For the international contemporary live music industry
VETERAN VENUE manager Paul Sergeant returns to AEG Ogden to become its regional director of special projects Sergeant’s experience includes working at the UK’s Wembley Stadium (cap 90,000), Wembley Arena (12,500) and managing Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium (63,000), and several Australian stadiums during his two previous times with AEG Ogden. Meanwhile,…
Read moreTHE 4,298-capacity Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas will not only be undergoing a significant renovation this summer, but reopens with a new partner in Live Nation Entertainment (LNE), replacing AEG. The Colosseum was built in 2003 for a Celine Dion residency, arranged by AEG-owned Concerts West and designed…
Read moreSTACY VEE has joined AEG Presents-owned Messina Touring Group (MTG) as vice-president of artiste relations, but will continue to book AEG subsidiary Goldenvoice’s 75,000-capacity country music festival Stagecoach, held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Vee began her music industry career in 2002 at Concerts West (now owned…
Read moreTHE AMSTERDAM Dance Event (ADE) has chosen France as the focus country for its 24th edition, which will take place from 16 to 20 October. Mariana Sanchotene, director of the festival and electronic music industry conference says France, in recent years, has been a hub of musical innovation across the…
Read moreWHEN MUCH of the music industry was based around central London, it was about the smallest venues big acts could drop down to for promotional shows, but The Borderline (cap. 300) is et to close this August, the victim of a changing marketplace, redevelopment plans and increasing rents. During its…
Read moreLIVE NATION Entertainment (LNE) has appointed music industry executive Song Ke as chairman of Live Nation China (LNC). Based in Beijing, Ke will focus on domestic touring, artiste management and venues, while LNE’s international concerts business in the country will continue to be overseen by Shanghai-based LNC MD Edward Liu. …
Read moreBERLIN-BASED Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) reported a 24 per cent year-on-year rise in sales revenue to €25.5 million ($28.4 million) during the first quarter of the year. In Q2 last year DEAG’s sales amounted to €27m ($30m), but that included a €6.5m ($7.24m) sales contribution from UK-based classical music promoter…
Read moreGERMAN SHOWCASE festival and conference Reeperbahn Festival is launching a series of spin-off events around the world aimed at supporting small and medium-sized music businesses wanting to reach new markets. Under the title Reeperbahn Festival International (RFI), the spin-offs will take place in Nashville and Los Angeles in the US,…
Read morePAN-EUROPE ticketing giant and promoter CTS Eventim reports first quarter (Q1) revenue up three per cent year-on-year to €282.7 million ($315m). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 3.1 per cent on the previous year’s Q1, at €57.1m ($63.3m). Both the ticketing and live entertainment arms of…
Read moreLive Nation Entertainment (LNE) reported a strong first quarter (Q1) with revenue up 17 per cent to $1.7 billion. Adjusted operating income (AOI) increased one per cent and was its highest so far at $115 million from $114m, and its Q1 operating loss was $24m, due to higher depreciation and…
Read moreEVENTBRITE’S PRESIDENT of music Andrew Dreskin is stepping down after two years, having joined the company in 2017 when it acquired Ticketfly, a company Dreskin co-founded in 2008 and led for seven years. Ticketfly was bought by streaming platform Pandora In 2015 for $335 million and then sold on to…
Read moreTHE MAIN beneficiaries from radio giant Global’s decision to pull-out of the festival sector (see Audience issue 231) are its former partner Broadwick Live and Los Angeles-based Superstruct Entertainment, which is led by CEO James Barton and backed by Providence Equity Partners Superstruct takes control of Victorious Festival (cap. 100,000),…
Read moreCONTROVERSIAL TICKETING resale site Viagogo broke consumer law by making false or misleading representations and engaging in conduct liable to mislead the public, the Federal Court has ruled. People were deceived into buying tickets they thought were scarce and the company didn’t sufficiently disclose its fees, which were as high…
Read moreTHE COUNTRY’S dominant promoter Live Nation Entertainment has acquired the top two arenas – the 23,000-capacity Antwerpen Sportpaleis and sister venue Lotto Arena (cap, 8,000), both in Antwerp, from operator Sportpaleis Group. Among the artistes playing the Sportpaleis include Ariana Grande, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young and Michael Bublé, while shows…
Read moreRADIOHEAD DESCRIBED the verdict of accidental death, resulting from an inquest into the death of the band’s drum technician Scott Johnson, as “frustratingly insufficient”, but welcomed a list of 28 recommendations aimed at increasing live event safety. Johnson was killed when the stage collapsed prior to the band’s performance at…
Read moreFOLLOWING a similar investigation in the Republic of Ireland (see Audience issue 228), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a probe into the proposed acquisition by Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) sister company LN-Gaiety Holdings (LNG) of Irish promoter and venue owner MCD…
Read moreINTERNATIONAL TALENT Booking (ITB) senior agent Lucy Dickins, who represents acts including Adele and Mumford & Sons, has left the company her father co-founded after more than 20 years, to become head of WME’s UK music division. Also moving with Dickins, whose other acts include Laura Marling, James Blake, Hot…
Read moreDeal with Gudinski will break new ground GLOBAL PROMOTER and venue owner/operator AEG plans to develop a touring network of mid-sized venues across the country, following its purchase of a 50 per cent stake in promoter Michael Gudinski’s Frontier Touring. AEG’s chief operating office and CEO/chairman of promoting division AEG…
Read moreJust four years after buying its way to being the second-largest festival-owner in the UK, at a cost of £75.86 million in the financial year ending March 2017 alone, radio giant Global is quitting the sector. Its portfolio of events is being split between the private equity-backed James Barton-led Superstruct…
Read moreLive music revenue reached a record 344 billion yen ($3.08 billion) in 2018 despite a slight fall in the number of performances, according to promoters’ association ACPC (All-Japan Concert and Live Entertainment Promoters Conference). The results for 2018 show the industry brought in 12bn yen ($108m) more than in 2017,…
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