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Today's read ... 8 

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There were some pretty unique “unforeseen circumstances” that led to cancellations over the past week: an uncovered conspiracy theory, a lottery winner upsetting his neighbors, a band speaking out against the government. And perhaps the most surprising - and forthcoming - of them all, lack of ticket sales. 

Photo by Way Out West Festival via yourope.orgEuropean Green Festival Roadmap 2030Yourope has released a Green Festival Roadmap for European Festivals based on the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to cut emissions by 55% in 2030, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The free, public roadmap provides festivals with a comprehensive framework for the ambitious sustainable improvement of cultural events.”  

In a Barbie WorldIt’s not a surprise that the Barbie movie set records with a $155 million opening weekend, especially given all the fanfare and money spent leading up to it. The Barbie marketing team pulled out all the stops by partnering with over 100 brands to promote the iconic movie. Bizbash highlighted some of their favorite Barbie-themed events, activations, and campaigns.

AELP report furthers TM/LN dominanceThe American Economic Liberties Project released a report that further implicates Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s dominance in the market. The report revealed that of the top 100 amphitheaters in the world, 88 are in the US and Ticketmaster was the exclusive ticketing provider for 82% of those. According to the report, “This data further supports the concern that there is no meaningful competition in venue operations or ticketing for concerts at US-based amphitheaters.” This is further fuel for California Senator Scott Wilk’s quest to prohibit exclusive ticketing contracts for primary sellers.  

Coldplay keeps playingColdplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour is going so well, they’ve decided to keep it going. How well? They’ve sold 7.5 million tickets over the course of 2 years and brought in over $500 million in gross revenue - and the summer is still young. The band will continue to perform throughout Europe this summer and then will start up again next June in Athens, as announced this week.

Wicket FastThe Cleveland Browns have decreased stadium ingress time by 400% while saving an average of $8,000 per game by partnering with Wicket to implement 20 dedicated Express Access ticketing lanes. With Wicket, fans can link their tickets to the face for speedy entry. The Browns also use Wicket for facial age verification and mobile order pick up.

Music Tourism in the UKAccording to UK Music’s “Here, There and Everywhere” report, music-related tourism has become a substantial contributor to the UK economy, generating £6.6 billion ($8.6 billion) in revenue and supporting 56,000 jobs in 2022. The study reveals that music tourists, both domestic and international, tend to spend more money and stay longer than regular tourists, showcasing the potential of music events and festivals to boost local economies. There were 14.4 million music tourists that attended live events in the UK in 2022.

Superfans15% of the general population in the United States can be categorized as superfans, according to US market monitor Luminate. These enthusiastic and highly engaged fans not only attend concerts and buy music at a much higher rate than casual listeners but also actively support and promote their favorite artists through social media and other channels. While it’s debatable how many superfans an artist really needs to be successful - some say as few as 100 - superfans play a crucial role in generating substantial revenue for the music business as these fans spend up to 80% more on music each month than a casual fan.

UK festivals on the riseBritain’s music festivals are on the rise - and not in a good way. 7 of the top 10 festivals in the world with the highest price surges are in the UK. Reading and Leads Festivals were 2nd on the list with a 34.4% increase, behind Poland’s Open’er which had a 42.1% increase, and All Points East was 3rd with a 33.8% increase. Several factors contribute to this trend, including rising production costs, increased demand for headlining artists, and additional expenses related to security and health and safety measures. Additionally, festivals are incorporating more amenities and attractions, which add to the overall costs. 

A tale of 2 Australian festivalsByron Bay, Australia’s Splendor in the Grass festival didn’t sell out this year - for the first time since 2011. The event faced several challenges in 2022 that they believe impacted ticket sales this year, plus guests are budgeting differently and purchasing later. However, just 8 hours south, in Sydney, the Vivid Sydney festival had its biggest attendance ever with 3.28 million attendees over their 23 night festival.

Lotto winner loses festivalEuromillions lottery winner Adrian Bayford has been forced to cancel the music festival he planned to host at his mansion in Cambridgeshire, UK, The Cambridge Rock Festival, after he was denied a permit. He previously held the event in 2017 and 2018, but neighbors actively objected to the “noise and chaos” that was anticipated from the 60 rock bands he planned to host. 

