VIPNEWS PREMIUM > VOLUME 176 > FEBRUARY 2015

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2VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

McGowans Musings

I know I should have been at home in

Brighton on Valentines day coping with

the sacks full of cards which the Royal Mail

struggled to bring to my door (OK a slight

exaggeration, but Im sure you Ladies of the

live music industry meant to send them?

No? Oh well I can dream!), and arranging

candlelit suppers etc, but I wasnt, I was in

Sweden. Actually Peter Briggs and I were

attending the very first edition of Wheres

the Music? A good question, you might say,

and the answer in this particular case, was,

in the well appointed venues of Norrkping,

a very attractive city. Considering that the

country has an undoubted track record

of producing music for the international

markets, from the days of ABBA, to EDM

super band Swedish House Mafia, and any

number of highly talented producers and

writers, its surprising that its taken this

long for there to be a showcase/conference

event everywhere else has one, or in some

cases two! Its also interesting that the

instigators and producers of Wheres the

Music are FKP Scorpio, a German based

company, with a Dutch founder, and now an

established Swedish office. The event was

considered a success by both the organizers

and those attending, and as she told us in

a welcoming speech, the Mayor of the city.

(See report in this issue.)

Either theres a spate of Trade events, or in

this case, Awards, people either love them

or hate them! The live touring magazine

Pollstar handed out its 2015Concert

Industry Awards in Nashville, the Brits did

pretty well! (See winners listing in this

issue). The Brits are due to take place, or

probably by the time you read this having

taken place, on Wednesday February 23rd.

The NME Awards were recently handed

out, and much as there was a good

turnout of industry folk, and its always

pleasing to get a gong fom a respected

source, its difficult not to note the decline

in the fortunes of this, and other, once

indispensable music trade papers and

magazines. Its hard for a print magazine

to not be just replicating the news that can

be found so easily on-line, the New Musical

Express to give it its full title now sells less

than 14.000 copies per issue. Old chaps like

me, particularly ones who have a stab at

writing the odd article, will be sad if NME

and others do disappear completely, but,

apparently - thats progress!

Whilst talking of Awards, I see that another

of the legendary, yet still working, managers,

is to be honoured at this years Artist &

Manager Awards on March 26th, organised

by The Music Managers Forum. Jim Beach,

long time manager of Queen will receive

the award named after the legendary Led

Zeppelin manager Peter Grant who did so

much to reconstruct the whole business of

artist management in the 70s Peter Grant

Award. A lawyer by profession, Jim has

been involved with Queen since 1975.

We always need good managers; in fact

I could do with one to make sure I get to

meetings on time! Just about to jump on a

train to London for ILMC meetings, which

by the way, makes me realise how we cover

the history of this business, I started these

Musings talking about the very first edition

of a music trade event, then conclude with

reference to the upcoming 27th edition of

one of our industrys major gatherings. Time

moves on - must rush - we shall report back

in the next issue!

Ladies and Gentlemen The News!

COLOPHON >

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VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

The very first Wheres the Music? took

place in Norrkping between 12th and 14th of

February. FKP Scorpio organized the festival

and conference together with the tourist

office, Experience Norrkping. FKP Scorpio

was established in 1990 by Folkert Koopmans

and is currently one of the biggest festival

promoters in Europe. With the Head Office

based in Hamburg, the company was also

established in Sweden in 2011, promoting

both concerts and festivals such as Bravalla

Festival in Norrkoping and Getaway Rock in

Gavle.

For a first time event the Conference and

Showcase did very well, leaving both

organizers and delegates confident that

Sweden now has an industry meeting and

festival that should become a fixture in the

calendar of these gatherings.

4689 festival tickets were sold and 410

delegates took part in the conference. Over

the three days 144 mostly Scandinavian

artists, with some upcoming internationals

performed to full houses in ten impressive

venues. As well as being well appointed,

these clubs and halls were in walking

distance of each other, always a bonus at

these showcase events!

The two-day conference featured an

impressive line up of international panelists,

and covered a good range of topics, ranging

from the informed way to approach touring

in the US, to the outlook for new headliners

at festivals, and cooperation between local

and international promoters and agents.

