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‘It Would Be Good For Agents To Consider The Economic Facts’: Q’s With Boyan Pinter
Boyan Pinter has worn many hats, from manager, festival and concert promoter to digital music distributor, touring artist, and conference organizer. Born in Bulgaria, he matured in America, and returned to Europe some ten years ago.
He is currently engaged in one of the most important tasks: educating the next generation of music professionals, which this business requires more than anything, particularly since the COVID-induced brain-drain that occurred over the past years.
In this interview with Pollstar, he touched on everything from the current economic situation, and what it means for artists and their teams coming through, as well as ticket prices; the effects the war on business; and the state of Bulgaria’s infrastructure, which was still lacking in parts, but has been rapidly improving in others.
Pollstar: What’s your state of mind at the half-way mark of 2023?
Boyan Pinter: My perspective is very positive and optimistic. During the pandemic, I was able to start a few successful projects, obtained a law degree from a university in the UK via distant learning, and spent my time mentoring and teaching a new generation of music professionals, who have shown a keen interest and passion for the industry.
Where do you teach?
I am part of an international project called HEMI, which is dedicated to mentoring music entrepreneurs and innovators from the Balkan region, and I teach a class on music promotion at the International Music Business School in Barcelona. I am charged by the level of enthusiasm and engagement the students have. For me, it is a pleasure and privilege to contribute to their personal and professional growth and pass on what my teachers and mentors have done with me. To borrow a phrase from a friend from Scotland, “every day is school day” in this industry.
Bulgaria has also welcomed the next generation of local artists, who approach the business in an innovative and practical way. They are more involved in their careers and their earning potential has risen at a great speed. They are open to learning and collaborating with others in the region and outside of it, in pursuit of a common goal that extends beyond making money, but also building long-term partnerships. This is something very new for the Balkans and it feels like we’ve turned over a new leaf.
Do you still promote shows, as well?
On the promotion side, at this point in the year, we have a few successful shows already behind us. We’re gearing up for another show in the middle of the summer heat with the band Soulfly in Plovdiv’s Summer Theater. The show is promoted by my partners Blue Hills Events, in cooperation with me under the name PanHarmony.
Has the war in Ukraine influenced business in the wider region for the negative? Can you feel the effects in Bulgaria from a business point of view.
Yes, it has certainly affected our business. Due to our geographical location, artists and professionals have voiced their concerns about traveling to the region. This happened also when were doing our first in-person music conference, as music professionals from North America and Western Europe approached the idea of traveling to Bulgaria with some trepidation. Funnily enough, I think that some just couldn’t find us on the world map. Bulgaria continues to be a safe place for touring acts, tourists, and conference visitors.
The biggest issues stem from logistics. There are a massive delays at the border crossings with Serbia and Romania, which have even previously almost caused the cancellation of a few shows. We’ve always pulled through, with connections on either side of the border, and artists giving a few merch items as “gifts,” however, it does add to the stress we experience on both sides.
The war has also brought new competition to our region. Companies, who are otherwise barred from operating in the territory of conflict, are making themselves comfortable in our markets.
What’s the economy like in your main market? Are people able, and happy, to spend money on entertainment?
Bulgaria is still the poorest economy in the EU, and people have much less disposable income to spend on entertainment. There have been very few earnestly sold-out events over the past decade that I have been working here. Due to our geographical location, it is expensive to get to us versus playing a round of shows in Western and Central Europe. Our ticket prices will always be lower than those regions, and our financial offers will always follow suit.
I think it would be a good exercise for agents to consider these economic facts and align their expectations accordingly if they would like to build an act on a global level. Bulgarian audiences are very loyal, not just as ticket buyers, but also on social media. Once you’ve won them over, they are yours for life.
Blockbuster events seem do be doing well, which seems to be the case in many markets right now.
