The term “concert economics” has become a buzzword for many cities in Asia, including in Taiwan, which see it as a potential driver of tourism growth capable of giving local economies a much needed boost.
Kaohsiung is one of those cities, having held Coldplay and Ed Sheeran concerts in late 2023 and early last year respectively. It has also scheduled appearances by Maroon 5 and Kylie Minogue this quarter.
However, some of the biggest beneficiaries of the trend, which has blossomed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been Taiwan’s concert promoters, who expect even better things this year.
Photo courtesy of Young Hope Entertainment
Kuang Hong Arts Management, HIM International Music and Kwan’s International are among the local promoters eager to ride the concert economics wave.
Kuang Hong is excited about the potential sales boost it would likely get from the upcoming 20 concerts to be staged by award-winning Taiwanese singer Jody Chiang (江蕙) this year.
Speaking with the Central News Agency in a recent interview, Kuang Hong chief financial officer Wang Sheng-po (汪聖柏) said the company generated NT$1.57 billion (US$47.75 million) in revenue in the first 11 months of last year, up 44.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, due to the concert boom.
This year might be even better, Wang added.
Chiang’s tour would start in Kaohsiung with eight concerts in July and 12 concerts in Taipei in August and September, Wang said.
Kuang Hong would also promote 52 shows of the musical Les Miserables, to be held in June and July in Taipei and Kaohsiung, leading Wang to predict that July would be the best month for the company this year.
Analysts have estimated that Chiang’s 20 concerts would have a NT$1 billion box office, and the Les Miserables run is expected to generate NT$400 million in revenue.
With the opening of the Taipei Dome last year and other cities planning to build dome-like venues suitable for concerts, “concert economics” are lucrative for companies such as Kuang Hong, Wang said.
Prior to the pandemic, the company’s revenues from events were already on the rise, from NT$742 million in 2017 to NT$1.36 billion in 2019, but it was not until last year that Kuang Hong had fully rebounded from the COVID-19 slump, Wang added.
Another promoter benefiting from the trend is HIM International, which includes pop singer Yoga Lin (林宥嘉) and singing duo Power Station (動力火車) in its lineup of artists.
Its artists have seen their number of engagements grow year-to-year in the post-pandemic era. Last year, Lin and Power Station staged 44 concerts in China, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, the most in their careers, the company said.
Chiu Li-kwan (邱?寬), CEO of cultural activity planner Kwan’s International, cited Taylor Swift abroad and A-Mei (張惠妹) at home as two good examples of the booming concert scene.
About 200,000 tickets were sold to A-Mei’s five year-end concerts at Taipei Dome, and local media estimated that those concerts grossed more than NT$800 million and created NT$1.1 billion in tourism income.
Chiu said the cultural creative business has been the company’s largest income source, and the number of concerts it is booking is expected to double to almost 100 this year, including overseas performances by Taiwanese pop signers Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰) and Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) as well as Cyndi Wang (王心凌) in China.
The company is reaching out to foreign performers. After signing South Korea’s pop singer IU to throw two concerts in Taipei last year, Chiu said her company is in talks with a South Korean band to come to Taiwan in the second half of this year.
Chou Yu-yang (周佑洋), CEO of promoter B’IN Live, said his company has also embraced concert economics and would promote Taiwanese artists overseas through concerts in countries in Southeast Asia and Japan.
In addition, B’IN Live would arrange a tour for Japanese vocal duo Yoasobi in Thailand this year.
Yet whether the benefits of the concert economics trend can have a sizeable impact on Taiwan’s economy or tourism sector remains an open question.
MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang (湯忠謙) said the scale of “concert economics” in Taiwan appeared limited, covering only major cities such as Taipei and Kaohsiung that can provide ideal venues for staging performances.
Tang also said he did not think the benefits would not be applicable to all cultural and creative firms, but only companies such as Kuang Hong that can arrange concerts for the biggest names.
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