Live Nation Entertainment witnessed a significant boost in revenue for the year 2021, thanks to the restart of concerts and live shows in key markets such as the US and UK. In total, revenue amounted to $6.27bn (£4.68bn/€5.62bn) in 2021, compared to $1.86bn in 2020. Across the 12 months in 2021, revenue for concerts came …
Justin Bieber uses world tour to incite change
Justin Bieber is hoping to use his Justice World Tour to aid the fight on climate change, criminal justice reform and voter registration. The Canadian artist is working with Propeller, a platform that allows users to gain points to support various causes, such as the environment, democracy and LGBTQ+ rights. The platform essentially rewards fans …
Swansea Arena announces test events
Swansea’s new arena will offer a taste of what is to come for music fans in the Welsh city, with two test events at the end of February. The new venue is due to open in March and will test the waters with a variety of local acts on February 25-26. ‘Housewarming Part 1’ and …
Coachella to drop NFTs including a lifetime access ‘key’
Coachella fans will be able to unlock lifetime passes, art prints, photo books, digital collectibles and more with the new Coachella Collectible NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The festival has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange FTX to embark on the new venture, building an “environmentally friendly marketplace” on the Solana blockchain. The NFTs are set to drop on …
Denmark to lift restrictions, paving the way for live entertainment at full capacity
Denmark is set to remove all COVID-19 restrictions from February 1, except for testing on arrival from abroad, meaning that restrictions on live entertainment, sports and events will be stopped. At present, outdoor and indoor sporting events are able to go ahead, but attendees must present a COVID-19 passport or certificate to show proof of …
Entertainment industry faces supply chain issues, skills shortages and rising costs
The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and campaign group #WeMakeEvents have released results from a survey, detailing the global impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on aspects such as work force and equipment. Around 1,948 respondents completed the survey for the trade association between November 1 and December 21 and included businesses in the …
LIVE survey showcases continuing cancellations in 2022
British organisation LIVE, which describes itself as the collective voice of the live music and entertainment industry, has found that the perfect mixture of COVID-19 and Brexit has already resulted in a quarter of live music shows being cancelled in the first quarter of 2022. Some 26% of UK shows have already been cancelled and …
UK Music calls for halt on VAT hike
UK Music, a British umbrella organisation for the music industry, has called for the UK Government to rethink its position on raising VAT on live event and attraction tickets, set to come into effect from March 31. VAT on certain tickets was slashed to 5% in July 2020 in the UK, in order to provide …
Wales eases restrictions for outdoor events from tomorrow
COVID-19 restrictions in Wales will be eased over the next two weeks, including limits that had been brought in for live sport, outdoor events and nightclubs, due to the spread of the Omicron variant. From tomorrow (Saturday) the number of attendees allowed to be present at an outdoor event will rise from 50 to 500. …
Scotland cancels large events amid Omicron concerns
The Scottish Government has moved to cancel some large-scale events and significantly limit attendance numbers at others as part of an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 variant Omicron. Effective from December 26, all indoor venues such as theatres and concert halls will have a capacity limit of 200 for events that are seated …