “The suite of venues that we have really helps,” says venues manager Steve Keeble. “Our ability to move shows up and down between venues without having to advertise a change of location is a real strength.”

With up to 25 large live music events a year in its main room, Leeds Metropolitan University is another important mid-level venue.

“Despite the number of shows going down over the years, we haven’t panicked and thought, ‘Well, we’d better put

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

O2 Academy

our prices up’,” says assistant events manager George Clark.

“Sometimes we get shows in there and think, ‘It’s amazing that’s not at the Academy’, but obviously some bands do a small tour, mid-level dates and then go for the big show after that.”

As well as hosting acts such as Marina and The Diamonds (Futuresound), Foals, Azelia Banks, Bat For Lashes (all SJM),

Exploring the live music networks in our key cities and towns I city

Deaf Havana and Opus (both Slam Dunk Music), the University is currently investing in its second room (350), including upgrading the venue’s PA system.

“Promoters come back because they’ve had an easy day here,” adds Clark.

Experience counts

If the term veteran promoter is sometime overused in the music business, then one industry figure that certainly deserves the title more than most is John Keenan of JFK Promotions.

As well as promoting early shows from The Police and U2 in Tiffany’s (2,500), Keenan was also behind the city-based Futurama festival (7,500), whose line-ups included acts such as Joy Division, and Echo and The Bunnymen.

Between 1988 and 2000, Keenan booked the acts at The Duchess (300), which once saw 12 people turn up for a new act in the mid-‘90s called Oasis. The next time the band played, the queue was halfway down the street.

Not that Keenan is showing any signs of slowing down, with shows from Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion, Lene Lovich and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown at The Brudenell Social Club, Livewire and Limehouse Lizzy at The Irish Centre (800), and The Modfathers and Atomic Blondie at The New Roscoe (300).

A new venture for Keenan is promoting singer-song writers such as Mike Peters of The Alarm, former Icicle Works frontman Ian McNabb and The Wonderstuff’s Miles Hunt

limits I 27

at Korks (110) in nearby Ottley, 20 minutes from Leeds city centre.

“A lot of these artistes are in their 50s, their mortgage is paid off, and suddenly they are finding themselves back in fashion, so they can revisit their misspent youth,” he says. “Some of them can walk away [after a gig] with a grand in their pocket.”

Keenan believes that while the arena can only help raise the profile of Leeds at the top level, promoters at grassroots have to work harder than ever.

“A lot of pubs that wouldn’t have let musicians in 10 years ago are now putting in a little PA and putting on acts for

O2 Academy

General Manager: Denny Rankin 07923 335 811 denny@o2academyleeds.co.uk

Assistant General Manager: Tom Turner 0113 389 1551 tom@o2academyleeds.co.uk

Promotions Manager: Chloe Uppington 0113 389 1560 chloe@o2academyleeds.co.uk

Capacities: Full building (club): 2700 Full building (gig): 2300 Stalls only: 1800 Stand-alone club space: (Underground) 400 - 700 55 Cookridge Street, Leeds LS2 3AW

o2academyleeds.co.uk

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

City Limits

28 I

free,” he says. “Fortunately, we have our success stories. Venues such as The Brudenell Social Club are really bucking the trend.”

Local buoyancy

Steve Keeble

Nathan Clark

In a sign of the growing confidence in the Leeds music scene, The Brudenell Social Club has recently undergone a £70,000 refurbishment, which has includes installing a new PA, a larger artiste green room and a shower room.

Acts to take advantage of the new facilities include Johnny Marr, Metz, The Spin Doctors, Wet Nuns, Deerhoof, Edwyn Collins (all promoted in-house), and Haim, JD McPherson and Matt Corby (all Futuresound).

Although general manager Nathan Clark notes that ticket sales are down, resulting in the venue promoting more and more acts in-house, he is confident the investment will pay off in the long-term.

“At a time when the economy is taking a downturn, and ticket sales in general are falling, we decided to invest in the artiste side of things to ensure we stand out, hoping that the quality experience will ensure the acts return again.”

Keeping the customer satisfied is also the company mantra over at The Wardrobe (450). From folk to guitar-based acts, and even some battle rap in between, it caters for the emerging act market, with visitors including Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, The Staves, and Brighton Beach (all Futuresound promotions).

