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103 An ILMC Publication SEPTEMBER 2021 | £25 | €25

Industry leaders predict boom times

NEW BOSSES 2021

GREEN GUARDIANS GUIDE

BUILDING(S) FOR THE FUTURE

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Bullet For My Valentine

Find Out More At business.ticketmaster.co.uk/heavymusic

IQ103 CONTENTS

Cover: Liam Gallagher at Reading Festival © Alastair Brookes

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FEATURES

COMMENT AND COLUMNS

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Index In Brief The main headlines over the last month Analysis Key stories and news analysis from around the live music world New Signings & Rising Stars A roundup of the latest acts that that have been added to the rosters of international agents

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The New Bosses 2021 IQ reveals the young professionals who have impressed their peers during the last 12 months Green Guardians Guide As sustainability becomes an industry priority, we profile 40 individuals, companies and initiatives that are driving the green agenda Building(s) for the Future Lisa Henderson studies the architects' plans for the upcoming arena projects that will revolutionise global touring

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Disaster prompts help and solidarity Holger Jan Schmidt details the live music community's extraordinary efforts in the aftermath of the Ahr Valley flooding For what it's worth Adele Slater reveals what went into Liam Gallagher’s “life-affirming” show for NHS workers at The O2 in London IPM Production Notes The Roadie Cookbook's Nick Gosling and Julie Cotton discuss mental health Your Shout Who would you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse?

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A BIGGER BANG

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opefully by now, most of you in the industry will have been able to attend a gig following the long layoff. For me, the first gig back was Gorillaz at The O2 arena in London, along with 17,500 other ecstatic fans, for what was truly a fantastic night.

At the time of writing, the UK has just had its biggest music weekend in two years, with Reading and Leeds Festivals and All Points East amongst a number of gatherings held over our endof-August bank holiday weekend. So, the predictions of various industry leaders that the boom times are just around the corner (see page 10) seem nailed on to me – the demand for live entertainment has never been so strong, as people attempt to make up for 18 months of silence.

The death of Charlie Watts in August reinforced my desire to go to more gigs. I’ve been lucky enough to see the Rolling Stones a number of times across four different countries and two continents, but there are other heroes, notably Glen Campbell, who I regret never seeing live, and that fear of missing out remains a driver for me to pack in as many gigs as possible, now that I’m no longer taking live music for granted. I imagine millions of others are feeling the same way, so we may finally be experiencing the start of the roaring 20s.

Speaking of 20s, this issue of IQ carries our annual New Bosses list (page 20), where a dozen of the industry’s brightest and best are recognised for their hard work and vision. Congratulations to all who made the 2021 shortlist.

This edition also features our Green Guardians Guide (page 28), which champions various organisations and individuals that are trying hard to improve the sustainability credentials of the live entertainment industry. It’s a message that’s at the forefront of nearly every business as we get back to work but judging by some of the photos and negative press coverage of the thousands of abandoned tents at festival sites in the past few days, there’s still a lot of work to be done in communicating the green agenda to consumers. For anyone needing pointers on messaging, as well as how to reduce their carbon footprint, the summer edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference on 16 September is an ideal place to start.

Finally, Lisa Henderson takes a look at developments in the indoor venue business by profiling some of the exciting new arena projects that are in the pipeline over the next few years (page 46), proving that confidence (and investment) in the live entertainment sector remains high, despite the setbacks that Covid has thrown our way.

There are undoubtedly some challenges still to overcome – tour cancellations remain all too frequent as the virus hits musicians and crew, for instance. But ticket sales and artist bookings are hitting unprecedented levels, so as Messrs Rapino, Emanuel, Schulenberg, Lustgarten and Lublin attest on page 10, 2022 could indeed herald the beginning of another golden era.

ISSUE 103 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE IQ Magazine Unit 31 Tileyard Road London, N7 9AH info@iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0300 Twitter: @iq_mag Publisher ILMC and Suspicious Marketing Editor Gordon Masson News Editor Jon Chapple Staff Writer Lisa Henderson Advertising Manager Steve Woollett Design Rather Nice Design Sub Editor Michael Muldoon Head of Digital Ben Delger Contributors Julie Cotton, Nick Gosling, Holger Jan Schmidt, Adele Slater Editorial Contact Gordon Masson gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0303 Advertising Contact Steve Woollett steve@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0304 ISSN 2633-0636

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IN BRIEF INDEX The concert business digest

Anghami announces plans to open music venues in Dubai, Riyadh and several other Middle Eastern cities, as well as in the UK and North America.

