| Galbraith deal plans to triple Bloodstock |
CO-FOUNDER OF metal festival Monsters of Rock Stuart Galbraith has formed a joint venture with organisers of the 10,000-capacity Bloodstock festival and plans to expand the event to three times its size.
Galbraith’s AEG Live-backed Kilimanjaro Live has bought 50 per cent of the 15-17 August event, held at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, for an undisclosed sum.
“Bloodstock is run by fans for fans. At the core of what they do is their love of hard rock music and it reminds me very much of the ethos behind Monsters of Rock, so I wanted to be involved,” says Galbraith.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Independent festivals Aim for unity |
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INDEPENDENT FESTIVALS in the UK are uniting under a new non-profit trade organisation, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), which aims to, share knowledge, form joint marketing and purchasing agreements and lobby government.
Conceived by the founder of Bestival (cap. 30,000), Rob da Bank, AIF will be an autonomous division of independent record labels body AIM (Association of Independent Music) and will be chaired by AIM chairman Alison Wenham.
Among AIF’s 12 founding festival members are Creamfields, The Big Chill, WOMAD, Summer Sundae Weekender and Secret Garden Party.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Words fly as RRS bashes Madonna deal |
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A WAR of words has broken out between Viagogo CEO Eric Baker and the Music Managers’ Forum-backed Resale Rights Society (RRS), after the latter branded Baker’s recent Madonna deal with Live Nation (see Audience, issue 101) as “meaningless”.
RRS chairman-elect Marc Marot claims there is “mounting chaos” over ticketing for Madonna’s September stadium dates in London and Cardiff, because Viagogo is billed as the “official premium and secondary ticketing partner”, which he claims is confusing customers.
“The nature of these exclusives are meaningless,” Marot told the Financial Times (FT), because they could not prevent tickets being resold on other sites.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
Matter ‘will not compete with Indigo’ |
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THE TEAM behind Matter, the new venue being constructed within The O2 dome (see LIVE UK, issue 101), say they will be working with the complex’s smaller venue, IndigO2 (cap. 2,350). rather than competing with it.
Unveiling details of the new venture, project head Cameron Leslie, MD of London nightclub Fabric, says the three-floor, 2,600-capacity Matter will have the latest technology and a “skybridge” on the top floor which will traverse the space.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Triple capacity for iTunes Live shows |
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MORE THAN 60 acts, ranging from Paul Weller, The Pretenders and James Blunt to Foals and Does It Offend You, Yeah?, will play across 31 evening shows throughout the July at Apple’s annual iTunes Live free music festival.
Entrance to the event, which has moved from London’s 400-capacity ICA to Koko (cap, 1,500) is for online contest winners only, with all performances recorded for later broadcast on iTunes’ retail site.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Brands back festival for under-18s |
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FOLLOWING LAST year’s debut event, sponsors of Underage – aimed specifically at under-18s, have significantly upped their support for this year’s 8 August event, say organisers.
The 5,000-capacity festival, held in London’s Victoria Par, is promoted by Eat Your Own Ears’ Tom Baker and 14-year-old Sam Kilcoyne, founder of the Underage club nights at the Coronet Theatre (cap. 2,200).
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Barfly brand gets a rethink |
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MAMA GROUP is spending around £250,000 upgrading three of its Barfly venues as part of an effort to re-energise the brand.
Its 150-capacity Fibbers in York will get a £60,000 upgrade, including a new PA, lights and refurbished dressing rooms.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Rain stops play at Gatecrasher |
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SOME FANS are demanding refunds after bad weather forced organisers of dance festival Gatecrasher Summer Sound System to cancel second day main stage performances by acts such as Chemical Brothers and Hot Chip.
Torrential rain blew onto the stage and made it too dangerous for performers and, although some artistes were able to play in other tents at the 11-stage 24-25 May event, fans were disappointed at the cancellations.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Tickets at £25 or a box for £1.2m |
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AS IF to accentuate the diversity of audiences attending London’s Royal Albert Hall (RAH), while it celebrates the successful launch of the Albert Sessions with a sell-out show by The Wombats, a privately-owned box at the venue has gone on the market at £1.2 million.
The 3,296-capacity RAH plans to stage four-to-five Albert Sessions a year with breaking artistes who are capable of selling out at least 2,000-capacity venues and who are prepared to participate in an RAH-supported educational programme.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
Komedia in Brighton breakout |
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WITH LONGTERM plans to grow nationwide, the owners of Komedia are opening a new venue in Bath – the first time the brand has stepped outside its home city of Brighton.
Komedia Bath is at the site of the former Odeon cinema and is expected to open in November, with a capacity of 450 seated and 650 standing. As with the twin-room Brighton venue (cap. 500.400), it will host live music, comedy and cabaret shows.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Bridlington back In business |
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AFTER A £19 million, two-year renovation, Bridlington’s Spa complex has reopened with a sell-out show by local boys-made-good The Pigeon Detectives.
The SJM Concerts-promoted concert, which took place in the 3,750-capacity art deco Royal Hall, kicked off a week of events in June, which included a classical music gala and appearances by Julian Clary and Jimmy Tarbuck.
A subsequent show by The Proclaimers sold out the building’s 650-seat Edwardian Theatre.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Radio 2 ups folk festival coverage |
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ALTHOUGH ITS title sponsorship of the sell-out Cambridge Folk Festival has ended, BBC Radio 2 is increasing its coverage of the 10,000-capacity event on the airwaves and online.