“Flexibility is the key,” says area manager Tom Mountain “We know what styles do and don’t work for us but making life as easy as possible for [the bands, promoters and audience] is probably the most important thing we can do as a venue.”

The Cockpit - Main Room

Leeds Metropolitan University - The Guillemots

Student power

It is perhaps no surprise that acts of all genres have always found enthusiastic audiences in Leeds, which currently has the second largest student population outside London, with 200,000 residing in the city – a significant percentage of the city’s 725,000 population.

According to Kellie Adams, assistant manager of The Hi-Fi Club (450), this is one of the city’s main strengths and a major reason why live music continues to thrive in Leeds.

“Student nights will sell best, irrespective of genre,” states Adams.

The venue’s free-entry, in-house event Sunday Joint has featured bands such as Backyard Rhythm Orchestra, Horndog Brassband, Los Cinches and Resonators.

As well as the increasing prominence of guitar-based acts in the UK, the rise of live electronic music is, of course, playing a not insignificant part in the stimulation of live music at grassroots level in the country, and Leeds is no different.

“The scope for live shows is bigger and means a lot more than it used to here,” adds Adams, who also promotes at the venue under the Catacomb banner, presenting acts such as Samiyam and Saltwater Samurai. “There are enough different types of music to allow us to keep up with the ever evolving face of electronic music as well as bringing fresh bands on a weekly basis.”

With committed promoters, a wide array of venues and a world-renowned festival on its doorstep – as well as the impending opening of that long-awaited arena - the impact of Leeds on the music scene in the north and beyond looks set to strengthen.

leeds met students’ union

n has been and Leeds Met Students Uniopart of the Leeds continues to be a pivotal Legendary acts that Music scene since 1970. ude Nirvana, have graced The Stage incl and Bob Marley and the Wailers ch have helped lay The Buzzcocks, all of whiis now one of Leeds’ the foundations of what . best loved music venues ark@leedsmet.ac.uk or call

For more details email g.cl

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

etsu.co.uk

0113 812 8435 www.leedsm

Coming soon …

Published annually in June, The UK’s Best Venues for Contemporary Live Music follows in the footsteps of Audience publication The World’s Top Arenas for Live Music, and will interview venue operators and owners, profile key personalities – from pub landlords to stadium bosses, and survey trends in areas such as ticketing, marketing, merchandising and concessions.

It will be circulated free to LIVE UK’s full subscriber base and wider afield, including hundreds of promoters, booking agents and artiste managers, ticketing companies, media, brands, industry institutions and government bodies.

Sectors will include ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Open-air venues Stadiums Arenas Concert halls & theatres Campus venues Arts centres Clubs Pubs & bars

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liveuk.com

30 I production news

LOUDSPEAKER MANUFACTURER

Flare Audio has produced a personal speaker system aimed at live music professionals’ home, office or small space use. The Space P1 is a near field audio product, which uses Flare’s Space technology to achieve what it describes as “pure” sound by maintaining the integrity of the sound wave, making the enclosure sonically neutral, says the company.

LIGHTING MANUFACTURERS, designers and users are invited to take part in a public consultation on a new lighting control protocol, BSRE1.33, issued by the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA). The standard describes a way of implementing remote device management over an internet-based network.

RENTAL, SALES and installation

company Black Light has become a national distributor for the ilumo range of LED spots, designed and manufactured by Lumonic in Manchester. According to Edinburgh-based Black Light, the ilumo spot is a high power, high efficiency LED soft edged spot unit.

Correction LIVE UK’s Production News pages in the last issue incorrectly stated that the stage set for P!nk’s arena tour, was designed by Mark Fisher with a set built by Brilliant Stages.

In fact the tour was designed by Baz Halpin and Chris Nyfield, with stage and set construction by TAIT. We sincerely apologise to everyone affected by this error.

Entec and SSE keep the Faith THE NEED to adapt the touring set for eventual festival use was one key consideration when planning lighting for Paloma Faith’s Fall to Grace tour.

The production, which has played Wolverhampton Civic Hall (cap.

3,000) and Hammersmith Apollo (5,050), and continues through to T in the Park (83,000) in July, saw rental company Entec provide a lighting rig based on two overhead trusses, plus a floor package that can be deployed at festivals.

