IQ47

Issue 47 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE

An ILMC Publication. May 2013

Issue 47 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE

An ILMC Publication. May 2013

Ticketing REPORT 2013

ILMC 25: The Report Full review of the anniversary conference

The Last Emperor How Marcel Avram transformed live music

In Love With Eros Eros Ramazzotti’s spectacular ‘Noi’ tour

BIG MOTHER The growth of Russia’s tour circuit

Ticketing REPORT 2013

Ticketing REPORT 2013

ORGANISING ABU DHABI DO’S MARIA GEDEON TEACH THE CHILDREN WELL LUCY NOBLE DEVELOPING GRASS-ROOTS TALENT ALEX KERR-WILSON DON’T TAKE RIGHTS FOR GRANTED RUTH BARLOW

Contents News 6 In Brief The main headlines over the last two months

7 In Depth Key stories from around the live music world

16

Features 16 ILMC 25 Report

Full review of the anniversary conference weekend

30 The Last Emperor How Marcel Avram delivered live music to the world

44 Ticketing Report 2013 Investments in new technology start paying dividends for ticketers

56 In Love With Eros

30

Italian superstar Eros Ramazzotti’s spectacular Noi tour

64 Big Mother Russia’s touring circuit continues to grow and grow

Comments and Columns 12 Keeping an Eye on the Ball Maria Gedeon highlights the potential for live events in Abu Dhabi

Ticketing REPORT 2013

13 Teach the Children Well Lucy Noble applauds efforts to educate future artists

44

and audiences

14 Today’s Underground is Tomorrow’s Overground Developing new talent is back on the agenda, contends Alex Kerr-Wilson

15 Is Live Taking Too Much for Granted?

Recording rights need to be honoured by all, states Ruth Barlow

74 Your Shout

Spinal Tap moments

56

64

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 3

tIMe LoRDs AND eMPeRoRs The time travel theme could not have been more appropriate at ILMC, writes Gordon Masson, as delegates young and not so young plotted the future of the live entertainment business…

ILMC 25 was a fitting celebration to mark the silver anniversary of the conference.

From the production meeting, on the eve of the forum, to the ILMC panel sessions and the many showcases and fun events that make the weekend so unique, there was barely a moment that didn’t generate something to talk about. Rest assured, the team of organisers is already looking ahead to March 2014 now that the bar has been raised yet again.

One of the perceived issues with ILMC in the past has been a ‘them and us’ undercurrent between the older and younger delegates, but that feeling was firmly put to bed at the Royal Garden Hotel this year as the generations mixed together better than ever and bounced ideas off each other both in the panel sessions and in the bars around the ILMC campus. Indeed, one of the best comments I heard involved one of our elder statesmen observing that, for the first time in history, we are living in an age when the younger generations have something to teach their seniors. That was definitely the case at ILMC 25.

Sadly, our annual gathering once again was tinged with sorrow as delegates reflected on some of the personalities the business has lost in the past 12 months.

Martin Hopewell was far more eloquent than I can be when he paid tribute to the likes of Claude Nobs and Henning Togel and, just days before people started arriving in London for the conference, cancer claimed Live Nation Denmark boss Flemming Schmidt. At press time we also learned of the death of Edwin Shirley – one of the true pioneers of the industry as we know it. Time constraints mean that we have not been able to do the life of Edwin justice, but we intend to run

an extended feature celebrating his life in the next issue of IQ, so in the coming weeks we’ll be asking you to share your thoughts and memories about Edwin.

Talking of industry legends, our main personality led feature in this issue tracks the career of ‘The Emperor’, Marcel Avram, who at the age of 75 is still delighting fans of some of the world’s top acts by promoting their tours, including the likes of Justin Bieber recently.

Our market report on Russia examines this fascinating territory and the ways in which it is developing, with the private event side of the business matching gigs that go on public sale, in terms of revenues. Meanwhile, Adam Woods learns that adventurous artists are helping to add ever more far flung cities to the tour circuit.

Our annual ticketing report follows the ever growing number of operators competing for a slice of the action and how technology will likely intensify competition even further going forward.

Elsewhere, Milan based music journalist Mark Worden reports on the European tour of Eros Ramazzotti, who is selling out arena shows across 15 countries with his spectacular Noi production.

And of course, our May edition, as usual, features our coverage of ILMC. This year’s landmark anniversary was hugely successful thanks in no small part to you, the delegates who made it such a fun gathering, as well as arguably the most important forum yet for the business of show to be discussed. Pages 16 to 29 should prompt some memories of ILMC 25, but those 14 pages barely scratch the surface and you’ll find many more photographs and details of the panels and events on the ilmc.com website.

Issue 47 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE THE ILMC JOURNAL, May 2013

IQ Magazine 140 Gloucester Avenue London, NW1 8JA info@iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0) 20 3204 1195 Fax: +44 (0) 20 3204 1191 Publisher ILMC and Suspicious Marketing Editor Gordon Masson Associate Editor Allan McGowan Marketing & Advertising Manager Terry McNally Design Martin Hughes Sub Editor Michael Muldoon Production Assistant Adam Milton Contributors Christopher Austin, Ruth Barlow, Maria Gedeon, Alex Kerr-Wilson, Lucy Noble, Adam Woods, Mark Worden Editorial Contact Gordon Masson, gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3204 1195 Advertising Contact Terry McNally, terry@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3204 1193

To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 3204 1195 info@iq-mag.net Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 5

News

In Brief...

Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe is found not guilty of manslaughter after he was accused of pushing Daniel Nosek from a stage during a 2010 show in Prague.

The judge rules his actions did not constitute a crime.

UK website Festicket raises $680,000 (€520,000) in funding to increase the range of products that it can offer, boost sales and marketing, and speed up its plans for European growth.

SFX Entertainment receives an undisclosed financial boost from advertising giant WPP, which counts agencies such as JWT, Grey, and Young & Rubicam in its portfolio. The deal gives SFX a powerful ally as it looks to ramp up its EDM empire.

AEG Live announces an 18-date tour with the Rolling Stones, effectively ending the band’s deal with Virgin Live (the Paul Dainty and Richard Branson JV).

Public protests persuade David Guetta to cancel plans for a June concert in Marseille, France, when a reported €400,000 subsidy of taxpayers’ money is called into question in a petition signed by 70,000 people.

Australian promoter Kevin Ritchie, former director of Act One International dies following a short illness. He was 83.

Jesper Christensen is named as the new chief exec of Live Nation Denmark, following the death of Flemming Schmidt (see page 9).

Live Nation sues three Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicates refusing to pay out for a 3 June Lady Gaga concert in Indonesia that was cancelled after threats from Islamic radicals.

Former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr dies. The 56 year old was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1994.

Secondary ticketing giant StubHub wins the naming rights deal for the AEG-operated Home Depot Center in California.

The deal comes into effect 1 June at the 27,000-capacity stadium, home to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.

West Ham United football club is controversially handed custody of London’s

Olympic Stadium, paying just £15million (€17.5m) toward the estimated £150m (€175m) cost of converting the building into a soccer stadium.

AEG’s deal to take over the management of Wembley Arena is referred to the Competition Commission in the UK after an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, which is concerned that AEG has too big an influence over live entertainment in the capital.

Kevin Ayers, co-founder of Soft Machine, dies at his home in France. He was 68.

Colorado venue, the Aggie Theatre, introduces the use of breathalysers for fans aged below 21 in an effort to combat underage drunkenness.

Lady Gaga

MARCH

rise on 2011. However, royalties collected from live music fell by 14.2% to £19.3m (€22.5m) due to fewer live events in 2012.

Legendary jazz man and trumpeter Kenny Ball dies aged 82.

Administrator Deloitte sells HMV UK to Hilco, the restructuring company that already owns HMV Canada, which will take over 140 HMV stores, in a deal thought to be worth £50m (€58.5). The move saves 2,600 jobs.

Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, becomes arguably the most renowned ticket tout in the world, when he resells tickets for his debenture box at the Royal Albert Hall.

A construction worker dies when part of the new Arena Palestra (due to open later this year) in São Paulo, Brazil collapses.

Sydney-based Artist Voice agency opens a Melbourne office and signs New Zealand singer/songwriters Neil Finn and Ladyhawke, as well as Australian siblings Angus and Julia Stone, to its roster.

Chi Cheng, bassist for the Deftones, dies, four years after suffering serious injuries in a car crash. He was 42.

Tallinn Music Week sells out all 700 delegate passes for its 5-6 April conference, with about a third of visitors travelling from outside Estonia to attend the event.

APRIL Tokyo Rocks festival is shelved just weeks before its debut citing “several causes” without being specific. Promoter Takashi Yano had brought in Creation Records founder Alan McGee to help secure a line-up including Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Blur and The Brian Jonestown Massacre for the May festival.

Peter Banks, guitarist and founder member of Yes dies aged 65.

UK collection society PRS for Music announces a record £641.8m (€750m) collected for songwriter, composer and music publisher members in 2012, a 1.7%

New York-based agency Paradigm is launching a record label, Big Picnic Records, which boss Marty Diamond intends to use to “support the development of new artists.” Among the first signings are UK acts Wall and Foxes.

Dean Williams falls to his death while removing lighting from a catwalk after a concert at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. He was 44. Williams was reportedly wearing a harness connected to a safety line prior to the accident, but unhooked it to step around a beam.

Jay-Z enters the sports management sector when he signs New York Yankees baseball star Robinson Cano to his Roc Nation Sports division, which reportedly involves a joint-venture partnership with Creative Artists Agency.

To subscribe to IQ Magazine: +44 (0)20 3204 1195 info@iq-mag.net Annual subscription to IQ is £50 (€60) for 6 issues.

6 | IQ Magazine May 2013

News

The city of Barcelona is preparing itself for a huge party with 100,000 people expected to descend on the Sónar conference and showcase event, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer.

The 13-15 June gathering will see the Sónar by Day programme move to Fira Montjuïc, in Plaça d’Espanya, allowing all four daytime stages to increase capacity. The festival has confirmed the likes of Jamie Lidell, Major Lazer, Justice, Jurassic 5, Bat For Lashes, Diplo, Skrillex, Soulwax, AlunaGeorge, Derrick May, Raime, Laurent Garnier, Seth Troxler, TNGHT, Modeselektor and Francesco Tristano, among about 130 acts, who will join a line-up headlined by the Pet Shop Boys and the Kraftwerk 3D show.

New for the 20th anniversary is Sónar+D, which is the evolution of the festival’s new media and professional elements. Organisers say from this year on Sónar+D will have a special focus on mobility and, in collaboration with the

Mobile World Capital Barcelona, will present a series of activities with the same central theme: making the relationship between creativity, technology, innovation and business more visible and accessible.

In the festival’s 20-year history, Sónar has hosted more than 1.2 million visitors and has presented more than 7,000 artists from the world of music and other disciplines such as audiovisual, digital creation and multimedia art.

While the Sónar by Night part of the festival will retain its usual four-stage set-up at the Fira Gran Via area in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, delegates to Sónar+D will be able to participate in workshops and hackathons, as well as be the first to see new product demos and services in the field of creativity, technology and music. There will also be conferences and meetings with the biggest names in the Sónar line-up, and live shows reflecting the culture of innovation through the use of new interactive devices.

New Yorkers were given a taste of King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut earlier this month, when the venue was chosen to represent the UK music scene as part of Visit Britain and British Airways ‘Big British Invite event’ – a two-day affair showcasing the prolific cultural scenes shaping contemporary England, Scotland and Wales

– from food and fashion to music and nightlife. Glasgow venue Tut’s joined brands such as Wah Nails, Liberty London, Sanderson London hotel, the stars of Downton Abbey, House of Hackney and Purl to offer visitors a British experience to remember in a 15,000-square-feet pop-up in the heart of Manhattan.

EDWIN SHIRLEY: (1948-2013) Edwin Shirley with Martin Hopewell at ILMC 25

Sónar Celebrates 20 Years

Just before going to press with this issue of IQ, we learned of the death of our good friend Edwin Shirley, the founder of Edwin Shirley Trucking (EST).

He died on 16 April while undergoing investigative surgery as part of his ongoing cancer treatment. A keen and active supporter of the ILMC over the years, we were delighted to see him make a welcome return to the conference just a few weeks ago – bubbling with ideas and full of life as always.

There are not many people who can be credited with creating a whole sector of the live business, but Edwin was certainly one of them. In the early 70s, at a time when the term ‘trucking’ hardly existed, he famously began the business of transporting stage equipment around Europe with a second-hand bread van, and soon found himself running a major company that provided

transport and staging for the biggest touring acts in the world – quite literally, as the EST motto read, “From Abba to Zappa”. Under the banner “You Rock, We Roll”, EST’s iconic yellow and purple vehicles became a fixture outside stadiums and arenas all over the planet.

One of the best-known figures in the production world, Edwin was one of those rare, legendary characters in our business who qualify as irreplaceable. He was also a true gentleman and he will be sorely missed by the many friends he made throughout the industry during the past four decades.

A full obituary will follow shortly on the ILMC website, and more information can be found at www.edwinshirley. com. We will also be inviting your personal messages and memories for inclusion in the next issue of IQ.

The ‘Sunday Times’ music millionaires list 2013 2013 2012

1 2 3 4 5= 5= 7 8 9= 9=

Sir Paul McCartney & Nancy Shevell Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber U2 Sir Elton John David & Victoria Beckham Sir Mick Jagger Michael Flatley Keith Richards Olivia & Dhani Harrison Sting

£680m £665m £620m £590m £520m £514m £240m £220m £200m £190m £200m £190m £191m £192m £185m £175m £180m £180m £180m £180m

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 7

News

Introducing Barbara Sala Vilalba

Doctor Music’s Neo Sala and partner Andreia are celebrating the birth of their first child, Barbara Sala Vilalba, who was born on 16 March in Barcelona. While dad was busy at work, little Barbara decided she had waited long enough for her big entrance to the world and, in what is possibly a first for the music industry, arrived early. Un-Belieber-bly early.

“We were expecting Bar-

bara at the end of March, but she decided to give us a very pleasant surprise,” Sala says, explaining that a soldout Justin Bieber show at the Palau San Jordi in Barcelona, promoted by Doctor Music, had just started when Barbara was born. “Everything went really very fast and when I got the call with the news I rushed to the hospital to find her in the arms of a very happy Andreia,” he continues.

“In spite of the shock, everything went very well and both Andreia and Barbara are in perfect health. I’m very good and happy too, but did not get much sleep that night – I’ve been told that I should get used to that for some time…”

TGE to Examine Key Export Markets

Showcase and conference event, The Great Escape, returns to the UK’s south coast city of Brighton this month for a programme of events that is expected to attract 3,000 delegates from around the world.

Organisers are busily confirming a live music lineup that they say will include 350 or so acts from around 30 different countries, performing in 30 venues across the city. Last year, a total of 16,000 people attended the event’s showcase gigs during the event’s three days.

The convention element of the 16-18 May confab will feature a keynote

speech by Arts Council England chief executive Alan Davey, who is set to use The Great Escape platform to launch the first ever artist-centric music-funding initiative – The Music Industry Talent Development Fund; whilst Rough Trade Retail co-owner Stephen Godfroy will discuss the future of specialist music retailing.

Elsewhere, IQ Magazine editor Gordon Masson will moderate ‘Live Opportunities: Emerging Markets’ with guest speakers from Poland, South Africa, China and India. The panel will investigate the logistical, commercial and political challenges for European acts touring in those markets, as well as the partnerships that can be struck up to help negotiate such hurdles.

8 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Movers and Shakers LIVE NATION has appointed Greg Maffei as its new chairman of the board. Maffei is also CEO of Liberty Media, the biggest, single shareholder in the live music, venue, artist management and ticketing group.

THE SECC has lured John Langford from South Africa to Glasgow to take on the role of director, concerts, events and ticketing. Langford was previously chief operating officer of Big Concerts, one of South Africa’s biggest promoters, and brings with him a wealth of experience in attracting and negotiating contracts with artists, as well as a sound knowledge of the ticketing market. In the newly created role, he will be responsible for overseeing and developing sales activity and to position new 12,000-capacity venue The Hydro alongside the best premier live entertainment venues internationally.

FORMER FESTIVAL Awards managing director James Drury has returned to the event under its new owner, Mondiale Publishing, which purchased the business last year. Drury becomes general manager of the UK and European awards, with responsibility for growing the events. He departed the company a year ago to successfully launch London listings magazine Scout, but has rejoined Festival Awards with a remit to work closer with the festival community to grow both the UK and European events.

STEVE JENNER has joined the board of Intelligent Venue Solutions (IVS) as its business development director, UK and Europe, as the company looks to empower smaller, independent events to share fully in the benefits of RFID technology.

Previously digital director at Kilimanjaro Live and founder of the UK and European Festival Awards, Jenner is himself well versed in RFID contactless technology having played a prominent role in turning last year’s Wakestock Festival and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Knebworth concert into ticketless events for sponsor Samsung.

CLAIRE HORSEMAN has joined London-based booking agency Coda as its new managing director. For the last couple of years, Horseman has been working as a music business consultant, but prior to that she enjoyed successful stints at record labels such as edel, BMG and Sony, where she played a part in breaking artists such as Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson and Faithless.

MELANIE DAVIS has joined ICM Partners’ concert division as head of marketing. She was previously head of tour marketing at Azoff Music and prior to that her career included stints at Nederlander Concerts, Live Nation and Bill Graham Presents.

News

Atomic Caters to Novice Beliebers Norwegian promoters Atomic went above and beyond the call of duty for Justin Bieber’s recent visit to Oslo, with company owner Peer Osmundsvaag determined to ensure the experience was the best possible for thousands of young fans.

Atomic’s meticulous planning for Beiber’s 16-18 April visit to the 23,000-capacity Telenor Arena began in earnest during ILMC week, when a 13-strong delegation travelled to London to witness the Canadian teenager’s O2 arena shows. “In addition to our production people, we brought venue security, police and people from local government so everyone could get an idea of what to

expect,” says Osmundsvaag.

“It was also good for those parties to understand our needs as a promoter.”

Being a father himself, Osmundsvaag was concerned many young fans simply wouldn’t know what to do when attending their first concert, especially after Bieber fever gripped the Norwegian capital when the star touched down for a surprise showcase last year.

“The record company was taken unawares,” he recalls.

“Some countries are definitely more enthusiastic than others and let’s just say Norway falls into the more excitable end of the scale.”

As a result, the measures put in place for Bieber’s visit were extraordinary. Norway’s

mid-term school exams were postponed by one week so pupils would not be distracted from their studies.

However, Atomic went several stages further, setting up three control centres at Telenor Arena to keep an eye on fans inside and outside the venue, as well as monitoring traffic for parents picking up their kids. “We spent an enormous amount of time educating the fans on even the basics like how to stand in a queue properly or making sure they had something to eat and drink before they came to the venue.” With fans as young as seven or eight, much of the security plan involved keeping them calm. More than 450 security staff were drafted, along with 120 paramedics,

20 nurses and a 20-strong team from a crisis/trauma group to “give comfort to the young fans who needed a hug/ chat or a shoulder to cry on.”

“We created a holding area outside the arena which had a bit of a festival vibe – there was a DJ to entertain, as well as make announcements, while there was a shop and a merch stand as well – and that allowed us to control entry to the arena, walking small batches of fans in separately.”

Osmundsvaag adds, “Everyone was extremely happy. It was a lot of effort, but when you’re entrusted to look after fans so young, it’s important to go the extra yard, not just to keep them safe, but also because this is our next generation of customers.”

FLEMMING SCHMIDT: 1949-2013 Flemming Schmidt, CEO of Live Nation Denmark, has died. He was 63, and had been suffering from cancer.

Described in the Danish press as “One of the invisible giants of the music industry in Denmark,” Flemming was also a great friend and supporter of the ILMC and as recently as ILMC 23 was a guest speaker on the popular Live Industry: ‘The Solutions Session’ which addressed how the industry was planning for the future.

As chief of Live Nation’s Denmark operations, Flemming was a major supplier of artists to the country’s Parken Stadium, Jyske Bank Boxen and, of course, the Roskilde Festival. He also played a major role in Live Nation winning the con-

tract to operate the new 15,000-capacity Copenhagen Arena, which is set to open in 2015.

Having inherited a common sense mindset from his father, a farmer in Aagaard, Flemming was quick to grasp the importance of balancing business and music. Having left the family farm, Flemming moved to Copenhagen during what was known as the youth rebellion of the 60s. He found a job as a beer delivery man for Tuborg during the morning, allowing him to help out at a concert agency later in the day.

Flemming got a break in 1969, when a Danish band called Hair hired him to book their gigs and on the back of that, he formed his own agency, DKB, which latched onto shows with the

then little-known Supertramp. From that moment on, the business blossomed to the extent that Flemming and business partner, Steen Mariboe, finally sold the business to Live Nation at the turn of the millennium.