Most promoters are in competition for a Blockbuster event, indeed. Preferably, one that sells without a huge marketing budget. On the flip side, promoters who chase after these acts, are missing out on the opportunity to truly build an act in the country and look at the long-term opportunities of a partnership. The bottom line is that promoters have to work considerably harder in our region to get half the return on revenue versus working in the established markets, with stronger economies and a higher public willingness to spend on entertainment.
Can you observe a hesitancy to buy tickets for certain shows (maybe the smaller acts), or among a certain demographic? And have you already gotten down to the bottom of the reasons for this?
Yes, there is a definite hesitancy for audience to see newer acts. Since people have less disposable income, promoters need to work harder to attract people to see a band they don’t know versus an established heritage act. This is something we enjoy, however, as we get a chance to build an artist’s profile in our country. Now that have access to digital tools, we can effectively monitor the band’s popularity in the country and externalize our value to the band’s management and agency. We can show how our work has made an impact on their digital sales as well. That is pretty cool from where I am standing.
The audience preference has been slow to change. The demand for heritage rock continues to be strong, and people prefer to go in for nostalgia rather than taking a chance on a new act. I think ‘new’ carries a different definition in the Balkan region. If a band is over 20 years old, then it could be the perfect vintage for us. This year, a local rock festival had The Scorpions, Europe, and Helloween headlining. Those bands started in 1965, 1979, and 1984 respectively. Most shows for ‘new’ bands get postponed or cancelled.
It bears repeating that we must be aware that we’re selling a luxury good, and not a bare necessity. The market continues to be small and oversaturated, compounded by the emergence of successful, hot ticket, local acts, which I referred to previously. What works to our advantage is that as a company we use technology more than before, so we can make better-informed and sensible decisions.
Promoting shows, and keeping the business alive over the past three years has cost a lot of effort and energy – a great strain placed on the professionals making it all happen. Is there time now for a conscious approach to business, while taking care of one’s mental health? Or is everybody just caught up in the race for the next big show again?
The pandemic took a considerable toll on our industry. There was no support, recovery plan nor compensatory payments coming from the government sector. Apart from a few grants that went toward pre-qualified independent and established artists, we mostly got by on our savings.
We started paying considerable attention to mental health in our industry a long time before these events, though our efforts were neither codified nor organized. I took an active interest in the subject and was able to retrospectively analyze that we had lost quite a few people over the years due to burnout.
One of my closest colleagues ghosted me and our team in 2019 and withdrew from the industry and moved to the countryside. He was on the best people that I had ever worked with, and I didn’t realize what was happening at the time. I am not sure we’ll get a chance to reconnect, because I would speculate that getting together with his old team would remind him of the ‘bad old days’ rather than reliving positive emotions and work experiences. Armed with this knowledge and awareness, it is easier to spot these situations today in the work I do globally and be able to offer assistance.
Today, I am board member of the Drive Foundation Canada, whose mission is to raise awareness of mental health issues in the industry by speaking about our collective experiences, involving local and regional mental health professionals, and encourage the practice of self-awareness and team communication.
What’s the state of the business like in terms of infrastructure, suppliers, and other professionals. Is the supply chain still affected, is it harder than it used to be to stage events?
I am an American citizen, and we moved to Bulgaria after I finished my master’s degree in arts management from Indiana University, Bloomington. I have only been working in Bulgaria for 10 years. Overall, I would say that things, that were impossible to consider before, are now just challenging. I’ve seen the biggest improvement in suppliers and rental services. Regardless of whether we’ve made or lost money on a show, we’ve provided valuable learning experience for stage and production crews.
A lot of Bulgarian riggers, sound and light engineers, and tour managers are now in high demand abroad. Companies are investing in high-quality PA systems and lighting rigs to match even the most demanding of tech riders. Being in full knowledge of this financial outlay, this tells me that they expect to see a quick return on their investment, which points to the healthy business they are doing across the country.
What about venues in particular?
