Editor's note

Well, here we are already – the last News of 2003, where did it go? A year of Madness, Mayhem and Mergers. Apart from regrets for those killed in the Iraq conflict, and in out of control Bush fires, in more ways than one, our industry itself lost too many living legends and future potentials: - Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Nina Simone, Robert Palmer, Joe Strummer, Steve O’Rourke, Warren Zevon, Rubén González (of Buena Vista Social Club fame, who died on Monday Dec 8 at the age of 84), Elliott Smith and Matthew Jay all left the stage this year. We had, and still have, Phil Spector and Michael Jackson defending serious criminal accusations.

In the ‘new sensations’ category the women did well with Norah Jones and Joss Stone seemingly coming from nowhere straight into the spotlight, and Damien Rice worked his way to deserved prominence. Amongst the new crop of bands to move up to the bigger stage The Darkness, with tongues firmly in cheek found themselves being taken very seriously, The Thrills, Kings of Leon and several others were there to add emphasis to this being a year in which guitars, hair and fun made a big return. The seemingly eternal Rolling Stones' Forty Licks world tour was the second highest grossing concert series ever, reports say and today on UK TV I saw something I would never have dreamed possible in the days when the band were depicted as an unwashed threat to morals and civilisation, Mick Jagger arriving at Buckingham Palace to be dubbed Sir Mick by the Prince of Wales, a knight of the realm no less! Apparently this 'selling out' as he sees has not pleased Keith, will we see the year end in swordplay?

We'll be back on January 19, when our new Premium Service kicks in, at which time we want to hear even more from you, please remember that this Newsletter is not a one-way street, and it is your projects, problems, triumphs, observations and suggestions that provide the News. So in the meantime all of us here at Vip wish all of you that celebrate it, a happy Christmas, and certainly a prosperous and hopefully peaceful New Year for everyone!

 

The 28 year old Danish Midtfyns Festival has been sold to Knud Bjerre, promoter of several other shows in Denmark including Skive Beach Party with 15.500 tickets sold in 2003.

Midtfyns Festival, for many years the second biggest festival in Denmark behind Roskilde Festival, has been through difficulties for the last decade. After it's peak in 1989 with Tracy Chapman as one of the headliners and 63.000 tickets sold, the festival has been facing hard times with less than 23.000 tickets sold in 2003 when R.E.M headlined the bill.

In 2001 the festival was taken over by Danish football club OB, who have faced losses of more than 900.000 Euros. The result for 2003 is not yet final, but it is expected to end with a loss again as the break even of 23.000 tickets was not reached.

 

Clear Channel Entertainment (CCE) is going to buy a 20 % stake in CTS Eventim subsidiary Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur. Both companies are also supposed to commit themselves to an exclusive cooperation for shows and concerts in Austria and Germany.

According to CTS the agreement will be inked within the very near future. CCE will acquire the 20 % stake from Marek Lieberberg, who, it is supposed, will remain as managing director with the company.

When Vip News called the Marek Lieberberg office in Frankfurt no official comment was available. Nevertheless Klaus Peter Schulenburg, CEO of CTS told Vip News: " With the cooperation with Clear Channel we ensure our content, while at the same time the exclusivity of the cooperation enables us to continue to grow. When Vip News asked Schulenberg if this agreement is the result of negations with CCE earlier in 2002, he says: "This was the resumption of talks under different conditions."

 

The Irish have always considered music, particularly live music, an essential, and as we know they have carried this with them wherever they went in the world. London was no different, the men who came to work building and re-building the City expected their entertainment, and this wasn't just a drink, they and their wives wanted to hear music and to dance, in the early part of the last century dance-halls were built by the Irish community and entrepreneurs to accommodate them, and many of these buildings evolved in to today's music venues.