Reporting his death, Denmark’s biggest selling newspaper, Politiken, said, “Although he was on familiar terms with Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Madonna… he preferred pulling the strings and – naturally – collecting the money along the way.” Noting Flemming’s prolonged reign at the helm of Live Nation Denmark, the publication added, “No one could fill the role like him.

It was as if he was dressed in an imaginary T-shirt with the words ‘Can’t Be Friends With Everyone’. His man-

ner so completely devoid of ‘sucking up’ could be mistaken for arrogance, but he had with his vast experience really something to back up his self-importance.”

[Martin Hopewell] “Flemming was one of the ILMC’s original members, and a fantastic supporter of the event throughout the years. He was a great promoter, and a major figure in the international scene – one of a handful of people who created the modern live music industry. He was an energetic, robust and enthusiastic character who was always brimming with ideas and ways to improve the business. It’s almost inconceivable that he’s not still with us.”

Flemming is survived by his wife, Mette, and three children.

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 9

News

SFX Invests $100m in EDM Expansion Sensation in North America.

Stutterheim stated, “The whole vision of [SFX] was far more interesting to us. It was on a new level, not just executing as a promoter.

[Live Nation] was a good promoter, they did a good job for us, but this is the next step: a 360-degree model of media, on top of the events.”

He added, “It’s bigger than all of us; the whole idea. If you call me in two years and it didn’t work, we have to look at only ourselves, because all the tools are there now.”

For his part, Sillerman said, “We very quickly got to know one another and we

respect them so much and their talents, the way they approach things, and I think they recognise what we bring to the table. It just made sense to do the whole thing.”

Analysts are understandably drawing comparisons between SFX and the strategy Sillerman employed at the original incarnation of SFX, which he sold to Clear Channel (now Live Nation) in 2000 in a $4.4billion deal. Prior to that, Sillerman embarked on an aggressive acquisition drive internationally, amassing a huge portfolio of venues and concert promoters.

AEG No Longer for Sale

In addition to Beckerman’s promotion, AEG also announced a bigger management shake-up. Jay Marciano, who two years ago hopped across the pond to take up the post of president and CEO of AEG Europe, is returning to Los Angeles to assume the role of COO. Chief legal and development officer, Ted Fikre, has added the responsibility of vice-chairman to his workload, while Steven Cohen, executive vice-president at parent company Anschutz Corp, will additionally serve as AEG’s chief strategic officer.

For his part, new president and CEO Beckerman said, “Phil’s active reengagement in the operations of the company has brought a renewed spirit and passion to the management team’s focus on AEG’s next steps.” Beckerman added that AEG’s priority projects include an initiative to collaborate with MGM to build a new arena in Las Vegas; the development of the company’s new axs ticketing platform; and “the acquisition of ownership stakes and the associated refurbishment of several major global arenas in Europe.”

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) has been taken off the market by owner Philip Anschutz, and a new senior management structure is being implemented at the Los Angelesbased corporation. Company chief executive Tim Leiweke has left the company “by mutual agreement” and Anschutz has replaced him with new president Dan Beckerman, who was AEG’s CFO and COO. It is understood that bidders had not come close to the

$8-10billion (€6-7.6bn) valuation Anschutz had hoped to attract for AEG’s massive sports, venues and live-entertainment empire, and he said he now wants to “re-engage” in the day-to-day management of the business. “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,” Anschutz explained.

10 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Tomorrowland

tion and ship it to the United States ahead of the 27-29 September event in Atlanta.

“We rent what we can, but we are physically transporting a lot of stuff; all the decorations,” ID&T CEO/founder Duncan Stutterheim told reporters at the press conference announcing the deal in Miami. “We can’t plan a week after the Belgian edition. But with Sensation we have a lot of experience with shipping. We travel with five shows to 24 countries.”

The majority stake in ID&T will also allow Sillerman’s company to replicate other EDM formats such as Energy, Thunderdome, Dirty Dutch, Welcome to the Future, Amazone Project and TikTak Eclectic Music Festival. Previously, ID&T had been talking to Live Nation about a prospective partnership and last year Live Nation promoted two of ID&T’s Sensation-branded events in the Barclay Center, New York.

However, that relationship appears to have soured, with AEG currently promoting

Robert Sillerman’s all-out assault to capture as much of the EDM market as possible is continuing apace after his company SFX Entertainment paid a reported $100million (€76m) for a 75% stake in Dutch promoter ID&T. The announcement was accompanied by the news that SFX will launch an American edition of ID&T’s award-winning Belgian dance festival Tomorrowland. The first US version will be called TomorrowWorld and will take place this September in Atlanta City.

Tickets for the event will go on sale on 24 April, but according to SFX, more than half a million people had requested information about the event before its location was even announced.

Having already sold out its entire 180,000 ticket allocation, Tomorrowland, which takes place 26-28 July (in the appropriately named town of Boom) will have plenty of time to dismantle the massive produc-

Comment

Keeping an Eye on the Ball Maria Gedeon, director of marketing at Zayed Sports City, faces up to the challenge of capitalising on new

entertainment potential in Abu Dhabi...

It’s five minutes into extra time in the final of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. Barcelona are tied 1-1 with South American opponents Estudiantes and the clock is ticking towards the lottery of a penalty shoot-out. The ball is crossed to the Argentinean superstar Lionel Messi – it seems too high to head and too low to shoot. Using his unique powers of footballing improvisation, he chests the ball past the keeper for an unbelievable winner! With that goal, Barcelona completed a record haul of six trophies in a season and wrote themselves into the history books.

For Abu Dhabi and us at Zayed Sports City, the goal was equally important. As footage of the match was beamed around the world, it put the venue and the emirate of Abu Dhabi firmly on the map as the successful hosts of a major event, laying the foundations for a new strategy focussing on international sporting and entertainment events.

Zayed Sports City was inaugurated in January 1980, the project was envisioned

by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father and first president, as a state-of-the-art facility to develop and incubate the country’s promising sport talent. After three decades of continuous development and growth it is now the premier entertainment and sporting destination in the UAE. We have hosted the FIFA Club World Cup 2010, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, WWE wrestling, the Harlem Globetrotters, and many international football teams have graced the national stadium. Meanwhile, recent live music acts at venues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have included Madonna, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry.

So how do we overcome the challenges of operating in this market to ensure we build on the success of the Club World Cup and decades of entertainment heritage?

One issue we face is the crippling lack of promoters in Abu Dhabi. We also face strong competition from our neighbouring emirate; the number and variety of events in Dubai make it a challenge to tempt their residents into making the hour-long trip for shows here. Attracting acts to a location that isn’t a traditional venue on world tours also presents budgetary concerns. Acts won’t tour the entire Middle East by road as they would do in Europe. A concert or event in the UAE is typically a one-off affair rather than part of a tour.

This means one thing – acts want big money to perform here.

12 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Managing their expectations and staging a financially viable event is a huge challenge.

Financial planning isn’t helped by the expectation of free giveaways in the UAE, with many tickets being handed out free of charge by corporations who buy in bulk. As we saw in the early stages of the Olympics, the result can be empty seats and a hollow atmosphere.

The UAE summers are scorching – sometimes 50°C in July and August. So we have only a limited time to host events – usually October to May, although by some quirk everything tends to happen from October to December.

More needs to be done to attract acts from January to May when the weather conditions are ideal.

So, it’s critical to attract the right act. Abu Dhabi has to concentrate on guaranteed hits, rather than experimenting with a variety of shows. To put it bluntly, it’s got to be big. Commercial, well-known acts do best. Madonna sold out within a few hours; Coldplay, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj were all major hits.

Amongst sporting events, the annual Mubadala World Tennis Championship at Zayed Sports City is hugely popular because it’s invitational and we can guarantee that the world’s best players will participate – the likes of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. WWE and UFC are popular because of their penetration in the local market with live TV – WWE sold 18,000 tickets and broke multiple records at the International Tennis Centre.

The idiosyncracies of this market also bring their own opportunities, and as things evolve, the challenges that I outlined earlier begin to change… People here will often be willing to pay a premium for tickets with extra comfort and class. Promoters will also typically stump up the cash for major acts. Festivals are picking up in Qatar and Lebanon. We’re very active and have great relationships with the few local ticketing companies. Travel is improving – the availability of new regional budget airlines allowed people to come from all over the region to watch the WWE. Although it’s sometimes difficult to attract Dubai residents, the UAE’s hugely multicultural demographic ensures an active audience for a wide array of acts.

With major events coming up in the next few years, we at Zayed Sports City and Abu Dhabi as a whole must overcome the market challenges and fully capitalise on the amazing potential we have here.

Comment

Teach the Children Well Lucy Noble, head of programming & education at London’s Royal Albert Hall, outlines efforts to educate

future artists and audiences and invites others to assist in this essential work...

My life and career in music have always been something I’ve been extremely thankful for, but it’s in the last year, since I’ve been personally involved in heading up the education and outreach programme at the Royal Albert Hall, that I’ve questioned whether we have a duty to give back and provide opportunities to give as many people as possible access to music.

With support for music education now being cut year on year by the government at quite a significant rate, is it now that the music industry has to step in to do what they can to ensure that there are the artists and audiences of the future?

At the Royal Albert Hall we believe this is key and this is why we now run an extensive music education programme reaching out to tens of thousands of participants each year.

Just a few weeks ago, we welcomed 5,000 school children to the venue for a special matinee performance of Raymond Gubbay’s Classical Spectacular. They’d each paid just £4 for their ticket and the Royal Albert Hall subsidised the remainder of the cost of putting the show on, and when you walk into that auditorium and hear the screams (you’d have thought it was a One Direction show!) for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra… it’s all worth it.

In fact, it’s one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen, especially when many of those young children come from difficult backgrounds or are on free school meals.

Our outreach education band, Albert’s Band, had also visited over 20 schools leading up to the matinee and provided music workshops for nearly 700 primary school children (40% on free school meals), so many of the young people at the Hall on that day had either taken part in a

workshop beforehand, learning how to give a performance based on the main motifs from the pieces, or had listened to friends who did!

When I was asked to align our education work alongside our programme (the other part of my job) at the heart of our business, I felt it was a challenge. However, the response from everyone, from artists to managers and agents to promoters, has been astounding and actually very refreshing.

In the last few months we’ve seen Emeli Sandé give a songwriting workshop to young people from the London boroughs of Hackney and Lewisham; and Foals gave a session based around their song Providence; as well as a mock press conference for young people. Peter Mensch talked about his impressive management career to college and university students and George the Poet worked with those from challenging backgrounds, including some who have been involved in drug and knife crime, to deliver poetry on stage at the Hall. I’ve also watched teenagers with cancer perform a song as part of our Teenage Cancer Trust week of gigs and we’re currently looking forward to working with the Proms during the summer and Nicola Benedetti in September.

A major commitment in supporting music education this year has been to become a strategic partner in our local triborough music hub working on the strategic planning of music education in 150 schools in our local area, as well as our continuing support of Music for Youth, National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and other key music education partners. We already take our programme outside the Hall, but this year, for the first time, we’ll be heading to Camp Bestival where we’ll be creating the Royal Albert Hall’s Ginormous Percussion Orchestra (so we have lots of fun whilst we’re at it too!).

The National Skills Academy encourages the industry to invest in skills and training to help young people take the first steps into our exciting world with existing members already providing over 1 million people with industryendorsed careers information and advice through their Creative Choices programme, and there are plenty of other organisations running great education programmes which are just as vital.

Why do we do it? Because we feel passionately about it and we feel we can make a genuine difference, but there’s so much more to be done. We’re the tip of the iceberg and there are millions of young people who still need music to touch their lives in the way that it has ours.

If you or any of your artists would like to get involved in the education and outreach programme at the Royal Albert Hall, then please email education@royalalberthall.com.

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 13

Comment

Today’s Underground is Tomorrow’s Overground Alex Kerr-Wilson of Discovery Talent currently runs monthly showcases at AAA in London. She took part in

ILMC 25’s Sunday Supplement and shares her views on the current state of developing new talent...

When I attend music conferences, if there is any discussion about grass-roots music, the topic of ‘where tomorrow’s arena artists are going to come from’, always comes up.

I attend two or three gigs a week and showcase at least 60 new acts a year. Past performers at Discovery gigs include Ed Sheeran, Scouting For Girls, The Guillemots, Alice Russell, and Get Cape.

Wear Cape. Fly. From what I see, there is no shortage of talent. The question is how does this talent reach arena level?

In the UK, some support for emerging talent comes from The Arts Council and PRS Foundation in the form of grants. The BBC Introducing platform along with many independent local and internet stations all champion new music and often run stages at festivals. More festivals are now following in Glastonbury’s footsteps, running emerging talent competitions, the winners of which get to perform.

Louise Golby, a past Discovery performer has been selected out of 1,500 submissions to perform at the Isle Of Wight festival, an amazing opportunity for this young soul artist to reach a new audience.

Showcase/conferences such as SXSW, CMJ, ILMC, The Great Escape, Eurosonic, Reeperbahn & Womex play a big role in breaking new acts. Eurosonic dedicates shows to new European talent who are often unknown outside the borders of their home country. In Canada, Factor is providing in excess of CAD14million (€10.8m) annually to support the Canadian music industry. Support is given to recording artists at any level to showcase and tour domestically and internationally. Crowdfunding has been used on the recorded side of the business for sometime, but it’s now playing a role in the live sector. Companies such as Songkick and We Demand (Brazil) have access to data that allows them to know exactly where the fans are that are keen to see their favourite act play live.

Songkick’s recent Hot Chip campaign showed that 70% of the audience hadn’t ever seen the band perform.

There are a huge amount of websites now devoting sections to discovering music, which is all very well, as long as they show some long-term support to acts.

Laura Kirkpatrick from Spotify on the New Boss panel at ILMC 25 explained that they are serious about wanting to support new talent, and are introducing new features to include artist profiles that fans can follow. They also have

14 | IQ Magazine May 2013

their Emerge platform, which visualises the competition between ten emerging artists, based on listens, stars, and social media shout-outs. They regularly interview young bands at their offices, prior to an event and have just added a Songkick app.

I see the role of promoters and agents changing as they are increasingly taking on A&R roles, finding and nurturing new acts. Brands continue to show a keen interest in emerging acts. Killilive, The Agency & SJR Management recently teamed up to host a number of gigs.

Elsewhere, Debra Downes has created an agency, Dawson Breed Music, specifically for emerging talent. As it has progressed she’s developed a new business model whereby she is involved in releasing the acts’ music and in their career development.

Venues are playing their role in promoting grass roots.

On the venue panel at ILMC, the importance of the database was discussed. A new act having access to an established venue’s mailing list is invaluable. The Roundhouse, a venue that put on Pink Floyd in 1966, hosts the iTunes Festival, and also runs The Rising Festival for new talent.

Band On the Wall in Manchester say they are now working with bands at an early stage and sticking with them for the long-term.

In the opening session at ILMC, US Agent Ted Kurland said he was seeing some very cool kids promoting in the States who were linked in with the college radio networks, at which Chuggy (Michael Chugg – Chugg Entertainment) commented that he was developing an Australian band which tours regularly in the States and is building a healthy fanbase there. The general consensus was that if people are committed to creating their scenes, then soon enough one will explode.

In the New Boss panel it was agreed that social media is vital for the grass roots and the bonus is much of it is available at no cost. When it comes to traditional marketing versus new, Tom Taafe from The Agency said, “Do both”.

It was generally agreed that free entry into events devalues music as it’s hard to charge on the next occasion.

I thought the ILMC gave more coverage to the grass-roots sector than I had seen in previous years. I came away feeling inspired at what I heard discussed and particularly by the evidence of both new companies and tools available for promoting live music.

Is Live Taking Too Much for Granted?

Ruth Barlow, head of live at Beggars Group, home to labels 4ad, Matador, Rough Trade & XL Recordings,

expands on the points she raised at ILMC 25...

There has been an explosion in the number of recordings of live performances in recent years, aided by the proliferation and expansion of the festival market. It seems that almost every time a live performance occurs, someone wants to record and broadcast it, put in online, on radio, on television, or all three.

Whilst some of this coverage can contribute positively to our artists’ campaigns, we are very mindful that the proliferation of such material, particularly online, can allow the market to be flooded with recordings of varying quality; as well as multiple versions of the same set performed across a festival season.

Recently, festivals and events have been setting up channels and providing webcasts and archives to YouTube etc, furthering their events’ reach; engaging audiences after the event; attracting more sponsorship and potentially earning extra income from the licensing of this content.

Promoters pay competitive market rates for artists to play live at their events, and the assumption seems to be that recording, webcasting and archiving performances is an

extension of the offer; increasingly these rights are included in the live performance contract issued to an artist’s agent.

As investors in our artists’ recorded output and (usually) contracted to receive our artists’ exclusive recording services, only we can ‘sign-off’ on these recording rights requests, which need to be separately agreed with us. Part of our role is to generate income for both artist and label, so why would we, or the artists’ publishers, agree to free and, often requested, perpetual use of our artists’ recordings, without some participation in that income for them and us, especially if a festival’s online coverage is sponsored?

Today it’s not enough to say, “it’s great promotion”.

Promotion assumes the exposure leads to a purchase or paid consumption of some kind, but now the exposure is very often the end in itself. We receive a fee if an artist performs for a brand which wants to record and put it on YouTube, or their website. We get paid if a recording is used. So, why does the live music industry think it’s different?

ILMC 25 Review...

From the moment we made the first announcements, it was clear that ILMC 25 was going to be something special. We’d tried hard to come up with a plan that would mark our silver anniversary in style, and the response was amazing. Within the first few days, more people had booked a place than the total attendance at ILMC 1, and just over a week before we opened our doors the event was yet again sold-out.

The result was a weekend that, for me anyway, was about as good as it gets. Meeting rooms that were full of both people and content, a menu of fantastic events ranging from something as grand as a gala dinner at the Savoy or football at Wembley Stadium to something as homespun as karaoke or table football in the bar. But for all of the effort that we put into the planning of ILMC meetings, I’ve come to realise that we are doing no more than providing a backdrop for the weekend.

The magic lies in the people who come. And this was something that had worried me for some time: was the ILMC model that we’d created all those years ago for the founders of the live business still relevant to the type of individuals who make up the current generation of industry

leaders? Our time travel theme this year inevitably led to a lot of reminiscing about ‘the good old days’, but when you looked around in the bars and dinners the faces were just as young as they were at early ILMCs, the smiles equally wide and the air of lunacy just as evident. In the meeting rooms, the technical knowledge and intellectual content were, if anything, even higher than ever before.

The ILMC has always been about individuals and not company policies or job titles. No matter how successful we’ve been in creating an industry from the original collection of larger-than-life personalities and micro-businesses, how corporate it becomes or how seriously it tries to take itself, it’s clear to me that the warmth generated when the industry comes together – and the passion for the work we do – remain the same now as they were at the start.

So the conclusion I arrived at from ILMC 25 was not one that could be expressed in figures or the success of the events. It was this: In spite of the many challenges that now face it, a quarter of a century later I’d say the business, and the ILMC, is in very safe hands indeed.

Martin Hopewell

The Meetings Thursday 7 March The ILMC Production Day This year’s IPM gathering was once again a sell-out as production experts from around the world arrived on the eve of ILMC to discuss a range of topics affecting the people behind the scenes internationally. The day got off to a storming start with a session that examined the issue of fatigue and its effects on crew. Because the production day is growing in importance, we have provided a review of proceedings in the IPM brochure, which you will find inside this copy of IQ. Alternatively, an extended report is available online at ilmc.com.

FRIDAY 8 MARCH The Open Forum: ‘A time experiment (1988-2038)’ Chair: Greg Parmley (ILMC) Guest speakers: Marcel Avram (European Concert Agency); Pino Sagliocco (Live Nation Spain); Michael Chugg (Chugg Entertainment); Ted Kurland (Ted Kurland Associates); Barry Dickins (ITB) Marking the start of ILMC 25 in style, Greg Parmley welcomed a panel of veteran heavy hitters to the stage for a series of knock-out exchanges. Before he’d even sat down, Australian powerhouse promoter Michael Chugg joked that the live industry is “up shit creek”. He said that while Australia had largely dodged the international economic crisis in recent years it has now “come home with a vengeance”. Sagliocco shared Chuggy’s woes, admitting Live Nation Spain had endured its worst year ever and that it was difficult to sustain high ticket prices in the country.

ITB co-founder Barry Dickins said artists were running a business like any other and ticket prices were simply a result of supply and demand. Looking to the future, Dickins voiced concern over a lack of new acts. “We have to build a future.

Most of the top grossing acts last year were heritage acts; Coldplay is one of the youngest and they are nearly 20 years old”, he said.

US agent Ted Kurland said he believes the future is looking bright. “In the US there is a paradigm shift; in the last [18 months] we have seen the rise of a great number of new promoters who are adept at social media strategies and aware of artists not on the radar of major promoters. It’s very encouraging. These young entrepreneurial producers are putting massive festivals together and marketing their events using very little paid advertising,” said Kurland. However, attending delegates were asked to raise a hand if they were involved in breaking new acts, and among the hundreds of people present, only six raised a hand.

