VIP-Magazine 07 by VIP-Booking.com

EDITION #07 JANUARY 2011

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GEOFF ELLIS TO RECeiVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD READ MORE ON PAGE 10

TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF EUROSONIC/NOORDERSLAG READ MORE ON PAGE 07# 07#SPOT

w8#

Interview:

ITALY: An Overview ®

Continuing our occasional series of spotlights on European Markets, we take a brief look at the state of the live business in Italy. READ MORE ON PAGE 26#

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# CONTENTS

contents: VIP-magazine 07#2011

07 Twenty five years of Eurosonic/Noorderslag 10 Geoff Ellis to receive lifetime achievement Award 12 Jagger joins fight to save London Venue 13 By:Larm to host Nordic Music Prize 14 Amsterdam Dance Event 2010 17 Ticketscript 19 The Complicated Story of a City Venue 23 Music Tank Review of the Live Industry 25 MaMA 2010

26 Market Feature: Italy 32 Joybringer Celebrates 40 Years in Business 34 Artist avails

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To reserve your ad call +44 (0) 870 755 0092 or send an email to vip@vip-booking.com. Read more online www.vip-booking.com

INTRO #

Welcome

e n i z a g a m P I to the V what we provide to give people a sample of What was initially started sletter VIP-News, through our monthly new throughout the year online issue in your hands. n as you now hold the 7th has now got a life of its ow realize that 1-2 issues have received has made us The positive feedback we t habits have changed ugh. Despite the fact tha news per year are now not eno using the internet to read decade with people now t las the r ove lly tica m. for ma dra gazine in print t people like to read a ma tha ms see l stil it is, bas ly on a dai we now turn to Italy itzerland in the last issue Sw on e tur fea t rke ma there’s Following up on our te of the market there. If e report on the current sta to add g thin where we bring you a 6 pag any e or if you have see covered in the next issu to like uld wo you y ntr a cou l free to contact us. this report then please fee to what has been said in ry attending the main indust from our company will be , lag As usual, representatives ers ord No osonic r of next year including Eur events in the first quarte to discuss with us like uld wo anything you MIDEM and ILMC. If there’s a meeting. e to contact us to set up then please do not hesitat e

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The VIP Team vip-booking.com

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Georg Leitner - Nina Pernica - Walter Laurer - Anna Kallina - Roland Theierl - Adam Lukas

THEATRE OF ILLUSION

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GUITANEROS SPENCERS THEATRE OF ILLUSION BROADWAY ON ICE CIRQUE DE GLACE

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By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

Twenty Five Years of Eurosonic/Noorderslag Interview with Peter Smidt – Creative Director of Eurosonic Noorderslag:

Eurosonic/Noorderslag celebrates its quarter century anniversary in January 2011. Slightly more than twenty-five years ago, so Peter Smidt tells me, he was working hard – that’s not to say that he doesn’t work hard these days as Creative Director of Eurosonic Noorderslag, Manager at Buma-Cultuur and also Vice President of The European Music Office – but at that specific time all those years ago the work was physically hard – he was digging. To be precise he was levelling a sloping floor, some of you may well have benefited from his work by being able to keep yourselves, and your drinks, upright when watching a band play in Groningen’s Grand Theatre, which was previously a cinema – hence the slope. The Beginning As a student of Arts and Art Management in the University City of Groningen Peter was one of the squatters of The Grand Theatre, which was to be replaced with a shopping mall. Squatting has a fine tradition in Holland; there would for instance be no Paradiso in Amsterdam if students and others had not taken direct action. Peter recalls, “I was using the downstairs area as a rehearsal room for

my band, and it seemed a natural move to start promoting in the venue.” He also promoted shows at The Oosterport venue, booked the acts for the Stars in the Park summer festival and in 1986 started Noorderslag, a festival event presenting Dutch and Belgian acts. “In those days,” Peter recalls, “Both audience and the business considered local repertoire as merely a niche market, but the festival showed the quality and the potential available. At the time we figured that other European territories must be proud of their own acts and to have similar international potential but we didn’t really have a clue.” Things began to move when Dutch artists like Urban Dance Squad and the Nits began to attract the attention of professionals from other markets, including Bernard Batzen from France, Tapio Korjus from Finland and Marc Ridet from Switzerland and they and others came to Noorderslag to check out the bands. The Mission When Patrice Hourbette from the French Export Office asked if he could bring some French acts, then Polygram (now

Universal for those under a certain age!) inquired about presenting some of their European bands, Peter realised that Noorderslag was in a position to realise the fast developing potential within European repertoire which audiences and professionals alike were largely unaware of. The Dutch based promoters and agents Association Network Europe became involved, inviting agents and promoters to bring in their acts. This became the mission and the aim, as Peter says, “To present European repertoire within the whole European sector, and to create a platform for European music and European music professionals.” The Noorderslag Seminar was created in 1993 to encourage the exchange of ideas within the sector and work began on building what was to become Eurosonic Noorderslag. The Partners However Peter was aware of limitations, “One show in Groningen was not enough, the important thing was to create and maximise exposure and radio was one way of achieving this.” The European Broadcasting Union was approached and with the help of Jan Sneum of Danish National Radio, EBU collaboration, involving

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Holland’s Radio 3 FM, German stations and the BBC, with John Peel broadcasting live from Groningen, was initiated, with the aim of distributing to all main stations. In 1999 the event took on the Eurosonic name. Peter continues, “Because we were able to present the most promising acts more promoters and agents came, finding it easy to check all the upcoming talent in one place. The infrastructure of Groningen works so well for this, with so many good venues all within walking distance of each other. There are not many Cities with that facility.” Apparently Groningen owes this happy situation not just to the fact that it is home to a large University with lots of young people therefore lots of demand, but to a local law passed in the 1950’s; this permitted bars and clubs to stay open late if they staged live music. Very forward thinking! This situation allowed musicians like Herman Brood to develop their art in Groningen; he could play seven nights a week in different venues and had a big influence, encouraging bands

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to start up. This inspiration led to there being a lot of active bands in the 70’s and just as importantly an active audience! ETEP & The Festivals The fast growing festival market was the next sector to be involved within this history and this infrastructure, which provided the perfect setting for buyers, artists and radio to exchange talent, information and advice. The aim was to continue to encourage all these sectors to work together to help create careers and spread European repertoire. A tool was needed to make this idea work and Peter formulated the concept of ETEP, the European Talent Programme, to achieve this in an objective and measurable way. He went to the Festivals Association Yourope with the idea, and, as he says, “They listened and said let’s try, and we were all surprised by the results.” ETEP offered radio support from the EBU and a small amount of money to participating festivals to offset the costs of putting on an act from another territory, which they may not have considered otherwise.”

Funding The start up money came from the Culture Department of the Dutch national Government, there was some reticence about Dutch Culture funds subsidising other countries, but it was considered a very interesting programme, so Peter was told he could have the money to start up, but to look to the EU for the future! But there was assistance from other areas, the European Music Office (EMO) came on board as a main partner, along with assistance from Italy, Norway, Luxembourg and Belgium amongst others, allowing the Programme to kick off in 2003. Peter has had mixed success in obtaining funds from the EU, receiving support in some years and not in others, he has spent a lot of his time in Brussels. He says, “There is still no set policy for the music sector in Europe which will serve it best. If we can secure the policy first, the programmes will follow. Although ETEP has without doubt shown that it is works and is effective, so far within the current

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Eurosonic makes new talent discoveries, then EBBA awards those who have become established, the stars. The attendance of Commission representatives at Eurosonic Noorderslag introduces a platform for debate between them and the music sector. There must be a constant dialogue to exchange views and change and create policies.” Certainly this upcoming 25th Anniversary Conference can provide an ideal platform to signal the continuation and expansion of debate, but we cannot just wait for things to happen, as Peter continues, “The music sector has to acquaint itself with the Commission’s views and goals within the general Cultural Industry policy, and the industry players who attend Eurosonic Noorderslag should be willing and able to become involved in this, in order to progress the development of European repertoire.”

programmes of the European Commission it has not been rewarded.” EMO is still lobbying and has had some success with ETEP and the European Tour Support Programme. Peter continues, “There have been good pilots but nothing as yet has led to a solid follow up within the framework of European subsidies. Currently I am keeping a close eye on the development of the Cultural Industry Policy to see what can be learnt from it, but at the moment the framework is not suitable for the music sector.”

