UTA agents Tom Jones and Max Lee have opened up on the strategy that helped Kenya Grace rule the European festival scene this summer.

IQ collaborated with music biz directory and data platform ROSTR to analyse the 2024 lineups of 50 top European festivals, highlighting several key trends in terms of genre, age, headliners and longevity. The data also uncovered which agencies booked the most acts during the season, as well as which artists appeared on the most lineups.

Electronic/alt pop artist Grace came out on top in the latter category – starring on 11 bills – one ahead of both Nothing But Thieves and Royal Blood.

“I knew we’d booked a lot of festivals for her and that she’d had a huge, impactful debut year, but for it to be recognised tangibly like that is crazy,” Jones tells IQ.

Of the 50 festivals analysed, Grace appeared at Glastonbury (UK), Reading & Leeds (UK), Mad Cool (Spain), NOS Alive (Portugal), Exit (Serbia), Superbloom (Germany), Lollapalooza Berlin (Germany), Way Out West (Sweden), Flow (Finland), Frequency (Austria) and Electric Castle (Romania).

“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important”

“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important,” stresses Lee. “We didn’t want to pigeonhole her, so we targeted a broad spectrum: from more electronic-leaning, ‘cooler’ festivals, through to the mainstream pop tier.”

“We wanted to set real underground targets for her,” elaborates Jones. “Particularly for an electronic music artist, it’s important to demonstrate the culture you come from and where this music is coming from. So we played Melt Festival in Berlin and the Land of Saints stage at Boardmasters, as well as Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury.”

South African-born British singer-songwriter and producer Grace landed an international smash in 2023 with her UK #1 single Strangers, which has been streamed more than 900 million times on Spotify. She has also built a large TikTok following, amassing 15.3m likes.

Her rise on the touring circuit has been similarly meteoric, having only made her live debut proper in October last year.

“The first ever show that we did was a friends and family event at the Lower Third in September 2023, just to get her used to playing in front of an audience, because she’d only played in her bedroom on TikTok before that,” explains Jones. “That was the first seed that we planted for her in London, but it quickly became apparent we’d want to do a ticketed show pretty quickly, so we put a post up on her Instagram to start building a database. She literally just put up a couple of stories saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing a show in London, sign up here to be the first to find out.’

“We decided that we wanted to do it at Corsica Studios, coupled with the fact that we wanted to connect with the underground and lay the foundations for her as an electronic artist, rather than going straight into the pop vein. We were able to sell it out and livestreamed it on TikTok with help from her label.”

“She was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages”

Handily, Grace’s chart success with Strangers coincided with the 2023 International Festival Forum (IFF) in London.

“A lot of her business was done from IFF,” remembers Lee. “Having all of those people in town for meetings at a time when the artist was #1 was incredible. We were in a blessed position.”

“She was one of the hottest new artists on the scene and I guess, because of the way we presented her, she was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages,” suggests Jones. “Whether it was playing on Nos Alive and Mad Cool with Dua Lipa and then being able to do Melt Festival with Overmono and Horsegiirl, or Montreux Jazz, just really reputable, amazing festivals across the board.”

Jones compliments Grace’s knack for marketing herself across her social media channels.

“Kenya is a completely unique artist,” he adds. “She writes, produces and sings all her own music – there’s no external help – and what she has done on TikTok is very captivating. It showed she was as an artist and a performer, even before people had the chance to see her live.”

“For Kenya to the be most booked festival artist is super-reflective of her story as an artist so far,” reflects Lee. “Going from her bedroom to #1 is totally in keeping with that and it’s amazing for her. To do that in her first major year of touring is incredible. We’re super-happy.”

“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act”

What’s more, Lee believes the dual agent strategy offers an endorsement of the company’s collaborative approach.

“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act,” he notes. “This can be seen with Tom’s focus mainly on electronic and my focus mainly in the live space. This combination has been imperative for Kenya’s growth in multiple lanes.

“Kenya has got an incredible team around her. Beyond UTA, [management] Nick Huggett, Nick Shymansky and Sarah Charbonnel have been instrumental in providing the expertise and tools to support Kenya’s development as an artist.”

UTA books Grace worldwide, with Jones and Lee working in harmony with the singer’s North American representatives Scott Schreiber and Samantha Kirby Yoh. The agency’s music brand partnerships team have secured further opportunities for the 26-year-old.

“Off the back of an incredibly busy first summer festival season, we connected Kenya with Rimmel London who signed her as a new Collective ambassador in September,” Anna Gregorek, UTA’s senior director, music brand partnerships, tells IQ. “Rimmel London joined Kenya on the road for a ‘behind the scenes’ digital campaign, promoting the collection as her staple ride-or-die product essentials.

