Frontier Touring wins Billboard global award
Australia’s Frontier Touring took out the Top Independent Promoter (International category) at the prestigious 12th Billboard Touring and Conference Awards in New York.
The company was up against Evenko in Montreal, Canada, and SJM Concerts, Manchester, U.K.
A second Australian winner was Melbourne-born Hugh Evans, CEO of the Global Poverty Project and co-founder of the Global Citizen Festival. He got a standing ovation when he took to the podium to receive the Humanitarian Award for his efforts to end extreme poverty.
Sydney’s Five Seconds of Summer had also been nominated for a category.
Frontier Touring Managing Director Michael Gudinski said, “It is such an honour to be recognised as the leading Independent International Promoter by Billboard. Even more significantly we are the first ever Australasian promoter to receive this award.
“Frontier is fiercely independent and we pride ourselves on our ability to hold our own in an increasingly globalised business. In the past year we have toured some of the greatest talent in music today and I’m so proud of how our Frontier family has continued to set the bar higher and higher for concert promoting in Australia and New Zealand.”
This year alone, Frontier has toured 55 international and Australian acts. These have included the Foo Fighters, Drake, Kylie Minogue, Eagles, Rod Stewart, alt-J, Cold Chisel, The Script, Chet Faker, Giorgio Moroder, Jessie J, Johnny Marr, Die Antwoord, The Angels & Cheap Trick, The Prodigy, Charli XCX, Paolo Nutini, Yellowcard and Ben Lee.
In the July Billboard half yearly Boxscore results Frontier was listed as the #3 overall promoter behind Live Nation and AEG Live and #1 independent promoter in the world.
Throughout late November and December, it has nine tours going –Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Rise Against, Rudimental, Lucinda Williams, Thurston Moore Band, John Farnham and Bully.
In fact this Saturday, the Swift, Sheeran and Smith tours all start in different cities in all parts of Australia, leaving Gudinski with the unenviable choice of which of his clients’ shows he should be seen at. He’s opted for Swift’s when she kicks off her Australian tour with the biggest single-day show of her entire 1989 World Tour – to 72,000 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
The Sydney date even beat the highest single-day US attendances as AT & T Stadium in Arlington with 62,630 and Seattle’s CenturyLink Field with 55,771.
Among major wins at the Billboard Touring Awards held at the Roosevelt Hotel, One Direction’s On the Road Again Tour took out Top Draw and Top Tour after grossing US$208 million. Their management company Modest! went home with the Top Management trophy.
Ed Sheeran appeared via pre-recorded video to accept Breakthrough Artist (in which he triumphed over 5 Seconds of Summer and Eric Church) saying, “This is my first live award in America, which is a great honour.”
Coachella Music & Arts Festival won Top Festival, Live Nation top promoter, London’s 02 Arena top arena, Grateful Dead for top Boxscore (three shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field grossed $70.3 million after drawing 70,764 and breaking the previous record of 67, 936 set by U2 in 2009), and Creative Artists Agency for top agency.
Detroit rocker Bob Seger was made Legend of Live, lauded for his achievements which included selling 52 million albums worldwide, and hits as Night Moves, Old Time Rock’n’Roll, Against The Wind and Hollywood Nights.
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