New Developments There is no doubt that whilst growing and evolving over the last 25 years Eurosonic Noorderslag has achieved and maintained its original stated purpose of creating a platform for European music and European music professionals. Over the past few years many other conference and showcase events have appeared on the international industry calendar, many of which seem to have adopted formats not dissimilar from those developed by the Groningen event, this does not worry Peter, in fact he has an opposite view, “If others copy the Eurosonic Noorderslag model it indicates that the European market is growing. It is vital that this market has as many available stages as pos-

sible, it indicates growth and vindicates all our original plans and ideas.” Noorderslag Eurosonic is not an event that stands still, as the European industry develops new elements are introduced to the Agenda. The 2010 edition saw the introduction of The European Festival Awards in partnership with Yourope and Virtual Festivals. Also continuing conference discussion of digital distribution and interactive possibilities has resulted in the introduction of the Interactive Awards, in cooperation with Dutch Collection Society, Buma Stemra, and Factor E, to recognise the creative use of interactive media by artists and companies. The 25th edition will also feature a Media Lounge within the Conference to service the use of Eurosonic Noorderslag content, (the 2010 EBBA’s were broadcast in 12 countries.) and to accommodate more requests from digital media, along with the growing numbers of radio and TV stations. Also a new Artist Village will be introduced to create more possibilities for artists to connect with attendant media and, just as importantly within the ethos of the event - each other. Fittingly, Eurosonic Noorderslag will also celebrate its 25th anniversary by making its home country, The Netherlands, focus country for the 2011 edition. So, Peter Smidt may no longer be wielding a shovel to level theatre floors but 25 years on he and all at Eurosonic Noorderslag continue to work to create a level playing field for all involved in the development and the distribution of European repertoire. See you in Groningen on the 12th January 2011!

EBBA Awards However, the doors are not closed, the Commission’s instigation of and support for the European Border Breakers Awards – the EBBAs, are evidence that it has listened and does want to find a way of working with the music sector. The fact that the Awards are now presented at Eurosonic Noorderslag is very positive. As Peter says, “The EBBA aims are the same as those of ETEP – crossing borders. If an act does well as a result of ETEP, then progresses to EBBA, this builds a framework for crossing border success.

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# news

By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

s s o B k r a P e T In Th e m i t e f i L e iv e c e R o t s Elli f Geof d r a w A t n e Achievem Geoff Ellis received the lifetime achievement award at this year’s UK Festival Awards at IndigO2, following the Festival Conference at the O2 Dome the same day. James Drury, MDof the UK Festival Awards announced: “Under Geoff’s leadership, T In The Park has grown into Scotland’s largest and most successful festival winning numerous accolades, including two UK Festival Awards for Best Major Festival”.

Four award categories were presented during the day at the UK Festival Conference Decided by a panel of experts assembled by the associated partner organisation: - Outstanding Contribution to Festival Production in association with TPi: Neil McDonald - Best Sponsor Activation in association with Brand Republic: Coca Cola - The Grass Roots Festival Award in association with Robertson Taylor: 2000 Trees - A Greener Festival Award in association with agreenerfestival.com: Croissant Neuf Summer Party

wart of Green Man UKFA 2010 - Fiona Ste tival Fes m diu Me wins Best

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Geoff Ellis - T in

the Park

Many artists, including Caleb Followill of Kings Of Leon and Brandon Flowers of The Killers say it is their favourite festival. Fans flock back to the Scottish event every year, testament to the innovation and concerns for the enjoyment, and the safety, which Ellis and his team take so seriously. Drury continues, “It is Geoff’s charismatic leadership, dogged attention to detail and inspirational good humour which makes him such a worthy recipient of the UK Festival Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award”. The UK Festival Awards were presented at London’s O2 on Thurday November 18. MD James Drury said, “This year’s awards were the most hotly-contested we’ve had, with over half a million votes, demonstrating just how important festivals are to the UK public. Despite the continued challenges of the economy it’s been an incredible year for festivals and our awards are all about celebrating that. The winners should be rightly proud of their achievements, as should the rest of the industry”.

UKFA 201 0 - Kendal Calling wins Bes t Small Fe stival

Bank UKFA 2010 - Rob da Festival Award jor Ma st Be s ept acc

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The full list of winners from the seventh annual wUK Festival Awards is as follows: - Best Toilets: T In The Park - Best Metropolitan Festival: Gaymers Camden Crawl

Ben Turner, co-founder of AIF states: “It was an incredible night for the independent festival sector, and a victory for the great British festival. It’s rewarding to see events like Green Man and Kendal Calling finally getting the respect they deserve and to see Bestival beat the biggest and most established festivals in the world – never mind the UK – is a testament to the passion festivalgoers have for the efforts, energy and love put in by independent festival promoters to make their events unique. As for Creamfields, it is without doubt the world leader in global dance music. The original and still by far the best.”

- Best Family Festival in association with Showsec: Camp Bestival - Best Breakthrough Artist in association with Rizla: Mumford & Sons - Best Dance Event in association with Peppermint Bars: Creamfields - Feel Good Act of the Summer in association with Beat TV: Paolo Nutini - Best New Festival in association with Access All Areas: Vintage At Goodwood

Fiona Stewart, Managing Director of Green Man Festival states: “We are delighted to win. There are a lot of clever and creative people who work very hard to make Green Man happen and this award is a testament to them. But most importantly, its thanks to the amazing people who come to Green Man every year and who voted for us.”

- Headline Performance of the Year in association with Jagermeister: AC/DC at Download Festival

Awarded by a panel of judges assembled by the UK’s leading brand platform Brand Republic, Coca Cola were awarded the ‘Best Sponsor Activation’ award for their Recycle Garden and Swap For Swag schemes at festivals across the UK.

- Virtual Festivals’ Critics Choice*: Biffy Clyro at Glastonbury - Overseas Festival: Snowbombing - Anthem of the Summer in association with HMV: Florence & The Machine ‘You Got The Love’ - Line-Up of the Year* in association with XL Video: Rockness

Brand Republic Editor and chief judge for the award category commented: “Having used multiple platforms, including amplifying the message via digital channels pre and post the event, plus a range of touch points at the festivals they sponsored, the brand visibly changed customer behaviour, delivered a positive impact on the consumer, the participants and the festivals.”

- Promoter of the Year in association with IQ*: Team Glastonbury - Best Small Festival in association with Doodson Entertainment: Kendal Calling - Best Medium Festival in association with Smirnoff Flavours: Green Man

Platinum tickets for the UK Festival Awards sold out a record three weeks in advance of the event. More informationon the Festival Awards: UK Conference & Awards 2010 including the full list of winners and photos / video content from the gala evening can be found at www. festivalawards.com and www.festivalconference.com

- Best Major Festival in association with Tuborg: Bestival - Lifetime Achievement in association with Music Week: Geoff Ellis, T in the Park

er T in the Park UKFA - Colin Rodg

s accepts UKFA2010 - Geoff Elli Award Lifetime Achievement

UKFA 201

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# news

By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

e v a S o t t h g Fi s in Jo r e Jagg London Venue Mick Jagger has said that it is important for the future of live music that the 100 Club in Oxford Street, London, threatened with closure should survive. The venue is faced with paying rent which has soared to £4,000 a month plus overheads. A Save the 100 Club campaign has been backed by stars including Bobby Gillespie

of Primal Scream, Johnny Borrell of Razorlight, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols and Radio 2 DJ Janice Long plead for its survival. The venue has presented performers such as Muddy Waters The Clash, Oasis and Humphrey Lyttelton. Adding his name to the bid to save the club Sir Mick told London’s Evening Standard, “This is really bad news if another great venue is threatened with closure. There’s a real need for these places - they have a connection with the past. And what is important is that you have places where bands can cut their teeth and places of a certain intimacy and size, that new bands can experiment in. There aren’t that many great places in London, or indeed any city, that you can say that about.” He added: “We never played the 100

NOT JUST ANOTHER ARENA »You don’t get anything like this anywhere else. It’s nice to see something so different and unique.« Editors »I imagine it’s what the inside of Marilyn Manson’s head looks like.« Noel Gallagher Home of Melt! Festival, past headline-shows include: Metallica, Die Toten Hosen, Linkin Park Capacity 25,000 Open-air and indoor facilities Excellent production conditions, parking- and camping-facilities In the heart of East Germany, close to Berlin/Dresden/Leipzig Please contact us for further information and enquiries: finja.goetz@gemeinsame-sache.net | Phone: +49 (0)30 403936211 | www.ferropolis.de

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Club when we first started. We couldn’t get a gig.” They did make it in the Eighties though, to perform a 1986 benefit for their late keyboard player Ian Stewart. Supporters are now trying to raise £500,000 towards making it possible for Jeff Horton to pay off debts, and to provide working capital to keep the club open. The plan is, if successful, for the campaign to take over the lease and run the venue as a charitable or non-profitmaking venture. In December Stones Ronnie Wood and Mick Taylor played a benefit gig at the club as did Paul McCartney, appearing on Friday lunchtime December 17 - the gig as one might expect - sold out in seconds! Lets hope that all this high level attention has the desired effect!