Vince Power carried on the tradition when he pretty much hand built the original Mean Fiddler, in Harlesden, North West London. Things have moved on a lot since then, the Mean Fiddler Group have extensive interests, and now it is another Irish impresario that Power has turned to for the future development of the Company, bringing together two of the leading Irish businessmen in the music industry.

 

Well, I can't say that chasing news for Vip doesn't get me out of the house, as we say in England, so on December 4, for the first time ever, I boarded a plane for Sardinia to attend the first ever MEDEC Conference on December 5th and 6th. Apart from MIDEM in the South of France of course, Europe's main music industry events take place in the North, so it is good to see a new initiative taking place in the South - it's also very pleasant to go somewhere with sun and warmth in December!

This element was appreciated even more by my travelling companions and conference delegates Shaun Arnold organiser of the Aberdeen based event GoNorth and Iain Hamilton representing the Scottish Creative Industries Board, who had travelled from an icy Inverness.

One might have expected this event to concentrate then on topics relevant to this region, but in fact the remit was focussed on the development and funding of music as culture and unreservedly pan-European.

 

The merger between Sony and BMG was finalised on the afternoon of December 12, immediately following the announcement the international trade association IMPALA on behalf of its members confirmed that they would oppose the merger, making the following statement:

"BMG and Sony claim that the merger is a 'bold move to reinvent and revitalise the music business' which will 'bring greater value to consumers' and mean that 'artistic expression can thrive.

We welcome all moves to reinvent and revitalise the music business and deliver more value to consumers but that will only be achieved through more competition not more concentration. It is equally difficult to see that artistic expression will thrive if we make it harder for the majority of music companies to compete. The merger is a bold move to make it even easier to control the marketplace by reducing competition, consumer value and choice.

 

Following the publication of a story in the German news magazine Der Spiegel, music station Viva came under scrutiny on suspicion of payola or perhaps better said 'videola'. The Landesmedienanstalt (office for media regulation) of Northrhine Westphalia (NRW) asked the music station to elaborate on the items in the report.

The basic essence of the story is that Viva had a hidden deal with the German branch of Universal Music regarding the pre selection of releases by their new artists.

The supposed agreement meant that Viva provided Universal with upfront information about which artists video clip the station would probably broadcast even before the record company produced the video. This measure would help avoid expenses for the production of video clips. In exchange Universal would pay agreed TV advertising fees of about 18.000 Euro per artist plus overwrite fees of 20 Cents per copy sold. The deal according to Der Spiegel covers 50 releases and had an estimated worth of about 900.000 Euro.

 

The annual kick off event for the music conventions is without doubt the Noorderslag/Eurosonic Seminar in Groningen/Netherlands on January 8-10, 2004. The count down continues while the agenda grows. The next deadline to register for the industry event is December 15. Prices range from 115 to 145 Euro. For more info please call +31-35-621 87 48 or check the website www.noorderslag.nl

Registrants of the Noorderslag/Eurosonic Seminar also benefit from a Vip-Booking.com trial subscription for the first quarter (until April 1, 2004) for just 118 Euro. This offer includes free access to the online music industry information service of Vip-Booking.com and the Vip News -Newsletter. Please call +45 -70- 25 07 27 or send a mail to Peter Briggs to pb@vip-booking.com.

 

In 2003 the German metal magazine Rock Hard presented a 20 Year Anniversary Show in the open air Amphitheatre in Gelsenkirchen. Due to the overall success of the show the magazine have now announced a second edition of the festival on May 29 & 30, 2004. The upcoming two-day event will also offer camping facilities. While no line up is yet confirmed, the ticket prices are already fixed. 50 Euro for a festival pass including parking fee, plus 10 Euro for camping and 6 Euro ticket handling fee. Last year the festival had more than 5000 visitors

 

Well as it's nearly Christmas we thought we'd mention a light hearted way for all you music business professionals to turn your work related experience into fun for the holidays: A new board game dedicated to music in Trivial Pursuit manner is marketed by Aleken Games right before Christmas. So far the game is only available in the US and Canada, where it costs 29.95 USD. Rock and Roll Triviologies consist of 1300 questions in categories such as: women rockers, rock and roll relationships, music venues, awards and others.

