Features
Australia: Pink’s Massive Ticket Sales, Melbourne’s World Venue Claim, NZ Music Managers Awards
Jim Hill – Pink
Pink performs at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., March 18.
Pink On Track To Pass 2 Million Australian Ticket Sales
Pink is moving towards exceeding a total of 2 million tickets in Australia over five tours in the past 14 years, Live Nation Australia revealed April 16.
On the same day, LN added Australian band The Rubens as openers for the upcoming leg of the “Beautiful Trauma Tour” and announced two more Sydney shows at the 21,032-capacity Qudos Bank Arena August 25-26.
This brings to a total of 35 the July 3 and August 29 run. These make up 11 in Melbourne, nine in Sydney, seven in Brisbane and four each in Adelaide and Perth.
Pink’s first Australian tour, “Try This Tour” in 2004, constituted six arena shows. Then her drawing power exploded. The “I’m Not Dead Tour” in 2007 drew 308,000 fans over 35 dates and grossed US$42 million. The “Funhouse Tour” totaled 58 shows, setting a new record for a female act, generating 660,000 stubs and an $80 million gross.
At the end of the “The Truth About Love” visit in 2013, which shifted 650,000 tickets, LN Australia’s president Michael Coppel announced her total tix sales Down Under was 1.5 million.
Melbourne Claims Most Live Music Venues Per Capita
The results of a live music census conducted in Melbourne Nov. 25, 2017 by peak music association Music Victoria lays claim to the Australian city having the most amount of live music venues in any global city per capita.
According to Music Victoria, it has one live music venue per 9,503 residents. It offered figures that by comparison London has 245 venues (1 per 34,350 residents), New York has 453 venues (1 per 18,554 residents) and Los Angeles 510 venues (1 per 19,607 residents).
From the census, the second one after the first one in 2012, through 2017 Melbourne hosted 73,605 advertised gigs, a 19-percent rise from 62,000 in 2012. These drew 17.5 million patrons and accounted for over A$1.42 billion (US$1.1 billion) spent in small venues and at concerts and festivals in 2017. This represented a 16 percent increase on the $1.22 billion ($946,088) spent in 2012.
Live music attendance exceeded those of the Australian Football League, the Spring Racing Carnival horse race, A League, Basketball, Netball, the National Rugby League, cricket and the Australian Grand Prix combined – a feat for a race as sports-mad as the Aussies.
Over half the venues revealed their crowds were up since 2012, which Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan told Pollstar was due to “more effective marketing through social media and increasing the safety and experience of patrons and maintaining ticket prices. “
The census data was released before Melbourne hosted the Music Cities Convention April 19-20 with government officials, policy developers, academics, venue owners and promoters. Donovan said the public exchange of ideas would make it easier for his organisation to lobby for more gains for the live sector.
Music Victoria has already gained initiatives as the agent of change to protect venues from complaints from new residents, grants for soundproofing and facilities upgrades, and the mentoring of young venue operators. Its next round of government lobbying will be to resurrect the all-ages, under-18 gig circuit and the collection of music tourism data for festivals.
Finalists Announced For NZ Music Managers Awards
Alastair Burns, James Southgate and Julie Foa’I (Te Vaka) are up for New Zealand manager of the year at the NZ Music Managers Forum (MMF)’s 14th NZ Music Managers Awards May 9 at The Tuning Fork club in Auckland.
Up for international achievement are Burns, whose global clients include R&B/ country singer Marlon Williams and singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin; Foa’I, who found international recognition for master percussionist Te Vaka and Opetaia Foa’I from the “Moana” movie soundtrack, and Niel de Jong, whose client, Maori teen thrash metal band
Fifty music industry personnel will vote for the manager, emerging manager and breakthrough manager categories, as well as international achievement, self-managed artist and best independent tour. MMF members will decide the industry champion, and best small venue and best venue. MMF mentors will vote for the year’s most effective mentoring achievement.
Sexual Assault Claims At Homegrown Festival
At least five sexual assault complaints have been registered with police at the Homegrown festival, which drew 20,000 to the April 6 event in Wellington.
Organiser Andrew Tuck said festival staff were working with police, telling the Stuff website, “We’ve gone to them to ask for as much information as possible to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Sexual Abuse Prevention Network general manager Fiona McNamara told Stuff, “Certainly if there are multiple complaints from the same event, that absolutely has to be addressed.” McNamara said there could be more allegations to surface, and that next year Homegrown staff could get training and prevention programs.