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Firstly, I hope that you’re all located where

you wish to be – home, office, the country

you usually live in, and if you can’t make

it back I hope you’re extending your time

on a sunny beach somewhere! Iceland has

not had a good time of it of late, what with

financial meltdown and rising debts; this is

not the sort of new export that they need

– we said ‘cash, not ash!’ you can hear the

creditors cry. But this is a serious situation,

and obviously our business is badly af-

fected, with many acts unable to be in the

right place at the right time to fulfill tour-

ing commitments. Please let us know if

you have had problems, as we’d like to get

a more definite picture of the true situa-

tion. Certainly it has reminded us all in the

UK that we live on an island, and seaborne

and tunnel travel has its limitations. At the

time of writing I’m due to fly to Norway in

ten days time (see Bergenfest story in this

issue) and I’m very aware that what at first

appeared to be a 2 or 3 day inconvenience

now seems to have no accurate estimate

of a return to normal.

If you listen to the talk at events such as

the ILMC, promoters are an increasingly

put-upon sector of commercial society;

ever decreasing profit margins, more and

more health and safety obligations and re-

strictions, lack of support from other sec-

tors of the business – particularly record

companies, and increasing financial and

rider demands from greedy artists. It’s

a hard life and you’d wonder why many

continue with such an arduous profes-

sion, apart from the glamour of it all! But

there is some truth in all of this, so there

is some justifiable satisfaction that Prince

may now be referred to as the Artist Cur-

rently Known As the Bloke that had to pay

the Irish Promoter $3 Million. On March 26,

a Dublin judge ordered the U.S. pop singer

to pay $2.95 million to Irish concert pro-

moters MCD Productions Ltd for canceling

a 2008 concert at the last minute. Justice

Peter Kelly ruled that Prince had commit-

ted to perform in Dublin’s 82,300-seat

Croke Park in June 2008, but withdrew

without explanation just days beforehand,

after 55,000 tickets were sold. Prince (51)

did not testify at the hearing. The artist’s

agency, William Morris, was absolved of li-

ability, agent Marc Geiger testified that he

rarely spoke to Prince directly and found

him one of his toughest clients to under-

stand or nail down – surely not? When told

that MCD owner Denis Desmond was on

the warpath, Prince apparently said, “Tell

the cat to chill. We will work something

out.” Good for Denis! However Prince is

a remarkable performer, so we hope he

makes his only three concerts this summer.

On the 4th of July, he is playing at Roskilde

(DK), on the 9th in Arras (FR), and on the

10th of July he is closing off his short stay

in Europe with a concert at Werchter’s Fes-

tival Park

This will be my last Musings before the UK

General Election on May 6th, so the next

issue may be written from a country with

a totally new Government. The attitudes

and approaches of those in power will be

very relevant to the future of the creative

industries, of which the music industry,

including of course the live industry, is a

1

McGowan’s Musings:

Allan McGowan

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very important sector, from both trade

and cultural points of view. The ‘Poli-

tics of Live’ panel at ILMC 22 in March

focused on the importance of lobby-

ing for the support required to ensure

the future health of our industry. The

upshot of the discussion was that the

live music industry falls behind many

other sectors of the creative industries

in fighting its own corner, for instance,

of all the sectors of the music industry,

live is the only one not represented

within UK Music (see story in this issue) –

a voluntary working party of concerned

professionals has set about examining

ways to improve this situation – both in

the UK and mainland Europe. Without

doubt the live industry was shaped and

built by individual entrepreneurs, mav-

ericks basically, and the resourcefulness

and inventiveness of characters like this

should remain at the core of how things

are done, but we are now a mature in-

dustry and we should learn lessons from

the way film, television, theatre and oth-

er sectors have gone about establishing

their economic and cultural importance.

If you have anything to say about our

relationships with national and regional

government please let us know.

After all, it’s a good time to get active

– travel’s off the agenda for a few days

– weeks, months? Still, hopefully every

cloud – even when composed of ash -

has a silver lining!

Ladies and Gentlemen – the News!

Right, try and make a recognisable

word from the above acronyms! Well,

if you can’t it’s still worth noting that,

The Musician’s Union, Featured Artists

Coalition and Music Managers Forum

have announced close collaboration

on areas of common interest.

Both the MU and MMF are affiliated

with UK Music, as are the BPI (British

Phonographic Industries) and the Mu-

sic Publishers Association, but there

have been, and doubtless will be,

occasional disagreements between

creators and corporates, so collusion

amongst the creatives seems to make

sense.

This alliance will see support from the

FAC and MMF to the Music Supported

Here campaign led by the MU. This

aims to encourage and enable musi-

cians to engage directly with their

fanbase on copyright issues, assum-

ing that artists may be better placed

to persuade music fans that the legal

process of buying or listening to music

online is the right route to take, than

a perceived authoritarian industry

initiative. Under this same banner is

another supported campaign called

‘Artist As Retailer’, aimed at persuad-

ing record companies to automatically

concede the right to artists to directly

sell their own recordings via their own

websites and social network profiles,

and to be recognised in the same way

as retailers, enjoying the retailer cut

of the download fee in addition to the

royalty they are due under their record

contract. This could apparently see a

five-fold increase in an artist’s income

from a download,

The Musicians’ Union’s Assistant Gen-

eral Secretary Horace Trubridge is re-

ported as saying, “Our three organisa-

tions basically share the same agendas,

in as much as we are about looking after

creators and performers. We want to

Mu, MMF and FAC to CollaborateAllan McGowan [email protected]

3

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deal with the big issues that we think are

wrong with the industry. In terms of putting

the artists directly in contact with the fans,

and cutting out all of the people in between,

I don’t have any doubt that Music Support-

ed Here will become a kind of vanguard,

in what will become the industry norm in

years to come”.

FAC’s Membership & Development Direc-

tor Matthew Brown added: “The MMF, the

FAC and the MU represent the interests of

artists right across the board. Each organi-

sation has a lot to bring to the coalition.

All this lays the groundwork for a powerful

collaboration. Coming together in this way

has never happened before and has largely

been brought on by the narrowing of the

gap between artist and fan; a change that

brings lots of opportunity for all those who

support and represent artists”.

MMF CEO Jon Webster added: “The MMF

is delighted to be working more closely with

the FAC and the MU on items of common

interest. Managers have always represent-

ed featured artists, and their interests and

those of musicians of all types need to be

more aligned”.

The music industry contributes enor-

mously to the UK economy and UK Music,

the umbrella group, which represents UK,

labels, artists and managers is making sure

that this UK Government, and whichever

party is in power after the May 6 election,

are kept aware of the fact.

Feargal Sharkey, the former Undertones

frontman and now UK Music chief execu-

tive states that Britain has the chance over-

take America as the world’s biggest music

producer over the next decade, but gov-

ernment help is needed to attain this goal.

UK Music is calling for the government to

form a ‘creative industries cabinet com-

mittee’ to bring the various and numer-

ous departments responsible for Britain’s

creative industries together with entre-

preneurs and executives, to then report

directly to the prime minister.

In UK Music’s recently issued manifesto,

Liberating Creativity, the organisation

lobbies for easier access to finance and ex-

tension of copyright from 50 to 70 years,

amongst other issues.

As far as live music is concerned the call

is for looser venue licensing so pubs and

small clubs can give the next generation

of artists a chance to perform. Liberal

Democrat MP, Don Foster voiced his and

his party’s concerns about the restrictions

of the licensing laws on the development

of new talent in the December issue of VIP-

News, commenting on the Live Music Bill

introduced to parliament by Lib Dem Lord

Tim Clement-Jones, who also took part

in the ‘Politics of Live’ panel at ILMC 22.