There were three keynotes: I had the

pleasure of interviewing someone who

very rarely, if ever, puts himself forward for

these things but was apparently coerced by

Folkert Koopmans. Paul Boswell, founder

of Free Trade Agency in London, has

represented some great acts since starting

in the business in the 70s, ranging from The

Beastie Boys, to The UK Subs, Hanoi Rocks,

and many others, and these days represents

international stars like Ed Sheeran and James

Blunt. He told some great stories and should

do more of these things! Someone who is

never backward in coming forward is the

legendary Australian promoter, manager and

impresario, Michael Chugg; Chuggi talked for

an hour about his career, from his beginnings

in the business in Tasmania to the success of

ABBA in Australia, to constant international

traveling these days as manager of the highly

successful Australian act, Shepherd, he could

easily have talked for another hour. Anders

Larsson, founder and CEO of United Stage,

which is one of the largest companies in the

Nordic entertainment industry, completed

the trio of keynotes, and emphasised the

growing opportunities in the Swedish and

Nordic territories.

I spoke to Folkert Koopmans on the Thursday

night at a dinner with Juha Kyrro who is now

in charge of Scorpios Nordic operations, and

Scorpio MD Stephan Thanscheidt, and guests.

Folkert admitted to some nervousness about

the attendance of the shows on Thursday,

but in the end a last minute walk up saw

most of the tickets sell, as they did on the

Friday and Saturday. Later Folkert stated that

he was, very happy with the outcome of

the festival, the amount of festival visitors

and delegates. With 410 delegates and 4689

festival visitors the first edition of Wheres

the Music? was a great success. Our goal was

to introduce new talented artists to a wider

audience, but also to talk about current

subjects and offer a platform for discussion

and exchange and with a comprehensive

and eventful conference agenda create

new collaborations. With the first year

of the festival we have accomplished our

goals. I am especially pleased that so many

colleagues and people from the industry

from all over the world came to the festival.

The conference part of Wheres the Music? is

an exciting, energetic and interesting part of

Wheres the Music?.

www.fkpscorpio.se

Wheres the Music!Premieres in SwedenAllan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

Paul Boswell

Michael Chugg

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VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

UK based venue owner and operator Academy Music Group

(AMG) has appointed 3 new managers.

Nikki Miles (pictured) has moved from Academy Music Groups

South Coast venue, O2 Academy Bournemouth (cap. 1,800) to

become General Manager of O2 Academy Oxford. Nikki has an

excellent reputation and hands on experience in live music and

clubs, having worked in operations across bars and venues in

Bournemouth for several years prior to joining AMG in 2009 as

Bars Manager and more recently, Venue Manager.

Will Dore-Dennis (pictured) will be moving from O2 Academy

Leicester (cap. 1,400) to take up his position as General Manager

of O2 Academy Bournemouth as of Monday 3rd February. Prior to

Leicester and over the last five years, Will has held management

positions within the Group at O2 Academy venues in Oxford and

Birmingham; and has previously worked at The Old Fire Station,

Bournemouth Universitys Students Union venue, with whom

AMG has an existing management agreement.

Both General Managers have experience within AMG,

particularly the application needed within the club business as

well as live music; and Students Union partnerships. stated

AMGs Chief Operating Officer, Graham Walters. An integral

part of our business, their knowledge of a diverse range of

markets and running multi-room formats with busy diaries will

certainly benefit their teams and client relationships in their

respective positions.

Also within AMG, Sean Flanagan has become Assistant General

Manager at O2 ABC Glasgow and O2 Academy Glasgow, with

Keryn Ward now Bars Manager across both Scottish venues.

Key staffchange at Academy Music GroupFrom VIP-Daily News

Nikki Miles and Will Dore-Dennis

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6VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

2015 Concert Industry Awards winners were honoured during aceremony on Saturday February 21 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

The full list of winners:Major Tour Of The Year Paul McCartneyMost Creative Stage Production Katy PerryComedy Tour Of The Year Dave ChappelleBest New Touring Artist Sam SmithMajor Music Festival Of The Year Austin City Limits Austin, TexasMusic Festival Of The Year Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride, Colo.International Music Festival Of The Year Glastonbury Festival United KingdomNightclub Of The Year 9:30 Club Washington, D.C.Theatre Of The Year Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tenn.Arena Of The Year Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tenn.Red Rocks Award Best Small Outdoor Venue Greek Theatre Los Angeles, Calif.

Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, Calif.Best New Major Concert Venue Forum Inglewood, Calif.International Venue Of The Year The O2 London, United KingdomFacility Executive Of The Year Sally Williams Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, Tenn.Nightclub Talent Buyer Of The Year Roger LeBlanc Canyon Club / The Coach House / So. Calif.Talent Buyer Of The Year Brian OConnell Live Nation NashvilleBill Graham Award Promoter Of The Year Charles Attal C3 PresentsInternational Promoter Of The Year Barrie Marshall Marshall ArtsThird Coast Agent Of The Year Kevin Neal WMEBobby Brooks Award Agent Of The Year John Huie Creative Artists AgencyIndependent Booking Agency Of The Year The Windish AgencyBooking Agency Of The Year WMEUnited Kingdom Booking Agent Of The Year Emma Banks Creative Artists Agency UKPersonal Manager Of The Year John Silva Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone AgeRoad Warrior Of The Year Gus Brandt Foo Fighters, Pharrell WilliamsLighting Company Of The Year Bandit LitesSound Company Of The Year ClairStaging / Equipment Company Of The Year StagecoTransportation Company Of The Year Rock-It CargoVideo Company Of The Year Moo TV

Pollstar Concert Industry 2015 Awards Winners

Allan McGowan am@vip-booking.com

Emma Banks, United Kingdom Booking Agent Of The Year

VIPNEWS > INDEPTH STORY > FEBRUARY 2015

VIP News spoke with Chris Kemp, who is a

leading member of the steering committee

of the YES Group (Youropes Event Safety

Group). Chris used to work as a professor

at Bucks New University and is Head of the

International Centre for Crowd Management

& Security Studies (ICCMSS) regarding the

subject of terrorism. As a managing director

for Mom Consultancy he served clients such

as Show & Event Security (SES), the O2

Arena, The NEC, The NIA, LG Arena, the

IDTA (Worldwide), Reddawn (Australia), SOS

Security AS (Norway) New West Fest (USA),

Police Scotland and Web-Labs...

VIP News: How great do you consider

the risk of potential terror attacks on

live music events?

Chris Kemp: The risk of potential terror attacks

on live music events is the same as the risk of

potential attacks on other crowded spaces.

The effectiveness of the terrorist relies heavily

on the lack of intelligence gleaned by the

intelligence agencies. The recent attacks in

Paris show that single cell mentality, where

there are few links to others outside the

cell are the most devastating and difficult

to stop. Nowhere is safe, it just depends on

the priority of the terrorist group at the time

and how beneficial to their cause they see an

attack on a music event.

VIP News: What are your recommenda-

tions on how promoters should deal

with this issue?

Chris Kemp: I have recently seen a range

of Terrorism Preparedness Reports for

events across the world, showing that event

managers; venue managers and promoters

are taking this risk seriously. There is still a

long way to go but people have been been

delivering these resources for some time.

However, the risk assessment should in

theory cover this risk but given its priority

at the moment many are going the extra

mile to create stand-alone documents,

which fold into the planning framework of

the event.

VIP News: Would you say that

todays health & safety concepts and

strategies for bigger music events

already address the risk of terrorism

appropriately?

Hopefully Never EverManfred Tari mt@vip-booking.com

Terrorism is a hopefully unlikely threat that no one wishes to contemplate...Nevertheless, terrorism is a topic that at least is a consideration for all those who are involved with the organisation of international sport events or political summits...

Chris kemp

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8VIPNEWS > INDEPTH STORY > FEBRUARY 2015

Chris Kemp: Consider, theorise, strategise

and operationalise are all elements which

come into play here and all of which

differ from event to event. The strategic

delivery of this area has to be able to be

operationalised and this includes all of

those involved in the Emergency Liaison

Team including the police. At any event a

holistic delivery will be organised so that

everyone has dovetailing plans. The key is

responsibility and accountability.