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By: Allan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

by: Larm to Host Nordic Music Prize The 2011 edition of by:Larm to take place in Oslo between February 17-19 will host the inaugural Nordic Music Prize which will select the worthiest winner from a shortlist of 12 records. Alongside five of the top Nordic music journalists, the jury consists of Laurence Bell (Domino Records), Victoria Segal (The Times), Jeannette Lee (Rough Trade Records, PiL), Rob Young (author or Electric Eden, former editor of The Wire), Mike Pickering (ex-Factory, now Columbia Records), Matthew Schnipper (The Fader) and Andres Lockko (arguably Scandinavia’s most influential music writer). The annual StatoilHydro Award – whose former winners include Ida Maria, Ingrid Olava and Mathias Eik – will also offer a grant of approximately €100,000 to what is considered the most exciting up and coming Norwegian act.

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By: Manfred Tari · mt@vip-booking.com

Amsterdam dance event

2010

Once again the ADE celebrates a highly successful edition: It’s not only the figures that illustrate the success of the 15th edition of the ADE. It was also obvious in the vibe that surrounds this convention. The ADE reported another visitor record, sold out for 3 years in a row now, this year the organizers added 300 additional tickets, bringing the total up to 2.500. Visitors from 58 countries visited this hot spot for the dance music industry and even when the conference program featured topics such as ‘Club Crisis: What Crisis?’, ‘Genius Or Suicide? Doing Business in the digital Dance Environment’, or ‘Label Life (And Death)’ the overall mood of the majority of the visitors indicate that the dance music business currently seems to be in pretty good shape.

Richard Zijlm

VIP-News found out more by speaking to organiser Richard Zijlma VIP-News: How do you think things went with this edition of ADE?

There are a couple of components that make this convention so different from others. One is the participation of so many prominent artists as speakers and moderators of the conference program; these include Dave Clark, Ferry Corsten, Plastikman, Jeff Mills, Arthur Baker, Todd Terry, Don Diablo, Sasha, Roger Sanchez and many more.

Richard Zijlma: I was really surprised by the take up for the ‘extra’ day, Wednesday. 1.500 people turned up and there was a big queue outside, at eleven in the morning, with delegates from 60 countries arriving to set up their meetings because they want to do business, they want to make it happen over here.

Another one is new formats for its panels as part of the conference program. In particular to be mentioned on this occasion is the ‘Label Life (And Death)’ panel sessions covering Publishing, Live, Distribution and Marketing. All four sessions were moderated and hosted by the industry journalist and ADE-veteran Gary Smith from Billboard Magazine who did a very good job. Another highlight was the panel moderated by radio DJ and artist Dave Clarke who finished off the conference with the Demolition Panel and prior to this took part in the panel ‘Putting the A in Authenticity – Being Authentic.’

VIP-News: Is dance music currently in a good space in terms of its economy? I heard this when I attended the panels; from what people were saying, the industry actually looks quiet healthy and stable.

Richard Zijlma: Yes, I think so. It is obvious that the Dancebusiness has became more international. It’s really a global scene of course because guys like Ferry Corsten perform in 87 different countries. Some of them perform 200 gigs a year, on a particular level it is still a healthy industry. In particular I think ADE has become the place for this scene to set up their meetings and to promote their products. I would also say that we now have more international agencies and promoters on board, this business is now more involved with the record labels, the publishers etc. and now we also have the high level players of the live dance industry here. The most important agencies from the States and the UK are on board, so it’s really interesting. Naturally it’s a scene that is really into new developments, sharing knowledge in music because the whole thing is triggered by the

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tracks, it is totally differently to the pop/rock industry. Normally an average rock bands goes into the studio for a certain time to create their record and when its finally finished, they will go out there and share it with the rest of the world. But electronic music is far more immediate, when the track is hot you can bring it out and share it, and it could happen that after 24 hours a DJ like David Guetta or Paul van Dijk will pick it up and there will be a new hit. VIP-News: The Dutch dance music scene has become pretty strong. All around the world you now hear the ‘Dutch Sound’. You have very strong international Dutch artists such as Tiesto, van Buuren, Fedde le Grand and others. Could you that say that there’s a strong connection back to ADE by the top Dutch artists or Dutch representatives of the music industry?

»I am definitely convinced that the Dutch industry has benefited from ADE because it gives fantastic opportunity to promote your artists globally» - Richard Zijlma

Richard Zijlma: I am definitely convinced that the Dutch industry has benefited from ADE because it gives fantastic opportunity to promote your artists globally; over the years ADE has become strong in the whole dance community and this combination really works for everybody. In the past most famous DJs from Holland were connected to trance music but now all kind of genres come up on a worldwide scale. It is also really interesting for example that the Dutch record industry is doing so well, that people like Paul van Dijk or Paul Oakenfold sign to Dutch label Armada Music. It is actually a new development which I think also shows that the Dutch record industry behind the artists is really doing well.

VIP-News: As far as I can see ADE benefits much more than any other conference in terms of its conference program from the fact that artists take part in it, that they participate as speakers, moderators and so on. Why is this? Richard Zijlma: It is really fantastic that the artists are also really involved in a conference like the ADE, that they show up and share their knowledge and hang out. People like Chucky or Ferry Corsten came back from the states to be here for a few days and somebody like Richard Hawtin is around for five days at ADE. They are doing shows, doing master classes, setting up a lot of interviews and also taking care of their own business as well. They are really dedicated to ADE, I think, because it more and more has a kind of a family feeling and that is very important. We are able to reach out personally and are related with all the artists in the scene. It is really different when compared to some other conferences where the visitors are more focused only on the industry and not so related to the artists directly. VIP-News: What can you tell us about the ADE-Festival? Richard Zijlma: The conference now starts on Wednesday and a lot of labels and companies are doing their showcases and of course there is a lot of competition. Some locations are probably not the best suited for some shows, and it is very important to see these as showcases. That is one of the issues you have to deal with here. But nevertheless, most of the shows are really packed anyway, for instance the Melkweg is now 35 years old and during ADE last year they broke their visitor record with 17, 000 people, that’s just the Melkweg! VIP-News: Taking about the audience size, have you now reached the maximum capacity of the Felix Meritis and the Dylan Hotel? Richard Zijlma: Yes, we have definitely reached the maximum capacity, although I think it worked out fantastically well. I was a bit afraid it was too busy but it sorted out pretty well. We have sold out for three years in a row now, and this year we sold about 300 extra conference tickets due to a lot of demand by the people who really want to visit. But I guess this is more or less quite a good amount of people for a conference. I think 4000 or 5000 people is really too much even so, but ask me again in 10 years! VIP-News: The future is what I wanted to ask you about, what is on the agenda for 2011 and 2012? Richard Zijlma: On the Wednesday programme during the day we included ‘music & bytes’ with really good speakers from EcoNest for example, I really want to develop this more. In term of the internal value of ADE I really focused on making this stronger, and I’d like to continue that, because it is more important than just making ADE bigger or stuff like that.

