VIPNEWS PREMIUM > VOLUME 225 > AUGUST 2019

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

McGowan’s Musings

So, how did you manage to get through

these summer months without us? A fair

amount has happened since we were last in

touch in June, heat waves, high winds, and

for us, a new Prime Minister! I can’t quite

express the deep joy and optimism I feel for

our European future now that Boris Johnson

is at the helm – no, you’re right I’m not being

serious! Anyway what was that? You think

I’m just going to use this intro as an excuse

to talk about the bloody weather again….

well, actually yes I am, as it has to say the

least been more than erratic; The summer

kicked off in June , as I’m sure many of you

across Europe were painfully aware, with the

searing heat wave which saw temperatures

reach 45C in some parts of the continent ,

resulting in emergency measures in France.

This year’s edition of Glastonbury was one of

the hottest ever. Then unusually high winds

had their effect on festivals and other events

and attractions. In the UK large events such as

Boardmasters and Houghton were cancelled,

and In Winchester, at the Boomtown Fair,

dozens of tents were wrecked overnight

on Friday after 52 mile an hour winds tore

through the campsites.

I was in Serbia for the EXIT Festival in early

July, where Ruud Berends myself and others

cleverly managed to secure ourselves in

a restaurant as the heavy rain and winds

flattened a couple of the temporary festival

venues on the Petrovaradin fortress, but the

EXIT crew pulled out all the stops and the

event was up and running within a couple of

hours. The Cure had walked on stage on the

first night to be greeted by heavy rain, but

pretty soon this eased off, and even the often

seemingly not that cheerful Robert Smith,

began to smile. Bloody good they were too!

Sticking to the Festival theme, after efforts to

stage a massive event celebrating Woodstock’s

50th anniversary failed to materialize, the

15000 capacity Bethel Woods Centre for the

Arts in New York’s Catskills region became

the only show to celebrate this half century

memorial to the 1969 event and its musical

and cultural importance. The nostalgic event

featured Ringo Starr (and band of course!),

The Edgar Winter Band and Blood, Sweat &

Tears on the Friday; Santana played Saturday

with the Doobie Brothers; and John Fogerty

celebrated Creedence Clearwater Revival

with Grace Potter and Tedeschi Trucks Band

on Sunday. Arlo Guthrie, Winter, Santana

and Fogerty had all performed at the

original festival. How many acts that played

festivals this summer will be around to take

the stage in 2069 I wonder – I’m pretty sure

I’ll be otherwise engaged!

But maybe a festival encouraging alien

visitors may offer something different,

‘Alienstock’, an Area 51 themed event has

been announced to supposedly take place

close to the town of Rachel, (population 50!)

Nevada, close to the US Air Force base, which

alienists believe houses alien technology.

Coordinators of the now-defunct “Storm

Area 51” are now planning a full-fledged

music festival supposedly to take place next

month. However the townsfolk of Rachel are

not happy with the idea of their town, which

apparently lacks shops, a petrol station, and

facilities for cashless payments (Oh No!)

being taken over and are determined that

Alienstock should not go ahead. As far as we

know, no comments or ticket applications

have been received from certified aliens.

Watch this space (ship?)

So, that’s enough festival reference, but

one last thing that could relate to aliens;

according to a new book on DNA, ‘Pleased

To Meet Me: Genes, Germs And The Curious

Forces That Make Us Who We Are’, Author

Bill Sullivan maintains that following analysis

of a blood sample from Osbourne, in a bid to

map his genetic code by a research company

called Knome, apparently Ozzy Osbourne is

a genetic mutant whose genes make him

more prone to addiction but also more able

to consume large quantities of alcohol. Well,

would any of us have guessed such a thing!?

Following that observation of the rock and roll

condition, we at VIP will be preparing to spend

some days in Hamburg at the ever growing

Reeperbahn event, we shall report from there

in the next issue, but in the meantime Ladies

and Gentlemen – The News!

COLOPHON >

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

UK Promoter MJR Group sold to TEG From VIP-Daily News

Australian entertainment giant TEG is making

its first push into Europe with its biggest ever

acquisition of UK-based promoter and venue

operator MJR Group.

Based in Bristol, England, and with offices

in Sydney and Port Macquarie, MJR Group

produces more than 2,000 shows each

year, including dates for Sia, 50 Cent,

and Hans Zimmer, and has operated and

promoted tours across Dubai, South Africa,

Japan and China.

The group’s four-strong collection of

venues includes Tramshed in Cardiff and

Birmingham’s Digbeth Arena and The

Mill. MJR also own the popular club brand

Propaganda and has stakes in six other

venues including The Warehouse in Leeds.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

TEG CEO Geoff Jones says MJR is a “great

fit” for TEG, recognised as Asia Pacific’s

largest diversified entertainment company,

and the development goes some way

toward the Australian business realising its

global ambitions.

“TEG is already Asia Pacific’s leading

ticketing, live entertainment and technology

business and this acquisition marks a

significant step towards TEG becoming a

global live entertainment powerhouse,” said

Jones in a statement.

The MJR Group, he notes, “has strong

management talent and a clever live

entertainment model to which TEG can add

ticketing, analytics and digital capability…

(and) brings significant additions to our

venue portfolio.”