Werchter Parklife concludes with a Covid-secure mini-festival with 2,500 fans.

23,000+ events are cancelled in Australia in July.

Agent Craig D’Souza, known for his work with UK rap and hip-hop artists such as Stormzy, Dave, J Hus, and Krept & Konan, joins WME as a partner.

Norway postpones the final step in the reopening of its economy for a second time.

Strandkorb Open Air loses two of its biggest stars after the singers criticised coronavirus restrictions.

New York City will require proof of being vaccinated for anyone who wants to attend an indoor live show.

UK’s X-ray Touring forms new strategic alliance with New York’s Artist Group International, part of Yucaipa’s Y Entertainment Group.

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Italy’s Barley Arts announces the first edition of a brand new festival centred on the idea of comfort.

The British government announces a £750million (€876m) insurance scheme for live events.

All but eight EU member states confirm that British artists will not need visas or work permits when European touring resumes.

Ireland’s Electric Picnic presses the government for a reopening plan.

CTS Eventim announces plans to build a new multipurpose arena in Milan, Italy.

Live Nation returns to profitability in Q2 2021.

ID&T says it sees no legal grounds to advance with the preliminary injunction proceedings against the Dutch government.

ASM Global’s chief commercial officer Richard Krezwick announces his departure from the company.

Clockenflap Presents, Hong Kong’s biggest annual music festival, announces Long Time No See – a one-day festival showcasing local talent.

The Catalan government gleans “valuable information” about how major events could take place in the future from a study of three festivals.

Exit Festival 2021 does not lead to a significant increase in new cases of Covid-19 at either a local or national level.

Belgium’s Pukkelpop announces an alternative event in lieu of the flagship festival.

AmazeVR inks a deal to create an immersive virtual reality concert experience for Grammy award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion.

Scotland’s biggest music festival, Glasgow’s Trnsmt, is permitted to go ahead with up to 50,000 nonsocially distanced fans per day.

New York academics urge the US consumer watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to ban so-called ‘drip pricing.’

Live Nation allows artists performing at its US venues to require all attendees and staff to be fully vaccinated or to show a negative test result to gain entry.

Australian live industry calls for UK-style insurance.

Roblox announces virtual album launch party for YouTube star and professional boxer KSI. Silver Lake, Roc Nation invest in merch company Fanatics.

ASM Global is appointed as the managing operator of the largest exhibition and convention centre in the Middle East.

A swathe of concerts, festivals and tours in the US are cancelled or postponed amid concerns over the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19.

Global Citizen Live announces the line-ups for the upcoming poverty and vaccine benefit concerts in New York, Paris, and Lagos, Nigeria.

ASM Global announces the appointment of Mirco Markfort as general manager of theThousands König of Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, professionals read Germany.

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Analysis

MULTINATIONAL PROMOTERS PREDICT MULTISTAGE RESTART

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nternational concert businesses Live Nation, AEG, CTS Eventim and DEAG have said they expect to take a market-by-market approach to Covid-status certification as live music resumes this year.

Last month, Live Nation announced that, from 4 October, it will require all artists, crew, and fans to produce proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to gain entry to its US venues and festivals. Local Live Nation representatives also confirmed that it plans to do the same in the UK – which is fully reopen – as well as Canada, which last week opened to fully vaccinated Americans and permanent residents, and Australia.

As for other countries, IQ understands that Live Nation will take a market-by-market approach based on local governments’ requirements – many of which already utilise Covid-status certification (vaccine passports) for entry to public spaces.

AEG Presents, AEG’s concert promotion division, will also require all fans in the US to be vaccinated from 1 October.

