#115

Today's read ... 7

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This year has been marked with highs and lows. Many shows have broken records, while others are left refunding fans after last-minute cancellations.

Credit: Gary Hershorn/Getty ImagesIconic SeparationMSG Entertainment is looking to split the $1.8 billion MSG Sphere (opening in 2023) and TAO into a separate company, leaving the most recognizable venues, Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, to live under a new stand-alone company.

Go Green(er)ASM Global will work with the sustainability consultant Honeycomb Strategies to focus on event best practices to improve existing green venue spaces and add eco-friendly innovation to others.

LN Acquires Major StakeAfter two years off, Boomtown is back, and Live Nation is on board, taking a majority stake in the festival.

NITO The National Independent Talent Organization focused on independent music industry policy and advocacy, is now sponsored by Lyte. The re-sale platform will offer financial backing and support through ticketing services.

Fans Refunded Big Climate Thing Festival will issue refunds as the 2022 event is canceled. The festival hopes to return next year, following its values and high standards that could not be achieved this year.

New and Open to the PublicIndieplaza is a new NY festival open to the public, featuring headliners A Tribe Called Quest and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Close CallPolice at Bass Canyon Music Festival arrested an individual attempting to enter the grounds carrying two 9mm pistols. It is reported that comments were made by the suspect that led authorities to believe he was planning to attempt a mass shooting.

Last Minute CancellationEverclear, Candlebox, and Filter were three major acts that dropped out of the Spyglasses Music Festival. Although not confirmed, staffing and low ticket sales may have been the cause of festival shortcomings. The festival put a statement on its website and via email.

Almost Half the Lineup DropoutKentucky Irate Music Festival has been canceled after 38 bands removed themselves from the lineup.

A Break from TouringBlack Pumas announced that upcoming shows would be canceled this year as they take a break from touring.

 HomeTown Ticketing, based in Colombus, OH, is hiring a Sr. Manager, Partnerships and Conferences.

Front Gate Tickets is looking for a Client Operations Manager to assist in running on-site operations for over 200 festivals.

SXSW is searching for a Manager, Event Support Operations to run logistics and manage teams.

Last Week's Results:

36% of BOH readers

have

experienced a weather delay this month.

Credit: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times

Millions of Guests

While some events are seeing lower than anticipated attendance this season - with some even being canceled due to low sales - others are breaking the million-guest threshold. Here are just a sampling of recent events tallying over 1 Million guests across the globe: 

The 11-day Wisconsin State Fair saw 1,003,450 guests and served them over 320,000 original cream puffs and 100,000 ears of corn.

California’s Orange County Fair tallied 1,055,173 attendees, despite limiting attendance for a second straight year.

Musikfest in Pennsylvania set a new record of 1,240,000 guests, beating its previous record of 1,226,000 in 2019

After a slow start, Korea's Boryeong Mud Festival picked up steam. The month-long event drew over 1.2 million guests, including “a higher-than-expected number of foreign visitors.” 

The Taiwan International Balloon Festival drew 1.23 million guests during its 6-week run and included spectacular balloon and drone light shows.

Broadway is back. But theater-goers aren’t. And it’s not just Broadway; regional theaters and opera houses are experiencing attendance levels below those of 2019, with no sign of recovery in sight. With no clear answer on why ticket sales are down, some suggest that ticket-buyers may still have Covid-concerns, others say it's due to the lack of in-office workers looking for something to do after work, or maybe it’s the changing habits of guests, including their unwillingness to plan ahead - preferring a last-minute ticket purchase to a year-long membership. The initial pent-up demand after Covid has simply fizzled out.This is in stark contrast to Live Nation’s recent Q2 results boasting 100 million tickets sold - more than all of 2019 and on pace for its biggest year ever. But LN concerts tend to draw a younger audience than those of other performing arts sectors.

 Midyear results are in, and the top touring artist has grossed a total of $120.1 million. Can you guess who it is?

Iconic publication Rolling Stone just announced a major rebrand. The new design is simple and includes additions to the website to improve the user experience. The Rock Academy of Performing Arts at the Delta Academy provides students with a state-of-the-art production facility to enhance their ability to express themselves and create music.

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