The “Coldplaymania”, the other side of the Argentine consumer crisis

The fever of seeing Coldplay in Argentina never ceases to amaze. Between 25 October and 8 November, the British band will offer 10 concerts at the River Court and sold out all available seats, more than 600,000, as soon as they went on sale. These are record figures at the box office, for the number of shows and also for the collection. Coldplay fans left around $ 7 billion at the box office. Those numbers reflect the dysfunctional nature of Argentine consumption and distortions in the economy.

The live music industry has so many reasons to celebratebecause most of the scheduled concerts hang the poster “Sold” in few hours. The same thing has already happened with the Lollapalooza festival (300,000 seats), La Renga (165,000), Duki (180,000), Harry Styles, Quilmes Rock, Justin Bieber and Guns N ‘Roses, which each sent 120,000 tickets. “There is a flurry of people at the shows, but not all artists sell”, Explains Aquiles Sojo, founder and CEO of the promoter Ake Music.

In the industry they describe that there is an atmosphere of euphoria after two years of abstinence from the recitals forced by the pandemic. Sojo believes that the demand will not be supported, because “people have already consumed a lot of entertainment and the pocket is not enough for everything“. In any case, he acknowledges that the current season has started with everything and that “it is above average”. Appearances indicate otherwise, and yet the cost of tickets: from $ 8,000 to $ 19,500 in the case of Coldplay.

Producers seize the moment. Nowadays, the most active is DF Entertainment, the company that Diego Finkelstein founded and which has the giant Live Nation as its partner. He is the organizer of the traditional Lollapalooza and the next Coldplay stop. DF competes with Pop Art Music (Quilmes Rock), Lauría (Duki Daddy Yankee and Bud Bunny)), Move Concerts (Justin Bieber) and Ake (Guns N ‘Roses and Tini Stoessel), among others.

The high demand to attend concerts is staggering in the current economic environment. Federico Lauría, founder and CEO of the promoter of the same name, remembers this sold out within a few hours the first three shows that Duki will propose at the Vélez stadium. Last week they added the 4th and the same thing happened. The entrepreneur points out that this “is not a coincidence”. Aside from the issue of abstinence from the pandemic, “it has to do with the boom of urban artists”, an emerging subgenre of rap, trap and hip hop.

Entertainment consumption is opposed the restrictions that other very popular alternatives have on the imagination of Argentines. The specialized consultant Guillermo Oliveto argues that the emotional aspect conditions everything, after the prolonged confinement generated by Covid-19. Added to this is the impact of the economic crisis, which prevents access to the ambitious triangle of Argentines: “If I can’t buy a house, a car or travel abroad, I enjoy it and go to recitals”, he reflects.

The strong demand to see national and especially international bands and artists is only part of the same phenomenon. “People have become aware of the ephemeral and that life is now. There is an explosion of entertainment consumption, but also cinema, gastronomy and internal tourism ”, explains Marcelo Dionisio, owner of the Foggia production company. “Filling 10 River like Coldplay didn’t even do the Rolling Stones,” he says as an example.

Dionisio describes that the desire for immediate consumption has been increased, which is also seen in the “growth of sales in shopping centers”. In the industry they remember that such a thing happens with other types of events and exhibitions, all suspended during the pandemic. “Attendance at the last Book Fair increased by 60% compared to 2019”, they underline.

“It’s a great season, perhaps one of the best in recent years,” says Sebastián Carlomagno of Move Concerts. There is another factor that favors this atmosphere of effervescence. “There is a huge range of contentbecause many artists and bands have reactivated the tours that had been suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, ”says the executive.

Forecasts are not all the same. Some, like Sojo, believe the hype will fade in the coming months. Charlemagne says this is not known. The truth is that Buenos Aires is used to giving surprises. This was the case with Roger Waters’ historic visit in 2012. That year, the former Pink Floyd came to give 3 concerts in River as part of his “The Wall Live” tour and added features until he completed 9. “Waters had already played in Vélez twice and not much has happened,” compares Charlemagne.

There are already several concerts that are adding dates and sold out seats as soon as they go on sale. As previously mentioned, Duki had scheduled 3 shows and added 4 last week. The same thing happened with Tini Stoessel, even if the artist’s goal is completely different. Sojo recalls that she initially offered 3 concerts and added another 3 forced by the request. “More could have been done but the Palermo Hippodrome had no more dates“, He says.

The stadiums return to activity. Fernando Lang, commercial director of Movistar Arena, says they are resuming suspended shows due to the pandemic. “In 2021, 30 functions were carried out. We already have 100 planned this year, “he said Clarione the top manager of the company.

Located in the Villa Crespo district and with a capacity of 15,000 people, the Movistar Arena was inaugurated in November 2019, 3 months before the quarantine. “The season is starting well, the tickets are selling well and we are adding a lot of brands,” Lang assessed.

The Wall Live and other blockbusters

In 2012, as part of his “The Wall Live” world tour, Rogers Waters gave 9 recitals at River Stadium. The former Pink Floyd drew a crowd of over 370,000 people, which left the equivalent of $ 35 million at the box office. Something never seen before for a single musical show. The promoter of the show, Pop Art Music, was adding date after date due to public fury. “The great demand for tickets makes Buenos Aires one of the largest markets on the planet”, The representatives of Waters underlined in amazement.

Coldplay just broke a new record. In public and also on a number of dates, but you need to rewind the story a little more to put it into perspective. Before Waters, the best brand was owned by Soda Stereo, which in 2007 it gathered 350,000 people in 6 recitals that the band gave to the Monumental. A little further down appears the first visit of the Rolling stones, in 1995 and in full convertibility, with 300,000 seats sold. Over time, the records have fallen.

The truth is that those visits have established Buenos Aires as one of the premier venues for live music.

The Waters thing is curious. Before 2012 he had already played twice in the country. In 2002 he performed in a crowded Vélez. Five years later he did two shows at River, where he played “The dark side of the moon”one of the five best-selling albums in history, the songs of which he composed when he was a member of Pink Floyd.

There is another surprising fact and it is that for his show “The Wall Live” he set an audience limit for each performance due to the characteristics of the stage (much wider than traditional ones). Except in the last one (which loosened that limitation) 42,500 tickets were sold per nightfar fewer than the 61,000 tickets shipped in the Coldplay case.

Waters staged his most emblematic and convivial opera. He brought 112 tons of equipment to the country and needed 86 people and 21 trucks to transport it. The production included a 72-meter stage, 36 projectors and a 10-meter round screen. In each show, 242 huge bricks were placed, which formed the emblematic wall.

The years passed and new stadiums and possibilities for performing live performances arose. However, the Monumentale continues to be the main cathedral for two reasons: your easy access (an obstacle for the La Plata Single Stadium, for example) and capacity. In general, unless otherwise decided by the artist, River allows the entry of over 60,000 spectators, contemplating the stands and the field.

The needs of promoters and the evolution of the entertainment industry itself have incorporated other options. The Palermo and San Isidro racetracks are born and covered stadiums are built, such as the DirecTV Arena and the Movistar Arena. The latter was inaugurated in November 2019, i.e. three months before the start of the pandemic and the restrictions on concerts and artistic activities.

“In all this time we have not lost any sponsors,” explains Fernando Lang, commercial director of a stadium located in the Villa Crespo neighborhood of Buenos Aires and has a capacity of 15,000 people.