Features
2022 Impact 50: Danny Wimmer
It made sense for many in the live business to punt in 2021 and wait for the dust to settle, but some who were able to pull it off appear to now be enjoying the fruits of their hard work.
“We are extremely proud of our four very successful and safe festivals in 2021 and as a result, have been able to add two more in 2022,” says Danny Wimmer, whose company is known as the producer of the largest standalone rock festivals in the country.
Last year’s events included four-day, largest-ever attendance for major festivals including Aftershock in California (145,000) and Louder Than Life in Kentucky (160,000). This year, the festival producer (and occasional arena show promoter) has added a new country festival in Sacramento and brought back the multi-genre Bourbon & Beyond festival property in Louisville, sharing sites with the respective flagship rock festivals.
“We have responded to an overly crowded live event market by focusing on long-term strategy rather than short-term gain,” he adds. “The instability of this environment necessitates discipline and the consistent execution of the fundamentals.”
That kind of discipline and execution was critical in 2021 with much at stake and changing COVID-related rules and protocols varying from state to state and county to county.
Wimmer says the current live music landscape is crowded and many are taking ticket sales for granted.
“In 2021, the industry saw record-setting sales numbers that were the result of the pent-up demand from COVID,” he adds. “As we enter the 2022 festival season, this has created a false sense of security in ticket sales expectations. There are too many tours and festivals coming back all at once that are competing for resources in a limited supply chain and labor pool. As costs are going up, how much of this increase can we pass on to the consumer before we hit their breaking point? The ripple effect may last through 2023 with the real stabilization to our industry not happening until 2024.”