#260

Author

Back of House
July 01, 2025

Issue #260

Touring mishaps, global regulation, and local support shape this week’s headlines. Beyoncé’s flying car went sideways in Houston, NIVA revealed most independent venues aren’t profitable, and BBC uncovered a global bot-driven scalping ring. Toronto’s investing in festival security, while UK police investigate hate speech incidents at Glastonbury. And a reminder: BOH goes monthly for free subscribers starting next week.

Credit: Greg Noire via PictureGroup/Shutterstock; Julian Dakdouk via PictureGroup/Shutterstock 

⏰Reminder: Last weekly issue for free subscribers ⏯️

This is your final weekly issue of Back of House—unless you’re All Access.

Starting next week (July 8), only paid subscribers ($15/year or $50/lifetime) and students with a .edu email will keep getting weekly issues.

Don’t want to miss out on your BOH fix? Upgrade here and stay in the loop every Tuesday.

If you don’t upgrade, you’ll still hear from us—just less often. Your next issue will hit on Tuesday, August 5, and then every first Tuesday of the month after that.

Let’s keep this thing going strong → Upgrade now

NIVA reveals the State of Live is strong, but majority of venues aren’t profitable

NIVA unveiled the results of its first-ever “State of Live” survey at last week’s conference. The big headline was that independent venues generated $153.1 billion in US economic investment in 2024, injecting $86.2 billion into the US’ GDP, “more than the U.S. beer, gaming, and airline industries.” Pretty significant. However, it also found that 64% of independent venues were not profitable in 2024. NIVA plans to use the data to continue to lobby local and federal governments. According to Stephen Parker, NIVA Executive Director, “This report underscores the urgent need for policy reforms and public investment to sustain these indispensable community anchors.” Check out the full report here.

Beyoncé’s show in Houston on Saturday night took an unexpected turn when her signature flying-car prop had a “technical mishap" during a performance of “16 Carriages,” tilting midair over the crowd. Video shows her saying, “Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop," into the microphone, signaling to her crew to pause the show before being lowered to the stage. She shared images from the incident with the caption “Sittin’ Sidewayz”. The remainder of the show was completed without further issues, but the prop and the song were removed from her next performance.

A recent BBC investigation uncovered that UK ticket scalpers are using coordinated overseas “ticket pullers” in countries like Pakistan and India, employing illegal bots and multiple identities to snatch high-demand concert tickets en masse. These offshore operations then funnel massive profits back to UK resellers, skirting legality. According to a ticket pulling boss, "We do not participate in illegal things because actually we are outside of the UK." The government is working on legislation to curb scalping, but some believe it doesn’t go far enough.

Toronto has pledged $2.1 million CAD ($1.5 million USD) in funding for festival security upgrades through its Special Events Stabilization Initiative, a move prompted by April’s deadly vehicle attack at a festival in Vancouver. The grants help cover rising costs for private security, paramedics, hostile vehicle barriers, and crowd-management measures, expenses that have increasingly burdened festivals operating on thin margins. Insurers, who now require stricter safety protocols to underwrite events, are responding favorably. The deadline to apply for funding is July 16, more details are here.

The Association of Independent Festivals in the UK has released its 2025 Festival Forecast. The report found that the 592 festivals in the UK is a significant drop from the 800-900 festivals during the peak years of 2018 - 2019 and suggests that both the pandemic and Brexit are contributing factors. Of the total festivals, four are classified as large (> 80k attendees) and of those, all but one (Glastonbury) are owned by Live Nation. It also highlights initiatives that are being rolled out to help festivals such as AIF’s The Fallow Festival Fund, LIVE Trust, and calls on the government to institute Music Festival Tax Relief.

Mexican artists aren’t just having issues performing in the US (inability to get visas, threats of ICE raids at large gatherings), some, especially corridos artists, are experiencing cancellations in Mexico as well. Over 10 Mexican states have enacted regulations prohibiting performances of a controversial but popular subgenre known as corridos bélicos while several artists, including Junior H and Grupo Firme, have canceled or postponed shows in response to legal restrictions and cartel threats.

Glastonbury has come under intense scrutiny as UK police have launched a criminal investigation into performances by Irish rap group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan, citing onstage chants like “death to the IDF” and “Free Palestine” while on stage over the weekend. The police are looking into the incidents as potential public-order offenses. Festival organizers were “appalled” and BBC, which was live broadcasting the event said some of the comments were "deeply offensive". UK politicians insist there is “no place for hate” and the US has revoked Vlyan’s US visas.

Festivals are now using technology to help reduce waste and to even cut costs. Some examples include smart bins that alert staff when they are full, enabling them to empty the trash and recycling before the bins start to overflow and AI-sorting machines can speed up the manual sorting process of making sure the right items get into the right bins. Others are gamifying the green process by adding RFID tags to reusable cups and cutlery, giving those who return them to the right place points and prizes.

NIVA: Audrey Fix Schaefer has been named Board President for the org, following her stint as Vice President and Communications Director. Additionally, she is the Communications Director for I.M.P.

CTS Eventim: Thorsten Schäffler has been appointed Chief Product Officer. He previously served as Chief Digital Product Officer at Enpal.

Oak View Group: Simon Hanna has joined as Senior Vice President of Operations, leaving his post as COO at Freemans Event Partners.

Have people news to share? Send it to us at [email protected].

How many hot dogs will Joey Chestnut eat at the Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Last Week's Results:
44% of BOH readers agree that Bonnaroo is doing the right thing by surveying their fans before announcing 2026 dates.

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements 

  • Splash House announced ACRAZE, Diplo B2B BLOND:ISH, Disco Lines, and Eli Brown for Weekend One (August 8 - 10) and Boys Noize, BUNT., Claude VonStroke, Cloonee, and Disclosure (DJ Set) for Weekend Two (August 15 - 17) in Palm Springs, CA. 

  • Momentous 2025 will take place October 10 - 11 in Bentonville, AR with Flux Pavilion b2b Doctor P and Tycho as headliners. 

  • Kacey Musgraves, Reneé Rapp, Remi Wolf & Role Model will headline the inaugural All Things Go Festival in Toronto, ON, October 4 - 5. 

  • Dolly does Vegas in December. That’s right, Dolly Parton is planning a short residence in Las Vegas, “Dolly: Live In Las Vegas”, with shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, December 4 - 13 during National Finals Rodeo. 

  • Over 1,100 fans have signed a petition urging AEG to bring back Firefly Festival. The festival was last held in 2022 in Dover, DE.

Cancelations, Changes

  • Morrissey cancelled his June 23 Stockholm show due to lack of “music industry support.” According to the artist, “we have thousands upon thousands of friends, yet absolutely zero music industry support. No label will release our music, no radio will play our music … and yet our ticket sales are sensational.” 

  • Luke Bryan’s vocal issues persisted throughout the weekend, forcing him to cancel his headlining slots at Country Stampede in Bonner Springs, KS, NebraskaLand Days in North Platte, NE, and Country Jam in Grand Junction, CO. Eric Church filled in at all three festivals. 

  • NJ’s State Fair is going on hiatus for the next two years due to the FIFA Club World Cup this summer and the FIFA World Cup next summer. The World Cup events take place at MetLife Stadium, which is also home to the NJ State Fair Meadowlands. The fair will return in 2027.

Questions or comments?
Like BOH? Share it with friends!