Lighting designer Tony Austin tested Martin Professional MAC Viper profile moving lights for the first time, using Martin MAC 700 Washes, MAC 700 Spots, Robe LEDWash 600s and

THE FORMER head of De Boer Structures and senior executive at Philips Home Networks, Lucas Covers, has become head of XL Video, with a brief to accelerate the growth of the video rental division.

Additionally, company founder René de Keyzer has been appointed founder president, with responsibility for global sales.

Although Covers tells Lucas Covers LIVE UK that he is not yet ready to discuss his strategy for the company, it was business as usual for XL on the first full production UK tour by Rita Ora. Creative producers Amber Rimell

TACTS,

sup 00 event ues • Over 4,0 1,000 music ven n a th rs e is n a • More rg o l contacts 0 festival an festiva • Over 50 700 UK & Europe an ts • More th ss contac 00 busine • Over 1,5 1,300 studios an es • More th ing servic ies 00 record an ,5 p 1 m r o c ve O rd • o n 700 rec a th re o •M on! . ch more.. coming so • And mu d and Blackberry a iP , Android

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ETC Source Four profiles overhead.

On the floor were Robe LEDWash 600s, MAC Vipers, Atomic strobes and old-fashioned PAR 64s for close,

Covers is new XL chief as Ora hits the road

N STRY CO U D N I C I US 10,000 M PHONE APP E ONE FRE pliers

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

Entec – Paloma Faith

moody lighting on the singer.

“Entec are a slick, efficient rental operation with a great family atmosphere and a real passion for their work,” says Austin.

Meanwhile front-of-house engineer Huw Richards worked with a DiGiCo SD10 desk and SD rack supplied by SSE, choosing it he says, for its functionality, user interface and sound quality.

“I’m running 54 channels on my SD10, and it’s also handy to have 12 faders, rather than eight in each fader bank, particularly when working with drums,” says Richards. “On this show I have additional snares and kicks, yet I can still pack the whole kit into one bank.”

and Bronski, with lighting designer Andy Iliffe, conceived a set centred around an XL-supplied Pixled’s FX11 screen with 60 tiles, for the main surface area – upstage centre, and the option of having two columns left and right, either side for the larger shows.

According to XL project manager Paul McCauley, the company was able to help Bronski create video content from scratch within a short time frame, producing it in 1080p resolution for flexibility.

“It was refreshing to be involved with Bronski and Amber at this early stage of Rita Ora’s touring career,” says

Rita Ora

McCauley. “They understand the impact of using video appropriately.”

Tour dates include London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (cap.

2,000) and Birmingham’s O2 Academy (3,000).

D OR OW SE NLO AR A CH D U FO SIN R“ GY SH O OW UR CA iPH SE ON ” IN E Q TH R R E A EA PP DE ST R OR E

Newsbites

30/05/2012 13:14

production news I 31

IT TOOK more than 350 metres of truss and over 70 chain hoists to transform the cathedralsized Turbine Hall at London art gallery Tate Modern, into an 800-capacity venue, to host Kraftwerk’s shows.

The series of concerts showcased each of the studio albums from the band’s 40-year career.

Production manager Craig Becker asked rigging specialist Blackout to convert the space, not usually used for live music, in a way that reflected the artistes’ understated visual style.

“Kraftwerk’s production team wanted to create a minimal setting, which suited the aesthetic feel of the planned shows, but still showed off the Turbine Hall environment,” says Blackout head rigger Nick Brown.

The company installed 130m of U-shaped truss for the 3D surround sound system, while the remaining 220m was used for the stage’s mother grid, while 20m black wool serge drapes dampened the sound.

A kabuki curtain-drop system started the show, lowering a panel, which revealed the band.

Kinesys chain hoists ensured the kabuki truss, tethered at the bottom for projection purposes, always returned to its correct position.

Yamaha keeps it raw for Frantic Four THE ORIGINAL members of Status Quo, nicknamed the Frantic Four, were aiming for an old-fashioned rock feel stage set for their nine-date reunion tour, despite the wealth of digital technology that’s become available since they last played together.

However, that concept didn’t extend to the audio setup and front-of-house engineer Andy May deployed a Yamaha PM5D digital console and two M7CL desks for monitoring and other duties, to recreate the effect of a 1970s Quo show.

