Independent Artist Group’s Post

🔥 On the surface, the touring business is red hot, but is something simmering below? IQ delves into potential problems bubbling to the surface for mid-tier #tours in our latest feature:

“Massive revenue for a select few, however, isn’t the same thing as economic development for an entire region — especially when the unseen costs have been shared by a much broader swath of workers, businesses and residents than the profits have been. From workers facing longer commutes and smaller paychecks, to businesses that were forced to close down for an otherwise busy weekend, plenty of individuals and venues were forced to make sacrifices in the name of helping F1 gain a foothold in America and fill MGM’s grandstands. Some of those costs and sacrifices are easier to calculate than others. For example, the $40 million F1 demanded from the county fits nicely onto a spreadsheet; but the lost jobs, missed opportunities and reduced earnings of workers over the past year aren’t as straightforward to tabulate. And while MGM and other major resorts might have seen a nice bump in revenue, many of those who were forced to bear the brunt of the event’s growing pains never had the opportunity to reap similar rewards. Instead, they were left sitting on the sidelines with an F1-installed viewing obstruction between them and the action — which makes it difficult to feel like all those sacrifices were “worth it” in the end.”

Earlier this month, AAA and CAA announced a promising new collaboration with Choice Hotels International, Inc., which aims to deliver even more exclusive savings to its more than 60 million members worldwide. Read more to learn about participating brands, partnership rollout, and more. #CorporateTravel #BusinessTravel #AAACorporateTravel #TravelManagement #TravelIndustry

Queue-it's founder Niels Henrik Sodemann is attending the seventh edition of Ticketing Professionals Conference 2024 this March in Birmingham. Niels will be part of an insightful panel discussion on the debate: "In a world of ticket ballots, why is queueing still the British way?" 🎟️💡 Join the conversation as the panelists explore the nuances of ticketing systems, the impact on customer experience, and the dynamic interplay between box office teams and event promoters. 🎙️ #TPC2024 #Ticketing #IndustryInsights

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗱𝘂 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲? I had the pleasure of watching Cirque du Soleil’s “O” show in Las Vegas last November, and it was simply marvelous. Now they come to my town with their “Ovo” performance. As the world’s most renowned circus franchise, they're set to deliver several performances in Budapest, albeit at steep ticket prices. Curious about the cost, I compared ticket prices to those in the US. The table below reveals that Budapest's prices are generally less than half those in the US. But what about affordability? Hungary's average gross salary is $1,600, in contrast to $6,230 in the US. Thus, I calculated the number of tickets an average person could afford in each country. Unsurprisingly, Americans can afford at least 50% more tickets than the Hungarian average. In America, Cirque du Soleil is a household name, with shows currently running in multiple cities, including Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Texas. In contrast, such performances grace Hungary only once a decade. Maybe because the revenue they can gain in Budapest is not that great. Another significant difference lies in pricing strategy. While the US organizers employ dynamic pricing, Hungarian ticket prices are fixed, with no variation between weekdays and weekends, or matinée and evening shows. Just six price categories exist. Consequently, it remains an experience for the upper middle class. A more balanced approach to pricing could align demand and supply better: offering more affordable tickets could attract a wider audience, while premium tickets could cater to high-end demand. This might even boost revenue, encouraging the franchise to visit Budapest more frequently. #dynamicpricing, #cirquedusoleil, #ticketprices, #affordability

Steve Moore, founder and chief executive of Red Engine Team, the Flight Club and Electric Shuffleboard operator, talks to Katherine Doggrell at Propel's Multi Club conference about how the company has become a £100m-turnover business, its growth plans for the UK and the US, how it continues to innovate its F&B offer and games. Quick quotes from Steve: "Stories is big for us - what we send out after the event - photos etc... we treat re-bookers really well and we have customers who go to multiple venues in one night as the offer is slightly different in each venue." "US market is a bit bizarre, in UK we are comfortable and we can localise the product nicely.. but there are many differences across cities and states, and social behaviour is different, in US it is more event-led... we have 8/9 sites and we think we can go to 200 in US, we are working on whether the smaller model works... the big one definitely does... our focus is on Australia, US and UK... F&B is about 70% of our revenue." "Electric Shuffle is just about to launch in New York.. our average group size is ten and we focus on the ability to entertain groups." "In UK London we will probably go to 12 but I would love to go explore smaller places for further growth... we have calls for the technology to be licensed but we refuse because we see it as part of our brand package." Find out more about Propel events here: https://lnkd.in/en8eJy6g

💊 The March edition of Concurrences's e-Competitions Bulletin is out and includes our article on the Commission's latest report of the #pharmaceutical sector. 💊 Which is also an opportunity to note that voting is still open for Concurrences' Antitrust Writing Awards. We have a shortlisted article on the UK CMA's guidance to permit pharma companies to work together on combination therapies (other authors are Kyriakos Fountoukakos, Natalia Rodriguez and Max Kaufman). You can read that (and vote 😉 ) here: https://lnkd.in/eVNgGpSZ #antitrust

#CrediblePolls: We recently ran a poll on LinkedIn: What's your 2024 leisure goal for entertainment? Here's are the results 📊 #pollresults

The Ultimate Guide to Being a Tour Manager: Responsibilities and Challenges Discover the crucial role of a tour manager in ensuring a successful concert experience. Learn about their responsibilities, from organizing crew and equipment to resolving issues with the band. Get insights into the close-knit dynamics of working with different bands. #TourManager #ConcertExperience #BandManagement #CrewOrganization #ConcertLogistics #LiveMusicIndustry #EventManagement #BandRelations #TouringLife #TouringTips

💄🎸💰 Taylor’s Ticket Take - About $140m By my estimate, Taylor Swift will have made about $140m from ticket sales across her 7 Australian shows. 🎫 There are 7 ticket categories, which cost from $80 to $380. There are some obstructed view seats but not many. 🏟️ The MCG fits 100k. Take out say 25% from behind the stage and put most of them on the floor and you get the 96k attendance. Accor Stadium in Sydney fits 75k. 🏅 The seat maps show there are a lot of expensive tickets and not many low cost tickets - very much a premium concert. For Melbourne, the cheapest tickets (G) are only the back part of the furthest bays on the top level. For Sydney, there’s not many tickets in the bottom half of the categories. 🎁 The VIP packages were $350 to $1250, with seats scattered across a few price points. 🧮 By my estimate of the number of seats in each category, the average ticket price is $223 in Melbourne and $251 in Sydney. The MCG’s size means more cheap tickets given the distance from the stage. 💰💰 On that basis, she has grossed $64m from the 3 Melbourne shows and will take $75m over the 4 Sydney shows. My calcs are below. More tomorrow on the rest of her P&L from the Australian shows. There are plenty of expenses in there too - plus merch money! And then tax… #taxlaw #incometax #internationaltax #taylorswift #erastour