Live Music News: NIVA, EVA, Top Drawer, Concert Stuff & More
In the latest live music news, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has announced Jim James, frontman for My Morning Jacket, and legendary producer Jimmy Jam will keynote NIVA ’25.
This premier conference of the independent live music, comedy, promoter, venue, and festival industry, will be June 22–25 in Milwaukee. To register and see the full conference schedule go here.
More Live Music News
• EVA, an ent-tech platform connecting performers with corporate and private events, is adding Los Angeles as its ninth market. EVA offers corporate bookers direct access to more than 100 artists, speakers, comedians, and other top-tier entertainers for private events.
Since 2015, EVA has paid out over $6 million to entertainers and successfully booked more than 2,000 events across eight major markets: Nashville, Austin, Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York. The company has powered large-scale experiences for big names including Dell, Amazon Web Services, Bank of America, and Smile Direct Club.
• LA-based Top Drawer Merch, a full-service merch and brand management agency, announces the addition of festival retail maven Claudia Peña to their team as the company’s Director of Live Events.
The announcement follows Top Drawer Merch’s involvement in SLANDER and Insomniac’s first edition of Starbase Festival last month, as well as the company’s expansion into other industries.
• Concert Stuff (CSG), a provider of comprehensive live event solutions, is playing a pivotal role in the 10th anniversary of the Carolina Country Music Fest. Since the festival’s inception, CSG has sourced production, logistics and infrastructure support.
30,000 fans are expected in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for Jelly Roll, Kid Rock, Lainey Wilson and Rascal Flatts and more.
• NYC based live events, ticket and marketing platform Fever has acquired DICE, the UK based ticketing company.
In addition to the DICE acquisition, Fever also announced a $100M funding round which builds on a $227M a 2022 round led by Goldman Sachs followed by a $110M round the following year that valued Fever at $1.8B. [MORE HERE]
• Pete Lally, the president and CEO of Spectacle Live, a concert promotion and management company with 10 venues throughout New England was interviewed for Hypebot’s In The Trenches series sponsored by marketing solution Bandsintown PRO.
“We could all do a better job educating fans about how to buy tickets on the primary market, rather than getting sucked into secondary sites when there is plenty of inventory on the primary,” said Lally [MORE HERE]
• A free webinar next week sponsored by the Live Music Society, “Booking A Small Venue” will focus on understanding each venue’s unique place in the broader live music ecosystem. Attendees will also learn how to get to yes more often by anticipating the needs of artists and agents.
Webinar host Bruce Houghton has been both a long time booking agent and a talent buyer. He’s also Editor of Hypebot, an Advisor to Bandsintown, and Author and Instructor of Berklee College Of Music’s Touring 101 online course. [MORE HERE]
