Scam artists have been posing as 13 Artists founder and agent Charlie Myatt, soliciting bookings for a non-existent 2025 tour with Arctic Monkeys.

13 Artists told IQ that a “deluge” of fraudulent emails have been reported to them in the last few days, which follow a similar pattern to that of the Radiohead scams in 2022.

The scam emails, titled ‘CONFIDENTIAL – Arctic Monkeys – Midnight Mirage World Tour 2025’,  have been sent from the bogus address news@13-artists.net and ask that recipients reply to another bogus address, charlie.myatt@13-artists.com.

All legitimate email addresses for 13 Artists staff are from @13artists.com.

The fraudsters have also made a fake website (www.13-artists.net) almost identical to the Brighton-based agency’s actual one (13artists.com).

Both the fabricated website and the scam email contain phone numbers (+44 20 3290 3795 and +44 79 0719 2974) that do not belong to 13 Artists.

Such scams are not uncommon in the touring business, with fraudsters posing as the representatives of major artists including Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Radiohead, Adele, Ariana Grande, System of a Down, Beyoncé, Mark Knopfler and Eminem in the past, emailing concert promoters and asking for deposits in exchange for non-existent live dates.

Elsewhere, the leader of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme in the US involving bogus music concerts was jailed for almost five years earlier this year.

The UK’s Entertainment Agents’ Association previously issued a checklist, urging promoters to adopt the following steps if unsure of an agent’s identity:

1. Check the email address is correct – in particular the email domain – and if in any doubt call the agency to confirm it. Do not use the telephone number on the email
2. Check the artist’s website for any conflicting touring plans
3. Make sure you have full contact details of the agent with which you are working and speak to them on the phone at least once
4. Before sending a deposit, call the agency to confirm the booking and check their account details
5. Check with promoters in other markets to verify the artist is touring in that region at that time
6. If an offer is accepted and seems too good to be true, it probably is

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Arctic Monkeys are returning to Dublin and Belfast for a series of arena dates to mark the end of their The Car Tour.

The rock band, who will be supported by special guest Miles Kane, will play three nights at Dublin’s 3Arena on 15, 17 & 19 October, as well as a one-off concert at The SSE Arena in Belfast on 16 October.

Booked by 13 Artists, the dates follow the cancellation of the band’s summer show at Dublin’s 40,000-cap Marlay Park after frontman Alex Turner was diagnosed with acute laryngitis.

The rock band start their 30-date North American tour leg in Minneapolis this Thursday

Previous ticket holders will be sent a unique access code and will be given 72-hour priority pre-sale access. Only the same number of tickets, or less, purchased previously for Marlay Park will be available to purchase for these new dates.
All remaining tickets will be made available for sale on Tuesday 29 August.

Arctic Monkeys’ 119-date world tour, staged in support of their seventh studio album The Car, began at Zorlu PSM in Istanbul, Turkey, in August 2022. The quartet start their 30-date North American tour leg in Minneapolis this Thursday 25 August, which concludes with two nights at Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City on 6-7 October.

The British group headlined multiple festivals this summer around the globe, including Glastonbury, Rock Werchter, Open’er, Bilbao BBK Live and NOS Alive. They also embarked on their biggest UK and Ireland tour of their career to date with a string of stadium dates in May and June 2023, including three sold-out shows at London’s 60,000-cap Emirates Stadium.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Danielle Buckley will be departing Arsenal Football Club this month, post delivery of three back-to-back Arctic Monkeys concerts at Emirates Stadium.

Buckley joined the 60,000-cap North London venue in 2022, leading as senior manager – event programming, after a five-year stint as head of business development at London Stadium.

Glastonbury 2023 headliners Arctic Monkeys played three sold-out shows at the Emirates from 16-18 June, promoted by SJM Concerts.

“I have really enjoyed my time at Arsenal and I am proud to have played my part over the last year,” says Buckley. “Contracting and announcing Arctic Monkeys within a week of joining was a great experience and an environment I thrive in and love.

“I move on to explore new opportunities, focus on new events and the next steps in my career”

“Being responsible not only for the commercial delivery, but also project managing those events from start to finish, has been a real highlight. I move on to explore new opportunities, focus on new events and the next steps in my career and I wish Arsenal all the very best going forward.”