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By: Ronni Didriksen rd@vip-booking.com

TICKETSCRIPT Ticketing has become a tough market, software for distributing tickets is something everyone can make easily nowadays. So what does it take to be a player in this competitive market? Ticketscript is a fast growing operator in Europe, VIP-News asked CEO Frans Jonker about the way to success… VIP-News: Please give us a few facts on your company; you have offices in Germany, UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, right? Frans Jonker: Ticketscript is a European market leader in the next generation of ticket sales through SaaS (software as a service) solutions. Ticketscript is a multinational company as a result of merging Ticketscript (pan European) with Trinity Mobile, the leading UK mobile ticketing platform provider. Ticketscript now operates across 5 European countries. A new office has recently opened in London and we will soon be operating out of Manchester as well. In addition to this, we have offices in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Berlin and Dusseldorf in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium. The company provides events with an online plug-and-play ticket shop for selling e- and mobile tickets from the event’s own website. The company is actively involved across music events, nightclubs, pop venues, festivals, fairs, sporting and other events. Ticketscript was runner-up in the 2008 Accenture Innovation Award and has been nominated for the Van Speijk Innovation Prize. VIP-News:: In a world with a lot of competition in the ticketing market, why should a promoter choose your service instead of some of the other service providers? Frans Jonker: To receive our service, there is no cost to set up the ticketshop and no hidden costs at all. We also boast very low service fees. Our service includes mobile ticketing so all customers need to do is bring their phone to the event and not worry about any paper tickets. Through mobile ticketing we can collect data on ticket buyers for marketing purposes. Customers are able to set up their own online ticket shop. There are over 50 national and international payment methods for transactions. We can also connect your ticket shop with social media networks to promote ticket sales. We provide free entrance solutions and an unmatched personal service for our clients. Payout is also extremely fast.

VIP-News: Mobile ticketing, will that be the next big thing or what do you think? Frans Jonker: Since our recent merge, our focus has turned to increasing the usage of mobile tickets across Europe and utilizing the mobile database for event promotion/customer contact to drive ticket sales. Ticketing is the ideal product for mobile phones, it is efficient and there is no need to see it, try it out or anything else before you buy! Not only that, we will be able to offer mobile marketing capabilities, the ability to buy tickets via mobile phones and provide mobile entrance Apps. We feel that over the next two years, mobile will be very important and big in the ticketing and event industry. VIP-News: What is your goal for the future, do you intend to expand to the rest of Europe or will you focus on the countries you are now represented in? Frans Jonker: Having recently received significant investment, we will continue to grow in 2011 and by the end of 2011 will have a presence in at least one more large European destination. Our goal is to remain one of the market leaders in Europe. We will be a pan-European company but our solution and service for each location will be tailor-made for that country.

Frans Jonker

Since its launch in 2006, more than 2000 event organizers across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and UK have utilized ticketscript’s free web application.

#17 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

The european music conference and showcase fesTival

With over 2800 delegates, showcases by 260 artists and a conference program with 150 panels, keynote speakers, interviews and meetings, Eurosonic Noorderslag is the key exchange and networking platform for European music, European artists, international music industry professionals and organizations. FOCUS COUNTRY: ThE NEThERlaNdS

laST YEaRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EUROSONiC NOORdERSlag iN NUmbERS

Festival visitors (sold out): Conference visitors (sold out): Nationalities: Artists: Journalists & Media: EBU radio stations: ETEP festivals: International festivals:

PMS 1807 C PMS 485 C

#18 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

18,000 2,800 34 259 183 24 59 443

NEWS #

By: Manfred Tari · mt@vip-booking.com

Pop & Politics: y r o t S d e t a c pli m The Co of A Cit y Venue A chronology about a youth centre in Dortmund that turned

with existing commercial venues in the town. In particular the

into a concert venue and has now turned into something else

VUK made profits on party events which balanced out losses

… and will then become…?:

they made on concerts. The so-called “Ü30 parties” (disco events for people aged over 30 years) became very success-

It started somewhere in the early eighties when the Freizeit

ful, not only in Dortmund.

Zentrum West (FZW) in Dortmund, Germany became a regular venue for all kind of concerts and music events. While in those

The very first version of the city council’s master plan

days the capacity of the venue located in the western part

poposed that the VUK would look after concert and event

of the City was about 500 the venue evolved and grew and is

management for the still to constructed FZW with the Arbeit-

now a reasonable concert hall with a capacity of 1.300 plus a

erwohlfahrt (Workers’ Welfare Association) taking care of the

small 300 persons club room plus an additional bar area.

catering, while the office for youth welfare should oversee the so called youth work.

This story contains political and administrative elements that could lead to a new definition of the term creative industries.

But in 2006 the city of Dortmund found itself short of money.

Since the beginning in the late sixties, the FZW operated un-

As a result the city council agreed to involve a private inves-

der the administration of the local office for youth welfare.

tor to finance and construct the new building, and signed a 30

But to make a long story short we will just focus on develop-

year rental contract with local real estate company, Limberg.

ments in recent years. In 2008 Limberg started work on the building and the offiIn 2007 the city council of Dortmund agreed on a master plan

cial opening took place in September 2009. Meanwhile a few

to move the FZW from its former location into a new and big-

things had already changed. The office for youth welfare

ger building more centrally located in the inner city. At this

didn’t want to continue with the VUK as the main booking par-

stage the VUK (Association for independent culture) was still

ty for the venue as the association appeared to be in financial

in charge of promoting concerts and music events in the old

trouble. In response to this development the office for youth

location.

welfare hired Volker May from Energie Musik as the head of booking for the FZW.

The VUK was founded in 1988/89 and since then became the main organisation for concerts and party events in the FZW.

May worked the venue very efficiently and was able to book

Already in the planning phase opponents complained that the

very popular acts and artists resulting in a high number of sold

dimensions of the new building created unfair competition

out shows. But as the FZW was opening up in September 2009 other political events occurred. In the same month new local elections took place. New elections don’t usually make

FZW Halle Dortm

und

a lot of difference in Dortmund as the Social Democrats have ruled the town since the first free elections following World War II. In this case however, a new mayor was elected, but nevertheless the main post-election event that affected the FZW was, that one day after, it became public knowledge that the City of Dortmund had a funding deficit of about 100 million Euros. The former plan for the FZW foresaw that the office of youth welfare would set up a separate public company to run the venue, but the new mayor, Ulrich Sierau (SPD) withheld his approval. For the first few months May helped out and also took care of the financial management of the FZW. But the #19 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

success of his work and his team also created more opponents and sharper critics. One of these opponents was the city-subsidised Westfalenhalle, quite surprisingly the management of the Westfalenhalle complained about unfair competition.

The Westfalenhalle GmbH is a complete facility of the city of Dortmund and somehow since 2007 managed to incur losses in the boom years for the live music industry. It also begs the question as to where the competitive edge should actually lie between an arena and an ensemble of smaller halls catering for around 2.000 people and a concert hall for 1.300. However this becomes clear immediately when recalling that a manager of the Westfalenhalle once answered a question from the author of this article regarding the absence of representatives of the Westfalenhalle at conferences such as the ILMC with the question: “Do you really believe that there is business made at the ILMC?” In addition to the top management of the Westfallenhalle local politicians and other administrative bodies such as local audit office and the local newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten joined the chorus of criticism. Representatives of the political party CDU complained that the office for youth welfare did not fulfil the requirements for youth work at the FZW, the local audit office launched investigations after complaints by third parties regarding the tendering processes for the purchase of the sound and light system and the accounting standards of the venue. In addition, Ruhr Nachrichten regularly reported on the complaints and inquiries. In a non-public council meeting on July 8 before the political summer break, the city council of Dortmund agreed on a resolution for a new call for tenders for a new leaseholder of the venue at the beginning of 2011. In the draft the administrative board of the city asked its council members for permission to enter into talks with ‘surprise, surprise’ the top management of the Westfalenhalle as a preferred partner or other potential partners. As the reason for the new call for tenders the board argued that this measure would reduce the financial loss of about 600.000 Euro for the FZW in the ongoing business year to 200.000 Euro. But a number of licensing requirements were also made part of the tender. Among other items the new leaseholder must consider a black list of party events such as “Flat Rate”, “Après Ski” or “Bad Taste” parties. Another one is a non-competition

YOUR PROFESSIONAL PARTNER FOR STAGES, TEMPORARY STRUCTURES AND CONSTRUCTIONS

clause with a newly created centre for creativity and culture. The so-called “Dortmunder U” is huge former brewery building located just next to the FZW and houses a museum amongst other attractions. The “Dortmunder U” is a prestige object of the city, developed with funding of more than 60 million Euro from the European Commission, the district government of Northrhine Westphalia and the City of Dortmund as a contribution for the European Capital of Culture “Ruhr2010”. Further compulsory points for the new lease holder foresee that they

0049 7244 / 72 02 0 0049 7244 / 72 02 22

have to take over fixed deals with the brewery Radeberger Gruppe for beer with a hectolitre price of 199 Euro, and CTS Eventim for Ticketing.

