IQ Magazine

1 week ago | iq-mag.net | Lisa Henderson

Primavera Sound has unveiled plans to open a massive pop-up music venue in Barcelona this autumn. The Spanish festival brand will take over the former Mercedes-Benz factory in Barcelona’s Sant Andreu district from September until 2026, when construction begins on the future eco-district. The 90,000 m² site, aptly named laMercedes, has been renovated and refurbished to host concerts, electronic music sessions and other events, according to Primavera.

1 week ago | iq-mag.net | Lisa Henderson

Indie legends The Kooks have announced a UK arena tour featuring their biggest headline show to date at The O2. The six-date outing will kick off on 3 October at Co-op Live in Manchester and culminate on 11 October at the London arena. Stop also include Cardiff Utilita Arena (4 October), Brighton Centre (5 October), Newcastle Utilita Arena (9 October) and Birmingham Utilita Arena (10 October). In the meantime, the band will head out on a stripped-back tour of UK grassroots venues next month.

1 week ago | iq-mag.net | Lisa Henderson

Music agents Zach Iser and Caroline Yim have joined UTA, where both will serve as partners and agents in the music department. The Los Angeles-based pair join UTA from WME, which they joined in 2021 as partners and co-heads of hip-hop and R&B. Prior to that, they were with CAA for three years. Both have a proven track record of working with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B, including Anderson. Paak, Doechii, Kehlani, SZA and Future.

1 week ago | iq-mag.net | Lisa Henderson

Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based music investment firm behind ABBA Voyage, has raised over €1.2 billion for its debut fund. The Stockholm-based company announced that Pophouse Fund I reached its hard cap, adding that it was “one of the largest first-time private equity funds to be raised in Europe in the last decade”.

1 week ago | iq-mag.net | James Hanley

A UK venue that once hosted legends such as The Beatles, David Bowie and Led Zeppelin is set to reopen for the first time since the pandemic. Wiltshire Council has agreed a 25-year lease with the management team behind Swindon’s 2,000-cap Music Entertainment Culture and Arts (MECA) to run the City Hall in Salisbury following a “long process” to find a new operator. The company is taking over full operation of the 1,255-cap City Hall, which will reopen later this year.