CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg On His Business Philosophy, Building A Billion-Dollar Company & The Spencer Davis Group

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg: I remember it very well. It’s been a very long time. The Spencer Davis Group and The Kinks at the Stadthalle in Bremen. There were, I believe, seven or eight other bands on the bill, which I can’t remember in detail. The German group The Lords were part of them. I must have been around 14 years old.

There was never a particular moment, it all developed. I used to perform in a band myself, then started promoting shows for regional bands, it all happened very organically. It’s been steady progress.

Things worked out very well. I already had a staff of more than ten even while I was studying. Economically, there was no point in pursuing my studies any further. They didn’t challenge me as much as the live business did.

I had completed my basic business studies, which covered the fundamentals. I then switched to law long enough to gain an understanding that benefited me in my professional development.

Everything was easier in the old days. You didn’t have comprehensive contracts, a lot of things were left unregulated, there was less cause for conflict than today.

Without the complete support from my parents, none of it would have been possible. In 1970/1971, my father signed a contract, in which I guaranteed that I would pay the artist Bernd Clüver 30,000 Deutschmarks annually, which was considerable. Whether I would have found a way to make the deal without him is guesswork, but it was a huge vote of confidence from my parents.

The most important one may have been created in 1997. Incorporating my entire know-how as promoter, we had a new software developed, which was able to serve the entire world with tickets, out of one single database, in multiple languages and currencies – which was quite visionary at that time, if I may say so. It formed the basis for the success of CTS. During software development, we placed the focus on being able to serve three million ticket buyers at the same time. All the other ticketing systems used to crash when the pre-sales began, some still do to this day.

Another milestone was the decision to enter the live entertainment business and build a pan-European network of promoters, who were able to promote concerts and festivals at a level quite different from what they had been used to, thanks to our technical know-how and digital reach.

After going public in 2000.

We’ve always been commercially driven, while making sure that partnerships form foundation of our deals. We like entering into proper partnerships, in which we share the fruits of our labor.

The soccer World Cup in Germany in 2006. A true milestone if there ever was one. 

And the first time a ticketing system was able to handle a World Cup without breaking down.

To be clear and transparent in business and fair in human relationships. It makes you assessable, which comes with a lot of advantages.

No, not once. Our finances have always been solid, we always made sure not to enter into incalculable deals and avoided the accumulation of debt to the greatest extent possible. It is the reason we’ve been able to lead our staff through this crisis. We haven’t laid off one employee in the context of corona.

I’m in the office all the time, but between 90% and 95% of our employees work from home. We had sent our staff into home offices even before it became a regulatory requirement. And we had created the technical prerequisites beforehand, so that working from home would meet our standards.

Yes, I remember it very well. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

Health is more important than business.

This year also confirmed that we have been smart to follow a restrictive financial policy. It has ensured that we were able to hold on to our staff, survive as a business over such a long period and are still able to enter into new partnerships in the form of acquisitions.

Well, it was foreseeable, since the beginning of March last year, [that the business would be restricted]. However, we didn’t reckon it would result in an employment ban over such a long period. But since April 2020 we’ve been saying that we don’t believe in a comeback any sooner than Q2 2021. That’s what we’ve been bracing ourselves for. Now, we have to assume that it’s not going to go back to normal in Q2, but rather in Q3 or Q4.\

We’ve made use of the downtime developing software that will give visitors a high level of safety: algorithms that control the allocation of seats, making sure distances are maintained, we developed Eventim CheckIn, where visitors can enter their details prior to an event or at the gate, we developed technology to support the allocation of vaccination appointments – we’re doing all we can to leave this pandemic behind us as fast as possible.

It’s not my job to keep shareholders happy, the employees are the most important. The most important factors are transparency, openness and honesty when communicating with our staff, who knew they could rely on us getting through this crisis together.

We do have very understanding shareholders, though. They are aware of the current environment. Share prices usually reflect future expectations, which are quite optimistic.

You see Marc Geiger quoted a lot for predicting a new golden age for live. It’s possible, once this pandemic is over, but I believe it will likely take longer than anticipated.

    

A younger audience will certainly return to live entertainment quite fast. The older audience will require a bit more time, I’m afraid, as its faith in being able to enjoy a concert in an unburdened manner will take a little longer to return.

They are, but everybody needs to take the new circumstances into account, the artists, too. They can no longer pass off all the risk to promoters. It’s an important lesson, even if it’s no fun. The risks need to be managed.

I think this understanding will be present for a certain period of time. How things will develop once we’ve returned to normal, that’s another story.

I do, but at reduced capacity. I think indoor shows will return in Q4, also at reduced capacity. It all depends on the vaccination coverage in Germany and Europe, it’s the crucial question in my opinion.

Yes, in combination with vaccinations, they could pave the way back to more normality.

Bruce Springsteen.

In Berlin at Mercedes-Benz Arena, when it still had a different name.

You know, pride is not something I deal with. I like to get things off the ground and developed, which others may consider impossible. These are the categories I think in. 

It’s not common knowledge, but we launched a lifestyle series dubbed Kess, where we manufacture and distribute cosmetic products. We have more than 80 million customer profiles across Europe in our database, we know what our customers want and need aside from live entertainment, and it has developed very well over the last year.

Addressing the industry, I’d say, the cultural sector, including music and art, has so much to offer to people, which is why we all need to persevere in order to make it possible again. However, we shouldn’t be too euphoric in terms of anticipating a new golden age of live, and instead approach it modestly, which includes managing risks reasonably. We cannot count on everything selling out again straight away, as the many events postponed to 2022 will likely create some saturation in that year, we’ll see.

To the fans, we know that the need for live entertainment is great, and that it’s growing with every day in lockdown. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure fans can visit concerts again in a safe and carefree manner.

To the politicians, culture is not just nice to have. It’s essential for both the social cohesion within our society and connecting individuals. That’s why it is very important that the promises of help from governments amount to more than lip service. They need to be followed by action, otherwise the damage done will be beyond repair.

It’s nothing but a book value.

Of course, it’s a good feeling, there’s no doubt about that. However, you have to be aware of the fact that it’s just a book value. It doesn’t mean you can now withdraw $1 billion from your account.

Being a promoter is not so much a job, it’s more like a calling. It’s something you live, at least for those promoters I’ve gotten to know. And because it has a lot to do with emotions when everyone’s a music lover, it’s very important to only take on risks you can manage.