The Frantic Four line up of John Coghlan, Alan Lancaster, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi played only pre-1977 material, which was more raw than the sound of the later, more commercially successful incarnation of the band, according to May. “The current regular band like a more hi-fi sound and have a slick, modern production, whereas the shows with Alan and John are more stripped back,” says May. “I had 24 channels coming from the stage and going straight into the stereo masters - I’m not using any sub groups, DCAs or

Photography: Diana Johnson

Blackout makes light ‘werk’ of Turbine Hall shows

Status Quo

vocal effects, as I would with the other Quo. “Nobody’s trying to pretend that it’s 1976 again,” he adds. “But these shows were for the hardcore fans, so we tried to put on a good, old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll show.”

The tour visited venues such as Glasgow’s O2 Academy (cap. 2,500), Manchester’s O2 Apollo (3,500) and Wolverhampton Civic Hall (3,000).

Siyan’s instant lighting for Cinema Club RENTAL COMPANY Siyan had to forgo the luxury of production rehearsals, when it provided lighting for Two Door Cinema Club’s Beacon tour.

Siyan worked WITH a set by designer Chris Swain, which needed to be flexible, modular and scalable, to take in venues such as Edinburgh Corn Exchange (cap.

3,000) and London’s Alexandra Palace (10,400) in April.

Two Door Cinema Club

“I wanted to keep everything neat and clutter free, especially in the smaller venues,” says Swain.

The lighting package was compiled for Swain by Siyan’s project manager Jez Johnstone and consists of three trusses loaded with low profile, mini-beam fixtures.

The front truss carries Clay Paky Alpha Wash 700s, ETC Source Four profiles for key lighting, plus 2-lite blinders for audience illumination.

The mid truss was rigged with Robe LEDBeam 100s, four CP Sharpies, four Robe MMX Spots and three Atomic strobes, while the back truss featured more LEDBeam 100s, six MMX Spots, four Sharpies and four strobes.

Johnstone also co-ordinated the supply of the MiStrip video strings from XL Video, which provide a visual frame for the show, but which are almost invisible when not in use.

“With no production rehearsals, it was essential that everything worked first time,” says Swain. “There were a lot of custom elements involved with this tour, and Siyan were fantastic at dealing with these.”

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

32 I tour plans a guide to artistes, tours & agents Artistes

Period

Ahab Oct

Alabama 3 Jun

Blaenavon Jun-Oct

Contact Phil Simpson Regent Music

Details T 01539 528 808 ps@regentmusic.com

Dan Silver Value Added Talent Josh Adley ATC Live

T 020 7704 9720 dan@vathq.co.uk T 020 7580 7773 josh@atc-live.com

Buena Vista Jun - Jul David Flower Social Club SASA

T 020 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.co.uk

Cedric Watson Jul David Flower

SASA

T 020 7359 9232 rab@sasa.demon.co.uk

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys

Common Tongues May Debra Downes

Dawson Breed Music Concrete Knives Jun - Aug Shane Daunt

Black & White Music Fiction Jun-Sep Alex Bruford

ATC Live

T 020 7733 0508 debra@dawsonbreedmusic.com T 01189 968 347 shane@bwmusic.co.uk T 020 7580 7773 alex@atc-live.com

Giles Robson and Sept the Dirty Aces

Mike Hellier Movinmusic Agency

Graham Gouldman’s Jun Heart Full of Songs

Steve Parker T 020 7935 9222 Miracle Artists steve@miracle-artists.com

T 01209 860 067 mike@movinmusic.co.uk

Grainne Duffy Jun-Jul Mike Hellier T 01209 860 067

Movinmusic Agency mike@movinmusic.co.uk

Artistes

Period

Green Day June

Contact Martin Horne X-ray Touring Ltd

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

T 020 7749 3500 martin@xraytouring.com

Jann Arden July Sarah Casey Leighton-Pope Organisation

T 020 8741 4453 sarah@l-po.com

James Robinson Jun-Dec Netty Turner T 07733 321 647

BPA Live netty@bpa-live.com John Fairhurst Jun-Jul

Mark Lundquist Concert Promotions

Jools Holland and His Jul-Aug Rhythm & Blues Orchestra

Nick Peel Miracle Artists

T 020 7935 9222 nick@miracle-artists.com

Katy Thorn Jun Harry Finegold

ACA Music

T 01225 428 284 h.finegold@acamusic.co.uk

King Pleasure and Jun-Dec the Biscuit Boys

Tim Jennings Big Bear Music

Maroon 5

Rod MacSween ITB

Jun

Mary Coughlan Jun-Nov Paul McCullen

Campbell Smith Management

Grainne Duffy

Details

T 01483 224 118 mark@marklundquist.com

T 01214 547 020 tim@bigbearmusic.com T 020 7637 6979 rod@itb.co.uk T 01603 766 020 paulcampbellsmith@gmail.comt

