CTS Eventim chief Klaus-Peter Schulenberg has hailed the company’s international acquisition strategy after confirming record earnings for 2024.

The German-headquartered ticketing and live entertainment giant reported consolidated revenue of €2.809 billion for the year – up 19.1% – alongside adjusted EBITDA of €542.2 million, a 21.9% increase.

Its ticketing segment jumped 22.7% to €879.9m, with adjusted EBITDA ascending 21.1% to €416.5m, boosted by the additions of See Tickets and France Billet, plus Chile’s Punto Ticket and Peru’s Teleticket, to its portfolio over the 12-month period.

“Besides the consolidation of revenue and earnings, these acquisitions will give rise to further positive synergies in future,” says the firm, whose live entertainment strand posted revenue of €1.971bn (+17.6%) in 2024, with adjusted EBITDA of €125.6m (+24.4%).

CTS attributes the success of the division to “the strong local content of national and international promoters”, as well as the “successful operation of several iconic European venues”.

Hit productions included Eventim Live’s Elf The Musical, Formula 1 and Harry Potter touring exhibitions and David Gilmour’s tour of Italy and the US.

“Rising demand, organic growth, ongoing synergies and a successful international acquisition policy are the pillars of our robust growth”

“Rising demand, organic growth, ongoing synergies and a successful international acquisition policy are the pillars of our robust growth,” says Schulenberg. “We have ensured that – in addition to our technologies – our processes and business models are becoming great exports. They are the basis on which we will integrate future acquisitions even more quickly, realise synergies even sooner and enhance our success and attractiveness as a partner for international acquisitions and equity investments.”

CTS’ Arena Milano project in Italy is due to be completed at the end of this year, and the firm was also awarded the contract to build and operate a planned new multipurpose arena in Vienna, Austria, last November.

“Against a backdrop of stable macroeconomic conditions, CTS Eventim is anticipating a moderate rise in both total revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2025,” concludes the company.

In view of the results, the CTS board is planning a to distribute a record €159.3m in dividends – €1.66 per share to shareholders.

CTS’ share price was flat at just over €100 at press time, giving the firm a market cap of €9.63bn.

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Sphere Entertainment executive chairman and CEO James Dolan has revealed the company is developing a smaller version of its iconic Sphere venue to potentially roll out to other markets.

It was confirmed last autumn that the world’s second Sphere will be built in Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and is expected to be similar in scale to the 20,000-cap Las Vegas original.

But speaking during the company’s fiscal Q2 2025 earnings call, Dolan teased that future expansion could also involve 5,000-cap mini-Spheres.

“As far as expansion goes beyond Abu Dhabi, we’re currently working on the architecture for a smaller Sphere, which we think will be deployable to more markets somewhere in the 5,000-seat range,” said Dolan. “We’re looking to take advantage of the content we’ve created already and the business we’ve created already and bringing it out to other markets. I anticipate by year-end, we’ll have more to say about that. But right now, we’re in the planning and design phase.”

Dolan said he did not expect the Abu Dhabi venue to be a “carbon copy” of the $2.3 billion Vegas Sphere, which opened in September 2023, in terms of programming.

“We believe we are on a path toward realising our vision for this next-generation medium and generating long-term shareholder value”

“I do not think that Abu Dhabi will be a carbon copy of Las Vegas when it comes to things like residencies, etc,” he said. “I definitely believe there will be residences in Abu Dhabi, but I think that the content has to be customised to the marketplace. And the marketplace in Abu Dhabi is probably going to be different than the marketplace in Las Vegas, so I think that there will be some differences. I think bottom line, it’s going to be just as robust of a product and Abu Dhabi as it is in Vegas, but probably with a different mix of content.”

Sphere Entertainment reported revenues of $308.3 million (€293m) for the three-month period ending 31 December 2024 – a dip of $5.9m (€5.6m) as compared to the prior year quarter. The firm reported an operating loss of $142.9m for a year-on-year improvement of $16.7m. Adjusted operating income was down $18.6m y-o-y to $32.9m.

For the last six months of 2024, the company reported $536.2m in revenue, an increase of $104m compared to the prior year period. It also posted an operating loss of $260.6m, an increase of $31.1m. AOI for the period was $22.7m, an increase of $29.1m compared to the prior-year period.

“As we enter a new fiscal year, we see significant opportunities to drive our Sphere business forward in Las Vegas and beyond,” said Dolan. “We believe we are on a path toward realising our vision for this next-generation medium and generating long-term shareholder value.”

