Niklas Mayr / Assim Live.
What remains after the show.
Assim Live’s Niklas Mayr on welcoming artists, unexpected stages and turning a concert into a lasting connection.
In conversation with Niklas Mayr
A warm welcome, a clear route for loading in, a room willing to give new music a chance: for Niklas Mayr, a good concert begins long before the first note. At Assim Live he works with acts including MYNTH and Hearts Hearts; as a live drummer, he knows the other side of the stage just as well. We talk about why a circus tent can be the right venue, how trust develops over years and why a large audience alone does not guarantee lasting success.
Niklas Mayr works in booking, show preparation and concert production at Assim Live. Originally from Salzburg, he began by booking tours for his own bands and continues to work as a live drummer, including with Please Madame. This interview was conducted by email in October 2026.
Both sides of the stage
You booked your first tours yourself and still tour as a live drummer. Is there something you experienced as a musician that makes you approach booking or show preparation differently today?
I think the most important thing is knowing both perspectives. That doesn’t just help you understand the practical or technical requirements; it also means always asking yourself: ‘What would I want, and how would I want it done?’ Often it’s just a few small things, but they can quickly make a difference. It also helps that I’m on the road so much myself and already know most of the venues, their potential pitfalls and the people involved. It’s almost like doing a little field research at the same time.
Let the room surprise you
With MYNTH and Hearts Hearts, you work with two acts that combine electronic music and band performance in different ways. How do you work out which setting really suits an act? Is there a show that made this particularly clear?
With both of those acts, that combination is definitely exciting. Ultimately, though, it simply makes them versatile: they can work almost anywhere. Whether a setting suits them, or perhaps doesn’t at that particular moment, also depends on the current album phase and the vision behind it, especially with MYNTH. Over the past few years we’ve done everything from small, intimate stripped-down shows in an old circus tent to an electronic set at a festival that’s otherwise more DJ-focused — HOLY HYDRA, highly recommended — in a dramatically lit church, through to large ensemble shows at Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Of course there have always been ‘normal’ club shows too, but MYNTH tend to come to me with ideas, and then we see what could be good. Catastrophe & Cure at KASINO/Burgtheater earlier this year, a space normally used only for theatre, was also a great match.
Over the years, most of our acts’ concerts have taken place in conventional concert venues. But sometimes breaking with that, or bringing different worlds together, can be refreshing and exciting for the audience.
It’s not about quantity; it’s always about quality.
Trust takes years
When an Austrian band plays a city for the first time and hardly anyone knows them yet, what do you focus on to make it more than a single evening? Has a meeting with a promoter or another band opened something up for one of your acts?
That’s a bigger subject, and honestly it isn’t getting any easier to establish bands sustainably. For me, the most important thing is being able to draw on existing networks that trust me — and knowing, in return, that they’ll do everything they can to make the shows as successful as possible. Established promoters and venues that receive funding can help even more, because they often already have a regular audience, or may have cultivated an openness to ‘new music’ over the years. Existing event series can also be helpful when starting out; that’s been a tried-and-tested approach for years.
I think picking out one particular encounter would distort the reality. A lot simply comes from years of maintaining contacts and putting in the work. Some things eventually happen, and many things — we have to be honest about that — never do.
Like visiting friends
You also handle the practical preparation and production of shows. What small decision beforehand can make a big difference on stage — something the audience might never notice, but the musicians immediately do?
It always depends on the scale of the production. But what musicians and crew immediately notice is the hospitality and the welcome they receive. That extends from the greeting to the food and accommodation. It’s not about quantity; it’s always about quality. Whichever side you’re on, I see the relationship between organisers and artists as being like visiting friends: you appreciate a warm welcome, someone offering you something to eat or drink, and a comfortable place to sit. That’s really all it takes to make someone happy and help them feel more at ease in a new, unfamiliar environment.
Another important subject I always ask about as precisely as possible beforehand is parking, the approach to the venue and the load-in route. There’s nothing more unpleasant than arriving after several hours in a car, with a group that’s already getting restless, and not knowing exactly where you need to go.
Beyond ticket sales
After a tour, how do you recognise that an act has taken a meaningful step forward? Is there an example where the most important progress wasn’t reflected in ticket sales alone?
Of course ticket sales are always an important indicator and an economic necessity, but concerts and tours are often successful in other ways too. It always depends on the act, but I also want to know what happens afterwards: what impact does a particular concert or slot have beyond the night itself? A large audience doesn’t automatically mean a greater return. Merch sales, the attention and atmosphere in the room, or follower numbers can sometimes tell you even more. Ultimately it’s about winning ‘real’ fans for yourself and your music. Some shows, including showcase festivals, may primarily be important for visibility and can perhaps open other doors that way. Filiah is certainly a good example at the moment: a lot has happened over the past year and a half with Eurosonic, Reeperbahn Festival, Wide Days in Scotland, the XA-Award, the NASOM support programme and so on.
Niklas Mayr / Assim Live
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. © Matthias Heschl · SCENE:ID Farbgestaltung · © Arne Müseler · SCENE:ID Farbgestaltung · © Lukas Maier · SCENE:ID Farbgestaltung