Live Nation announces majority stake acquisition in Hong Kong’s Clockenflap

Announced earlier today, March 22, 2023, Live Nation has obtained a controlling interest in Hong Kong-based event organiser, Clockenflap.

Impacted by this acquisition are two of Clockenflap’s brands; Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival — which just made its comeback to the city’s Central Harbourfront earlier this month — and its live concert arm, Clockenflap Presents.

Ticketflap, which is the event organiser’s ticketing service, will continue to run as an independent entity and not be associated with Live Nation’s Ticketmaster platform.

The festival recently held its first-ever sold-out event, inviting over 100 names for its line-up that included US hip hop legends Wu-Tang Clan, British rock icons Arctic Monkeys and a slew of electronic artists such as HAAi, Moderat and The Illustrious Blacks.

Founded in 2008 by Jay Forster, Mike Hill and Justin Sweeting, the three-day festival have also just announced their second instalment that’s set to take place in early December.

Sweeting, who also happens to be Clockenflap’s Music Director, explains “The Live Nation team share our vision for Clockenflap being one of the best city festivals in the world, and with Live Nation's support and resources, I'm excited for the future of the festival.”

He also mentions how Clockenflap will still run an independent business and “operate independently outside of that Live Nation Touring universe.”

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Adding onto that, Hill underlines that “Ticketflap will continue to operate as it is and we have the rights under our deal to continue to ticket however we wish to, so, that’s what we’ll intend to do.”

The acquisition deal apparently had been some time in the making, but none were willing to disclose numbers.

When asked about how Live Nation’s controlling stake would affect the line-up, Sweeting reassures that Live Nation understands how “the DNA of the festival is based on how we book it and the identity we’ve created, and so that’s not going to change.”

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Another concerning issue is Live Nation’s safety records — as many as 200 deaths and 750 injuries have been linked to its events. Regarding this, Hill explains “I take crowd science as a particular interest”.

Along with Clockenflap’s Executive Producer, Matt Jones, Hill has undergone lessons in the principles and applications of crowd safety and crowd risk analysis from an expert named Professor Keith Hill.

“You’re in safe hands,” he assures when it comes to Clockenflap.

[Via: Hong Kong Free Press]

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.