The venue’s first electronic music act, Afterlife presents Anyma The End Of Genesys, completed a 12-show run between December and the beginning of March, while the Eagles are in the midst of a 32-show residency. Dead & Company, Kenny Chesney and the Backstreet Boys have all announced residencies at Sphere for later this year.

“The biggest opportunities are in the operating efficiencies and how well we exploit the marketplace”

With regards to revenue growth opportunities moving forward, Dolan offered both a short-term and long-term forecast.

“Short-term meaning this year, I think that the biggest opportunities are in the operating efficiencies and how well we exploit the marketplace,” he said. “Longer-term, it’s an interesting competition but if I had to pick one, I would probably say that the expansion of more Spheres is probably [the] one I think will deliver the most. Essentially, it’s a bit of a franchise model, right? And what we make to play in Las Vegas will play everywhere else and so therefore you get to spread the capital costs out across a greater base.

“As far as the overall business equation goes, I think that’s probably best opportunity. But there are plenty of other opportunities that are there and probably some we don’t know yet.”

Dolan also played down the prospect of the venue agreeing a naming rights partnership.

“I don’t really think, to be honest, that you’re going to ever see a name in front of the Sphere,” he said. “I don’t think that you’ll ever see a name in front of it, just like there’s no name in front of Madison Square Garden. The value of the brand equity is too high to sacrifice that to a naming opportunity.”

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Live Nation has reported record revenue and profitability from concerts in 2024 as Michael Rapino hailed “live music’s biggest year yet”.

LN, whose stock price hit a new all-time high of $155.10 earlier this week, posted $23.16 billion in overall revenue for 2024 – up 2% on the previous 12 months. Operating income was $825 million, with AOI of $2.15bn.

Concert attendance rose 4% to 151 million fans, while current ticket sales for 2025 of 65 million tickets for Live Nation concerts are up double-digits year-on-year. Ticketmaster revenue of $3bn represented a 1% increase on 2023.

“2024 was live music’s biggest year yet, as artists toured the world and fans turned out in record numbers,” said Rapino, the firm’s president and CEO. “2025 is shaping up to be even bigger thanks to a deep global concert pipeline, with more stadium shows on the books than ever before.”

The company plans to add 20 large venues globally through 2026, including stadium projects in Bogotá, Colombia and Toronto, Canada.

“To help artists perform to fans everywhere, we remain focused on building new music-centric venues, which make more live music memories possible and help drive our double-digit operating income and AOI growth in 2025, and compound at this level for years to come,” added Rapino. “At the same time, we’re investing back into the industry for those who create the music, as our investments in artists have more than doubled in the last five years, and we will continue to find new ways to support them while enhancing the fan experience.”

“[The] question is, over the course of this year, is there a path towards a resolution with the DOJ that doesn’t lead to the trial?”

Rapino and president/CFO Joe Berchtold fielded questions from investors on subjects such as ticket prices, partnerships with streaming platforms and the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit during the company’s earnings call.

On the latter, Berchtold said there was “nothing really substantively new” to report since the recent administration change.

“The trial process continues to move apace as it has, targeting early next year for a trial date,” said Berchtold. “So [the] question is, over the course of this year, is there a path towards a resolution with the DOJ that doesn’t lead to the trial? We’ve said in the last administration, there was really no interest in any discussion on settlement.

“We’re hoping that this DOJ returns to a more traditional approach… but we haven’t had any discussions yet. The person that you would discuss it with has not been approved yet, not been appointed. So until that happens, there’s nothing we can do. And we’ll see how that plays out in the coming months.”

With ticket prices for major shows attracting headlines in recent weeks, Rapino suggested artists were becoming more adept at combatting the excesses of the secondary market, adding that the current level of sales for stadium gigs indicated the price of entry was set “at almost perfection”.

“We think these artists on their stadium pricing are priced at almost perfection”

“I think you’re seeing, with artists in general, every cycle is a little more educated on, ‘What’s the best way to price my ticket, how do I keep it accessible to my fans, but make sure scalpers don’t run away with the front of the house?’ So we love seeing these stadiums sitting somewhere around 95% sold out right now,” he said. “The ‘instantly sold out at 10am’, means we’ve transferred a lot of wealth to the scalpers.