New Technology: ‘The shape of things to come’ Chairs: Steve Machin (dot Tickets) & Claudio Trotta (Barley Arts) Guest speakers: Andy Cleary (Eskimo); Nick Dryden (Sthaler); Rytis Vitkauskas (YPlan); David Harvey (Vyclone).

Presenting his company first, Dryden explained that Sthaler has developed a system that maps the unique vein patterns in people’s fingers, allowing finger scans to be used as payment for goods and services. Fielding questions from delegates, Dryden said finger vein scans have been used successfully by Japanese banks for nine years and that different fingers can be used for separate debit or credit cards.

Vyclone’s Harvey said his company’s video system was inspired by the poor quality of concert footage on mobile phones. Splicing footage from multiple concertgoers, Harvey demonstrated some slick-looking videos. Synced with audio from the mixing desk, he claimed that this could be monetised.

Trotta was intrigued if a promoter could make any money from such a model and was told it is possible, but connecting fans with the show perhaps offers bigger opportunities.

YPlan’s app recommends ten curated events per day based on the individual user’s preferences. Perhaps the more interesting breakthrough for delegates, however, is YPlan’s ability to allow ticket purchases in just two taps of a phone.

Vitkauskas said the company realises 87% in incremental sales and YPlan typically takes its commission from the promoter.

Former record company executive Cleary set up Eskimo last November to help venues, artists and promoters create more meaningful relationships with fans and to exploit the potential of spreading the word through social networking. Using a recent example of a Sam Gray gig at London’s Bedford Arms, Cleary said people who signed up to Eskimo’s wi-fi system in the venue helped generate multiple hits on the microsite for the show online, where 1,255 people watched the live stream. “Eskimo can take the data from those viewers and deliver that to the artist or venue operator to increase their fanbase,” said Cleary.

The New Technology panel

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tos complement A Large Selection of pho at ilmc.com the full conference report

The Dance Club: ‘The beat goes on’ Chair: Peter Elliott (Primary Talent) Guest speakers: Will Blake (Live Nation); Jeremy Paterson (Vision Nine); Alan Simms (Shine); Ben Turner (Bestival/AIF) With the global EDM scene now estimated to be worth about €3billion, the dance market is one of the most healthy and dynamic in the music business. But the question on everyone’s lips during this panel was how to keep it that way?

Long-time EDM proponent Peter Elliott pointed out that the club industry is suffering as a whole, but thriving at the top end. Simms, who launched Shine in Belfast, in 1995, spoke of the falling number of clubs and that “kids have moved on”, while Blake said that although dance acts are demonstrating an increased interest in big stage shows, many also want to play smaller club shows.

Artist manager and co-owner of Bestival, Ben Turner, said that while major league DJs play clubs to maintain credibility, there’s a need for audiences to buy into new acts. Asked about his launch of the Association of Electronic Music, Turner explained, “It is about advocating this genre and raising people’s perception of it; we are still marginalised.” But Turner lamented the lack of data about the size of the dance market, which he believes the new association can help rectify.

An expert in brand partnerships, Vision Nine’s Paterson said the dance industry is a “strongly identifiable community that attracts brands” and an increase in data will help brands develop marketing plans. And Paterson emphasised that dance could be on the cusp of even greater things. “Dance music has been around for 20 years, and now could be a pivotal moment in its history,” he said.

saTuRday 9 MaRCh The Emerging Markets’ Place: ‘Raising the curtain’ Chair: Juri Makarov (Makarov Muusik) Guest speakers: Wayne Forte (Entourage Talent Associates); Nadia Solovieva (SAV Entertainment); Lazslo Hegedus (Multimedia Organisation); Christian Kramer (CK Concerts); Keith Howison (Percept Live); Natasha Bent (The Agency Group) The Emerging Markets forum was launched by platinum ILMC member Juri Makarov in the early days of the ILMC and he was back in the hot seat for the 25th anniversary, as attendees packed the room to hear the latest developments from around the world.

Emphasising the myriad issues when operating in new markets, Natasha Bent told of artist management concerns over playing unfamiliar territories and the need for education about the opportunities available in new markets. “People want total security and assurance and it’s very difficult for emerging markets because it means working with new promoters and, as an agent, we are very careful who we work with,” she said.

Howison discussed the events leading up to the cancellation of The Fly festival in India last year, blaming a lack of trust and experience within the Indian market. “Nobody believed that we had the bands booked; two weeks before the festival was due to open we got Deep Purple and Anthrax to record a YouTube video for us, but people still didn’t believe they were serious,” said Howison.

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Colombia-based Kramer discussed the challenges of the South American market, including the prevalence of a student card in Brazil. “The card gives 50% off ticket prices, but anyone can buy a card for $30 – it’s a real issue for the industry.”

He urged agents and managers to be more realistic about expectations in South America. “There are so many artists coming, there are five shows a day in Bogotá; the markets are overplayed. Bands have found out there’s money to be made in South America, but it is very important that agents listen to local promoters,” said Kramer.

The Tour Party: ‘Keeping the customer satisfied’ Chair: Bryan Grant (Britannia Row) Guest speakers: Andrew Zweck (Sensible Events); Okan Tombulca (eps); Herman Schueremans (Live Nation Belgium); Dave Corbett (DF Concerts); Michael Hosking (Midas Promotions); Carl AH Martin (cahm.uk) Reporting on the sessions held at the ILMC Production Meetings (IPM), Martin told the panel about a survey on the effects of fatigue among production personnel and the implications that has both on safety and, ultimately, event insurance.

Addressing concerns about the lack of proper planning, Zweck noted, “With a lot of my bands you are talking about tours at least a year in advance and at that stage you haven’t even hired a set designer.” Having the right lines of communication and establishing proper working relationships is key, commented Schueremans: “I did two shows with U2 at the Antwerp Sportpaleis where, by the time the production had loaded in, all the profit was gone. But when you deal with reasonable people you can explain things like that and work out a solution that works for everyone.”

Hosking said there is still an education process to undertake with artists when it comes to certain territories and cultures. “A lot of touring acts don’t respect local laws,” Hosking stated. “Lady Gaga cancelled Jakarta because of death threats. In China, acts will get a licence to perform as long as they don’t sing certain songs or lyrics.” But Corbett concluded that such issues aren’t necessarily the fault of the artist themselves. “A lot of problems are caused by tour managers and artist managers who don’t tell the artist what to do because they’re scared for their jobs,” he said.

Herman Schueremans makes a point during The Tour Party session

The Venue’s Venue: ‘The next stage’ Chairs: Lucy Noble (Royal Albert Hall) & Don Elford (AEG Ogden) Guest speakers: Paul Crockford (Paul Crockford Management); Sally Davies (Universal Music); Dave Stopps (Howard Jones Touring/Friars Aylesbury); Ruth Barlow (Beggars Group); Geoff Jones (Nine Events); Dave Gaydon (Roundhouse)

Funding the Show

Funding the Show: ‘Search for a new boss’ Chairs: Tom Taaffe (The Agency Group) & Martin Nielsen (Live Nation Norway) Guest speakers: Mark Krendel (8lbs); Johannes Ulbricht (bdv); Nick Matthews (Coda Music Agency); Laura Kirkpatrick (Spotify); Bruno Natal (WeDemand) Ulbricht revealed bdv is attempting to set up a collection society for neighbouring rights, allowing promoters to claim royalties for concerts that are filmed. That didn’t go down too well with everyone in the room. Ruth Barlow from record company Beggars Group said, “I hope that Germany is an anomaly because I don’t understand where the [intellectual property] is. The promoter buys in the production, it’s not their venue, so what right does he have to any revenues?”

Explaining the concept behind 8lbs, Krendel said, “Brands want to have a closer relationship with bands and festivals, so the idea is to develop solutions for brands we work with.

A lot of brands we’re speaking to are planning 12-18 months ahead, while the record business is a bit more tactical than that, to put it kindly.”

Matthews observed that most brands want to buy into ready-made audiences and acts that are already established, but Kirkpatrick responded, “We just launched a platform called ‘Emerge’ for new acts and we’re finding that brands really want to be involved in breaking artists – in the United States Emerge is sponsored by Chevy, while in Germany it’s Ford.”

Fielding concerns that shows in South America featuring international acts cannot happen without sponsorship, Natal said some brands only do one event per year, meaning acts wait for that big pay-off. Another promoter commented that in Singapore there is no sponsorship, meaning promoters have to resort to high ticket prices, whereas in Indonesia, cigarette sponsorship is still permitted.

With WeDemand generating huge interest among delegates, Natal summarised the concept as getting fans to fund shows whereby it becomes possible for artists to visit their cities. “Lots of promoters want to use that too,” said Natal. “Once we see there is enough demand in a particular city, that’s when we open up crowd funding. But it also helps to connect the artist with fans so that they can leverage that relationship to sell merch or whatever.”

It was standing room only for the ever-popular Venue’s Venue session which Noble got under way by revealing results from the National Arena Association’s 2012 report. It showed falls in the overall attendance and average attendance per show compared to 2011, while the number of performances was down for the third year in a row, but average ticket prices rose by nearly £5 (€5.90) to £37.22 (€44).

Addressing ways in which venues can help shift tickets, AEG Ogden’s Elford observed, “The way fans get their information has changed remarkably, but something we have seen work really well for us is supplying sponsored merch bags that include an upcoming events calendar. We do it across a group of arenas and have seen an increase in sales that we can track back after each major show.”

Stopps said that access to ticketing databases is key to driving sales, but the UK’s Data Protection Act often presents problems.

Nine Events’ Jones interjected that privacy laws vary by country, so it’s a matter of avoiding trouble with the relevant regulator.

Festival Forum: ‘Past, present and future tents’ Chair: John Probyn (Live Nation) Guest speakers: Rob Challice (Coda Agency); Dany Hassenstein (Paleo Festival); Martin Goebbels (Robertson Taylor); Harry Jenner (Musicnet Entertainment); Baris Basaran (Pozitif Music); Michal Kascak (Pohoda Festival); Girts Majors (Positivus Festival) Looking back over the last year, guests reported wildly differing experiences ranging from Hassenstein’s pleasure at seeing Paleo sell out in record time, to Challice musing that a difficult 2012 led to Summer Sundae taking a year off in 2013.

Panel chair Probyn noted that festival organisers have to wear more hats than ever and emphasised the importance of adequate insurance. Taking up this point, Goebbels urged festival organisers to involve insurers at an early stage. It worries me that there is often either no insurance or duplicate insurance of festivals,” Goebbels said.

Concerns over market saturation and the impact of artist exclusivity deals were also raised. Delegate Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts voiced his support for such contracts. “Exclusivity is vital; if 20 of the acts playing T in the Park are playing other festivals it wouldn’t work; you can’t have the same bands playing every festival,” he said. But Hassenstein demonstrated that exclusivity isn’t always an issue. “50% of the tickets for Paleo are sold to people within 50 kilometres of the site, so there is no issue with exclusivity,” he said.

Although social networking can help with marketing, the guest speakers agreed they are working harder than ever to oversee social media and deal with negative comments. But Ellis believes any social media response is better than nothing.

“The worst thing you can do is announce a headliner that no one comments about – it’s good to see that they care either way,” Ellis said.

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Time Lords Laud ILMC 25 Justin Van Wyk, Big Concerts For me, the ILMC was about getting face-time with key leaders in our industry, as well as learning about the developments around the world and how that could potentially impact our market in the future.

Mark Dannbacher, New Star Management It is the 6th time we’ve visited the ILMC to meet business partners and present our products. Since the very first time, it is the best conference we’ve ever visited.

You are able to get new contacts, as well as new business relationships, which is, at least for us, one of the most important reasons why we are visiting the ILMC. Thank you guys, see you next year.

Ben Challis, Glastonbury Festival I used to be a successful lawyer and I used to do sensible panels and things – but my only ‘appearances’ at this year’s ILMC were dressed as a vicar to predict the future, then in full white top hat and tails at the most marvellous Roaring Twenties Gala Dinner and Arthurs Awards at the Savoy ballroom. And a brief turn in my more usual attire belting out Sweet Home Alabama and Like a Prayer on the karaoke. Fun – of course it was fun!

Andy Lenthall, Production Services Association I’m proud to have played a small part in this year’s International Production Meeting.

Opportunities to share thoughts, information and experience in such an open, frank forum are few and far between, and ILMC has it nailed. All hail the mighty ILMC team!

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Bryan Grant, Britannia Row Andy Zweck, one of my guest speakers from The Tour Party panel, said “when I first came here 25 years ago, I knew 90% of the people in the room, now I know 10%”. That to me was a great comment on the progression of the ILMC; it remains a very relevant talking shop for the next generation of agents, promoters and production people, as well as being one of the more fun social events of the year. Should I get out more?

Peter Smidt, Eurosonic Noorderslag Big compliments for Martin, Alia, Chris, Allan and all others involved for making ILMC for 25 years a very, very happening, vibrant and relevant conference and meeting place. I look forward to many more years of heated discussions, fierce opinions, useful and less useful meetings, cold beers, smoking on the stairs, little sleep, and great bands. And even more cold beers at the Dutch Impact party opposite the hotel.

Ian Congdon, ACC Liverpool It’s the one industry event we look forward to in the year: the sessions are always engaging and relevant. I can catch up with existing contacts and make new ones in the lifts. ILMC 25 was no exception – I’m already in training for the Match of the Year 2014 and can’t wait to win back the trophy. Congratulations to the mad scientists in control and here’s to another future.

Peter Monks, The Ticket Factory In such a fast-paced industry, it’s increasingly difficult to get quality time with clients and partners. ILMC provides an ideal opportunity to catch up, do business and let off steam. We have an exciting year ahead, so the opportunity to share this information with key contacts at ILMC is invaluable. From an NEC Group perspective we really valued the content of the sessions this year from an attendance and participation point of view. The icing on the cake was of course winning the Golden Ticket Award and bringing Arthur back to the office in Birmingham. He now has pride of place in reception.

Martin Goebbels, Robertson Taylor ILMC was, as always, a great pleasure to attend and to participate in. The hugely impressive 25th anniversary added a special edge particularly for those of us that have been there since the very first, with most of us wondering how Martin Hopewell is the only one that hasn’t aged. The organisation never fails to impress; what a massive achievement to gather 1,000 people from around the globe every year and still make the event feel like a family gathering.

ILMC remains, without doubt, the most enjoyable, informative and positive music conference in the world and hats off to all those involved.

Danny Betesh, Kennedy Street Great to see that ILMC continues to go from strength to strength. Could we have imagined how this would grow and develop when it first started 25 years ago? And this year’s 25th was the best yet! It is a good opportunity to exchange and share our views together and hear the different opinions expressed by panellists. If we manage to do a bit of extra business, it is a bonus.

Tim Dowdall, Live Nation The ILMC has become a venerable legend, an egalitarian gathering of entertainment-industry professionals from all areas of the business, all the regions of the world and all conceivable age groups, where you can meet the people that matter, and the people you care for, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, the people that matter, whom you care for. I am proud of my gold membership card, and equally annoyed about the one year I missed, just because of a sold-out arena tour. When you are young, you make these errors of judgment. I do not promise to be at the 50th anniversary (though if there’s still breakfast with Ed, I’ll do everything I can to make it), but I am very happy to have taken part in the first, illustrious, quarter of a century.

Andrew Stone, eps Australia As a first-time ILMC delegate, it was a far different atmosphere to many of the other conferences I’ve attended in the past. There was a wide range of industry delegates in attendance from an even wider range of countries. To hear people become actively involved with the panel discussions and openly discuss topics which are relevant within the industry right across the globe, made the conference well worth attending. I’m looking forward to registering for 2014 already.

Oliver Hoppe, Wizard Promotions Although I am very fresh when it comes to the ILMC, one can clearly see that its key element of being a networking event was stronger this year than many of the years before. It’s funny when you have to come to England to have a decent chat with the who’s who of the German music market, but the ILMC always delivers – domestically and internationally.

Matthias Müller, Baloise Session The Jubilee ILMC has been a great success from our point of view. We met a lot of people in one location, which we rarely could see personally during the year. The result of this ‘family gathering’ was that we have nearly completely booked this fall’s festival programme, which is really early in the year as the Baloise Session takes place between 25 October to 14 November. We are looking forward to the next ILMC.

John Knight, SMG Europe It was a lively event this year, the inevitable nostalgia mixing well with the business and technology panels.

SMG had a good representation, and our newer arena general managers in particular, found it valuable. However, I still get the impression that venues are something of a necessary evil to many of those attending ILMC, rather than an important partner in selling the tickets and making the shows happen.

Geoff Huckstep, National Ice Centre ILMC 25 provided the perfect combination of high quality keynote presentations, interesting, and sometimes controversial, workshop sessions, and, above all, the opportunity to network with new and old friends from the entire spectrum of the live music industry. The Gala Dinner and Arthurs was superb... benefitting from the excellent surroundings of the Savoy.

Georg Bucher, World On Ice For World On Ice, it was the first time to participate at the ILMC. To hit the 25th anniversary even increased our expectations. And it proved to be a time warp at least when coming back home and trying to recover. The accumulated constructive communication energy till late or early mornings is certainly one key characteristic of the ILMC. And the special atmosphere of the ILMC created so many new promising contacts and intensified a lot of existing ones.

Neil Warnock, The Agency Group The main thought that came to me was how great it was to see so many younger participants attending ILMC this year.

There was a sense that the ILMC has evolved to include a wider selection of promoters from a number of markets.

Finally a quick point about the ‘Funding The Show’ panel chaired by our own Tom Taaffe; The session was lively and informative and I was very impressed.

Panels such as these can be awe inspiring and intimidating for newer delegates but that didn’t seem to put them off debating their points. Discussion about the industry by the industry will always be a good thing in my book.

Christoph Scholz, Semmel Concerts In its 25th year, ILMC is a beautiful young bride. Time to consider a baby!

What about ILMC Asia?

Neel Vasavada, eps America Eps America was impressed by the organisation, execution and quality of the panels. The access to industry veterans, as well as colleagues and customers who are at the top of their game, was an experience that would be hard to replicate.

Rob Edwards, Eventim UK We were delighted to sponsor ILMC again this year, and to help celebrate the 25th anniversary with friends and colleagues. The New Technology session exploring the shape of things to come, the Venue’s Venue, Meet the Competition and Selling the Show were particularly good this year and we look forward to the next 25 years of ILMC.

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Entertainment: ‘Meet the Competition’ Chairs: Koen Melis (NEC Group) & Jim Frayling (Wembley Stadium) Guest speakers: Ian Coburn (Live Nation); Edward Griffiths (Saracens Rugby Club); Andrew Leighton-Pope (LeightonPope Organisation) Gathering a number of entertainment experts from other sectors, this panel endeavoured to discover whether there is anything the live music business can learn from the competition and vice versa. Griffiths reported that Saracens recently moved to a new stadium, which despite being a lot bigger than its average crowds, has received criticism for not being large enough. “People want what they can’t have,” he stated. “There has never been a game in Saracens’ history – that’s 136 years – where you could not get a ticket. But in our first three games at our new stadium, we sold out.”

Leighton-Pope disclosed that one of his biggest clients, The Chippendales, go on sale very early. “When a woman is sitting in the venue watching the act, they should have a flyer for next year’s show. That’s one of our key marketing tools.

Also, the Chippendales come out and sign stuff and have their photos taken with audience members – you can’t do that in live music. We usually have about 35% of the audience taking photos at €20 a pop.”

Pointing to some areas where his club has increased revenues, Griffiths said, “We started selling a Saracens Ale that sells 14:1 compared to the other beers we have. Additionally, we created a pie with the Saracens crest on it and set up a pie eating competition among our players to promote it. Our caterers thought we’d sell about 200, but at our first match we sold 1,140 pies.” Among other efforts in the pipeline, he revealed, are a match day app which fans can use to have pizza delivered to their seats, Prompting some dissent among delegates, Coburn stated his belief that social media is “massively overrated”, adding “I’ve seen Twitter sell tickets, but I’ve also seen it do absolutely nothing. It’s nowhere near as important as people think.”

Griffiths, however, said his business has embraced social media, “As a means to communicating deals and promotions, we use it very well – we can speak to about half a million people instantly by using our players’ Twitter feeds.”

Selling the Show: ‘Going to market’ Chairs: Serge Grimaux (Intellitix) & Geoff Meall (The Agency Group) Guest speakers: Didier Semah (Universal Music France); Niels Aalberts (Friendly Fire); Rainer Appel (CTS Eventim); Dan Pierce (Ticketmaster); Dean DeWulf (AXS); Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live) RFID innovator Grimaux led this discussion into how social networking and technology are rewriting the marketing rulebook, noting that online initiatives are no longer built around content, but, because of social networking, are now planned around people.