In Europe, AEG “will be adopting an approach that is appropriate to the prevailing conditions and local health department and/or leg-

islative requirements in each market,” confirms John Langford, the company’s COO. The company has already implemented measures to check attendees’ Covid-19 status at its landmark venue, the 20,000-capacity O2 arena in London. In line with the advice and guidance from UK and local government, ticket holders are required to present an NHS Covid Pass in order to gain access to the arena.

Last month saw the London arena back at full capacity for the first time since March 2020, welcoming 34,000 people to two shows by Gorillaz, followed by a free event for NHS workers headlined by Liam Gallagher (see page 16).

The Gorillaz shows were promoted by DEAGowned Kilimanjaro Live.

Peter Schwenkow, CEO of DEAG, says that the company has to handle different restrictions in all its territories, which includes Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the Republic of Ireland.

“It very much depends on local authorities: For example, Bavaria is different to Berlin and Zürich different to Geneva,” he explains.

“Denmark is partly open, the rest of Scandinavia is currently still very complicated. Ireland continues to be problematic, but the UK is by far the best country to promote shows [in] at

the moment; Kilimanjaro Live did two sold-out shows at The O2 last week with the Gorillaz.

Generally, we do prefer the ‘3G’ rule: vaccinated, recovered or tested. Anybody else will not be allowed to work, stay backstage, or even enter the venue,” he says.

European ticketing and promoting powerhouse CTS Eventim is taking a similar bespoke approach to Covid-19 safety measures. “In Germany, if concerts are allowed to take place, our promoters will develop individual concepts in close coordination with the local authorities in the various regions and the corresponding local regulations for the protection against Corona,” a representative tells IQ. The ticketing services and live entertainment giant has interests in 21 countries including major markets such as Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK. The Eventim group comprises concert, tour and festival promoter companies for events like Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Hurricane, Southside and Lucca Summer, while owned or operated venues include the Lanxess Arenaof Thousands (18,000-cap) in Cologne, K.B. Hallen (4,500-cap) professionals read in Copenhagen, the Waldbühne (22,290-cap) in IQ every day. Make Berlin, and the Eventim Apollo (2,500-cap) in sure you get the London.

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NEW SIGNINGS & NEW MUSIC

LISTEN TO ’S ‘NEW MUSIC’ AGENCY PLAYLIST HERE

Each month, ’s partner agencies help us to compile a playlist of new music, much of it released by the new signings to their rosters. Among the tracks on September’s playlist are submissions from ATC Live, CAA, ITB, Paradigm and UTA.

ALICE LONGYU GAO

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fter failing the entrance exam to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at age 14, Alice Longyu Gao used the failure to fuel an unconventional artistic career. Aged 17, she moved to the US from China, a transition that inspired her to revisit music, but this time on her own terms.

While taking piano lessons and writing/releasing songs on the side, Alice began hustling in the fashion world. She would spend her days interning at Commes Des Garçons and PAPER Magazine; DJing in New York, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo; and making runway tracks for the likes of Juicy Couture, Hennessy and Red Bull.

This led her to cross paths with Dylan Brady (from 100 gecs), with whom she made Rich Bitch Juice and Dumb Bitch Juice released on Dog Show Records in 2019. Lady Gaga featured Rich Bitch Juice as a top-three track in her Women of Choice Apple Music playlist highlighting female artists she views as “club-pop visionaries.”

These releases catapulted Alice’s career and gave her reassurance that she could be the unconventional pop star she saw herself as.

(US)

AGENT

Rob McGee FMLY

THE GREETING COMMITTEE AGENTS

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Stuart Kennedy & Colin Keenan ATC Live

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F (US)

ormed in 2014, The Greeting Committee self-released debut EP It’s Not All That Bad the following year. Lead single Hands Down quickly became a breakout hit, leading to the band signing to Harvest Records whilst they were all still in high school.

After making their Harvest debut with the Meeting People Is Easy EP in 2017 and the subsequent release of This Is It, the band spent much of the next few years on the road with soldout headline shows in major markets such as Chicago, Austin, New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.

To date, The Greeting Committee have toured with the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Tennis, Hippo Campus, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise and have taken the stage at leading festivals such as Lollapalooza and SXSW, in addition to delivering the I’m Afraid I’m Not Angry EP in late 2019 and appearing in Netflix’s teen comedy To All the Boys: Always and Forever.

