One more then! Guus Meeuwis announces a seventh ‘Groots-De Laatste’ concert. Because the demand for tickets for the other shows was already great, extra shows had already been added. With five of the six shows already sold out, another one will be added. Then you wonder what an extra show like that yields. Joep Coolen, affiliated with the Breda University of Applied Sciences, researches festivals and helps to paint a picture. “I don’t know of any other concerts that do it as big.”
The extra show is as usual in the Phillips stadium. There is room for no fewer than 35,000 visitors. Different types of tickets are available for the show, from standing to 3rd tier seats. The latter are 49.50 euros each. Assuming that all visitors buy the ‘cheapest’ ticket, this yields 1,732,500 euros. That includes service costs.
“One of the biggest cost items is personnel.”
Joep does not know what amounts are involved or how much Guus himself is left with. He does know what kind of cost items are involved. And there are quite a few. “One of the biggest cost items is the personnel. From the people who come up with the concept to the people on stage, but also those who arrange safety and mobility.”
That starts far from the stage. “Groots has always arranged a lot outside the stadium, I don’t know of any other concerts that also do that on such a large scale,” says Joep. Just think of bars, food stands, merchandise and more. “This is intended to have guests in earlier and to keep them in longer. This way you not only earn money, but you also have an overview of safety.”
“The bar turnover they make is huge.”
A lot is also arranged in the actual stadium. “Of course it is a visual spectacle. That also has to be arranged. Light and sound, the stage with catwalk, the safety fences, but also extra toilets and extra bars.” Especially the latter belongs to Groots. “The bar turnover they make is huge.”
You make most of the costs in advance, which makes this world a ‘risky industry’, according to Joep. “There is always a lot of demand with Guus, so it will be less risky for him. The concept is also difficult to compare. Friends of Amstel comes a bit close in terms of target group and music.”
“Small festivals and concerts are having a harder time.”
With all those costs, is such an extra day still worth it? “The longer you hold a location, the better you can negotiate the price. Every day that you are there is interesting.” Joep also explains that it is cheaper if the show is held for several days in a row. For example, there is more benefit from one-off costs such as building the stage: the stage is used for more shows and stays in place longer.
“You have to feel a bit when the stretch is out,” says Joep. “There is always a lot of demand at Guus.” And that is noticeable. The previous series of concerts seems to have just finished or the new series is already almost sold out. “Announcing new shows right after the previous one is very smart. People are still in the flow of the concert.”
It is therefore impossible to determine how much money Guus has left under the line. The price of a ticket has gone up because everything is more expensive. “But the Groots tickets do sell anyway. We see that a little less at festivals, for example. Small festivals and smaller concerts in particular are having a hard time. The big artists continue to attract an audience,” Joep concludes.
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For example, a packed stadium sang to Guus Meeuwis during the penultimate Groots