Pierce said marketing is now as important to what ticketing companies have to offer as technology is. “Our Live Analytics [system] allows us to identify where to target market,” said Pierce. Meanwhile, DeWulf trumped new AXS system, Access Invite, whereby people can buy tickets for themselves but also hold tickets next to them for friends. “Using this, the overall order size increases from 2.5 tickets on average to 3.5 on average,” he said.

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For his part, Appel flagged up an iPhone app which analyses people’s iTunes content, allowing Eventim to provide those users with targeted event recommendations. And Aalberts revealed Friendly Fire’s upcoming Best Kept Secret festival is leveraging artists’ online presence to sell tickets. “We’ve got the artists we’ve confirmed to work with us to announce the festival,” said Aalberts.

Promoter Galbraith said, “For years we couldn’t figure out how to connect with our fans’ friends, but now it’s simple to identify them through social networking.” Comparing communication outlets, Galbraith said that because email and text do not provide a tool to connect with people’s friends, he favours social networking.

But Aalberts sounded a note of warning when it comes to relying on new media operations. “I’m wary about giving Facebook our customer data because who knows what Mark Zuckerberg is going to do in five years’ time?!”

The Emerging Markets’ Place panel

The Market Focus: ‘From Russia with live’ Chair: Nick Hobbs (Charmenko) Guest speakers: Mikhail Shurygin (National Concert Academy); Semyon Galperin (Ural Production Centre); Dmitry Zaretsky (PopFarm); Neil Warnock (The Agency Group); Marina Puzhevich (Caviar Lounge) Following ILMC 24’s focus on China, an expert panel was assembled to examine the evolution of the Russian market.

Delegates heard that while artists used to perform shows in St Petersburg and/or Moscow and then depart, now they are increasingly looking to book multiple dates as the Russian circuit develops beyond the big cities.

Reporting a swathe of data, Hobbs claimed that only 20-30% of shows in Russia are profitable. Ticket prices are in the region of $70 to $100 (€55-78) per show but their cost, according to Zaretsky, is driven by the high price of Russian visas for the crew. The thriving corporate market was also discussed.

It was claimed that George Michael can command a $3million (€2.35m) fee and that Russia’s private entertainment business is worth about $1billion (€780m) annually.

While the concert business is heavily concentrated within Moscow, and to a lesser extent St Petersburg, the panel highlighted that many artists have begun playing further afield, albeit outside of those two established cities, the higher ticket prices cannot be sustained. While Russia might offer huge potential for foreign acts, currently international talent represents only 10% of shows. Corruption was also discussed and while it was generally agreed to be a problem, it was accepted as a way of “getting the job done”.

The Sunday Supplement: ‘The gardening pages - seeding the future’ Chair: Allan McGowan (IQ)

Ed Bicknell and Nick Mason at the Breakfast Meeting

SUNDAY 10 MARCH The Breakfast Meeting with Nick Mason Chair: Ed Bicknell (Damage Management) In an often hilarious but at times poignant discussion, Ed Bicknell sat down with Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason to reminisce about the band’s evolution and Mason’s career through the decades. Recalling the formation of the band, Mason said, “At college someone had written some songs and wanted to play them to a publisher, so Roger Waters said he played guitar and Rick Wright said he played piano and there was me on drums. Syd Barrett was a friend of Roger and when he arrived the band began to take off, particularly because he wrote songs.”

Quizzed about the band’s drugs use, Mason candidly responded that Barrett’s deterioration served as a deterrent.

“What happened to Syd scared the rest of us off drugs,” he revealed. “Roger says that looking back, the audience were stoned while we were just drunk.”

Citing his first encounter with the band, while booking acts at Hull University, Bicknell said, “Syd was nowhere to be seen.” Picking up the tale, Mason said, “We were on tour with Jimi Hendrix in 1967 and Syd was defragmenting. He didn’t show up one night and that was the blueprint for us to play without him.” Wondering if the story about the band getting to Syd’s house and simply deciding to drive away without him was true, Bicknell learned it was, with Mason admitting mistakes had been made. “At some point, Peter [Jenner] and Andrew [King] realised we were not picking Syd up any more.

That’s when they decided to stop managing us and went with Syd instead.”

Recalling that the individual band members were almost anonymous, Mason stated, “Fame and celebrity was never part of it. We realised the show should be bigger than the band. When we played Top of the Pops, we arrived after the road crew who were all getting their hair done because nobody knew what we looked like.”

Turning to the band’s breakup, Mason said, “When Roger left the band it was pretty brutal. We’d been friends since 1962 and to be honest it took about 10 years to get over that, but eventually we did Live 8.” And asked what the chances were of another reunion, Mason wouldn’t rule it out, but added, “I can’t envisage much in the way of touring.”

This year’s edition as ever attracted a small but very vocal gathering. The regular review of the ILMC weekend was very positive, with general approval in particular for the ‘informative’ sessions such as New Technology and the Market Focus. Wayne Forte of Entourage Talent spoke of the need for smaller more concentrated discussions alongside the bigger meetings. The room was of the opinion that delegates are now more willing to concentrate on serious business issues, with tax expert Dick Molenaar recalling the difficulties in the past of getting people to take matters such as taxation seriously. ‘Grass-roots’ issues, concerning the development of new artists, venues and professionals need more attention, with more mentoring and small group meetings considering development and funding issues.

Ideas are to be proposed, and ILMC is still considered the best forum for these.

The Booking Ring: ‘Changing the future’ Chair: Juha Kyyrö (Fullsteam Agency) Guest speakers: Rense van Kessel (Friendly Fire); Anna Sjolund (Live Nation Sweden); Rob Challice (Coda Agency); Greg Lowe (The Agency Group) Kyyrö quizzed his guests on what they liked least about the business. Lowe flagged up the “playground atmosphere that exists between some agents and some promoters”, explaining that his move to The Agency Group had been a necessity because bigger agents were trying to steal his acts. Challice cited ticketing: “How did promoters, agents and artists lose control of our ticketing?” he asked.

On the promoter side of the panel, van Kessel lamented a lack of professionalism. “It’s odd that in a business where there’s a lot of money involved, that people miss deadlines and sometimes become unreachable for days,” he stated.

Sjolund also voiced her ticketing concerns. “Sweden is not an allocation market – the venues decide which provider to go with and we simply have to deal with it,” she said.

Focussing on deals between agents and promoters, Kyyrö commented, “I had a band on an 85% deal and they were making about €200 more per show. I changed to a smaller promoter and a 70% deal and the band started making three times the money they used to.” However, noting that common sense has to prevail, Challice stated, “At club level sometimes you have to agree that the promoter gets a €400 fee, because on an 85% deal at a 1,000-capacity show, he would walk away with less than the rep’s fee.”

Finishing on the thorny subject of marketing plans, van Kessel claimed he had never received any agent feedback.

Challice expressed his surprise, saying he has continual conversations with promoters about “why they are spending €5,000 of our money on marketing.” But he admitted, “There are some agents where if you took their phones away, they would have no less communication with the world.” That prompted Lowe to voice one of his pet theories. “There’s a relationship between agents and promoters that has to evolve or die,” he warned. “Operations like Songkick could reach a point where either the promoter or agent role could disappear – the future of the booking ring is up to us.”

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Who won the whisky drinking competition? Who triumphed at Wembley? Who was where on each night?

ILMC 25 eVeNTs As every delegate knows, our annual gathering at The Royal Garden Hotel isn’t just about business – the team endeavours to bring together the ILMC family by providing as many fun extracurricular activities as possible, and the 25th anniversary was no different, as you’ll see from just a selection of the moments our photographers managed to capture.

Clockwise from left: Dougie Souness terrifies IQ editor Gordon Masson and honorary Scotsman ‘McFrancois’ Moreillon during the Address to a Haggis at The ‘Highland Fling’ Sunday Dinner; Joanna Maj, Martin Alsop, Nyree Stidston and Ian Thomas enjoy Feld Entertainment’s Cryogenic Ice Cream Break; ‘Coupe Du Monde’ referee Terry McNally congratulates Matthias Schnakenberg and Philipp Styra for retaining their table football champions status; ILMC staff finally get to let their hair down at the Wind Down Wingding; and Miro Lanik, Dariusz Startek, Beata Beben, Martin Vechet and Borek Jirik take advantage of arriving in London early at the ILMC Birthday Bash.

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Reviews of all the ILMC events, and a huge selection of photographs are online at ilmc.com

Clockwise from top: In addition to some fine lyrical performances, The ‘Rock Around the Clock’ Karaoke also featured the throwing of some enthusiastic shapes on the dance floor; hosts Aiken Promotions once again fulfilled the ambitions of many a delegate by allowing them to (dis)grace the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium for the Match of the Year Football.

And in keeping with those fantasies, the tournament was won by the home-grown UK team; talking of boyhood dreams, ILMC’s own Chris ‘load the decks’ Prosser was delighted to beat the odds by winning American Talent Agency’s Temporal Texas Hold’ Em Poker Tourney. But the thought of all that money lining his pockets appeared to drain the blood from IQ editor Gordon Masson; already looking forward to ILMC 26 at The ‘Out of Time’ Closing drinks were Misha Loots, Steve Zapp, Michal Kascak, Rene Loots, Debra Downes and Allison Hussey.

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The Roaring 20s Gala Dinner and Arthur Awards To mark ILMC’s 25th anniversary, the annual Gala Dinner took a quantum leap forward, while falling back through time to the London of the roaring 20s. The magnificent setting of The Savoy Hotel proved a huge hit with guests, when, following a champagne reception, they entered the opulent Lancaster Ballroom to find a live jazz band, dressing up props on each table, and magicians all lending to the undeniable magic in the air.

With a reformatted Arthur Awards allowing for extended appreciation of each nominee, and with London’s finest flappers, The Bee’s Knees, performing a routine before encouraging an ILMC delegation – including an ever-nimble Ossy Hoppe – to take part, it was an evening to remember. “It was a really lovely vibe in a really lovely venue, and a great way to celebrate our big anniversary,” says ILMC’s Martin Hopewell, who adds, “And for once, nothing went wrong!”

The Arthurs were presented by Ben Challis, resplendent in a white top hat and tails, who comments: “This seemed like the best Gala Dinner ever; nothing to do with me. It just felt so right at the amazingly wonderful Savoy ballroom, and everyone looked so wonderful once they had some feathers and beads on – and that was just the boys. For me, the awards bit was over in a flash, with some very worthy winners. In particular, I was so pleased Folkert Koopmans won Promoter’s Promoter and Emma Banks’ time-travelled video acceptance speech was a joy to behold! She needs to get herself an agent.”

Paul Twomey of event sponsors Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers adds, “Robertson Taylor were proud to sponsor the Gala Dinner again, especially on such a significant anniversary for the ILMC. The location was stunning and the entertainment both easy on the eye and the ear! Ben Challis proved an entertaining host again and congratulations to all the Arthur winners and nominees.”

Clockwise from top: Arthurs MC Ben Challis raises eyebrows by Putting on the Ritz at The Savoy; The Bee’s Knees lead guests for an impromptu dance routine; Dapper Dennis and Ingrid Armstead dress for the occasion; 78rpm entertain guests during dinner; and Martin Hopewell dresses down for the annual Gala Dinner pop quiz.

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Arthur winners 1)

irst Venue to Come Into Your Head: F The Royal Albert Hall

Lucy Noble: “Everyone at the Royal Albert Hall is so proud to have won the Arthur. It is a real honour to be recognised by so many illustrious music industry people and to have been part of the ILMC’s 25th anniversary in such a grand way. THANK YOU!”

2)

Tomorrow’s New Boss: Oliver Hoppe, Wizard Promotions

“Obviously I am very honoured that I have won considering the short time I’ve been in the business and against such well recognised competition. It’s nice to get acknowledged for the work I have been doing and the impressions I have left beyond the family name.”

3)

The Golden Ticket: The Ticket Factory

Peter Monks: “We are thrilled to bits. To win an award voted for by our clients and peers is particularly special. Ticket companies need great technology in order to deliver for their clients, but it’s the people who manage this technology and use it day in, day out, who make the difference. This is a real compliment to the skill, commitment and enthusiasm of all who work for The Ticket Factory, to our software supplier AudienceView and to our colleagues in the NEC Group who support us.”

4)

Liggers’ Favourite Festival: Rock Werchter

Herman Schueremans: “Although it’s the fifth time we have won it, it is a fantastic honour and recognition for our very dedicated and driven team of music lovers that help build artist careers and give the festival audience and the artists – and their production teams – a fantastic time. Thank you all! Politics and religions divide, but music unites, and we all contribute to it.”

5)

Services Above And Beyond: eps

Okan Tombulca: “It was an honour to win this award specially voted from our customers. This gives us the impression that we have the right philosophy and the best team in the world.

We are very happy to see how the people on the production level are working more and more together, helping each other and finally seeing the audience as the most important people.

We are also very happy that our customers (promoters) are creative and bring us, sometimes, very challenging situations.

That’s what makes it a lot of fun.”

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6)

The Promoter’s Promoter: Folkert Koopmans, FKP Scorpio

“I was very surprised as I did not expect to win against industry heavyweights like Michael Chugg or André Béchir, whom I both admire a lot. For me it is a great pleasure, so THANK YOU to everybody who helped me to receive this prize.”

7)

The ILMC Bottle Award: Ed Bicknell, Damage Management

“The 25th was the best of the 12 or so ILMCs I’ve been to due to the amazing production and organisation by Alia and her team, along with Martin and Patsy of course. They managed to surpass their already incredibly high standards, so big congratulations and thank you to them.

Of course, after getting off the stage there are many things I’d wished I’d said and numerous people I wished I’d thanked... the late John Sherry who gave me my start; Barrie and Jenny Marshall who taught me what I know; Danny Betesh, Herman de Splurmans and so many of the promoters I’ve worked with; Kate Hopewell for wearing that dress, and so on. But in the moment it’s hard to think!

Without wishing to sound overly sentimental this award is THE highlight of my 40 or so years in the ‘biz’ and I was delighted and (unusually for me) humbled to receive it.

Tired and emotional springs to mind! Thanks to everybody concerned – see you next year.”

8)

Most Professional Professional: Gillian Park, MGR

“I think my reaction [in the Savoy] when they announced my name said it all…. I managed two words: ‘thank’ and ‘you’.

Everyone in there who knew me was probably expecting me do an Oscar winner style acceptance speech and I’m pretty sure Ben Challis braced himself to regain control of the mic, but I think I was in shock! Surprised and delighted probably sums it up for me.”

8)

The People’s Assistant: Charlie Renton, Primary Talent

“I think I’m still a bit stunned! I’m very honoured and extremely chuffed to have been thought of and voted for by so many people! Thank you so much to everyone who nominated and voted for me, and thank you to Ben, Martin and everyone at Primary for still putting up with me after all these years!”

Second Least Offensive Agent: Emma Banks, CAA “I am so honoured to have won this award again; being recognised by my colleagues in the international live industry is incredibly flattering and I am truly touched. I am so lucky to work with a great team of people at CAA and also to work with wonderful clients that make every day so fulfilling.

Without the amazing talent that I represent I wouldn’t have the chance to be offensive or pleasant to anyone so thanks to you all! Thanks also to every promoter that works with me and helps me look good to the acts I work with – I couldn’t do it without every one of you. Here’s to the 26th ILMC!”

Reviews of all the ILMC events, and a huge selection of photographs are online at ilmc.com

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Marcel Avram

30 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Marcel Avram at ILMC 25 © Guido Karp

Marcel Avram

The Last Emperor As a true pioneer of global tour promotion, Marcel Avram is an industry legend. What makes his story all the more remarkable is a battle against oppression and an inherited entrepreneurial spirit that thankfully led him to live music. Gordon Masson learns what keeps him motivated beyond his 75th birthday.

S

peaking to some of Europe’s most influential promoters and agents about Marcel Avram, there are two themes that continually emerge: loyalty, and that the man who is affectionately known to many as ‘The Emperor’ will put everything on the line to fight for what he believes in. The latter quality is, perhaps, a family trait because, with his parents being of Greek and RomanianJewish descent, Avram’s formative years in Romania were set against a background of war, religious persecution and the battle to simply survive.

When the state of Israel was created in the post-war years, the Avram family immigrated to Haifa, before moving to Jaffa where his father set-up an import/export business. In 1952, that developing operation took the family to Frankfurt, Germany where fate intervened and saw the teenage Marcel quickly develop a love for the emerging new musical genre – rock & roll. That love saw him entering – and often winning – dance competitions. But the teenage Marcel would wait a further 15 years, gaining experience in other walks of life, before he finally took the plunge into a career that changed the face of the music industry.

Avram’s first real contact with live music was at a Frankfurt concert by Bill Haley & the Comets and he admits to being instantly captivated. Indeed, he was soon earning extra money by working on the crew for visiting acts and recalls one of his first shows was for the biggest act on the planet at the time. “I worked on an Elvis show when he was in the army, schlepping boxes around at a gig in Frankfurt,” he reveals. “But for me, my favourite music was Bill Haley or

even more so, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.”

Working alongside his father in businesses that involved selling carpets or vending fruit, among other ventures, Avram honed his entrepreneurial skills to the extent that when his chance came along to become involved in music, he was ready to pounce. But he believes he was always predestined to work in entertainment. “My mother was a dance teacher, so there was always music at home, while my father was in the oriental rug business, so I was used to flying all over the world – it was a good background for going into the international music business,” Avram tells IQ. His ambition to get involved in showbiz was finally realised in 1968, when, at the age of 30, he came across concert organiser Peter Hauke and upon learning that the promoter was short of cash, Avram stepped in and quickly found himself bankrolling shows by the likes of Steppenwolf and the Beach Boys. However, he soon learned about the risks involved in promoting and when even sell-out shows failed to deliver a profit, he called time on the partnership.

“Peter Hauke needed money and I had it, but it wasn’t for me – I wanted to do it myself,” he says. Already a scholar of the industry, Avram knew the direction he wanted to take his business in. “My hero was Bill Graham, as he had the same vision as I did,” he continues. “But in those early days, the only venues that new acts could play were the Philmore East and Philmore West and every act had to play two sets a night.

Then Woodstock came along and that was the real beginning of the business as we know it today.”

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 31

Marcel Avram

Avram with Tina Turner

Testimonials Astrid Messerschmitt, United Promoters

What makes Marcel so special is that he never loses sight of the most important people in this business: the artists and the people who attend their concerts. I have been working with him for 32 years now and we went through a lot together. Marcel is a passionate man, very intelligent, energetic, willing to take risks and always aiming for the best. His speed is amazing, he never spends more than two days in one place. I also admire his modern way of thinking and being future-oriented. I have an immense respect for his achievements in life and it has been a privilege working for him.

Günther A. Färber, Tax Advisor

The Birth of Mama

I

nspired by such figures as Graham and New York-based promoter Ron Delsener – “He was someone else I looked up to and wanted to emulate” – Avram persevered and in 1970, Mama Concerts was founded in conjunction with partner Marek Lieberberg, who had been the press officer for the Hauke-Avram company.

Committing themselves completely to Mama, Avram and Lieberberg set about building an empire and, determined to avoid the kind of mistakes made by their peers, the duo virtually rewrote the way in which the live industry operates.

“The first show we promoted was by The Who, the second

by Pink Floyd, the third by Deep Purple, and I can still remember everything about those gigs,” Avram says. And the way the Mama partners treated their talent also rewrote the book. Rather than try to squeeze every penny from a contract, the promoters looked after their artists, thus ensuring that lasting relationships could be built.

“I was involved with Pink Floyd a lot, then David Gilmour later on. I probably did more concerts with Floyd than anyone else around the world,” Avram notes. “Together with Marek, I quickly got into organising festivals, but looking back at the start, there were only about 50-100 bands touring. Ten years ago, it had probably grown to 5,000 and now, in 2013, it’s probably closer to 10,000. Nearly every American and European act is on the road this summer and the kids just don’t have the money to go to see them all.”

Modest about the loyalty he enjoys from some of the world’s biggest acts, Avram says, “I’ve never sold my soul for money. There’s always got to be something in the music that I love and that’s why I’ve had such long-term relationships with artists. I’ve worked with AC/DC for 40 years now, as well as artists like Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and Deep Purple.”

Through Avram and Lieberberg’s tireless efforts, Mama spent most of the 70s bringing world-class artists to Germany and Europe, thanks in no small part to an initiative to transform sport halls and football arenas into concert halls and open-air venues. At the same time, Avram offered

I know Marcel loves working more than – nearly – anything else, and I think he will never stop doing so. He is a traveller around the world every day. Any time he calls and any time I try to reach him he is in another country. He can be proud of everything he has achieved and I believe his career will continue unchanged. I wish him all the best for the upcoming years and that he laughs as loud as he grumbles in the future.

Pino Sagliocco, Live Nation Barcelona

Marcel has been one of my personal mentors and one of the true originals in the live business. He has been a constant force in fighting for the rights of promoters in the international arena. Most of all, he has always known which hat he should be wearing at any given time. He was, and is, a great agent when he represents an artist and he was, and continues to be, one of the greatest promoters that this business has seen. I have never seen him crestfallen even at the hardest points in his life. He never caves in under pressure and above all he is always a great friend to his friends, and this is illustrated by the tremendous loyalty he shows to those people he works with.