“Earlier in the year she also worked with the brand to produce Get Ready With Me social content ahead of the BRIT Awards, coinciding with Kenya’s nomination for Song of the Year. Thanks to the tight-knit collaboration between UTA’s live and brand teams, we’re able to unlock opportunities like these, not only for established names but also to support the career trajectory of rising stars like Kenya.”

“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around”

As for what comes next, festivals will again form a significant part of Grace’s live slate.

“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around, and then we’re aiming to do a few key festivals that we didn’t hit in 2024,” shares Jones. “She’s done a lot of touring and we really want to let the music breathe, so we just want to hit some key city touring around her next single, and then some key festival targets.”

“Some new markets as well, places that she connected with as an artist, but hasn’t had the opportunity to go to,” concludes Lee. “The love for her was so far and wide, it was near impossible for us to go to every market in ’24.

Subscribers can read the full ROSTR analysis in issue 130 of IQ Magazine.

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IQ has once again collaborated with music biz directory and data platform ROSTR to analyse the lineups of 50 top European festivals.

A total of 4,900 artists performed at the 50 festivals, with the findings highlighting several key trends in terms of genre, age, headliners and longevity.

The data also uncovers which agencies booked the most artists and headliners during the 2024 season, as well as which artists appeared on the most lineups.

As in 2023, Wasserman Music came out on top for most bookings, followed by WME, CAA and UTA. The latter’s Kenya Grace appeared on the most bills (11), ahead of Wasserman clients Nothing But Thieves and 13 Artists’ Royal Blood (both 10).

Fred again.. (Wasserman) claimed the most headline slots with seven, with Måneskin (ITB) taking six and Dua Lipa (WME), The Chainsmokers and Lana Del Rey (both CAA) each on five.

Perhaps the most startling revelation, however, concerns gender balance, with even more men topping festival bills this year than in 2023.

In total, 92% of the acts that were on stage during a headline slot were male, along with 78% of solo headline acts.

ROSTR – a music industry directory, contacts, data and jobs platform – holds artist rosters, people, and company information for more than 12,000 companies worldwide.

Tomorrow’s (25 September) opening session of the International Festival Forum (IFF) in London Bridge will begin with a short presentation of ROSTR x IQ’s analysis of the European festival summer 2024, hosted by ROSTR co-founder and CEO Mark Williamson.

The full analysis appears in the new issue of IQ. You can read the digital edition of IQ 130 here.

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.

IQ 130, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.

In our bumper September edition, Adam Woods goes behind the scenes of Adele’s historic Munich residency while Gordon Masson talks to the team behind Rock in Rio as the iconic event turns 40.

Elsewhere, ROSTR and IQ analyse the lineups and bookings of 50 top European festivals and the Green Guardians 2024 list is revealed.

This issue also delves into the live music markets in Ireland and Singapore and notes some of the best innovations that debuted during the festival season.

To wrap up the season, Roskilde’s Signe Lopdrup and Isle of Wight’s Caroline Giddings discuss the triumphs and tribulations of their 2024 events.

For this edition’s columns, Pax Nindi champions change in festival production and Pascal Van De Velde outlines Gent Jazz Festival’s transformation.

A selection of magazine content will appear online in the next four weeks but to ensure your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

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A study by music industry directory ROSTR and IQ has broken down the lineups of 50 European festivals to explore trends around gender splits, headliner longevity and agency representation.

The full analysis appears in issue 122 of IQ, which is out now. Among its key findings, the report revealed that 64% of all solo acts during the 2023 season were male, 35% female, and 1% non-binary (the figures do not account for band members in groups).

The misbalance of genders across European festivals becomes more pronounced when looking purely at headliners. Overall, 69% of solo headline acts were men, along with 94% of individuals in headline bands.

In total, 90% of the performers that were onstage for a headline performance were male, although several A-list female artists have moved beyond festival stages in recent years to perform at stadiums.

Elsewhere, it was found that the average age of headliners at European festivals this year is 43, with a 58-year age span between the youngest headliner (Billie Eilish, 21), and the oldest (The Who, group age of 79).

While headliners aged between 20 and 40 account for nearly half of all headliners booked, the median age of headlining acts (40) is largely dominated by Gen X musicians.

“It’s reassuring to learn that across the continent of Europe, at least a quarter of all headliners this year are – relatively speaking – new to the big stage”

The results illustrate a broad talent pipeline, with 26% of all headliners active for ten years or less and 53% of headliners active for 20 years or less.

“It’s reassuring to learn that across the continent of Europe, at least a quarter of all headliners this year are – relatively speaking – new to the big stage or have been active for ten years or less,” says music business economist Will Page. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, but this data shows you can get there – within a decade at least.”

In addition, the report showed that Wasserman Music booked the most artists across Europe’s 2023 festival summer and CAA booked the most headliners.