VIP News: You also provided education

and training programmes for

international sport events such as the

Olympic Games or the Tour De France.

Please explain about the content of

these programmes and perhaps let us

know what live music promoters may

learn from promoters of such sport

events?

Chris Kemp: The key to the programmes

that we provide is that they take the

theories of the areas of health, safety and

crowd management and put it into context.

The theory is applied to everyday situations

in the workplace and we look again at

responses to other events to see what could

have been done better. Although training

and education have their place, there is no

substitute for experience. These courses

give people the experience to take back into

the workplace and use.

For further information on Chris Kemp please

check www.momconsultancy.com

ImagIne if you could go to one website and learn

aLL about the european Live music Industry?

WeLL you can! www.vip-booking.com

145-157 St John Street | London Ec1V 4PWw | United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0) 870 755 0092 | Fax: +44 (0) 870 622 1953

www.vip-booking.com | vip@vip-booking.com

vip-booking.com

Event security

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canadas Private Radio Broadcasters.

THE CROSSROADS OF BUSINESS AND MUSIC

THE JESUSAND MARY

CHAIN30th Anniversary of Psychocandy

FAITHNO

MORE

THEORWELLS

BILLYTALENT

NoelGallaghersHigh Flying Birds

Kiesza

Fidl

arLIG

HTS AL

VVAY

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REGISTER TO ATTEND AT CMW.NET CANADIANMUSICWEEK CMW_WEEK CANADIANMUSICWEEK

D E AT H C A B F O R C U T I E

THE WATERBOYS

VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

Wonderful TallinnMusic WeekAnne Frank Alsted, aa@vip-booking.com

During the last weekend of March, 205

artists from 26 countries will perform at

the 7th edition of Tallinn Music Week,

the biggest talent festival in the Nordic-

Baltic region from 25th to 29th March.

In its seventh year Tallinn Music Week

has grown into a major meeting point for

Eastern, Western and Central European

music communities as well as an attractive

spring time travel destination for the regions

music, culture and food lovers. An annually

increasing number of foreign artists 84

acts from 25 countries proves the point.

This years international line-up includes 12

artists from Finland, 9 from Denmark, Latvia

and Russia, 6 from Poland and 5 from UK,

Sweden and Belarus.

The seventh edition of the festival features

a special focus on Denmark currently one

of the most exciting new music sources in

Europe. The Danish party, hosted by SPOT

on Denmark by Music Export Denmark,

JazzDanmark, World Music Denmark and

Rosa, is also the opening party of the festival

on 26th March at Von Krahl theatre with

some of the representatives of Danish pop

and rock.

TMW is part of CEETEP and ETEP programmes

within Eurosonic. Tallinn Music Weeks

international activities introducing Tallinn and

Estonia as an attractive tourism destination

of music and culture are supported by The

European Regional Development Fund.

TMWs two-day music industry conference,

taking place at www.nordichotels.eu/

en Nordic Hotel Forums conference centre,

traditionally covers a wide range of topics

from local cultural policy and regional

cooperation to hands-on artist management

tips and global music business models.

Panelists include both industry professionals

from abroad and local specialists.

Throughout TMWs existence, a number

of well-known international experts have

participated in the conference panel

discussions, among them Seymour Stein,

the legendary founder and president of Sire

Records (Madonna, Ramones), influential

managers Petri Lunden (Cardigans, Europe),

Edward Bicknell (Dire Straits, Scott Walker,

Bryan Ferry), Peter Jenner (Pink Floyd) and

many others.

See both festival and conference

programme on www.tmw.ee

Helen Sildna is the founder and director of

Tallinn Music Week.She has been in the

music industry formore than a decade

as an Estonian-based promoter

and artist booker.

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VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

The focus for 2016 is the conclusion of

the Central European Talent Exchange

Programme (CEETEP 2010 2015). Together

with 18 CEETEP festivals in the CEE region

and selected CEE media partners, Eurosonic

Noorderslag and co-organisers Sziget and

Exit Festival, have developed a plan to

encourage the circulation of CEE artists

and repertoire in Central and Eastern

Europe, both at festivals and in the media.