Marcel continues to be a real reference point in the live music industry. He is more than a friend to me, he’s family, and it is a great honour to say he’s a part of my life.

Rod MacSween, ITB

I’ve worked happily with Marcel for many years. He has become a good friend as well as a pioneer in our business. He always has a good sense of humour and is a man of his word. One of the best.

Barry Dickins, ITB

Marcel is a real character and there aren’t that many of them around any more. At 75-years-old he is unbelievable – he still has so much energy, he puts the rest of us to shame.

Jackie Lombard, Inter Concerts

I like everything about Marcel – when he talks he makes everything sound so easy. But he is a big fighter: when he believes in something he will put everything behind it and he did a lot of things that others would not touch – he took a lot of risks and he should be applauded for that. Marcel is very loyal so it’s difficult that some people have not been loyal to him. He is an amazing man – a bon vivant, as we would say in France.

It’s good that he takes advantage of life because life has not always been fair to him. But a lot of acts still appreciate Marcel and have remained loyal to him, which is great to see.

Continued on page 35

32 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Marcel Avram

On tour with Michael Jackson

Continued from page 32 Carl Leighton-Pope, Leighton-Pope Organisation

Marcel lives on the edge – he goes from feast to famine all the time, but he’s constantly on a plane trying to set up his next deal. He’s a bit mythical in a weird way, but I adore him and I’m a huge fan. He lives this gregarious, secretive life that, if we’re honest, we all want to live. Marcel is immensely loyal and he’s never lied to me – he is what the business should be about and when guys like Marcel are gone, then the business that we all got into because we loved it, will be gone.

Michel Perl, Gracia Live

I’ve known Marcel since 1972 when I was repping James Brown and made a deal with Marcel for the German tour. I’ve always worked with him ever since. He is a very loyal person and very honest too – I’ve never had a single problem with him. He was truly a pioneer: he was like the first Live Nation and AEG together.

Paul Ambach, Make It Happen

Marcel Avram is my hero. I’ve done so much business with that young man over the years – Deep Purple, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Cat Stevens – and I cannot pay him enough respect. He’s got everything you need to make things happen.

He has one talent that nobody else has; he is never depressed and never aggravated, despite the everyday aggravations of the business. I’ve still got so much to learn from Marcel Avram.

He is my model in business.

John Giddings, Solo Agency

I can’t think of anything to say that’s printable about Marcel.

I love him.

Barry Clayman, Live Nation

Marcel has a huge heart and I’ve seen him do incredibly generous things that he never wanted as much as a pat on the back for. I’ve never come across anyone sharper and more brilliant than Marcel and I take my hat off to him because he did something that nobody thought was possible.

Okan Tombulca, eps

I first met Marcel when I was 16 and he has remained that unique and very brave person ever since. Marcel is like an elephant, he never forgets. He is very unconventional and approaches business in a way that nobody else does. In the very early days he gave me some great advice that has served me well – it doesn’t matter what you do in life, as long as you’re true to yourself.

Andrew Zweck, Sensible Events

Marcel has had an amazing career. In the beginning, he was the king – he was the lead guy at Mama – and despite the fact that he’s had downs as well as ups, he is a true survivor. But he was there on day one and you have to take your hat off to the people who invented this business. Marcel is a relentless fighter and the fact that he is still doing it at 75 and never gives up is remarkable. He’s an absolute terrier; he’s always on a plane going to see a band. His tenacity is unbelievable, but he always tempers that with his very sharp wit and humour.

his roster amazing promotional opportunities by creating successful TV formats such as Thommy’s Popshow, Peter’s Popshow, Italian Nacht and Rock Over Germany, which became a powerful media platform in Central Europe for Mama’s artists. “I did over 100 hours on [broadcaster] ZDF with our 11pm to 4am show – that’s where Depeche Mode started, as well as people like Eros Ramazzotti and Pet Shop Boys,” he recalls.

Such inventiveness not only fuelled the growth of Mama into a true promoting powerhouse, but also helped Germany realise its potential as one of the strongest live music markets, not just in Europe but worldwide. In addition to the numerous concerts and tours Avram and Lieberberg were organising, their stable of festivals, which included Speyer in 1971 and a year later what was, at the time, Germany’s biggest festival ever, using land near Germersheim for a three-day event hosting 30 acts including Floyd, The Doors and the Faces.

That early show with the Faces would also lead Avram to one of his most enduring alliances, with Rod Stewart remaining one of his closest friends to this day.

ITB’s Barry Dickins recalls being a victim of two of Avram’s great passions – music and flying. “Foreigner were doing some festivals around Europe and Mama had them doing Nuremberg and The Ring,” Dickins recounts. “Marcel came up to me at one of them and asked if I wanted to come with him to the other one. I knew it was far away, but he said he had a plane. But the plane looked like it had come straight out of World War II – it was ancient, and it was tiny, with barely enough room for me, Marcel and the pilot. For someone with vertigo it was not great, but we did manage to do two festivals in one day.”

Global Ambitions

A

ll good things come to an end, however, and in 1986, Avram and Lieberberg decided to go their separate ways. Avram retained control of Mama Concerts, operating out of Munich; and Lieberberg launched his own company in Frankfurt. But Avram didn’t stay solo for long. Two of his business idols were Fritz Rau and Horst Lippmann and when the opportunity arose to work with them, he jumped at the chance, merging their operations to form Mama Concerts & Lippmann + Rau, dwarfing all the

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 35

With Celine Dion

Marcel Avram

competition to set-up one of the largest concert promoters in the world – and certainly the biggest in Europe.

With Horst effectively retired, Avram worked closely with Rau to continue empire building and it was at this time the concept of organising tours beyond national borders came up.

But rather than being part of some master plan, Avram admits the whole concept of booking acts for European and world tours was somewhat thrust upon him. “I speak several languages – German, French, English and Italian – so a lot of the French and Italian acts would come to me when they wanted to tour,” he says. “The business needed someone experienced and who did not mind travelling, so it was at a time when people in Los Angeles or New York or London or Singapore were looking for someone to take tours around the world. I had the balls to do it, as well as the know-how of putting together the production, agent and promoter in one bundle.”

Starting in 1989, Mama Concerts & Rau put the cat among the pigeons with a deliberate strategy to pursue global touring, with Avram producing the worldwide tours of megastars such as Michael Jackson and Rod Stewart. At the time, Avram’s moves to effectively dispense with agents for certain acts was highly controversial. Indeed, one of the main agenda issues at the initial ILMC was to discuss such developments. But as the concept of one company promoting global tours has become an accepted part of the modern game, Avram’s pioneering efforts in such endeavours are now applauded by his peers.

Live Nation UK senior vice-president Barry Clayman says, “There are lots of stories about Marcel Avram that aren’t printable. But he was the man that really started global touring, with the likes of Michael Jackson and Rod Stewart, so he was way ahead of the field – he was doing it 20 years ahead of anyone else. Long before the Euro, he was taking people to multiple countries on tour – the guy is a genius.”

Andrew Zweck of Sensible Events tells IQ, “I saw Marcel when he was at his peak, when he had the worldwide rights for Michael Jackson in the mid-90s and I did two shows with him

36 | IQ Magazine May 2013

when I was working for the Sultan of Brunei. He took the business model that was invented by Michael Cohl with the Stones in 89 and just made it work for a bunch of artists.”

One of Avram’s longest serving colleagues at his current company, United Promoters AG, is Astrid Messerschmitt, who comments, “Marcel was the first who, for example with Michael Jackson, did a world tour without using an agent or a producer. He did it all himself. And, unlike other promoters, the artists he works or has worked for, like Michael Jackson, Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, just to name a few, become a part of his family.”

Thomas Johansson, chairman international music for Live Nation, has many stories about Avram, including the two of them accompanying Ian Flooks to see one of his bands, which turned out to be an Irish combo called U2. “I first came across Marcel and Marek Lieberberg in 1977 when I had Abba on tour and Mama promoted the shows in Germany,” Johansson says. “Soon afterwards I also worked closely with Marcel on a Cat Stevens European tour, where the rehearsals were here in Stockholm. So Marcel came for a week or so and ended up spending Easter with me and my family. We had a mix of a Jewish and Protestant Easter and we all had a fabulous time and became great friends through that.”

Johansson adds, “Marcel is one of the absolute true promoters left in the world. He is a true entrepreneur of the old world and I love him dearly. We’ve worked on many tours over the years – Abba, Michael Jackson, Yes, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Leonard Cohen, Roxette, Andrea Bocelli – and we’re still working together to this day.”

Developing Avram’s idea of European and global tours, Mama Concerts & Rau established an impressive network of partners throughout Europe through which the company could route acts. These included Johansson, then at EMA Telstar in Sweden; Leon Ramakers of Mojo Concerts in the Netherlands; André Béchir of Good News (Switzerland); Maurizio Salvadori of the Trident Agency (Italy); Pino Sagliocco of Spain’s Creative European Group; Michel Perl and Paul Ambach of Make It Happen in Belgium; Alvaro Ramos of R&R Productions (Portugal); Jackie Lombard of Inter Concerts in France; and a slew of UK promoters including Barrie Marshall of Marshall Arts, Barry Clayman of BCC, Danny Betesh of Kennedy Street, Barry Dickens of ITB, Tim Parsons of MCP, Rod McSween and Harvey. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that many of those promoters are today part of bigger corporate groups.

Having devoted the majority of his life to entertaining the masses, it’s little wonder that Avram has collected some notable accolades down the decades, not least of which was a lifetime

Marcel Avram

The Emperor and The King

L

ooking at the artists Avram has worked with over the years is like pouring over the history of contemporary music – Rod Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Prince, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Liza Minnelli, Michael Bolton, Eros Ramazzotti, the Rolling Stones, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Chris de Burgh, Joe Cocker, Duran Duran, OMD, Jon Secada, Foreigner, Peter Maffay, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Yes, Uriah Heep, Neil Diamond and many, many more.

But quizzed about his favourite memories from his long career, one artist comes up time and time again: Michael Jackson. Avram first met the King of Pop in 1972 when he promoted a Jackson 5 tour in Germany, but that relationship would span a further four decades as the two became great friends and confidantes.

Once The Jacksons split, the working relationship between Jackson and Avram started to develop, and in 1988, the European part of Jackson’s Bad world tour was directed by Avram in conjunction with London-based BCC. “Michael Jackson was a genius,” says Avram. “I was fortunate enough to work on five world tours with him and not just as his promoter, but also as his producer and agent – I survived four of his managers.”

Those tours saw Avram breaking concert records virtually everywhere, as Jackson’s superstar status involved numerous firsts. Avram organised more than 100 stadium shows across six continents; Jackson became the first true megastar to perform in India, and proving that music has no boundaries, shows in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Tunisia, Algeria, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. In Mexico City, Avram tore up the record books with Jackson selling out the 110,000-capacity Aztec stadium five times in a row.

Avram’s relationship with Jackson prompts some of the promoter’s happiest memories. “Every promoter in the world wanted to work with Michael, but it was this little Jew from Germany with broken English who managed to get

Elton John with Avram

achievement prize at Germany’s Live Entertainment Awards in 2006. In 1991, German president Weizsäcker presented him with the Order of Merit, while a year later the government of his native Romania made him Romanian Ambassador at Large for Special Projects. In 1994, he became the firstever European promoter to become Pollstar’s International Promoter of the Year – a feat matched 12 months later when he collected Promoter of the Year in the USA. Wizard Promotions chief Ossy Hoppe believes there is something missing from the collection, however. “He should get this award for his undying support to the airline industry, as I don’t know any single person who flies as many miles as he does,” says Hoppe. He used to tell us that he was flying “with de Rainer”. We puzzled over ‘Rainer’ for weeks; who was this guy that Marcel was always flying with? When we finally confronted him, he answered: ‘Not de Rainer, but de Ryan Air!”

him,” he says. “I remember one show in Bangkok when we were trying to get away from the stadium after the gig and I couldn’t figure how we were going to get Michael back to the hotel. But then I hit on the idea of using an ambulance, which actually turned out to be quicker than a police escort anyway.

Michael loved being able to peek out through the ambulance curtains as we made our way through the streets.”

Getting to stadiums could also prove problematic. “We were staying at the Swiss Hotel in Istanbul, which is about half a mile from the stadium. I was trying to figure out how to get Michael to the stadium and I persuaded him to dress up like an Arab, which he agreed with. So we bought the robes from the souk and Michael and I simply walked through the crowds to the stadium – he thought it was great fun.”

Former Sony Music Entertainment Europe vice-president Jonathan Morrish worked with Jackson for over 25 years and travelled with him on a number of world tours. “Marcel was always fun to be with, sharp as a knife and fiercely loyal,” says Morrish. “I always remember a moment right at the beginning of the 92 tour in Munich. There was to be a huge civic presentation to Michael in the town hall. Everyone involved was due to meet in the reception of the hotel at a designated time but Michael arrived early and everyone in his entourage set off. Except for Marcel and I. The problem was that not only was it impossible, for security reasons, to follow Michael into a venue because everything was always closed off by the police behind him – but also Marcel had the award that was to be presented to him.

“Whatever, with Marcel there was always a solution.

Marcel had his car in the hotel car park – a white Ferrari if I recall. Ignoring speed limits and a few one-way street signs, we made a terrifying dash for it and arrived in the nick of time for the presentation. The greater the challenge, the more Marcel rose to the occasion – the tougher the moment, the greater his fortitude.”

Working with the world’s biggest act also made Avram the man to know, and the people who benefitted from his hard work remain grateful to this day.

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 39

Jonathan Morrish and Avram in Seoul

“Marcel gave me Michael Jackson to promote – at the time Marcel had all the biggest acts; he was the biggest promoter in Europe and I was always amazed at how he handled the number of big tours that he had,” says Jackie Lombard of Inter Concerts in France. And recounting one of Avram’s more generous moments, she says, “When Michael Jackson cancelled the Hawaii show that he was supposed to do at the millennium, Marcel had already booked the hotels for him, so he invited everyone to go to Hawaii on vacation so that the hotels would not be wasted.”

That generosity is legendary and Live Nation Barcelona’s Pino Sagliocco notes that it even extends to being sensitive to the problems promoters face. “On the Prince tour in 1993, I had contracted more shows than I could realistically stage and my losses were edging up towards the $800,000 mark – a lot of money now, but a fortune in those days,” says Sagliocco. “Marcel told me he’d solve the problem by a cross-collaterisation, which I could see was impossible for Spain, but which he somehow managed to do with the other shows in Europe. This is one of the greatest gestures I have ever seen towards a promoter in difficulties.”

However, perhaps the chief benefactors of Avram’s generous nature are his artists. Recounting one of his many Rod Stewart stories, Avram says, “Rod had a white Ferrari – absolutely the worst colour for a Ferrari possible – and when we had our traditional UK versus the Rest of the World football match when he was on tour, I bet him that if we lost, I’d buy his Ferrari from him; if we won, he’d have to play an extra five dates for me. We lost and I still ended up paying for the extra five dates, so in effect I paid for the Ferrari twice,” he laughs.

One person who owes more than most to Avram is German promoter Ossy Hoppe, of Wizard Promotions. “I first met Marcel in 1971 when I was playing football in Frankfurt and Marcel was in the second team and we became friends. I heard that Marcel and Marek had started the Mama agency and when I got injured I started working as Marcel’s driver. We got on so well that he offered me a job, so that was my break getting into the business.”

Hoppe remains close to Avram, who is a shareholder in Wizard Promotions. “There are so many funny stories about Marcel because he’s such a funny person,” Hoppe continues. “I remember him being in the car with a famous German producer who was playing a track by Stravinsky on the stereo. Marcel loved it and said that he should sign him up and take him on

40 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Lionel Richie wishes Avram ‘Happy Birthday’

Marcel Avram

the road, only to be told that he’d died about 20 years earlier, to which Marcel said ‘That’s a shame, I would have made him very successful.’”

Industry Foresight

I

nternationally renowned for developing the global touring format, Avram has always been a deep thinker about the live music business and has suffered both the highs and lows of fighting for what he believes is right for the industry and its artists.

One of his, perhaps lesser-known initiatives, was in creating a ticketing company to try to resolve a multitude of issues he was encountering at his shows. That company, CTS, has since developed into the giant CTS Eventim corporation.

“I had problems with ticketing,” he explains. “At that time, tickets all looked the same and people would even turn up for the wrong shows. Also, with so many places selling tickets it was difficult to keep track of the number of tickets that had been sold. If there were 300 tickets sold over the capacity of the show, then it was me as the promoter who would get the blame, so I thought if we could computerise the ticketing system we could solve that. That’s why I launched CTS, so that day and night we knew how much inventory had been sold and how many tickets were left for sale.”

On a low note, Avram was convicted of tax evasion in 1997 as part of a contentious scheme he had set-up to pay artist fees through a Netherlands-based ‘letter box’ company. Despite immediately paying the disputed sums when authorities informed Mama of the investigation, Avram spent more than a year in prison.

Nonetheless, he says he would not do anything different if he was given his time over again. “My hobby and passion is my job. I still enjoy it and if I had to start all over again, then I’d do the same thing. There are some things I’d like to change, such as a horse show I did a couple of years ago which lost me a lot of money. But overall, I wouldn’t do anything different. The advice I always followed is that nobody is perfect, but then I used to say ‘I am nobody.’”

But his selfless crusade did not go unnoticed. While in prison, he received visits from the likes of Joe Cocker, while Michael Jackson visited his friend on more than one occasion. “Marcel is a true entrepreneur. He loves

he does and I admire him for this and everything he went through in his career,” says Inter Concerts’ Jackie Lombard. “He was the only person that stood up to the taxman and fought for the artists and he suffered and paid the price for that.”

For his part, Avram says, “I cannot change my life, but I hope my health stays with me – I hope I don’t end up having an accident backstage somewhere.”

Bold Predictions

I

n March this year, Marcel celebrated his 75th birthday.

But while most septuagenarians have already been retired for a number of years, the thought of stepping back could not be more alien to Avram. Indeed, like many of the live music industry’s founding fathers, Avram has been followed into the business by the next generation, albeit in a fashion that surprised him. “My little daughter, Gianna, now works for me. She finished university in London and told me she’d already landed a job, which made me very happy. Then she told me the job was with me – that made me even happier,” he states. “My older daughter, Alana, works for Microsoft, so to know that my children are working in the internet and music businesses is very pleasing.”

Just what kind of industry people entering the industry in 2013 will find themselves working in is a different story, as Avram believes the business is set for radical changes in the near future.

“In the beginning, people were paying 10 Deutschemarks to see a show. Now that’s $150, but in Munich there are five open-air concerts this year and people simply don’t have enough money for everything. And then on top of the open airs you have all the other concerts, club gigs and festivals.

It’s too much! If the industry doesn’t do something then there’s going to be big changes.”

Drawing parallels with other forms of entertainment, he predicts what could be around the corner. “The business will change a little bit because people will pick and choose what

42 | IQ Magazine May 2013

they go to. So there will be winners and losers. If you look at the cinema business, some movies make money and others lose a lot.

The live music business could be heading in the same direction.”

Avram also believes the days of the all-powerful ticketing giants could be coming to an end. “I think in the next two or three years it’ll all be over for the likes of Ticketmaster and CTS Eventim,” he contends. “Without the content, the ticketing companies will be useless. With social networking, artists can now sell their tickets directly to fans. The promoter is the one who takes the risk and should therefore own the ticket and share in that revenue, so I predict that ticketing companies soon won’t be needed anymore.”

The possibility of such seismic change does not faze him one little bit, as he still retains the infectious enthusiasm that first prompted him to get into the live music business in the first place.

Asked if there’s anyone he regrets not having worked with in his career, Avram smiles, “I worked with all the greats, so I can’t think of anyone, historically. In the past couple of years, I would have liked to promote Coldplay or 30 Seconds to Mars.

But I did so many acts that I didn’t leave too many out… ask me if there are any I wish I hadn’t worked with, well, there are quite a few, but they are all still around, so I won’t name them.”

Having seen and done it all, Avram takes immense pride and enjoyment from still promoting the world’s top acts. “I’ve worked with Justin Bieber on his last couple of tours and I can see the same kind of things happening as they did years ago,” he says. “For instance, with Michael [Jackson] we’d have disasters when he could not do a show. But in 2013, we have similar problems – just the other night Justin Bieber was two-and-a-half hours late coming on stage, but the kids still loved him. I did the last tour with Michael Jackson in 1997, but most of the audience for Justin Bieber weren’t even born then, so he’s their Michael Jackson.”

