Music fans continued to splash out on live concerts in the first three months of the year.
That’s the key takeaway from the latest financial results published by concert giant Live Nation on Thursday (May 2).
Live Nation generated revenues of $3.8 billion in Q1 (the three months to the end of March), up 21% YoY.
Those revenues were generated across all divisions, including concerts, ticketing and advertising & sponsorship.
The company’s President and CEO, Michael Rapino, told investors on Thursday that Live Nation’s “Q1 results demonstrate that live events remain a priority for fans around the world”.
“Global fan demand is stronger than ever, more artists are out on the road, and more venues are being added to bring them together.”
Michael Rapino, Live Nation
He added: “Global fan demand is stronger than ever, more artists are out on the road, and more venues are being added to bring them together.
“While operating income will be impacted by one-time accruals, we’re on track to deliver another record year with double-digit AOI growth and years of momentum still to come.”
Taking a deeper dive into Live Nation’s balance sheet reveals that the company’s ‘Concerts’ business generated $2.9 billion in Q1, up 26% YoY (see below).
Live Nation’s Sponsorship & Advertising segment generated $211.3 million in Q1, up 24% YoY.
Live Nation saw fan attendance at its shows during the first quarter grow 21% YoY to 23 million.
This attendance growth was led by Live Nation’s Arena concerts, where attendance was up 40% YoY to nearly 10 million fans globally.
In North America, Live Nation’s estimated number of fans in attendance at its shows reached 10.9 million in Q1.
Live Nation said that it also saw its festival attendance grow by double-digits, driven by Latin American markets.
Year-to-date, Live Nation reports to have sold 86 million tickets for its concerts this year, which it noted on Thursday is “consistent with 2023 despite reduced stadium activity”.
Meanwhile, the company’s ticketing business, Ticketmaster, generated revenues of $723 million in Q1, up 7% YoY.
Ticketmaster was reported by Live Nation to have sold approximately 77 million fee-bearing tickets in Q1, driven by double-digit growth in International markets.
Live Nation said that Ticketmaster’s fee-bearing Gross Transaction Value reached nearly $8 billion in Q1, with growth driven by International markets.
Live Nation’s ticketing company also sold approximately 78 million non-fee-bearing tickets in Q1, bringing the division’s total number of tickets sold in the quarter to 155 million.
Live Nation posted an adjusted operating income of $367 million in Q1, which was up 15% YoY; and an operating loss of $37 million (see below).
Music Business Worldwide
