- Back of House
- Posts
- 219
219
Issue #219
Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, school is back (đź‘‹ to all the new student readers), and so is Oasis. The resale market is already buzzing, and bots are still finding ways around ticketing rules despite efforts to crack down.

Together again: Oasis edition
Unless you were living under a rock - or enjoying an end of summer holiday without internet - last week, you know that Oasis’s Liam and Noel Gallagher have made amends (at least enough to perform together again) and announced a 14-date tour across Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland next summer. With demand anticipated to be high, Ticketmaster issued strict rules: no more than 4 tickets per household. This means that “orders associated with the same name, e-mail address, billing address, credit card number, or other information” with more than 4 tickets will be canceled.
It shouldn’t be surprising that 3 more dates were added to the tour due to “unprecedented demand.” There’s also speculation that the duo will make a few stops across the pond.
BaaS
Shortly after the Oasis 25 Tour sale - and subsequent sell out - tickets began appearing on the secondary market; some up to 40x face. The band reminded fans that tickets can only be resold at face value and any found to violate that would be canceled. However, for just $50, you can buy a Ticketmaster bot that allows you to reserve multiple tickets and possibly even get around the imposed 4 ticket per household limit. This bots as a service (BaaS) industry continues to thrive despite massive investments by ticketing companies.
NIVA letter prompts Yelp to drop TicketNetwork
NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) issued an open letter to Yelp last week, urging the platform to “stop empowering predatory ticket resellers from deceiving Yelp users.” Specifically, the org was calling out Yelp’s relationship TicketNetwork, which was selling fake tickets and price gouging. Once the letter went public, Yelp responded within 2 hours that it would end its relationship with TicketNetwork, and thanked NIVA for bringing the issue to their attention (though NIVA alleges that the letter followed multiple attempts to reach out and discuss the matter with Yelp).
Seat Unique raises $19.1 million in extended Series A round
UK premium experience company Seat Unique has extended their Series A round of funding with a £14.5 million ($19.1 million) raise led by Nickleby Capital. Last summer, they raised $9 million. “The experience economy is rapidly becoming the backbone of the music industry, as fans increasingly seek out not just live performances, but unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experiences,” says investor Richard Flint.
Using AI to map the grassroots music scene
Area4Labs is utilizing AI to enhance the grassroots music scene by mapping local live events through its platform, Hearby. By integrating AI with extensive music data, Area4Labs aims to spotlight lesser-known artists and venues, making it easier for fans to discover local music experiences. This technology-driven approach seeks to rejuvenate live music culture by promoting smaller-scale performances that often fly under the radar, supporting both artists and local economies in the process.*
*AI wrote this summary
CIA releases info on Eras Tour terror plot
According to the CIA, the terrorists who were planning to attack Taylor Swift’s Vienna shows were “plotting to kill a huge number - tens of thousands of people at this concert.” Deputy Director David Cohen continued, “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.” While Swfities wished they got to see Taylor live, in an instagram post, the singer said, “thanks to [the authorities], we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
Australian festivals looking up
We’ve written about many Australian festivals canceling this year, so it’s nice to finally hear some good news from down under: festivals are back (at least according to Chantelle Bozicevic). Within one week, Beyond the Valley, Lost Paradise, and Wildlands festivals each released strong lineups and Lost Paradise is trending towards a sell out.
Sziget Festival a tourism boon for Budapest
Hungary’s largest festival, Sziget Festival, touts 90% of its 178,000 guests came to Budapest from outside of the country. This was 20% more than last year and drove hotel revenues up “to HUF 7.9 billion ($22.3 million USD) in Budapest, 37 percent more than in the same period of the previous week.” Nearly 10% of the foreign festival goers were from the Netherlands, with Italy, the UK, Germany and Spain following behind.

Front Gate Tickets is hiring a remote Engineering Manager in the US or Canada to help build and support music festival technical solutions.
Big Loud Records is looking for a Vice President, Streaming in Nashville, TN. Work in the office M - TH and half-day at home on Friday.
Mills Entertainment is hiring a remote Tour and Operations Manager. The role requires up to 120 days a year on the road. Salary $70,000 - $80,000.

Star of the summer |
Last Week's Results:
59% of BOH readers are fans of pineapple on pizza. Listen up festival caterers! 🍕

Headliners, Lineups, and Festival Announcements
Trendy South Korean festival, Waterbomb, will make its US debut September 28 - 29 with ATEEZ, Kwon Eun-bi, as well as several international DJs and immersive experiences at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, CA.
Kevin Morby will headline the one-day “Kevin Morby Presents: This Is A Festival,” at The Quarry Amphitheater in Santa Cruz, CA on October 12.
Cancellations, Changes
P!NK and Imagine Dragons will replace Elton John at Dreamfest, September 18 at Giants Ballpark in San Francisco, CA. Elton John canceled his performance due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
“Due to rising production costs and the current volatile festival market,” Desert Daze, planned for October 10 - 13 in Lake Perris, CA, has been canceled. Organizers hope that this is just a pause and vow to “work to find a way to keep this beautiful thing going.”
The inaugural Giddy Up Las Vegas has canceled their October 28 - 30 festival; tickets will be automatically refunded.
Bad Religion has canceled their upcoming North American tour this fall due to “an unforeseen family circumstance.”
Chappell Roan has canceled her September 3 Paris show and her September 4 show in Amsterdam. Her September 7 show in Berlin has been rescheduled for September 23. The rising star vaguely cited “scheduling conflicts,” which are apparently related to her upcoming performance at the MTV Music Video Awards on September 11.
Lucidity Festival has announced that they have ceased operations and will not be issuing refunds for the 2024 event that was eventually postponed to April 25 - 27, 2025. Organizers say that "unforeseen last-minute changes in requirements" imposed by Santa Barbara County "made it impossible for us to proceed, leading to a postponement that we can not financially recover from."

Linkin Park is counting down to something…we’ll find out what on September 5 at 6 PM.
Now that summer’s over, here’s a recap of all of the Summer 2014 Trends.
The best sandwich shop in every state.
Santa Fe’s Zozobra Festival, like Burning Man, but not.
The women of Mexico’s Hera HSBC festival not only performed on stage, but also worked behind it.