REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL (PART ONE)

Contemporary hitmakers are selling a significant number of concert tickets. Feel free to greet that sentence with a groaned “Duh,” but it was not that long ago that concert promoters were bemoaning the lack of a new class of superstars who could sell out arenas in a flash, move up to stadiums and enjoy success on multiple continents.

This year we’re seeing Harry Styles' writing his own set of rules as a live act. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny and Morgan Wallen have all been setting records as they embark on post-pandemic tours, while The Weeknd, Chris Stapleton and Lady Gaga are among the younger stars joining the likes of Elton John, Kenny Chesney and Coldplay in headlining stadiums this year. Even Red Hot Chili Peppers are playing to bigger crowds than ever: They’ll embark on their first all-stadium tour in North America this summer, hitting 19 cities after a largely sold-out run in Europe this month.

The intersection of live and recorded music is not only thriving, it appears to be on a unique trajectory that has not been seen since the 1970s union of FM radio and the burgeoning arena-rock marketplace.

While the digital age—we’re talking the pre-streaming download era as well—has meant acts need to make the bulk of their money on the road, the truth is that an increasing number of stars in the streaming era are able to fill the amphitheaters and arenas that were the domain of heritage acts a mere five or six years ago.

And since there’s still an audience for the rock and pop acts whose hits date back two to five decades, the concert ecosystem is thriving more than it ever has, bringing in more money than ever before—even as the cost of doing business for promoters rises dramatically thanks to everything from COVID protocols to spikes in fuel prices.

Live Nation called Q1 2022 its “best first quarter ever,” with 70 million tickets sold in the first three months for 2022 shows. The concert behemoth has also predicted a record-breaking summer in the U.K., with nearly 6 million people attending shows between early June and the end of August. Concert bookings through late April were up 44% over 2019, demonstrating how crowded the marketplace has become as acts finally get back on the road at a significant scale.

Technological advances, meanwhile, have increased the use of dynamic pricing, which, generally speaking, provides a greater payday for the artist and, theoretically, smaller profits in the resale market. Tickets for Styles and Paul McCartney shows, for example, fluctuated by hundreds of dollars during their recent on-sales, which adds to the financial health of the core business.

“The industry continues to embrace market-based pricing, particularly on the best tickets, shifting $500 million to artists for shows this year, resulting from a double-digit increase in ticket pricing, and reducing the price arbitrage in the secondary market,” Live Nation CEO/President Michael Rapino told stock analysts in May. “At the same time, in the U.S., the average entry-level price to get in and enjoy the show remains under $35, approachable for almost all fans.”

Look for Part Two on Wednesday.