Starting with topics beginning in the fifties until today, the game promisises to be a good opportunity to find who has the most knowledge of music history in a fun and entertaining way.

Ken Eichstaedt, president of Aleken Games says "Everyone has at least one music-loving person on their gift list this year, and what's more fun than giving them a trip back in time with a rock and roll and pop music trivia game." Furthermore he added: "With music-related questions ranging from the 1950s through the present, this game appeals to music lovers of all ages.

 

On December 14 Walt Disney World Resort opened a new upper class hotel dedicated to pop culture. 'Disney's Pop Century Resort offers 2800 rooms and boosts the total room capacity of the Florida entertainment facility to 8500 rooms.

Al Weiss, president of Walt Disney World Resort commented: "Disney's Pop Century Resort showcases the impact that popular culture has had on our society, so it's fitting that we're opening the 1950s through the 1990s areas of this hotel.

Those were the years when the term 'pop culture' really grew to become a part of the American lexicon. Because of the popularity of our other value -- category resorts -- Disney's All-Star Resorts -- and the exciting atmosphere created by the pop culture icons and incredible theming, this is a great addition to our resort inventory."

Larger than life icons of pop items should spread the feeling of pop culture. For recreation the hotel offer their guests a Computer Pool, a '60s-themed Hippy Dippy Pool, a Bowling Pin Pool and a Pop jet water fountain.

 

It may not be seen as such but pay per view so far is only a substitute for pay per show. Nevertheless on New Years Eve the TV operator iN DEMAND will deliver a Bon Jovi concert via pay per view to cable households in the US. The show is entitled 'Bon Jovi: Full House the Concert From the Boardwalk' and will feature an 88 minutes recording of the concert of the band and further 30 additional minutes with 'Behind The Scene'-footage upfront. The featured songs are from the album 'This Left Feels Right -- Greatest Hits ... with a Twist' and the set is mainly semi acoustic. Dan York, senior vice president, Programming for iN DEMAND said, "Bon Jovi in concert is a great addition to our programming line-up. They have been one of the top music draws for decades. We are pleased to offer their legions of loyal fans the opportunity to enjoy them performing their greatest hits in concert on iN DEMAND starting on New Year's Eve."

 

In November DEAG announced a new share issue in combination with a bond to reduce company debts, have now reported that the public part of the capital measure had been completed. Two new investors, the KTG Kunersdorf-Group as lead investor and the Auric Group, had guaranteed 65 % of the transaction. The managing director of KTG, Reinhard Muehl issued a statement that raises question about the board of DEAG. In an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Muehl says that the board of he company needs 'further support'. He added that with the engagement of KTG in DEAG, 'personnel measures' for the company are planned.

Furthermore he told the newspaper that also amendments for the members of the supervisory board are needed. Muehl left the question open as to what this means for DEAG founder and CEO Peter Schwenkow.

However, DEAG receive funds of about 15,3 million Euros to their capital measure, of which 13.5 million Euro are passed on to the banks. At the beginning of the year DEAG had debts of about 25 million Euros.

 

In a slight difference from normal Vip News issues we will this time focus mainly on the 52 weeks high/low results of our beloved corporate concert companies. The retrospective reveals interesting figures for the performance of these companies on the stock market and indicate that they all gained value in the meantime. Even if none of the shares made it to being declared award winners by investors as so called out performers. But all 4 shares are heading in the right direction. So make your choice for your personal portfolio in 2004, when judging bull and bear on the management efforts of the value chain by the majors in the live music business.

Clear Channel (CCU.NSE): 38.00 USD per share almost one year ago. The current price is 45.15 USD, while the lowest peak is indicated with 31.00 USD (March 03), the highest with 46.18 (beginning of September 03).