With such fresh artists and their management still relying on the knowledge and expertise of people like Avram, it’s little wonder that any notions of retirement are not entertained. “When you climb to the top of the mountain, you don’t want to fall down it again – the idea is to walk down slowly,” he concludes. “As long as I am healthy then I will be happy to keep working. If I cannot do this, then I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Ossy Hoppe and Avram backstage with Shakira

Avram with the late Whitney Houston

Marcel Avram

44 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Ticketing REPORT 2013

While the importance of amassing data dominated last year’s Ticketing Report, our 2013 investigation reveals that the exploitation of such information is now helping a swathe of ‘tech-it’ upstarts to challenge the traditional players…

The past three years have seen the global ticketing business evolve at a remarkable pace. As the cost of technology has lowered, so have the barriers to entry and, as a result, the market is now more fragmented than ever with innovative cloud-based platforms looking to erode the leads that ticketing giants have relied on.

As the whirlwind of technological change gathers pace, something that has remained firmly unchanged since 2010 is the battle between pan-European ticketing giant CTS Eventim and Live Nation. When CTS Eventim’s ten-year deal to provide ticketing services to Live Nation (signed in 2008) was cancelled, CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg took the matter to the International Court of Arbitration (ICA). The verdict from the Parisian Court has been repeatedly delayed and with mounting legal fees, estimated by some at around €15million per party, it has been a long and costly process.

According to CTS Eventim’s senior vice-president legal & business development, Rainer Appel, a decision is now expected by the end of June. That’s June, 2013. It would be unwise to hold one’s breath in anticipation, but the results of the ICA’s investigation could be breathtaking; after all, Schulenberg is believed to be asking for $2billion (€1.5bn) in compensation. It would be a hefty sum for any organisation to swallow, not least Live Nation, which posted an overall net loss of $163m (€125m) in 2012, almost double that of 2011, despite an 8.1% increase in revenues.

As the industry at large awaits the court’s decision, both companies are understandably remaining tight-lipped about the arbitration dispute, preferring instead to discuss technological advances and operational expansion.

In terms of the acts and venues who proved most popular among fans in 2012, our friends at Pollstar tracked some interesting developments in their annual year-end reports.

Despite losing a significant chunk of the year due to its use as an Olympic Games venue, The O2 arena in London remained top of the pile for the fifth year in a row as the

world’s most visited concert hall, with impressive ticket sales of 1,577,180. With just under 1million ticket sales, Manchester Evening News Arena was in second place, while third on the rostrum (730,250 sales) was the Palacio De Los Deportes in Mexico City. Indeed, the Mexican capital has cemented its place as one of the strongest touring destinations in the world, being the only city to boast two arenas in the top 20, with the Arena Ciudad De Mexico coming in a creditable 12th in the list with just under 500,000 ticket sales during the year. And with the Arena Monterrey also making the chart at number 17, it would appear that more and more acts are adding Mexico to their tour schedules, with obvious results.

One artist who enjoyed success in Mexico, with two dates at Foro Sol Stadium, was Madonna, whose MDNA tour claimed the crown as biggest grossing tour of the year, bringing in a remarkable $296million (€226m), with average ticket prices breaching the $140 (€107) mark. Madonna’s outing was followed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (€160m gross), with the remaining top five grossing acts for 2012 being Roger Waters (€142m), Coldplay (€131m) and Lady Gaga (€123m). However, while those same five tours also sold the most tickets during 2012, Pollstar’s data revealed that Springsteen and his cohorts actually sold more tickets than anyone else, with 2,286,395 people attending his shows throughout the year, compared to Madonna’s haul of 2,027,361 sales.

New Partnerships Following a successful partnership with SMG Europe at its König-Pilsner Arena in Germany, the Eventim Group has strengthened the relationship to include five SMG-operated UK venues. The five-year deal commenced in January 2013 and includes the Manchester Arena, Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle and the 13,500-capacity Leeds Arena, which is

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 45

Ticketing REPORT 2013

– Serge Grimaux, Ticketpro

due to open in September. Appel says that Leeds Arena’s official pre-opening concert with Bruce Springsteen on 24 July will be the first major UK showcase for Eventim’s new FanTicket platform. At a time when paperless ticketing is becoming ubiquitous, FanTicket is embracing the past by using 170g paper tickets adorned with high-resolution illustrations. Customised for each event or tour with emotive imagery, the tickets are designed to be evocative memorabilia.

The German group enjoyed a healthy 2012 that saw CTS Eventim’s ticketing arm generate €231.5m in revenue, up 1.2% on €228.7m in 2011. Some 20.6 million online ticket sales were made, an annual increase of 7%, helping EBITDA rise 22.2% year-on-year to €92.7m. Looking ahead, Appel says CTS is actively pursuing opportunities for growth in Eastern Europe and its exclusive ticketing deal with the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Organising Committee is a major factor in the development of its business in Russia.

Elsewhere, Ticketmaster helped its owner, Live Nation Entertainment, enjoy an annual rise in ticketing income of 5.6% in 2012, to reach $294.6m (€226m) and CEO Michael Rapino revealed that by the end of 2012, it had sold nine million concert tickets for shows in 2013, a 58% increase on 2011. The company has continued to take innovative technological measures to improve its offering. In an effort to crack down on bots, Ticketmaster is looking to implement Social Connect in the customer sign-up process. It has also teamed with New York-based software developer Solve Media to refine the way in which purchasers are identified as legitimate clients.

According to Ticketmaster International president Mark Yovich the biggest development in 2013 will be the launch of LiveAnalytics internationally. The data-rich marketing solution debuted in the US in 2011 and will now roll-out across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Australasia following its arrival in the UK in April. “Overlaid with inhouse and licensed demographic profiling data, the solution will offer information on fan preferences, ticketing trends, industry benchmarks and other customised data to give artists, venues and teams unrivalled insight into how, where and to whom they can sell tickets,” Yovich says.

In the US, Ticketmaster is launching TicketTransfer, a service enabling customers to digitally transfer tickets to friends and family via mobile devices at no extra charge. Once the ticket has been transferred the service will invalidate the original ticket and create a new ticket barcode for the new owner.

The Power of Mobile Since its launch in November 2012 on the iTunes App store, iOS app YPlan London has helped venue owners and promoters drive incremental ticket sales via a mobile platform that places fans just two clicks away from a ticket purchase no matter where they are. The app has already been downloaded 150,000 times with tickets for 17,000 events across 400 venues already sold via the mobile platform.

YPlan recommends ten events a day, carefully selected to appeal to each individual user depending on their acknowledged preferences, demographic and location. “We know that nine out of ten people that buy the tickets on YPlan would not have otherwise attended the event. For any inventory that a promoter has left, YPlan is a great opportunity,” says commercial director Charlie Sefi. YPlan has a London staff of 20 and Sefi says it plans to expand across high-density cities in North America and Europe.

Speaking at the ILMC in London, AXS Europe vicepresident Dean De Wulf predicted that in three years’ time all ticket sales will be made via mobile phones. “We are seeing an average of 22% of our tickets sell via mobile in the UK. I expect this figure to double by the end of the year and potentially surpass internet sales next year,” De Wulf tells IQ. Since its launch in August 2011, AEG-owned AXS has been adopted at 25 venues worldwide. The first concert to be exclusively sold via AXS, in AEG’s flagship Staples Center venue in Los Angeles, is a 26 June Beyoncé show, which went on sale on 11 February. Other venues due to incorporate the system in the coming months are Club Nokia and Nokia Theatre LA Live.

Madonna’s ‘MDNA’ was the world’s top grossing tour in 2012

“ The ticketing business has been challenged since the rise of the internet because it decreased the barrier to entry for anyone that wants to try and sell tickets. But people think it is easy to do ticketing and soon find out there is a lot more to it than they realised.”

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 47

Ticketing REPORT 2013

2012 Year End Worldwide Ticket Sales: Top 20 Arenas ARENA

LOCATION

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

The O2 arena Manchester Evening News Arena Palacio De Los Deportes The O2 – Dublin Bell Centre Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Staples Center O2 World, Hamburg O2 World, Berlin Allstate Arena Motorpoint Arena Arena Ciudad De Mexico Air Canada Centre American Airlines Center Hallenstadion Zürich Madison Square Garden Arena Monterrey Rod Laver Arena SECC HP Pavilion at San Jose

London, UK Manchester, UK Mexico City, Mexico Dublin, Ireland Montreal, Canada Paris, France Los Angeles, USA Hamburg, Germany Berlin, Germany Rosemont, USA Sheffield, UK Mexico City, Mexico Toronto, Canada Dallas, USA Zürich, Switzerland New York, USA Monterrey, Mexico Melbourne, Australia Glasgow, UK San Jose, USA

“ Email is dying on its backside because open rates are shockingly low, click-through awful and conversion infinitesimal. Gone are the days when you could do ‘spray and pray’ email marketing” – Craig Massey, Last Second Tickets

AXS Invite, a facility enabling friends to book seats together even when paying separately, has already proved successful claims De Wulf. “We’re seeing an average increase in transaction sizes of up to 30-40% when fans use AXS Invite,” he says. In an effort to enhance AXS, AEG has acquired website developer Carbonhouse and has become a strategic investor in ByPass, a company that provides in-seat ordering and payment solutions for venues via a mobile app.

Targeting Customers Aside from new opportunities presented by mobile platforms, the possibilities created by big data and dynamic pricing are inspiring ticket operators to develop new services and enhance existing offerings. Among them is Christopher Goodhart, MD of Blackbaud Europe’s arts & cultural division. Blackbaud’s Standing Room Only 4 (SRO 4) online ticketing solution was launched in 2012 and is currently being used as far and wide as Europe, North America, Australia and Israel. “It takes us in a new direction,” claims Goodhart. “It’s a solution that could handle an event as big as the Olympics and deliver dynamic pricing in a different way. If you know someone’s birthday you can offer a special price for an event a week either side of it.

48 | IQ Magazine May 2013

TICKETS SOLD 1,577,180 962,328 730,250 620,776 612,479 587,471 565,162 552,086 544,572 523,791 518,405 496,572 488,747 475,459 456,537 453,894 450,313 447,128 444,902 432,088

Data courtesy of ‘Pollstar’

If sales are slow 20 days before an event we can push it with reduced prices; if the weather forecast is poor for an outdoor event, we can drop the prices accordingly,” Goodhart says.

With offices in Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Oslo, Venuepoint Group is a major player in the Nordic region.

Recent breakthroughs for the company include the addition of the Norwegian National Opera, Göteborgs Opera and Stavanger Konserthus to its venue clientele. In Denmark, online transactions account for more than 90% of ticket sales and Venuepoint was an early adopter of social media platforms, yet commercial director Einar Sævarsson says that activity on the likes of Facebook and Twitter has not had a tangible effect on sales.

Elsewhere, social media is being embraced equally vigorously with more encouraging results. Myriad services are enabling tickets to be purchased directly from social networks online and via mobile devices. For the consumer, the ticket transaction experience has become more convenient and social, with the interactivity beginning with the on-sale and often building through the live event.

Fans help to promote the shows by sharing details of a gig and their attendance, while promoters, venues and ticketing operators gain valuable data about ticket buyers and their social network as communities build around each transaction far beyond the initial purchaser. As a result, white-label social ticketing services including Toronto-based AudienceView and San Francisco’s Eventbrite and Ticketfly are attracting a growing number of promoter and venue customers of all shapes and sizes.

In March, Eventbrite announced it had sold its 100 millionth ticket and its systems are being used in more than 175 countries for events ranging from yoga classes to music festivals. In an effort to help independent event organisers

Ticketing REPORT 2013

– Mark Fowlie, AudienceView

to use the technology, Eventbrite has developed a ‘toolkit’ in conjunction with industry experts, including Festival Awards founder Steve Jenner.

Mark Dewell, managing director of IRIS, explains that his company is a software and services provider that originally targeted the sports industry and still claims to count about 20% of English football clubs among its clients, as well as many rugby clubs, race courses and cricket clubs. Lately the company has expanded internationally to provide services to sports clubs in Greece, Turkey and South Africa.

“Basically, we build the technology and then licence it to customers,” says Dewell. “We’ve been established in the sports space for about 15 years, but in the past two years we’ve been focusing on taking what we’ve learned through sport to arts events and other non-sports activities.”

With new clients such as the National Trust in the UK, English National Ballet and a number of British theatres using IRIS systems, the company has lately been expanding into the festival sector with a handful of folk events adopting the company’s technology. “Because we are licensing our solution, customers don’t have to go through the process of us withholding the ticket money until after the event, so from a promoter’s cash flow point of view, that’s a real bonus,” continues Dewell.

The IRIS software has also allowed existing customers to develop their own ticketing businesses. “[Football club] Wolverhampton Wanderers used the system to take inventory for a concert by The Killers at the NIA in Birmingham,” says Dewell. “The additional benefit to Wolves is that all that data that they collect from the concert sales then belongs to them.

We’re trying to communicate those kinds of opportunities to other existing customers, so that they can also tap into other revenue streams.”

self-serve e-commerce and CRM solution”. According to Fowlie, AudienceView has taken Eventbrite’s socially driven model of enabling even the smallest of events to be marketed and sold online, and added the options for event organisers to brand the service. “It is similar to what Amazon has done with retail in making it open to everyone. A band can create an event using the self-serve portal; there is no exclusivity and no long-term deal. We see this democratisation as a way of enabling event organisers to control fees,” Fowlie says.

“Data is crucial,” says IRIS managing director Dewell.

“We provide the software and all the data belongs to our customers. Owning that data empowers them to seek other ways to generate revenue and, potentially, reward loyalty. For instance, one of our customers is Galatasaray and working with a local bank, people can now access Galatasaray’s stadium using their bank card as a ticket.” He adds, “Turkey is one of the countries we’re focusing attention on because it fits nicely with our events profile – the country is bidding for the Olympics and there’s a strong football league. We’re also looking at Brazil for potential opportunities, as well as Qatar – we like to capitalise on other events around the likes of sports tournaments.”

A pioneer of paperless ticketing, UK-based WeGotTickets also works with events of any size and ticket price. Founder Dave Newton says his grass-roots event ticketing business picks up around 750 new customers per day with the current total being in the region of 1.5 million. One of the reasons he believes the business is performing so well is the rude health of the independent promoter market. “They are doing a

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band sold more tickets than anyone else last year

“ A band can create an event using the self-serve portal; there is no exclusivity and no long-term deal. We see this democratisation as a way of enabling event organisers to control fees.”

New ‘Tech-it’ Operators AudienceView president and chief operating officer, Mark Fowlie, says organisations that take their ticketing in-house and use a white label service have a lot of room to lower service charges and create an interactive experience with their customers, while still coming out ahead in terms of the ROI. Working with 165 organisations across more than 550 venues in 14 countries, AudienceView recently expanded its European operations with Dutch client wins: The Amsterdam Music Theatre and International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In 2012, AudienceView launched AV Tiki, a seat reservation system similar to AXS Invite. In January, it unveiled its cloudbased MarketView facility, billing it as “the first white-label,

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 51

Ticketing REPORT 2013

“ If you know someone’s birthday you can offer a special price for an event a week either side of it. If sales are slow 20 days before an event we can push it with reduced prices; if the weather forecast is poor for an outdoor event, we can drop the prices accordingly.”

– Christopher Goodhart, Blackbaud

good job of picking the right acts and keeping hold of them as they develop through larger venues. It is very healthy for grass-roots acts, it means there are a lot of potential promoters out there for them to work with,” Newton says.

Serge Grimaux, CEO of the Ticketpro group of companies, has 20 years experience in the ticketing business. His operation provides ticketing services throughout Europe and as far afield as Malaysia. Grimaux says Ticketpro has enjoyed stronger business in 2012 than in the previous two years and believes that the upturn is a reflection of people’s growing willingness to enjoy themselves despite lasting economic concerns. He acknowledges that new operators, helped by advances in technology, are challenging the ticketing establishment like never before. “The ticketing business has been challenged since the rise of the internet because it decreased the barrier to entry for anyone that wants to try and sell tickets. But people think it is easy to do ticketing and soon find out there is a lot more to it than they realised,” he says.

Grimaux, who also heads RFID event solutions provider Intellitix, believes ticketing companies are now more involved in the marketing and promotion of events than ever before.

“We went from being companies that distributed a product to operators that help sell it. There has been a transition from interruptive marketing, like magazine and radio ads, to permissive advertising whereby you are using social media to connect the artist, ticket company and event organiser in order to ask the permission of the consumer whether they want to know more about an event, buy tickets, invite friends or see similar events,” Grimaux says.

Shifting Inventory One developing upstart that approached the business from a technology point of view is Last Second Tickets, which helps event organisers shift unsold tickets, while passing on discounts to consumers. It works with heavyweight partners including Orange and T Mobile and can access their consumer databases in order to cherry-pick targets. It then contacts them with exclusive offers via SMS. Last Second Tickets CEO, Craig Massey, says that the model is predicated on mobile and claims that 98% of its messages are opened with a click-through rate of 17%.

“Email is dying on its backside because open rates are shockingly low, click-through awful and conversion infinitesimal. Gone are the days when you could do ‘spray and

52 | IQ Magazine May 2013

pray’ email marketing,” Massey says. To protect the full-price ticket strategy of promoters and venues, Last Second Tickets’ tactical promotions are communicated via SMS messages delivered to a closed user group. “We will send a one-time URL that only the recipient can open,” Massey says.

Numerous services are now offering innovative ways of soaking up surplus inventory, but many more have been launched to exploit events where demand outstrips supply.

As the secondary ticketing market expands, the scramble for market share has intensified and for eBay-owned StubHub that has meant using the might of its parent company to drive uptake. Operational for more than 12 years in the US, but barely more than 12 months in the UK, from May all tickets listed on eBay.co.uk will be automatically redirected to StubHub’s UK platform.

But not everyone agrees that such resellers should be allowed the freedom to set up shop. Operation Podium, a British police unit formed to tackle economic crime affecting the London 2012 Olympics was disbanded in March 2013, however, its parting shot was a damning indictment of the secondary ticketing market. It recommended that legal measures be taken by the UK Government to tackle ticket fraud that it estimates to be worth around £40million (€47m) per annum, in the UK alone. Unsurprisingly, no measures have yet been taken.

Joining the Dots Aiming to make an impact in the fight against ticket fraud on an international scale is Steve Machin. From Q1, 2014, the .tickets domain will become active online and among the operators bidding to control it is The Dot Tickets Organisation, run by Machin. The organisation’s mission is to “create a safe, secure and trusted global domain environment for online ticket sales, free from fraudulent activity”.

The idea is to ensure every ticket operator using the .tickets domain is legitimate, thereby establishing a trustworthy destination for ticket buyers. By the end of May, Machin should know whether The Dot Tickets Organisation’s bid has been successful. “We are really focused on working with the artist managers, venues, promoters, festival organisers, STAR and organisations around the world to make it easy for fans and customers to understand that there is a safe place for tickets,” Machin says.

A supporter of Machin and Operation Podium’s work is Jonathan Brown, secretary of STAR – the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers. “The .tickets domain is a fantastic opportunity to provide great credibility to all those selling tickets online. We hope to be part of the process of being able to help Steve create that framework,” Brown says.

As the ticketing business evolves, so has STAR’s membership, with Brown reporting growth in the number of members looking after smaller events. “Online has become such a dominant sales channel and, as a result of technological advances and a reduction in costs, there has been a swing in favour of people taking control of their own ticketing and bringing it in-house.”

Ticketing REPORT 2013

Euro Box Office Austria

France

CTS Eventim is the market leader, followed by Wien-Ticket, the in-house system of the Stadthalle arena in Vienna. Thirdranked company Ticket Online is now part of Eventim, boosting that conglomerate’s market share even higher. Most sales are made online (up to 80%). However, booking fees in Austria are as high as 18%, prompting PSI2 to start its own ticket system, which now charges 2.5% plus €1 in commission for tickets at its shows. The latest entrant to the market is Ticketmaster, which recently set-up operations in Vienna.

Average ticket for an arena show: €58

Retailer Fnac still dominates the French market, selling more tickets than all its competitors combined. Online sales account for up to 40% of tickets. Live Nation purchased Ticketnet in 2010, giving it a strong foothold in the market, while Universal Music’s parent company Vivendi has a majority stake in online ticketer, Digitick. In 2012, the French government passed legislation making it illegal for tickets to be resold without the permission of the content owner, namely the promoter or venue.

Average ticket for an arena show: €50

Major ticketing companies: CTS Eventim, Wien-Ticket

Baltic States

Majors: Tiketa, Bilietu Pasaulis, Bilietai (Lithuania); Biļešu Serviss, Biļešu Paradīze (Latvia); Piletilevi Ticketpro (Estonia)

All three countries are recovering slowly from the recession, but sales are growing steadily thanks to more artists visiting the region’s arenas. Ticketpro has also entered Lithuania and Latvia and is now capturing a healthy share of A-list shows across the Baltics. Arena prices remain consistent, but the popularity of Groupon-style deals through the likes of daily deal operators such as beta.lt and grupinis.lt is having an impact on shows at smaller venues.

