SEPTEMBER | COVER FEATURE
Series) and RoboMagic (Duran Duran,
Ne-Yo, Bon Jovi).
Meawnhile, the DCMS Select
Committee report on live music,
published 19 March 2019, asked that the
Competition and Markets Authority
(CMA) consider “conducting a market
study of the music industry to assess
whether competition in the market is
working effectively for both consumers
and those working in the industry.”
“For some time,” Reed says, “we
have been urging the CMA to extend
their investigations beyond single
acquisitions and into Live Nation’s
position in the market overall before
the existing stranglehold is further
exacerbated.”
There is an increasing divide in the
festival industry between shows that
are independent, owned by a promoter
or group of promoters and shows that
are owned by huge conglomerates,
“It’s fair to
say that
the festival
industry is one
of the most
risk dominated
markets.”
– Nick Morgan
36
adds Nick Morgan, CEO, We Are The
Fair. “Allowing a single company to
dominate reduces the amount of choice
and value for money for music fans.
It can block new entrants to market,
result in strangleholds on talent
through exclusivity deals and stifle
competition throughout the entire live
music business.”
“Ironically, after being faced with
criticism from the industry, a piece of
research commissioned by Barclaycard
this year to celebrate its partnership
with Live Nation and AEG, found more
evidence that indicated the Experience
Economy trends weren’t slowing down.
It found that almost 1 in 5 people would
spend their money at a festival over
their annual holiday. All this research
would indicate that the festival market
is healthy and continuing to grow,
however, we also need to ask how it is
growing and where it is headed.
“It’s fair to say that the festival
industry is one of the most risk-
dominated markets. It’s a tough place
to build a business and one that can be
taken away in a blink of an eye, which
is why conglomerates find safety in
numbers. If one falls off, you still have a
strong market share but huge financial
investment doesn’t always equal the
right festival experience for customers
and suppliers alike.
Some argue that the size of a
business adds reassurance to festival
goers and allows them to offer longer
contracts and better standards.
Morgan takes issue with this: “Because
a business is big it means that they
do everything the right way, have
the right policies, work with the best
suppliers or deliver the best shows.
Some of the large conglomerates
have had some catastrophic failings
on the supply chain such as security
and bar staff. They do however have
weighting and can pressurise suppliers
to deliver on their shows – but this in
itself causes risk to other shows and
can affect smaller one-off festivals
who could potentially have a shortage
on inventory delivered on site if the
festival giants up their needs last
minute and demand supply.”
There are a few benefits that
come with larger purchasing power,
adds Bradley Thompson, director of
Broadwick Live and Broadwick Venues,
but ultimately its about good company
ethos: “Customers have come to