By working together, the CEETEP festivals

and their media partners aim to help more

CEE artists perform across borders within

Central Eastern Europe, and, via shows at

Eurosonic Noorderslag, throughout the

whole of Europe and beyond.

The 13 focus countries in the CEE group are:

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,

Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the

Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia,

Slovakia and Slovenia.

The CEE-focus will be organised by:

Fruzsina Szp (HU/DE), Exit (RS), Opener

Festival (PL), Pohoda (SK), Waves Bratislava

(SK), Talinn Music Week (EE), Guna Zuika

(Creative Industries Council at the Ministry

of Culture, Latvia) (LV) and Eurosonic

Noorderslag (NL).

The 30th edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag

will take place on 13, 14, 15 and 16 January

2016.

Fruzsina Szp (former programme

director of Sziget (HU) between

2009-2014, now Director of Festival

Coordination and Public Affairs Berlin

Festival and Lollapalooza Berlin):

My deep wish to strengthen the circulation

of artistic repertoire and the cooperation

and exchange of know-how between the

cultural workers, festivals, media in the

CEE region started long back in 2005. In

2006 the idea of CEETEP was born at the

RegiON music conference in Budapest. With

the strong believe that we can build up

something together for our region, for the

artists by building cultural bridges between

our countries.

With the great cooperation between all

the wonderful people, festivals, media and

Eurosonic Noorderslag and Exit Festival

involved a 10 year period will come now

to its final phase. In January 2016 we will

unite all the positive energies and the region

which we call Central and Eastern Europe

and we will become ONE within the stages

of Europe. January 2016 at Eurosonic a long

time dream will come true.

Peter Smidt (creative director Eurosonic

Noorderslag):

With more or less half of the European

people living in what we call Central Eastern

Europe, Eurosonic Noorderslag feels it is

crucial to make much more and better

connections between Western Europe and

Central Eastern Europe. We are curious for

all talents in this large area and would like

to facilitate much more and better business

relations between music professionals and

media.

EUROSONIC NOORDERSLAG 2016 FOCUSES ON CENTRAL EAST EUROPEAN (CEE) COUNTRIESAnne Frank Alsted, aa@vip-booking.com

Eurosonic Noorderslag is preparing for its 30th edition with the Central East European regions as the focus for 2016. Each year a different country is highlighted in order to showcase the diversity of musical talent across Europe. In 2016, 13 CEE countries will be the focus region of Eurosonic Noorderslag

Peter SmidtFruzsina Szep

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MORE INFO WWW.ETEP.NL

The European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP) helps the best European acts to build careers across borders. ETEP is a co-operation between the 100 festival members, European public radio stations (EBU), the international music press and Eurosonic Noorderslag. Since the start of ETEP in 2003 a total of 2294 shows by 810 artists were presented at 90 ETEP festivals in 30 countries (2003-2014).

In previous years acts like sgeir, Aurora, Benjamin Clementine, Birth of Joy, Coely, Ewert and the Two Dragons, Hozier, Ibeyi, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Jungle, Milky Chance, Seinabo Sey, SOAK, Vk and Years & Years played lots of festivals, kick-starting their European careers with help from the ETEP programme.

