Arena Market: Argentina

Buenos Aires was one of the locations for Primavera Sound’s 2024 Latin America edition, which due to “external difficulties” that didn’t guarantee a successful production, failed to take place.

But the capital has still been an attractive market for global touring artists. Coldplay sold out ten nights at River Plate stadium in 2022, Taylor Swift brought her Eras Tour in 2023, and Oasis will be returning there this year.

The 7,500-capacity Luna Park had to quash rumours in February that it was being demolished despite Live Nation and DF Entertainment securing a 20-year lease at the end of 2024 from its co-owners across two branches of the catholic church. The deal includes a $34m investment to increase the capacity to 13,000, so the 93-year-old venue can rival fellow Buenos Aires location Movistar Arena.

The Grupo La Nación-owned and Legends/ASM Global- managed 15,0000-capacity Movistar programmed 190 shows in 2024. Despite international shows thinning out, the venue still had Kendrick Lamar, Sting, and Iron Maiden perform, with Nile Rodgers & Chic and Katy Perry scheduled for later this year.

Elsewhere in the capital, the 4,700-capacity Estadio Obras Sanitarias hosted St. Vincent, Garbage, Franz Ferdinand, and The Kooks, and the 12,000-capacity Tecnópolis hosted the Quilmes Rock festival in April.

Buenos Aires has still been an attractive market for global touring artists, even with the capital facing challenges of its own

Outside of the capital, Neuquén’s Estadio Ruca Che has mostly been attracting local talent to its multipurpose 8,000-capacity arena. Hip-hop artists YSY A, hard rockers Airbag, and cumbia star Ke Personajes have all played in the Patagonian city. Córdoba’s Quality Arena is one of the standout locations, with its 7,500 standing, 6,400 mixed seating/standing, and 4,200 seated capacities. Ignacio Taier, COO of Grupo Q, has also seen international shows decrease but is positive on the outlook for the Argentinian market.

“Generally, the health of the live entertainment market in Argentina is good,” he says. “We are promoting more shows. National artists are filling arenas. We have concerns with costs but that is a constant globally. The rise in costs is mostly for technical requirements, so costs have gone up and margins have gone down.”

“The rise in costs is mostly for technical requirements, so costs have gone up and margins have gone down.”

Despite rising costs, it’s a busy 12 months ahead for Quality Arena, which also has sister venues with the 1,500– 3,500-cap Quality Espacio and 300–400-cap Quality Teatro. “We’re fully booked and have a lot pencilled in. We promote more than 200 shows per year. In the arena, we have 80 shows this year, mainly booked on weekends.”

He says scaling down to 3,000–4,000 capacity is a growing trend for artists who want that versatility, as shows with US pop duo Ha*Ash, Australian soft rockers Air Supply, and Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko have done well at this scale.

Trap, rap, and urban genres continue to dominate, with Emilia Mernes selling 12,000 tickets over two dates. Latin pop is another hugely popular genre with Mexico’s Cristian Castro and Colombia’s Camilo selling at the 3,000–4,000 scale, too. National rock star Fito Páez sold 6,400 tickets.

Scaling down to 3,000–4,000 capacity is a growing trend for artists who want that versatility

Taier says technical improvements have been a focus at Quality Arena. “We prepare our arena to make the fan and artist experience the best we can. We are developing our premium seating, with boxes at the back of the arena, and improving our food and beverage for new revenue streams.

“We aim to always have a plug-and-play arena to reduce costs and make it easier for artists. We recently bought the new PANTHER sound system from Meyer Sound as an important improvement for artists, because when they come to Latin America, they do not find the best equipment, so we’re investing in this.”