Ownership Concentration and Cultural Pluralism in Europe’s Live Music Sector
Live DMA and Reset! network have published a policy paper entitled “Ownership Concentration and Cultural Pluralism in Europe’s Live Music Sector” in light of a comprehensive mapping project of venues’ and festivals’ ownership concentration in European live music.
Diversity lies at the heart of European music festivals’ identities, and yet we increasingly see large acquisitions and mergers in Europe’s live music ecosystem. This raises questions about who we really support in live music, and what kind of music ecosystem we wish to support moving forward in Europe. The mapping exercise carried out by Live DMA and Reset! Network found that large corporations’ ownership and operations are currently concentrated primarily on arenas and stadiums, with large groups such as AEG, Live Nation, and CTS Eventim holding stakes in many of Europe’s largest live music infrastructures, while small and medium-sized music venues, in contrast, largely remain independent, associative, municipal, or locally owned.
The mapping project is accompanied by a joint-statement from Live DMA and Reset! Network, sharing their insights on the research while answering one question: “Who Owns Europe’s Live Music Spaces?” The policy brief provides reflections on the market concentration identified, its implications for European cultural policy, and provides recommendations for the future of European live music, including to:
- address the policy gap between cultural and competition policy
- introduce environmental sustainability obligations, as well as cultural diversity and artistic freedom guarantees, in Merger & Acquisition regulations
- support European actors that operate in line with EU cultural values
- create a European artist charter that acknowledges the position of artists across European borders and strengthens the bargaining position of individual artists.
Image source: Reset! Network, 2026