#159

We Didn’t Start the Fire

Today's read ... 6 

minutes

Happy Canada Day, Happy 4th of July, and Happy Hump Day to everyone who didn’t spend the weekend dressed in patriotic garb. Thanks for letting us extend the weekend a little further this week, we’ll be back in your inboxes next Tuesday, as scheduled.

dead and co drones boh

Travis Scott won't face criminal chargesRapper Travis Scott has been acquitted of criminal charges related to the deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld Festival. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said, "The grand jury ... found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible.” Scott’s lawyer was relieved with the results, saying, “He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt.” 

Beyoncé's exclusive merch, European tourBeyoncé has partnered with Amazon Music to sell her official Renaissance World Tour merch online via a series of four exclusive drops. Drop 1.0 is available online now and includes five exclusive items with designs different from those sold at venues during the tour. Future releases will be announced via Amazon Music’s social media channels. Oh, and the European leg of Queen Bey’s tour sold 1 million tickets and grossed $154.4 million over just 21 shows. 

Roc Nation goes golfingRoc Nation has been hired by The Ryder Cup in a consultancy deal to help reach younger audiences. Roc Nation will “use its extensive influence to showcase the drama and tension of golf’s greatest team context to new audiences, generating hype ahead of the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup in Rome this September.” DJ Khaled will be part of the promotion, promising, “We’re about to take it up a gear. Believe that!”  

Drones as a fireworks replacementDrones are becoming a popular alternative to fireworks throughout the world, especially in places like Quebec, where wildfires continue to rage and fire bans prevent fireworks and sparklers as celebrations during St-Jean-Baptiste Day and Canada Day. Drone shows are quieter, animal-friendly, and more environmentally friendly. More cities across the US are choosing drones over fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July and 1,500 drones lit up the sky in Shenzhen, China to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. Even Dead & Co. showcased their own this past weekend.

Save the RaveConcertgoers are demanding change following the deadly shooting at Watershed Festival with an online petition to repeal or amend the Rave Act to increase safety at music festivals. The Rave Act was passed in 2002 and is focused on discouraging drug use. This call to “Save the Rave” asks for increased police presence to focus on weapons rather than drugs.

Beware of flying objectsArtists on stage have been getting hit with flying objects at an alarming rate recently. Kelsea Ballerini was hit in the eye with a bracelet and temporarily left the stage before resuming her show and telling fans, “Don’t throw things. You know?” A few weeks earlier Bebe Rexha was hit in the face with a cellphone and wasn’t so fine, requiring stitches to fix the laceration on her eyebrow.

Popwashing in Saudi ArabiaIs Saudi Arabia attempting to "popwash" its image through hosting international music events like the Glastonbury-inspired Soundstorm Festival? An article in The Guardian argues that these events are part of the country's strategy to distract from its human rights abuses and oppressive regime, while presenting a facade of openness and progressiveness and aligning itself with pop culture and liberal values - a direct contrast to the government’s actions.

Revised industry revenue forecastGoldman Sachs has revised its 2030 industry revenue forecast from $153 billion of annual revenue in 2022 to a slightly lower $151.4 billion in this year’s “Music in the Air” report. The report forecasts $92 billion in industry revenue this year. According to Digital Music News, “These figures derived from expanded calculations of the disclosed data – or six percent of $26.2 billion in 2022 recorded income, about $1.57 billion, and the percentage share assigned by Goldman to each of the mentioned emerging platforms.”

AEG to run CO's Sunset AmphitheaterAEG will exclusively book and run day-to-day operations of Notes Live’s new Sunset Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, CO. The 8,000 cap venue is scheduled to open in 2024 and will hold approximately 40 concerts each year.

We Didn't Start the Fire: 2023 EditionFall Out Boy has updated Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by picking up where the singer left off. The original song has events that took place from 1949 - 1989 and Fall Out Boy’s update includes cultural and historical events, celebrities, and news from 1989 - 2023. While they hit on many things and people that changed the world over the past 34 years, there’s no mention of Covid. Full lyrics are here.

 Goldenvoice is hiring an Assistant General Manager at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA to oversee all venue events and shows. Salary range is $65,000 - $95,578.   HARD Summer Music Festival is looking for a Seasonal Box Office Attendant during the Los Angeles festival. Pay range is $16 - $18/hour.    Warner Music Group is hiring a part-time Warner Music U Rep, Marketing and Events to help develop artists. Salary range is $13.25 - $24/hour.

Are you interested in learning more about drones at concerts and festivals?

Last Week's Results:

89% of BOH readers have not worked or attended Glastonbury. If you know someone who works in the industry in the UK, please share BOH with them!

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements

  • Jimmy Buffet canceled his July 6th Summerfest appearance in Milwaukee “due to circumstances out of our control.” The cancellation is potentially tied to his recent health issues. AJR, slotted to fill in for Buffet as a headliner on the 6th and to open for Imagine Dragons on the 8th, announced over the weekend that they are no longer able to perform either Summerfest show due to their father’s declining health. 

  • After hinting about taking some time off during his Glastonbury show, Lewis Capaldi has officially canceled the rest of his tour.

  • The Movement LIVE Tour by Michelob ULTRA will stop at Live Nation venues in Charlotte, Houston, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas with workouts led by Rumble Boxing and live music by Alesso, Loud Luxury, and local DJs July 12 - August 16. 

  • Madonna has pushed back the start of her “The Celebration Tour” due to a bacterial infection that sent her to the ICU. The tour was scheduled to start on July 15 in Vancouver, CA. No official news have been released yet, but she is considering scaling back the number of dates.

  • Kid Cudi announced that his Moon Man’s Landing Festival, scheduled for August 19 at Rocket Mortgage FieldlHouse in Cleveland, OH, has been canceled due to lack of approval from the city. Shortly after the announcement, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb offered to help resolve the issue via Twitter, so maybe it’s not done yet 🤷

  • Lights On Festival, September 16-17 in Mountain View, CA, will include H.E.R. & Friends, Jazmine Sullivan, Don Toliver, and PARTYNEXTDOOR.

  • iHeartRadio Music Festival added Travis Scott to the September 22-23 Las Vegas festival shortly after he was acquitted by a Texas grand jury.

  • Rolling Loud announced it's not returning to Toronto via a backhanded tweet that said, “Miami, our last show of 2023,” and Torontonians are not happy.

  • Brandi Carlile’s 5th Girls Just Wanna Weekend returns to Riviera Maya, MX January 18-21, 2024 at the Barceló resort.

The highest grossing tour in history?If it feels like every issue of BOH has a Taylor Swift mention, it’s likely because she continues to dominate the news - and the world. Last week, The Wall Street Journal did some digging and some math and determined that Taylor’s Eras Tour is on pace to become the highest-grossing tour in history and the first to gross $1 billion (possibly more). 

Bloomberg says that she is making more than $13 million PER NIGHT, with fans paying an average of $254 per ticket. The Festive Owl argues that “surpasses the total cost of nearly every festival lineup worldwide this year, if not all of them.”

We have a feeling she’ll be showing up in a few more issues this year … 😉

 

 

 

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