THE NETHERLANDS (CelebrityAccess) IQ Magazine has published an investigative report on the Netherlands during the 50th anniversary of Mojo Concerts.
The Netherlands are having a a fantastic year, according to IQ, with demand for live entertainment at an all-time high but ticket prices, stage availablity and burnt-out personnel issues.
“There are plenty of events here that have more foreign visitors than Dutch,” Eventim Nederland managing director Henk Schuit told IQ. “There is a lot of traffic into Amsterdam and the Netherlands for partying.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Netherlands funds its live business at the state level, creating talent like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and Afrojack.
“It’s very vibrant,” Mojo vice head promoter Kim Bloem told the magazine. “There is so much happening, and so many things are going well. Even competition is getting stronger, and [Mojo’s rivals] are getting more shows. It’s not eating into our share, really – at least, not yet – because we are still doing very, very well. But we can’t sit back.”
Ticket prices are hard to keep low, according to Bloem.
“You can hardly get a stage next June or July,” she says. “Everyone is working crazy hours, and everything and everybody gets exhausted. Maybe it is a luxury problem, but it is a problem and it really needs our attention.”
Ruud Berends, co-founder of IFF and Euriosonic Noorderslag, said local talent continues to push outward.
“It’s not easy to conquer the world – you need a strong base,” he says. “It’s a tough one for small acts. It’s quite hard to break through if you don’t have a big machine behind you. But things are moving nicely and we have a lot of interesting talent coming out of the Netherlands.”
The full article is available here.