Mud Morganfield Jun-Jul Nov

Mike Hellier Movinmusic Agency

T 01209 860 067 mike@movinmusic.co.uk

Nazareth Nov

Alan Cottam Alan Cottam Agency

T 01254 668 471 alan@alancottamagency.co.uk

PS I Love You May Emma Hogan T 020 7637 6979

ITB emma@itb.co.uk

tour plans I 33 Artistes

Period

Contact

Details

Rob Tognoni Aug Mike Hellier T 01209 860 067

Movinmusic Agency mike@movinmusic.co.uk Robbie Williams Jun-Jul Ian Huffam T 020 7749 3500

X-Ray Touring info@xraytouring.com Rosco Levee Jun-Sep Donna Phillips T 07792 761 133

BPA Live Agency donna@bpa-live.com Ruby Turner Oct Nick Peel T 020 7935 9222

Miracle Artists nick@miracle-artists.com Salsa Celtica May

John Stout Regular Music

T 01315 256 700 john@regularmusic.com

Sam Beeton

Jun

Patrick Haveron Create Artists

T 01483 419 090 patrick@createartists.com

SD-Jem

Jun

Harry Finegold ACA Music

T 01225 428 284 h.finegold@acamusic.co.uk

Society

Jun-Dec

Netty Turner BPA Live

Robbie Williams Artistes

Period

Contact

The Commitments Jun-Aug (Stars from)

Details

Mark Lundquist T 01483 224 118 Concert Promotions mark@marklundquist.com

T 07733 321 647 netty@bpa-live.com

The Flirtations Jun-Jul Mark Lundquist T 01483 224 118

Concert Promotions mark@marklundquist.com

T 01179 500 588 mikeboppintobin@aol.com

The Hoosiers Jun-Aug Mark Lundquist T 01483 224 118

Concert Promotions mark@marklundquist.com

Stiff Little Fingers Jul-Aug Steve Parker T 020 7935 9222

Miracle Artists steve@miracle-artists.com

The Lumineers Jun-Sep Alex Bruford T 020 7580 7773

ATC Live alex@atc-live.com

10cc Jun-Aug Steve Parker T 020 7935 9222

Miracle Artists steve@miracle-artists.com

The Orchestra Jun-Aug Alan Cottam T 01254 668 471

Alan Cottam Agency alan@alancottamagency.co.uk

The Amateurs Jun

Jezz Haigh ACA Music

The Rookz Jun-Sep Donna Phillips T 07792 761 133

BPA Live donna@bpa-live.com

The Blind Hearts Jun-Dec

Netty Turner BPA Live

Mike Tobin Krown Elektrik

Will Johns Band

T 01225 428 284 j.haigh@acamusic.co.uk T 07733 321 647 netty@bpa-live.com

The Young’uns Oct-Dec

Phil Simpson Regent Music

Toploader Jun

Dan Silver Value Added Talent

T 020 7704 9720 dan@vathq.co.uk

Treetop Flyers Jun-Sep

Alex Bruford ATC Live

T 020 7580 7773 alex@atc-live.com

Will Johns Band Jun-Dec

Tim Jennings Big Bear Music

Xander The Great Jun-Oct

Josh Adley ATC Live

T 020 7580 7773 josh@atc-live.com

Yasmine Van Wilt Jun

Jezz Haigh ACA Music

T 01225 428 284 j.haigh@acamusic.co.uk

Zalon Jun-Jul

Mark Lundquist Concert Promotions

T 01539 528 808 ps@regentmusic.com

T 020 1454 7020 tim@bigbearmusic.com

T 01483 224 118 mark@marklundquist.com

Q

Stackridge Jun

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

R Q

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Saving you time, money, stress and hassle • Help with planning, budgeting and routing • Hotels, flights, ferries and other travel products • Various budgets and expectations catered for • Trade only prices with financial protection • Detailed itineraries provided for all tours • Free travel advice and 24 hour support

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April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

34 I PROFILE

Jim Frayling As head of music and new events for London’s six-year-old, 80,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, Jim Frayling has his work cut out this year, as acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, Robbie Williams and The Killers hit the venue’s stage. Frayling has also played a major part in adding America’s NFL (Nation Football League) to the stadium’s partnerships.

