Features
Long Live The King: Pollstar’s Inaugural UK Focus 2024
There’s no denying the influence of the UK on world music culture. Volumes have been written about it, and will continue to be written. There’s countless books on Glastonbury alone; others delve into the history of iconic buildings like Brixton Academy, or Wembley Stadium; and that’s not even mentioning the myriad of band bios and autobiographies on artists hailing from the UK – and Ireland, of course. To comprehensively analyse this small island from a music perspective, you’ll need to consult a dedicated library. To understand its touring business, you’ll just need to read on.
Main Story:
The Tail Should Never Wag The Dog: How The UK Biz Is Navigating Culture & Commerce
Features:
‘The Future Of Music Is Safe’: Q’s With Adam Ryan, The Great Escape
The Great Escape is the UK’s biggest talent festival and music business conference. This year, May 15-18, marks the festival’s 16th edition, and it comes with a renewed conference format, curated by a host of industry experts. More than 500 acts are to perform across Brighton’s venues, which are in dire need of some love in the form of music fans spending money inside. Pollstar spoke with The Great Escape’s head of music, Adam Ryan, to find out all there is to know about the upcoming gathering on England’s south coast.
Ballroom Tales: The UK’s Buildings Are Creating Real Where-You-There Moments
The UK’s venue circuit is picking up where it left off in 2023, which was one of the busiest years for live entertainment in history – at least above the grassroots level. Pollstar speaks with several UK venues operators about the stat of play at their respective buildings.
Honesty, Passion & Strategy: How Agents Are Making The Most Of Near Infinite Opportunities
To capture the state of play in the agency world, Pollstar reached out to four UK agents, Ben Coles (CAA), Jules de Lattre (UTA), Matt Bates (Primary Talent), and Tom Schroeder (Wasserman Music), who all share insights into their day-to-day business, as wells as trends emerging across the UK.
‘How Do We Get Fans To Go Out More’: Asking The Right Questions In Ticketing
Pollstar asked some of the best and brightest in the world of UK ticketing about the three most important questions they were facing in relation to their respective businesses: Sarah Slater, vice president, music and festivals, at Ticketmaster UK; Rob Wilmshurst, CEO of the See Tickets group; and Andrew Foggin, global head of music at DICE.
‘The Role Of The Promoter Is As Important As It Ever Was’: Communion One Is Just Getting Started
In March, FKP Scorpio UK and Communion Presents merged to form Communion One, creating a joint roster that includes artists like Ed Sheeran, Sam Fender, Noah Kahan, Phoebe Bridgers, Lewis Capaldi, Mitski, and more. Pollstar reached out to the new promotion company’s managing directors Daniel Ealam, Scott O’Neill, who represent the FKP side of the merger, and Mazin Tappuni, who used to run the live arm of the Communion music collective, to talk shop.
Pollstar spoke with Jon Collins, CEO of the UK’s live entertainment trade body LIVE, which consists of promoters, agents, artists, venue operators, managers, working at all scales of this industry. Among other things, he shared results from a study commissioned by LIVE among 2,000 Britains representing the country’s live audience.
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that the irreplaceable community experience of a live event can be taken away in an instant. But there are more eventualities that can cause events to be canceled, artists not to show up, and event partners to lose out on investment, not least of which is bad weather. Insurance can help, but who on earth understands the policies in all their fine details? The answer: a broker. Pollstar sat down with one of them, Charlie Connell, head of entertainment at Howden Group, for an event insurance 101.
The Interviews:
‘We’re Selling More Tickets Than Ever’: Q’s With Denis Desmond, Chairman, Live Nation UK & Ireland
For our inaugural UK Focus, Live Nation UK & Ireland chairman Denis Desmond agreed to respond to a few questions about the state of play across the country. He touched on genre and event trends, touring and festival highlights, and the continuously growing demand for tickets across the board.
150 Years Of ‘Where You There?’ Moments: Q’s With Ally Pally’s Sophie Varnava
London’s Alexandra Palace has been entertaining people since 1873. As if to commemorate the 150th anniversary, the building celebrated its biggest year ever in 2023. This year is looking no different. Pollstar reached out to the building’s head of programming, Sophie Varnava, to talk about business highlights, trends, and outlooks.For Pollstar’s inaugural UK Focus, we reached out to a selection of agents working out of London, to talk about everything from booking trends, and ticket prices to regional differences across the country, and business philosophies. We also asked them about current artists to watch. Here’s what Jules de Lattre, Agent at UTA UK, had to say.
‘There Isn’t A Blueprint On How To Break An Act’: Q’s With Ben Coles, Music Agent, CAA
For Pollstar’s inaugural UK Focus, we reached out to a selection of agents working out of London, to talk about everything from booking trends, and ticket prices to regional differences across the country, and business philosophies. We also asked them about current artists to watch. Here’s what Ben Coles, Music Agent at CAA UK, had to say.
For this year’s UK Focus, we reached out to a selection of agents working out of London, to talk about everything from booking trends to ticket prices to regional differences to business philosophies. Here’s what Matt Bates, managing partner & CEO, Primary Talent, UK, had to say.
‘Agents Of Today Need A Complex Set Of Skills’: Q’s With Jules de Lattre, Agent, UTA
For Pollstar’s inaugural UK Focus, we reached out to a selection of agents working out of London, to talk about everything from booking trends, and ticket prices to regional differences across the country, and business philosophies. We also asked them about current artists to watch. Here’s what Jules de Lattre, Agent at UTA UK, had to say.
For our first-ever UK Focus, we reached out to a selection of agents working out of London, to talk about everything from booking trends, and ticket prices to regional differences across the country, and business philosophies. We also asked them about current artists to watch. Here’s what Tom Schroeder, EVP & Managing Executive, Wasserman Music UK, had to say.
To gage the state of play in the UK, Pollstar reached out to several ticketing operators to find out what currently shapes their day-to-day business; to talk about major onsales of the year; and get their wider perspective on the health of the UK’s live biz. Sarah Slater, Vice President, Music and Festivals at Ticketmaster UK, responded.
To gage the state of play in the UK, Pollstar reached out to several ticketing operators to find out what currently shapes their day-to-day business; to talk about major onsales of the year; and get their wider perspective on the health of the UK’s live biz. Andrew Foggin, Global Head of Music at DICE, responded.
‘We Can Adapt And Operate On Any Capacity’: Q’s With Rob Wilmshurst, CEO, See Tickets Group
To gage the state of play in the UK, Pollstar reached out to several ticketing operators to find out what currently shapes their day-to-day business; to talk about major onsales of the year; and get their wider perspective on the health of the UK’s live biz. Rob Wilmshurst, CEO of the See Tickets Group, responded.