Average ticket for an arena show: €25

Belgium

Majors: Fnac, Ticketnet

Germany

Majors: CTS Eventim, Reservix

Germany is a fragmented market, both regionally and in terms of content. CTS Eventim is the outright leading ticketer, but one emerging power broker is Reservix, which since it was established as an online ticketer ten years ago has grown 40% year-on-year. It now covers 35,000 events per year, sold €150m of inventory in 2012 and boasts more than 2,200 outlets across Germany. A raft of regional players or online-only companies also feature in the marketplace, such as Ticketscript, München Ticket and, of course, Ticketmaster.

Average ticket for an arena show: €60-€90

Greece

Majors: Ticket House, Ticketpro

There aren’t too many markets that are as stable as Belgium and year-on-year there are not many challenges to the established operators, which remain TTS and Sherpa. However, most tickets are sold via telecoms platform Proximus Go For Music.

Average ticket for an arena show: €40

The leading ticket company in Greece is Ticket House, which is partnered with Ticketpro for online sales. Other online outlets include ticketarena.gr, ticketnet.gr and eleventickets.gr.

E-ticketing is growing in popularity, but the majority of tickets are still sold through outlets such as Ticket House, Metropolis record stores and the Public retail chain.

Average ticket for an arena show: €40

Denmark

Hungary

There are two main ticket suppliers: Ticketmaster-owned Billetnet, and Billetlugen, which is part of the Venuepoint Group. The two companies have a roughly equal share of a relatively small market, although there are a few smaller players, run directly from theatres. Advertising a ticket above face value is illegal, so there is little secondary market. Online transactions account for over 90% of sales.

Average ticket for an arena show: DKK400-600 (€54-€80.50)

Market shares are heavily disputed, but general consensus places Eventim-owned Ticket Express as market leaders alongside Ticketpro, both with about 30%, followed by Interticket (20%).

Other players include Jegymester and Ticket Portal. Around 50% of the market is online sales by home printing, mail or courier delivery, but box office remains popular and takes up the remaining 50% of transactions. The financial crisis in Hungary has seen a general decline in sales and sold-out shows are rare, but that hasn’t prevented smaller operations springing up, such as Jegy.hu, Jegyáruház.hu, Jegyek.hu, Broadway.hu, Ticket A and Jegyshop.hu.

Average ticket for an arena show: HUF 13,000-14,000 (€43.20-46.50)

Majors: TTS, Sherpa, Proximus Go For Music

Majors: Billetnet, Billetlugen

Finland

Majors: Lippupalvelu, Lippupiste, Tiketti

The market is dominated by two major operators, Lippupalvelu (Ticketmaster) and Lippupiste (CTS Eventim). Online sales account for the majority of sales, while secondary sales are restricted due to ticket limitations.

Average ticket for an arena show: €60-€70

54 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Majors: Ticket Express Hungary, Ticketpro, Interticket

Ticketing REPORT 2013

Ireland

Majors: Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster enjoys a virtual monopoly in Ireland with about 70% of the market, with the rest being sold in-house at venues.

As in a number of territories, promoters report customers are making ticket purchases closer to the day of the event, probably because of ongoing economic uncertainty. Online sales account for roughly 50%.

Average ticket for an arena show: €40

Italy

Majors: TicketOne

The dominant ticket company is TicketOne, which sells 8090% of all tickets. Additionally, there are a number of smaller ticket companies, mainly distributed in the north and central Italy. Tickets sold in outlets are often sold for less than online, and while over-the-counter sales still account for the majority of sales (around 60%), online sales are growing Average ticket for an arena show: €50-€55

The Netherlands

Majors: Ticket Service Nederland, See Tickets

Live Nation is selling its tickets exclusively through Ticket Service Nederland (a subsidiary of Ticketmaster). CTS Eventim is relatively new to the Dutch market, but with clients like Friendly Fire and Greenhouse Talent it is growing rapidly.

Notable smaller players in The Netherlands include Paylogic and Ticketscript.

Average ticket for an arena show: €52.50

Norway

Majors: Billettservice, Billettluka

Billettservice, owned by Ticketmaster, is by far the dominant ticket provider, while Billettluka provides services for lots of sports events. Many venues run small in-house systems, but tend to use Billettservice for shows with major promoters. The majority of tickets (about 70%) are sold online. Secondary ticketing is illegal.

Average ticket for an arena show: €65

Poland

Majors: CTS Eventim, eBilet, Ticketpro

Despite the economic woes that besiege Europe, promoters in Poland have endured the recession remarkably well, reporting strong ticket sales, especially for big-name acts. Online sales now account for about 80% of all ticketing turnover, while of the remaining inventory, retail chain Empik is by far and away the outlet of choice for fans.

Average ticket for an arena show: €45-€60

Portugal

Majors: Ticketline, Blueticket

Internet sales represent only 15-20% while the biggest share of ticket sales are made through the venues’ box offices and outlets like Fnac, Worten, El Corte Inglés and post offices.

Average ticket for an arena show: €35-€40

Spain

Majors: Ticketmaster, El Corte Inglés, Entradas.com

Tickets are predominantly distributed via internet and outlets at music shops and department stores. Live Nation has, with Ticketmaster Spain (Tick Tack Ticket), similar market share to El Corte Inglés. Booking fees are low, compared to similar markets in Europe, and print-at-home is starting to gain popularity, but few venues in main cities have suitable access control systems as yet.

Average ticket for an arena show: €42

Sweden

Majors: Ticnet, CTS Eventim, Tickster

The majority of ticket allocation goes to venues, meaning sales are pretty much wholly conducted through whatever ticketing operator each venue has its exclusive deal with, although promoters in Sweden are hoping this might change soon. Ticnet has a majority market share, and the traditional reservation system has been all but phased out by online sales, with printat-home proving particularly popular.

Average ticket for an arena show: SEK500 (€60)

Switzerland

Majors: TicketCorner, Starticket

The most established ticket seller in the Swiss market is CTS Eventim-owned TicketCorner which has about 60% of the market, including a network of distribution points in train stations and post offices across the country. However, independent operation Starticket is growing in stature, while retailer Fnac is strong in the French-speaking part of the country.

Indie clubs use their own ticketing system, Petzi, while the 200,000-capacity Paleo Festival also handles its own system.

Average ticket for an arena show: CHF75 (€62)

Turkey

Majors: Biletix, Ticketturk, MyBilet

Ticketmaster-owned Biletix has a near-monopoly on concert ticket sales, as well as the rights for Turkey’s three largest football clubs. However, the Turkish Football Federation is getting ready to put out a tender for access control and ticketing for all stadiums, so a number of new ticketing operations are springing up in the hope of getting a slice of the pie. E-tickets are the most common form of purchase for big shows, whilst door sales are dominant in club shows.

Average ticket for an arena show: €25

UK

Majors: Ticketmaster, See Tickets

Ticketmaster holds the top slot in the UK, followed by See Tickets, although the market has many other sellers vying for market share, including The Ticket Factory, Ticketweb, WeGotTickets and Eventim UK, the latter of which is enjoying a growth spurt and has ambitions to match Ticketmaster and See Tickets in market share next year. Over 90% of UK ticket sales are now online.

Average ticket for an arena show: £37 (€42)

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 55

Ramazzotti

56 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Ramazzotti

Europe’s arenas are set for an onslaught of big name Anglo-American acts this year, as the A-listers try to keep the Euros rolling in. But one of the biggest tours of the year is already under way, as Italian superstar Eros Ramazzotti proves that, in his 50th year, he’s still one of the biggest acts in non-English speaking territories. Mark Worden reports. ince first taking his native Italy by storm in 1984, Eros Ramazzotti has gone on to conquer large swathes of the international market, selling more than 50 million records in the process. The melodic pop singer, who celebrates his 50th birthday on 28 October, has a huge following in South America, thanks to his ability to sing in Spanish, but he also has impressive fan bases in areas of Western and Eastern Europe where neither Italian nor Spanish is spoken.

Ramazzotti’s Noi arena tour, for which Live Nation is promoting 50-plus dates, kicked off in the picturesque Italian city of Mantua on 5 March and had completed its first 14 Italian dates at press time. It is now in the midst of a two-month, 27date zigzag of continental Europe with shows in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Russia and Finland, culminating in Denmark on 31 May. After that it will head home for its only stadium gig on 21 June. This will be at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Ramazzotti’s home town. A summer break will be followed by three shows in Verona’s splendid Roman arena in early September, before heading onto Spain, with dates in Barcelona and Madrid.

According to Live Nation Italy promoter, Roberto De Luca, there will then be shows in both South and North America (he mentions Miami, San Francisco, New York and Detroit) and possibly Australia, even if precise dates have yet to be confirmed. De Luca says, “This isn’t Eros’s first world tour, but it’s certainly his most extensive.”

That Eros Ramazzotti is world-tour material is evident

in the story told by Live Nation Belgium’s head promoter, Herman Schueremans, who confesses, “I was at a party in Cape Town recently. Now, normally, I don’t talk about my work when I go out but when an Eros song was played over the speakers I couldn’t help telling people that I was his promoter in Belgium. At this point several respectable South African ladies suddenly perked up, telling me that they wanted to fly over specially. They even asked me whether I could fix them up with backstage passes. I told him that I couldn’t do that, but I did say that they were welcome to come to the show.” Schueremans adds, “Eros is a great singer and fans love his very Italian sex appeal. Believe me, that guy’s got something that we don’t have!”

Artist manager, Michele Torpedine, who has also worked with another major Italian export, Andrea Bocelli, agrees about his client’s power over his fans. “Eros is said to be the sexiest of all the Italian male singers. Fans – especially female fans – adore him,” says Torpedine. That statement is confirmed by Astrid Messerschmidt of United Promoters in Germany: “Eros is also very honest about his true age. I think this makes him very sexy,” she says.

And yet the 50-year-old sex symbol has been making some changes of late. Noi, the album that gives its name to this tour (and translates as ‘us’ in English), is his first since signing for Universal Music Italy, after leaving Sony BMG. It was released in November and Universal Music Italy director Alessandro Massara reports sales of 200,000 domestically and 700,000 worldwide so far and is confident those figures will grow. “Sadly, tours are no longer devices

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 57

Ramazzotti

“

There’s a lot of movement during the show as everything changes shape every few minutes, and synching the light and audio requires 230 motorised projectors, 599 metres of trussing, and 700 amperes for the lighting.

”

– Wolfango De Amicis, Agora that automatically get the cash tills ringing in record stores, but we still see plenty of mileage in this album,” says Massara.

“We plan to ‘work’ it up until Christmas and beyond. Eros is very different from a lot of older artists I could mention who bring out an album purely to have a pretext for going on tour.”

As well as changing labels, Eros has also changed promoter, having left the Milan-based Trident Agency to return to Live Nation, from which he had parted company in 1999. There have also been changes in his management.

Ramazzotti left Fabrizio Giannini last year and since then “artistic consultant” Michele Torpedine, of Bologna-based MT Opera & Blues, has had a hands-on role, even if the artist’s Radiorama company is run by his brother, Marco Ramazzotti. Torpedine says, “Eros was in negotiations with [Italian promoter] Friends & Partners for this tour, but I advised him to go with Live Nation, as their offer was far more interesting. There were more dates and the stadium show in Rome, Eros’s gift to his birthplace, was the icing on the cake.”

In addition to Ramazzotti’s stage presence, and a twohour, 23-song set that combines the new album with a 29year back catalogue of hits, the tour’s other selling point is its spectacular stage show and set. Live Nation Italy production manager Alberto Müller says: “When fans first enter the auditorium all they can see is a series of grey shapes and many of them wonder whether they’ve come to the right place. Yet that changes when the band strikes up.

The shapes lift and divide – something that they continue to

do throughout the show.”

The set is the creation of Jvan Morandi, an Italian who is based, somewhat ironically, in one of the very few European markets that Eros has yet to break: the UK. Morandi, a graduate of London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, set up his Placing Shadows studio in Bermondsey, London, in 1997.

His resumé includes several opera and theatre sets and he says the design for the Noi tour features three main elements: “Psychedelic and surreal theatre from the 1960s and 70s, bands like Soft Machine and the theatre sets of Joseph Svoboda; origami shapes; and the brutalist urban architecture of housing estates like those in London’s Hackney district and Rome’s Cinecittà, where Ramazzotti grew up.” Morandi has also used a technique, which he calls “video moshing,” a mix and mash of live footage from the stage, with silent movies featuring actors in bleak apartment blocks and street scenes from Milan and Rome.

He says the editing is deliberately surreal: “We’ve tried to create what I call a Twin Peaks look,” he says.

It is indeed spectacular, but Morandi is the first to admit that, in logistical terms, it is extremely complicated, a view that is shared by most people involved in the tour. Matthew Hales, an American production manager working out of Tait Towers’ Belgian office, explains, “We provide the whole automation package, essentially everything except the rigging: the full rolling stage, the projection surface and panel.” He continues, “It’s certainly a big show, involving 35 variable speed chain motors. There are 38 axes in constant motion, lifting some 10,000 kilos of equipment above the [11-member] band.

It’s not exactly a comfortable feeling when you see that go up over their heads for the first time!” Rehearsing the automation process was as demanding as rehearsing the music. Hales recalls, “We had our first technical meetings in September and, once we got the go-ahead, started preparing the equipment in December and January. The Italians then brought the grid to Belgium for the first technical rehearsals, and then I went to Mantua for the final run through. We also had to fly our guy in from Las Vegas to train the Live Nation crew who would be operating it.”

Wolfango De Amicis of Agora, the company that provided the rigging, says that the mapping and navigation required

Ramazzotti opens his tour in Mantova. © Franco Lionetti

58 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Ramazzotti

for the video and audio was also demanding. “There’s a lot of movement during the show as everything changes shape every few minutes, and synching the light and audio requires 230 motorised projectors, 599 metres of trussing, and 700 amperes for the lighting,” De Amicis says. He also discloses that the production requires two sound technicians on stage: “One for the artist and one for the band, and they are completely separate.” Front of house sound engineer, Live Nation freelancer Andrea Corsellini, adds: “There’s a lot of digital production in Ramazzotti’s music, which is ‘overproduced’ and very delicate. It requires 96 channels: a show for a rocker like [veteran Italian] Vasco Rossi would need about half that number.”

Live Nation tour manager Emily Thomas (an American like Matt Hales and several of Eros’s band members) tells IQ, “This is a big tour by Italian standards, certainly in terms of its technological complexity. It may not be a Lady Gaga or a Madonna, but it’s up there with some of the larger international acts.” Thomas, who, like Hales, has worked with the aforementioned American names, reckons that the experience she gained there was one of the reasons why she was brought on board for this tour.

And yet, the number of trucks required (13) is not enormous by today’s standards. Hales reckons that one of the tour’s many logistical challenges is fitting all the equipment into the number of trucks available. He notes that Lady Gaga had 38, for example. Similarly, Jörg Philipp, of Austrian-based Beat the Street, which is providing four yacht-like doubledecker buses for the 75-strong crew, so that the guys can “get on board at the end of the show, have a beer, watch TV, go to sleep on their bunks and wake up in the next town, probably in another country,” considers it a medium-sized tour. “The Stones or Beyoncé would be ten buses, while Justin Bieber is 14. Now, that is a struggle,” Philipp states.

Most on the road with Noi agree that the biggest headaches are in Italy, where arenas vary enormously in both size and quality. Live Nation Italy boss Roberto De Luca believes the larger arenas in Milan, Turin and Bologna are “As good as anything in Europe.” But he freely admits that some of the smaller venues are not. They are often ‘palazzi dello sport’, which were built for minor indoor sports events, rather than major rock concerts. Set designer Morandi comments, “You can go from a state-of-the-art venue like Milan’s Assago Forum [where Ramazzotti had five sell-out shows] and then to a place like Caserta in the Campania region, which is little more than a basketball court.” He adds, “It’s a bit like playing in London’s O2 Arena one night and in your granny’s front room the next!”

The difference in venue size in Italy is so marked that there are even two versions of the elaborate Noi set. Production manager Alberto Müller says that one stage set is 2.5 metres high, while the smaller version comes in at 1.3 metres. Hales reveals, “Some of these venues are so small that there isn’t even room for trucks in the parking lot. The road crews have to unload and carry the equipment by hand and so we need to be really efficient.”

Italy’s venues can also be problematic in acoustic terms.

FOH man Andrea Corsellini notes, “Sometimes the acoustics

can be so horrible that my job essentially becomes a damage limitation exercise. Then the next night you might go to a place where the acoustics are great, but you can’t drive a truck in!” According to Morandi, “If you can stage a tour in Italy, then playing anywhere else is like waking up in paradise!”

Those challenges are not necessarily a bad thing, as they allowed the crew to hone their skills in Italy, standing them in good stead when the show moved abroad. “Professional” is the first word that most promoters use when talking about Ramazzotti’s staff. Leon Ramakers of Mojo in the Netherlands even goes so far as to say, “Whenever I hear Eros is doing a tour, there’s a smile on my face. It’s not only the guaranteed sales, it’s the attitude. If the other acts were as professional as Eros, then my life would be so much easier!” Ramakers has had a soft spot for the artist ever since Mojo’s main rival in the Netherlands went out of business. “I suddenly had the anti-trust people on my case,” Ramakers recalls. “One aggressive TV reporter even stuck a microphone in Eros’s face and asked him, ‘So, why are you with Mojo?’ I just loved his answer: ‘Because they’re the best!’”

Ramazzotti with promoter Roberto De Luca © Gianni Candido

“

You can go from a state-ofthe-art venue like Milan’s Assago Forum and then to a place like Caserta, which is little more than a basketball court. It’s a bit like playing in London’s O2 Arena one night and in your granny’s front room the next!

”

– Jvan Morandi, Placing Shadows

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 61

Ramazzotti The Germans are equally enamoured. United Promoters’ Astrid Messerschmidt has worked with Eros for 25 years and is “Looking forward to the next 25. I also know his likes and dislikes. For example, he wants to watch important soccer games in his dressing room.” For the record, Ramazzotti supports the Turin-based team Juventus, in spite of being from Rome and playing his biggest show on the Noi tour at the stadium shared by the capital’s Roma and Lazio teams.

If professionalism and sell-out sales help explain Ramazzotti’s popularity with foreign promoters, then his relationship with foreign fans is more complex. According to artistic consultant, Torpedine, the artist does well where there are large Italian communities, but that isn’t the entire story.

In the case of Belgium, a lot of Italians moved there to work in its mines in the 1950s and their descendants like watching acts like Ramazzotti. Schueremans says, “Don’t forget our current prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, is the son of Italian immigrants.” The two Brussels shows for Noi have already sold out, prompting Schueremans to look for availability to extend the tour in Belgium. “We’re adding a date in Hasselt, which is in the mining region. Last time Eros [toured here, he] played in Liege, which is also in that neck of the woods.”

Schueremans reckons there will be a lot of Italian-Belgians at

“

Whenever I hear Eros is doing a tour, there’s a smile on my face.

It’s not only the guaranteed sales, it’s the attitude. If the other acts were as professional as Eros, then my life would be so much easier.

– Leon Ramakers, Mojo Concerts

”

the shows, but there will also be a lot of non-Italian Belgians.

Across the border, a similar story is told about Italian-speaking and non-Italian-speaking fans by Philippe Ventadour, general manager at the Paris Bercy arena, where Ramazzotti is due to perform on 30 April. And in the Netherlands, Ramakers claims that the artist is by no means dependent on Italian-speaking fans: “The Dutch have always loved him, the same way they have always loved Italian acts.”

Yet, the territory that is, in the words of artistic consultant Michele Torpedine, “a law unto itself” is Russia, where there is no Italian community to speak of. Ramazzotti has dates lined up in Moscow and St Petersburg at the end of May and, as in the Netherlands, “Italian acts have always gone down really well there,” says Torpedine.

All these markets pull their weight when it comes to merchandising. Arianna Colferai of the Italian company Rock Dream (which also parted company with Eros in 1999, but got back together for the Noi tour) says, “I don’t have the exact figures, but it’s said that Eros sells more merchandise abroad than in Italy.” Colferai admits that gadget and T-shirt sales have been slightly down in Italy on this tour on account of the recession, but Tait Towers’ Hales believes that, in the current economic climate, cost-cutting is key. “It all boils down to packaging, efficiency and speed,” Hales says. “If you can shave off a couple of minutes here in your loading and unloading times, then over the course of a concert and a tour, that can make a big difference.”

Incidentally, Hales was also a project manager for the Batman Live tour and he believes there are, in fact, some similarities. “Rock shows are very spectacular these days – they’ve become family entertainment,” he adds. “There’s a lot of scenery: it’s no longer just about going to see a band play.”

The Batman analogy is interesting but, given the combination of Eros Ramazzotti’s masculine sex appeal and the tour’s stateof-the-art technology, perhaps another screen legend, James Bond, would be a more appropriate comparison.

