Olivier Primeau sells Metro Metro and Fuego Fuego to the evenko subsidiary of Groupe CH. With this 6e and this 7e major event in Montreal, Geoff Molson strengthens his influence on music in the city.
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The owner of the Pointe-Calumet Beachclub and the Midway Group does not hide his relief in an interview. “After four years of festivals, it’s time to move on,” he confides.
The boss of Metro Metro with his guest Cardi B, during the first edition, in 2019.
photo provided by Olivier Primeau
The value of the transaction, the result of a 12-month negotiation with evenko, is kept secret. “Very happy,” the 38-year-old entrepreneur describes the “two trademarks” he has just sold as “goodwill.”
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The 2023 edition of Metro Metro, in May, showed him all the colors. The police intervened, his liquor license was threatened. The inauguration of the site created for the festival at the Olympic Park was even canceled due to danger.
The hip-hop of Jack Harlow, Lil Baby and headliner Lil Wayne – who played 15 minutes on stage, oops – still resonated at the foot of the Montreal Tower in front of 70,000 people.
The Fuego Fuego festival is held in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
screenshot taken from Fuego Fuego’s Instagram account
A few days later, 23,000 dancers came to hit the Fuego Fuego floor to the sound of Latin music in the Olympic Park.
The acquisition is quite a mouthful for Geoff Molson’s band – which already owns Osheaga, ÎleSoniq, Lasso, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Francos.
$35 million in grants to Molson
Artisans of the Quebec music scene denounce this concentration of large-scale cultural activities in the hands of a single group.
“It’s a shame, the sector is still losing a little independence,” notes Dominique Malo, from the Grouping of Independent Regional Artistic Festivals (REFRAIN).
Patrick Kearney, its president, refuses to see the lion’s share of public money monopolized by the giant while small players are “snatching it”.
Because if Olivier Primeau managed his festivals without subsidies, “this is far from being the case for the CH Group”. REFRAIN calculates that the evenko ecosystem already receives $35 million per year from the government.
The 49% presence of the foreign juggernaut Live Nation in the capital of the CH Group since 2019 does not help in any way, “since we have the impression of financing foreigners to the detriment of our own artists”.
“I’m not sure I’m happy,” summarizes Patrick Kearney, who also directs the Santa Teresa festival, near Montreal.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur will have been at the helm of the Metro Metro festival for four years.
photo provided by Olivier Primeau
A few million for Primeau
It is difficult to establish the value of Metro Metro and Fuego Fuego. Rumors of sale recently placed the value of Piknic Électronik and Igloofest, two festivals of similar size, at $10 million.
Olivier Primeau is therefore a few million dollars richer than he is about to embark on new projects.
The hyperactive entrepreneur is keeping busy these days with his series Vlog Day Every Day, which he produces and distributes himself on the internet. Worthy of the Kardashian sisters, these videos offer a behind-the-scenes look at the influencer’s life and are viewed by hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
The boss of the Midway Group is calm with the decision to sell his festivals, it was his plan from the start. “Evenko was the only one who could buy us,” he says.
–With the collaboration of Charles Mathieu and Olivier Larose-Desnoyers
The eyes of the head
Evenko Festival Ticket Prices
Osheaga (3 days)
$395 to $1620
Lasso (2 days)
$240 to $910
Metro Metro (3 days)
$290 to $465
Soniq Island (2 days)
$230 to $420
Fuego Fuego (2 days)
$100 to $300