TEG’s portfolio is already an impressive one

which spans ticketing, live entertainment

and technology. Its interests include

Ticketek, TEG Live, Qudos Bank Arena,

Eventopia, and TEG Dainty, Paul Dainty’s

concert and events promotion company

which it acquired in 2016.

Following the acquisition, The MJR Group’s

three partners, Richard Buck (Group CEO and

Head of U.K.), Scott Mesiti (Head of Australia

& New Zealand) and Dan Ickowitz-Seidler

(Head of U.K. Venues and Propaganda), will

remain with the TEG group.

Buck comments, “We are very excited by

this venture and the enhanced business

opportunities brought by TEG. We’ve

worked hard to scale the business over

the last five years and this next step in our

evolution will further strengthen our position

in the market.”

Both companies are digitally-focused, adds

Buck, noting “this synergy allows both

parties even more leverage by combining

each other’s tech expertise and insights to

best connect with live entertainment fans.”

Going forward, The MJR Group’s operations

will be incorporated into TEG’s global

activities, with its U.K. operations to be

renamed TEG UK.

The MJR Group’s international touring

operation MJR Presents is producing this

October’s four-date Bring That Beat Back

tour of Australasia, featuring Flavor Flav,

Bobby Brown, Bell Biv Devoe, Montell Jordan

and Blu Cantrell.

“We’re really excited to join the TEG family

and looking forward to the next chapter,”

enthuses Scott Mesiti, MJR Australia Director.

“We have very similar synergies in our

digital approach to the promoting business

and we’re particularly excited about the

infrastructure TEG has at high management

level, which will provide MJR with the right

support for our continual growth.”

[L-R] Head of UK venues and Propaganda Dan Ickowitz-Seidler, TEG chief executive Geoff Jones and MJR chief executive and head of UK Richard Buck

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Coda Becomes Paradigm Following Merge of UK and US Companies Allan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

The international booking agency business continues to develop, while

VIP took a short summer break, the ever active UK Company Coda

announced a full merger with Paradigm, five years after the American

booking agency took a 50% stake in the London-based company.

Paradigm CEO Sam Gores stated, “ Coda and Paradigm have had

tremendous success throughout our five-year partnership, creating

opportunities and building enduring careers for a roster of exceptional

talent. We look forward to the next chapter as one global company,

driven by agents who share an unwavering focus on the artists we

represent and the art they create”.

Adopting the tongue in cheek approach which he has become well

known for, Coda UK agent Alex Hardee commented: “We have

achieved the impossible: we found some Americans that we actually

get along with”.

Colleague Tom Schroeder added: “We are A&R leaders, building

creative plans for our clients in an industry that is in a constant state of

change. Merging with Paradigm enables us to evolve and challenge a

very dynamic marketplace. With this larger Paradigm platform, we can

span the globe without losing our personality, ambition, individualism

and innovative approach”.

So, from now on, Coda will also be known as Paradigm, though

continuing to be lead by Hardee and Schroeder, along with James

Whitting and Dave Hallybone.

Also, Marty Diamond, who became Paradigm Talent Agency’s head

of global music in April, is to be honoured in an upcoming awards

ceremony in New York for his “longstanding support” of the live music

industry. He will receive the Summer Stage Icon award at the City Parks

Foundation’s (CPF) 2019 gala fundraiser on 26 September.

“I’m one of many who directly benefit from City Parks Foundation and

their ongoing effort to enhance and preserve the city’s open spaces,”

says Diamond, whose roster includes Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Sara

Bareilles, Janelle Monáe, Liam Gallagher, Snowpatrol and Sigur Rós.

Paradigm London’s James Whitting, Dave Hallybone, Alex Hardee and Tom Schroeder; Paradigm Chairman and CEO Sam Gores, Head of Global Music Marty Diamond, and President Greg Bestick

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Good News for Some Smaller UK VenuesAllan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

The Music Venue Trust has welcomed a ruling in Guildford

Magistrates’ Court in which a noise abatement order, issued against

a local venue following a complaint by the developer of new block

of flats, was quashed following a court application of the agent of

change principle.

Guildford Borough Council first issued the noise abatement order last

October against the Star Inn, a pub in the town that stages live music.

The order resulted from a complaint from the developer of a new

block of nearby flats. The Shepherd Neame brewery, owners of the

pub, appealed the order, arguing that compliance would reduce the

business’s revenue, potentially forcing the venue to close.

The developer wished to convert an office block next to the existing

music venue into a residential property. It would seem obvious that

choosing to position new flats next to an existing music venue,

would lead to the developer assuming the responsibility to deal with

resulting noise issues, however in the past this has not been the case,

and situations had arisen leading to at least the imposition of heavy

costs to cover acoustic work on the venue owners, and in some cases

the closure of venues.

This situation resulted in the the ultimately successful agent of change

campaign in the UK, making it the responsibility of developers to

both anticipate and counter any future noise issues.