Although the Bill received support from

some quarters in parliament, its failure to

get support from the government meant

it was unlikely to ever become law and it

seemed doomed when parliament packed

up for the election. However, the Liberal

Democrats have now included some key

points from the Bill in their election mani-

festo, indicating that they are confirming

that this is an issue they will continue to

lobby on once the next parliament and

government are in place. A Music Week ar-

ticle reports that the Lib Dems manifesto

says: “We will reintroduce the rule allowing

two performers of unamplified music in any

licensed premises without the need for an

entertainment licence, allow licensed venues

for up to 200 people to host live music with-

out the need for an entertainment licence,

and remove the requirement for schools and

hospitals to apply for a licence”. The Labour

Party manifesto refers briefly to amend-

ments and The Conservative’s not at all.

UK Music argues that the success of ven-

ues such as the O2 and Glastonbury –

which contributes an estimated £35m to

the local economy each year – can only be

sustained with a thriving grassroots live

music scene. Feargal Sharkey said, “I think

people still look at music and think it is not

a proper grown-up profession and that has

got to change because ironically what some

people in the world of finance might dismiss

as nothing more than a couple of kids mak-

ing noise in the back of a pub on a Friday

night, when they grow up to be big boys and

girls, the contribution and the impact that

they will have on the rest of society is just –

if not more – significant as some bloke with

a double first from Cambridge working for a

merchant bank in the City of London.”

uK Music Calls for Cabinet Committee forCreative IndustriesAllan McGowan [email protected]

Feargal Sharkey

Jon Webster

4

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The organizers of the long established

French Festival ‘Printemps Le Bourges’

plan to develop the trade event intro-

duced at the 2009 festival. A new MaMA

headquarters was announced at this

month’s edition of the festival, this will

be in Paris, based in Pigale and Moulin

Rouge area, and the first edition of this

major addition to the conference show-

case event calendar will take place on

October 15 & 16, 2010.

Concerts with a French and international

line-up will be open to both professionals

and punters at La Cigale, La Boule Noire,

Les 3 Baudets, Le Divan du Monde, Le Cen-

tre Musical Fleury Goutte d’Or – Barbara

and La Machine du Moulin Rouge.

Acoustic gigs will also be presented in vari-

ous bars in the 18th arrondissement

Clubbing and private after parties will be

hosted at La Machine du Moulin Rouge, and

the Elysée Montmartre venue will house

the international Pro Village. MaMA will

feature face to face and targeted meetings,

thematic lunches and an online commu-

nity exchange between music industries

professionals, plus seminars, conferences,

talks, workshops, and speed-meetings.

Watch this space for more news.

New Conference & showcase event Planned for ParisAllan McGowan [email protected]

Elysee Montmartre Fernando Ladeiro Marques

http://www.hallenduo.de

5

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“Hamburger Kultursommer” is the title for

a concert series, which will be located at

the Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld, a trotting

horse racing track in Hamburg. The con-

certs will be hosted in a 20.000 sq m area

named ‘Luruper Bogen’, which is separated

from the racing track. While in recent years

shows with Robbie Williams and Peter Fox

took place using the entire race track, this

is no longer possible as since the complex

was modernized it will host nothing other

than horse races. The area is closely locat-

ed to the O2 Arena and is able to accom-

modate between 5.000 to 15.000 visitors.

In a press release Folkert Koopmans, MD

of FKP Scorpio commented: “With the new

location Hamburg will finally have a new

attractive medium sized open air site that

can accommodate up to 15.000 visitors and

is able to compete with locations such as

Wulheide in Berlin or the Tanzbrunnen in

Cologne. This leads to better chances that

Hamburg will now appear more often in

touring schedules of popular acts and art-

ists. The area furthermore benefits from the

fact that punters already know the site due

to former concerts held there.”

For the development of the site FKP Scor-

pio teams up with Winrace, a company

specialized in horse race betting. FKP Scor-

pio now have the exclusive rights to pro-

mote shows and concerts at the Trabren-

nbahn Bahrenfeld. In order to improve the

facilities on the site for open-air events, a

six-digit figure will be invested.

The grand opening for the site and the

newly launched ‘Hamburger Kultursom-

mer’ will be with a show from Blink 182

on August 24, Unheilig on August 27, Clas-

sic Rock Festival with Ten Years After and

Jethro Tull as headliners and Xavier Naidoo

on August 30. Koopmans furthermore an-

nounced: “We would like to offer more

than just the concert experience. From the

beginning onwards this year we will have

an attractive outdoor gastronomy that of-

fers a wide range of quality food. It is one

of our targets that concertgoers should ar-

rive hours before the concert actually takes

place. Therefore we will open the doors as

early as possible so that they can meet with

their friends in the beer garden or sunbathe

on the site. In the long term perspective it

might be possible to have several open air

stages on the site so that during the sum-

mer season different acts will perform at the

same time, like at events such as the Toll-

wut-Festival in Munich or the Zeltfestival in

Freiburg.” Currently the deal is contracted

to last until the summer season 2012.

FKP scorpio operates new Open Air Area for Hamburg & launches New Concert seriesAllan McGowan [email protected]

FKP Scorpio

Support Programme for Netherlands

Pop Music at German festivals during

RUHR.2010 in the Metropole Ruhr:

The list of artists from the Netherlands

prominent in the music business is wide -

from Herman van Veen to Herman Brood

to Within Temptation, from 2 Unlimited to

DJ Tiesto. In almost all genres of pop music

there are music and acts from the Nether-

lands claiming international success.

Also, since the mid of the 1970s, the Neth-

erlands has focused on cultural policy re-

lated aspects regarding the supporting of

pop music. Building on these aspects and

with a view to the occasion of the Europe-

an culture capital year RUHR.2010, the sup-

port programme Dutch Talent Exchange

Program (DTEP), a cutting-edge initiative

to support popular music and the music

business in the Netherlands and Germany

was instigated.

DTEP is an important content of NL-RUHR,

the joint platform for more than 150 Dutch

cultural events during RUHR.2010. The

management of the programme was di-

rected by MusicXport.nl, the joint initiative

of BUMA Cultuur, Muziek Centrum Neder-

land, and EuroSonic Noorderslag.

DTEP also supports the festivals in the

Metropole Ruhr, offering festival organis-

ers from the district financial support as

well as accompanying promotion if they

book DTEP Dutch artists, bands and djs

for their events. So not only the festivals

and Dutch acts benefit from this scheme

but also, indirectly, the German and Dutch

concert agencies, labels and publishers.

The organisers of the programme for the

festivals in the Metropole Ruhr are free to

choose which acts and djs from the Neth-

erlands they want to book for their event.

Throughout the whole summer festival

season promoters of small and big festi-

vals will present Dutch acts from different

music styles in North Rhine-Westphalia.

For example, Armin van Buuren and 7

more Dutch dj-acts will appear in Dort-

mund at the Mayday Festival on April 30,

Dutch hard rock band The Devil’s Blood

will play at the RockHard festival at the

Gelsenkirchen Amphitheater, 21 – 23 May,

and the Ruhrpott Rodeo in Hünxe has con-

firmed the Reggae Ska Punk band YaYa

The Cat for Whitsunday.

More bands for festivals including Bochum

Total, Zeltfestival Ruhr, Juicy Beats etc. will

soon be announced.

dTePAllan McGowan [email protected]

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One of the most important women in the field of media and enter-

tainment, Cristiana Falcone Sorrell, Senior Advisor to the Execu-

tive Chairman at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, is to give a

keynote interview on at the C’n’B – Creative Business Convention

to take place in Cologne on 24/25 June. The C’n’B is taking place

as part of the c/o pop festival for the first time this year and is the

first cross-sector platform in Europe for the creative industry as a

whole.

Sorrell’s talk will open the Convention on Thursday 24 June. On

the two following days (international participants from the vari-

ous sectors of the creative industry will discuss topics such as sus-

tainability, new business models, and how to turn failure into an

opportunity.