“If you see any of those tickets, any tickets you’re talking about are going to be the high-end tickets sitting on the market. Those will flush out between now and show date. So, we think these artists on their stadium pricing are priced at almost perfection.”

He continued: “They’re helping consumers get to more shows at a good price, but also making sure that that’s priced closer to market, which means you’ll have a few high-end tickets sit around the rim until we get closer to show date. So, that’s the perfect on-sale and land the plane on show date model.

“Any inventory you see, we could sell that out in a minute if we drop the price, right? So, [it’s about] finding that right combination where you’re making sure demand and supply kind of march along on the way to the show date versus the 10am buyer sale.”

Despite the volume of huge tours currently on sale – with the stadium show pipeline up 60% year-on-year – Rapino said there had been “no slowdown at all” in demand.

“We are seeing continued strong demand,” he said. “We’re seeing consumers buying up those stadium dates faster than ever, up year-over-year or any comparable base, so no slowdown at all. Lots of inventory, but equally great demand selling most of these stadiums out or close to being sold out by the time we get to the show dates.”

“Spotify and Apple and Amazon, they’ve approached us all. We’ve talked to them all, about ideas on if they wanted inventory”

He added: “Overall, our festival business globally is stronger than ever. Our club and theatre business is stronger than ever. And obviously our stadium business is on fire. So whether it’s geographical, whether it’s venue type or whether it’s festival, we’re still seeing strong, strong consumer [activity] across the board in terms of buying tickets for the ’25 season.”

Amid reports that Spotify was considering adding access to presale tickets as a tenet of its rumoured Music Pro new subscription tier, Rapino confirmed LN had been in talks with the streaming giant, as well as Apple and Amazon, over potential link-ups.

“They’ve approached us all,” he said. “We’ve talked to them all about ideas if they wanted inventory. There’s a cost to that and we would entertain and look at that option if it made sense for us in comparison to other options we have for that presale, which is a very valuable asset.

“We do deals for the artists, but ultimately the artist has control of it and that artist’s job is to maximise the revenue from it. They’re not giving that away to anyone for free. So whether we partnered with them and found sponsors, or we paid for it, it’s valuable.

“It’s always the easy go-to, ‘Let’s give them presale access.’ The hard part about presale is just scaling it. Everybody wants Beyoncé presale and that’s hard to scale. So we’ve been working with all three of them, trying to find a model that may work for us and them and I assume that they’re talking to others also.”

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CTS Eventim’s share price has sailed past €105 for the first time after the German-headquartered company posted record revenue and earnings for Q4 2024.

CTS stock had peaked at €105.90 at press time, having risen 5% since the markets opened this morning.

Shares in the pan-European entertainment and ticketing giant have soared almost 30% in six months and 16% just in the last month alone, giving the firm a market cap in excess of €10 billion.

According to its preliminary results, consolidated revenue rose by 19,1% year-on-year from €2.359bn to €2.809bn, driven by double-digit growth in both the ticketing and live entertainment segments. The Group’s adjusted EBITDA was up 21.9% to €542.2 million, compared with €444.8m for the previous 12-month period.

Ticketing revenue increased by 22.7% to €879.9m in 2024, while live entertainment revenue climbed by 17.6% to €1.971bn. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €416.5m (+21.1%) and €125.6 million (+24.4%), respectively.

The company’s full 2024 annual report will be published on 27 March

The company’s full annual report for 2024 will be published on 27 March.

The firm completed its acquisition of Vivendi’s festival and international ticketing businesses, including See Tickets, in a €300m deal last year, while its Peter Rieger Konzertagentur (PRK) and DreamHaus subsidiaries merged last autumn to form a combined company, PRK DreamHaus.

It was also awarded the contract to build and operate a planned new multipurpose arena in Vienna, Austria and is on track to complete work on its Italian venture, Arena Milano, later this year.

CTS’ highlights for 2025 also include the anniversary editions of Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.

“CTS Eventim is continuing to deliver stable growth in an increasingly volatile political and economic environment,” said CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg during its previous earnings report. “The strategy of boosting rapid expansion and making the portfolio more financially resilient has proved to be key to our Group’s long-term performance.”

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DEAG Group CEO Detlef Kornett has hailed 2024 as an “important year of transformation” for the company in the wake of its Q3 results.

For the first nine months of 2024, the Berlin-headquartered live entertainment business reported record revenue of €252.8m – up 19% year-on-year – while third quarter takings of €120.1m represented a 33% increase on the equivalent period in 2023. It continues to project a year-on-year increase in revenue for the full year.

