Left: Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona. Right: Beyoncé performs onstage during the “Renaissance World Tour” at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 11 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Live Nation Entertainment has Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to thank for propelling the live concerts organizer to its strongest quarterly results to date.
The parent company of Ticketmaster, which drew the wrath of Swifties and lawmakers after botching ticket sales for the wildly successful Taylor Swift Eras Tour, on Thursday reported third-quarter 2023 revenue of $8.3 billion, up 32% from a year ago.
“Today we delivered our strongest quarter ever and are on pace for a record 2023,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement.
The ticket-industry giant said it has sold a record 140 million tickets so far this year, up 17% year-over-year and has already surpassed the 121 million tickets sold in all of 2022. It said revenue from concerts jumped 32% to $7 billion.
Ticketmaster sold 257 million fee-bearing tickets so far this year, up 22% year-over-year. In the third quarter, Ticketmaster sales surged 57% to $833 million and 90 million fee-bearing tickets were sold in the period.
To be sure, live concerts returned with a bang in 2023, with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé becoming the hottest tickets in town. But a slew of stars took to the road this year, including Pink, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, the Jonas Brothers and Bruce Springsteen.
Live Nation (LYV) is anticipating an equally robust 2024 for live concert, saying that about half of the shows booked for next year are for large venues and that trend is up double-digits from the previous year.
“We’re very confident we’re going to have big record-breaking tours on the road next year, as Bad Bunny just went up again and more to come …. So we’re very confident that both Ticketmaster, Live Nation are going to have big, strong years next year with a pipe full that will overcome this year’s numbers,” Rapino said in a call with analyst on Thursday.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that the Justice Department is investigating Live Nation for using anticompetitive practices to book venues and top talent and manage their ticket sales, citing people familiar with the matter. It reported that the probe is into whether these agreements limit venues’ ability to work with other ticket services.
The DOJ told CNN it had no comment on the matter.
Live Nation President and CFO Joe Berchtold addressed the WSJ article in the call with analysts, saying “let me emphasize that as far as we can tell, nobody thinks that the fundamentals that drive our promotions business are unlawful.”
News
“Lawyers demanded to see her book in advance”: ‘The Batman’ Star is Worried About Ex-lover Britney Spears’ Bombshell Confessions in Her Memoir
Pop star Britney Spears is controversy’s child. Following a successful career as a singing superstar who influenced a whole generation of bold young girls, Spears hit many…
“I just want to hug you right now”: Awkward Segment With Britney Spears Came Back to Haunt James Corden Thanks to His Rival Late Night Host Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel recalled James Corden’s awkward segment with Britney Spears, and humiliated him. Although The Late Late Show with James Corden came to its end, the talk show and…
Ryan Gosling Blamed Himself for Enabling Britney Spears’ Overtly S*xual Nature: “I feel somewhat responsible”
It is no secret that Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears knew each other long before their fame. As kids, Gosling along with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and…
Jessica Simpson Accepts Reality Of Always Living In Britney Spears’ Shadow Despite Being An Icon Herself
While she may be one of the biggest stars of the early 2000s, Jessica Simpson has learnt to live in the shadow of Britney Spears. Since major…
“I was comatose in Louisiana”: Britney Spears Ruthlessly Decimates Ex Justin Timberlake After Exposing Him as a Nefarious Serial Cheater
Britney Spears reportedly revealed dark tales from her life in her new book Britney Spears was a pop phenomenon back in the day, being one of the…
“Where the f—k’s the family?”: Britney Spears’ First Husband Wreaked Havoc on Her Wedding Day as He Believed The Relationship Was Fake
Britney Spears has been in the limelight since her teens by appearing in several tv shows. In addition, her terrific music career that mesmerized millions of hearts…
End of content
No more pages to load