Tax, fest, and ¥$ szn

Issue #194 | March 12, 2024

Somehow the middle of March is here, which means that sunset is later, the pesky leprechaun is out creating havoc, and both tax season and festival season are right around the corner. In addition to your regularly scheduled Tuesday live event updates, we also have some tax tips from our favorite tax preparer, Miguel Williams of Williams & Associates, and some leprechaun trap ideas.

Credit: Coachella / OpenSea

Coachella NFT take 2 🎬
Coachella is taking another stab at offering NFTs after its first attempt with FTX left the 10 NFT owners and their lifetime passes SOL when FTX went bankrupt. This time, Coachella has partnered with OpenSea to offer “Coachella Keepsakes,” 3 different NFT collections with “tangible, in-your-hands, VIP experiences and merchandise.” Sam Schoonover, Innovation Lead for Coachella says, “We’re moving towards a future where Coachella isn’t just an event you attend—but an experience you can own and shape based on digital tokens in your possession.”

Live Nation and AEG refuse to work with ¥$
Both Live Nation and AEG are reportedly refusing to work with Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign on their Vultures 1 tour. It is speculated that this is largely due to Kanye’s anti-semitism, ties to Nazi and Ku Klux Klan symbolism and his overall controversial nature. Instead, the duo is looking at Jam Productions for the tour.

Adding to the controversy, Rolling Loud California, owned in part by Live Nation, booked Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign as ¥$ for opening night of the fest. The move was reportedly made without consultation with Live Nation and the fest hasn’t been able to attribute any notable sales to the announcement.

Vivid Seats announces 2023 revenue
More double-digit growth for ticketing companies this week with Vivid Seats announcing their 2023 results. The ticketing marketplace posted revenues of $712.9 million, up 19% from 2022 ($600.3 million) and a net income of $107 million, up 51% from $70.8 million. Some of the growth can be attributed to strategic acquisitions enabling them to grow their total addressable market and anticipate more double-digit growth in the future.

Singapore speaks now
Singapore’s neighbors continue to express their disappointment in the city-state’s exclusive deal to host Taylor Swift, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong remains unconcerned. He believes that others would have done the same if they had thought of it - and even assumed that Australia had struck a similar deal. The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth adds “we cannot reveal the specific size and conditions of the grant. I can assure members of the House that the economic benefits to Singapore are assessed to be significant and outweigh the size of the grant."

Mega fests enter the chat
More and more single-day “Mega Fests” are popping up - and selling out. These festivals, which can be traced back to the days of the Warped Tour, pack 50 or so performers into a single day, offering fans “more bang for their buck.” No hotel room needed. While bookers may pay more to secure the mega lineups, they seem to save on marketing and with waitlists in place, they are able to add additional dates based on demand. Examples include the newly announced No Voices, When We Were Young, Cruel New World, and Just Like Heaven.

Saudi Arabia continues music push
Alicia Keys performed at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah last weekend along with Pharrell Williams as the country continues to build up its music industry presence. This was the first performance in the country for Keys who also hosted a private event along with MDLBEAST called Women to Women, on Friday, International Women’s Day. The event highlighted how women are pushing the culture forward in Saudi Arabia and throughout the world.

Eventbrite complies with federal investigation
US lawmakers are looking into whether Eventbrite and GoFundMe assisted federal agencies in unlawfully surveilling the financial transactions of Donald Trump supporters. The committee is particularly interested in whether the companies communicated with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to track citizens’ private financial records without legal process, violating their civil liberties. Eventbrite hasn’t found such records, but vows to comply with legal requests.

Ultra wins Sustainability Award
Miami’s Ultra Music Festival has won a Sustainability Team Award at the most recent World Sustainability Awards in Amsterdam. Ultra was one of 13 fests to win out of 220 applications. Some of the ways they embraced sustainability were by eliminating nearly 90% of single-use plastics, diverting 180,000 pounds of waste from landfills, training over 1,000 team members on sustainability efforts and an external sustainability campaign that reached over 6 million people.

On The Road Again program continues
Live Nation has announced that it will continue the $1,500 gas and travel stipends for headliners and openers at its owned and operated clubs throughout the US and Canada. It also dropped all merch fees at the venues. The initiative, part of Live Nation’s On the Road Again program, first started in September of last year and was expected to last through the end of the year. However, the program is now expected to last indefinitely.

Customer Success Representative (remote, part-time) at EventHub. Pay starts at $20/hour.

AEG is hiring a Director and a Manager both for Touring, International Operations in New York, NY.

Live Nation is hiring a Project Manager, Travel for Insomniac in Calabasas, CA. Salary: $90,000 - $115,000.

