"It doesn't shock me." Live Nation is good for the music industry

" I'm not at all shocked by the entry of large multinationals and, for those who don't know, Live Nation is to music what Microsoft is to software. And it's a sign that Portugal is strategic for the industry," Tiago Castelo Branco told Lusa.

The director of MOT also argued that the world's largest producer of live events, which in 2024 acquired Meo Arena and the national company Ritmos e Blues, looks at our country "as a destination of excellence in music festival tourism.

"We have exceptional hotel and restaurant conditions, we have great cod, great wine, we have sunshine, we are a safe country, we have infrastructures capable of hosting large events. Therefore, Live Nation does not come to the Portuguese market because we are beautiful, they come because they see the possibility of doing business", explained Tiago Castelo Branco.

"If the biggest multinational in the music world sees a business opportunity, don't we also have to see that this opportunity exists? Of course we do," he added.

On the other hand, Tiago Castelo Branco argued that if tourism represented 12.7% of the national wealth generated in 2023 (which corresponded to a direct and indirect contribution of 33.8 billion euros), "it would be interesting to carry out a study on how much our industry represents" in that percentage.

"And perhaps they would be astonished and that is what foreigners are betting on," he stressed.

A few years ago, MOT carried out a study, sent to England, on the cost incurred by an English citizen, resident in Manchester, when travelling to RFM Somnii, the electronic music festival that it organises annually on Praia do Relógio, in Figueira da Foz, on the coast of the Coimbra district.

According to Tiago Castelo Branco, the price of a trip with a low-cost airline, a transfer from Porto airport to Figueira da Foz, a four-star hotel, lunch and dinner for three days, beer at 1.5 euros or two euros "and not seven pounds" (8.2 euros at current prices), the total cost "didn't reach 100 pounds (117 euros) per day", he claimed.

"Who knows, maybe someone who goes to London or Manchester can't sleep for 100 pounds a day. Just sleep. And so, holding big events in Portugal is highly attractive, the ticket is much cheaper, it's cheaper to come to a concert in Portugal than to go to Manchester, for those who live there," he noted.

Tiago Castelo Branco also said that at Andrea Bocelli's recent concert at the Leiria municipal stadium, MOT sold tickets in 46 countries around the world.

"And why do people come to Leiria? Firstly, they are visiting Portugal and they take the opportunity to see the concert. Secondly, it is much cheaper to come to Portugal than to go to London, New York or Paris to see the same show. This is our opportunity", he stressed.

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