You could be forgiven for thinking that 2024 was a stellar year for live music. Figures from 2023 show revenues up by 35 percent, and the trend looks set to continue this year. Europe’s major festivals drew in big names and reported strong sales figures, most notably with the legendary electronic festival Tomorrowland reporting a return to profitability.
We at Liveurope, a pan-European initiative supporting concert venues in their efforts to promote European music diversity, were happy to add to the good news when we recently announced a return to pre-covid bookings of emerging European artists at our member venues and a total of 5,000 concerts supported in 10 years.
And beyond just the figures, Europeans, including one conspicuous EU policymaker, were giddy with excitement about Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and the return of Oasis. Live music was on a roll.
But, if you’re waiting for the drop, here it comes…
The debacle around ticketing for Swift and Oasis’ tour dates offered a glimpse at the shaky foundations that undergird Europe’s live music sector – foundations that the incoming commissioner in charge of culture must seek to firm up.
Fans were stuck waiting in virtual queues for hours and paying multiples of the original prices for tickets. MEPs criticised major ticketing platforms for dynamic pricing, which dramatically raises costs based on demand, and high administrative fees.
Policymakers also raised issues of anti-trust with the European Commission, highlighting the market dominance of giant American conglomerates, who posted profits of $23bn for 2023, up by 36 percent.
An EU report from 2020 warned of the consolidating power of major platforms, which have the control to set prices and dictate the inclusion of artists from their own roster.
The report says: “Fees for larger bands (especially the headliners who attract a major part of the audience) are increasing...this drives down the remaining budget for the overall artistic programming, which often entails a lower fee for emerging artists.”
The report goes on to warn that middle to large venues are losing their independence and line-ups are becoming more homogenous, sentiments echoed earlier this year by Maria May, senior agent at the Creative Artists Agency, when she told the International Live Music Conference: “At the top end of the business, it’s clearly in rude health. But there’s a flip side here, with grassroots festivals and venues reporting closures and challenges.”
It's no secret that emerging artists across Europe have struggled in the wake of covid-19. Worrying reports out of Germany and the UK show grassroots venues are still closing en masse, eradicating vital funding and exposure opportunities for up-and-coming artists.
The Creative Europe programme is a lifeline for Europe’s cultural sectors, yet it represents less than 0.2 percent of the EU budget. For live music, this support is crucial, enabling small to medium-sized venues to take risks on emerging talent and remain independent in the face of growing market consolidation.
However, almost 60 percent of Creative Europe’s funding goes towards the audiovisual sector, leaving the remaining budget to be shared across a variety of cultural strands, like music, theatre, visual arts, and others.
Liveurope, which is funded by Creative Europe, exemplifies how targeted EU funding can deliver meaningful impact. By incentivising venues to diversify their programming, we’ve helped thousands of emerging European artists from 40 countries connect with new audiences, increasing bookings of such acts in our venues by 63 percent. This approach helps venues resist the dominance of Anglo-Saxon acts, encouraging them to showcase artists from other European countries.
As Danish singer Mø highlighted: "Liveurope enables great venues with passionate bookers to support emerging artists that may not otherwise have that opportunity."
Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General of DG EAC, said: “Liveurope has made a tremendous difference for the music scene in Europe. It's meant a huge difference for thousands of emerging artists that it has supported, fostering the power of music to inspire and unite.”
The live music industry is under growing strain, with increasing costs and the consolidation of major players pressuring venues to prioritise commercial, predictable line-ups. Without EU support, many venues would struggle to maintain their independence and cultural diversity.
Incoming EU commissioner Glenn Micallef recently emphasised the need for strategic financing to ensure "EU funding has a real Impact on the ground and is simple enough to allow all beneficiaries to gain from it."
Liveurope provides a clear roadmap: its proven model strengthens cultural diversity, supports the circulation of European artists, and helps venues serve as springboards for new talent. It also introduces previously unaware venues to the very concept of EU funding.
The live music sector is projected to reach a value of €38bn annually by 2030, outpacing other cultural industries. Yet, more support is needed to sustain its diversity and vibrancy.
Scaling up Creative Europe’s funding in the next EU budget would ensure that initiatives like Liveurope can continue—and even expand—to address structural challenges and foster a thriving, independent music ecosystem well into the future.
As Europe’s incoming class of commissioners ponder over how to make Europe more competitive in a more hostile world, they could start by investing in the sectors that show the most promise, and a sector that has shown it can achieve a lot with a little.
Signatories:
Dániel Horvát (Managing Director), A38 Ship (Budapest, HU)
Tom Bonte (General Director) and Kurt Overbergh (Artistic Director), Ancienne Belgique (Brussels, BE)
Einar Idsøe Østevik Eidsvåg (Chairman of the Board), Blå (Oslo, NO)
Mikael Lindevall (Co-founder and Head of Bookings), Debaser (Stockholm, SE)
Laurence Vinclair (Director), Docks (Lausanne, CH)
Volker May (Managing Partner), FZW (Dortmund, DE)
Tibor Mihelič Syed (Managing Director), Kino Šiška (Ljubljana, SI)
Benoit Olla (Director), L'Aéronef (Lille, FR)
Laura Vogelsang (General Artistic Director), Melkweg (Amsterdam, NL)
Jo Vasilev (Manager), Club Mixtape 5 (Sofia, BG)
Filip Nikolovski (Head of Programming), MKC (Skopje, MK)
Kornel Šeper (Director), Močvara (Zagreb, HR)
Gonçalo Riscado (General Director), Musicbox (Lisbon, PT)
Michal Berezňák (Director), Nová Cvernovka (Bratislava, SK)
Roman Demtsenko (Director) and Tanel Mütt (Creative Director) Paavli Kultuurivabrik (Tallinn, EE)
Petra Ludvíková (Head of Booking), Palác Akropolis (Prague, CZ)
Gernot Kremser (Managing Director), Posthof (Linz, AT)
Olivier Toth (CEO) and Paul Bradshaw (Programmer), Rockhal (Luxembourg, LU)
Alberto Guijarro (Director), Sala Apolo (Barcelona, ES)
Andrea Pontiroli (CEO) and Davide Ragazzoni (Artistic Director), Santeria (Milan, IT)
Karolina Fosiewicz (Director), Stodoła (Warsaw, PL)
Steen Jørgensen (CEO), VEGA (Copenhagen, DK)
Hacir Payan Blå (Oslo, NO)
Fernando Bittencourt Hersan is General Coordinator at Liveurope, a pan-European initiative supporting concert venues in their efforts to promote European music diversity.
Fernando Bittencourt Hersan is General Coordinator at Liveurope, a pan-European initiative supporting concert venues in their efforts to promote European music diversity.