AUSTRIA: Frequency Festival, Nova Rock, Waves Vienna

BELGIUM: Cactusfestival, Dour Festival, Les Ardentes, Les Nuits

Botanique, Pukkelpop, Rock Werchter

CROATIA: INmusic Festival

CZECH REPUBLIC: Colours of Ostrava, Rock For People

DENMARK: NorthSide Festival, Roskilde Festival, Tinderbox

ESTONIA: Tallinn Music Week

FAROE ISLANDS (DENMARK): G! Festival

FINLAND: Ilosaarirock, Provinssi Festival, Ruisrock

FRANCE: Europavox, Le Printemps de Bourges, Les 3 lphants,

Les Eurockennes de Belfort, Les Rencontres Trans Musicales

de Rennes, MaMA Event, Rock en Seine, Vieilles Charrues

GERMANY: Berlin Festival, c/o pop Festival, Chiemsee Summer,

Das Fest, Haldern Pop, Happiness Festival, Highfield, Hurricane

Festival, Melt!, Orange Blossom Special, Reeperbahn Festival,

Rocco del Schlacko, Rock Am Ring, Rolling Stone Weekender,

Southside Festival, Taubertal Festival

GREECE: Rockwave Festival

HUNGARY: Sziget

ICELAND: Iceland Airwaves

ITALY: Arezzo Wave Love Festival

IRELAND: Body & Soul Festival

LATVIA: Positivus Festival

LITHUANIA: Vilnius Music Week

LUXEMBOURG: Rock-A-Field

NORWAY: Bergenfest, Hovefestivalen, yafestivalen, Slottsfjel

POLAND: Live Music Festival, Off Festival Katowice, Opener

Festival, Selector Festival

PORTUGAL: Optimus Primavera Sound, Super Bock Super

Rock, WestWay Lab Festival

REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: Taksirat Festival

ROMANIA: Bestfest

SERBIA: Exit Festival

SLOVAKIA: Pohoda, Waves Bratislava

SLOVENIA: MENT Ljubljana

SPAIN: Benicssim Festival, Bizkaia International Music

Experience, Da de la Msica, Primavera Sound

SWEDEN: Brvalla Festival, Malmfestivalen, Way Out West

SWITZERLAND: Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival, Greenfield Festival,

Gurtenfestival, Montreux Jazz Festival, OpenAir St. Gallen,

Palo Festival Nyon, Winterthurer Musikfestwochen

THE NETHERLANDS: Best Kept Secret Festival, Lowlands,

Parkpop, Pinkpop

UNITED KINGDOM: Beautiful Days, Bestival, End of the

Road Festival, Glastonbury, Green Man, Larmer Tree Festival,

Secret Garden Party, T in the Park, The Great Escape

USA: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

photo: Dom Moore

HOW EUROPEAN FESTIVALS AND RADIO STATIONS HELP ACTS TO BUILD A CAREER

ETEP FESTIVALS IN 2015

13

VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

Randy Phillips, former AEG Live CEO, is now the CEO of Global

Entertainment, a newly-launched U.S. division for London-based

Global, The Media and Entertainment Group.

The multifaceted company will include touring, label, publishing,

artist management, branding/sponsorships and marketing

divisions, with new headquarters based in Los Angeles and a

London office. Phillips will be based in LA and oversee U.S. affairs

and worldwide content for Global Entertainment

Phillips believes the Global model is the way of the future. I believe

that within three to five years, all of the major labels that exist will

look like Global, he told Billboard.

Global founder/executive president Ashley Tabor has used U.K.s

largest commercial radio company Global Radio as a base to create

an entertainment company that now includes Global Television

and Global Publishing (Ellie Goulding, Corinne Bailey Rae, LMFAO),

with the latter to be part of the Global Entertainment U.S. division

under Phillips.

This is a defining moment for Global as we open our first office

in the U.S. and create a new type of content company, Global

founder Ashley Tabor said earlier this year.

Our goal is to redefine the possibilities for a 21st century music

and entertainment company and I am thrilled to have Randy and

the team on board.

Phillips CEOof Global EntertainmentFrom VIP-Daily News

Randy Phillips

14

VIPNEWS > FEBRUARY 2015

Bestival has announced a new festival in

Toronto, which will take place on the citys

Hanlans Point Beach on 12-13 May.

Founder of Bestival, Rob da Bank, says:

We have waited twelve years to decide

to launch another Bestival outside of the

UK. It took a really special city, and an even

more exciting site, with Toronto and Toronto

Island, to make us take the leap. So, the

waiting is over and we are so excited to be

launching in North America in June, with

a classic Bestival line-up waiting to thrill,

intrigue and party!

The event is being launched in partnership

with Canadian promoters Embrace and the

ever expansive SFX Entertainment. For more

information, go to: www.bestival.ca

As previously reported, Team Bestival are

also expanding their UK operations, having

announced back in December the launch of

a new city-based festival in Southampton

called Common People. That is due to take

place 23-24 May, with the first day headlined

by Fatboy Slim. For more information go to:

www.commonpeople.net

James Last, composer and big band leader,

has announced his final tour.

