New Massachusetts bill impacts ticket resales

A new Massachusetts law could impact ticket sales moving forward. The Mass Leads Act was signed into law and mostly covers climate, technology, life sciences and AI, but it also has a provision that allows ticket sellers to prevent buyers from selling or transferring their tickets or to restrict resale to the original platform the tickets were purchased on. Ticketmaster is supporting the bill, but fans are not happy about it.

P!NK makes a lot of green 💵

P!NK’s "Summer Carnival" and "Trustfall" tours and "P!NK LIVE" across 2023 and 2024 combined for a record-breaking $704.2 million gross and nearly 5 million tickets sold. Despite flying under the radar, she broke attendance and revenue records at numerous venues worldwide, achieved milestones like hosting renewable energy-powered concerts, and became the highest-grossing female artist in several markets. This is the second-largest tour gross for a female ever.

CONFIDENTIAL – Arctic Monkeys – Midnight Mirage World Tour 2025

If you received an email with this subject it’s likely a scam. Apparently there have been a “deluge” of emails soliciting bookings for a fake Arctic Monkeys world tour sent by an account impersonating Charlie Myatt, 13 Artists founder and the band’s agent. The emails come from the domain @13-artists.net and have a reply-to domain of @13-artists.com; neither of which is correct.

Live Nation plants its first roots in Africa 🇿🇦

Live Nation plans to open its first permanent venue in Africa in January. The Dome, a partnership between Live Nation Entertainment and Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA), will hold upwards of 10,500 people and will be located in Nasrec, Johannesburg. SMSA will manage the venue.

UK festival cancellations double in 2024

As 2024 draws to a close (how is it already December?!) and the number of festival cancellations in the UK this year is tallied up, the numbers are astounding. At least 72 events were canceled - double the number in 2023 - and more than 200 since 2019, including several long-standing festivals. The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is urging the government to support the industry to keep the numbers from growing in the future. Despite the challenges festivals are seeing, the UK music industry’s economic impact grew, mostly due to major artist tours.

Where does ticket money actually go?

NITO (The National Independent Talent Organization) dug into the distribution of the money associated with buying a concert ticket. Using $100 as a baseline, it breaks down as follows: $22 to ticket fees (split amongst venue, promoter, ticketing company); $30 to costs related to staging the event (production, venue staff, security, sound); the remaining $48 gets split between artist and the promoter or venue 85%:15%. However, while this leads to the artist making $40.80 of the $100, NITO believes they actually take home closer to $8.16 after their costs.

Artists use OnlyFans to cover touring costs

Another artist is turning to OnlyFans because streaming revenue isn’t enough. Kate Nash has reportedly joined OnlyFans to raise money for her upcoming tour and protest against the music industry. Nash’s Butts for Tour Buses campaign aims to highlight that “Live Nation are the main hold-up in the government’s recommendation to give £1 per arena and stadium ticket to the grassroots, who are in crisis.” Lily Allen has also used OnlyFans to supplement her music career.

• Informa is looking for a remote Sponsorship Manager for VidCon. Salary: $75,000 - $80,000.

• GitHub is hiring a remote Manager, Event Technology and Operations. Salary: $63,600 - $168,600.00.

• LA28 is looking for a Head of Live Sites & Venue Experiences for the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles, CA. Salary: $175,000 - $200,000.

Last Week's Results:
57% of BOH readers prefer homemade cranberry sauce.

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements 

• The Eagles have extended their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere with four more dates over the first two weekends of April. 

• Also in Las Vegas, Barry Manilow has announced a “lifetime residency” at the Westgate Resort & Casino, where he has already played over 630 shows.

• J. Cole announced the dates for his Dreamville Festival, April 5 - 6 at Raleigh, NC’s Dorothea Dix Park.

• AC/DC is touring the US for the first time in nine years starting in Minneapolis, MN in April. The “Power Up” tour ends in Cleveland, OH May 28.

• Charli XCX will headline and curate her own day, dubbed Party Girl festival, at London’s LIDO Festival which takes place June 7 and June 13 - 14 historic Lido Field in Tower Hamlets, East London.

• Charli XCX is also headlining Parklife festival, June 14 - 15 at Heaton Park in Manchester, UK, along with Confidence Man, Girls Don’t Sync, Interplanetary Criminal, KI/KI.

• Outbreak Festival will also take place in Manchester, UK on June 13 with Turnstile as headliner.

• The Netherlands’ Pinkpop Festival will feature Justin Timberlake, Olivia Rodrigo, and Muse as headliners for the June 20 - 22 festival in Landgraaf.

• Koe Wetzel, Dwight Yoakam, and Flatland Cavalry are headlining Headwaters Country Jam, July 24 - 26 in Three Forks, MT.

Cancelations, Changes

• Las Vegas’s Sick New World has been canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances that we are unable to overcome for next year’s show.” The fest was scheduled for April 12 with Metallica and Linkin Park as headliners.

• The Los Angeles edition of Besame Mucho, originally planned to take place at Dodger Stadium on December 21, has been cancelled “due to circumstances beyond our control.” 

• SunFest, typically held the first weekend in May in West Palm Beach, FL announced that the fest will not take place during its usual weekend and that they are “exploring new dates for 2025, fresh venues, and formats.” 

• Shaky Knees Music Festival is shaking things up with a date change from May to September 19 - 21 and location change from Central Park to Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA.

Resharing the Back of House gift guide in case you missed it last week:

🎁 For Event Pros on the road:

• Craig's "everything fits everytime" carry-on;

• a magnetic portable charger that comes in clutch everytime;*

• and the ability to turn anything into a pillow.

🎁 For Event Pros at home (who are likely recovering from a busy season):

• A pair of recovery slides for tired exhausted legs and backs;

• a transformative light for mesmerizingly deep relaxation;

• and a new life for well-worn fest hats.

🎁 Treat Yo’self:

• The perfect weighted blanket to curl up

• with a great read by hospitality master Danny Meyer,

• and a warm beverage in a snarky mug.

*link has been corrected

• Gratitude is the ultimate career and relationship hack.

• Not sick of the road but deserving of a vacation? Check out National Geographic’s top 25 best places to travel to in 2025.

• The power of being a Music Industry Optimist.

• 3,000 fake Gibson guitars valued at approximately $18 million (!) were seized at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport last week; the largest counterfeit musical instrument seizure on record.

• Who gets paid what from vinyl album sales at indie record stores?

• The best movies of 2024, according to The New York Times.

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