The coming months are set to be busier still with the band’s second album, Dandelion, out 24 September.

New Signings

ARTIST LISTINGS Alice Longyu Gao (US)

Rob McGee, FMLY Agency

Alignment (IT) Arooj Aftab (US/PK)

Nick Cave, Paradigm Eleanor McGuinness, PlayBook Artists

ASIA (UK)

Steve Zapp, ITB

Faye Meana (UK) Fuzzy Sun (US) Holiday Ghosts (UK) Isaac Stuart (UK)

Aya Nakamura (FR)

Carlos Abreu & Jules de Lattre, UTA

Banks Arcade (AU)

Ross Warnock, UTA

John Summit (US)

Beenie Man (JM)

Myles Jessop, UTA

KAS:ST (FR)

Buffalo Nichols (US) Chloé Caillet (UK)

Skully Kaplan, ATC Live Laetitia Descouens, Primary Talent

Current Value (DE) De’Wayne (US) DEADLETTER (UK)

Cecilia Chan, Paradigm Paul Ryan, James Masters & Jacob Simone, UTA Colin Keenan & Steve Taylor, ATC Live

Jayla Kai (US)

Keeya Keys (UK) Lucia & The Best Boys (UK) Morly (UK)

Alice Hogg, ATC Live Skully Kaplan, ATC Live Duncan Smith, PlayBook Artists Alex Bruford & Alice Hogg, ATC Live Matt Pickering-Copley, Primary Talent Dave Blackgrove & Nick Cave, Paradigm Nick Cave & Jim O’Regan, Paradigm Mike Malak, Paradigm Sally Dunstone, Primary Talent Alice Hogg, ATC Live

Nina Utashiro (JP/DE)

Beckie Sugden, Primary Talent

Phabo (US)

Kevin Jergenson, ICM Partners

Deathcrash (UK)

Dave Jennings, Art & Industry

Pizzagirl (UK)

Steve Zapp, ITB

DELPHii (UK)

Sally Dunstone, Primary Talent

Quinquis (FR)

Dave Jennings, Art & Industry

Empath (US)

Graham Clewes, ATC live

Enumclaw (US) EST Gee (US)

Alex Bruford, ATC Live Ari Bernstein, ICM Partners

Fats’e (US)

Ed Sellers, Primary Talent

Tenderlonious (UK) The Greeting Committee (US) Tory Lanez (CA) Yasmin Williams (US)

Darren James-Thomas, FMLY Agency Stuart Kennedy & Colin Keenan, ATC Live Scott Mantell, ICM Partners Beth Morton & Angie Rance, UTA

HOTTEST NEW ACTS THIS MONTH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

LAST MONTH 10 32 18 8 21 4 6 12 7 1 -

PREDICTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2021

ARTIST MARCUS YOUNG (US) SMILEY (CA) ARIK ANCELIN (US) DYLAN (UK) LVL1 (ES) SHOUSE (AU) KENNDOG (US) BABYXSOSA (US) LUKE HEMMINGS (AU) SLUMP6S (US) JETSONMADE (US) DHRUV (UK/IN) LIANA FLORES (US) RANCID EDDIE (AU) STUNNA GAMBINO (US) TOM CARDY (AU), LILYISTHATYOU (US), PIRI (CA), SHIRE T (UK), NARDO WICK (US)

Artists not in the current top 15, but growing quickly

Fastest growing artists in terms of music consumption, aggregated across a number of online sources.

AUGUST 2021

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Comment

For what it’s worth Paradigm Talent Agency’s Adele Slater reveals what went into Liam Gallagher’s “life-affirming” show for NHS workers at The O2 in London.

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n March, Paradigm was approached by Liam Gallagher’s management (Debbie Gwyther and Sam Eldridge) to say he really wanted to do something to acknowledge the tireless effort and work all the NHS frontline workers and care workers had done (and continue to do) throughout the pandemic. He wanted to give something back and to show how much they are appreciated. As it is widely known, people who work for the NHS are not paid what is generally considered to be a good wage based on their value to society, and the pandemic highlighted this even more. While we couldn’t offer them the pay rise they deserve, we could offer them something, and that’s a gig, for free.