Judge Nick Wattam explained the reasoning behind the decision to

refuse Guildford Borough Council’s noise abatement order relating

to the Star Inn: “The Star was said to have only been a nuisance

because of [the new flats] existing. It wasn’t a nuisance before the

The last few years have been notable for the disturbing number of reports of venue closures

in London and the rest of the UK. However, as we have reported, the excellent and continuing

work of the Music Venues Trust has gone a long way towards some improvement in the

situation. One very successful campaign championed by the Trust resulted in the introduction

of the ‘Agent of Change’. Based on a legality in operation in Australia, this principle sought an

amendment to the guidelines used by the planning committees of local authorities, whereby

these committees introduced the responsibility of developers siting residential properties next

to existing venues to both anticipate and counter any future noise issues. The following item

reports a successful application of the principle, and an extremely lucid explanation by a judge

of the logic behind agent of change.

Guildford Venue Successfully Appeals Noise Abatement Order

Star Inn Guildford

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

conversion of the office building into flats. The venue has a useful or

reasonable use. Matters in the venue are carried out in a lawful way.

The venue is no greater nuisance now than when the building was

first converted”.

The pub’s general manager Georgina Baker told Surrey Live: local

radio station, “This has been going on for basically a year, so we’ve

had a whole year of not knowing whether we can carry on with our

music, whether we can keep booking bands”.

She added that the real problem was a flawed system when the local

council considered the planning application to convert an office block

into flats all the way back in 2013. Officials should have recognised

the potential issues with those new flats being adjacent to an existing

venue and should have ensured that the developer was working to

deal with those issues as part of the conversion work. Which, of

course, is the kind of logic that the agent of change principle says

planning committees should always employ.

Commenting on the court’s decision to quash the noise abatement

order, Baker added: “It’s such a high, we had no idea which way the

decision was going to go even until we adjourned today. It’s so nice

that we’ve now got the go-ahead, we can carry on, we can go back

to doing our live music and our local bands - that’s what the lifeblood

of this pub is”.

In a post on Facebook, the Music Venue Trust, which campaigned

for agent of change alongside the likes of the Musicians Union and

UK Music, said: “Attention all developers: Stop and read this judge’s

decision carefully. Our door is open to all developers that want to

talk sensibly about how to build around grassroots music venues in a

manner that protects culture and beloved community spaces”.

The post went on: “Let this case be the end of trying to work around

agent of change or bend the law or planning guidance. Let it be the

start of building great housing that protects our cherished grassroots

music venues”. It then concluded: “Congratulations to the team at

the Star. Absolutely brilliant!’

I’m happy to report that a venue in my home town of Brighton is to

more than double its current capacity: There were reports that The

Haunt was to close down but it has now been announced that it is

moving into the former cinema next door. Later this month, it will re-

open over five floors in the city’s Savoy Centre.

With a 350 capacity in its current location, the new venue will hold

up to 825 people. Retracting walls will also mean it can host 350,

600 and 825 capacity events without looking embarrassingly empty.

A smaller 150 capacity second room will also be available for smaller

shows.

The old venue will close on 1 Sep, with the new one opening its

doors on 19 Sep. There are already 50 shows on sale between the

opening and Christmas, with performances from acts including Fat

White Family and Swim Deep. The venue has also confirmed that club

nights such as Fat Poppadaddys and Secret Discotheque will continue

to run, while it will also be working on new nights to take advantage

of the larger space.

Brighton’s The Haunt Announces Capacity-Boosting Relocation

Venue Developments

The Huant

Georgina Baker

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Venue operator Mothership Group is relaunching Shoreditch’s

Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen as Colours, and will ally with fellow East

London multi-art spaces Village Underground and EartH on future

programming.

Mothership Group also runs Shoreditch’s Queen Of Hoxton and The

Book Club, as well as Patterns in Brighton - they say that Colours will

“inject a much-needed vibrancy into Shoreditch’s music landscape”.

The new look venue will host gigs, club nights and other cultural

events, while still operating as a restaurant during the day. Though

that won’t be the only daytime activity, with Mothership saying that it

hopes Colours will become “an incubator for invited local artists and

creative networks, providing a free space for collaborators to host

meetings, rehearsals and record podcasts”.

Confirming all this, Mothership’s Chloe Uppington says: “Painting a

revolution of raw performance and inclusive and accessible culture,

Colours will be a bold and beautiful temple of creativity and celebration

of live music. A testament to Hoxton’s past, which overflows with

seminal moments across club, culture and the art scene, Colours

is part of a dedicated push to keep young artists and musicians in

East London”.

Mothership acquired the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen off previous owner

MAMA in 2015, following the latter’s acquisition by Live Nation.

So, overall it’s very good to be able to report positive smaller

venue news!

Hoxton, London Venue to Relaunch

Future of Baloise Session Secured till 2025Allan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

Insurance Group Basler Versicherungen has confirmed the future of

the Baloise Session until 2025. The Company is extending its current

Presenting Sponsorship contract by another five years. This assures the

future of the music festival up to and including 2025. In so doing, the

insurance group states that it is demonstrating its close ties with the

boutique festival and its commitment to the promotion of music.

The 34th BALOISE SESSION will be held from 12 to 31 October 2019.

This year’s line-up will be published on 21 August. Advance tickets sales

start on 28 August.

