Mixed Fortunes Gordon Masson observes that while many country economies are growing, financial hardship is still having a real impact internationally... For those of us lucky enough to live in countries that have emerged from the global recession, it’s perhaps too easy to forget that many territories elsewhere are still suffering from the economic meltdown. As IQ went to press, the people of Greece were waiting to find out the results of a referendum to decide whether the country should remain part of the European Union. But even in perceived strong economies such as France, the fallout from the recession continues to take its toll, with cuts in public subsidies and high unemployment hitting the live entertainment sector hard (see page 11). Elsewhere in our news pages, there’s a fascinating MMF investigation involving BUMA Stemra in the Netherlands, which has been giving live performance fee ‘discount’ paybacks to promoters, thereby short-changing performers, songwriters and publishers (see page 9). And hot on the heels of the ongoing battle between promoters and collection society SGAE in Spain, artist representatives around the world are now being urged to scrutinise tour settlement accounts to make sure they are not falling victim to similar practices. Away from the news, we’re delivering you an issue packed with some stellar features. On page 20, brands expert Giles Fitzgerald has written a compelling article on the evolving partnership between sponsors and the music business – a must-read for anyone looking to attract sponsorship support for their tour, venue or event. And our market specialist Adam Woods has been interrogating those working in the complex Swiss market (page 26) to examine the repercussions of this year’s controversial currency cap removal. Eugenia Durante reports on the efforts of the family entertainment sector (page
IQ Magazine July 2015
36) to develop new shows and take productions to new markets in their attempts to drive growth. And talking of family attractions, Olaf Furniss talks to the inner circle of rock legends KISS (page 42) to discover the secret behind their 40 years of success and their ability to appeal to fans across the generations, from infants to great-grandparents. Finally, Richard Smirke chronicles the history of Rock in Rio – the world’s biggest live music brand, which this year marks its 30th anniversary. Given exclusive access to founder Roberto Medina, IQ discovers that the evergrowing, country-hopping festival might never have got off the ground, if it hadn’t been for crooning legend Frank Sinatra (page 50). And as if that wasn’t enough to keep you all informed, we’re using this issue to launch a couple of new regular pages: Busy Bodies, which gives the various live music industry associations and societies around the world a platform to share news and concerns; and our New Signings page that agents can use to announce the latest additions to their rosters. Both of these pages are works in progress, so we’d love to hear your feedback about any ways in which they can be improved. And on that note, we’ve gone all 21st century and ramped up our presence on social media. So, as you’ll notice, there are a number of friendly reminders to use our Twitter account to comment on stories and developments reported both in IQ and on the ILMC website. It’s an ideal way to generate and participate in debate and it’s a tool we intend to use to your advantage when planning the agenda topics for next year’s ILMC, so follow us on @iq_mag and we’ll be sure to do likewise.
Issue 60 LIVE MUSIC INTELLIGENCE THE ILMC JOURNAL, July 2015
IQ Magazine Unit 31 Tileyard Road London, N7 9AH info@iq-mag.net www.iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0300 Twitter: @iq_mag
Publisher
ILMC and Suspicious Marketing
Editor
Gordon Masson
Associate Editor Allan McGowan
Marketing & Advertising Director Terry McNally
Design
Martin Hughes
Sub Editor
Michael Muldoon
Editorial Assistants
Susanna Moro & Ben Delger
Contributors
Eugenia Durante, Giles Fitzgerald, Olaf Furniss, Jouni Markkanen, Richard Moffat, Tony Nagamaiah, Richard Smirke, Manfred Tari, Dartsya Tarkovska, Adam Woods
Editorial Contact
Gordon Masson, gordon@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0303
Advertising Contact
Terry McNally, terry@iq-mag.net Tel: +44 (0)20 3743 0304
To subscribe to IQ Magazine: michael@iq-mag.net An annual subscription to IQ is £75 (print) or £60 (electronic).
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