Live Music Industry News

One in four late-night venues have closed their doors in the UK since 2020, according to data released by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).  The research was published as part of the third edition of the Night Time Economy Market Monitor.

According to the research, compiled by the NTIA and CGA by NIQ, losses have increased over the last three months with three net venue closures a week. The research also found that the late-night sector had contracted 26.4% since March 2020, compared with the 14.2% seen across the wider hospitality sector. 

It featured a tent full of mattresses for one almighty love-in in the Nevada desert. Sadly, the revelries and ‘moresomes’ were not to be ...

Wed 27 Aug 2025 11.36 EDT
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Name: The Burning Man Orgy Dome.

Age: 22 years old.

Appearance: Roughly hemispherical.

What is it? Exactly what it sounds like: a designated orgy location at the Burning Man festival, now under way in the Nevada desert.

In a dome? It’s really more of a tent.

Dutch dance festival Mysteryland will take a creative break in 2026, with a return planned for 2027 with a new concept. The 2025 event drew over 100,000 attendees from 81 countries, with a main stage built into an arena where guests danced around the dance floor across four levels. Acts featured included Hardwell, Marlon Hoffstadt, Paul van Dyk, Eric Prydz and FISHER.

615 Indie Live, a celebration of Nashville’s independent music venues and local artists, will return for its second year on Feb. 7.

Building on the success of the inaugural event earlier this year, the one-day music event will shine a spotlight on Nashville’s vibrant local music scene, while raising money to support its treasured independent venues.

Tao Group Hospitality has announced the reopening of its flagship Marquee Nightclub locations in New York and Las Vegas following extensive renovations. The New York venue is set to reopen in September, with the Las Vegas location following in October.

The New York property has undergone its third major overhaul in the last three decades. Guests can expect an expanded dance floor, upgraded LED systems, and immersive visual installations. Interior updates feature dark oak finishes and purple accents, designed to create a warm, music-centric environment.

The venue was redesigned in partnership with Jack Hotho, paying tribute to the original Marquee New York while offering a fully modern experience. The inaugural artist lineup includes Steve Aoki, Kaskade, Oliver Heldens, Francis Mercier, Chris Lorenzo, Elderbrook, and more.

The organiser of Reading & Leeds Festival, Melvin Benn, has revealed that he’s lined up two headliners for the 2026 festival already, with just one night left to book.

“I’ve already got headliners for two of the three nights booked already for next year, and I’m really confident about the artists,” Benn told NME. “I feel like we’re in a stronger position than I can remember for an awfully long time. I can’t remember when I’ve ever had two of the three nights booked by this stage. We’ve had one booked by this stage, but I can’t remember ever having two of the three.

The company’s revenues grew by 7.6% to €1.29bn ($1.5bn at current exchange rates) in the first half of 2025. However, for Q2 specifically its revenues were only up by 0.3% year-on-year, while its adjusted EBITDA (a metric for profits) fell by 8.9%.

Interestingly, CTS Eventim’s ticketing business was the grower, with revenues up 16.1% in the first half of 2025 to €415.7m.

Ticketmaster has released its State of Play Festivals 2025 report, exploring the latest trends shaping the UK festival scene.

Focussing on what matters to audiences, using insights from fans, industry partners and its own ticketing data, the report highlights several areas including ‘families at festivals’, ‘solo festivals’, ‘values and sustainability’, and ‘phones in the field’.

Ticketmaster – which was recently announced as Headline Sponsor for the UK Festival Awards 2025 – partnered with market research company OnePoll, which conducted an online survey of 2,000 UK adults who have attended a festival within the past five years. These survey results were then supplemented with anonymous transactional data from Ticketmaster’s festival portfolio, covering events between January 2022 and December 2024.

The tenth-birthday celebrations for YouTube Music continue with some announcements of new features revolving around community, fandom and live music.

They start with comments. “Soon, you’ll be able to share your comments directly on albums and playlists to keep the conversation going around the music you love,” wrote YouTube Music’s senior director of product, T. Jay Fowler, in a blog post.

This came with a new stat – YouTube users have created more than 4bn music playlists, 1.8bn of which are public – and the additional announcement of ‘taste match playlists’ that multiple people can join – and which are then updated every day based on their tastes.

Ticketmaster UK has published its 2025 ‘State of Play Festivals’ report, outlining some of the trends it sees in the sector this year.