However, EBITDA of €5.3m was down from €13.8m in the same period of the previous year, with the firm citing numerous investments and “one-off burdens on profitability”. DEAG made three acquisitions during the period and expanded into Italy last month with the addition of Milan-based rock promoter MC² Live.

“2024 is an important year of transformation for DEAG,” says Kornett. “We have initiated and already implemented several investment programmes and continued our Buy & Build strategy despite a challenging environment for the entire industry. We made a clear commitment to these extensive investments and therefore also accepted a decline in EBITDA.”

DEAG staged more than 6,000 events from January to September, including concerts and tours by AC/DC, Andreas Gabalier, UB40, Simply Red, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Toto. It has sold around 8.5 million tickets for current and upcoming events  – up 35% on the previous year.

“Thanks to our strong financial structure, a diverse and high-calibre event portfolio and strong ticket sales, we are already bullish about 2025”

It also organised German festivals such as Mayday, Indian Spirit, Nature One and Airbeat One, in addition to other events across Europe.

DEAG notes the reporting period was characterised by “significantly higher production costs”, which “could not be fully offset by the rise in ticket prices”, while inclement weather prevented a number of events from going ahead.

It added that competition from major sports events such as the European Football Championships and Summer Olympics had “a noticeable negative impact”.

Looking forward, DEAG is promoting shows with the likes of Slipknot, The Cult, Marilyn Manson and Tream. Its 2025 schedule also includes Stereophonics, Andrea Bocelli and Iron Maiden, Till Lindemann and Böhse Onkelz, among others.

“We are investing heavily to sustainably drive our company’s development and offer our visitors even more unforgettable live experiences, both digitally and on site,” adds Kornett. “Thanks to our strong financial structure, a diverse and high-calibre event portfolio and strong ticket sales, we are already bullish about 2025.”

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CTS Eventim reported revenues in excess of €2 billion for the first nine months of 2024, but its stock took a tumble amid mixed Q3 results.

The German-headquartered live entertainment and ticketing firm generated €2.027bn (up 16% year-on-year) and adjusted EBITDA of €322.7m (+12.1%) – both record highs for the first three quarters of the year.

In Q3, group takings increased 13.1% y-o-y to €825m, with its ticketing segment up 18.3% to €206.6m and live entertainment rising 11.4% to €628.4m. Top-selling shows included Ed Sheeran, Iron Maiden, Gilberto Gil and Vasco Rossi.

However, adjusted EBITDA for the group was down 8% to €120.6m in the quarter, compared with the same period in 2023. Ticketing grew 2.1% to €84.1m by the same measure, but live entertainment fell 25% to €35.6m.

“While CTS reported good top-line growth, profitability in the third quarter was disappointing, particularly in live entertainment,” analyst Oliver Wojahn, of mwb research told Reuters.

For the full nine-month period, its live entertainment division advanced 13.6% to €1.494bn. But adjusted EBITDA dipped 3% to €82.1m. CTS cited factors including “persistently high cost pressures for promoters”, as well as “integration expenses” related to its See Tickets deal, for the decline. The ticketing segment climbed by 22.9% year-on-year to €564.6m “primarily attributable to a diverse content portfolio”, while adjusted EBITDA rose by 18.4% to €240.7m.

“CTS Eventim is continuing to deliver stable growth in an increasingly volatile political and economic environment”

The pan-European giant saw its share price – which topped €100 for the first time last month – slide as much as 14% today (21 November) after opening at €85, before rallying to €82.35 (8% down) at press time.

Nevertheless, the stock is up 32% for the year to-date, and the company says it remains on a “stable growth trajectory” despite “increasingly challenging” economic conditions, describing upward pressure on costs as “still stubbornly high”.

“CTS Eventim is continuing to deliver stable growth in an increasingly volatile political and economic environment,” says CTS CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. “The strategy of boosting rapid expansion and making the portfolio more financially resilient has proved to be key to our Group’s long-term performance.

“In the third quarter, factors such as the acquisition of See Tickets, the merger of two strong event companies and the performance of both our Eventim Group and our venue activities enabled us to lay strong foundations for our Group’s long-term success.”

In addition, CTS notes that presales for the 2025 anniversary editions of Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park have “made an exceptionally strong start”, and says the expansion of the Eventim Live Group in Asia is “continuing to progress”.