What we do best.

We did the announcement and made tickets available as we would do a traditional show but at zero cost and any booking fees in the process were waived, attendees just had to show proof that they worked for the NHS when they arrived at the venue. There was an overwhelming demand for the tickets, we had over 100,000 people online queuing for tickets five minutes before they were released. We had 17,000 tickets available, and they were all taken up within the first few minutes.

Special mentions must go to Christian D’Acuña at The O2 in London (who dramatically reduced the venue costs); Lee Laborde and the team at Live Nation; Chris York at SJM; and all the artists and managers who gave their time for free. Tim Pearson and Claire Bewers on our branding team worked tirelessly to secure the JD/Pretty Green sponsorship, which was instrumental in enabling the show to go ahead. And last but not least, Alex Hardee, who did a sponsored run and raised over £17,000 (€20,000) for the show.

With regards to the support acts, Primal Scream were complete stars and without hesitation were in it from the start, staying with us throughout all the rescheduled dates. It was obvious the cause was something they cared very passionately about, and Bobby gave a heartfelt shout out in support of the NHS during their set.

Black Honey were only approached very recently for this specific gig but came back really quickly to say they were all in and rose to the occasion on the night. Both supports gave their time for free, and without question were more than happy to be involved and support the cause.

The atmosphere at the show was electric.

It was a perfect celebration and a much needed few hours of escapism, allowing us to forget the nightmare we have all been living through in the past 18 months. It felt like such a long time since thousands of people had been in a venue all together, singing their hearts out, and that was really emotional.

I think all the reviews of the show have reflected what we all felt about it being “life-affirming” and all the social media posts and feedback from the NHS workers were overwhelmingly positive. Liam is an absolute legend, with unwavering generosity; I feel very privileged and proud to be part of such a wonderful team around him, and for the support from everyone in making this show a reality.

As we have all experienced recently, with the constant rescheduling and moving of shows, this one was no exception. But it was a case of third-time lucky, and we finally got there, and it actually made the anticipation of the show that much more. It was a huge relief to finally get back to live shows, and hopefully, we are now back, and this is the start of many more to come.

“The atmosphere at the show was electric. It was a perfect celebration and a much needed few hours of escapism, allowing us to forget the nightmare we have all been living through in the past 18 months”

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THE LIVE INDUSTRY IS UNITED. JOIN US. PANEL Creativity Conquers Conflict (presented by In Place of War)

KEYNOTE CONVERSATION Fearlessly Feminine – Earth Unleashed

PANEL A Greener Tour – V for Vendor (presented by TPG)

QUICK FIRE INNOVATION ROUND Audio / Stages / Batteries

PANEL A Greener Arena Emerging

CASE STUDY Tyndall Centre – Toward super-low carbon live music (Massive Attack Study)

PANEL Artists Creating Change

PANEL Carbon Removals and Climate Healing

LAUNCH United Action Behind LIVE Green Declaration (presented by LIVE Green)

SPEAK TO THE EXPERTS Energy & Power SPEAK TO THE EXPERTS Sustainable Signage and Branding

www.agreenerfestival.com/gei • hello@agreenerfestival.com

Comment

PRODUCTION NOTES

Toured there, ate that Production manager Nick Gosling (Nile Rodgers & Chic) and production coordinator Julie Cotton (Massive Attack) discuss the inspiration behind their new book The Roadie Cookbook: Toured There, Ate That.

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verybody has health and no one is immune to ill health – physical or mental. This is such a key point in the story of how our cookbook came together.

Touring is hard. It takes its toll on you physically – long days, sleep deprivation, jet lag, and gruelling schedules. Sure, it brings extreme highs when the lights go on and it all comes together, as there really is no comparison to the buzz of working in live music. However, we also recognise that touring, and the live music industry in general, can have a detrimental impact on the emotional and mental wellbeing of its workers.

There are long periods away from home.

When we do return, there’s then the period of decompression and re-engaging in ‘civilian’ life. There are no highs when you hit the light switch at home. There’s constant readjustment and refamiliarising. Yet for those who do tour, it’s not simply a job; our choice of work becomes a lifestyle.