The ILMC member and IQ New Bosses alumnus began her music industry career in 2009 at Derek Block Artistes Agency, moving on to the Leighton Pope Organisation and then London 2012, for which she coordinated the headline talent for the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies.

She was subsequently hired by Wembley Stadium, where she worked her way up to partnership development manager – music and new events, and helped bring numerous concerts to the national stadium, notably programming Ed Sheeran’s first events in stadia in 2015, ahead of being headhunted by London Stadium in 2017.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Arctic Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses have been confirmed as Pyramid Stage headliners for the 2023 Glastonbury festival, joining the previously announced Elton John.

The 2023 event is scheduled for 21-25 June at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset.

The 13 Artists-booked Arctic Monkeys will top the bill for the third time, having previously headlined in 2007 and 2013, while Guns N’ Roses, represented by ITB, will be making their Glastonbury debut.

More than 50 artists have been announced for the festival, including Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Aitch, Lil Nas X, Fred Again.., Royal Blood, Lewis Capaldi, Christine and the Queens, Blondie, Wizkid, Becky Hill, Manic Street Preachers, Maneskin, Mahalia, Candi Staton, Alt-J, Carly Rae Jepsen, Central Cee, Young Fathers, Kelis, Cat Burns, FLO, The War on Drugs, Rina Sawayama, Sparks, Texas and The Chicks.

The Sunday afternoon “legends slot” goes to Yusuf/Cat Stevens, with more acts still to be announced.

“Next year it’s looking like we’ve got two female headliners, so fingers crossed”

While there is an almost 50:50 split between male and female acts on the bill (52% male), all three headliners are male.

“This year, we did have a female headliner, and she unfortunately had to pull out,” co-organiser Emily Eavis tells the BBC. “It changes all the time. But next year it’s looking like we’ve got two female headliners, so fingers crossed.”

Speaking to the Guardian, she adds: “We’re trying our best so the pipeline needs to be developed. This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board.”

Tickets for the 2023 festival sold out last November in just over an hour, despite a 26% price increase for the 2023 edition.

General sale tickets cost £335 (€385) for 2023, up 26% on the £265 (€304) charged when tickets last went on sale in 2019. Tickets were subsequently rolled over until 2022 when the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Glastonbury previously posted a loss of £3.1 million for the year ending March 2021, according to Companies House documents.

Ahead of the 2023 event, Glastonbury has also announced a multi-year partnership with Vodafone. As Official Connectivity Partner, Vodafone has exclusive rights to the festival and throughout the partnership will use its network to “deliver innovative experiences using cutting-edge technology”.

Vodafone’s network will be boosted to the highest capacity ever, while customers will be able to gain access to festival tickets via its VeryMe Rewards programme available on the MyVodafone app. VeryMe promotions and experiences will also be available to everyone who is at the Festival.

The partnership will also see the launch of a brand-new Official Glastonbury Festival app, with a host of new features, as well as free phone charging for everyone at the festival.

“We are so pleased to have Vodafone on board as a new partner for the festival,” adds Eavis. “The commitment they have made to supporting our festival in its technical and network requirements as well as other projects throughout the year is great, and we look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Tickets for Arctic Monkeys’ first ever show in Singapore sold out within an hour of going on sale.

The British band, who are booked by 13 Artists, will play the 12,000-cap Singapore Indoor Stadium on 28 February next year, promoted by Lushington Entertainments.

Mothership reports all tickets for the show, which were priced from S$108 to $248 (€75-173), were snapped up in Monday’s (12 December) onsale.

The tour will also see the band play their first concerts in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia

The concert is the first date on the Alex Turner-fronted group’s Asia tour, which will also see them perform their first gigs in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

The group will headline Clockenflap Festival on 3 March, followed by concerts at Filinvest City Events Grounds in Manila, Philippines (6 March), BITEC in Bangkok, Thailand (9 March), Tokyo Garden Theater (12 March) and Zepp Osaka Bayside (15 March), both in Japan, and Beach City International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia (18 March). They also have a string of Australian dates lined up for December 2022/January 2023.