Beatrice Stirnimann (CEO Baloise Session) and Michael Müller (CEO Schweiz Basler Versicherungen)

Baloise Session

→ SESSIONS WITH: MATT DILLON (ACTOR, US), CORNELIA FUNKE (AUTHOR, US), ALEXANDER HOLLAND (DEEZER, FR), HOLGER HÜBNER (WACKEN OPEN AIR, DE), THOMAS JENSEN (WACKEN OPEN AIR, DE), THOMAS MIKUSZ (WHITE BEAR PR, US), PATRICK MUSHATSI-KAREBA (SONY MUSIC, DE), KATE NASH (MUSICIAN, GB), KOOL SAVAS (MUSICIAN, DE), MOLLY NEUMAN (SONGTRUST, US), PUJA PATEL (PITCHFORK, US), BOB ROCK (PRODUCER METALLICA, CA), ZAN ROWE (TRIPLE J RADIO, AU), TILL SCHONEBERG (KONZERTBÜRO SCHONEBERG, DE), KLAUS-PETER SCHULENBERG (CTS EVENTIM, DE), MATT SCHWARZ (LIVE NATION GSA, DE), KELLY SNOOK (PRODUCER ENGINEER, GB), AND MANY MORE

→ CONCERTS BY: FEIST, DERMOT KENNEDY, SLEAFORD MODS, DOPE LEMON, PENGUIN CAFE, ELDERBROOK, PORTICO QUARTET, AURORA, BILLIE MARTEN, ISHMAEL ENSEMBLE,CELESTE, ONE TRUE PAIRING, SEA GIRLS, THE JAPANESE HOUSE, DONNA MISSAL,JAMES TW, WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS, ALGIERS, AMERICAN AUTHORS, SASAMI, JUSTIN JESSO, SYML, SEBADOH, DEAN LEWIS, AND MANY MORE

Organiser: Reeperbahn Festival GbR & Inferno Events GmbH & Co. KG

funded by supported by

→ 18.–21.SEPT. 2019

REEPERBAHNFESTIVALMUSIC, ARTS, FILM,WORD, DISCOURSE

SESSIONS, SHOWCASES, MEETINGS,NETWORKING, AWARDS

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Application Call from Reeperbahn for ACCESS in Accra, GhanaAllan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

PRS Reports Dance Music as Biggest Growing Festival GenreAllan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

There is no doubt that many of the African

markets are developing fast! Reeperbahn

added panels and meetings dealing with this

at last year’s conference, and now here is

news of another of their increasing Festival

spin – offs taking place in Ghana:

After visiting Beijing and NYC already this

year with an amazing group of professionals

from all over Europe, Reeperbahn is now

ready to start collecting applications for its

next „Reeperbahn Festival International“

spin-off. This time they invite professionals

who want to attend Africa’s leading music

conference, ACCES, which takes place in

Accra, Ghana from 28 – 30 November 2019

to apply until 11 September 2019.

For the third time the Music In Africa

Conference For Collaborations, Exchange

And Showcases (ACCES) will bring together

music industry players from over 50

countries to exchange ideas, discover new

talent and create business linkages. Held in

a different African city every year, ACCES

offers a dynamic programme including

music industry talks, keynotes, showcases,

networking sessions, exhibitions and visits

to music hubs in the host country. Get more

information about ACCES 2019 here.

Representatives of internationally oriented

music companies from Germany and

Europe can now apply to become part of

the delegation to Accra. Prerequisite for

participation is activity in the recorded,

publishing, distribution, booking/live or

management fields and concrete interest in

the African music market.

The application deadline is 11 September

2019.

To get more information about Reeperbahn

Festival spin-offs (including Accra) meet

the organisers of the partner events as

well as the Reeperbahn team, join us the

info session during Reeperbahn Festival:

11am, Friday 20 September, Ginger Room,

East Hotel.

At the end of July UK Collection Society PRS

noted that, according to a new report that

Electronic music festivals such as Amsterdam

Dance Event (ADE) have seen the fastest

growth over the last decade.

PRS stated that ADE, which has hosted a

PRS for Music-organised songwriters’ camp

for the last two years running, has grown

more than 23,000 per cent since its first

event in 1995, which hosted 300 attendees.

Last year’s edition attracted 70,000 punters

from around the world to venues across the

whole city.

Other Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals

faring particularly well include Electric Daisy

Acces Accra

Rad Season at Amsterdam Dance Event

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VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Carnival in Las Vegas (up 2,600 per cent),

Sonar in Barcelona (up 1,233 per cent) and

Germany’s Melt! Festival (up 900 per cent).

StubHub, the company behind the research,

said: ‘The fastest growing festival genre is

in fact, EDM. This specific genre of festival

is overriding any other, including festivals

which host a mix of genres.

‘In second place to EDM is jazz. While at

opposite ends of the musical spectrum, it

seems that the festival fan base for both has

seriously grown.’

However, the jazz results were skewed by the

runaway success of the New Orleans Jazz and

Heritage Festival, which was founded in 1970

and has grown by 17,000 percent since then.

Festival heavyweight, Glastonbury, which

has also been running since 1970, has

enjoyed an 8,900 percent growth since it

first opened its gates to just 1,500 people. It

now hosts 135,000 each June.