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NEWS #

On September 30 another non-public council session took

Not mentioned in the internal document is that PanUrama is

place. The council members received a further non-public

also the lease holder of two catering locations in the “Dort-

document reporting on the call for tenders. Over the sum-

munder U”. The managing directors for PanUrama are Till

mer the top management of the Westfalenhalle came to the

Hoppe from Dortmund and Thomas Pieper from Münster. Both

conclusion that it probably would need too much funding to

are experienced gastronomes that have successfully run dis-

run the venue and pulled out of the bidding. Of the remain-

cotheques, but certainly neither are well known players in the

ing four bidders the offer by the company PanUrama was the

concert business (yet).

best. The other bidders were Volker May’s Energie Musik, the music magazine Visions based in Dortmund and AWC AG from

Bearing in mind that the new leaseholders may receive an of-

Cologne.

ficial go-ahead on November 18 for the lease contract, it still remains a challenge for them to install a proper program for

Looking back in the recent history, it is maybe worthwhile

the first half year of 2011 before the end of the year. Nev-

mentionng that the new building of the FZW was built as a

ertheless on September 30 Volker May received a written

dedicated concert hall. Looking into the non-public docu-

notice of the termination of his contract. The same goes for

ments by the administrative board of the City of Dortmund

most other staff members who so far worked for the concert

reveals that the word “concert” is not mentioned once. Nev-

department of the venue.

ertheless, in the documents the administrative board emphasised several times that the new lease holder must continue

For the Westfalenhalle who so far feared the unfair competi-

to cater for “youth culture”.

tion and the political coalition of opponents this is probably good news. Not to forget to mention that Dortmund has no

Unfortunately at no point within the documents is the term

other regular commercial concert hall for 1000 people plus.

“youth culture” officially defined. But looking deeper into the details of the deal reveals that the officials of the city council

Considering that the new leaseholders are experienced dis-

have acquired a deep insightful knowledge about the concert

cotheque entrepreneurs and ignoring the time restrictions for

business and in particular what the term “youth culture” en-

booking acts that capable of selling more than 1.000 tickets

tails.

per show, this means that for the time being Dortmund is probably the very first town worldwide, that ever managed

Now, to return to the offer by PanUrama; the company offers

to create a subsidised discotheque. Well, there probably was

135.000 Euro for a lease for 2011 and 150.000 Euro for a fur-

a hidden agenda but let’s simply not question why they built

ther five year lease. For the first three years PanUrama would

a concert hall...

pay in total the amount of 435.000 Euro. But as mentioned before, the City of Dortmund is itself a leaseholder, as the investor Limberg owns the venue. The deal between Limberg and the city foresees for the next

Do rtm un der U

three years payments of 496.300 Euro. Internal city sources even say that the lease payment increases over the duration of the 30-year long leasing contract. In the internal document it is also stated that the administrative board will now supply a draft of the lease contract with PanUrama on November 18 for the approval of the city council.

We st fallen Halle

#21 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

CSB

Your Scandinavian Alternative Looking for acts who can fill 5,000-70,000 capacity venues Contact us now

Gigantium, DK – Aalborg Capacity: 7,500 – 12,000

MCH Multiarena Herning, DK Capacity: 11,500 – 15,000

New alliances are emerging One of them is bigger than we like But as you know, it’s not always size that matters … CSB is free, flexible and independent of other commercial businesses We’ll match any market development – procurement, contracting, joint venture and cooperation in general Work with us and we’ll prove that we are better than the biggest! Carsten Svoldgaard/Kenneth Svoldgaard Managing Directors, CSB

Falconer, DK – Copenhagen Capacity: 2,200 – 4,000

Faroe Islands Capacity: 1,500 – 6,500

Augustenborg Castle, DK Capacity: 7,000 – 10,000

Dalhalla Sweden: Capacity 4,000

CSB is a worldwide entertainment company and one of the Nordic region´s largest tour promoters and organizers. In spring 2011 we’ll be promoting two of the largest sold-out indoor concerts in Denmark, in the new Multi Arena, MCH in Herning (capacity 11,500 seated and 15,000 standing guests). In addition to this, we’ll promote four stadium concerts, five arena concerts, eight festivals and castle concerts with capacities from 5,000 to 70,000 guests. We also promote more than 50 international events annually in Copenhagen at the Falkoner Salen (2,200 capacity) plus regular co-promotions with more than 50 of the most important Scandinavian venues.

Blue Water Arena, DK – Esbjerg. Capacity: 20,000

CSB #22 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

Rock Under Broen, DK – Middelfart. Capacity: 30,000

C S B I s l a n d e n t e r ta I n m e n t Th. Schmidts Vej 2 • 6720 Fanoe • Denmark Phone: (+45) 7516 6722 • E-mail: csb@csb.dk • www.csb.dk

NEWS #

By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

: e s o o G n e d l o G e Saving Th

f o w e vi e R k Music Tan y r t s u d n I e iv the L MusicTank, is a business development network for the UK music industry, owned and operated by the University of Westminster to engage with industry, innovation and change across the music business. They have given VIP-News permission, thanks to Sam Shentob, to feature the bullet points whuch came out of ‘Saving the Golden Goose’ a recent panel set up to consider the present state of the UK live music industry. A full transcript can be purchased on-line at: www. musictank.co.uk The panel was chaired by MusicTank Chairman Keith Harris / Keith Harris Music Ltd / Director of Performer Affairs, PPL.

Panel: Stuart Galbraith: CEO, Kilimanjaro Live Andy Mcleod: Music Promoter & Director, Club Fandango Malcolm McKenzie: Artist Manager Geoff Meall: Director, The Agency Group Steve Machin: Founder, Stormcrowd

The main points covered were as follows: The fan experience at all levels of gigs in the UK has improved, but still has some way to go. Festivals are a fine science, and there are now all sorts of VIP experiences and hospitality packages for the touring circuit. Fewer festivals went bust this summer than three summers ago. There were far fewer clueless new entrants attracted by the festival buzz.

Record companies can no longer be relied on to be the source of investment into live they once were. Less investment in the market may lead to fewer stadium acts, but they are not going to stop entirely. No sector within the live business has a divine right to exist and must add value, e.g. 80% of Sonisphere tickets are sold through the Sonisphere web site. But there’ll always be a need for an artist support business, as artists don’t have the money required to fund a large tour. Booking fees are most severe in markets operating with near-monopolies such as LN/Ticketmaster in US, CTS in Germany, and large operators in Holland, Switzerland and Scandinavia. In the UK the CPA has 47 members and there are innumerate ticket agents. Fans will get bored if an artist over-tours. And if they considerably over-pay for tickets they don’t tend to go on to see that artist again.

are most promoters. Most agree it’s a good idea in principle, but each company is reluctant to pool data. The industry could do a much better job of educating people on scam ticketing sites. It’s not straightforward though, e.g. the Advertising Standard Authority requires that an advert that lists ticket agents cannot be selective. But the space required to list all ticketing agents makes this prohibitively expensive, so none are listed. There’s distrust of a government who discussed regulating ticketing for 18 months just to then do an about-turn. The main conclusion of the panel was: The UK live sector is a vibrant, mostly thriving business. The recession has had an impact and other sectors cannot rely on live as a cash cow, but providing artists don’t over-tour or price themselves out of the market, the UK won’t go the way of the US.

Some crazy deals in the US see the artist paid 110% of the gross, with the promoter making money on car parking, popcorn and the secondary ticket sales. Artist fee conversations should first be about which venue is right, and then consider appropriate ticket prices before reaching an agreed fee. The industry needs definitive figures but is not convinced on the accuracy of estimates of merchandise and associated takings in the PRS Live Music report, nor the voluntary submission of stats for Pollstar. Chris Jenkins’ aggregated Live Music Study is a step in the right direction, but sharing data is difficult – AEG are a privately owned company and so

man Keith Harris

MusicTank Chair

#23 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

THE LivE EXPERiENCE:

RHEiNENERgiEsTadioN CoLogNE.

THis is WHERE THE MUsiC’s aT. More information at www.koelnersportstaetten.de or on +49 (0)221 i 71616-150.