The spectacular ‘Noi’ set in Bologna’s Unipol Arena. © Franco Lionetti

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Big Mother

Introduction Proposed financial restrictions on promoters and the fact Pussy Riot band members remain in jail are not doing much to improve Mother Russia’s image. But with a burgeoning club scene, huge festivals and both AEG and Live Nation moving into the territory, it appears business has never been healthier in this vast market. Adam Woods reports…

In the 1950s, banned rock & roll hits found their way into the lives of music-starved Russians as home-made records pressed on discarded x-ray prints. Having been more or less obliged to invent piracy while rock & roll was still young, it’s no wonder Russia’s legitimate recording industry never got far off the ground, even after the fall of communism. But despite this, the live music industry has consistently enjoyed far greater health than its recorded counterpart.

“The Russian music industry has historically been

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dominated by the live business,” says veteran promoter Ilya Bortnuk of Light Music. “Most Russian and foreign artists have earned money in Russia by touring rather than selling records, so the Russian music industry was hit less hard by the record industry collapse at the end of the 2000s than any developed music market.”

It is easy to characterise Russia as the eternal developing market, saddled with Soviet infrastructure, low buying power and maddening logistics. But that would be to ignore not only a highly

Russia

credible cadre of Russian promoters and a robust domestic touring circuit, but also a fast-developing club scene and a massive venue investment around the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Promoters have anticipated a boom in international touring traffic for some years, but that too obscures the fact that many international acts already take the market as a given, from superstar one-night stands in the key music cities of Moscow and St Petersburg to the intrepid eastern missions of veteran rockers.

In Moscow, average salaries are around Rb46,000 (€1,150), compared to Rb32,000 (€800) in St Petersburg and Rb26,000 (€650) elsewhere. With 11.5m souls in Moscow to St Petersburg’s 4.9m, Russia’s modern capital offers a much larger audience than its imperial one, though St Petersburg audiences are said to be more open-minded and less likely to buy their tickets in advance.

As it stands, there are more than 3,500 stages in Russia, of varying sizes, and the live industry was reckoned to be worth around Rb40billion (€1bn) in ticket sales in 2011, with a private market of a similar size. For a market of Russia’s size, of

course (17 million sq km, 143m people) that leaves plenty of room for growth. Needless to say, there are factors that impede that growth, as well as others that seek to channel it in bogus directions. For one thing, rogue promoters are all too common, driving up international acts’ fees with over hopeful bids.

“Of course there has been a steady improvement in the market if we are talking about the logistics of a show in Russia compared to Europe or the USA or other markets,” says Nadia Solovieva, founder and chief executive of SAV Entertainment, established 26 years ago and currently promoting Eros Ramazzotti (see page 56), Lana Del Rey, Green Day, Depeche Mode and Iron Maiden. “But at the same time,” she adds, “there is a huge difficulty in Russia with too many so-called promoters who make crazy offers to artists all the time, which leads to artists’ and related people’s unreasonable expectations.” Because of such kamikaze actions, but also because Russia remains a tough market, it is said that only 20-30% of all concerts turn a profit. Corruption also remains a fact of life, Bortnuk says, albeit a less expensive one than in, say, the construction industry, where bribes may account for 30-40% of a project’s total budget.

Meanwhile, a bill was recently presented to the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly) that would oblige promoters of all live events, large and small, musical and otherwise, to provide a bank guarantee of Rb150million (€3.75m). If the law is passed, it is suggested up to 95% of concert activity in Russia will grind to a halt or go underground. “As far as the Duma bill is concerned I doubt it can happen, but then again who knows?” Solovieva says. “So many things I have seen in Russia looked unreasonable and unlikely and yet happened.”

In a country full of bands, it is also unfortunate that the best-known members of the most notorious one currently reside in penal colonies IK-14 and IK-32. A handful of western stars, most notably The Black Keys, have reputedly refused to tour Russia while Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina remain in prison, though in this instance, promoters deny there has been any great impact. “The topic of Pussy Riot hasn’t been raised by artists or their representatives in negotiations and preparation of concerts,” says leading St Petersburg promoter Michael Shurygin of NCA at the time of the verdict. “I think it won’t have an impact on artists’ plans.”

That said, other issues with the authorities can disrupt plans. Recently Mark Knopfler cancelled two concerts in Russia in protest over a crackdown on human rights organisations. Knopfler shelved a 7 June Moscow gig, as well as a St Petersburg show the following day, after a number of pressure groups, including Amnesty International, had their offices searched by prosecutors and tax officials.

Russia

Venues lot of the venues in Russia “areAfairly limited, but with the new buildings coming on board with state-of-the-art features, we are going to see better events and higher gross revenues.

Brian Kabatznick, AEG Facilities Europe

”

Russia is not famous for the cutting-edge qualities of its venues, but change is coming, driven at the top of the market by sport in general and the 2018 World Cup in particular; and at the more modest level by a burgeoning club scene.

AEG Facilities is consulting on four venues currently in construction, all of which have both sporting and musical uses.

Due for completion in 2016 is the VTB Arena, comprising a 45,000-seat soccer stadium – future home to Dynamo Moscow Football Club and a 2018 FIFA World Cup host venue – plus a 12,000-seat arena for Dynamo’s hockey and basketball teams.

Last year, AEG announced that it will also run the 20,000-seat arena in the city’s Galactica Park development, which is expected to open in 2018, and Brian Kabatznick, vice-president business development at AEG Facilities Europe, reveals that AEG is now also involved in a forthcoming 5,000-6,000-seat theatre in the capital. “When you look at vertical integration in arguably one of Europe’s greatest markets, we like the fact that we are working on a theatre, two arenas and a football stadium,” Kabatznick says.

“A lot of the venues in Russia are fairly limited, but with the new buildings coming on board with state-of-the-art features, we are going to see better events and higher gross revenues.”

Moscow’s Olimpiyskiy stadium, built for the 1980 Olympics and with a concert capacity of 25,000, remains an important

music venue in its various configurations, having played host to Madonna, Lady Gaga and Paul McCartney in the past couple of years, and with Iron Maiden, Green Day and Justin Bieber due in the coming months. The 28,800-capacity Lokomotiv Stadium is around a decade old and will welcome Depeche Mode in June.

At the mid-sized level, the 7,500-capacity Crocus City Hall is abuzz with domestic and foreign acts. Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Maroon 5 have visited in recent years, with Josh Groban, Pet Shop Boys and Lana Del Rey on the schedules for spring and summer, alongside events from ballet to family shows. Crocus City Hall director Roman Grachev warns that choice may even be too broad across the city this summer. “It is going to be crazy in a way – too many top artists’ names are already announced for May, June and July. On the other hand, this situation offers an excellent chance for Russian audiences to choose from a wide variety of events.” Most Russians still buy tickets at box offices around the city, or else by phone, but electronic ticket sales are still at a nascent stage, though Crocus City Hall is among those working on an online service.

The 12,000-capacity New Arena, also known as the Ice Palace, is St Petersburg’s approximate equivalent to Crocus, with Eros Ramazzotti, Joe Cocker and Mark Knopfler coming in May and June. The 25,000 SKK Arena handles the bigger shows.

But, while the bigger venues may look like the big story, the thriving new market is generally held to be the club scene, from Moscow’s 16 Tons and B2, to St Petersburg’s Kosmonaut, and out into the regions and venues such as Ekaterinburg’s TeleClub and Nizhny Novgorod’s Milo.

The club scene is driven by passion and organic demand, according to Bortnuk, and is free of what he calls the “funny money” – pumped in by wealthy sponsors and over-eager neophyte promoters – that can distort the market in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Festivals In a variably harsh climate, there are good reasons why Russians don’t flock to outdoor events, and certainly not further east. Nonetheless, Russia has a festival culture of a modest kind, and it is developing fairly fast. Rock Nad Volgoi [Rock On Volga], a one-day festival in Samara, about 870 km south-east of Moscow, takes place around Russia Day and is the country’s largest open-air festival. Now in its fifth year, it mixes Russian and western rock acts – 2013’s headliners are Boris Grebenshchikov’s veterans, Aquarium, and German metallers, Rammstein. Organisers expect a 400,000-strong crowd this year, up from around 300,000 in 2012, making it Europe’s largest such event as well.

Also in its fifth year is the seven-day Kubana festival, which takes place in Anapa on the Black Sea and has grown its crowd from 8,000 to 150,000 since 2009. Others include the three-day Russian-language rock fest Nashestvie; the venerable one-dayer Maxidrom, now at the Tushina airfield, where this year it hosts 30 Seconds to Mars, HIM and Simple Plan; and the new, two-day Park Live at Moscow’s All-Russian Exhibition Centre, headlined this year by The

66 | IQ Magazine May 2013

Killers and Russian star Zemfira. Melnita’s distinctly indieleaning Afisha Picnic takes place over one day each July at Kolomenskoye, a former imperial estate near Moscow, and this year will be headlined by Blur.

“Festivals are still more of a specialist thing, though they are starting to go mainstream now,” says former SAV talent buyer Dmitry Zaretsky, now proprietor of his own Pop Farm, which opens its festival account this year with the new Subbotnik event in Moscow’s Gorky Park on 6 July, featuring Arctic Monkeys, Hurts, Foals, Jessie Ware and Savages.

Key to the growth of the market will be advertisers’ attitudes to live music as a commodity. “Sponsors tend to prefer outdoor advertising to event marketing, but this is changing, slowly but surely,” Ratnikov says. “Cities’ policy on outdoor ads is shifting and soon sponsors will look at other platforms to advertise their products.” Meanwhile, the coming months will see a hardening in Russia’s official attitude to smoking, and with it tobacco advertising which, along with beer brands, has traditionally bankrolled many club shows.

Russia

Promoters expensive. You can’t build a tour on buses and sleepers – you just can’t do it, technically.

”

Semyon Galperin, Tele-Club A new promoter opened its doors in Moscow in January, which is nothing unusual in a market where promoters come and go all the time. This one, however, could be around longer than most, being the first Russian office of a California-based live events company called Live Nation. Tim McWilliams, previously VP of European tour operations for Live Nation Global Touring, is the first managing director of Live Nation Russia. Mindful of cultural sensitivities, and of the maturity of the market’s leading players, he takes a considered line.

“There are some very established, quality promoters that exist in Russia, and they have been doing it for a while,” McWilliams says. “We are certainly not coming in saying, ‘we are the experts’. But we do have some knowledge from our experiences both locally and globally, and we are just looking to keep going forward, drive more business and connect the dots of Scandinavia through to Central Europe.”

Driven from a variety of offices, including Global Touring and those in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Live Nation already brings 30 to 40 shows a year to Russia. “Our presence in the marketplace has been fractured,” says McWilliams, who works between Moscow and London. “We just decided it was the right time to concentrate our efforts and create something.

It’s coming along. It’s an interesting place to be.”

Prominent names in Moscow include Attack Concerts, SAV Entertainment, TCI, Pop Farm and Melnitsa International; St Petersburg has NCA, Light Music and Planet Plus, among others. But Moscow and St Petersburg are distinct markets, and there is an unwritten rule that promoters shouldn’t attempt to straddle the two. Consequently, a Muscovite promoter will traditionally need a partner in the smaller city if it plans to stage shows in both.

According to Ed Ratnikov, president of TCI, whose recent activity has included tours for Garbage and Scorpions and sellouts for Chris Rea, Rammstein and Evanescence, promoters in both cities need to stick together if they are to communicate effectively with the authorities.

“We need to create some kind of association of professional promoters, otherwise we have too many players who don’t respect rules, the law and moral criteria,” he says. “I am working on it and have reached an understanding with many established players, but some still stand apart.”

And while promoters are mindful of how to improve communications with the

authorities, some are reaping the benefit of national events, such as sports tournaments. Andrei Nedvetsky of promoters Showtime says, “For my company, the main growth is coming from sports, but the reasons are obvious – Russia is getting closer to big events such as Universiade in Kazan (July 2013), World Athletics Championships in Moscow (August 2013) and finally the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. The opening of Moscow Raceway in July 2012 has also opened the door for big international races to Russia.”

In the last year and a half, PMI Corporation (which owns promoter Planet Plus, ticketing agency Kassir.ru and a slew of radio stations) has organised shows by Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as 60 shows by Russian acts. Company president Evgeny Finkelshtein reveals PMI is also looking forward to a busy 2013.

“We signed contracts with Depeche Mode, Eros Ramazzotti and Joe Cocker and we are working on the grand opening of St Petersburg International Economic Forum.”

Talking about the development of Russia as a touring destination, Finkelshtein continues, “The whole market is renovating after crisis and we feel there is a lot of potential. Family entertainment is a growing trend nowadays in Russia. In the first quarter of 2013 we’ve done a lot of shows and half of them were actually sold-out. That gives us confidence for the future.”

Indeed, with PMI having already successfully trialled MMS ticketing in Kazan, the company is looking to roll out the technology as soon as the government gives the green light for such innovations. “We are waiting for the new laws in ticketing to be accepted,” adds Finkelshtein. “In the next six months we plan to switch massively to the e-ticket system, meaning we will be the first company in Russia with this scaling

SAV’s Iron Maiden gig at Olimpiyskiy Arena

Any equipment needs to be “transported by air, and that is very

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 69

Russia

Everyone knows Russia is a staggeringly large, scattered market, but rarely has that fact been better illustrated than with the map that accompanied the Russia panel at this year’s ILMC, highlighting the remarkably limited routing options and mind-boggling distances between the federation’s 16 key cities. “Everybody was very excited about that,” says Semyon Galperin, producer and booking director at Ekaterinburg’s Tele-Club, who created the map. “Neil Warnock took a couple of them. Yesterday I was at the office of Melnitsa and they had this map, even though they know Russia as well as anyone.”

This handy reminder of Russia’s geographical extremes highlights that, while not every distance in Russia is enormous, most of them are. There may be just an 80-minute plane trip separating Moscow and St Petersburg, but you’re looking at a 92-hour train journey to cover the 4,916km between Vladivostok and, say, Krasnoyarsk. Scheduled flights between regional cities, meanwhile, are by no means a given.

As Galperin points out, the centralised nature of Russia’s transport systems means that flying – or even driving – between Russian cities often requires a trip to Moscow and out again. “Parts of the country are not very well connected, and that’s why it is hard to build tours,” he says. “Any equipment needs to be transported by air, and that is very expensive. You can’t build a tour on buses and sleepers – you just can’t do it, technically,” he adds. “Well, you can do it, but it would be an adventure, like sailing round the world or something.”

A key difficulty, of course, is that not every city represents a market for every act. Rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s such as Scorpions, Nazareth and Uriah Heep enjoy good name recognition in some of the most remote cities on earth, and consequently can profit from being intrepid. But more recent stars, including buzz bands, can easily find themselves taken down a peg or two.

In Ekaterinburg, the Tele-Club punches above its weight, but has to work hard to market contemporary international acts. “We had The Horrors in 2010, when they were the fresh new thing, and that was really hard – only 400 people bought tickets,” Galperin says. “We more or less sold out GusGus in March – we sold 1,500 tickets – but we put them on in Chelyabinsk, about 200km away, and we sold four times less.

Acts who have been around a little longer do well. Papa Roach did well; so did Sum 41. We sold 4,400 tickets for Tiesto in our bigger room. We’ve had UNKLE; we did a tour of five cities for Tricky. Maybe in other counties people saw them in the 90s, but not here in Russia.”

Sponsors tend to prefer outdoor “advertising to event marketing, but

this is changing, slowly but surely.

Cities’ policy on outdoor ads is shifting and soon sponsors will look at other platforms to advertise their products.

”

Ed Ratnikov, TCI

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J-Lo at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall last November

The regional market

Showtime’s Nedvetsky reports that the South of Russia has witnessed some development and the cities of Rostovon-Don and Krasnodar were visited by Chris Rea, Sting, Rasmus, Julio Iglesias, Deep Purple and Yanni during the last few months. “These cities are one day drive from Moscow and also one day drive from Kiev which allows to easily build them into a tour schedule.”

Other cities are also developing including Kazan and Novosibirsk, often assisted by sport. “Lots of money is being put into ice hockey these days, building brand new arenas in a lot of cities,” says Zaretsky. “Some regional cities will have brand new stadiums in time for the World Cup 2018, such as Kazan. There are also more and more international hotel brands coming into the Russian regions, such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hyatt and Hilton.”

All such investments help to make regional cities more appealing to those touring bands that are already comfortable with the fact that regional shows don’t typically pay as well as those in Moscow and St Petersburg.

“Artists and their managers and agents still don’t see this market as prestigious,” Ratnikov says. “However, Russia has improved significantly in the last decade. Now, we have well-maintained infrastructure; new arenas and theatres; clubs; airports; hotels; production companies and so on.

For arena tours, we use charter planes as this is the only appropriate way to transport artists and crew and backlines and use local production. However, it’s all doable. If you are willing, you look at the possibilities, and if you are not, you look only for excuses.”

Tele-Club’s guide to touring across Russia

Where to promote gigs in Mother Russia

Russia

May 2013 IQ Magazine | 73

Your Shout

“ Have you ever witnessed any Spinal Tap moments?”

This happened in the middle of a song: a male and female singer using radio mics labelled 1 and 2 but because the male singer kept moving around on stage, he couldn’t hear his monitor so they switched mics, but of course, that made it worse. So he asked the monitor guy “What the fuck is with these mics?” The technician replied “No, you should be on mic 1 not mic 2” and he held a finger up in case the singer didn’t hear him correctly. Thinking he was shaking his head and giving him the middle finger, the singer went over and decked him.

Paul Debnam, PSI2 During a Mikis Theodorakis tour, the production truck parked overnight in a well-lit square opposite the hotel in Bilbao. It turned out the square was the fish market and next morning hundreds of stalls had been erected around the truck. The promoter had to buy their fish to make them cut a road through the market for the truck. Guess what dinner was in catering that night?!

Laszlo Hegedus, Multimedia Organisation (Europe) When Alicia Keys played Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, her PM, in all seriousness, asked us to provide, for him only, a Port-a-loo right next to FOH, on a sloped, grass venue with 10,000 guests standing in this area. He crowned the request by turning up with his personal stock of toilet paper with his name scribbled all over the rolls.

Thomas Ovesen, Done Events I had an act second on the bill for the Other stage at Glastonbury. It was a glorious day and the camera crews downed tools to get some respite from the sun. Had they been filming they’d

have caught a moment they’d have made a lot of money from. Stage is set for what was then the biggest show in the band’s career; out they bound, singer centre-stage, puts foot up on monitor beckoning to the crowd, monitor tips forward…off the stage he goes.

Geoff Meall, The Agency Group I’d booked Modern Talking for a client organising a show for an audience of well-heeled Russians who’d driven to New Jersey from New York for the gig.

There’s ten musicians on stage, including the two stars. Everything’s going fine when there’s what sounds like a loud grinding of gears, some distortion, then silence. But the band plays on noiselessly before they realise what’s happened. Everyone on stage looks highly embarrassed because the music is coming from a CD played from the front desk, which had skipped before stopping completely, leaving an emperor with distinctly no clothes. In a united groan, the audience rose, leaving the promoter (who thought we’d booked a live show) trying to placate a lot of unhappy rich Russians.

Nick Hobbs, Charmenko While managing flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés, it was a real coup to get him confirmed as the star of a 1996 Red Cross Gala in the Royal Albert Hall. After soundcheck, he announced he wasn’t going to perform.

He used to make a spectacular entrance, bare-chested, wearing what was effectively a designer dress. I put this on, took off my shirt and asked the wardrobe assistant to do my hair and make-up as though I was Joaquín. I then went to the dressing rooms where Joaquín was explaining to the dancers why he wasn’t going to perform.

Deadpan, I told the girls to get ready.

When Cortés asked me what I was doing, I replied that if he wasn’t going onstage, then I would perform in his place. He didn’t know whether I was serious, but as I carried on regardless, he eventually cracked, told me not to be so stupid and to give him back his clothes. He gave a fantastic performance that night.

Pino Sagliocco, Live Nation It’s 1990 and I’m setting up what turns out to be the last Dire Straits world tour. No agent! We were looking at South America and a manager friend of mine set an appointment to bring in a Brazilian promoter I’d never heard of. Turns out the guy was actually the largest supplier of scaffolding in Brazil.

But I come from the school where anybody who said “I’m a promoter”, WAS a promoter. He unrolled a large sheet of paper depicting a painting of Copacabana Beach covered in tiny dots and explained that the City of Rio was planning a free concert. I’d heard if more than three people got together, at least one would die. “It’s true, it’s very unfortunate,” he confirmed, adding that up to four million were expected to attend. “So it is very likely there will be a riot and people will be killed?” I asked. “Yes. But they are poor people.

Criminals and scum. No one will care.”

Obviously concerned about what might happen to Dire Straits in such a situation, I was directed to a box in the sea on his painting, with what looked like a line to the shore. “Don’t tell me,” I said, “is this by any chance the stage?”

He beamed. Proudly. “Yes. If there is a riot we will cut the rope and the group will float into the sea.”

“Thank you for your visit.” And I still have that painting.

Ed Bicknell, Damage Management

If you would like to send feedback, comments or suggestions for future Your Shout topics, please email: info@iq-mag.net

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