Adele’s Munich Residency and the Power of Scarcity
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A quote that could only come from an artist like Adele:
“I was too curious to not follow up and indulge in this idea, a one-off, bespoke pop-up stadium designed around whatever show I want to put on? Ohh!? Pretty much slap bang in the middle of Europe? In Munich? That’s a bit random but still fabulous!”
Adele In Munich is a true anomaly. It was a first-of-its-kind, custom-built venue for the 36-year-old singer’s ten-concert residency. In August, she welcomed over 730,000 fans into her temporary home. It’s a $130 million build that’s portable and can be used again for another artist. But is there anyone else quite like Adele?
She’s a once-in-a-generation singer and songwriter. Her albums, 21 and 25, are the two best-selling physical albums of the 2010s. There’s a significant number of people in the world whose last album they bought in a store is likely one of Adele’s.
But she doesn’t do worldwide tours anymore, has never done a stadium run, hasn’t performed in continental Europe since 2016, and will take a break from music once her Weekends With Adele residency finishes in November.
It is scarcity at its best, but not as an artificial tactic to grow demand. This isn’t a “feature, not a bug” situation. This who is Adele is. It tracks how she navigates the music business. She turns down almost every feature request, keeps her music off of streaming for years, and still doesn’t have an official TikTok account to promote her music (and likely has no plans to). It all added to the allure of her residency and its adjoining Adele World theme park-like experience.
Lucy Dickins, Adele’s agent at WME, explained why they chose Munich in a recent interview with IQ:
“…If you look at Munich, it’s slap-bang in the middle. But the main bit for me was the Oktoberfest is held here. So they have the infrastructure to get a lot of people in and a lot of people out.”
The initial pitch was a four-show residency, which expanded to eight shows, and then to ten. The expected gross revenue from Adele In Munich was well over $200 million. And there was still money left on the table, given the 2.2 million who had registered for tickets.
Promoters and officials claim that the materials will be reused, which is possible. That same location in Munich has been used for past events and has already been used for different conventions.
But who else can pull off what Adele has done? Which other artist could fit all the above criteria? Who is as “big as the Super Bowl” but has that much pent-up demand?
Taylor Swift has to be mentioned given the frenzy for the Eras Tour. Oasis’ reunion tour has some of the same scarcity elements as Adele. But even if Jay Z makes a guest appearance to do “Wonderwall” on stage with Oasis, selling 700,000+ tickets in Munich still seems high.
Eminem also came to mind. Like Adele, Eminem no longer wants to tour worldwide and hasn’t done a true stadium run with dozens of dates. And more than anyone, Eminem’s biggest songs will outlive him.
In the past week, “Lose Yourself” has been quoted by President Barack Obama and the never-short-of-words, Cleveland Browns QB Jameis Winston. But Eminem’s interest in a concert residency, let alone a custom-built stadium in Europe, might be even lower than Adele’s was.
What we will continue to see though, are unique projects in live entertainment. From pop-up venues to Sphere Entertainment’s expansion to ABBA World, the possibilities continue. The demand for superstar concerts has never been stronger.
Chartmetric Stat of the Week - Adele on TikTok
Adele may not have an official account on TikTok, but her music still tracks on the account. Songs like “Send My Love,” “Someone Like You,” and “One And Only” are all on the TikTok All-Time Chart.
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