Cristiana Falcone Sorrell has led the World Economic Forum’s Me-

dia, Entertainment and Information Community in Geneva and

New York since 2004. At the C’n’B, Falcone Sorrell will report on

the state of the creative industry worldwide. Her address will fo-

cus on both the increasing influence of digitalisation and the ne-

cessity of creating new networks to gain access to new partners

and target groups in different creative sectors.

c/o Pop Adds Creative Business to ConventionAllan McGowan [email protected]

Cristiana Falcone Sorrell

http://www.reeperbahncampus.com

7

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Since Bjork’s well documented outburst

against Chinese policies towards Thailand

and the difficulties acts such as Oasis faced,

it has been assumed that the Chinese gov-

ernment has adopted a shall we say, ‘un-

helpful’, approach to Western artists wish-

ing to appear in the country. Recently it

was announced that permission had been

refused for Bob Dylan to play two as part

of a tour - which also included dates in Tai-

wan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.

Chinese officials had so it was said, blocked

plans for the singer songwriter to perform

in Beijing and Shanghai. However there is

some speculation that the tour’s Taiwan-

based promoter had actually axed the tour

because of financial problems rather than

political setbacks.

Now China’s Ministry Of Culture has issued

a statement saying they never received an

application from the Dylan tour promoters

to stage concerts in the country. Some Chi-

nese industry commentators add that it’s

not the first time promoters in the region

have used alleged government interven-

tion as an excuse for cancelling tours that

turn out not to be commercially viable,

which, if true, is of course not at all helpful

to those in the West trying to develop and

improve relationships with authorities,

promoters and audiences.

On the other hand - Iceland’s Ólafur Arnalds

has played a sold out 8-City China tour’.

Earlier this month the neo-classical com-

poser and multi-instrumentalist playing to

packed houses in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong

Kong, Taipei, Qingdao, Wuhan, Tianjin and

Hangzhou. Apparently, (showing that not

all recent exports from Iceland are undesir-

able!) although it was his first time visiting

China, throngs of adoring fans requesting

his autograph after each concert greeted

the 23-year-old Mosfellsbær native.

The tour was organised by China-based

promoter Split Works in association with

The Planetary Group, who have brought

a wide range of artists to China includ-

ing Sonic Youth from the USA and Jose

Gonzalez from Sweden. The Ólafur Arnalds

tour was undertaken as part of Split Works’

annual Jue Festival, the largest arts and

music festival in China, which included 72

events in 2010 alone.

The tour was a groundbreaking partner-

ship between Split Works, Planetary Group

and US-based artist-promoter matchmak-

ing service Sonicbids to arrange an all-

expenses paid, 8-city tour for one artist.

There were no barriers to entry – anyone

from anywhere in the world could apply.

Split Works selected Ólafur Arnald from

the applicants. “Our years of experience

in the China market made it clear to us

that Ólafur had the potential to be a mas-

sive success here,” said Abby Lavin of Split

Works. “His modern take on classical com-

position make him a wonderful fit for con-

temporary China.”

»It’s so exciting to be able tobring new music to [China] and

to see how much the peoplehere appreciate what we do«

- Robert Raths

“It’s so exciting to be able to bring new mu-

sic to [China] and to see how much the peo-

ple here appreciate what we do,” said Rob-

ert Raths of Erased Tapes records. “Our

time in China has been great, and we made

friends wherever we went.”

“This tour was our most ambitious one yet.

After 15 tours of China, we were excited to

add in Hong Kong and Taiwan – and could

not have been more thrilled with the re-

sults”, said Adam Lewis, Co-Founder of

The Planetary Group.

rejection (?) and success in China– dylan off - Ólafur Arnalds OnAllan McGowan [email protected]

Olafur Arnalds

http://http://www.juefestival.com/

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The O2 World Universe gets a fifth satellite.

The Anschutz Entertainment Group, a

subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation

have expanded their partnership with

O2 Germany, re-branding the Color Line

Arena, O2 World Hamburg in a marketing

deal scheduled for 10 years.

The O2 Germany belongs to the Spanish

telco-company Telfonica, which just re-

cently bought the local telco-company

HanseNet and its nationwide brand Alice.

The first show in the new branded arena

will be Lady Gaga on May 10. As part of

the agreement the arena will offer O2 cus-

tomers special features such as a so called

‘blue lane’ for an easy access to concerts

and events, upgraded ‘blue seats’ and

special reservations for sold out shows.

Uwe Frommhold, the managing direc-

tor for O2 World Hamburg was quoted

in a press release as saying: “This part-

nership will strengthen the entertainment

position of Hamburg significantly. The O2

World in Hamburg will expand its position

as a central point for entertainment and

sport in Hamburg as well as in the region.

I am delighted about our new partner as

together we are able to generate signifi-

cant added values for our visitors and for

promoters.”

www.o2world-hamburg.de

Color line Arena Becomes O2 world HamburgManfred Tari [email protected]

(from left) Uwe Frommhold, René Schuster and Detlef Kornett

This year’s 19th – 22nd May edition of Liv-

erpool Sound City 2010 extends its 2010

agenda beyond music; the festival will also

play host to premiere movie screenings,

photography exhibitions and a full music

conference.

Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen

fame will play a rare intimate gig in the

grand setting of St George’s Concert Room.

He will also be joining the legendary Sey-

mour Stein in conversation for a Keynote

address at the Liverpool Sound City Music

Business Conference at The Hilton Hotel

on Wed 19th and Thu 20th May.

In 1966 Stein founded Sire Productions

which led to the formation of Sire Records

the label under which he signed pioneer

artists such as The Ramones, Talking

Heads,The Pretenders, Madonna, Depeche

Mode, The Smiths and Echo & The Bunney-

men.

Also appearing at this year’s conference

are Brandon Young and Tim Riley - Ac-

tiVision Games USA, the major player in

the gaming industry responsible for the

hugely successful title Guitar Hero, Ber-

nard Resnick, one of the business brains

behind Lady GaGa, Patrik Larsson - Head-

lock Management one of Scandinavia’s

top management companies, Mark Jones

from record label Wall of Sound, Geoff

Meall - The Agency Group who looks after

acts including Muse, Doves, Paramore etc.

Julian Wall, Director Independent Mem-

ber Services and International Events

for British Recorded Music Industry (BPI)

UK, Brent Grulke, creative director, South

by South West USA, Alicen Schneider –

NBC Universal USA, and others to be an-

nounced.

New additions to the music line up pre-

sented over 35 Liverpool stages include

Jim Jones Revue on Wednesday 19 May at

the Zanzibar and The Phenomenal Hand-

clap Band at Masque Theatre on 20th May.

The Liverpool Sound City line-up also in-

cludes Gil Scott-Heron, Paloma Faith, Del-

phic, The Maccabees, Afrika Bambaataa,

The Fall, Speech Debelle, Wild Beasts,

Field Music, Los Campesinos, The Black-

out, Wave Machines, The Sunshine Un-

derground, Hot Club de Paris, Ian McNabb

and Chilly Gonzalez.

liverpool sound City Adds eventsAllan McGowan [email protected]

Liverpool Sound City

http://www.o2world-hamburg.de

http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

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We would like to thank everybody for attending the 2010 edition, we do look forward to welcome you at the 2011 one!

Registration and artists submission is open from may 1st 2010 onwards on www.euroSonic-noorderslag.nl, Deadline for artist submission is September 1st, 2010

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FACTSHEET 2010 2009 2008 2007 Total number of visits 18.000 18.000 15.500 15.050 Nationalities present 34 34 35 29 Professional participants 2.800 2.650 2.487 2.200 Artists performing 259 265 237 221 Radio stations present 24 22 23 24 international festivals present 237 123 76 69 ETEP participant festivals 59 59 59 54 Number of stages @ EuroSonic 31 32 29 25 Number of stages @ Noorderslag 10 9 9 8 Number of European journalists present 193 140 138 65

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http://www.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl

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VIP-BOOKING.COM


Well, it was only a matter of time really;

Live Nation has announced the launch of

its concert promotion business in Austral-

ia, the world’s 7th largest music market.