Furthermore, it adds the recent merger of Peter Rieger Konzertagentur with DreamHaus “will create substantial synergies” and also references its arena projects in Milan and Vienna.

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Revenue and losses both increased at Sphere Entertainment in the company’s latest financial report, as boss James Dolan gave an update on ambitions for a “global network of venues”.

It was confirmed last month that the world’s second Sphere will be built in Abu Dhabi under a franchise model.

In partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, the next-generation venue is expected to be similar in scale to the 20,000-cap Las Vegas original and will be located in a “prime spot” in the UAE capital. No timescale has been given for the project.

“The vision for Sphere has always included a global network of venues, and our recently announced plans for a second Sphere in Abu Dhabi mark a significant milestone toward that goal,” says Dolan, Sphere Entertainment’s executive chairman and CEO. “We are confident in the opportunities ahead for Sphere and believe we are well-positioned to drive long-term shareholder value.”

While declining to give details on other potential Sphere destinations, Dolan told shareholders during the fiscal Q1 2025 earnings call that the firm was still “pushing the envelope”.

“We’re certainly interested in future Sphere announcements and expanding into other marketplaces,” he added. “We definitely want to build in multiple places. We’ve built an organisation that can handle the construction of multiple Spheres at the same time. And so yes, we’re still moving.”

“We have some great bands that are coming in over the next year and so I think we will continue to capture their concerts”

Sphere Entertainment reported revenues of $227.9 million for the quarter, up $109.9m on the same period 12 months ago. In addition, it posted an operating loss of $117.6m (an increase of $47.8m) and an adjusted operating loss of $10.2m (an improvement of $47.7m), compared to the prior year quarter.

In September, Sphere hosted its first live sports event – UFC 306 – which became the highest single grossing event at the venue so far, with box office takings of $22m.

That same month, it also debuted exclusive “cinematic experience” V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas, based around U2’s groundbreaking show at the venue. Dolan suggested the concept could be repeated with other Sphere performers in the future.

“We shot it, we put it together, and yes, I think it’s a viable product,” said Dolan. “It really is an amazing product when you see it. You feel like you’re at the concert.

“We have some great bands that are coming in over the next year and so I think we will continue to capture their concerts. I wish we could go back to 1965 and capture The Beatles. I’m pretty sure you’d all love to see a live Beatles concert like you are really there, so that’s one we probably can’t do. But we do have some and creating a library of these kind of performances, I think is very valuable… You’re not going to be able to see Bono 20 years from now live, except this way.”

“The formula, which is really the basis for how we designed Sphere, was to be busy 365 days a year with multiple shows”

The Las Vegas Sphere has so far hosted residencies by U2, Phish, Dead & Company and the Eagles’ 28-show residency, which has been extended multiple times due to demand, plus the Darren Aronofsky-directed immersive production Postcard from Earth. Anyma is set to become the first electronic act to perform with stints from 27 December to 1 January and 10 & 11 January.

Dolan stated his belief that being able to host multiple event types on the same day would be a significant revenue driver for the venue.

“If it’s an Eagles show that’s on Saturday and starts at 8pm, we have a show in the afternoon: Postcards from Earth or V-U2 or the other properties that we’re developing,” he explained. “That’s a pretty good use of the capital. It’s going to generate a lot of revenue.

“The formula, which is really the basis for how we designed Sphere, was to be busy 365 days a year with multiple shows. What we wanted to do when we started this thing was to change the venue model.

“We don’t have any problem with acts wanting to play the Sphere. It’s just getting them in and then making sure that we can do these side by side. It’s really important to us.”

Stock in Sphere Entertainment was up 3% to $42.25 today (13 November), giving it a market cap of $1.51 billion.

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Live Nation has said it is “hopeful” the imminent administration change in the US will have a positive impact on its antitrust battle with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ has accused the promoter and Ticketmaster, who merged in 2010, of using their “power and influence” to “insert themselves at the centre and the edges of virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem” in the suit, filed in New York in May.

The defendants vigorously contest the claims, with the case set to go to trial in 2026.

Speaking during Live Nation’s Q3 2024 earnings call yesterday (11 November), the company’s president and CFO Joe Berchtold responded to a shareholder query regarding American president-elect Donald Trump‘s approach to “antitrust and the associated remedies”.

