‘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.

Pollstar: How would you sum up the state of business at Primavera Sound SL?
We couldn’t be happier. We’re in a very healthy place, producing – with all due modesty – what we believe is the best festival in the world. And doing it independently, both as a business group and in terms of curatorship and booking. After a strong 2024 edition and one of the fastest sellouts in our history for 2025, we can confidently say Primavera is securing its spot at the very top globally.

We’ve also taken on a generational challenge: after more than 20 years in the game, we knew it was time to bring in new artists and new audiences, while keeping the loyal fans who’ve been with us since 2001. In that sense, our brand and festival concept have become a reference point, both within the industry and among audiences, and we’re proud of that.

We’re also diversifying. Our in-house agency, Vampire (Vampire Studio and Vampire Films), which started by working with brands inside the festival, has evolved into a key player in connecting brands, music and audiences in events all over the world. Adding the sheer amount of tours we are promoting in Spain and Portugal, the impact of Primavera Pro – the professional conference we’ve been holding during festival week since 2010 – along with the success of Radio Primavera Sound and its growing roster of podcasts and the tours we will discuss later, we have a very solid position as a group.

Producing festivals presents a particular challenge in the current economy, as production costs have risen across the board. What is your secret recipe to make them work? Can you talk about the art of balancing lineups, ticket prices, and the offering on site?
After more than two decades, we believe our success goes far beyond lineups or production values. It’s about a philosophy we’ve been building since 2001.

What truly sets Primavera apart is its deep commitment to curation. From day one, it’s been about musical discovery – blending legends, cult artists and emerging talent across genres. We’ve always had one foot in the underground and one in pop culture. That balance takes risk, vision, and long-term thinking, even more so when you’re committed to gender balance too.

Then there’s the audience. Primavera created a community. It’s known as a safe, inclusive, welcoming space for people who really care about music, and who believe in the same values as we do. That can’t be faked. It’s earned over time, with consistency and trust.

That said, we know the challenge is real, especially when it comes to keeping ticket prices stable, as we’ve done in recent years. We’re very aware that while around 60% of our audience comes from abroad, the “Created in Barcelona” slogan speaks directly to the people who’ve supported us from day one. The key to maintaining this balance lies in having strong, long-term sponsor partnerships that bring real value to the festival, excellent industry relationships, and a unique venue we know inside out after 20 years of working there.

What challenges is the Spanish live entertainment business facing in 2025? What are some of the opportunities you identify?
The big shift is that audiences are becoming more selective. Inflation, ticket prices, travel costs…they’re all making people think twice. So festivals have to offer more than just a good lineup. People want values, sustainability, inclusion, and a sense of belonging. Boutique and genre-specific festivals are growing. At the same time, there’s more pressure to diversify lineups, reduce environmental impact, and create deeper cultural relevance.

Festivals need to respond to all of this. In our case, beyond our flagship event, we’re growing as a national and international tour promoter, exploring new live formats and new types of venues.

Are VIP/premium/elevated offers as in-demand in Spain as in the rest of Europe?
Traditionally, they haven’t been. In our case, having a large international audience makes it necessary to offer these kinds of tickets – but they’re a small fraction of the total, and honestly, it’s not our priority.

How’s the Spanish grassroots sector doing? What are the smallest shows at club level Primavera Sound SL is involved with in 2025?
In all fairness: there are a few small venues in Barcelona where we could easily be the most active promoter! That’s the case with venues like Vol or Laut, both with a capacity of around 100 people, where in 2025 we’ll be hosting shows by artists like Elias Rønnenfelt, Divorce, Boeckner, or Cola.

It’s more or less the same in Madrid – we work with venues like El Sótano, which holds around 200 people, with some of the artists mentioned above.

From there, we scale up to slightly larger venues such as Upload in Barcelona or Sala Villanos in Madrid, and even up to places like Sant Jordi Club, with 3,000 capacity, if we are not stepping into the arena-level circuit. Primavera Tours keeps up a relentless pace all year round.

We remain firm believers in the importance of club shows, that’s why even during the festival itself, we organize what’s known as Primavera a la Ciutat: shows in small venues from Monday to Wednesday, and again on Sunday, featuring everything from emerging artists to major names like Beach House.

What are markets outside the main hubs of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, etc. that have a large audience for live events?
We work with local promoters in Valencia, Bilbao and several places in Galicia, some other cities scattered all over the territory. But the two main hubs, by far, are still Barcelona and Madrid, not just for the local and national crowd, but because they’re magnets for international tours and global audiences who travel in for those shows.

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