Luke Hede, currently the Vice President of

International Booking for Live Nation Asia,

based in Hong Kong, has been named Vice

President of Promotions – Pacific Rim. In

addition, Live Nation has appointed Roger

Field, formerly of Michael Coppel Presents,

as Vice President of Promotions – Australia

and New Zealand. Roger and Luke will

work with Live Nation’s Global and Inter-

national Touring teams to bring Live Na-

tion tours to Australia, New Zealand and

the rest of the Pacific Rim, as well as book-

ing local dates across the region.

Alan Ridgeway, CEO of Live Nation Interna-

tional, commented, “Over the last decade,

Live Nation has been involved with some of

the most successful tours throughout Aus-

tralia and New Zealand, including: U2, The

Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Prince, Nick-

elback, The Police, and many others. We

now feel that the time is right to establish

our own presence and further monetise our

global tours in this particularly strong and

growing live music market. After working

closely with two of Australia’s most highly

regarded promoters in Paul Dainty and

Michael Coppel respectively, both Luke and

Roger have vast experience and knowledge

in the local market and we are thrilled to

have them leading our Australian launch.”

Live Nation’s presence in the Pacific Rim

already includes offices in Hong Kong,

Singapore and Shanghai. Luke Hede will

continue to book international concerts

for these offices with Mr. Hung Tik, based

in Hong Kong, remaining Senior Vice Presi-

dent responsible for booking local artists.

Live Nation also has a joint venture in Bei-

jing with Gehua Group, which is run by Mr.

Wei Ming, who has recently been appoint-

ed General Manager of the joint venture

which promotes international and local

artist shows booked by Luke, Hung Tik and

Wei Ming.

Live Nation Australia will be based in Mel-

bourne and it is expected that further staff-

ing announcements will follow shortly. Live

Nation already has an existing presence in

Australia and New Zealand through Tick-

etmaster, which has been operating suc-

cessfully in these markets for more than 20

years.

live Nation launches Concert Business in AustraliaAllan McGowan [email protected]

VIP-BOOKING.COM THE VIP-BOOK VIP-NEWS

Having the right tools for the job is often the key to success. Through our ongoing communication with key Live

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moters, talent buyers, venue bookers etc. It’s no coincidence that we are now considered to be the No. 1 information

provider for this thriving industry.

The VIP-BookThe ultimate print directory for the Eu-ropean Entertainment Industry, packedwith contacts and easy to use. An es-sential reference book for every offi ceproviding basic contact informationand a solid overview.

VIP-Booking.com VIP-NewsWritten by our highly merited journalists, Al-lan McGowan and Manfred Tari, with over 50years of experience between them in the En-tertainment Industry, VIP-News brings the lat-est news and views directly to your computerkeeping you up to date at all times.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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??? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????? ›› ?????????›› ?????????

???????????????????

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??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ???? ??????????????? ????????? ????????????? ??????? ????? ???? ????????????? ???? ??????????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ???????????????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ????????? ????? ???????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

???? ??????? ??? ???? ??????????? ??? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????????????? ???????????????????? ??????? ???????? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

?????????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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VIP-Booking.com is now the most widely used online information service for the European Live Entertainment Industry with subscribers in over 25 countries. Using the latest technology and state of the art tools, the service provides in-depth information streamlining the day-to-day operations of industry professionals, saving both time and money.

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11

VIP-BOOKING.COM


Germanys Live Entertainment Award (LEA)

celebrated its 5th anniversary on 15th

of April in the new O2 World Hamburg

(former Color Line Arena). Following an al-

liance with the world’s largest event tech-

nology supplier PRG (Production Resource

Group), LEA recently changed its name to

PRG LEA.

The German live entertainment industry

celebrated itself in a three and a half-hour

gala which was attended by show busi-

ness celebrities and artists, such as for Pe-

ter Maffay, The Scorpions, Scooter, Chris-

tina Stürmer, Roger Cicero, soul singer Joy

Denalane, the musicians of Silbermondas

well as other VIPs from culture, sports and

media.

The jury of PRG LEA, consisting of music

journalists, radio programme executives

and cultural managers, evaluated more

than 500 concerts and shows in 2009. The

15 categories of the Award include; the

tour promoter, the concert, the manager,

the agent and the location of the year.

German Initiative Music, the funding

agency set up by the German federal gov-

ernment to promote the music industry

in Germany, awarded € 20.000,00 to Ber-

lin’s ‘O 36’ the LEA winner in the ‘music

club of the year’ category. The other two

nominees received a further €2.500 each.

Tour Promoter of the year was - as in the

years before, Marek Lieberberg of MLK.

The award for the lifetime achievement

was granted to Germanys media-giant

Hans R. Beierlein, developer of many fa-

mous artists such as Udo Jürgens, creator

of formats for music TV programmes and

founder of Germanys business magazine

Musikmarkt.

The German Chancellor Dr. Andrea Mer-

kel honoured this fifth anniversary with a

written greeting, read by LEA inventor and

producer Jens Michow, President of the

Federal German association for the enter-

tainment industry.

Germany’s live entertainment Awards (leA)Allan McGowan [email protected]

Here are the results and the winners of PRG LEA:

Arena-Tournee of the YearPink (Funhouse Tour) – Peter Rieger Konzertagentur, Köln Show of the YearApassionata – EquiArte, Berlin Festival of the Year (presented by PRG)Melt! – Melt! GmbH & Co. KG Club-Tournee of the Year (presented by Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien GmbH)Bonaparte – Melt! Booking Concert of the Year„Heimspiel“ 20 Jahre Fantastische Vier auf dem Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart –Musikwirtschaft.de Artistmanagement of the Year Markus Bruns (Brunetti Management Berlin) – Peter Fox Artist Agent of the YearDEAG Classics, Berlin – David Garrett Tour-Promoter of the YearMarek Lieberberg Konzertagentur, Frankfurt/M. Local-Promoter of the YearSemmel Concerts, Bayreuth/Berlin/Chemnitz Location of the YearDresdner Elbufer – PAN Veranstaltungslogistik und Kulturgastronomie, Dres-den Club of the Year – The „Club-Award“ of Initiative MusikSO36 Berlin – Sub Opus 36 Award of the JuryFKP Scorpio – Festivals ‘Rolling Stone Weekender’ and ‘Plage Noir’ Young Talent Support of the Year (presented by Veltins-Arena)

Support-Team of Philipp Poisel: Ralf Schröter (Management), Konzertagentur Peter Rieger, Grönland-Label, Ferryhouse Productions, Musicmonster (Produk-tion), Musikpromotion Eberhard Pacak. New Style Event of the YearBoese & Friends – Die Atzen Tour 2009 Lifetime AchievementHans R. Beierlein

Scooter

12

VIP-BOOKING.COM


we:lIVe to Curate live Conference dayat The Great escape 2010Allan McGowan [email protected]

we:LIVE, the association for independent

venue owners and promoters, which was

launched last year will present a day at The

Great Escape in Brighton (my home town

as you may be aware – Ed.). The plan is

for this day to bring together indie venue

owners and gig promoters we:LIVE aims

to “promote and facilitate the sharing of

knowledge and expertise through direct

resources as well as implementing best

business practices and promoting the

standing and interests of [indie players] in

the music industry at large”.

we:LIVE’s chair and founder Dominique

Czopor told CMU: “we:LIVE is excited to be

curating the Live day at TGE this year. As

well as the benefits of sharing knowledge

and expertise, working with TGE offers in-

dependent promoters and venue owners

the opportunity to put names to faces, and

to also discuss new business opportunities

with colleagues. As well as being a social

event, we:LIVE recognises the need for dis-

cussion and debate on the current issues

facing our industry today”.

we:LIVE will also be presenting training

modules from the Award for Music Pro-

moters (Level 2) (see below) and hope that

as many promoters and venue owners

will take up the opportunity to test their

knowledge, and hopefully learn some-

thing new about their industry.