The fastest-growing festival of the last

decade is Boomtown Fair, which started in

2009 with 1,000 revellers. The Winchester

event now has a capacity of 66,000 and has

grown by 6,500 percent since its inception.

These figures were made available to PRS

members, who were reminded that each

summer, PRS for Music sends a field team

to all the major UK festivals to collect set

lists from artists and performers, and that

members should make sure if the had played

a festival this summer, that they should be

sure to submit their set lists.

Top 10 Fastest Growing Festivals (and growth since first year) Amsterdam Dance Event, Netherlands – 23,233%New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival -17,043%Glastonbury Festival, UK – 8,900%

Boomtown Fair, UK – 6,500%Green Man Festival, UK – 3,233%

South by Southwest, Texas – 2,757%Electric Daisy Carnival, Vegas – 2,600%

Dour Festival, Belgium – 2,320%Strawberries & Creem, UK – 1,775%St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Australia – 1,329%

Green Man Festival

3 days of international networking150 keynotes & panels - 15 venues5925 professionnals - 400 speakersMaMA Invent: the innovation areaMore than 150 concerts & showcases!

THE GATEWAY TO THE FRENCH MUSIC MARKET10th anniversary - Paris > Pigalle / Montmartre

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Even though the practice of staging summer

sales has a long history in the retail trade, the

announcement of the takeover and purchase

of International Concert Service - and thus of

the Wacken Festival - by Superstruct, marks

another climax in the incidence of buy and

sell in the 21st century concert business. And

this recent transaction took place in the year,

when Wacken celebrated its 30th anniversary.

In this year’s February issue, VIP News

published an article under the heading “Sales

Time in the Concert Industry” and reported

on the financial involvement of investment

companies from outside the industry relating

to their holdings in concert companies.

One of the key players in this context is

Superstruct, at least as far as the European

festival market is concerned. Within a very

short space of time, this company has

acquired the following festivals and concert

companies; Down The Drain (Northside

Festival/Tinderbox/DK), Elrow (ES), Flow

Festival (FI), Oya (NO) Sonar (ES), Sziget

(HU) and, most recently, Parookaville (DE).

These transactions were empowered by the

financial support of the mighty Providence

Equity Partners from the USA.

It should also be mentioned that Germany’s

DEAG acquired a majority stake in I-Motion

(Nature One/Mayday/Ruhr in Love, among

others) at the beginning of June and

that the takeover of Wacken Open Air

by Superstruct at the end of the summer

holidays marks the change of ownership

of Germany’s most internationally known

festival brand.

The Complications and Formalities Involved in these Company Take Overs

The bigger the buyer, the more demanding

the procedures are when buying a company.

A prominent example of this is the takeover

of Four Artists by the German industry leader

CTS Eventim, which was not approved by

the Federal Cartel Office in 2017. Providence

Equity, on the other hand, with fixed assets

of around 40 billion US dollars, deals in

even bigger transactions which explains the

wording of the registration of the deal with

the German Federal Cartel Office.

Consequently, the notification dated 9

August on the website of the Wacken

takeover authority reads:

“Providence Equity Partners, LLC (USA);

indirect acquisition of control of ICS GmbH

International Concert Service, Wacken (D) et

al.” Subject to the approval of the German

Federal Cartel Office, the takeover could be

formally sealed within four weeks, which

would then provide for a majority takeover

by Providence Equity, the actual financier

of Superstruct. The takeover of Next Events

GmbH for Parookaville has also been under

review since 31 July. If within four weeks no

decision has been made, the consideration

phase will automatically be prolonged by

another three months.

The following entry on the website of the

Austrian Federal Competition Authority is

somewhat more revealing, but also more

confusing: “LMF Luxco S.à.r.l. intends to

acquire indirectly via the acquisition vehicle

Superstruct Germany Holding GmbH, 55

% of the shares and sole control of (i) ICS

GmbH International Concert Service, (ii)

ICS Festival Service GmbH, (iii) Hübner &

Jensen Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, (iv)

Hübner & Jensen GmbH & Co. KG and (v)

SH-Promotion GmbH & Co. KG to acquire.

The proposed transaction concerns the live

entertainment sector”.

The fact is that the Wacken ‘empire’ as a

company is of course still in operation, albeit

with different subsidiaries. Another, on the

other hand, is that the business construct of

the Wacken operators and their subsidiaries

appears like an open book compared to that

of Superstruct.

“Acquisition vehicle” Superstruct

Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out

why the takeover of the Wacken Open Air

Summer Sales in the Concert BusinessManfred Tari mt@vip-booking.com

Wacken Open Air

VIPNEWS > INDEPTH STORY > AUGUST 2019

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and its accessories needs also to apply for

approval in Austria at the time this article

went to press.

Though a remarkable consideration is the

mentioning of the company names LMF

Luxco S.à.r.l. and Superstruct Germany

Holding GmbH. According to the entry in the

commercial register, the mentioned company

name “Blitz D19-414 GmbH, Düsseldorf, c/o

Blitzstart Holding AG” became “Superstruct

Germany Holding GmbH” on 30 July. The

company LMF Luxco S.à.r.l., which in turn

is based in Luxembourg and represented

by the international law firm Squire Patton

Boggs, has been the owner of the brand

name “Superstruct” since 20 July 2017.