“It’s still very early in the transition process, so we’re hesitant to say too much, but absolutely, we are hopeful that we’ll see a return to the more traditional antitrust approach where the agencies have generally tried to find ways to solve problems they see with targeted remedies that minimise government intervention in the marketplace,” said Berchtold. “And without getting into the specifics, at least some parts of the case, we think believe reflect a much more interventionist philosophy today than you’d expect of a Republican administration.

“Obviously, the request to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster would be an example of that highly interventionist approach. So, we’ll obviously be ready to engage as soon as they are. They need to get through the appointments and get things settled on their end, but we’d certainly be hopeful that we could start engaging with them early in next year.”

“We wrapped up our most active summer concert season ever, our show pipeline has never been bigger, and brand sponsorships are accelerating”

Berchtold’s comments marked the firm’s first public statement on the matter since Trump’s stunning re-election last week.

Live Nation’s share price has continued to soar in the wake of its Q3 financial results, reaching a new all-time high of $130.76 in after hours trading. It stood at $129.40 at press time, giving the firm a $29.6 billion market cap.

The company posted a record adjusted operating income (AOI) for the period, up 4% from $871.2m to $909.8m, despite revenue being down 6% for the quarter, year-on-year, from $8.1bn to $7.7bn, with takings from its concerts and ticketing segments dipping 6% and 17% respectively. Sponsorship and advertising was up 6%.

“We wrapped up our most active summer concert season ever, our show pipeline has never been bigger, and brand sponsorships are accelerating,” said president and CEO Michael Rapino. “While operating income will be impacted by one-time accruals, we are pacing toward double-digit AOI growth this year.

“As we look toward an even bigger 2025, we have a larger lineup of stadium, arena and amphitheatre shows for fans to enjoy. Momentum continues to build, as we expand the industry’s infrastructure with music-focused venues to support artists and reach untapped fan demand across the globe.”

Live Nation attracted 112m fans globally to its events, as double-digit boost in arena and amphitheatre attendance more than offest a 30%+ decline in stadium attendance.

Growth was projected for 2025, with the concerts pipeline in stadiums, arenas, and amphitheatres up double-digits compared to the same point last year. More than 20 million tickets have already been sold for Live Nation concerts  next year, also pacing up double-digits, with recent 2025 stadium onsales including Coldplay, Rüfüs Du Sol and Shakira delivering double-digit average growth in show grosses relative to past tours.

Sponsorship has continually been our star for the last decade or so

“Next week alone we have over 200 stadium and arena shows going on sale,” said Berchtold. “We’re in a period of unprecedented level of activity for Ticketmaster in Q4, and then that will continue into Q1 and through next year.”

Moreover, Rapino hailed LN’s sponsorship arm, which is also on track for a double-digit increase, as “our star for the last decade or so”.

“We look at this business still very, very strong, very different than maybe some of the advertising challenges other companies have,” he said. “We see overall companies spending more money on-site experiential and moving dollars into that segment and anytime that happens, that’s good for our business. We tend to rise with that.

“We look at ’25 and onward as continual AOI growth that we’ve been able to deliver in the past in sponsorship. One of the foundational drivers of that is our globalisation. And every time we do more shows around the world, we provide ourselves more opportunity and more sponsors. As our global pipe continues to grow, so will our sponsorship and we’ll see continued growth.”

Rapino also discussed the company’s strategy with regards to superfans, suggesting the premium/VIP “pie” was “still under-serviced” and represented an opportunity for substantial growth.

“We’ve been selling to the superfan for quite a while,” he said. “We’ve used percentages in the past: 2%, 4%, 6% of the show is premium. We think it can grow up to 20% and more. So, a lot of the refurbishments we’re doing at venues is about taking regular seats and turning them into better experiences for premium experiences at night.

“Premium experiences is a big underpin to our entire growth forward because it’s using the same customer base, but we always sell out of the boxes, sell out of the premium inventory first, we never have a problem selling that… When we’re building [venues], we’re starting with this mandate that they must have a certain higher percentage of premium seats and lounges and experiences, so those venues start with a much better return.”

Furthermore, Rapino expanded on his recent comments that he would “love” to see regulation of the secondary ticketing market in the form of a 20% price cap. He noted that legislation around resale practices “we’d like to clean up” such as bots and spec-selling “hasn’t really come to life yet”.

“We hope, over time, better regulations get put in place to help the consumer,” he added.

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ABBA Voyage grossed more than £100 million (€120m) in 2023 after attracting in excess of one million visitors, it has been revealed.

