The concert and festival sector in Spain obtained its highest historical turnover record in 2023 with almost 579 million euros which represents an increase of 26% compared to the previous year, according to figures taken from the Live Music Yearbook presented this Friday.
This industry thus once again breaks the “record” of 459 million raised in its previous year and has chained a constant cycle of growth since 2014 (173.5 million), with the exception of the dry stop during the years of the pandemic.
“We do not believe that there is a bubble and we think, on the contrary, that there is still a long way to go. Live music has become a form of leisure and access to culture that has become normalized compared to 10 years ago and the sector is evolving rapidly. organic and progressive year after year”, has considered Albert Salmeron president of the Music Promoters Association (APM), responsible for the yearbook.
By region, the first positions in ticket sales turnover went to Madrid, Andalusia and, in front of all, Catalonia which hosted many stadium concerts such as those of Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen o Beyoncé and accumulates 26.35% of the national turnover.
Salmerón has pointed to these large international tours as largely responsible for the 2023 figures. “Last year was unique, because many events accumulated after the years of the pandemic stoppage and we thought that there could still be a drop in ticket sales. , but it wasn’t like that,” he celebrated.
As EL MUNDO already reported in an extensive report last October, so many people have never attended so many concerts in Spain, and Madrid has become the new epicenter, after displacing Catalonia, a position that the renovated Bernabéu will reinforce in 2024.
“Ticket sales in Madrid skyrocketed in 2022 until reaching a historical record in turnover, which exceeded that of 2019 by almost 50%, the year before the pandemic and the best up to that point,” he revealed then. Neo Room CEO and founder of the promoter Doctor Music.
On the not so positive side, Salmerón recalled this Friday that “Not all tickets sell so easily”. “The concert halls above all are suffering and there is work to do there, because they are also our laboratory, our R&D,” she stressed.
In his appearance, he stated the “future challenges” of that sector, which involve achieving “tax deductions that are comparable to the audiovisual sector so that there is no comparative grievance”, “minimizing the impact” of the resale of tickets after approval in the European Parliament Digital Services Law and the creation of a Music Institute or another body that represents them from the public administration.
The highest grossing
The most successful national artist live was Manuel Carrascowhich brought together more than 365,000 people in 28 concerts, ahead of Melendi (308,000 spectators in 37 concerts), Joaquin Sabina (253,800 in 31 appointments), the sea (178,500 in 25) and Men G (160,000 in 19).
Coldplay was the locomotive in the field of international stars, with 4 concerts and more than 221,000 attendees, followed by Harry Styles (about 120,000 in two “shows” in Spain) and Bruce Springsteen (115,850 in two other concerts in the country). He top 5 they completed it The Weeknd (105,600 in 2 performances) and I have to (97,300 in 13).
Marenostrum Fuengirola in Malaga, was the cycle with the highest attendance (about 189,000 attendees in 33 concert evenings), followed by the Madrid Botanical Nights (more 152,000 in 45) and the Murcian The Nights of the Malecón (131,000 in 44 concerts).
As for festivals, Arenal Sound brought together 300,000 people in six days, ahead of Primavera Sound Barcelona (243,000 in 5 days) and Rock was coming in the Albacete town of Villarobledo (240,000 in 4).
The three days of Mad Cool 2023 They gathered 202,000 people in the capital in the year of their change of location, while the four of the Bèniccasim International Festival (FIB), in Castellón, they attracted 180,000.
He top 10 they completed it Primavera Sound Madrid (150,000 in 3 days), The Sound of the Road in Santiago de Compostela (134,000 in 3 days), Resurrection Festival in the Galician town of Viveiro (132,500) and, in Barcelona, Sonar Festival (120,000 in 3 days) and crossroads (76,000 in 4 days).