What are your first memories of live music events?

“I grew up just down the road from Shepherds Bush Empire, but my first gig was a huge stroke of luck. I rang Earls Court a few days before a Def Leppard gig in June 1992 and luckily got some front row seats that had been cancelled, after the venue found out they had been touted.

I’d just done my GCSEs and I had an amazing time, high-fiving the guitarists as it was an in-theround show.

“That got me going to shows regularly and seeing The Cure at Olympia that autumn cemented my love of live music.”

“That introduced me to everyone across the live music scene – from [promoters] Metropolis Music, Live Nation and Festival Republic, to media partners like Xfm, Channel 4 and NME. “After that, I spotted a newspaper ad and beat 250 other applicants for the job of running the Fantasy Football and the sports sponsorships in The Times. That led me into four amazing years at QPR and Wasps - we took season ticket numbers from 3,900 the year before I arrived, to 12,500 when I left.

How did you get into the music business?

“I studied classics at Sidney Sussex, Cambridge, but they hadn’t had a May Ball for 12 years. So when our 400th anniversary came up in 1996, we were determined to pull one together.

“Twelve of us on the committee worked our nuts off and had a great night. We had a £78,000 budget and made £3,000 profit. I had the best time, as we didn’t have enough budget for everyone to have radios. My areas worked fine and I was blissfully ignorant of the problems my fellow committee members were experiencing.

“It taught me a valuable, early lesson. I ‘broke’ my radio repeatedly in our first year of gigs at the stadium, making me available only via my mobile. This was better for everyone, my colleagues included.”

What was your first proper job in the live music-related sector?

“It was heading Carling’s sponsorship activity in music and football when they got into music sponsorship early, and tied down all the best partnerships for brilliant value. They were title sponsor of all the Academy venues, as well as Reading and Leeds festivals, and branched very successfully into developing their own events, like the Carling Live 24 and Carling New Kings of Rock & Roll.

April 2013 • issue 159 • www.liveuk.com

What have been your great highs and lows?

“The delay to the new stadium opening in 2006 was a massive blow. We had gigs lined-up with every major promoter and telling them all we couldn’t fulfil our end of the bargain was problematic, to say the least.

“In the early days we weren’t focussed enough on getting event owners exactly what they wanted. It felt like too much of a fight to get things done right.

“Thankfully things have improved greatly from board level down since [Festival Republic MD] Melvin Benn joined, first as a non-exec and now as chairman. Other board members were far calmer about some live music industry quirks when they could ask him about it directly. It now feels like we’re all pulling in the same direction, which is probably why I’m still here after nearly nine years.

“As for the highs, every event we hosted in 2007, from the Concert for Diana and Live Earth to gigs

by George Michael, Muse and Metallica, was a massive rush.

“From a technical perspective, I really enjoy events that put the stadium to the test – like U2’s 360 production and 400-tonne claw stage.”

How do you wind down?

“From there, I became head of sponsorship at [brewer] Coors, which was where I met Wembley representatives at The FA’s offices in 2004. They wanted Carling to bid for the pourage at Wembley Stadium, but what I didn’t know was that they needed a general commercial bod to head up the PR, events and other commercial operations.

So they offered me a wide-ranging role for a few years, before focussing on events.”

“I met my wife Loveday at university in 1997 and we’ve been together ever since, and had a son Albie in December. He’s a handful, but a lot of fun and thankfully seems to have his mother’s looks.

“I play Sunday league football … badly, and love the thought that the pitches I play on could be improved by funding that ultimately comes from The FA and Wembley’s profits.

“As for the future, one day QPR will get to back to Wembley in a cup final, but this time we’ll win, and I’ll be there.”

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