‘Our Biggest Asset Is Our Agility’: Q’s With Clotaire Buche, Co-Founder, Head Of Creative, Junzi Arts

The French business is thriving. There seems to have never been more opportunity to put on a successful show or tour, if you know what you’re doing. The appetite for live experiences among audiences is as great as it’s ever been, not just at the stadium and arena level, but across the circuit.

The team at artist development agency Junzi Arts in Paris knows this. There’s a plethora of niche talent out there that promises to sell tickets for an informed and interested audience, the challenge is finding them and unlocking their potential. Junzi Arts co-founder and head of booking and creative, Clotaire Buche, explains how his team’s long-term artist-focused approach to the business has led to the most successful year in company history.

Pollstar: How is business at Junzi Arts?
Clotaire Buche: Business at Junzi Arts is thriving. Over the past few years, we’ve built a diverse roster of projects that are now enjoying massive success both in France and internationally. Our work is artist-focused and long-term, and the results are tangible.

How’s 2025 been shaping up in comparison to last year?
Despite the current global political and economic uncertainties, 2025 is already shaping up to be our best year yet. Our projects are growing in scale and reach, and we’re building on the strong foundations we’ve laid in previous years.

What are some of the trends in live entertainment you’re observing, that are shaping your business now and going forward?
While stadium tours dominate headlines, we’re particularly interested in the exponential growth of the neoclassical and instrumental scene. Audiences are showing deep loyalty to classically trained artists with unique voices, and we’re seeing a global appetite for artists who blend virtuosity with emotional storytelling. This is a movement in the making, and it’s gaining serious momentum.

Can you sum up the biggest challenges remaining to an independent live company right now, and your most important skill/asset to overcome them?
One challenge remains the structural advantage of promoters who own venues and benefit from ancillary revenue (bars, parking, etc.) as well as early access to venue calendars. However, as an independent company with strong financial footing and the ability to invest significantly (€300,000 to €400,000 projects without hesitation), we’re in a solid position. Our biggest asset is our agility — we offer tailor-made support to emerging artists, often in niche genres, and help them scale internationally with precision and care.

What are the biggest opportunities you’re tapping in?
The biggest opportunity today is data. Tools that give us access to audience metrics — location, growth speed, platform engagement — allow us to make strategic decisions and unlock international potential that might otherwise go unnoticed. It also helps convince local partners abroad to take a closer look at what could seem like niche talent.

How important is it to you to remain independent? And why is that so important?
Independence is absolutely essential to me. It gives me the freedom to manage my schedule and seize opportunities — whether it’s launching a new project or catching the perfect wave while on tour in Taïwan or Australia. More importantly, it means I can fully benefit from what I create. There’s immense satisfaction in building something meaningful and staying in control of it.

Anything you’d like the international readers or Pollstar to know?
I’d like international readers to know that instrumental artists — and Tony Ann in particular — are drawing packed houses across the globe. He began releasing music in 2023 and launched his first world tour in 2024. In just one year, he performed 64 shows across 25 countries. In 2025, he’s on track to play in more than 75 cities. From Jakarta to Melbourne, Helsinki to Lisbon, São Paulo to New York — venues of 1,000 to 2,000 capacity are selling out weeks in advance. There’s a worldwide audience for this new generation of pianists, and it’s only the beginning.

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