Location Advantage Tax Havens

It is part of the development programme of

major international companies to be based

in locations that offer advantages from a

fiscal point of view. In the case of Providence

Equity, the company is located in Providence,

Rhode Island. In the ranking of international

offshore tax havens, however, Rhode Island

occupies only a lower midfield position.

It is interesting to note, however, that

Providence Equity has its registered office

in Delaware according to the entries on the

website of the US Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC), as does Live Nation.

Delaware, however, occupies a top position

in the Champions League of relevant tax

havens alongside the Cayman Islands and

Lichtenstein and ahead of Luxembourg.

James Who?

Despite all the indications, James Barton, the

CEO of Superstruct, is by no means just a

resourceful investment mogul who knows

the concert business only by observing

the share price development of major

Companies such as CTS Eventim or Live

Nation. Barton, born in 1968, instead knows

the festival and promotion industry from

scratch and has come a long way from being

a local promoter to a middleman between

the upper classes of the finance community

and the concert industry.

Starting young, he kicked off in 1992 in

Liverpool with the club event “Cream”. The

400 person rave grew into the Creamfield

Festival in 1998, which at its best attracted

up to 50,000 visitors and made its successful

debut as an export hit in Argentina in 2000.

Further spin-offs followed in Brazil, Chile,

Mexico, Poland, the Czech Republic and

elsewhere.

On top of that, in 2008 Barton tapped

into the London listed venture capital fund

Ingenious Live VCT, one of the very first

funds to finance concert companies, and in

2012 sold the mother ship, Cream Holdings,

for £13.9 million to Live Nation. The concert

industry giant immediately appointed him

‘President of Electronic Dance Music’, which,

given the size of the company, is more like

the status of a branch manager. At the

end of 2016, he resigned this post and

established himself as CEO of Superstruct in

January 2017.

Basic knowledge in buying and selling

It is obvious that a lot of specialist jargon

from legal to business questions arises in

such transactions. While Next Events used

the consulting agency Mayland AG for the

sales negotiations for the Parookaville, the

creators of the Wacken Festival, according

to their own statements, managed without

the help of M&A experts (Mergers &

Acquisitions).

Information on whether and which concert

companies are next to be sold or taken on

board by investors is treated just as discreetly

as the purchase prices for Parookaville or

Wacken. It is already clear, however, that the

concert business of tomorrow will undergo

substantial changes at both national and

international level in view of the ever-

growing conglomerates of companies in

the industry. Reason enough in any case

to expand the industry vocabulary with

technical terms such as “Due Diligence” or

“Vertical Spend Estimates”...

Failure of Fishing for Quotes

Needless to say, the Wacken Open Air is

the best internationally known festival

in Germany. The takeover of this event

by Superstruct additionally confirms

and highlights that the live music sector

continues to undergo serious amendments

in terms of business settings and structures.

To get some observations on the meaning of

such deals for the live music sector, VIP News

asked 12 German industry players three

questions regarding their opinion on these

market developments:

How do you expect such deals will change

the concert business in general in the near

future?

Do you expect more such deals to take

place?

Do you consider these acquisitions rather as

positive or negative for the German festival

market?

Guess what happened? VIP News received

statements from three of these players

ranging from “ Just one word : Evil!”, “It’s

really unbelievable, once again someone

James Barton - CEO Superstruct

VIPNEWS > INDEPTH STORY > AUGUST 2019

14

WITHOUT any reason.” and “My answer to

all three questions you asked is rather blunt

but true, I’m afraid: I got no fuckin’ idea.!”

Perhaps the selection of industry inmates

approached was inappropriate, but at least

one of bravely submitted her comments.

Julia Frank of Wizard Promotion delivered a

proper conclusion and analysis, that covers

today’s market developments accordingly:

Julia Frank – Wizard Promotions (DE)

The investment industry seems to have

discovered the live concert market, so more

of these deals are to be expected in the

future. We will find out how this will affect

us as the industry in general, but we have

learned from the consolidation of major

labels around 15 years ago, that a lot of

employees and artists were left on the street.

AEG and Live Nation moving into the

European market years ago also affected

us all as well, but not to the point that the

independent companies, with an adjustment

of their game plan, were struggling or dying.

Superstruct buying into Parookaville and

Wacken will give these festivals financial

stability and they can concentrate on strong

line-ups and teaming up with the other

Superstruct-owned festivals. I imagine it

will be more difficult for the independent

promoters to place acts in the future, but

the German festival market is strong and we

have a lot of mid-size events that are very

successful and sell out in advance every year.

They depend on us as much as we depend

on them when it comes to acts as the big

festival promoters often block them, so

historically we have been working closely

with them - a relationship that we will

continue in the years to come.

ImagIne if you could go to one website and get aLL the contacts

you need for the european Live music Industry?

