On May 28, Billboard released the Billboard Boxscore Midyear 2025 Report to break down the biggest tours, venues, and promoters from Oct. 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. Coldplay, Shakira, Seventeen, Eagles, and Paul McCartney took the top five tour slots, grossing more than $600 million with over 4.3 million attendees.
Top-grossing venues in the U.S. included Sphere, in Las Vegas (ranked first for 15,001 or more capacity, excluding stadiums); Dickies Arena in Fort Worth (ranked third in the world for 10,001-15,000 capacity); Radio City Music Hall in New York (ranked first for 5,001-10,000 capacity); Fox Theatre in Atlanta (ranked first for 2,501-5,000 capacity); and Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas (first for 2,500 or less capacity); along with Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ranking fourth in the world.
However, outside of the country’s top-grossing tours and venues, music programming has been shifting and shaping new trends of note. From immersive multibrand partnerships to philanthropy-backed VIP programs and better sustainability features at festivals to unlikely DJ pop-up venues, take a look at what BizBash has identified as booming in the ever-burgeoning music events scene for 2025...
Next Stop: Ultra successfully demonstrated what three unrelated brands could curate by joining forces in the experiential marketing space. Their common goal was to bring EDM fans together for a novel and immersive activation.Photo: Ian Witlen/@TheCameraClicks
1. Novel experiential marketing partnerships
From March 27-29, the sold-out Ultra Music Festival celebrated its milestone 25th anniversary in Miami, attracting more than 165,000 attendees from 100 countries. The festival partnered with its longtime exclusive energy drink sponsor, Red Bull, and Brightline to curate an immersive three-brand experiential activation that merged the music, beverage, and transportation spaces.On Friday, March 27, the Next Stop: Ultra invited ticketed guests aboard a full Brightline train set, which was routed from Orlando to Miami with stops in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale before reaching its final destination in Miami. “We are always seeking ways to amplify reasons to ride the train, especially as a fun way to connect to Central and South Florida’s most exciting events,” shared Brightline vice president of corporate partnerships Megan Del Prior. “Ultra, just steps from MiamiCentral [station], is a perfect event to collaborate on.”
Inside, the dedicated train car windows were blacked out with themed signage while ambient black lighting evoked a nightclub ambiance. Each car featured a different guest DJ (the lineup included DJ Berrakka, DJ Natalia Roth, DJ Jean Casas, and DJ Thunderpony spinning different genres). “Red Bull worked directly with Ultra to ensure we were aligned from a brand presence and partnership perspective,” said Del Prior.
Also aboard the train? Festival-style beauty stations.Photo: Ian Witlen/@TheCameraClicks
There were different music festival-style beauty stations that offered complimentary fairy hair extensions, face and body painting, and face gems to enhance looks, along with free-flowing cocktails, nonalcoholic beverages, and snacks. Red Bull utilized the opportunity to launch its Red Bull Spring Edition: Grapefruit & Blossom, which was available on the train and at the festival’s dedicated Red Bull bar by the main stage.
“Brightline worked with the Red Bull team every step of the way and leaned into Red Bull’s expertise curating an experience that aligned with the brand,” said Del Prior.
When asked if there’s potential for the Next Stop: Ultra partnership to extend into multiple days, beyond just one Friday route, Del Prior said, “I would never rule out extending the Next Stop: Ultra train for more days.”
2. VIP programs prioritizing social impact
In 2025, SUPER, a premier curator of exclusive music events and experiences, propelled social impact to the forefront of its partnerships. To date, the initiative has worked with artists like Metallica, Cat Stevens, and Disturbed to raise more than $2.5 million, which has gone back to causes they care about. SUPER is flipping the script on traditional VIP packages to give superfans more of everything: access, immersion, and memorable moments.More than just a backstage selfie and a keepsake lanyard, SUPER aims to design full-blown “fan fantasies” that feel like fans are stepping into the show, not just watching it. By working directly with each artist and management team, SUPER aims to ensure each experience is authentic to the artist and includes a social impact component that aligns with that artist.
“We’re seeing a major shift in what fans want from their favorite artists,” shared Danielle Knight, head of social impact for SUPER. “It’s no longer just about proximity or access, it’s about purpose and connection. Social impact-driven VIP experiences are giving fans a way to be part of something bigger, alongside the artists they admire.”
This year’s notable partnerships include collaborations with Katy Perry and her Firework Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering children from underserved communities by igniting their inner light through the arts; Annie Dirusso’s canned food drive in partnership with local food banks; and Josh Groban’s 100% proceeds giveback to his Find Your Light Foundation, which focuses on giving children access to arts education.
“More and more artists today are thinking about how they can meet where the world is at culturally, not just through the art they create, but the ways they can impact change,” explained Knight. “It’s not just about choosing a cause, it’s about building alignment between the artist’s personal story and a larger cultural or social mission. The result is a campaign or activation that resonates not only with fans but with the artist on a core level, something that supports their evolution both creatively and personally.”