Earlier this year, Arctic Monkeys announced their biggest UK and Ireland tour yet. They will hit the road for a string of stadium dates in May and June 2023 – their first tour of their homeland since 2018 – with special guests The Hives and The Mysterines.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Last Tour, the Spanish festival organiser and concert promoter behind Bilbao BBK Live, has announced a new festival in Lisbon, Portugal.

Organised alongside Portuguese promoter House of Fun, Kalorama will debut between 1–3 September at Bela Vista Park, one of Lisbon’s biggest urban parks.

The festival shares its date and the majority of its line-up with the Last Tour’s new Spanish festival, Cala Mijas.

Kalorama and Cala Mijas will be the Arctic Monkeys’ only festival appearances in Portugal and Spain, respectively, in 2022.

Kalorama and Cala Mijas will be the Arctic Monkeys’ only festival appearances in Portugal and Spain, respectively, in 2022

Kraftwerk, The Chemical Brothers, James Blake, Chet Faker, Róisín Murphy, Bonobo and Blossoms are also confirmed to play both festivals.

Last Tour previously set out a commitment to follow the guidelines of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with Cala Mijas, “both in its execution and in the way its values and importance are promoted”.

“The event’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and to the environment of the municipality of Malaga is one of the fundamental pillars of Cala Mijas. To that end, it will base its ideals, strategies, and actions on a transversal model with measures ranging from ensuring social inclusion and complete transparency in all its processes to the promotion of local commerce, and a workflow designed to optimise and reuse all available resources,” reads a statement on the festival’s website.

Last Tour’s stable of events also includes Azkena Rock Festival, Donostia Festibala, BIME Live, Goxo, Navia Suena festival and Festival Santas Pascuas.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

The first-ever US edition of Primavera Sound will take place next year in Los Angeles, California, with headliners Arctic Monkeys, Nine Inch Nails and Lorde.

The California debut, co-produced with Live Nation, is scheduled from 16 to 18 September 2022 at the Los Angeles Historic Park.

The long-awaited event was first announced in 2019, pre-pandemic, shortly after a minority investment in Primavera Sound by American private equity firm, the Yucaipa Companies, in June 2018.

The Los Angeles event coincides with the 20th-anniversary edition of Primavera Sound’s flagship event in Barcelona.

The bumper edition will take place at the Parc del Fórum complex across two weekends with acts including Lorde, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion.

“Today, at last, we finally begin to cross the bridge that will take us to a new destination Primavera”

The LA event is the latest addition to the Primavera Sound family, following the creation of sister conference Primavera Pro in 2010 and the Portuguese outing of the festival, Primavera Sound Porto, in 2012.

“Today, at last, we finally begin to cross the bridge that will take us to a new destination Primavera without renouncing to all those values that, after 19 editions, the Barcelona festival champions,” reads a statement from Primavera, regarding the LA edition.

“Sustainability, gender equality, social commitment and urban integration will guarantee an impact that goes beyond the strictly musical one.”

All previously purchased tickets will be valid for Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022. Pre-sale for remaining tickets begins on Friday 10 December at 10:00 PT. More information can be found on the Primavera website.

See the first batch of confirmed artists for Primavera LA below.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Spanish festival organiser and concert promoter Last Tour is adding a new international festival to its stable of events.

The inaugural Cala Mijas festival will take place between 1–3 September in the picturesque municipality of Mijas, Málaga, with a number of high-profile acts.

Arctic Monkeys will return to Spain for the first time in four years to headline the Cala Mijas for what will be their only festival appearance in the country in 2022.

Kraftwerk, Chet Faker, Blossoms and Hot Chip have also been announced to perform at the festival.

Last Tour has also set out a commitment to follow the guidelines of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with Cala Mijas, “both in its execution and in the way its values and importance are promoted”.

Arctic Monkeys will return to Spain for the first time in four years for their only appearance in the country in 2022

“The event’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and to the environment of the municipality of Malaga is one of the fundamental pillars of Cala Mijas. To that end, it will base its ideals, strategies, and actions on a transversal model with measures ranging from ensuring social inclusion and complete transparency in all its processes to the promotion of local commerce, and a workflow designed to optimise and reuse all available resources,” reads a statement on the festival’s website.

