Live Nation reports its best quarter ever

The third quarter of this year saw "record levels" of demand for concerts, according to American global entertainment company and concerts giant Live Nation.

The company’s post-pandemic momentum is still going strong as its third fiscal quarter revenue increased by a staggering 63% to $6.2 billion. Its concerts division, which generated revenues of $5.29 billion, up 67% year-on-year, was the primary driver of the record-breaking quarter.

Live Nation says it held 11,000 concerts for more than 44 million people in nearly 50 countries in Q3 this year, which was the highest quarterly attendance ever. Compared to Q3 2019, attendance at the company's stadium events increased by more than three times to 8.7 million attendees in Q3 2022. In the third quarter of 2022, 6.5 million people attended the company's festivals, which signifies an increase of over 40% when compared to the third quarter of 2019.

“These results demonstrate the ongoing and increasing demand for live events globally, with attendance up at events of all sizes from clubs to stadiums,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino’s statement announcing the quarterly results reads.

“Fans around the world continue prioritizing their spend on live events, particularly concerts. Despite varying economic headwinds including inflation, we have not seen any pullback in demand as on-sales, on-site spending, advertising and all other operating metrics continue showing strong year-on-year growth.”

Rapino also notes that the company is seeing “double-digit attendance growth across all venue types including clubs, theaters, amphitheaters, arenas, stadiums and festivals.”

Paying attention to the rest of this year and 2023, Rapino adds: “Clearly 2022 has been an incredible year of returning to live events, and we expect it to finish strong. Momentum is strong with early signs pointing to continued growth in 2023 across our businesses. Ticket sales for shows in 2023 are pacing even stronger than they were heading into 2022, up double-digits year-over-year, excluding sales from rescheduled shows.In our sponsorship business, confirmed commitments are up 30% from this time last year, showing the resiliency and long-term commitments that brands have for our business.

“Beyond these specific leading indicators, going into 2023, we expect we will drive growth in our concert business by adding more venues to our operated portfolio, continue increasing ancillary per fan revenue and further our efforts to deliver market value for the show to artists. And in ticketing, we expect to benefit from these market pricing trends, while also continuing to globally add new clients to our world-class platform.”

[Via MBW]