The tour will include two dates at the

Royal Albert Hall, with the final concert on

26 April in Cologne. They will be his 89th

and 90th concerts at the venue, and the

concerts will mark the end of this chapter,

the 85-year-old German artist said.

A serious illness last September apparently

forced him to face the fact that a man full

of plans, needs to not just slow down but

give up his life on tour altogether. Last said

it was a decision he regrets very much

having to make.

The tour, he said, will give him a welcome

opportunity to bid farewell his fans. The

main thing is that my fans have the best

concerts of their lives and we will make this

our `happiest` concert yet,

Last, who is thought to have sold in excess

of 100 million albums with his trademark

happy music, will play the Royal Albert

Hall on 31 March and 1 April.

Last started his music career in the 1960s

with instrumental music recordings with his

orchestra James Last & His Orchestra, a big

band with strings and choir added.

Bestival Goes AbroadFrom VIP-Daily News

James Last: Final tourFrom VIP-Daily News

James LastPhoto by Frank Zauritz

Rob da Bank

15

VIPNEWS > BUSINESS > FEBRUARY 2015 MUSIC IN SHARES

CTS Eventim - The Legal Hassle Continues

In the last issue VIP News reported about the complaints by the con-

sumer watch dog organisation Verbraucherzentrale NRW regarding

the sales policy of CTS Eventim for nine ACDC concerts. This time

CTS Eventim finds itself again confronted. The newspaper Welt Am

Sonntag on February 22 reported that the German Cartel Office

launched an investigation about the abuse of market power by CTS

Eventim. The investigations are ongoing since November 2014. CTS

Eventim received a comprehensive questionnaire from the office and

confirmed that it will or already has also sent questionnaires to com-

petitors. As a public institution it is compulsory for all of those who

have received one of these to answers the questions. The investiga-

tion is supposed to last at least for another couple of months.

The news itself has been intensively covered by German media and

caused over the weekend a share price drop of 17 percent. However,

the Cartel Office only has two options for sanctions against the com-

pany. One, in the case of approval, is to file a written notice against

CTS Eventim to desist using unfair business practices, the other one

is to file a penalty fee against the company.

In terms of the mentioned share price drop this at least caused no

bigger impact. During Monday morning, the share price more or

less recovered completely and reached on Tuesday, February 24, a

level of 27.03 Euro. On January 26 VIP News reported a share price

of 25.62 Euro.

DEAG - No News Except One Public Letter

The launch of three news festivals by DEAG in Germany and Austria

still provokes attention within the industry and trade media. Elder

industry statesmen Karsten Jahnke who is well known even outside

Germany for his short but to the point comments about the shape

of the concert industry, recently ventured certain observations re-

garding the fight of festivals provoking a public letter by DEAG

objecting to some of his statements made earlier on in January in a

keynote interview at Eurosonic and later on in February in an article

within the German trade paper Musikwoche.

Jahnke argued that it is mainly because of DEAG CEO Peter Schwen-

kow that Germany faces a fight of festivals in the upcoming sea-

son. Within the public letter a DEAG spokesman emphasized that it

was the Nrburging approaching DEAG as a new deal for the site in

2015 with MLK had not been agreed. According to DEAG the whole

procedure at every stage has been a legitimate business move.

In terms of the share price this kind of public debate had no signifi-

cant impact. Anyhow since last time reported at 7.80 Euro, the price

meanwhile went down to 7.40 Euro.

Live Nation - No Evidence For An Antitrust Lawsuit

The US promoter Seth Hurwitz on behalf of Its My Amphitheatre

Inc. failed in his attempt to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Na-

tion. The claim was filed in 2009, but according to a recent decision

by the US District Judge J. Frederick Motz, did not produce enough

evidence to go to trial.

The newspaper Baltimore Sun quoted Hurwitz who commented,

the ruling was supposed to be about whether or not there was

enough of a case to go to trial. Plain and simple. And they success-

fully drew the judge into trying the case before that. So I have to

give them that

Live Nation published a statement regarding the claim saying: We

are very pleased with the judges ruling, which we believe validates

Live Nations business approach and practices, and which aligns with

our long-standing belief that the accusations made in this case were

completely false. We feel vindicated that the court was able to see

through the baseless allegations by a rival promoter and recognize

that the claims of anti-competitive conduct had no merit. Our focus

is, and will continue to be, providing a world-class live music experi-

ence for artists and their millions of fans.

