• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 15, 2017

Sponsorship tracker IEG and ESP Properties, part of WPP, are forecasting slower growth in the music sponsorship arena this year.

The good news is there’s still growth — and it’s not bad, either. IEG and ESP Properties project sponsorship spending on music tours, festivals and venues will rise a respectable 4.8% to $1.54 billion this year, crossing the $1.5 billion mark for the first time.

As you would expect, given that such events are basically big parties with great music, a beer company is the king of sponsorships in the sector—Anheuser-Busch InBev. Some 51% of music festivals with a sponsor in the beer category report a partnership with an A-B brand, up from 28% in 2016.

And here’s a bit of a surprise, although I guess it shouldn’t be with all that imbibing: Uber is projected to be the second-most-active sponsor of music, replacing Pepsi.  

Rounding out the top five on the most-active list? Yep, more booze with Brown Forman (Jack Daniels), Fifth Generation (Tito’s Handmade Vodka) and MillerCoors taking the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th places, respectively.

Good thing Uber showed up!

IEG/ESP also projects that growth in music sponsorships in the North America region will be 4.1% this year, a bit off the global pace.