Have you filed your taxes yet?

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Last Week's Results:
0% of BOH readers have used AI to sell tickets yet.

Lineups, Festival & Tour Announcements

Jonas Brothers, Zedd, Mumford & Sons will headline the NCAA March Madness Music Festival, April 5 - 7 at Hance Park in Phoenix, AZ.
Nicki Manaj, SZA & Chris Brown will join J. Cole at his Dreamville Festival, April 6 - 7 at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, NC.
RiverBeat Music Festival announced its inaugural lineup with Jelly Roll, Fugees and Killer Mike, May 3-5 at Tom Lee Park in Downtown Memphis, TN.
Madonna has added a final, free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 4 to end her “Celebration” world tour.
Sublime and Rebelution will headline the inaugural Point Break Music Festival, June 1 - 2 in Virginia Beach, VA.
Denver, CO’s Regenerate Music Festival announced John Summit and Eric Prydz as headliners for the June 7 - 8 festival at Civic Center Park.
Shambhala will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary with Disclosure, Chromeo, James Blake, July 26 - 29 at Salmo River Ranch in Salmo, BC.
Hard Summer will feature Disclosure, Major Lazer, and Rezz+Deadmau5, at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA on August 3 - 4.
Gary Clark Jr, Ben Harper, and Joe Bonamassa top the 30th Anniversary Telluride Blues and Brews festival lineup, September 13 - 15 at Telluride Town Park in Telluride, CO.
New Jersey’s Sea.Hear.Now. is topped by Bruce Springsteen and Noah Kahan in Asbury Park, September 14 - 15.
Coastal Country Jam announced headliners Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, and Jon Pardi, September 21 - 22 in Long Beach, CA.

Cancellations

Busta Rhymes cancels all 24 dates of his “Blockbusta” tour less than a week before its March 13 intended start date.
Tyla cancels her tour and pulls out of festivals including Coachella, due to an injury that has gotten worse.
After 41 years, Canada’s Just for Laughs Festival has been canceled for 2024 and organizer Groupe Juste pour rire inc. is seeking creditor protection following an asset seizure of $800,000 by a bailiff.

It’s tax season and Miguel Williams, owner of Williams & Associates, a small, unique Accounting Firm specializing in the entertainment and sports industry, has you covered with everything you need to know. Have more questions for him or want him to prepare your taxes (he does ours and is awesome!), reach out at consultation@williamsaats.com.

First up, some important dates to keep in mind:

March 15: 1065 / 1120S Deadline (Partnerships and S-Corporations Tax Return and Furnish Schedule K-1s and/or K-3s); deadline to request 6-month extension for Partnerships and S-Corporations.
April 15: Individual Tax Deadline (April 17th for Maine and Massachusetts); deadline to request 6-month extension for individuals.
September 16: File Tax Return if 6-month extension was requested for Partnerships/S-Corporations
October 15: File Tax Return if 6-month extension was requested for Individuals.
Quarterly estimated payment deadlines: April 15, June 17, September 16, January 15.

There are no big changes to filing your taxes this year. The often discussed reporting of transfers over $600 by companies like Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, Stubhub, etc. for 2023 did not go into effect, but is still potentially on the table for the 2024 tax year.

You should plan to file your taxes in your state of residency. However, if you worked in other states, you may have to pay taxes in each of those states as well. You may get a tax credit from your residency state if it is different from the state(s) you worked in. Remember, you will be liable for taxes on all of your income on a federal level (self employment tax) no matter the state.

If you were affected by any natural disaster in your area, you may qualify for a tax benefit.

Taxpayers must file Form 8962 if any family member was enrolled in Marketplace health insurance and IRS records show that Advanced Premium Tax Credit was paid to their Marketplace insurance company.

Taxpayers who eFile and choose direct deposit get their refund within 21 days as long as there aren’t any errors on their return.

Avoid penalty and interest charges by filing and paying taxes by the April 15th deadline.

Most importantly remember that YOU (not your tax preparer) are responsible for your tax return. The IRS is starting to crack down on unfiled tax returns so be mindful if you are a high earner and haven’t filed taxes in a while. The IRS was not able to go after back taxes due to budget cuts before, but now they have created a new department just for this.

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Questions or comments?

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The Back of House newsletter was created in an effort to build a centralized hub for educational content and resources that pertain to the live side of music by those who work in it. Sharing knowledge, resources and ideas with the community is at our core. Learning from each other by highlighting best practices and trends allows us to continuously provide exceptional experiences to fans globally. Back of House is here to support the industry learner and information seeker and is delivered weekly on Tuesdays.