An 80,000 person pop-up stadium

Welcome, artists & builders.

Today, I’m diving into a massive concert event that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before — and shows that unique live experience is king.

Inside Issue #35

• Building a new live experience

• Spotify’s new Countdown Pages

• What goes into a mgmt contract

Building a World

Live Nation & Munich built a $130m custom, pop-up stadium for Adele's concert series this month and it's wild.

She'll play 10 shows over 30 days in 'Adele Arena', hosting over 750,000 fans to become the biggest concert engagement ever.

Then they’ll tear it all down.

The sheer magnitude of this is something I couldn’t ignore, signaling:

• the dichotomy between large-scale events & the struggles of grassroots venues,

• fan’s desire for unique experiences,

• and where the real money is in music.

Here’s How Adele Arena is Going Down:

The completely Adele-themed venue holds 80,000 fans and hosts "Adele World" - a themed outdoor environment where fans can enter early & stay late.

It includes:

→ A ferris wheel
→ Farmers Market
→ Bavarian beer garden
→ Re-created English pub
→ A series of branded wine bars
→ 2nd stage for more live entertainment

Plus, a massive 721x98 foot video wall that curls behind the stage & is longer than 2 football fields!

It’s the largest LED screen ever.

And it's going to absolutely print money.

I project the shows will gross well over $228m.

In fact, this 10 show run will earn more money than her lifetime total of streams.

10 shows in 1 city = ~$228mm
44 billion streams = ~$220mm

The music industry keeps trying to figure out how to monetize superfans. Turns out live does a pretty damn good job of it.

Streaming creates fans.
Experience monetizes them.

We're going to start seeing more of this.

→ Multiple nights in one centralized location
→ Huge theatrics and world-building
→ Massive, massive profits

The Sphere is already hosting 20-40 night residencies. And how many people could Beyonce bring to a Cowboy Carter rodeo in Texas?

They won’t all be $100m pop-ups, but purpose-built experiences of all sizes that create had-to-be-there moments.

The demand for unique, live experiences is unquenchable.

The scarcer, the better.

Maybe we'll see cities bidding on these residencies.

The City of Munich is expecting to generate $612m in ancillary revenue from Adele’s series.

A huge win for the city.

MY HOPE: Some of the $840m in total revenue generation finds its way back to smaller venues, emerging artists & the arts in Munich.

Then, it's a big W for everyone.

- Rob

📚️ My 3 Favorite Reads This Week

1. Live Music Needs Innovation, by Jesse Kirshbaum

2. Why I Finally Quit Spotify, by Kyle Chayka at The New Yorker

3. The State of A&R, by John Strohm

I also found this X thread from Brian Zisook on what goes into a mgmt contract succinct & helpful for artists.