Features
Bloody Battle For London?
No matter who wins the battle for London between AEG and Live Nation, both will likely end up bruised as it appears to be a tough summer for all in the UK capital.
Kilimanjaro Live chief Stuart Galbraith, who’s previously worked with both and is now largely owned and funded by Deutsche Entertainment AG, wasn’t doing noticeably better at his Sonisphere in Knebworth Park, about 20 miles north of London.
Kilimanjaro is claimin and LN is also apparently keeping quiet about the results from its Wireless Festivals in London’s Finsbury Park and Birmingham’s Perry Park.
Live Nation said the overall attendance for the Wireless events was just below 200,000. Across two three-day festivals, that’s 33,333 people per festival day.
At Download, the rock festival LN promoted at Castle Donington June 13-15, two agents who work for the same company – and would only comment on condition of anonymity – were each told an attendance figure for the festival.
The numbers were 10,000 apart. Eyewitness reports suggest that so far The Libertines, which played AEG’s British Summertime Festival in Hyde Park, was the only act promoted by the U.S.-based global giants to do more than 50,000 people.
Another possible indicator that the summer hasn’t been kind is AEG’s apparent decision to honor the tickets of fans who scored £2.50 ($4.26) tickets to Hyde Park concerts thanks to a technical glitch. Full-price tickets ranged between £50 ($83) and £295 ($503).
AEG isn’t saying how many £2.50 tickets, originally intended for staff and corporate guests, were sold. International Business Times questioned why the £2.50 tickets were still available to ordinary fans some six hours after AEG became aware of the technical error.
The digital news publication suggested the cheap tickets were a “marketing stunt” to shift more tickets, effectively papering the park.
The acts playing LN’s Wireless Festival (July 4-6) in London and Birmingham included Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Basement Jaxx, and Giorgio Moroder.
Apart from The Libertines, AEG’s lineup for the ongoing British Summer Time in Hyde Park included Black Sabbath, Arcade Fire, and McBusted. Neil Young & Crazy Horse are July 12, and
Kilimanjaro Live chief Stuart Galbraith, who’s previously worked with both and is now largely owned and funded by Deutsche Entertainment AG, wasn’t doing noticeably better at his Sonisphere in Knebworth Park, about 20 miles north of London.
Kilimanjaro is claimin (July 13), which clashes with the final of the World Cup soccer tournament.
The Sonisphere lineup, also July 4-6, had The Prodigy, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Airbourne, Alice in Chains, Ghost, Gojira, Mastodon, and Slayer.