#242

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Back of House
May 06, 2025

Issue #252

Lady Gaga just broke records and dodged danger with a 2.5 million-person show in Rio, while the U.S. House passed a new ticketing bill that critics say still favors bots. Elsewhere: Live Nation revenue dipped but optimism held, SXSW drama unfolded, and climate change took center stage in Australia’s festival crisis.

Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Lady Gaga show breaks records, avoids bomb attack 🇧🇷

Lady Gaga made history with her Copacabana Beach concert on Saturday, drawing an estimated 2.5 million people to the free concert on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The crowd broke the record for the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history, breaking Madonna’s previous record of 1.6 million last May. Rod Stewart holds the all-time record of 3.5 million also at Copacabana beach in 1994.

Just hours before the concert, Brazilian police arrested two people in connection to a suspected bomb attack on the show. The suspects were targeting LBGTQ attendees. 5,200 police and military officers were deployed at the event. The show went off without a hitch and Lady Gaga herself only found out about it from media reports afterwards.

TICKET Act pass the House, but some say it is not enough

Last Tuesday, the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act (TICKET) Act passed the US House of Representatives with a 409-15 vote. While several industry bodies react positively to the act’s all-in pricing mandate and its ban on speculative ticket sales, others voiced concerns that the speculative ban doesn’t go far enough and that it doesn’t do anything to stop the “rampant bots”. The carve out for “concierge services” within the ban on speculative tickets will allow companies like Vivid Seats to continue to sell “seat saver” tickets to events that aren’t yet on sale.

Live Nation reported $3.38 billion in Q1 revenues, down 11% from a “record-breaking” Q1 last year. The concerts division reported a 14% dip to $2.84 billion and ticketing dipped to $694.7 million, down 4%. Overall, adjusted operating income (AOI) is at $341 million for Q1, down 6% from Q1 2024. CEO Michael Rapino remains bullish, saying there’s been no consumer pullback “in any genre, club, theater, stadium, amphitheater” and he predicts “double-digit growth in operating income and AOI this year.”

The Rain, Heat, Repeat report by Green Music Australia reveals climate change is significantly affecting Australia’s live music scene, with 85% of 1,100 surveyed attendees experiencing extreme weather at events. As a result, many fans are now 34% more hesitant to buy tickets, contributing to early sales slumps which have led to the cancellation of major festivals such as Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo in 2024. The report urges investment in weather-resilient infrastructure and government support to protect the future of live music in Australia.

According to Hugh Forrest, former President of South by Southwest, leaving his role at the Austin festival after 35 years “was definitely not my decision.” Instead, Forrest says, he was forced out amidst a shakeup by parent company Penske, who owns 51% of SXSW. Penske pushed back, saying he chose to leave when Jenny Connelly was elected by the board to lead the Austin festival as its “director in charge.” 10 others, including  the Head of Communications, VP of Music Festival, and Chief Technology Officer, have either left or been let go by SXSW recently.

In the US, cultural events are being canceled due to fears of ICE raids and deportations. Organizers say that immigrants - whether legal or undocumented - are afraid of being arrested if they gather in large crowds, and they feel obligated to protect them. Chicago cancelled its annual Cinco de Mayo parade, a Latino Fest in central Oregon was cancelled, and in Philadelphia the Carnaval de Puebla parade was cancelled, for example. 

BeachLife Festival took place in Redondo Beach, CA over the weekend, but now that it’s over, the festival's newest hangout will remain open as a permanent restaurant and private social club. Festival founder Allen Sanford and his partner Rob Lissner opened California Surf Club with the goal of revamping the Redondo Beach waterfront and allowing the local community to live the BeachLife festival experience year-round. The club will have several membership tiers and includes a restaurant and music space. It will play a central role in the BeachLife and BeachLife Ranch festivals moving forward.

AEG Presents has acquired The Complex in Salt Lake City. The Complex is located in downtown Salt Lake City, UT and is composed of Rockwell, a 2,500-cap music venue, Grand, an 800-cap music venue, The Lot, a 4,000-cap outdoor event space, and bar/lounge Papa Wolf’s. This will be the first Utah venue for AEG Presents and the purchase comes just four months after the previous owner was “sentenced to probation on marijuana conspiracy charges.”

The Edmonton Fringe Festival was on the brink of getting dumped, but in April, organizers launched an “Adopt a Porta-Potty” campaign, inviting fans to adopt a porta-potty for $250. 35 potties were available for fans of the fest to, “Claim your throne or dedicate the seat to someone on your sh*t list.” It didn’t take long for all 35 to be adopted, so the event added its 18 indoor stalls and 5 urinals to the adoption list.

Taco Bell has announced its 2025 class of 100 emerging artists for its long-running Feed The Beat program, which supports musicians by providing free meals on tour and promotional opportunities. This year’s lineup includes international acts like The Beaches (Canada), Caleb Calloway (Puerto Rico), J Verse (Australia), and Master Peace (UK), spanning genres from Latin and country to hardcore and folk. Since its 2006 launch, Feed The Beat has backed over 2,000 artists. Additionally, Taco Bell will debut the Feed The Beat Record Club on May 20 via its app, offering 500 loyalty members exclusive vinyl packages featuring music from program artists.

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Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements 

  • Activision, AEG Presents, and Goldenvoice announced the Tony Hawk Pro Skater Fest with Danny Brown, Adolescents, and Lupe Fiasco, at Los Angeles, CA’s El Rey Theatre on May 8. The event will also be live-streamed via the official Pro Skater Twitch channel. 

  • Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul are co-headlining the “Good Vibes Only Tour” in amphitheaters this summer. The tour kicks off July 6 in Darien Center, NY and finishes July 27 in Atlanta, GA.

  • Eric Church announced his “Free The Machine Tour” with Elle King, Marcus King Band and Charles Wesley Godwin, making 22 stops starting September 12 in Pittsburgh, PA and ending in Inglewood, CA on November 15.

  • Ohana Festival will return to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA September 26 - 28, with Eddie Vedder, Kings of Leon, Hozier, Leon Bridges, Green Day, and Cage The Elephant.

  • Same Same But Different revealed Phase 1 of its lineup, including LSZEE, Zeds Dead, Dr. Fresch, and ALLEYCVT, September 26 - 28 at Lake Perris, CA.

  • Kygo, Garth Brooks, and Turnpike Troubadours will perform at the Formula 1 US Grand Prix, October 17 - 19 at Austin, TX’s Circuit of the Americas. 

  • Bad Bunny announced a 23-date stadium tour, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” across Latin America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan. The tour kicks off November 21 in the Dominican Republic and wraps July 22, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.

  • Hotel EDC is heading overseas to Phuket, Thailand at the Angsana Laguna Phuket beach-front resort, January 15 - 19. Lineup TBA.

Cancellations, Changes

  • Mexico’s Violencia and Sweden’s The Baboon Show were forced to drop out of the Punk Rock Bowling Festival, scheduled for May 24 - 26 in Las Vegas, NV due to visa issues.

  • Kneecap has had several gigs cancelled amid police probes and politicians are calling for them to be removed from the Glastonbury lineup. See the all the cancellations.

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