The Live Day on Saturday May 15 will also

include two panels dealing with new meth-

ods of promoting, - ‘The Next Stage’, and

money raising, ‘Where’s the Fun in Fund-

ing?’, chaired by a certain VIP-News Editor.

Elsewhere in The Great Escape’s confer-

ence programme, once again the music

business fest will be teaming up with the

Brighton Festival - the programmed arts

festival that takes place in the seaside city

throughout May. Those joint events will

include some chatter with and from mu-

sic writers Nick Kent, John Niven and John

Harris, led by The Observer’s Garry Mulhol-

land.

Dominique Czopor

http://www.musikwoche.de/VIP

13

VIP-BOOKING.COM


New uK Music Promoter Qualification (AMP)devised by BIIABAllan McGowan [email protected]

The BIIAB (the awarding body of the Brit-

ish Institute of Innkeeping) Award for

Music Promoters (AMP) is said to be the

first qualification of its kind to be devised,

written and developed specifically for

music promoters. The aptly nicknamed

‘AMP’ qualification purports to give any-

one wishing to put on a music event an

excellent grounding in all the aspects

they will need to consider any music

genre.

Domnique Czopor, Founder of inde-

pendent venue and promoter network

WE:Live, who has been involved with

development of the AMP, said: “This is ex-

actly what the industry needs and I’ve been

really impressed with the way the steering

committee have taken a rounded approach

to the role of a music event organiser. No

stone has been left unturned and the course

will ensure the music promoters of tomor-

row are savvy, well-informed and aware of

their legal responsibilities.”

The creators of the qualification say that it

is aimed at improving the standard, qual-

ity and legacy of promoters and events,

which in, in turn, will increase custom-

ers’ confidence and have a positive im-

pact of stimulating the entertainments

and leisure economy. The BIIAB AMP,

has received widespread support from

candidates involved in the pilot, includ-

ing names such as BBC Radio 1 Xtra, Inc

Group and Global Radio.

Aspects addressed within the course are:

* Importance of early engagement with

stakeholders.

• Projectmanagementtoolsandtech-

niques.

• Financialmanagement

• Marketing/PromotionalMix.

• RiskAssessment

• Environmentalimpacts/wasteman-

agement

• Managementofnoise.

• Transportmanagement

• LicensingAct2003.

• Doorpolicy.

• Evaluationofapromotion.

The qualification is supported by a work-

book, which acts as a “how to” guide for

future use by candidates. The course will

be delivered throughout the country by

a network of approved training centres.

To date, just under twenty centres have

signed up and been given the thumbs up

to deliver it. For more information or to

find a training centre, visit:

www.biiab.org

VIP-News is not aware, although we have

asked around, of promoters who have

advised on the content of these cours-

es, and is not sure who will be teaching

them. Generally promoters in the UK have

been sceptical about ‘recognised qualifi-

cations’, and worry that local authorities,

police etc, may begin to insist, particular-

ly in pubs and clubs which are members

of The British Institute of Innkeepers, on

promoters holding one of these qualifica-

tions as some sort of guarantee of expe-

rience and quality, in the same way that

they would expect the licensee to hold

the sort of qualifications that BIIAB cur-

rently oversee, even though the live in-

dustry in general has not fully backed the

scheme. Still, this is aimed at grass-roots

and small venue promoters and attempts

to improve the industry should not be

dismissed, We remain open minded and

will watch developments, we will also be

attending the AMP launch at London club

Cargo on May 27 and will report back!

http://www.biiab.org

14

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14


As long as the northern skies are volcanic

ash free on April 30th, I will be flying to

Norway for the 18th Bergenfest. The Fes-

tival takes place in 10 venues around the

City, ranging from small clubs to theatres

and concert halls, and this edition features

Lou Reed, The Proclaimers, The New York

Dolls, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Thomas

Dybdahl, Femi Kuti and many others.

One of my main reasons for attending

is that this will be the first of the newly

‘twinned’ festivals. On the 1st March 2010,

The Association of Independent Festivals, a

not for profit body set up in 2008 to repre-

sent independent music festivals in the UK

and Ireland launched a new initiative, AIF

Twin Festivals: A Cultural Exchange, which

partners the UK’s leading independent

festivals with their counterparts abroad.

This is the second year that The Associa-

tion of Independent Festivals has looked

to build links with non-UK festivalgoers

and follows 2009’s successful partnership

with VisitBritain. (See end of article).

Based on the twin towns concept, festi-

vals will be paired with likeminded and

similarly structured festivals from coun-

tries from around the world. Participating

festivals will help promote their twin’s

festival locally, and be encouraged to

take part in artist exchanges and talent

discussions to help co-ordinate bookings

of international artists and stimulate con-

versations with local music authorities for

investment.

As part of the initiative all festivals involved

will be obliged to include links on their

website to their twin’s site, and include the

twinned names on flyers, marketing ma-

terials and in their PR campaigns to local

media, and help market their international

twin through their media channels once

(although maybe this may have to wait un-

til their own event has sold out?)

In addition to this each festival will ‘ex-

change’ a minimum of 10 pairs of tickets

with their twin to be given away via com-

petitions and promotions.

Festivals that have already been part-

nered under the scheme include:

• Bestival,IsleOfWight&Melt Ferropolis, Germany

• BigSessionFestival Leicester & Tønder Festival, Denmark

• FieldDay London & Øya Festival, Norway

• GladeFestival Winchester & Symbiosis Gathering,

California, USA

• SummerSundaeWeekender Leicester & Bergenfest, Norway

• StandonCalling Hertfordshire & Calvi On The Rocks,

Corsica, France

• NozstockFestival Herefordshire & Italia Wave Love Festival,

Livorno, Italy

• EdenSessions Cornwall & Airwaves, Reykjavík, Iceland

The idea is certainly novel and the pros-

pects are quite intriguing, VIP-News spoke

to agent and festival organiser Rob Chal-

lice, the originator of the concept and

Frank Nes, who have twinned their events,

Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester &

Bergenfest, Norway.

VIP-News: How did this idea come aboutinthefirstplace,andwhen?Alsowastheconcept immediately welcomed and un-derstood on your first approaches to thefestivals?

Rob Challice: I can’t remember where

I was driving, but the idea came to me

when I passed one of those ‘twin-town’

signs and thought it would be great to

set up a similar ‘twin-festival’ concept.

Twin Town relationships are traditionally

formed to promote cultural and commer-

cial ties between towns and regions. It felt

like the idea could easily be applied to like-

minded independent festivals.

When I pitched it to Rob Da bank and Ben

Turner (fellow AIF board members) they

embraced it straight away, the idea really

communicates itself immediately. Once

the AIF board started discussing the idea

it was obvious that there was huge poten-

tial developing various initiatives between

twinned festivals. We subsequently devel-

oped a series of logos that have a visual

impact; these incorporate the respective

twinned festivals.

Frank Nes: My colleagues and I had loosely

discussed setting up a new open air festi-

val in Bergen at the time of Summer Sun-

dae-ish, ie in August, and looked at setting

up a partnership with a UK or Scandina-

vian festival. When Rob contacted me re

the twin festival idea it was quite funny as I

was about to call him to discuss a partner-

ship of some kind with Summer Sundae.

So, yes, I was immediately keen, to put it

mildly. The concept was indeed welcomed

by my colleagues and myself. It is such a

great idea.

VIP-News:Didcertaintwinningsseemob-vious,orwasitamatterofputtingtogeth-er the first events to respond? I see thereisoneUStwinning,howwasthatdecidedupon,alsoareanyofthetwinningsbasedonexistingtwinCityarrangements?

Challice: Essentially the onus is on the in-

dividual AIF festivals to find suitable twins.