 Billfold is hiring a Director, Marketing based in its NYC office to build and implement a growth strategy. Salary range $160,000 - $175,000.    16 on Center in Chicago, IL is looking for a Marketing Specialist to support marketing efforts for its suite of restaurants and bars, including all experiential events held at them. Salary range $60,000 - $65,000.    C3 Presents has several fall internship opportunities available in Austin, TX: Artist Relations & Travel Ops, Digital Guest Services, Video Production, Ticketing & Fulfillment, Festival Operations & Sustainability, and Festival Marketing. 

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Last Week's Results:

75% of BOH readers are planning on downtime this summer.

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements

• Virginia’s Floyd Fest canceled, but the Party on the Mountain is on. The new sort-of-a-fest will take place this weekend (July 28 - 30) at Beech Mountain Resort in North Carolina with headliners Sheryl Crow, JJ Grey & Mofro and My Morning Jacket. 

• Woodstock Music Festival, originally scheduled for this weekend in South Korea has been postponed to October 7 - 9 “to ensure a safe event operation and to work on the event’s completion,” according to organizers. 

• Lil Baby has canceled 7 dates on the “It’s Only Us” tour due to low ticket sales. Two new shows were added in Philadelphia and NY. The tour kicks off Wednesday (July 26) in Houston.

• SEMA Fest, a new music festival tied to the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, will include Imagine Dragons, Incubus, Wiz Khalifa, AJR, and Third Eye Blind, November 3 - 4 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

• Honeyland Festival, a new festival in Sugar Land, TX, will feature Mary J. Blige, Miguel, and Jasmine Sullivan, November 11 - 12 at Crown Festival Park.

• ILLENIUM’s Ember Shores is returning December 8 - 10 with Dab The Sky, Sullivan King, Gareth Emery, Blanke, SLANDER joining them on stage at Paradisus Cancun Fiesta Americana in Cancun, Mexico.

• Skrillex, Subtronics, Barely Alive, Sullivan King, Grabbitz, PEEKABOO and Champagne Drip top Disco Donnie’s Lights All Night lineup, scheduled for December 30 - 31 at Dallas Market Hall, in Dallas, TX. 

• Dave Matthews + Tim Reynolds are returning to Moon Palace Cancun for their 7th Mexican destination festival, February 15 - 18, 2024.

• Creed is reuniting in grand style, with their first show planned for their new Summer of ‘99 Cruise on the Norwegian Pearl along with 3 Doors Down, April 18 - 22, 2024.

• Due to many challenges with the venue during this year’s festival in June, Primavera Sound announced that they will not be returning to Madrid in 2024.  

About last weekend[Not so] Good Vibes Festival (Malaysia)

• The Good Vibes Festival was abruptly canceled as the result of a directive issued by the Ministry of Communications and Digital on Saturday “following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy from the band The 1975.” 

• Matty Healy, not only spoke out about the Malaysian government’s stance on homosexuality during The 1975’s performance during the opening night of the festival (Friday), but he also kissed bass player Ross MacDonald on stage. VIDEO, warning: explicit. Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

• The 1975 have been blacklisted from performing in Malaysia by the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artists and have subsequently canceled shows in Indonesia and Taiwan.

• BUT festival-goers made the most of the cancellation by attending pop-up performances and finding creative ways to support the would-be vendors.

Sound Haven Festival (Whitwell, TN)

• Guests reported waiting over 18 hours to get into the festival and once they did get onto festival grounds, they reported “STILL waiting in line to enter the venue with no bathroom, little gas, no hot food, no updates from the festival at all.”

• The fest later apologized, cited massive storm damage for the delays, and vowed the event would go on as planned.

VW released a

Glamper Van

edition of its new ID.Buzz electric minibus and debuted it at PennFest 2023 in Buckinghamshire. These would have been HUGE upgrades for the

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 An Irish festival purported to showcase Irish culture and heritage was canceled after it was uncovered to be a conspiracy theorist event.

 New York voted to allow the sale of cannabis at fairs, festivals, concerts, and other events.

 Are monthly active user counts on streaming platforms really useful?

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