Big Business, Spectacular Sites, Fantastic Food: Spain Focus 2025

‘We’ve Always Had One Foot In The Underground And One In Pop’: Q’s With Alfonso Lanza, Co-Director, Primavera Sound

Primavera Sound 2025 celebrated one of the fastest sellouts in history: proof of the health of the Spanish live biz. The festival, which proudly states “Created in Barcelona” on the festival site, is but the flagship of promoting company Primavera Sound SL.

Aside from Primavera Sound’s sister festival in Porto, Portugal, Primavera Sound SL is also a promoter operating across the country.

Pollstar reached out Primavera Sound co-director Alfonso Lanza, to talk about the upcoming festival, the state of business in Spain, the importance of investing in the next generation of talent, and a lot more.

‘There Are Great Opportunities For Live Outside The Major Tourist Hubs’: Q’s With Ramón Urdiáin, CEO, Navarra Arena

Spain’s live economy is booming, and that’s not just true in the main tourist hubs of Barcelona or Madrid. Several markets attract a large audience for international, as well as national shows, and Pamplona is one of them. The city that’s famous for its annual bull run is home to Navarra Arena, which is in the middle of a busy 2025 event season.

Pollstar reached out to Navarra Arena CEO Ramón Udiáin, to find out about the state of play at the 12,000-capacity building, trends, challenges, opportunities, and more.

‘Demand For Live Entertainment In Spain Is Huge’: Q’s With Nacho Cordoba, Head Promoter, Live Nation España

ive Nation Spain had a record-breaking 2024 in Spain, and the positive trend only continues. From clubs to arenas to stadiums, the promoter is operating with success across the circuit.

For our annual Spain Focus, Live Nation España’s head promoter Nacho Cordoba agreed to respond to a few questions about the state of the market.

‘We Must All Take Better Care Of Fans’: Q’s With Manuel Saucedo, GM, Movistar Arena

Movistar Arena is not just the busiest arena in Spain, but one of the busiest in the world, as Pollstar’s quarterly arena charts regularly prove. In Q1/2025, for instance, the Madrid building ranked seventh in terms of gross, and fourth in terms of ticket sales.

Pollstar reached out to the building’s GM Manuel Saucedo, to catch up for our annual Spain Focus. And, by all accounts, it’s going to a record breaking year for Movistar Arena Madrid.

‘We Don’t Just Sell Music, We Create Moments To Remember’: Q’s With Juli Guiu Marquina, President, Clipper’s Music Group

Clipper’s Music Group is a leading independent music company in Spain – a third-generation business founded in Barcelona in 1952, that is today chaired by Juli Guiu Marquina.

Clipper’s offers a 360-degree service approach for people seeking to succeed in the music biz, covering publishing (Clipper’s oversees a catalog of 1.5 million works); a record label specialized in dance music; management, with clients including Antonio Orozco, Cepeda, Delafé y Las Flores Azules, Montana, Wise, Jxta Martin and Miriam Sae; booking, with clients including Juan Magan, Stay Homas (exclusive outside Catalonia), Arde Bogotá, Carmesí, Fanvvi, Hoonine, María de Juan, Nunatak, and Claim (exclusive Catalonia), and live, with more than 500 concerts a year, and a festival portfolio that includes Les Nits de Barcelona, Cap Roig Festival, Occident Summerfest Cerdanya, White Summer, and others.

If one wants the lowdown on the Spanish music biz, Marquina is the man to speak with. For our annual Spain Focus, Pollstar did just that.

‘We Have To Accept Ticket Prices, But Cannot Assume Everybody Can Afford Them’: Q’s With Daniela Bosé, MD, Palacio Vistalegre

Palacio Vistalegre was built in 2000 on the site of a former bullfighting arena known as “La Chata” – the Flat – due to its low ceiling. Today, the building with a maximum concert capacity of just under 15,000 is a rite of passage for local artists.

Its front has recently received a spectacular mural – the biggest in Spain at the time of writing: a muse playing the guitar.

Pollstar reached out to the building’s managing director Daniela Bosé, who talked about the ways in which the Palacio manages to thrive in a challenging Spanish economy.