#257

Author

Back of House
June 10, 2025

Issue #257

Fever gets dicey—in a good way. Billy McFarland’s next island venture is set for Honduras this September, while Fever raised $100M and quickly acquired DICE to boost its event discovery and ticketing. Goldman Sachs projects continued growth for live music, and TicketManager followed last week’s investment news by acquiring Ovations. AEG Presents adds Gary Musick Productions to its portfolio, while NY’s proposed ticketing reform stalls.

The Fyre that won’t go out 🔥

Apparently Billy McFarland can’t stay away from fire. Despite his second failed attempt at Fyre fest and his subsequent announcement that he was selling the Fyre brand, McFarland announced a pop up festival in Honduras: FYRE Resort Pop-Up at Coral View Utila, at an island in Honduras’ Bay. This “experience built for adventurers, creators, and the curious,” will take place September 3 - 10. See you on the island?

Fever raises $100 million; adds DICE 🎲

Fever was red hot last week. First the event discovery platform announced a $100 million fund raise from L Catterton and Point72 Private Investments and they didn’t wait long to spend it, announcing their acquisition of ticketing platform DICE less than 24 hours later. Last July, DICE announced that it was exploring options to sell. The partnership with DICE gives DICE users the ability to tap into Fever’s discovery engine and gives Fever users the ability to list and sell their events on DICE.

Goldman Sachs’ latest Music in the Air report projects strong growth for the live music industry, forecasting a 10% increase in 2025 and a 7.2% compound annual growth rate through 2030, driven mostly by Gen Z and Millennial demand, rising purchasing power, and the global reach of touring artists. It also points to continued pricing momentum with average ticket prices rising 37 - 40% since 2019 and identifies opportunities to further monetize “superfans,” who spend significantly more than the average concertgoer.

Last week we told you about Valeas Capital Partners’ $110 million investment into TicketManager and this week, TicketManager is back with news of its acquisition of Ovations, a corporate ticketing solutions and hospitality platform. By adding “top-tier enterprise customers” from Ovations into the TicketManager platform, the company solidifies its position as a leading, global corporate ticket and guest management platform.

FireAid has distributed an additional $25 million from its $100 million charitable fund to support Southern California wildfire relief efforts. The second round of grants allocates $5.95 million for ongoing community and victim relief, $16.975 million for recovery projects, $700,000 for critical informational outreach, $500,000 for symbolic initiatives, and $1 million for wildfire preparedness vehicles in Altadena and the Palisades. The grants were vetted by a local advisory committee and distributed directly to affected communities.

AEG Presents acquired event production specialist Gary Musick Productions (GMP) and its affiliate Destination Musick City, both headquartered in Nashville. GMP will keep its branding and local operations, leveraging AEG's extensive venue network for growth into festivals and concert tours. This acquisition also allows AEG to expand its global presence in corporate live events and destination services. Gary Musick will stay on to lead his team.

NITO has endorsed the proposed RESALE Act (S 8221/A 8659), New York legislation that would ban speculative ticketing and cap resale fees at 25%, aiming to protect consumers and ensure ticket access. However, despite strong support from artists and venues, the momentum has stalled. Recent reports indicate that the delay is due to pushback from resale platforms and political hesitations.

Ocean Conservancy and GOAL have launched the “Protect Where We Play Tour,” unveiling a reusable cup program at sporting events and concerts across GOAL’s network of venues aimed at preventing 1 million single-use cups from entering the waste stream. The tour kicked off with 2 Coldplay shows at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium over the weekend and will hit The Lumineers show in Savannah, GA and Billie Eilish shows at Belmont Park in NY in September and October. Bold Reuse will manage the reusable cup operations.

FIFA has dramatically slashed ticket prices for the opening match of the Club World Cup between Inter Miami (featuring Lionel Messi) and Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium, cutting prices down to just $55.75, half of what they were in May and just 16% from the initial price of $349 in December due to lack of sales. Fewer than 20,000 tickets have been sold despite the stadium’s 65,000+ capacity. FIFA plans to use the same dynamic pricing strategy for the 2026 World Cup, hopefully it fairs better then. The FIFA Club World Cup spans 11 US cities and runs from June 14 - July 13.

MusiCares has launched its fifth annual Wellness in Music 2025 Survey, open through June 13 in English and Spanish, to collect confidential feedback from music professionals on mental health, financial wellness, addiction, insurance, diversity, and inclusion. The survey seeks to gauge ongoing impacts from events like hurricanes and LA wildfires, as well as daily challenges such as gig-based income instability, creative burnout, and limited access to healthcare.

  • Luke Comer, past producer of the Arise Music Festival, is hiring an Operational Producer to manage logistics and execution for a new outdoor camping music and arts festival near Denver, CO. Salary: $5,000 - $10,000/month depending on scope, schedule, and qualifications.

  • SXSW is looking for a full-time Director of Comedy to oversee all creative, logistical, and operational elements of the comedy festival in Austin, TX. 

  • Northwell at Jones Beach Amphitheater is seeking a seasonal, part-time Zero Waste Coordinator in Wantagh, NY. Salary: $16.50 - $20.00/hour.

Have you worked an event that uses reusable cups?

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Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements 

  • Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds are heading back to Riviera Maya, Mexico, alongside Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles, Joy Oladokun and Say She She, January 21 - 24.

  • RedWest Country Music Festival revealed Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, and Noah Kahan as headliners for the October 10 - 12 fest in Salt Lake City, UT. 

  • Fake and Gay, Oasis Arts, and Polyglamorous top the bill for Outside Lands’ Dolores’, August 8 - 10 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA. 

  • Indie festival, Dromfest, will return to Catskill, NY over Labor Day Weekend (August 29 - 31) with  With Sunburned Hand of the Man, Madder Rose, and Das Damen.

  • A Day To Remember and Yellowcard are hitting the road together for the “Maximum Fun Tour”, starting September 5 at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and ending November 22 at AmericanBank Center in Corpus Christi, TX.

  • Morrissey is starting his fall US and Canada tour in Montreal, QC on September 10 and wrapping it up on January 22 in Hollywood, FL. 

  • Aminé’s The Best Day Ever Festival will take place at Edgefield Lawn in Portland, OR along with Thundercat, Amaarae, Zack Fox, MIKE, chlothegod, and SoundsByDontā, September 13 - 14. 

  • The iHeart Radio Music Festival will feature Ed Sheeran, GloRilla, Jelly Roll, and Justice, September 19 - 20 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Hulu will stream the event. 

  • The Foo Fighters, Chappell Roan and Linkin Park will headline Corona Capital in Mexico City, MX, November 14 - 16.

  • Rock in Rio Lisboa announced Linkin Park as their first headliner for 2026. Next year’s fest will take place June 20 - 21 and June 27 - 28 at Parque Tejo in Lisbon, Portugal.

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