With the two Leicester based festivals I

AIF New ‘Twin’ Independent Festivals Initiative – Bergenfest 1st eventAllan McGowan [email protected]

15

VIP-BOOKING.COM

15


am involved in, Summer Sundae Week-

ender and Big Session Festival, I wanted to

‘twin’ with two events that are based on

a similar ethos. Bergenfest, Norway and

Tonder Festival, Denmark are both city

based events that are very rooted in their

respective areas. Everybody involved in

these events (organisers, the audience,

the staff, the volunteers etc) have a very

strong sense of ownership that helps de-

fine the events.

I’ve travelled to Bergenfest and Tonder

Festival numerous times and found the

experience of these events and the re-

spective cities inspirational. I know, for

example, that when Oysterband and I first

talked to Richard Haswell at Leicester De

Montfort Hall about starting Big Session,

Tonder Festival was a big reference point

for us. Tonder has a very strong identity

both with international folk acts and in

its region (Jutland, Denmark and North

Germany) I knew if Oysterband were go-

ing to be directly associated with a festival

they would want it to contain a bit of the

Tonder magic.

With regards to Summer Sundae and Ber-

genfest, the key reason for me wanting to

twin the events is the organiser Frank Nes

and his team. They’ve put Bergen on the

map as a destination for acts touring in-

ternationally. Frank has great taste in mu-

sic and he’s always coming up with new

ideas.

Frank Nes: I have known Rob since the

mid 90’s and he also represent acts from

Bergen (Kings of Convenience), thus his

knowledge of Bergen and Bergenfest is

very good. Bergenfest is an indoor, club/

venue-based festival, but we share a lot

when it comes to musical taste - program-

ming a broad palette of artists and genres.

Otherwise we have a strong focus on qual-

ity and love for what we do and I think this

applies to both festivals’ basic ideas of

how to run an event.

VIP-News: This is flagged as a culturalexchange, and these elements are obvi-ous - as far as you know have local andnational -authorities become involved inthe initiative? Certainly there also seemstobeanobviousopeningwith tradeandeconomics, initially for tourism interestsandperhapsinotherareas,hashisaspectbeen-orwillitbe-exploited?

Challice: We are encouraging the twin fes-

tivals to do ticket swaps and invite media

from one country to another. Local press

in Bergen and Leicester have already given

coverage to the initiative for the festivals

I am involved in. It goes without saying

that festivals often give their audiences

a cultural window to the world outside

their region. With Bergenfest and Summer

Sundae we are going to ‘swap’ volunteers.

We’re also sending a couple of journalists

over to Bergen to write about the city. I

see these ‘twinned’ links developing over

time; we’re not going to be able to achieve

everything in the first year.

Nes: We have involved the regional tourist

board from day one on this and we look

forward to being able to help each other

out on developing new ideas. Bergen as a

tourist destination is very strong, being the

main access point for tourists exploring the

fjords and mountains. Also Bergen has a

strong cultural history with names like Ole

Bull and Edvard Grieg as strong identity

bearers and important for tourism.

With contemporary acts like Kings of Con-

venience, sondre Lerche, Datarock, Mag-

net, Casiokids and Röyksopp either hailing

from or being located in Bergen it is a lot

to build on in establishing Bergen as a des-

tination for a different kind of target and

age group. Not to forget the strong Metal

music history in Bergen. A lot of individual

travellers visit Bergen to explore the tracks

of famed (and infamous) Bergen acts like

Immortal, Gorgoroth, Enslaved and Bur-

zum/Varg Vikernes. The metal travellers

are actually so great in numbers, a finan-

cial paper aptly named them ‘blackpack-

ers’ when analysing travels to Bergen. Ad-

ditionally one of my collegues, Pytten, is

the main producer of many of these acts

and his recording studio is located in the

same building as our offices, thus we have

our fair share of people in black knocking

on our door during the year wanting to

see his studios... There are a lot of avenues

to build on and the regional tourist board

is keen to be part of it using the contem-

porary music scene to increase tourism to

Bergen.

VIP-News: There is mention of artist ex-changes - will this involve events in thetwinninglocationsattimesotherthanthefestivalsthemselves-clubdatesetc?CouldthisbeanexpansionoftheJaJaClubidea(Nordicactsappear regularlyat this clubnight in London), and the Oya Festival’sLondonclubinitiative?

Challice: We will announce a Bergen band

for Summer Sundae. Some of the best

Scandinavian bands originate from Ber-

gen, Kings of Convenience etc.

Nes: I think this can be a great way of mak-

ing artist exchanges and this is something Frank Nes

16

VIP-BOOKING.COM

16


we have a strong focus on. Historically Ber-

geners have always looked west to the UK

for inspiration, much more so than look-

ing eastwards towards Oslo or Sweden

(heaven forbid...). Thus, Bergen-based acts

have a sound that I think UK punters and

buyers easily can relate to. Then there’s the

Vikings, of course … a lot of Norwegian

blood in UK genes...

VIP-News:Willall themutualpromotion-al activities be agreed on and handledthroughdiscussionsbetweenthetwinnedevents, or will there be someone, an AIFrepresentative perhaps, operating anoverview,andadvising?

Challice: It’s between the twinned festi-

vals to work out what is best. AIF supply

the Twinned Logo and some suggestions

on how the respective partnerships can

work. The AIF board will assess how it de-

velops in the first year and see if we need

to give more hands on advice.

Nes: This is something which I take for

granted will be explored and it will be vital

for the success of the twin festival initiative.

VIP-News:It’sstillearlydaysofcourse,butaretherealreadymoreideasforthedevel-opmentoftheinitiative?

»There’s a lot of interesting festivals involved and as faras I can see it, we all share a

common interest inGREAT music«

- Frank Nes

Nes: It’s early days, indeed. Let’s do this sea-

son, sit down and get the broader perspec-

tive of things. Then we can move ahead and

develop this into a strong and long lasting

unit. There’s a lot of interesting festivals in-

volved and as far as I can see it, we all share

a common interest in GREAT music. That

should always be the basis and I think we

are on to something good with this whole

set-up. AIF’s initiative is very good.

Challice: Yes, there are still AIF members

from the UK who have not landed an inter-

national twin yet. If potential international

festivals want to get further information

they should email Claire O’Neill, AIF or-

ganiser: [email protected]

Other participating Festival Promoters

also had positive views on the initiative:

Stefan Lehmkuhl - Melt, Germany: I’m en-

thusiastic about the idea of the cultural ex-

change between European festivals. Espe-

cially when it comes to independent and

very individual open-air events it’s going

to be an exciting and creative process, as

I’m convinced we’re all on the same page

music wise.

Edouard Rostand - Clavi On The Rocks,

Corsica: It is an honour for Calvi On the

Rocks to partner up with Standon Calling.

We share same values and artistic views.

We are both small festivals and want to

keep it innovative and open-minded. This

twinning will start with cross promotion

on our networks this year.

Nick Ladd - Glade Festival, Winchester:

We are really pleased to be twinned with

Symbiosis in California.... the premier elec-

tronic music experience stateside. It’s what

the San Francisco 60’s scene has evolved

into, an amazing international gathering

created by people with true spirit and it

reflects the Glades commitment to cutting

edge music, incredible site art, non-com-

mercialisation and shanty vibes.

In 2009 AIF negotiated to become part of a

£1.8 million marketing initiative organised

by VisitBritain. The European Value Cam-

paign, ran across 18 key European countries,

and was aimed at the 25-35 age group. Using

the slogan “See More For Less”, VisitBritain

focused on the benefits offered by the weak

pound and Britain’s relatively compact land

area. The campaign included press adver-

tising, direct mail, a web micro site and pr

support and as part of the deal AIF members

offered overseas visitors a 20% discount on

festival tickets purchased through the Visit-

Britain site. The inclusion of AIF in the scheme

was recognition of the value of Britain’s inde-

pendent festivals as cultural assets, and as

an enticement to tourists who may wish to

extend their stay and explore the country

further.

www.aiforg.com

http://www.aiforg.com

http://www.recordoftheday.co.uk/

http://www.pop1000.com/

17

VIP-BOOKING.COM

17

Best business year ever for concert pro-

moters in the Switzerland.

