Montreal’s musical mega-deal
Takeover shakes up entertainment scene
The mantra from Geoff Molson and Alain Simard on Tuesday was that it’s business as usual. But much as they might want to downplay it, the Montreal Canadiens’ acquisition of concert promoter L’Équipe Spectra dramatically shakes up the Montreal music scene.
All of a sudden, Groupe CH — which owns the Habs, the Bell Centre and leading promoter Evenko — steps up its game big-time, taking a dominant position in the local concert business. Evenko was already the province’s top concert promoter. In 2012, it booked 141 events at the Bell Centre, 484 events in other venues throughout Montreal, another 310 throughout the rest of the province and 68 events outside of Quebec, for a total of 2.2 million tickets sold. Evenko also runs two major Montreal music festivals, Osheaga and Heavy MTL, and operates the Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre.
Now, with the takeover of Spectra, it adds even more clout.
Spectra, a private company, owns and operates Metropolis, a 2,300-capacity live-music venue, and L’Astral, a 600-seat hall. Spectra also has a long-term contract to manage three of Quebec’s top festivals, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Groupe CH does not take ownership of the three festivals, which remain independent non-profit corporations. But it now runs five leading cultural festivals.
Spectra also owns Spectra Musique, an agency that represents numerous Québécois artists and it has its own record label.
As soon as the deal was unveiled, some were wondering if Evenko/ Spectra would monopolize the Montreal market.
“I am thinking about all the small producers who will have to fight a gigantic and unfair competitor,” communications specialist Marc Desjardins posted on Facebook.
But Molson, president of Groupe CH, and Simard, CEO of L’Équipe Spectra, stressed that ordinary concertgoers won’t see any major changes right away and insisted ticket prices won’t rise because of the deal.
Simard said the way the festivals are run won’t change. “If Evenko is able to help us bring artists that are hard to get, like Eric Clapton, then that’s good for the public,” he said.