WeLL you Can! www.vip-booking.com

®

vip-booking.com

145-157 St John Street | London Ec1V 4PW United Kingdom | Phone: +44 (0) 870 755 0092

www.vip-booking.com | vip@vip-booking.com

Julia Frank

VIPNEWS > INDEPTH STORY > AUGUST 2019

15

VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

The Failure of the 50th Anniversary of WoodstockManfred Tari mt@vip-booking.com

When Roger Daltrey, frontman of The Who,

was asked at ILMC 2019 about the band’s

concert at Woodstock (1969), he said that

it was “the first nail in the coffin of the

Vietnam War, the first thing to make the

government sit up and take notice.” With

his statement Daltrey at least acknowledges,

that this festival had a political impact.

Probably not intended by the promoter

as documentaries and media reports

suggest, but more or less resulting from the

performances of those participating in the

event. Unintentionally or not, Woodstock

retrospectively became an iconic milestone

for a progressive perception of popular

music and its meaning for society issues.

Since medieval times popular music always

produced protest songs, but Woodstock has

been without doubt one of the very first

mass events, triggered by popular music.

As Daltrey in terms of Woodstock correctly

refers to the reactions to the Vietnam War

as a meaningful political motive that raised

concerns in society in those times, there are

today many other political issues that are

equally meaningful for the state and which

shape for the cohesion of society.

One of the best articles summarising

the failure of the staging of an event to

commemorate the 50th anniversary of

Woodstock was published by Billboard.

Headlined as “The Turbulent Saga of

Woodstock 50: A Timeline”, this story

provided an overview about the manifold

reasons for, and what lead to the cancellation

of Woodstock 50.

Well, leaving aside nostalgia, that particular

article in Billboard describes a proper

picture of today’s settings in the live music

industry. When Peter Schwenkow, CEO of

DEAG was asked in an interview with the

financial paper “Euro am Sonntag” about

an anniversary edition of the festivals he

says: “I think everything has its time. Of

course Woodstock is the biggest global

brand for festivals and is anchored in

collective memory as the culmination of the

Love & Peace era. But that freedom, that

Grateful Dead atmosphere of the past, you

can’t bring back today in air-conditioned

tents with built-in showers, and that’s a

good thing. Basically, it’s nothing more than

slaughtering an old brand.”

The days of Grateful Dead are gone, as

well as previous political issues. Since

then Woodstock at least indirectly and

unintentionally paved the way for charity

events such as “LiveAid”, “FarmAid” or

movements such as “Rock Against Fascism”

or “Rock the Vote.”

Political engagement by the music sector

appears here and there, but all appears

to have changed. A very current example

therefore is the collaboration between the

UK-act The 1975 and Greta Thunberg. The

band teamed up with the Swedish climate

activist and earlier on in July released the

single “The 1975” from the new album

“Notes on a Conditional Form”, featuring

a speech by Thunberg, where she requests

among other things if it’s “time to rebel”

and calling for “civil disobedience.” The

proceeds of this song will be donated to the

UK movement “Extinction Rebellion.”

Thunberg itself is the figurehead of the

pupils movement “Fridays For Future” and

is considered according to an article on BBC.

com by Matty Healy, the lead singer of The

1975 and their manager Jamie Osborne as

“the most important person in the world to

give a platform to.” Even more remarkable

is their quote regarding how the band

apparently struggled, when approaching

other artists to join their charity project for

the Extinction Rebellion: “Other artists didn’t

want to do it - it’s madness, bigger artists

than The 1975.”

This quote says a lot about what has

changed since Woodstock 1969 and in

particular how the music industry and

their protagonists have changed. But as

Woodstock was staged far away from the

deadly battlefields of Vietnam, today’s

worldwide festival sites unfortunately are

more likely than ever before of being hit by

an extreme weather incident. With this in

mind, never mind Woodstock, think of how

to launch “Festivals for Future”...

The Who at Woodstock 1969

16

VIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

Live Nation Finland has appointed Tomi

Saarinen as its new chief executive officer,

the company has announced.

Saarinen, who is based out of Live Nation’s

Helsinki office, was formerly marking director

of Sony Music Finland and has also worked

at Finnish radio stations YleX and NJR. He

succeeds outgoing CEO Nina Castrén, who

is stepping down for health reasons.

Of his appointment, Saarinen said: “It’s great

to be part of a top team that has recently

performed spectacularly with Muse and

Metallica, as well as several other gigs over

the Finnish summer. We will continue to

produce high-quality, memorable events and

develop our artist roster. We want to be the

best partner for artists, and enable them to

develop to their full potential, while providing

Finns with ever-more exciting experiences. I

thank Live Nation for this great opportunity.”

Castrén added: “I leave Tom with a strong,

stable and successful market leader and

continues “I am proud of the company, and

I believe Tom will continue to increase its

success with his input.”

Risto Juvonen, Live Nation Finland‘s

chairman said: “The company is very grateful

to Nina for her contribution, both as CEO

over the last nine years and over her 20-

year career. Her legacy provides Tom with a

solid foundation from which to develop Live

Nation’s market leadership.”

New MD for Live Nation FinlandFrom VIP-Daily News

Tomi Saarinen

NAMES & JOBSVIPNEWS > AUGUST 2019

16

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18

MUSIC IN SHARES

MusicIn SharesManfred Tari mt@vip-booking.com

The financial community apparently loves live music. Perhaps this is

outlined by a video clip released by The Economist, where a young

reporter asks the question: “Why are music festivals so expensive?”