The first production of its kind, Anyma’s “The End of Genesys” initial eight-show residency presented by Afterlife at Sphere in Las Vegas grossed $21 million with 137,000 attendees. The successful residency was extended by four shows, boosting total attendance to more than 200,000.Photo: Encode Talent
3. EDM leveling up with high-tech residencies
Ranking in the top 10 Billboard boxscores was Anyma’s “The End of Genesys” residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, which grossed $21 million with 137,000 attendees over the course of its eight-show run. Due to its success, four more shows were added, bumping total attendance to over 200,000. The first show of its kind to debut at Sphere, “The End of Genesys” presented by Afterlife utilized the world’s highest-resolution LED display and advanced concert-grade Sphere Immersive Sound audio powered by HOLOPLOT to deliver an unprecedented sensory-expanding, mind-bending show.Following its success, Sphere announced the second-ever EDM residency, UNITY, a nine-date residency slated from August to October in collaboration with Insomniac and Tomorrowland. The journey through music, storytelling, and technology will showcase Tomorrowland’s enchanting themes merged with Insomniac’s vibrant universes to create a multisensory dimension under one roof. The experience will be elevated by a selection of tracks celebrating the rich history of dance music, infusing electronic elements with orchestral instrumentation—all rounded out by a lineup of surprise world-renowned special guest performers to be announced in the coming months.
Outside Lands Music Festival already integrates solar power, renewable fuel, and recyclable carpeting. In 2025, the goals are to reduce waste in the beverage space, offer more plant-based food vendors, and promote more eco-friendly merchandise.Photo: Courtesy of Outside Lands Music Festival
4. Upgraded sustainability efforts at music festivals
In April, BizBash covered the impressive large-scale music festival efforts executed by Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival on Fort Lauderdale Beach set along the Atlantic Ocean. In partnership with Sunbelt Rentals, the festival brought in energy-efficient rentals and interactive exhibits inside its Conservation Village made up of 30 nonprofits, NGOs, and universities with marine biology programs and initiatives.This year, greening and conservation efforts in the music festival world are spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Coast. In August, Outside Lands Music Festival will improve its rollout of several new sustainability features that debuted in 2024, which included solar-powered artist dressing rooms and light towers; all on-site generators and heavy equipment fueled with R99 renewable diesel to reduce emissions by up to 80%; and recyclable carpet replacing single-use astroturf to keep 12,300 pounds of waste out of the landfill.
In 2025, the festival is committed to improving beverage services. Whether serving cocktails in paper cups or beer in recyclable cans, planners are opting for the best experience with the least amount of environmental impact, with efforts to promote the reuse of cups at the forefront, in addition to plenty of plant-based food options and eco-friendly merchandise items for sale.
“Music festivals are powerful platforms to inspire change,” said Morgan Fitzgibbons, director of sustainability for Outside Lands Music Festival. “As sustainability in the music industry continues to evolve, we consider ourselves pioneers in a dynamic landscape of emerging materials and systems. We are committed to staying on the forefront of innovation and action, demonstrating to our fans the importance of caring for the planet, and setting an example they can bring back to their own communities.”
5. Unlikely venues playing host to DJ pop-ups
In 2025, we’ve spotted an unlikely venue trend: DJ takeovers at delis and cafés are on the rise, from New York City to Miami to Los Angeles. From early-morning sets to after-hours ragers, fans are flocking to these pop-ups to get high-energy fixes.Imagine walking into Katz’s Deli and ordering a dubstep on rye. On March 20, Zeds Dead, in partnership with Project 91, took over the iconic lunch staple as a unique stop on their “Return to the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness” tour in support of their album of the same name, which dropped just a few days prior.
In Los Angeles, AM.Radio morning coffee shop sets have been bringing the early risers out; music curator/producer/artist Steve Cardigan brings together two of his lifelong loves, coffee and music, for monthly gatherings on weekends in collaboration with Putyouon. More than 20,000 people signed up to attend the first six events; each event features multiple DJs (like Shallou, Coco & Breezy, me n ü, Aluna, Louis The Child, and it’s murph) spinning house music, and of course, coffee, along with other nonalcoholic drink options to cater to the Gen Z-forward sober-curious crowd.
While the series debuted in fall 2024 around Los Angeles, this year, it expanded into other markets like Vail, Colo., during ski season; Austin, Texas, at SXSW; and Miami during Winter Music Conference, with no signs of slowing down. On his TikTok, where some posts about the series have brought in more than 2 million views, Cardigan’s continued claim is that “club culture died in 2024.” Whether that’s true or just a brilliant scare tactic and creative marketing strategy, one thing’s for sure: for now, his early bird coffee-fueled dance party is here to stay.