Three-day passes cost just €80 for those who sign up for an exclusive presale on 29 November.

Last Tour’s stable of events also includes Bilbao BBK Live, Azkena Rock Festival, Donostia Festibala, BIME Live, Goxo, Navia Suena festival and Festival Santas Pascuas.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Festival discovery and booking platform Festicket has compiled a list of its 2018 “festival heroes”, naming the DJs and bands that performed at the highest number of festivals last year.

Russian techno DJ Nina Kraviz took the 2018 festival circuit crown, playing 35 festival sets over the year. Kraviz has 20 festivals confirmed for the upcoming season, including sets at Belgium’s Tomorrowland, Italy’s Kappa FuturFestival, Primavera Sound in Spain and Dimensions Festival in Croatia.

Belgian artist Amelie Lens also had a successful year, playing at 27 festivals, a massive step up for the DJ who played only four festival sets the previous year. 2019 is set to be even busier for Lens, who is playing at over 20 festivals, among them Coachella (USA), Creamfields (UK), Exit Festival (Serbia), Awakenings (the Netherlands) and Electric Daisy Carnival – Las Vegas.

Leading the charge for non-electronic acts are the Killers and Arctic Monkeys, who amassed 18 and 16 festival gigs respectively.

Russian techno DJ Nina Kraviz took the 2018 festival circuit crown, playing 35 festival sets over the year

The Killers played headline sets at Lollapalooza Brazil, Trnsmt in Scotland and Spain’s Benicassim. The band continues its string of headline performances this year with top slots already confirmed at Glastonbury Festival, Woodstock 50 and Kaaboo Texas.

Arctic Monkeys appeared at festivals across the globe in 2018 including Primavera Sound, Lollapalooza and Sziget. The band are yet to announce any festival slots for this year.

Festicket used information from its database of over 500 acts and 1,200 festivals to compile the festival heroes report.

Festicket co-founder Zack Sabban spoke on the industry investment panel at this year’s ILMC. Launched in 2012, the company is backed by a range of investors including Beringea, Edge, Lepe Partners, ProFounders and Kreos Capital. Alongside its London headquarters, Festicket has offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, Berlin, Porto and Nantes.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free digest of essential live music industry news, via email or Messenger.

Sziget Festival, located on Hungary’s Óbudai-sziget island, celebrated its 26th anniversary in 2018 with its biggest crowd to date, a mammoth 565,000 people across seven days. Coming in as Europe’s fifth largest festival and labelled as the continent’s answer to Glastonbury, this year’s Sziget welcomed over 1,000 performers over 60 different stages.

With organisers taking pride in the diversity of its event, this year’s lineup featured acts from multiple different genres, making its way from Stormzy to Seasick Steve and still finding time for an Abba tribute act along the way. Headline sets came from Kendrick Lamar, Artic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Lana Del Rey, Mumford & Sons and Kygo.

Sunday saw Albanian-British popstar Dua Lipa play her first ever headline set. The following day, Lipa took to Instagram to reflect on her performance at Sziget, saying: “My first ever major festival headline show. What an absolute dream. I don’t know how we got here so fast but I never wanna leave.”

“The DNA of the festival, openness, love and respect, could be found in every stage”

Alongside music, “Szitizens” were also treated to a number of cultural offerings. Over at the Cirque du Sziget and Magic Mirror stage, onlookers revelled in the performance of circus troupe FAMEfatale.  Elsewhere, art installations and sculptures dotted the island’s landscape, promoting this year’s “Love Revolution” theme.

Like so many other festivals this season, Sziget’s 26th edition focused much of its attention on reducing its impact on the environment. With a reusable cup system put in place, eco-camping and recycling centres, organisers hoped to reduce rubbish on site, and in keeping with the trend seen at festivals worldwide, plastic straws were banned.

Reflecting on this year’s record-smashing success, CEO of Sziget Tamás Kádár says: “We are so proud to have seen 565,000 people from all over the world join us here in the heart of Budapest.

“An international celebration of the arts, artists from over 63 different countries came to perform over 1000 programmes in seven days.

“The DNA of the festival, openness, love and respect, could be found in every stage, performance and Szitizen, and we will continue to lead the way with our love revolution.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.