And to get there, it takes persistence and determination. For most road crew, we couldn’t imagine doing anything else. We are freelancers and we’re a unique travelling breed.

The global shutdown meant we were suddenly all at home, often alone, and mostly experiencing shock, isolation and bouts of unexpected ill mental health. What we soon noticed was that our crewmates were missing mealtimes together. The catering chat, the jokes, the catchups. We wanted to come together and to cook together. After all, we’ve learnt so much from different cultures and cuisines from world tours, why not relive the good times while – what felt like – the apocalypse was coming?

Changes have to be made in the way we approach mental wellbeing on tour. We are striving to destigmatise ill mental health and encourage people to talk openly about it. Along with our cookbook colleagues, Rich House and Athena Caramitsos, we want people to feel supported and feel able to ask for help if they need to.

Food and nutrition play a key role. We can make positive

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change by looking at how we approach catering going forward, looking after ourselves and looking after the planet.

We encourage more plant-based options, less carbon footprint and food waste, and working with the local communities we visit. They say we should leave no mark, but we’d like to leave a good one. We’re hoping seeing a copy of The Roadie Cookbook on tour buses will be a reminder of that.

Ultimately, we’re raising funds for two charities; Music Support and Stagehand. All profits will go towards buying Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses for touring professionals, and it’s our aim that in the not-too-distant future, every tour bus in the UK will have at least one trained mental health first aider on board.

We want to prevent crisis, normalise the conversations around difficult topics, and for casual talks to happen regularly. We care so much about delivering the best times for punters; as an industry we need to care as much about our internal experiences.

We cannot emphasise enough the importance of looking after live music crews both physically and mentally as we transition back into full-time work this autumn and next year.

And in addition to MHFA, we have been educating ourselves further through the Music Support Addiction & Recovery Awareness course, which Nick also helped bring to fruition.

Essentially, while a cookbook may not be the obvious choice for a touring industry fundraiser, it is the vehicle we needed to discover what it means to feel nourished and to best support others.

Together, we can all make small changes that will hopefully, eventually, make a cultural shift to a kinder type of touring. So, do take time to enjoy a good meal and open conversation. After all, it’s more rock & roll to rebel against the norm. And upon reflection, the norm simply wasn’t working.

Help us to future-proof our industry and pre-order your copy of The Roadie Cookbook today.

Theroadiecookbook.com

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is now

New branding: “SC Exhibitions” stands for “Semmel Concerts Exhibitions.” We thought a little refresh would be nice, so we have rebranded to “Semmel Exhibitions.”

New exhibition celebrating 100 Years of Disney: Apart from working on a new logo, we are in the middle of the creative development of the official exhibition marking the centennial of The Walt Disney Company. We will produce two exhibitions: one touring the Americas and the other a global tour. The first exhibition will open in February 2023 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. We are now planning the 2023–26 tour, so please contact us if that sounds interesting to you.

The stunning reconstruction of the Royal tomb and treasures in this huge historic exhibition is now open in Seoul at the War Memorial of Korea until April 2022. The Europe tour opens next on September 10 at the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museum in Mannheim, Germany. There are three iterations of our current exhibition touring worldwide, and the 2023–25 tour is now in planning. We would love to hear from you!

For people around the world, Marvel conjures up images of one thing: super heroes. Whether in the vibrant colours of comic books, or the all-consuming brilliance of the big screen, Marvel characters have captured imaginations for a little over 80 years now.

The exhibition is open until the end of October at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, where we are sold out almost every day. We are now planning the Europe and world tour from the end of 2023.

For a list of contacts and to subscribe to our newsletter visit www.semmel-exhibitions.com

© 2021 MARVEL

Despite the most challenging period in the history of the live music industry, The New Bosses 2021 – ’s annual celebration of the most promising talent in the business today – has been a soaraway success. Anecdotal tales of industry professionals working in harmony have been backed by a welcome lack of partisanship across the swathe of nominees, with people happy to single out colleagues across the divide, be that from rival companies or agents nominating promoters, etc.

Indeed, our distinguished dozen is dominated by rising stars in the agency and promoter side of the business, underscoring the cameraderie that has been prevalent throughout an 18-month period when very few live shows took place.

