Ticketmaster parent Live Nation’s revenue surges on red-hot concert demand
TICKETMASTER parent Live Nation Entertainment beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Thursday (Jul 27), helped by high prices of concert tickets and pent-up demand after the pandemic.
Surging demand for long-awaited tours by artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce has driven up ticket prices, with supply falling short at times despite the addition of more shows.
The company reported a 27 per cent surge in revenue to US$5.63 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of US$4.95 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The majority of its revenue, or about US$4.63 billion, came from the concerts business, which consisting of merchandise sales and production of live music events, followed by US$709.3 million from ticketing.
Live Nation’s total estimated events fell 2.4 per cent year-over-year to 12,241, but 37.1 million fans attended its shows – nearly double the 19.5 million in the previous quarter.
Total estimated tickets sold in the quarter ended Jun 30 stood at 150.1 million, compared with 145.8 million in the previous quarter.
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The red-hot demand has come with some risks though.
Ticketmaster drew the ire of US lawmakers earlier this year after it cancelled planned ticket sales to the general public for Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Era’s Tour when unprecedented ticket requests overwhelmed the website.
In July, it paused ticket sales for Swift’s tour in France blaming a third-party provider for a widely condemned glitch.
Beginning in September, Live Nation will start providing a new all-in pricing for concerts at venues and festivals that it operates across the United States, the company said in June.
The company reported profit of US$1.02 per share, while analysts were expecting 63 US cents. Its adjusted operating income stood at US$589.7 million, compared with estimates of US$532.5 million. REUTERS
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