Infrastructure is still lacking. We seem to have even less venues than before, and the existing ones are in a bad need of a face-lift. Hopefully, as audiences become more demanding of venue facilities, the companies who own them will be called to action. It remains one of our biggest challenges to date – properly matching an artist with a venue and scaling the ticket prices to match audience interest. Some audiences simply won’t go to a venue, regardless of who the artist is. This is a very Eastern-European thing.
We have been privileged to be involved in the development of the Antique Theater Plovdiv as a music venue. This is 2000-plus year old Roman auditorium made of solid marble, which is why it has withstood the test of time. It is one of about ten similar venues around the world, and has hosted amazing and once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences, with a band, backed by a full 66-piece orchestra and choir. Some of these shows have been immortalized on both audio and video and the bands Paradise Lost, Anathema, Opeth, and Devin Townsend have delivered unique experiences for fans of the entire region, and beyond. A big “thank you” goes to Andy Farrow at Northern Music for his trust and collaboration over the years.
What success stories and event highlights promoted by you, past and upcoming, would you like to share?
We were fortunate that we were able to continue building partnerships and actually have concerts during the height of the pandemic in Plovdiv’s amazing Antique Theater. In 2020 we hosted German metal legend Udo Dirkschneider, and a classical program of Mozart and Beethoven arranged and performed on four grand pianos. With sanitation and mask protocols in place, the audience was happy to be able to come out and enjoy a live performance. We would like to thank Frank at ITM agency and Udo’s team for their trust and collaboration.
In 2021, with my friends Yavor and Ria, we founded the Bulgarian premier showcase and conference event SIMC, which we branded as SPIKE Bulgarian Music Showcase. This was a very important step for the development of local music professionals and artists, and we’ve already seen the fruits of our labor emerge. Now, after its second edition produced by Blue Hills Events, we have played host to over 60 acts from across the world, and music professionals from 26 different countries, including the amazing Ed Bicknell, and Lennart Öestlund, sound engineer and producer at ABBA’s Polar Studios.
SPIKE is breaking new ground for the Bulgarian music scene on many levels. Beyond the unique educational and networking opportunities it provides to all our visitors, we have a special focus on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, seminars, mentorships and a good atmosphere. I have already seen labels and collectives formed because of relationships created and nurtured at SPIKE, which is the most gratifying part. Today we have two competing events in different parts of the country. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…”
What’s your general outlook for the near and far future for this business of live?
As we know, “predictions are very difficult, especially about the future.” My outlook is generally positive. I’ve already outlined a few factors that are keeping me charged and hopeful about the development of the local industry. SPIKE’s mission to educate and inform artists, developing and established music professionals is leading to better strategic choices in partners, services, and sources of information. For us, it is gratifying that we’re making an impact.
I expect that the demand for local music will grow considerably in the next several years. The change has begun. Artists will be booking, producing, and running their own shows, which will create a new generation of professionals who are less diversified and more tightly specialized. The issue of wearing “too many hats” will start to evaporate and we’ll see the formation of more teams and collectives. This will bolster trust in the local community and region, which in turn will lead to higher revenues and stronger international partnerships.
The influx of premium digital distribution solutions in Bulgaria are helping local artists gain popularity with expats and diasporas. This translates to never-before-seen levels of revenue and gives them analytics that they use to target their promotions and sell more tickets. I expect that this will cause a decline in the interest for less established international touring acts as the market will shift. This can be readily observed on a local and regional level.
I expect we’ll be working more with local acts on their large-scale projects and launch more export initiatives so that our best and brightest reach bigger audiences. Local and regional producers are getting worldwide recognition. The future looks bright, from my perspective.
Anything you’d like to add?
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share our experiences with Pollstar. I would also like to take the opportunity to say that we are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of fellow local promoter Martin Stoyanov. His company Loud Concerts was instrumental in the development of the local music business. He had many friends in the global music community and was the exclusive promoter in Bulgaria for Lord of the Dance and Manowar. He will be missed.