One of them is families, with its survey suggesting that 43% of parents “see festivals as a genuine alternative to a traditional family holiday”. Well, they can certainly cost as much…

The report also identifies a rise in the number of people going to festivals on their own. 29% have done it for a day festival, and 20% for a weekend event. This compares to just 8% who said they’d gone solo in the 2019 version of this report.

Beyoncé once more topped the Billboard Boxscore charts with her Cowboy Carter Tour in July.

In July, the Cowboy Carter Tour grossed $102.3m (£76m/€88m) and sold 392,000 tickets over eight shows, to top the Billboard Boxscore chart. It is the third month in a row that Beyoncè has topped the table. Beyoncé was followed by The Weeknd on $89.6m, Imagine Dragons on $86.3m, Coldplay on $70.4m and rounding off the top five were Stray Kids on $64.4m.

Ticket brokers—often known as ticket flippers or scalpers—have long been a visible force in the ecosystem of live events. These individuals operate at the intersection of demand and scarcity, taking advantage of limited supply for high-interest concerts, festivals, and sporting events. But who are these brokers?

Their behavior and mindset often aligns closely with anyone actively engaged in reselling other in-demand consumer products such as Pokemon cards, sneakers, or video game consoles. The typical ticket broker exhibits sharp attention to market trends and technological know-how. Many brokers operate with the mindset of a stock trader rather than a fan—despite third-party platforms angling to be the place ‘fans’ go to sell tickets they can’t use. These ticket brokers are focused on opportunities for profit rather than the events themselves.

Miami-based entertainment, marketing, and live events company Loud And Live and their partners, the City of Doral, announced the opening of Doral Amphitheater, a brand new open-air live events facility in Miami.

The 4,689-capacity amphitheater is designed to host touring artists, festivals, and cultural events, with a variable configuration that allows for both seated and general admission shows. The venue’s design also features VIP box seating, flexible audience areas, a covered professional-grade stage, contemporary acoustics, and full rigging and power capabilities.

 Australian live event and ticketing company Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) has announced the acquisition of New Zealand-based ticketing and event discovery platform Eventfinda.

Led by Co-founder and CEO James McGlinn, Eventfinda launched in 2006 as an online events calendar and later expanded into a self-ticketing platform serving clients across New Zealand.

The Irish rap group Kneecap, which set off controversy at the Coachella festival in April with strong statements against the Israeli government’s war in Gaza, has canceled all of its upcoming U.S. tour dates in October. In a statement on social media, the band said the cancellation is due to scheduling conflicts with band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s next court hearing in London.

However, the two Canadian shows on the tour, in Vancouver and Toronto, will go ahead as scheduled.

Discovery platform Bandsintown has been named the exclusive provider of concert listings on YouTube and YouTube Music, with the aim of turning viewers into concertgoers.

YouTube’s global audience of billions of monthly users will now be able to discover concerts while watching artist videos and shorts, and exploring official artist channels. 

Soon, users will also be able to discover shows via the YouTube homepage.

With their new album, hickey, out now, Aussie indie darlings Royel Otis decided to start the celebrations early by bringing their emotionally charged, hook-filled sound to the UK. On Thursday night, the duo played an intimate show at London’s Village Underground, exclusively for their top Spotify fans.

Formed in 2020 in Sydney, Royel and Otis have always moved with an unshakable sense of self, and hickey represents their most fearless leap yet. 

This special celebration gave fans the opportunity to hear brand new material from the album, performed live for the very first time. The setlist included recent singles “Moody” and “Say Something,” along with much-loved hits like “Oysters In My Pocket” and their viral covers “Linger” and “Murder On the Dancefloor.”

Looking forward to UT Law CLE’s Texas Entertainment Law Institute panel on ticketing with the incomparable Heather Liberman VanDyke on Sept 11 in Austin. We’ll be discussing a couple of state ticketing bills as well as the Artist Rights Institute’s model ticketing bill. Schedule and agenda here.

United Talent Agency has signed EGOT-winning multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter John Legend and his production company, Get Lifted, for global representation in all areas, the company announced Thursday. 

Live music discovery platform Bandsintown has become the exclusive provider of concert listings on YouTube and YouTube Music. Bandsintown confirmed earlier today (August 21) that YouTube users can now discover its concert listings while watching artist videos and Shorts and exploring Official Artist Channels.

Bandsintown’s platform will soon be available for music fans “while browsing the YouTube homepage“, added the concerts company. And the integration will expand to YouTube Music later this year, with Bandsintown’s live events appearing on YouTube Music home and artist pages.