Congratulations to everyone who made it into The New Bosses 2021 – being recognised by a jury of your peers is truly one of the finest accolades you can receive. The profiles on the following pages are heavily edited versions of interviews that website in the coming weeks. will appear in full on the 20

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IFF2021 PARTNERS

LONDON 28-30 SEPTEMBER 2021 500+ Festivals & Booking Agents | 1 Global Festival Hub Schedule and delegate list now live For marketing opportunities, contact Steve Woollett steve@iq-mag.net | +44 7469 872 279 AGENCY PARTNERS

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Welcome to IQ Magazine’s 2021 Green Guardians Guide – an annual list (and badge of honour) that we launched last year to boost the profile of those working at the forefront of sustainability, in the hope that it might also inspire others to take up the challenges of making live events, and day-to-day life, more environmentally friendly.

T

he Green Guardians Guide is spearheaded by IQ and the Green Events & Innovations Conference, which is holding its inaugural summer edition on 16 September and will be featuring representatives of a number of this year’s shortlisted Green Guardians. Tickets for the event can still be purchased by clicking here.

This year’s winners have been chosen by a judging panel that includes experts from A Greener Festival, Greener Events, Julie’s Bicycle, the Sustainability in Production Alliance, the Sustainable Event Council and the Tour Production Group.

The 2021 list includes 40 entries across eight categories, highlighting some of the organisations and individuals who are working so tirelessly to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

As the live evnts business around the world begins its road to recovery, numerous companies and professionals have made pledges to build back better. One of the goals of our annual Green Guardians Guide is to point the decision makers to-of Thousands ward suppliers and consultants who can professionals read help everyone involvedIQinevery the live day.enterMake tainment industry to improve suretheir yousustainget the ability credentials.

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Feature_Building(s) For The Future

Swansea’snew arena project is part of a £1 billion redevelopment of the city’s Copr Bay

BUILDING(S) FOR THE FUTURE

Lisa Henderson looks at some of the new arena projects that promise to take indoor shows to the next level as the live entertainment industry prepares for what could be the busiest years in its history.

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Building(s) For The Future_Feature

2021

CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA (SEATTLE, US) Oak View Group

Naming sponsor: Amazon Purpose: Sport and live entertainment Opening date: October 2021 Configurations: 18,100 total. Capacities for different events will vary Cost to build: $1billion (€0.85bn) of private investment Design: Populous. McLennan Design advised on green/ sustainability features Partnerships: Amazon’s The Climate Pledge, Alaska Airlines, Coors Light, Symetra, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, WaFd Bank, Verizon and Ticketmaster SPECIAL FEATURES ■ Expected to be the first net zero carbon certified arena in the world and will harness the power of sports and entertainment to inspire change on the climate crises.

■ OVG has respectfully retained the iconic roof of the Seattle Center Coliseum, originally built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and designed by renowned architect Paul Thiry.

“There is no question that the state of our planet is a critical issue for all of us. We have a responsibility to future generations to try to leave them with a better world. We love that Amazon is using its naming rights for a cause we care deeply about – this partnership is a visionary step for the facilities business and sport and music industries. Our goal is to be the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable venue in the world. It is not just about one arena – it’s a platform for us to step up and heal our planet.”

Tim Leiweke, CEO, Oak View Group

UBS ARENA (NEW YORK, US) Oak View Group

Naming sponsor: UBS signed on for a 20-year naming rights deal worth $250million (€213m) Purpose: Made for music and built for hockey Opening date: Autumn 2021 Configurations: 18,500 total. NHL capacity: 17,000. Concert capacity: 18,500 Cost to build: $1.5bn (€1.3bn) Design: Populous Partnerships: UBS, Northwell Health, Verizon, Heineken, Dime and Ticketmaster Special features ■ State-of-the-art sound system that leverages sophisticated engineering acoustics to amplify the audio experience.

■ The first venue of its kind in New York to be eligible to achieve certification under the LEED V4 Building Design + Construction rating system while featuring state-of-the-art sustainable technology.

■ Arena displays will include the largest scoreboard in New York with industry-leading high-definition technology and two levels of high-resolution LED ribbon boards.