#24 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

NEWS #

By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

MaMA 2010 Organised by the same team that organise the long established Printemps de Bourges Festival this second edition of MaMA on October 15/16 had to contend with certain problems. Number one was that this was the first edition to take place in the French capital, and the first is always the one in which you discover what not to do as well as what to progress! Apparently there were two other conferences in town at the same time, which made hotel booking a bit of a problem when trying to keep all the international guests together, plus there was the omnipresent threat of Le Grève, the strikes and anti Sarkozy protests about pension rights, but to a greater extent all fell into place and this first Paris event achieved what it set out to do, and will I am sure do what it set out to do and bringing a more down to earth approach to the music business in France, and attracting more professional international guests than those that presently attend Midem. It was for me and it seems for all I asked, a very enjoyable event.

Official numbers were as follows: 1926 delegates (30% internationals representing 39 countries) 752 companies (38% internationals) 120 journalists 20 conferences: 128 speakers & moderators (30% internationals) 60 concerts (20 internationals bands) 14 venues Total capacity: 8000 (venues : 6000 - bars : 2000) Tickets sold: a) venues : 2860 (95% soldout): 50% sold to the public the rest reserved for the professionals) b) bars : 2000 sold out’ 5 international festivals partners / network: SXSW (USA) - C/O Pop (Germany) - Eurosonic (Netherlands)- TIMM (Japan) - Spot (Denmark) 14 international partners : IQ (UK) – VIP-Booking (UK) - Canadian Music Week (Canada) - Liverpoool Sound City (UK) - Reeperbahn (Germany) - Womex (Germany) - PopKomm (Germany) - Wallonie Bruxelles Musiques (Belgium) - WAM (Spain) - Catalan Arts (Spain) - Audiocoop (Italy) - Swiss Music Export (Switzerland) - IMMF (UK) - European Music Office (Belgium)

Panels were all well attended – even those where people learnt to cope with instant translation – how do they do that!

...still rockin´ all over the world

„WOODSTOCK REUNITE“

Representation contact:

Sabine Trunzer

www.kultopolis.com

agentin@kultopolis.com #25 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

# market FEATURE

By: Allan McGowan · am@vip-booking.com

ITALY: AN OVERVIEW Continuing our occasional series of spotlights on European Markets, we take a brief look at the state of the live business in Italy, with the help of Claudio Trotta of Barley Arts and Attilio Perissinotti of Virus Concerts. We also feature an article by guest writer, Christoph Storbeck of Striker Entertainment.

A recent (Oct. 26), report produced by Milan-based university Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (IULM) in association with collecting societies SIAE, SCF and publishers trade body FEM, estimated the total financial worth of the Italian music industry in 2009 at €3.7 billion ($5.1 billion) - a 9% decline on the previous year. According to the report the 2009 turnover on physical music sales retail of €375 million (518.2 million) indicated a drop of 25% from the previous year. On a more positive note IULM professor Luca Barbarito, who presented the report’s finding’s in Milan yesterday identified growth of 13% in the digital market with online sales generating €44 million ($60.8 million) in 2009. But, he noted that despite the growth in sales revenue, the market remained “a tenth the size of the British market and a fifth of the French and German markets.” The Report produced overall figures for the live industry indicating an overall worth of €781 ($1.07 billion) in 2009, an increase of 3% on 2008. However Barbarito cited an increase in ticket prices as a key factor in the sector’s growth.

Commenting on the report Claudio Buja, MD of Italian publisher Universal Music Ricordi Publishing, noted that the French music industry, “…which has reported growth for the last four quarters, is clearly doing better. This is not because their industry is better than ours, but because their politicians actually help it. Politics in Italy is, across the spectrum, pure demagoguery.” He continued, “We need legislation that will help the music industry and we need responsible politicians who aren’t scared of the electorate.” Politics, right or wrong certainly appear to figure prominently in music industry events in Italy; recently The European Commission investigated the spending of approximately 600,000 euros of European Union regional development funding on an Elton John concert held in Naples last year. The organisers of the Piedigrotta festival, of which the concert was part, claim it helped promote Naples, and brought in new custom for local businesses, but controversial right wing Euro MP Mario Borghezio from the north of the country, says the gig was a “shameful” misuse of EU funds. The money may have to be repaid.

The Professionals’ Point of View: Bruce Spring ste

en and Claudio Tro

tta

Claudio Trotta of Barley Arts is one of Italy’s most established and well-known characters, having promoted some 5000 concerts in a thirty-year plus career. Italy was not seen as an organised or trustworthy market by US and UK agents when he started making offers for international acts. But starting off with mid-level acts he built up trust in both his Company and the territory, and soon progressed to presenting major artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Elvis Costello and many others. In November this year, Attilio Perissinotti of Virus Concerti was presented with the official Italian independent music prize PIMI 2010 at the 14th edition of the annual M.E.I (Independent Labels

#26 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

MARKET FEATURE #

Meeting Festival). The Award recognises his work as an Agent, and a promoter, over the last twenty years. His roster includes Il Teatro Degli Orrori, Linea 77, T.A.R.M., Casino Royale, One Dimensional Man. In the mid 1990’s he started the Music in Village Festival and the Beach Bum Rock Festival. He promotes Italian and international artists such as Placebo, Simple Minds and Iggy & The Stooges. In 2007 he founded TIJ Events in London, to bring the best Italian musicians, such as Ligabue, Roberto Benigni, Franco Battiato, Giovanni Allevi, Beppe Grillo, Tiromancino, Negramaro, Vinicio Capossela to the city VIP-News asked Claudio and Attilio to give us their views on business in Italy today and in the future:

Claudio: Italy is NOT the country for festivals...people are too conservative and snobby, locations are not guaranteed for years as they should be to create a real following, not dependent only on headliners. On the top of this HEINEKEN JAMMIN FESTIVAL have illogically overpaid acts for the last 10 years, going nowhere, and using wrong sites, like the one in Venice recently. This all makes it impossible for real entrepreneurs to develop events based on reality and not on simply throwing money away...the only sectors still doing well are a few big Italian acts, a few new acts, outstanding rock superstars like Bruce Springsteen, AC/Dc, Bon Jovi and Iron Maiden, and a few high class acts performing in high class venues both in and outdoors.

VIP-News: Currently the live industry is facing problems in certain sectors and particularly in certain territories. The US and some European territories are suffering due to the economic downturn. How do you see the overall state of the market in Italy at the moment?

VIP-News: How are major concerts doing - is there a worry as elsewhere that there is a lack of headliners, or that the available headliners are trying to play the same cities too often?

Claudio: Quite bad, most of the shows are not selling out and not even getting close and I believe the worst has still to come...

Claudio: Yes, it is getting worse with a lack of acts able to play arenas, stadium and open air sites and I guess this is an international issue and not only an Italian one

Attilio: The Italian Music Market is suffering a public crisis due to a lack of investment by the Government, particularly in small capacity venues. Concerts with capacities of 4000 and more are doing pretty well.

Attilio: Major Concerts are going well, but yes, there is a lack of headliners or better new bands/artists that could be future headliners.

VIP-News: Are certain sectors doing particularly well, or particularly badly at the moment? It appears to me that Italy should be a good territory for Festivals, but apart from Arezzo Wave and some City events the Festival market seems to be, shall we say, inconsistent? What is your view? Attilio: Alternative music is doing well now, but has never been a good territory for festivals. There are a lot of new free events under 5000 capacity that are doing well but are really unlike events in the rest of Europe. It’s a problem of our culture, and I don’t think it’s only a matter of music culture!

tival

Heineken Jammin Fes

VIP-News: How is the club and middle-sized venue circuit doing? Do any of these venues receive subsidies or other support? Is sponsorship still readily available in Italy? Attilio: Club and mid-size venues are closing or book cover bands. It’s unlikely that anyone receives subsidies from the Government. Claudio: They are suffering, no support or subsidies, sponsors are only on big acts and they do not support new music and newcomers at all .

Attilio Perissinot

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VIP-News: How is the market for local acts? Are there many Italian acts becoming ‘export-ready’?