A total of 4,700 artists took to stages across the 50 festivals, with the majority of artists represented by 34 agencies and Wasserman Music, UTA, CAA and WME occupying the top four slots. The same four agencies booked 60% of all headline performances.

You can read the digital edition of IQ 122 here.

ROSTR – a music industry directory, contacts, data and jobs platform – holds artist rosters, people, and company in formation for around 10,000 companies worldwide.

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.

Wasserman Music booked the most artists across Europe’s 2023 festival summer and CAA booked the most headliners, according to new analysis of 50 major festivals by music industry directory ROSTR and IQ.

In total, 4,700 artists took to stages across the 50 festivals, with the majority of artists represented by 34 agencies and Wasserman Music, UTA, CAA and WME occupying the top four slots. The same four agencies booked 60% of all headline performances.

A total of 146 headliners performed across the 50 top festivals, with Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys, and Rosalía topping the most bills (six each). And just 800 artists appeared on more than one lineup with Nothing but Thieves and Nova Twins appearing on the most (11 each).

In terms of music genres across the 50 European festivals, rock and indie artists accounted for the majority of performances, regardless of whether they were headlining or not. And while the research did not focus on the core of dance/ EDM festivals, the genre still accounts for more than pop and hip-hop combined, showing how popular it remains across mixed-bill events.

According to ROSTR, Wasserman now has the largest music roster of any agency in the world – 2,522 artists compared with 2,131 represented by CAA, 1,861 booked by UTA, and 1,489 represented by WME.

IQ and ROSTR’s full analysis, which includes detail about artist longevity, gender balance across lineups and more, appears in the new issue of IQ 122. You can read the digital edition of IQ 122 here.

ROSTR – a music industry directory, contacts, data and jobs platform – holds artist rosters, people, and company in formation for around 10,000 companies worldwide.

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.

IQ 122, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.

The September edition charts Stephan Thanscheidt’s journey from playing in punk bands to the CEO of FKP Scorpio, and analyses the lineups of 50 top European festivals, in collaboration with ROSTR.

Meanwhile, Mark Beaumont visits Sziget as the event celebrates 30 years and Adam Woods gives us the low down on the lowlands for this issue’s Netherlands market focus.

Elsewhere James Hanley shines a light on ten of Europe’s brightest indie festivals and finds out what makes them so special and, IQ reveals the Green Guardians 2023, our annual guide to the eco-warriors and innovators striving to make our venues and events more sustainable.

Plus, leading production managers weigh in while we profile several innovations new for the 2023 season.

For this edition’s columns and comments, Shain Shapiro discusses how we should be leading the change when it comes to supporting our local venues, and Michael Kümmerle explains how TikTok wants to expand promoters’ horizons.

As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

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The Interactive Festival Forum (iFF) has announced two Soapbox Sessions panels for the event taking place on 2 and 3 September.

The first 55-minute session will invite five industry experts to deliver quick-fire presentations on a range of specialist topics including agency roster analysis, socially distanced events and mental health.

Soapbox Sessions: Five in 55 will see ROSTR co-founder and CEO, Mark Williamson, present highlights from an analysis of 650+ agency rosters with ROSTR: The Agency World in Numbers.

Deer Shed director and AIF member Kate Webster will deliver a Soapbox Session on Deer Shed Basecamp, the festival’s socially distanced, sold-out camping weekender with AIF presents: Touching Base.

Tim O’Brien – professor at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester (the site of AIF member festival Bluedot) – will reprise a much-loved talk from a previous AIF Festival Congress with AIF presents: Sounds of Space.

Geoff Dixon will present exclusive new research on festivalgoers’ confidence about returning to live events over the next 12 months

In Soapbox Session Covid-19: You Are Here, Dr Mark Salter, consultant for global health at Public Health England, will update delegates on the latest international developments in the fight against Covid-19, including the search for a vaccine, as well as how public health authorities are planning for the months ahead.

Finally, Getting Back to Work: The Fan’s Perspective Vivid Interface will hear Geoff Dixon present exclusive new research on festivalgoers’ confidence about returning to live events over the next 12 months.

Another new addition to the conference schedule is The Lost Causes, a series of presentations from specialists covering diversity, accessibility, and mental health and welfare.

Attitude Is Everything‘s Gideon Feldman will deliver Accessibility: Building Back Better, Keychange‘s Francine Gorman will present Equality: Representation Matters and festival booker-turned-psychotherapist Tamsin Embleton will educate delegates on Mental Health: Minding the Gap.

Today’s announcement follows the news that CAA board member and London co-head Emma Banks, Paradigm’s head of global music, Marty Diamond, and FKP Scorpio MD Folkert Koopmans are joining the conference.

With just over one week to go until iFF, and with passes increasing in price on 1 September, secure your place and save money by registering here. Tickets are still just £50 inc. ALL fees.

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