Blue Note Milano, 20 years of the temple of jazz (which is worth a quarter of jazz revenues)

Blue Note Milano, 20 years of the temple of jazz (which is worth a quarter of jazz revenues)


Numbers are symbols, the ancient masters of Kabbalah argued. Sometimes, then, it happens that the symbols produce important numbers: take the case of Blue Note Milano, the only European jazz club to boast the sign of the legendary New York club. With its 20 years of activity - the twentieth anniversary which falls in these days - it is a symbol for Milan and for Italian jazz in general. And it is a symbol that, data in hand, alone invoices as much as a quarter of all live jazz activity in Italy, «also thanks to a 2022 marked by a 4% increase in the audience, compared to pre-pandemic».

Turnover at 4.1 million

Speaking is Andrea De Micheli, founder and CEO of Casta Diva Group, the media company that incorporated the Blue Note in 2016. In these hours he is busy, together with the Municipality, with the celebrations of the anniversary of the venue which in these 20 years has hosted from Toots Tielemans to Chick Corea, passing through the Italians Paolo Fresu and Fabrizio Bosso, who are at home in these parts. The celebration program wants to be as important as the economy that revolves around the Blue Note Milano. The value of production in 2022 was 4.1 million for an Ebitda margin of 7%, an increase in performance compared to pre-pandemic data (3.9 million and 4%). «The performance - explains De Micheli - also includes the revenues from catering. If we focus only on ticketing, we are at 1.8 million, or 26% of the billing of jazz concerts in Italy according to Siae».

Audience up 4%

There were 63,704 payers, 4% more than in 2019, a "sign of the great post-pandemic public demand", continues De Micheli. Contrary to expectations, the most important segment of the public is represented by Millennials (45.1%), followed by Generation X (33.8%) Gen Z (10.4%) and Baby Boomers (9.9%). It is a predominantly male audience that comes mainly from Milan and Lombardy, then the rest of Italy and abroad, which above all means Switzerland. The Blue Note is a brand: it is no coincidence that the average price of the shows is around 30 euros, compared to the 15 euros of the national average price of jazz events. «Our average price», underlines the CEO of Casta Diva Group, «is close to 38 euros of the national average price of pop music shows, a sign that there is a very high value perceived by the public». It is no coincidence that 47 private parties have also been organized in the club for 2022, 27 of which are exclusive.

Venue from (at least) one show per night

In 2022 there are 232 overall opening nights, 205 first sets plus 136 second sets for a total of 341 shows, with over a thousand artists performing in front of 6,600 guests. «Compared to the Milanese scene», continues De Micheli, «we are among the very few realities that have daily programming, every evening except Monday. A risky policy, if you get the programming wrong, but when you hit the spot with public demand, it's an immense opportunity. Generally speaking, this year we can say that we got it right most of the time». The Blue Note, a company that employs 24 permanent people plus six or seven reinforcements ready to lend a hand on busy evenings, contributes just under 5 percent to Casta Diva's revenues.

What is the horizon of the club? «I would speak of two guidelines», replies De Micheli. «On the one hand, intensify the Blue Note Off activities that "bring" our content to locations other than Milan. Here we are negotiating with a famous location in the Lombardy lakes for the summer season, with an important shipping company, a mountain resort, plus a historic building in a contiguous region. On the other hand, we aim to create a network with universities that deal with communication and applied arts to have an antenna in the world of students». Objective: to rejuvenate the audience of enthusiasts. Neither more nor less than what the big American clubs do.



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