The Crookers

Claudio: Now the only new acts breaking are the ones from reality shows like X Factor, Amici and so on. Most of the time they do not have any skill or personality unfortunately and I personally hate these horrible TV shows and the way they treat music and musicians. Not really any new acts ready to be exported, we still have only a few acts with international appeal, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazotti, Paolo Conte, Zucchero and that’s it... Attilio: At the moment there are some new acts that could be ‘exportable artists, that don’t sing in Italian or produce a specific ‘melodic’ sound. Acts such as Crookers, Bloody Beatroots, ZU, Aucan, Motel Connection, Heike Has The Giggles are surely the new generation of music that is ready, and European Promoters are becoming aware of it. VIP-News: A recent IULM report (see intro) said that although the overall music market had declined, Italy’s live music industry was worth €781 ($1.07 billion) in 2009, an increase of 3% with respect to 2008. The report cited an increase in ticket prices as a key factor in the sector’s growth. Do you agree with this and do you feel that the live market is actually growing? How is your own business at the moment? Have you had to adapt the way you do things recently or is business much the same?

Attilio: The Market is not growing , the ticket price yes! My own business has increased by 45% in 2010 because all of our artists toured across Italy, three of them with great new albums. Claudio: It is not so easy to change the way you work as a booking agent but we are developing some projects with sponsors, as well as expanding beyond Italy setting up offices in major European capital cities.

AMSTERDAM 260 miles COLOGNE 160 miles

BRUSSELS 140 miles FRANKFURT 170 miles

The Place To Beat Luxembourg premium concert venue and promoter Main Hall cap. 6 500 Rockhal Box cap. 2 500 Club cap. 1 200

PARIS 225 miles

Booking contact: booking@rockhal.lu l Venue information: info@rockhal.lu I Phone: +352 24 555 - 1 I www.rockhal.lu STUTTGART 220 miles

STRASBOURG 135 miles

BASEL 220 miles

RH_ann_167x115,5_Q.indd 1

#28 VIP-magazine 07/2011 WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

Counting Crows Kylie Minogue Morrissey R.E.M. Queen feat. Paul Rodgers Kiss Avril Lavigne Korn Slipknot Depeche Mode David Guetta Katy Perry Nine Inch Nails The Pogues Eros Ramazotti Massive Attack Tom Jones Pink Mando Diao The Prodigy Nickelback Rammstein Tokio Hotel Sum 41 Porcupine Tree Indochine Rihanna Mark Knopﬂ er Papa Roach Editors Slash Archive Crystal Castles Airbourne Maroon 5 The Chemical Brothers Jamiroquai Ozzy Osbourne Amy Macdonald Joe Cocker ... 10/12/10 09:34

MARKET FEATURE #

Claudio: Yes it grows only because of the crazy ticket prices we all charge. My business is stable but all is so very very difficult and the costs are too high to make real money and to think happily about the future. VIP-News: How do you see the future? Attilio: Hard for new acts and promoters will not be so big. Claudio: Tough, tough and tough!

Christoph Storbeck: Striker Entertainment For several years now, I have been touring and running around international fairs and events; either for my own artists and business, or representing the international affairs of AudioCoop, MMF Italy, or of course being hired as a booker or tour manager. Exchanging opinions about Italian music and culture with people from all around the world has been inspiring and has raised one question in particular: What is needed to generate hope in the midst of a cultural and economic crisis, not just specific to the music industry? Politics and music Italy is generally threatened by bureaucratic and political problems. Public funding is an obscure experience. The FUS, the public funding for performing arts and music, has been widely discussed by politicians. It has been increased, decreased and might be totally cut. Right now almost half of it supports Opera, and less than 14% goes to all other kinds of music. In Italy a public funding of popular music through the FUS will probably remain at best science fiction, or even more remote regarding the tendency towards constant cuts.

A dubious driver of the current Italian Live business are the free public funded shows staged in squares, streets, town parties and at religious events. Here the artists perform as a grand finale and are mostly pretty overpaid. This business often suffers from favouritism and supports only the commissioners, which include political and other organizations. There is no official export bureau. Past initiatives between the trade associations have come to a bad end. Any public funding through other entities like the chamber of commerce, the Ministry for Youth, appears erratic – so it’s best not to count on it. Artistic and business criteria are often secondary and success is often related to how good the political connections are. As in some other European countries, a huge drift to right wing, ultra conservative and sometimes just profit-oriented power politics have been affecting Italy for quite some time now. This obviously hinders concerts, Milan for example, has an almost ridiculous dB limit of 78 (!). A recent fatal example is the migration of Rototom Sunsplash from Osoppo to Benicassim in Spain: After 16 years, Europe’s biggest reggae festival was kicked out of the country. Rototom had been the most important festival in Italy, with exclusive acts and international first class booking, which generated a huge turnover in that little northern Italian region. To deny the licenses and to finally expel the festival the organizers were accused of promoting drug abuse. Cultural distinctions Besides the cultural and geographical differences between north and south, there’s another problem that comes to light when promoting acts abroad. The music management educational programs have only been introduced within the past few years, so there’s still a lack of professionalism in the industry. Also the artists, and not only the Italians, have to decide: Stay in the box or get out of it. For international export, the language barrier is still a problem. Especially in the contemporary rock/indie scene, English is a

Rototom Sunsplash

Christoph Storbe

ck/Striker Enterta

inment

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must. Artists that are accepted both in Italy and in English speaking countries are rare. To succeed, the only card they can play is to be seen as cool and exotic. For a long time the Italian market has been self-sufficient. Realizing that markets other than Italy are necessary partners and that the rules are not made in Italy must be a shock. Here is another: To play a role in the 21st century, the Italian music market has to change. If it does not, sooner or later the international business, and potential audiences, will move on and it will be a matter of “next please”. Excellent! However there are many good things about Italy, everybody loves Italy! Bill Emmott former director of the English journal The Economist obviously does so and makes some supportive suggestions on Italy’s development in his new book ‘Forza, Italia’. According to him, Italians need to gain a positive ‘can-do’ attitude. It is not surprising that at a music conference organised by AudioCoop/MEI at Sangiorgi in north-Italian Como the consensus was pretty much the same. The Italians excel in producing romantic love songs delivered by outstandingly gifted voices. Some songs appear to be squeeze thousands of years of melodramatic history into three-and-a-half minutes. Eros, Gianna, Laura, Tiziano… like it

or not: it is undeniably well produced and succeeds in international markets. There are a lot of Italian acts that definitely could make it internationally. Some have done well so far: The Crookers and the Bloody Beetroots are definitely poster boys of a let us call it ‘Italo-Dance’ revival. Reggae-Star Alborosie attracts huge attention in the reggae community worldwide. Lacuna Coil has always had a huge fanbase abroad. For international success it seems important to have some particular international link like heritage, residence or management. Funnily enough most of these international careers do not automatically include national success within Italy. Yet there is hope. Today the number of international careers starting from an Italian career increases. You might know the excellent Jovanotti, Vinicio Capossela and Carmen Consoli who frequently perform in the US and have gained some serious media coverage (NY times, NPR). For all three the same NY PR and marketing-company MG Limited does a great job. Also ‘Very Italian’ Roy Paci, Bandabardò and Modena City Ramblers tour pretty successfully abroad, as do Italo-Alternative #1 Afterhours sometimes. Lately, Italo-stadium-softrocker Vasco Rossi filled out the

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MARKET FEATURE #

Tempeldrome in Berlin and Italian ‘Bruce Springsteen Ligabue has his eye on foreign countries as well. Vasco-‘UK’-shirts are sold at the Italian mega-stores and the news speak about the “conquering of foreign lands”. This sounds very promising but let us take a look behind the scenes: Thanks to discount airlines fans can follow their idols all over Europe. It is quite common for crowds of Italian fans to jump on a plane for the chance to meet face to face with their Italian superstar in a small club in London, Paris or Berlin. The recruitment of the strong Italian ex-pat communities plays an important role, too. True or false - it is the news of ‘Italy touring the world’ that encourages Italian musicians and that can generate a ‘real’ international audience in the end. Thanks to the increasing interest, International promoter TIJ Events very successfully promotes Italian artists around Europe. Italo-music promo event Hitweek looks into the States (LA and NY, for 2010 in the two weeks before CMJ) and features big names, supported by FIMI (major record company association), trade commissions and government as well. The problem for the artist is how to make up in a short time for what has not been treated properly in the past. So thumbs up to those, who have the courage to set up international careers from the beginning: Ghost Records who have great returns; Calibro 35 who have just been merged into RED with Bruce Willis and Mojomatics who must be exhausted after touring the globe. Highlights in Italy Let get to heart of the aspiring Italian music business where the Indie-Label La Tempesta provides excellent taste and spirit. Having a strong focus on Italian language, La Tempesta has been signing many of the most popular Italian speaking Indie/Rock music. Their portfolio might turnout as the jackpot. (More insights on that in allitalian onlinemag http://www.rockit.it.)

