Glasgow-based music promotion powerhouse DF Concerts has once again punched way above its weight in the world rankings for gig tickets sold and show grosses.
In year-end global charts published by international live music trade body, Pollstar, DF Concerts was #33 in the world rankings of promoters – and 4th in the UK – for concert grosses achieved – and that is excluding its festivals, the grosses from which would take DF into the top 20 globally.
In terms of tickets sold for concerts, again not including its festivals, DF ranked #24 globally and 4th in the UK.
DF’s home venue, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Glasgow’s St Vincent St, also outperformed on a global basis against many venues 10 times its size, being named as the UK’s 5th top ‘club’ venue on grosses.
DF reckon that Tut’s is the only ‘grassroots’ music venue in that top 200, as many of its concerts feature emerging local artists on low ticket prices. But that policy of hosting up-and-coming bands has helped it establish relationships with a large number of artists who then went on to headline arenas and stadiums.
Music biz luminaries whose early careers took them onstage at Tut’s include Coldplay, Gerry Cinnamon, Paolo Nutini, Calvin Harris, Amy MacDonald, Arctic Monkeys, Biffy Clyro, Florence & the Machine, The Strokes, Pulp, Blur, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Muse, Oasis, Ellie Goulding, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender, Young Fathers, The 1975, Snow Patrol, Travis, and Paloma Faith, alongside hundreds more.
On plain number of tickets sold, King Tut’s ranks #59 in the Global 100 and an incredible 3rd in the UK, just a few hundred tickets behind the 02 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, which has a capacity of 3500 compared to King Tut’s at 300.
The Pollstar rankings also featured strong showings for Glasgow’s other key live music venues, in their respective categories, for OVO Hydro, 02 Academy, the Barrowland and SWG3, all of which have DF Concerts as their biggest client for live music.
In particular, Glasgow’s Barrowland is #1 amongst the UK ‘club’ venues in terms of grosses and ticket sales in the Global 100.
Welcoming its high spot in the world rankings, DF highlighted that it promoted 46 concerts at the Glasgow OVO Hydro in 2023, resulting in total ticket sales of over 420,000, generating an estimated £42 million in economic impact to Glasgow.
This is addition to approximately £25 million of economic impact stemming from its outdoor shows.