■ The utilisation of the Verizon 5G Ultra-Wideband network.

“We like to call this arena ‘the next most famous arena for the next of Thousands century.’ It will be ‘the last great arena that will beprofessionals built in all of read our lifetimes’ in the New York City area.”

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Your Shout

The zombie apocalypse is coming: who are the two people you want on your team?

Noggin the Nog and Nogbad the Bad (to make it an even fight).

John Jackson | K2

TOP SHOUT

Mark Davyd and Beverley Whitrick from the Music Venue Trust. They’ve played a blinder. And relentlessness is just what you want in the face of zombie apocalypse…

Can we also give a mention to the Arts Council officers who have been managing the Cultural Recovery Fund? They’ve worked their socks off on impossible timescales and in brand-new territory.

Richard Haswell | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Andy Copping (Live Nation Head of UK touring): the man who holds us all together. He has had to make tough decisions over the past year, and does everything in his power to keep us all sane and happy. He has a heart of gold, he keeps us motivated, he takes the time to check in, he will pick up the phone no matter how busy he is and give an inspirational speech if you’re having a bad day. When you feel like giving up, Copping is your man, he can make you feel better in seconds with just a few words of wisdom.

Tom Bownes (Live Nation promoter and Wilderness booker): Tom deserves a shout out for being amazing 24/7. The world was falling apart and Tom continued to be positive, approachable, and just lovely and friendly throughout it all. He’s the best mentor I could ask for, always a phone call away, constantly helping me grow as a promoter, and always has a smile on his face.

Not to mention he also completely smashed

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Nick Gosling – who I met via Tour Production Group and who co-chairs mental welfare.

Again, someone I have the global pandemic to thank! As well as being a top-rate production manager, and heavily involved with Nile Rogers’ We are Family Foundation, he’s an ideas guy – we’ve had endless catch-ups over the past year and he is the best person to bounce ideas off, but importantly has the oomph to make you believe they can happen. It’s directly because of Nick that the addiction and recovery workshop now offered for free to music professionals via Music Support came into fruition and his recent involvement also helped bring about the Roadie Cookbook with it’s 100% profits to mental health support. He most definitely would have to be on my team.

Suzi Green | tour manager

booking his first Wilderness during a pandemic, he’s an inspiration.

Maddie Arnold | Live Nation I would want both Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone on my team. They are the only Zombies I have ever met.

Ed Grossman | Brackman Chopra Joanne Croxford – her work around diversity and inclusion has been pioneering. Add to that the three years’ background working with Music Support including running their help line, and her ongoing voluntary work with 3T and Girls Rock London, and the fact she is the best friend ever! Always there to listen and offer advice in my darkest moments these past 18 months. All that and I only met her online at the start of last summer and now I can’t imagine a zombie apocalypse without her.

I am going to the ones who have been in the business as long as me: Ruud Berends as a longtime friend and a guy I share a lot of stories with; and Tobbe Lorentz because he is Swedish, likes to drink, and has great taste in music.

Sabine Waltz | International Booking Department My team would have to include Caroline Giddings and Ed Bicknell. Caroline is one of THE most important people in this year’s festival season in the UK. Earlier in the year, she took on the creation and implementation of staff, crew and artist Covid testing and safety protocols at the Liverpool festival pilot for Festival Republic, spending more than a week in the city ensuring that the event was put on safely, and helping to pave a way back for the festival industry. This invaluable learning was shared freely with others and, on the back of that work, Caroline has gone on to run the crew testing and Covid-safety operation on-site at all the major Festival Republic events in 2021, including Download, Latitude and more. This has led to her being away from home for weeks on end – basically the entire summer moving from one festival to the next overseeing safety and testing. Her resourcefulness, work ethic and incredibly good humour would make Caroline a superb companion in the face of a zombie apocalypse – and her rigorous testing processes would ensure that whatever the zombies did, we’d be living in a very Covid-secure way!

And as the industry’s finest raconteur, Ed of Thousands Bicknell could both entertainprofessionals the troops andread distract the zombie hordes with IQ hisevery tales of way-Make day. ward superstars and backstage antics. sure you get the Gordon Masson | IQ

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