with a selective indie/electro/rock-line up and has built a fine reputation over the last years. Those of you who already have been touring in Italy will confirm: For the major part it’s good fun, nice clubs, great food and cool people. And these days you get paid as well, even if you’re almost unknown! How to become rich and wealthy For sure Italian artists can refer inherited assets such as their understanding of melody and vocal traditions, which are to their comparative advantage, and to my mind, something to be proud of. Do Italians write the better songs? Not necessarily, but including the Italian heart and soul in a business-plan seems a good idea to me. It is necessary to open up and understand where the actual status quo in the international network: Being ‘Famous in Italy’ doesn’t really matter right now. Considering foreign culture and habits in everyday business is what I am trying to do in my small, grass roots business with Second Grace, Waines and others. Installing a solid ground in the home country through a change of politics and offering good international education to professionals could definitely improve the situation, particularly for working abroad. Anyway, if I had already found the passe-par-tout-solution I would probably be rich and wealthy, instead of muddling through all the time, but I believe myself, and Italy, to be on the right track.

Definitely a place to be is the Sicilian Ypsigrock festival which is set up in the medieval castle of Sicily’s most avantguard town Castelbuono. The festival surprises

Lacunnacoil

Eros Ramazotti

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NEWS #By: Manfred Tari · mt@vip-booking.com

JOYBRINGER CONCERTS CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS To survive in a business as volatile as the Live Music Business is something that not many people do but to survive for 40 years with the same company and with the same man at the helm is an achievement worthy of recognition. VIP-News asked Dragan Nikitovic, the man behind Joybringer Concerts, about his experiences along the road from 1970 – 2010. VIP-News: How did you come into the concert business and what was your first show? Dragan: I started promoting shows already when I was at school. We started Joybringer in 1970. Our first show was a concert with the German act Guru Guru on November 3, 1970 at the University in SAARBRÜCKEN / Germany. VIP-News: What have been the major changes in the business from the early days until today?

Dragan: Due to the technical evolution and the development of communication tools the promotion of concerts has become much easier and more effective. Doing concerts in the Seventies used to be much more adventurous. We considered promoting concerts as being fun rather than just being a business .

VIP-News: Who are the artists you’ve enjoyed working with for many years?

VIP-News: Which concerts, artists or maybe stage riders have provided you with the most remarkable memories in your career?

VIP-News: Joybringer runs offices in three markets. Please tell us about the differences between these markets.

Dragan: “We did a show with the Rolling Stones in the late eighties. In their stage rider they requested 40 phone lines on the site.”. We had to go all the way to the former Post Minister to fulfill this request, as everybody at the Deutsche Telekom just laughed about it and asked us, “do the Rolling Stones want to play a concert or do they just want to make phone calls”?

Dragan: In fact there aren’t that many differences between these markets as our offices are located close to each other. But since ten years back we have also been promoting shows in the East in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and also in Albania, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia.

Dragan: BB King and Joe Cocker. After many concerts BB King gave us one of his guitars as present. The guitar is named Lucille and has been hanging in my office ever since.

Dragan/BB King Elton John/Dragan

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NEWS #

VIP-News: Are there differences in terms of the audienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demands and in particular also in terms of their behavior in these markets? Dragan: At the end of the nineties there was a strong demand only for classic rock acts in Eastern Europe, artists who had their biggest success in the seventies and eighties. But over the years this has changed and now the audience over there wants to see the same acts that are popular in Western Europe.

VIP-News: Would you say that business has become more competitive over the years?

VIP-News: What are your personal recommendations to newcomers in the Live Music Industry?

Dragan: Yes.

Dragan: The concert industry is now much more difficult than it was 40 years ago. Today there is a lot of competition and new players on the market have to bring loads of money with them in order to launch a new concert company successfully.

VIP-News: Joybringer is an independent company. What is your opinion of corporate concert companies? Dragan: We have to persist alongside those companies and nonetheless have to find interesting artists we are able to do business with.

VIP-News: As a local promoter you are mainly active in provincial regions. Is this an advantage business wise in these times and if so why? Dragan: No, I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say so, it is almost the same as in more urban regions. VIP-News: What kind of productions do you like the most, small or big ones? Dragan: Small, because these kind of concerts are more intimate and personally I enjoy this. I feel like the music is near to the people...

Billy Gibbons/Dragan

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artist avails #

Artist avails

See/Add more Artist Avails at VIP-Booking.com Skid Row Territory: Mainland Europe Period: 10/7/2011-17/7/2011 Agency: ARM Entertainment Agent: Dana Strutz Phone: 1-651-483-8754 E-mail: ds@armentertainment.com Homepage: www.armentertainment.com

Bauchklang Territory: World Period: 2011 Agency: Georg Leitner Productions Agent: Nina Pernica Phone: +43-1-9148615 E-mail: npernica@glp.at Homepage: www.glp.at

Ghetonia Territory: Worldwide Period: generally available Agency: Maffucci Music Agent: Canio Rosario Maffucci Phone: +39.339.4858107 E-mail: info@italianworldmusic.com Homepage: www.italianworldmusic.com

Within Temptation Territory: Worldwide Period: March 2011 and onwards Agency: X-Ray Touring Agent: Paul Bolton Phone: +44 (0) 20 7749 3500 E-mail: paul@xraytouring.com Homepage: www.xraytouring.com

Adler’s Appetite Territory: Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Greece Period: 15/3/2011-26/3/2011 Agency: ARM Entertainment Agent: Dana Strutz Phone: 1-651-483-8754 E-mail: ds@armentertainment.com Homepage: www.adlersappetite.com

GROOVE ARMADA Territory: Europe / Worldwide Period: Worldwide 2011 Agency: WME - William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Agent: Steve Hogan Email: SHogan@wmeentertainment.com Homepage: www.groovearmada.com

Alannah Myles - Acoustic/Unplugged Tour Territory: Europe Period: 1/3/2011-30/4/2011 Agency: ARM Entertainment Agent: ds@armentertainment.com Phone: 1-651-483-8754 E-mail: ds@armentertainment.com Homepage: www.alannahmyles.com

Sass Jordan Territory: Europe Period: February / March Agency: Paperclip Agency Agent: Hilde Spille Phone: +31 24 323 9322 E-mail: hilde@paperclip-agency.com Homepage: www.paperclip-agency.com

Admiral T Territory: World Period: 2011 Agency: CARAMBA Spectacles Agent: Clotaire Phone: +33 1 42 18 17 18 E-mail: caramba@clotaire.fr Homepage: www.caramba.fr

Within Temptation

Briganti di Terra d’Otranto Territory: Worldwide Period: generally available Agency: Maffucci Music Agent: Canio Rosario Maffucci Phone: +39.339.4858107 E-mail: info@italianworldmusic.com Homepage: www.italianworldmusic.com

Ledfoot

LA Guns (feat. Phil Lewis & Steve Riley) Territory: Europe Period: 1/9/2011-30/11/2011 Agency: ARM Entertainment Agent: Dana Strutz Phone: 1-651-483-8754 E-mail: ds@armentertainment.com Homepage: www.armentertainment.com

Ledfoot Territory: Europe Period: March - August Agency: Vox Artist Agent: Eivind Brydoy E-mail: eivind@voxartist.no Homepage: www.ledfoot.no C

Martha Reeves and The Vendellas Territory: Europe Period: 15.02.2011 - 30.03.2011 Agency: Sport Star Management ApS Agent: Carsten Hilding Larsen Phone: +45 (4071) 7722 E-mail: chl@sportstarmanagement.dk Homepage: www.sportstarmanagement.dk

Warrant Territory: Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Ireland Period: 20/10/2011-29/10/2011 Agency: ARM Entertainment Agent: Dana Strutz Phone: 1-651-483-8754 E-mail: ds@armentertainment.com Homepage: www.armentertainment.com

Thieves Like Us Territory: GAS Period: Generally available Agency: Solar Penguin Agency Agent: MichËl Dion Baltin Phone: +49 (0)69 25626960 E-mail: michel_dion@solarpenguin.de Homepage: www.solarpenguin.de

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CMY

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