CTS Eventim (EVD.FSE): The rise from 2.60 Euro just round about 365 days ago up to 8.50 Euro in these days is not bad, is it? In mid February 03 the share bottomed at 1.85 Euro and climbed to 8.75 Euro at the end of November 03. Well done.

DEAG (ERM.FSE) 1.10 Euro in mid December 02 compared with 2.70 Euro in mid December 03. In March 03 the lowest price was 0.95 Euro while August 03 a short high was indicated with 3.10 Euro.

Mean Fiddler (MEF.ISE) From 17.00 Pence December 02 up to 36.00 Pence this time. From April 03 until June 03 the share almost stayed between 11.00 to 13.00 Pence but climbed right in time for Christmas up to 37.50 Pence.

 

Festival History
Storsjöyran Festival (or The Great Lake Festival) is an annual event going back to the early sixties. The festival was started in honor of the ancient can-do spirit of the people of Jämtland (the county where Östersund is situated), and to show the rest of Sweden that although this region is sparsely populated its people has the zest, courage and knowledge to create a festival of international size and standard. Something that is well reflected in the fact that ithe festval gathers around 55 000 visitors every year and is the second biggest festival in Sweden (the biggest city festival in Sweden). "The best city festival in Sweden" The most wellknown music journalist in Sweden Per Bjurman, Aftonbladet, has rated Storsjöyran Festival as the best city festival in the country for several years. After the festival 2000 he wrote "Nowhere else is the music programme as strong, the organisation as smooth and the festive atmosphere as high as at Storsjöyran".

Artist references 1983-2003 Some of the international artists who has performed at Storsjöyran: Bryan Adams, The Pretenders, Iggy Pop, Ed Harcourt, Melanie C, Pulp, All Saints, The Corrs, Suede, The Jayhawks, Texas, Motörhead, BB King, Skunk Anansie, Maria McKee, Crash Test Dummies, Inner Circle, Deep Blue Something, Junior Delgado, Anouk, Neneh Cherry, Del Amitri, The Misson, Buddy Guy, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Buzzcocks, The Saw Doctors, Saint Etienne, Leningrad Cowboys, Taraf De Haiduks, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Much more than just music Though this is mainly a musical festival it includes a variety of other occurrences such as daytime theater, street artists, mimes, impersonators, escapologists e.t.c, as well as a large number of outdoor restaurants put up just for the event.

 

GLP´s foundation was laid in 1977, when George Leitner started his first promoting company, promoting and manifesting Punk and alternative concerts in Austria and developing marketing concepts for the industry (banks etc), which was instrumental in providing a solid financial foundation for the trials and experiments to come.

In the early 80`s, Carl W. Urasch teamed up with George Leitner and devoted his life to run the promoters part of the company while George Leitner moved on to agenting and focused more on the international opportunities to expand the company into an European agency for, in the beginning, mainly African American artists. The cooperation with Multimedia (Laszlo Hegedus) proved to be extremely effective in opening the gate into the "Eastern Block countries".1985 Jack Bart, the agent and manager of "James Brown" gave GLP the first opportunity to progress towards an international agency.

Sal Michaels (Pyramid Productions), Dick Allen (William Morris) to name just a few US partners have been instrumental in giving GLP the chance to further develop the concept of "Artist Marketing " throughout Europe, the Near East, Africa and, eventually, the Far East and Asia.

Ray Charles, Gloria Gaynor, Kool&the Gang, James Brown, Grace Jones, George Clinton Parliament/Funkadelic.. to mention just a few – tour the world through GLP. As the latest “add on” GLP signed Sean Paul (No.5 on Billboard!) and Third World ! The company is also known for the successful “Festival Productions” such as “Tribute to Bob Marley” (which sold out Arenas across Europe and Japan), Hot Soul Night etc. In November yet another production titled “THAT”S SOUL” will hit the Arena circuit (containing 6 of the biggest names in Soul!)

 

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