While schedules are yet to be fixed, the BBC will broadcast live from the festival site on Thursday, Saturday and Monday and there will be highlights programmes on Saturday and Monday.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Watchdog magazine calls for ticket fee clarity |
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CONSUMER WATCHDOG magazine Which? has called for greater clarity on ticket fees, following a survey which showed nine out of 10 people want transparency akin to airline tickets, which have to include taxes, fees and charges in the original quote.
Furthermore, four in five of those surveyed thought that booking fees were too expensive and didn't reflect the value of the service.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| RockNess to stay organic |
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ROCKNESS FESTIVAL organisers say they will continue to grow the even organically following AEG Live’s acquisition of 51 per cent (see LIVE UK, issue 101).
Founding companies Loudsound, Slingshot and Beyond Promotions believe AEG’s involvement will help attract bigger headliners, but say there won’t be any dramatic expansion of the 35,000-capacity event.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Fest cancellation blamed on ‘economy and competition’ |
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UNCERTAINTY ABOUT the economy, an competitive marketplace and last year’s wash-out festival season have been blamed for the cancellation of the 5,000-capacity Blissfields Festival, due to poor ticket sales.
Organisers say they hope to try again next year and are refunding the tickets sold for the 4-6 July event, which was due to feature acts such as The Wonderstuff, The Whip and Roni Size Reprazent at a new site at Matterley Bowl, Winchester.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Tasty line-up for new event |
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THE PRODUCERS of Manchester’s Food and Drink Festival have launched a new event in the city which offers a mixture of live music.and food and drink producers.
Around 5,000 people per day are expected to be at July’s Summer in the Park, which features two music stages, a comedy tent among attractions at Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Big Chill rescues flooded Sunrise |
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ORGANISERS OF The Big Chill festival have stepped in to rescue Somerset eco-fest Sunrise Celebration, after the 29 May-1June event was forced to cancel f due to flooding.
People with tickets for the 10,000-capacity Sunrise Celebration can swap their £100 passes for entry into The Big Chill (1-3 August), while others are being offered refunds or a discount on the 2009 event, in lieu of a refund. The festival did not have bad weather insurance cover.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Plans for £15m venue unveiled |
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SCUNTHORPE’S DISUSED 1,000-capacity Baths Hall, ince regularly used for concerts, is to be replaced with a new £15 million venue which will host live music, theatre, conference and community events.
While most of the building will be demolished, the 1931 frontage will be refurbished and form part of the new building, which is being planned by North Lincolnshire Council.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| New festival to spotlight local acts |
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A NEW festival is being launched on the South Downs near Brighton and will showcase the city’s music scene, alongside an eclectic mix of headliners.
With a capacity of 15,000, Beachdown will take place on 22-24 August with camping for 11,000 and shuttle buses between the site and the city centre for non-campers.
The event is the brainchild of Touch magazine and Time Out Notting Hill Carnival Guide publisher Joe Pidgeon, who has assembled an organising team that includes Catskills Records and Beathut founder Jonny Goodwillie, music publicist Jane Slater, entertainment solicitor Dean Marsh, artiste manager Seven Webster and promoter Darren Murphy.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| Web mag adds ticket search |
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ONLINE MUSIC magazine ilikemusic.com and ticket search engine Tickex have partnered to provide a ticket search facility, which will enable fans to seek out tickets on the primary and secondary markets.
The joint-branded facility will be on ilikemusic.com and both parties feel it will drive up visitors and increase traffic on their sites.
(see the full story in Issue 102)
| NEWS FEATURE |
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NEC to relaunch flagship arena
As customer expectations increase and the importance of looking after them – from ticket purchase to departure after the show – becomes a common theme, Birmingham’s NEC Group announces a major refurb of its principal arena and more, as Phil Mead tells James Drury
Phil Mead is preparing for the future.
The NEC Group MD of arenas has just announced a £28 million investment programme which will see the 28-year-old, 12,500-capacity NEC Arena transformed into a venue for the next generation of concert-goers.
The development fits into the company’s aim to be “where people come to discover the future”, running across all its venues, which include the 13,000-capacity NIA, the Symphony Hall (2,260) and conference centres.
This is because the latest screen and interactive technology will be used thanks to a naming rights deal with LG, which will not only involve the NEC Arena being renamed the LG Arena, but see the electronics company provide further innovations for the revamped entrance.
That phase will see neighbouring hall The Forum transformed into a new opening area designed to increase audience anticipation and the sense of “arrival”.
“I joined the company 18 months ago and it was clear we needed more than a lick of paint,” Mead says.
“The work will be completed in two phases. The first runs September to May and will involve the work on The Forum, which means the arena doesn’t have to close.
“In summer 2009 we will close the arena for a short while, as it is our quiet period, and it must be ready for opening in October 2009.”
(see issue 102 for the full news-feature)
Newsbites
MAMA GROUP has bought the remaining shares of Angel Music Group (AMG) for £2,625,000, following its acquisition of 70 per cent of the shares in April (see LIVE UK, issue 100). In a statement, MAMA CEOs Adam Driscoll and Dean James say the acquisition “creates the second largest music festival business in the UK and we anticipate selling over 250,000 festival tickets in the next 12 months.”
FESTIVAL REPUBLIC MD Melvin Benn has joined the board of Wembley Stadium as a non-executive director. FA Chairman Lord Triesman says the appointment reflects “the changing needs of the stadium and provides the business with relevant and invaluable experience that will help it fully realise its potential.”
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