Anyhow: Since the last issue the share price went up from $25.55

to $25.69...

SFX Entertainment - How Low Can Your Go...

The US Rapper Ludachris released his song How Low Can You Go

in December 2009. In terms of SFX Entertainment who we reported

in the last issue an all time low share price of $3.40 this song appar-

ently seems to fit. This time it is at $3.30...

MusicIn SharesManfred Tari mt@vip-booking.com

VIPNEWS > MISC > FEBRUARY 2015

8:58 PAUL HARTNOLL from ORBITALTerritory: World excl USAPeriod: May 2015 onwardsAgency: Value Added TalentAgent: Dan SilverPhone: +44 20 7704 9720E-mail: dan@vathq.co.ukHomepage: dan@vathq.co.uk

Basement JaxxTerritory: EuropePeriod: 2015Agency: Primary Talent InternationalAgent: Peter EilliotPhone: +44 20 7400 4500E-mail: peter_elliott@primarytalent.comHomepage: www.primarytalent.com/basement-jaxx/

Orquesta Buena Vista Social ClubTerritory: Scandinavia, Eastern EU, UK, IrelandPeriod: June - JulyAgency: Sasa MusicAgent: David FlowerPhone: +44 20 7359 9232E-mail: rab@sasa.demon.co.ukHomepage: www.sasamusic.com

Patti Smith Territory: EuropePeriod: 2015Agency: Primary Talent InternationalAgent: Andy WoolliscroftPhone: +44 20 7400 4500E-mail: andy@primarytalent.comHomepage: www.primarytalent.com/patti-smith/

THE ORCHESTRA starring ELO former members Territory: WorldwidePeriod: 2015Agency: World Entertainment Associates of AmericaAgent: John Regna - Artist Agent/ManagerPhone: +1 407 993 4000E-mail: jpr@johnregna.comHomepage: www.THEORCHESTRAonline.com

Tricky Territory: EuropePeriod: 2015Agency: Primary Talent InternationalAgent: Ben WinchesterPhone: +44 20 7400 4500E-mail: ben@primarytalent.comHomepage: www.primarytalent.com/tricky/

MORE ARTIST AVAILS ON:WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

POST YOUR ARTIST AVAILS ON:WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM

ARTIST AVAILS

Basement Jaxx

MEMBER PRESENTATION

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Prestige MJM is a team of creative

young people, having a quite big expe-

rience and being able to mix up dreams

with reality. We focus on organization

of unforgettable live music shows of

the greatest artists, which will stay for

a long time in peoples memory. We try

our best to make each new project an

extraordinary experience and to take it

to the highest level.

During the preparations for each event,

we take care of every little detail and

make our very best for it to become an

unforgettable show.

We have already managed to success-

fully run many concerts. Every single

one of the previous events, without ex-

ception, was at great popularity.

Rod Stewart, Scorpions, Andrea Bocelli,

Bon Jovi, Placido Domingo or Justin

Timberlake these and many more are

the greatest artists who visited Poland

on Prestige MJM invitation, to perform

in front of the Polish audience.

It is worth to mention, that for some of

the stars, it was the very first time to

give a music live show in Poland. Our

company was the first one to invite:

Jennifer Lopez, Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber,

Il Divo, Manowar, Michael Buble or Jus-

tin Timberlake. We are proud to admit,

that every one of these events became

a great success.

The events we organize, are in the

public opinion, considered as the big-

gest music shows of a current year. For

example, such an arrangement took

place this year 2014, when we had the

opportunity to host the worldwide fa-

mous Justin Timberlake, at PGE Arena

in Gdask.

We constantly cooperate with the main

local and national radio stations and

also the national and local press and tel-

evision agencies. We organize the great

events at the most famous live music

venues in the major cities of Poland,

for example: PGE Arena in Gdansk,

Spodek Hall in Katowice, Atlas Arena in

dzand many many more.

16