INTERNATIONAL PROFILES
ARGENTINA Language: English | Population (millions): 43.9 | Currency: Peso | GDP/Capita (US$): 20,200 | Internet Users (millions): 30.1 | Smartphone penetration: 48.2% | Population % aged 15–24: 15.4 | Population % aged 25–54: 39.2 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 26 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 33
A
rgentina is the number-two market in South America after Brazil and is a must-visit for most acts making the trip, but it’s not a straightforward place. The last 20 years have seen persistent inflation problems and currency disasters, and promoters have had their work cut out for them dealing in international markets. All the same, Argentina remains an elegant, civilised place and a keen music market, so when the numbers all line up, as they have in the past four years for a series of successful Lollapaloozas and mega-gigs by Roger Waters and, recently, the Rolling Stones, it’s easy to imagine there’s nothing standing between Argentina and consistent live biz success.
its own All Access portal. Among Argentina’s standalone ticketing specialists are Livepass, Tu Entrada and VisionOne Argentina’s TicketPortal, which holds the exclusive contract for Buenos Aires’ Estadio Luna Park.
PRIMARY TICKETING Ticketing companies in Argentina broadly divide into those that are operated by promoters and those that standalone. From the former camp, but with a remit broader than just its parent company’s events, Time For Fun’s Ticketek is the country’s leading ticketing company, taking a 70% market share. It sold 4.8m tickets for 6,550 events in 2015, and operates a modern service with mobile sales and a loyalty programme. Ticketek director Fernando Bolan says promoters prefer to organise their own ticket sales for peace of mind, and for the additional income, though Ticketek is not just a sideline for its parent company. “We sell around 6,500 events per year, and only 20 are produced by Time For Fun,” he says. Another major promoter, DF Entertainment, organiser of Lollapalooza and numerous international shows, sells through
DISTRIBUTION OF SALES “People in Argentina prefer to purchase online,” says Bolan. Other options remain available, including call centres and sales points in cities. But Ticketek predicts that the days of the physical point of sale are numbered, and has been working with Motorola to move into smartphone-based barcode scanning – first in theatres, later for music crowds.
SECONDARY TICKETING EntradaFan launched in May 2015 as the first peer-to-peer ticket marketplace in Argentina, and it still operates, last year becoming the first such site to allow buyers to pay in Bitcoin. “Fraud in Argentina is lower than in Brazil, but it still exists,” says Bolan. “Secondary ticketing is forbidden here, but there are some websites that try to sell fake tickets.”
VALUE OF MARKET The Argentinian live market isn’t often audited, but T4F has estimated that Argentina saw an 8% increase in spending on entertainment between 2005 and 2012, to US$326 (€284 in today’s money), though the precise spend on live event tickets isn’t recorded. INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS AND GENRES When times are tough, the split in Argentina skews towards Latin American artists, and when money is flowing, the bigger international shows return. At the time of writing, Depeche Mode, U2, Bon Jovi and others were all incoming, perhaps indicating that modernising president Mauricio Macri isn’t doing too badly, having fixed Argentina’s global credit problem and lowered its currency controls. “At the beginning of 2017, there were not many options, but during the following few months a lot of artists were confirmed: Bruno Mars, U2, Depeche Mode, Guns N’ Roses, The Who, Bon Jovi, Green Day, Coldplay, Jamiroquai and Deep Purple. Bruno, U2 and Coldplay are sold out [well in advance].” CULTURAL ANALYSIS In spite of a steadying economy, spending power in Argentina remains soft, so sponsorship remains important. T4F, for one, has lately worked with brands including Banco Patagonia, Allianz, Musimundo, Motorola, Unicenter, Joker Mobile, FCA (Chrysler/Fiat), and other automotive and health companies.
Move Concerts uses LivePass to provide ticketing services for its Maximus Festival
26 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017
TAXES AND CHARGES Argentina dropped its 21% VAT on concert tickets in 2006, helping to drive the country’s then-depressed live music scene to several years of solid success. That concession remains in place.