The Swiss Music Promoters Association

(SMPA) has released its business report for

2009 and reported an increase for all key

figure sectors. The organisation’s associ-

ated companies jointly returned a turno-

ver of about 250 million Swiss Francs (174

million Euros). The total number of con-

certs, events and festivals promoted in-

creased by 4.1 percent from 1002 to 1043

shows. The visitor figures for all shows

was 4.564.335 compared to 4.526.925 the

year before, the number of tickets sold

rose from 2.630.648 to 2.793.742. The aver-

age ticket price increased from 82.40 CHF

(57.50 Euro) to 84.20 CHF (58.70 Euro).

The biggest gain of the reported key figures

was the turnover. The overall revenue in-

cluding income from sponsoring, catering

and ticket sales rose from 230.455.386 (160

million Euro) to 250.327.349 CHF (174 million

Euro), a plus of 8.6 percent. The number of

promoted artists rose from 2.246 to 2.308.

The 24 member companies employ 185

people (176 in 2008) as fulltime staff.

Nevertheless Swiss promoters ventured

concerns about having to cope with high-

er expenses for artists and higher spend-

ing for additional staff requirements

for safety and environmental rules. The

organisation furthermore fears an at-

tempt by the consumer organisation SKS

(Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz) and a

high ranked politician to appeal for a law

enforcing personalized tickets in order

to prevent dynamic pricing for concert

tickets.

In reference to this the SMPA concludes

that the current ticket system does not

support such a function and that it will

lead to more cost intensive efforts for

door control. The complete report is

available at the website www.smpa.ch in

French and German.

The German concert market leader has

announced that it will pay shareholders a

dividend of 0.83 Euro per share.

Backed by record-breaking results in the

business year 2009, CTS Eventim will dis-

tribute 19.9 million Euros amongst its

shareholders. The company reported that

it had been able to increase results in all

business sectors. In 2009 CTS Eventim

gained revenue of 466,7 million Euros, an

increase of about 15.4 percent compared

with 404.4 million Euro in 2008. The EBIT

(Earnings before Interest and Taxes) went

up from 50.3 million to 71.3 million Euros,

the EBITDA (Earnings before Interest and

Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation)

from 57.8 million to 80 million Euros. As

Net Result CTS Eventim reported 39.9 mil-

lion compared with 29.2 million Euro in

2008.

The outlook for 2010 includes plans to pro-

ceed with the growth policy of its online-

ticketing and the expansion of the compa-

ny into foreign markets. The management

furthermore declared that it expects to

raise revenue and earnings results in 2010.

Since the beginning of the year the share

increased from 34.2 to 39.0 Euro. Neither

the news that Live Nation has opened a

German office or that Live Nation intend

to end business relations with CTS Even-

tim for the ticketing business in the US had

a negative impact on the share. CTS Even-

tim currently has a market capitalisation of

945,6 million Euro and net debts of about

98.4 million Euro.

DEAG has also been able to increase its

business results.

The live music stock market pioneer DEAG

delivered business results in line with

expectations. After the company had to

compensate for the departure of Crea-

tive Talent and music pool earlier in 2009,

DEAG managed to restructure its compa-

ny portfolio. The revenue rose from 109.5

million in 2008 to 116.7 million Euro, the

EBIT went up from minus 3.1 million to

7.9 million Euro, the EBITDA grew from

3.7 million to 6.4 million Euro and the net

result turned from a minus of 11.1 million

Euro into plus of 0.5 million Euros.

DEAG-CEO Peter Schwenkow extended

his contract until 2015. Unlike CTS Eventim

DEAG intents to expand its business by fol-

lowing a 360 degrees business strategy,

setting up joint ventures with Sony Music

and Klassik Radio, among others. In particu-

lar DEAG expanded its business with classi-

cal music concerts and shows featuring art-

ists such as Jessye Norman, Anna Netrebko,

Philippe Jaroussky and David Garrett.

Nevertheless since January the DEAG

share price went down from 2.20 to 1.85

Euro. The company currently has a market

capitalisation of 34.15 million euro and

net debts of 11.2 million Euro.

Business NewsManfred Tari [email protected]


swiss Music Promoter Association reports record Breaking Year

CTs eventim Pays Out Highest dividend

deutsche entertainment Back on the Profit Track

VIP-BOOKING.COM

Admiral TTerritory: WorldwidePeriod: 2010-2011Agency: CARAMBA SpectaclesAgent: ClotairePhone: +33 1 4218 1718E-mail: [email protected]: www.caramba.fr

lady GaGaTerritory: EuropePeriod: Spring 2010 onwardsAgency: William Morris Endeavor Ent.Agent: David LevyPhone: +44 20 7534 6800E-mail: [email protected]: www.ladygaga.com

ChristelleTerritory: WorldwidePeriod: 2010Agency: McGann MusicAgent: Don McGannPhone: +1 702 927 0100E-mail: [email protected]: www.christellemusic.com

Fischer-ZTerritory: EuropePeriod: 01/07/2010 - 31/12/2010Agency: Artist AgencyAgent: Bart QuintensPhone: +32 1677 7670E-mail: [email protected]: www.artistagency.be

sass JordanTerritory: EuropePeriod: November 2010Agency: Paperclip AgencyAgent: Hilde SpillePhone: +31 24 323 9322E-mail: [email protected]: www.paperclip-agency.com

sweetTerritory: WorldwidePeriod: Generally availableAgency: ABS AgencyAgent: Nigel KerrPhone: +44 208 399 3474E-mail: [email protected]: www.thesweet-now.com

18

artist avails ››

MORE ARTIST AVAILS ON:WWW.VIP-bOOkING.COM

POST YOuR ARTIST AVAILS ON:WWW.VIP-bOOkING.COM


The merger is done, now it appears that Live Nation needs financial backing

to re-organise it debts.

The world’s biggest concert promoter has announced that it intends to issue

a $250million bond in order to re-finance some of its outstanding debts. At

the end of 2009 Live Nation and Ticketmaster had combined debts of about

$1.552 billion. Live Nation and the purchaser will negotiate the bond condi-

tions individually. Preferred buyers are institutional investors. Currently the

share of Live Nation is at $15.15 and the company has a market capitalisation

of $1.008 billion. Unfortunately U2 and Madonna can’t be considered as insti-

tutional investors, can they?

PRESS RELEASE:

LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2010 – Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (“Live Nation”)

(NYSE: LYV) today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and

other conditions, $250 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes

(“Notes”). The Notes will be offered in a private placement in the United States

to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities

Act of 1933 and to non-U.S. persons outside the United States pursuant to

Regulation S under the Securities Act. The offering price, interest rate and

other terms will be determined by negotiations between Live Nation and the

initial purchasers. The Notes will be unsecured. Live Nation intends to use the

net proceeds from the offering along with borrowings under a new senior

secured credit facility to repay in full the borrowings under its existing credit

facility and the credit facilities of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster

Entertainment LLC, convert existing preferred stock of one of its subsidiaries

into the right to receive a cash payment and pay related fees and expenses.

The completion of the offering of the Notes is conditioned upon our entering

into the new credit facility.

