Bad Bunny did not include Ecuador in his tour of South America and the users of Ecuadorian social networks exploded with frustration. Beyond the particular musical tastes, impotence is also replicated among fans of other genres, who see how their idols pass and reach other neighboring countries.
In recent days, System of a Down appeared in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina …, Less in Ecuador. AND Lady Gaga congregated more than 2.1 million fans in Rio de Janeiro, In a free concert.
On February 21, 2024, the then Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, launched with great enthusiasm a news, which infected the whole country: “We will eliminate excessive taxes to festivals and concerts for Put Ecuador on the route of all world tours! ”
And he added: “The reality is that The largest shows in the world always skip our country And this has to change. The high taxes charged to the organizers of mass events like all these shows They must be eliminated. I think that Finally the tours that we have expected so much will arrive nowthat is Taylor (Swift). ”
On March 31, 2024, the Tourism Promotion Law was approved. A year later, the billboards of the great world tours continue to ignore Ecuador. What are the reasons?
Emilio Mejíatechnical producer of events for several promoters, explains the barriers that still exist so that Ecuador can connect with the large concert circuit.
Why does Ecuador remain erased from the great shows?
The biggest problem to receive important tours worldwide is the capacity of enclosures. The business model that great artists handle in their great tours is called “90/10”, for everyone. That is, 90% of the income goes to the artist and 10% is divided between the local promoter, the company that reserves them, etc.
Therefore, artists choose the biggest stadiums, because we must remember that for them it is still a business. In the case of Ecuador, the Atahualpa stages, in Quito, or Model, in Guayaquil, have limitation, of 30,000 and 29,000 people, respectively. Then, the artists are going to prefer an Atanasio Girardot stadium, in Medellín, for 42,000 people, or a Lima National for 60,000 people, because the business is more lucrative.
There lies the greatest amount of our problems not to be able to receive artists who are in their “prime.” Despite that, we have managed to do it, at the time Bad Bunny himself, Daddy Yankee, Luis Miguel, Maná, who handle this same business scheme.
From that point of view, Ecuador is not so lucrative, versus neighboring countries. There are not many laps to give. The artist looks for a business and that will result in where the greatest number of people can put. And where the stadiums, in addition, lend the facilities to make the great assemblies.
But Liga and Barcelona stadiums have greater capacity.
The League stadium has a problem because of the suites. And an agreement with the owners has never been reached. It is a horizontal property and they cannot be forbidden to enter a show. Many of the concerts are based on the sale of the most expensive tickets.
Then, if the owner of a suite, with capacity for nine seats, enters his guests, are entries that are not sold. It is very complicated that this stadium can be taken into account.
In the case of the Barcelona stadium something the same happens. In a Maluma concert, for example, very few entrances from the most expensive town were sold and all the suites were full.
And an esplanade like the Bicentennial Park? There concerts such as Metallica have already been performed.
For a free concert, or as a metal style, yes, it could be an option Bicentennial Park. However, 90% of the artists who are currently touring that they are stadiums because their shows are designed for these spaces, with stands. Having standing public limits the vision of people who are behind.
From the financial, it would be possible to bring a show like Coldplay, for example, which already announces an upcoming tour of the region?
What happens is that a “fee” is not paid to the artist, but insurance. An artist like Coldplay must have an insurance between USD 4 and 5 million. This means that, if the promoter does not fill the show, he is obliged to pay the artist insurance. But if the promoter fills the show, 90% goes to the artist.
Assuming Ecuador had a stadium to house these shows, is there the business muscle to organize it?
It is good business, yes. Because anyway, 10% of a USD 4 or 5 million box office is attractive. It is business because bringing a world -class artist opens doors for others to come. And yes, it is business, because the agreements are signed with large “booking” companies (reserve) that manage many artists who are fashionable and be in the environment is good for promoters.
Did something help the law to promote tourism?
Yes, something helped, no doubt. Reduced the value to pay for income tax on the artist’s contract. Of course, this is ambiguous, because who should pay it is the artist, but almost all contracts are signed with the tax free value. That is why who ends up paying is the promoter.
The reduction of 10% of the tax helped, yes, but there are other issues that remain a problem, such as the processing. It is complicated, without a unique window and having to make a series of documents for each show. That should be changed and greater facilities.
And, I repeat, it is necessary to have a scenario that also has comfort, with decent baths, with good bars, with parking facilities, etc. If that will have that, our industry will really grow. Meanwhile, for more efforts made with tax reduction, bringing high -level artists will be very complicated.
