CTS Eventim: Barracuda Music Acquisition Green-Lighted In Austria

As Pollstar revealed last month, CTS Eventim has moved to acquire a majority stake Austrian promoter Barracuda Music – a move that has now been green-lighted by the relevant anti-trust authorities.

Barracuda Music CEO Ewald Tatar and his management team remain invested in the company and continue to drive its development forward.

The Austrian competition watchdog BWB (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde) imposed a few conditions before approving the transaction, which sees CTS Eventim take over 71% of Barracuda Music for an undisclosed sum.

The conditions include CTS Eventim guaranteeing that it won’t preclude promoters in the country that aren’t part of CTS Eventim from using its own ticketing agency Oeticket, the market leader in Austria. 

CTS Eventim also pledges that it won’t prevent partnering box offices from distributing tickets through third-party systems that aren’t part of Oeticket’s network.

Oeticket.com will also have to introduce a category highlighting local artists from Austria.

CTS Eventim also commits to providing young people up to the age of 16 with discounted tickets to its festivals, wherever possible – which now also includes two of Austria’s biggest festivals, Nova Rock and FM4 Frequency.

Including Barracuda Music, CTS Eventim’s pan-European promoter network Eventim Live now comprises 29 promoters in 12 countries.

Barracuda Music has grown continuously since it was founded in 2004. The group bundles the activities of several independent concert promoters, including the organizers of the Electric Love, Frequency, and Nova Rock festivals. 

Barracuda Music has promoted the Austrian concerts by legendary artists including Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, and Robbie Williams.

Since 2012, Barracuda has also been the exclusive organizer of concerts at historic Clam Castle, which is considered one of Austria’s most prestigious venues.

CTS Eventim has been acquiring promoters all over Europe over the past months and years, in order to create a network through which it is able to offer artists international touring opportunities. Barracuda Music is the next piece in the puzzle. 

CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg described Barracuda as “one of Europe’s most creative concert promoters” that “ideally complements the portfolio of our Eventim Live promoter network. I am delighted that Ewald Tatar and his management team will continue to drive forward the development of Barracuda in their proven manner.”

Said Tatar: “I look forward to this opportunity to continue Barracuda’s success story in the future with the support of a global player like CTS Eventim. In particular, collaborating with the Eventim Live promoters will help us to offer artists, venues and fans the best possible solutions. I am confident that we, and hence Austria’s concert scene as a whole, will benefit greatly from this partnership.”