Live Nation first quarter results show soaring fan demand for concerts

Global entertainment giant Live Nation has advised that with a record 19.5 million patrons flocking to its events and revenues up by more than 70% during the first quarter of 2023, attending live music is outranking activities like travel, dining out and shopping.

Revealing results for its global performance covering the period from January to March, the company, which owns ticketing platform Ticketmaster, said revenue hit US$3.1 billion - up 73% year-on-year and that operating income had risen by more than 5% to US$143 million.

The trading update advised the growth in ticket sales, attendance and onsite sales show no signs of slowing with unprecedented global fan demand for concerts.

Central to Live Nation’s growth was an 89% rise in the performance of its concerts division, which generated US$2.3 billion during the quarter while ticketing accounted for US$677.7 million, which was up 41% and sponsorship advertising growing by 47% to US$170.1 million.

Advising that the business is on pace for a record 2023 overall, Live Nation Chief Executive, Michael Rapino stated “2023 is off to a tremendous start. For the first time in three years, all of our markets are fully open. The common theme we are seeing around the world is that live experiences are a high priority for fans.

“What is clear as we look at our results and operating metrics is that global demand for live events continues to reach new heights - demand has been growing for a long time and is showing no signs of letting up. Talking to fans, they say that live experiences are the number one leisure category where they expect to spend more in the future. Naturally, this is leading to record levels of activity in both our concerts and ticketing businesses.”

The trading update noted that the attendance was driven by attendances in international markets outside the USA, with audiences almost trebling in size from 4 million to 11.9 million as Live Nation welcomed back fans in countries that still had Covid restrictions last year.

The company also advised that demand has been broad - spanning venues large and small.

In ticketing, the group sold an estimated 145.8 million primary and secondary tickets during the period, which was up 30% year-on-year.

Commenting on this, Rapino added “our ticketing business benefits from the same structural tailwinds as concerts, with further growth driven by our success in adding new clients, notably in international markets. As a result, we sold 73 million fee-bearing tickets in the first quarter, up 40% and delivered US$7.7 billion in fee-bearing gross transaction value, up 60% vs first quarter 2022.

“We are seeing growth in both volume and pricing across our global markets. This holds true across all event types from concerts to sports; and from the biggest superstars to new artists.

“Our results for the first quarter demonstrate the success of our strategy and sets us up for strong growth in 2023. We expect to host a record number of fans this year, even against a 2022 comparison which benefited from rescheduled shows attended by 20 million fans.

“Ticketmaster should also deliver record activity, with around 600 million tickets managed globally this year. Our sponsorship business, even after incredible growth last year, looks to be on track for double-digit AOI growth again this year.”

Main image: Live Nation's 'Ones To Watch' series in Hong Kong. Credit: Live Nation.