Olivier Primeau sells Metro Metro and Fuego Fuego to Groupe CH’s Evenko subsidiary. With this 6And and this 7And biggest event in Montreal, Geoff Molson strengthens his influence on music in the city.
• Read also: Olivier Primeau leaves the pizzas
• Read also: Olivier Primeau again targeted by a Molotov cocktail
The owner of Pointe-Calumet Beachclub and Midway Group doesn’t hide his relief in an interview. “After four years of festival it’s time to move on,” he confides.
The Metro Metro boss with his guest Cardi B, during the first edition, in 2019. photo provided by Olivier Primeau
The value of the transaction, the result of a 12-month negotiation with evenko, is kept secret. “Very happy,” the 38-year-old entrepreneur describes the “two brands” he just sold as “goodwill.”
The 2023 edition of Metro Metro, in May, showed all sorts of things. The police intervened, his liquor license was threatened. The inauguration of the area created for the festival in the Olympic Park was even canceled due to danger.
The hip-hop of Jack Harlow, Lil Baby and headliner Lil Wayne – who played 15 minutes on stage, oops – still resonated at the foot of the Montreal Tower in front of 70,000 people.
The Fuego Fuego festival takes place in the shadow of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. screenshot taken from Fuego Fuego’s Instagram account
A few days later, 23,000 dancers came to step on the Fuego Fuego floor to the sound of Latin music in the Olympic Park.
The acquisition is quite challenging for Geoff Molson’s band, which already owns Osheaga, ÎleSoniq, Lasso, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Francos.
$35 million in grants to Molson
The artisans of the Quebec music scene denounce this concentration of great cultural activities in the hands of a single group.
“It’s a shame, the sector still loses a bit of independence,” notes Dominique Malo, of the Grouping of Independent Regional Artistic Festivals (REFRAIN).
Patrick Kearney, its president, does not want the giant to monopolize the lion’s share of public money, while small players like MUTEK “steal” it.
Because if Olivier Primeau ran his festivals without subsidies, “this is not the case at all with the CH group”. REFRAIN estimates that the evenko ecosystem already receives $35 million a year from the government.
The 49% presence of the foreign giant Live Nation in the capital of the CH Group since 2019 does not help at all, “since we have the impression of financing foreigners to the detriment of our own artists”.
“I’m not sure I’m happy,” sums up Patrick Kearney, who also directs the festival in Santa Teresa, near Montreal.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur will have been at the helm of the Metro Metro festival for four years now. photo provided by Olivier Primeau
A few million for Primeau
It is difficult to determine the value of Metro Metro and Fuego Fuego. Sales rumors recently estimated the value of Piknic Électronik and Igloofest, two similar-sized festivals, at $10 million.
Olivier Primeau is therefore a few million dollars richer than he is about to undertake new projects.
The hyperactive entrepreneur is busy these days with his series Vlog Day every day, which he produces and distributes himself on the Internet. Worthy of the Kardashian sisters, these videos offer a behind-the-scenes look at the influencer’s life and are viewed by hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
The head of the Midway group is calm about the decision to sell his festivals, it was his plan all along. “Evenko was the only one who could buy us,” he says.
–With the collaboration of Charles Mathieu and Olivier Larose-Desnoyers
The eyes of the head
Ticket prices for the Evenko Festival
Osheaga (3 days)
$395 to $1620
Lasso (2 days)
$240 to $910
Subway Subway (3 days)
$290 to $465
Soniq Island (2 days)
$230 to $420
Fire Fire (2 days)
$100 to $300
2024-01-17 12:00:00
#Olivier #Primeau #sells #music #festivals #Groupe