This press release is being issued pursuant to Rule 135c under the Securities

Act and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy

securities. Any offer of the securities will be made only by means of a private

offering memorandum. The Notes have not been registered under the Securi-

ties Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered

or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption

from registration requirements.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press re-

lease contains forward-looking statements regarding Live Nation’s intention

to issue the Notes and its intended use of the resulting proceeds. There is no

assurance that Live Nation will successfully complete the proposed offering

or use the proceeds as presently intended. Investors should not place undue

reliance on forward-looking statements as predictions of future results. Live

Nation undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking

statements to reflect developments or information obtained after the date

of this press release.

live Nation looking for Money

http://www.caramba.fr

http://www.caramba.fr

http://www.ladygaga.com

http://www.ladygaga.com

http://www.christellemusic.com

http://www.christellemusic.com

http://www.artistagency.be

http://www.paperclip-agency.com

http://www.thesweet-now.com

http://www.vip-booking.com/

http://www.vip-booking.com/

19

VIP-BOOKING.COM

notiCe board ››

Another new service in the improved and redesigned VIP-News is the Notice-board, which is available for all readers. Reader’s messages will be posted on the Notice-board as a free service, passing on announcements, job postings, buy-ing and selling notices, inquiries or alike. Announcements should be emailed to [email protected]

VIP- News - A u g u s t 2 0 0 5

19


VIP-Booking ApS cannot be held responsible for loss or damages

incurred as a result of transactions with individuals or companies

through the notice board. We recommend all to make the necessary

enquiries before entering into any agreements.

VIP-Booking ApS may not, for reason of space, be able to post all

announcements received. Announcements should be emailed to

[email protected], including name and email address.

Please shorten your message to the extent possible, to make room for

as many notices as possible.

edge Performance raises more than £32m

Wednesday 21 April 2010: Entertainment

industry investment and advisory group

Edge has announced that its specialist en-

tertainment funds the Edge Performance

VCT (EPVCT) and the Edge Performance EIS

fund together raised £32.1m in their latest

fundraising round, nearly three times last

year’s total.

It makes the 2009/2010 fundraising round

Edge’s most successful yet and brings the

total raised by Edge since it launched four

years ago to £88m.

This success further consolidates Edge’s

lead as the UK’s biggest manager of spe-

cialist investment funds in live music and

events, and also catapults EPVCT into sec-

ond-place in the overall UK VCT fundrais-

ing rankings for this year.

The announcement comes just two weeks

after music industry lobbying group UK

Music, headed by former Undertone Fear-

gal Sharkey, highlighted access to finance

as one of the UK music industry’s greatest

challenges.

The Edge Performance funds now have

£32m more to invest in the music, live

events and entertainment industry, says

Edge Group founder David Glick.

”Too many great businesses in the entertain-

ment industry struggle for want of the invest-

ment they need to grow,” said Glick. “Edge’s

success in raising funds for the sector will al-

low us to play an increasing role in helping

good executives reach their potential.”

EPVCT originally set out to offer 10m shares

but in February 2010 increased this to 20m

and then subsequently to 30m.

Edge benefited from the increased popu-

larity of VCT investments this year, said

Glick, but it also increased its market

share.

“Key to our success has been the timely,

above target, return in June last year of cash

to holders of EPVCT’s original 2006 Ordinary

share issue,” he said. “When we started out,

investors had long believed that the enter-

tainment business was too risky a business

to countenance. By leveraging our industry

knowledge and targeting our investment on

executives with a real track record we believe

we have gone a long way towards reshaping

that perception.”

Edge’s reputation has been built on the

quality of an executive team which in-

cludes not just renowned music industry

dealmaker Glick himself, but also impre-

sario Harvey Goldsmith, former Sony Mu-

sic business affairs head Alasdair George,

VCT pioneer Gordon Power, Elton John

manager Frank Presland, former Emap and

HMV Group chairman Sir Robin Miller and

superstar DJ Pete Tong.

“Access to the best people is a key advantage

in a people business like entertainment,“

said Glick. “We believe that our background

in the entertainment business not only gives

us access to better opportunities, but also

enables us to evaluate them better than our

competitors. This year’s fundraising success

suggests the investment community agrees

with us.”

Companies in which Edge Performance VCT

has invested have promoted more than 200

live concerts in total since December 2006

featuring artists ranging from Kanye West

to Backstreet Boys, Eric Clapton and recent

Grammy Award winner Jeff Beck.

Biggest offer yet takes total raised to £88m

20

VIP-BOOKING.COM

Speak out - participate in the debate. The VIP-News Reader’s-page is open for letters and contributions from readers. Consider the VIP-News Reader’s-page, as your “speaker’s corner” towards professionals in the entertainment industry all over Europe. The purpose of the Reader’s-page is to encourage more interaction and to allow our readers to voice their opinions about the many aspects of our industry. Contributions should be emailed to [email protected].

readers page ››

20


VIP-Booking ApS cannot be held responsible for loss or damages

incurred as a result of transactions with individuals or companies

through the notice board. We recommend all to make the necessary

enquiries before entering into any agreements.

VIP-Booking ApS may not, for reason of space, be able to post all

announcements received. Announcements should be emailed to

[email protected], including name and email address.

Please shorten your message to the extent possible, to make room for

as many notices as possible.

red entertainment AgencyRed Entertainment Agency is proud to

announce the Worldwide Exclusive rep-

resentation of one of the most critically

acclaimed bands of the last three decades

10,000 MANIACS

Carlos keyes

Red Entertainment Agency

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1-212-563-7575

Fax: +1-212-563-9393

10,000 Maniacs

These Are The Days

#1 Billboard Alternative, #34 AC

Trouble Me

#3 Billboard Alternative, #7 AC,

#20 Mainstream

because The Night

#11 Billboard Hot 100,

#7 Alternative, #9 AC

More Than This

#25 US Billboard Hot 100

Candy Everybody Wants

#5 Billboard Alternative

What’s The Matter Here

#9 Billboard Alternative

Like The Weather

#37 Billboard Mainstream

Please contact Carlos Keyes for avail-

able dates. See website for roster:

RedEntertainmentAgency

http://redentertainment.com/

21

VIP-BOOKING.COM

In this section we offer members of VIP-booking.com some space to present their company to VIP-News readers. If you would also like to present your company please contact Peter briggs at [email protected]

MeMber presentation ››

In this section we offer members of VIP-booking.com some space to present their company to VIP-News readers. If you would also like to present your company please contact Peter briggs at [email protected]

®

vip-booking.com

VIP-BOOKING.COMVIP-BOOKING.COM | 26 York Street | UK - London W1U 6pZ | Phone +44 870 755 0092 | Fax +44 870 622 1953 | e-mail: [email protected]

21

About Our Company

VIP-Booking’s core product is the Internet’s oldest and largest data-base for the European Live Entertainment Industry www.vip-book-ing.com developed as a tool for industry professionals. Since it’s launch in the year 2000, we have consistently offered our subscrib-ers the very best in database services and now boast subscribers in over 30 countries.

Today VIP-Booking offers a range of tools for the industry – inclu-ding VIP-News, VIP-Booking, VIP-Book and VIP-Contract.

Please visit vip-booking.com for further information.

Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated.


König-Pilsener-AreNA- sMG entertainment deutschland GmbHThe König-Pilsener-ARENA is a multi-functional venue, offering a

superb setting for a variety of sports events, theatrical presenta-

tions, ice-skating and concerts. Flexible configurations provide

room for audiences ranging from 800 to 13,000 who enjoy family

shows such as Disney on Ice, sports including handball matches,

musicals like Grease, and concerts from rock and pop icons and

orchestras alike.

Since its opening in 1996, the Kõnig-Pilsener-ARENA has earned a

reputation as one of the most sophisticated venues in Europe, of-

fering excellent operational facilities and an unforgettable experi-

ence for all its visitors. The König-Pilsener-ARENA meets the latest

standards in engineering, architecture and security.

Its central location, at the heart of one of Europe’s largest con-

urbations, the Ruhr area, means the Arena is easily accessible by

road, rail and air for the 15 million people living within an hour’s

drive-time. The arena offers great accessibility with 12 motorway

junctions, more than 10,000 free parking spaces, bus and tram ter-

minals immediately outside the venues.

König-Pilsener-ARENA


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