LIVE NATION POSTS A RECORD SUMMER
In posting the best third quarter in its seven years of operation, Live Nation’s revenue was up 12% to $3.56 billion in the quarter that ended 9/30 and contained the lucrative summer touring season. Revenue beat estimates by $200m.
The company’s concert revenue was up 10% at constant currency to $2.9b, sponsorship and advertising rose 15% to $156.4m and ticketing hit $528.2m, a 16% spike.
Operating income for the company was $198.3m, a 4% jump over 2016.
Other key stats: Attendance is up by 9m to 65m; average show attendance is up 6%; amphitheater average ancillary revenue is up nearly 20% over the past two years; and the committed sponsorship spend is up 24% to more than $275m.
Through October, the company has sold more than 80m concert tickets in 2017, up 20% over 2016. The increase was largely due to significant growth in arena and stadium activity in North America and Europe with shows by U2, Coldplay, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and others.
In North America, they have staged 14,207 events this year—5,275 in the quarter.
In his message to shareholders, Live Nation President/CEO Michael Rapino said the company has increased the revenue generated by each show by working with artists “to better align the pricing for their best tickets with market value.” On average, there was a 9% increase in front-of-house ticket prices across amphitheater, arena and stadium shows this year, he reported.
For the first nine months of 2017, concerts have brought in $6.07b, a 19% rise over 2016 and ticketing is up 16% to $1.52b.
Ticketmaster, meanwhile, has seen a 14% growth for the nine months in global fee-bearing gross transaction value.
Rapino was bullish on its Verified Fan process, noting they have worked with 60 artists and Broadway shows such as Bruce Springsteen’s current run. “By the end of this year,” he said, “I expect we will deliver 3 million tickets to Verified Fans, saving them $100 million relative to buying on secondary sites after bots got the tickets first.”
The stock closed at $40.92, down 1.55% from the day’s opening price.