The clip scratches the surface of what non-industry-folks or public

interest journalists assume to know about the live music industry.

However, coming up with a catchy observation the journalist

concludes as part of video-report that we are living in the age of the

“experience economy.”

‘Well said’, could be the overall assumption, not going too much

into details about the functioning of this industry, except the hard

facts that artists fees are going up and that festival promoters today

have to cope with significantly higher production expenses.

However, “experience economy” is a proper buzz term that should

work for analysts and investment managers to spent a few extra

bucks when it comes to a positive decision how to invest money.

CTS Eventim - Convincingly H1/2019 Results

Politically CTS Eventim is, indirectly due to a court decision by the

highest EU court regarding its promising Autobahn-toll-business, in

the news. Andreas Scheuer, the German minister for traffic signed

contracts before the court decision, leading to the fact that the

ministry for traffic might now have to pay compensation fees for

the minister’s breach of contract .

Whatever is in it for CTS Eventim has currently caused a political

uproar. However, the business results for the first half year by CTS

Eventim indicate upwards trend for the shares of the company.

The revenue moved up from a previous 606,6 in H1-2018 up to

696,6 million Euros. The revenue for the ticketing division moved

from 183,4 up to 200,2 million Euros, while that of the live music

activities rose from 429,1 up to 504,5 million Euro.

The Earnings before Interests, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization

(EBITDA) peaked at 111,8 million Euros compare to 94,1 million

Euros one year before, while the management of CTS Eventim

announced expectation of further growth figures for the on-going

business year.

Since the beginning of August the share price of CTS Eventim went

up, successfully overtaking the 50 Euro per share mark, maintaining

the level of 50.55 Euro on August 23, when this report went to press...

DEAG - Feeding The Growth Story

DEAG acquired 51 per cent of Meves Entertainment Group, a

company specialized in so called “Schlagermusik.” No information

on the purchase price has been given, but since June 27 the share

price went down from 4.65 to 3.65 Euro...

Eventbrite - Slightly Up

The share price of Eventbrite has faced tough times. In March 2019

still above $30, but on May 30 down to $15.33, presently at least

it is up to $19.11.

Live Nation - The Outperformer

Basically this company fulfils investor and analyst expectations with

its growth strategy. For the business year 2005, the year of the spin

off from Clear Channel on December 21, Live Nation reported a

turnover of $2.51 bn*. Now Live Nation reports for the 2nd quarter

2019 alone, a turnover of $2.63 bn.

Backed by positive analyst ratings and due to the fact that

institutional investors raised their share holdings in the company

the share is now up to $70,72 and exceeds therewith a market

capitalization of $15 billion...

Spotify - Summer Recovery

Since June 3rd this share has experienced a recovery, up from

$122.81 to $138.0 on August 23....

VIPNEWS > BUSINESS > AUGUST 2019

About Our Company

VIP-Booking’s core product is the largest database for the European Live Entertainment Industry www.vip-booking.com developed as a tool for industry professionals . Since it’s launch in the year 2000, we have consistently offered our subscribers the very best in database services and now boast subscribers in over 50 countries.

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ARTIST AVAILS MEMBER PRESENTATION

This space is dedicated to present some of our clients using

VIP-Booking.com. Companies presented here have our best

endorsement...

KAREN MÉNDEZTerritory: WorldwidePeriod: 3 yearsAgency: Be Real AgencyAgent: Paul FourmyPhone: +32 485 365 696E-mail: paul@bereal.agencyHomepage: www.realkeymusic.com

OUMAR KONATETerritory: worldwidePeriod: 2019-2020Agency: Clermont MusicAgent: Chris NolanPhone: +1 518 755 5089E-mail: chrisanolan3@clermontmusic.comHomepage: www.clermontmusic.com/oumar-konate/

ACODTerritory: WorldPeriod: 2019 - 2021Agency: Phenix AgencyAgent: Julien PagnonPhone: +33 6869 11017E-mail: julien@phenix-agency.euHomepage: www.acod-music.com

MAMADOU KELLY Territory: WorldwidePeriod: 2019-2020Agency: Clermont MusicAgent: Chris NolanPhone: +1 5187 555089E-mail: chrisanolan3@clermontmusic.comHomepage: www.clermontmusic.com/mamadou-kelly/

ZAP MAMATerritory: EuropePeriod: 2019Agency: Artistagencygent: Bart QuintensPhone: +32 16 77 76 70E-mail: bart@artistagency.beHomepage: www.zapmama.com

ROBERTA BONFARDECITerritory: Germany - ParisPeriod: AugustAgency: THEWEBENGINEAgent: Giuseppe FisicaroPhone: 35 199 23670E-mail: info@thewebengine.itHomepage: www.thewebengine.it

Roberta Bonfardeci

AME.Media is one the biggest management and booking companies in Germany

working with international artists such as Lou Bega, Hermes House Band, Marquess,

Loona, and Feuerherz.

Get in touch via contact@ame-media.de or +49 (0) 2451-909487.

www.ame-media.de

VIPNEWS > MISC > AUGUST 2019

19