LN, AMG, O2 Renew Deal

Nineteen venues in 13 UK cities will keep their name, as Live Nation, Academy Music Group and O2 have renewed their naming rights agreement for another 10 years. 

– O2 Academy Brixton
announcing the naming rights deal

O2 customers will continue to receive priority access to tickets for shows at O2 Academy venues. The new deal extends priority access to all Live Nation shows across the UK.

The involved parties said the deal reaffirmed their “commitment to investing in iconic venues to ensure they remain a vibrant part of the local communities in which they reside.”

Other perks for O2 customers include free WiFi at the venue, fast-track entry, free cloakrooms and drink offers.

The mobile phone company also intends to analyze crowd movements in the venues, “following successful trials.”

The data gained will be used to reveal information “such as calories burned, noise generated by the audience, as well as the most popular moment of the night based on the crowd’s response.”

Artists will have access to that data, “allowing them to understand more about their fans’ reactions, as well as gauge which songs were the most popular for individual nights or across their tour.”

The original deal between the three parties was made in 2008, covering 11 venues at the time.

Today the list includes the O2 Academies in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brixton, Glasgow, Islington, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Oxford, Sheffield, as well as the O2 ABC Glasgow, O2 Institute Birmingham, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, O2 Ritz and O2 Apollo Manchester, O2 Forum Kentish Town and the O2 Guildhall Southampton. The new deal is reported to have cost £70 million, according to the Guardian.

Nina Bibby, CMO at O2, said she was “extremely pleased to be continuing our longstanding relationship with both Live Nation and Academy Music Group.”

Paul Latham, COO of Live Nation UK and Ireland, said the partnership with O2 has “revolutionized the way brands work within the live sector. “Close to four million live music fans come through O2 Academy doors each year to see the artists they love, across the UK. Continuing this deal with O2 ensures that these venues remain a vibrant part of their local communities and an integral part of Britain’s healthy live music market,” Latham said.