The groundbreaking production pulled in a total of 1,097,597 visitors last year, according to documents filed in the UK with Companies House by Aniara, the firm behind the virtual concert residency.

Over the 12-month period, the show completed 374 performances and attracted 1,097,597 visitors, achieving an occupancy rate of 97.8%. Revenue from ticket sales was £103,665,597, with Aniara declaring a pre-tax profit of £6,065,402 – more than double the £2,990,757 garnered in 2022, when it played for seven months.

Held at the purpose-built 3,000-cap ‘ABBA Arena’ under the direction of producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh, the show debuted at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in May 2022.

“During the period, the group successfully operated the ABBA Voyage show, building on the critical acclaim received following its launch in May 2022,” reads the report. “There is a substantial market demand for ABBA Voyage and the directors anticipate a continued high level of activity throughout 2024.

“The group’s long term strategy is to continue the run of the show in London for as long as it remains commercially viable”

“The group’s long term strategy is to continue the run of the show in London for as long as it remains commercially viable.”

The show has brought the Swedish pop legends – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus (co-founder of lead investor Pophouse Entertainment), Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – back to the stage in avatar form, supported by a 10-piece live band. Standard tickets range from £27.50 to £319.50.

Costing £141 million, the entire venture was funded privately from Swedish investors. Turnover for the seven months its was active in 2022 was £97,118,038 from 675,600 visitors across 228 shows, meaning ticket sales revenue topped £200m in its first 19 months of operation.

By the year-end of 2023, Aniara had net assets of £13,886,925, compared to £5,826,001 12 months earlier.

Revisit IQ‘s 2022 interview with producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson and director Baillie Walsh here. Gisla also delivered a keynote during Touring Entertainment Live (TEL) at this year’s ILMC.

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DEAG has delivered a positive financial report for the first half of 2024, with revenue up to €132.7 million despite a challenging economic environment in Europe.

Revenue in the reporting period rose by 8.2% from €122.7m in the same period last year, while EBITDA of €3.1m was down from the previous year’s €5.1m but in line with planning. The dip has been attributed to expenses in connection with the reorganisation of the executive board and integration costs for companies acquired, plus investments in its IT infrastructure related to ticketing.

“DEAG increased its revenue, further expanded its own event formats, successfully continued its Buy & Build strategy and recorded strong ticketing business,” it says in a statement. “The company is therefore optimistic for the second half of 2024 with a high density of events. With a high level of available liquidity of €97 million at the end of the first half of 2024, DEAG has a solid financial basis for a successful, expansive development.”

The company notes that the results come amid a reporting period in Germany characterised by “a decline in economic output and restrained private consumer spending”. It adds that the Euro 2024 football tournament, hosted by the country in June and July, also led to a decline in demand for other leisure and entertainment events.

However, DEAG says its festivals – particularly those in the EDM segment – have held up well in the face of a tough market, which has suffered further from extreme weather. Festival brands under its umbrella include NATURE ONE, Airbeat One, Ruhr-in-Love, Sion sous les étoiles and Belladrum Tartan Heart, which have drawn a combined 800,000 fans this summer.

It has also staged successful concerts and tours by artists such as AC/DC, Andreas Gabalier, Alice Cooper and UB 40, as well as family events including Disney on Ice and the Harlem Globetrotters.

“We defied the difficult market environment in the first half of the year,” says DEAG Group CEO Detlef Kornett. “Unfortunately, the bad weather affected some of our events, which is also reflected in our key financial figures. However, we remain confident for the second half of the year and for 2024 as a whole.”

“Despite the challenges mentioned, we expect revenue to continue to rise and EBITDA to at least the previous year’s level for the year as a whole”

Former co-CEO Kornett took sole leadership of the Berlin-headquartered firm in the spring after founder Peter Schwenkow moved to an advisory role. DEAG has a busy slate of concerts by the likes of Craig David, Lenny Kravitz, James Blunt, Slipknot, Fontaines D.C. and Böhse Onkelz lined up for the second half of 2024.

“DEAG’s second half of the year will be strong, as expected, our event programme is diversified and our calendar of events is tightly packed. Visitors can look forward to hundreds of great events of all genres and sizes. We are also investing heavily in staff, new technologies and our platforms in order to further improve the customer experience and offer our customers first-class entertainment.

“Despite the challenges mentioned, we expect revenue to continue to rise and EBITDA to at least the previous year’s level for the year as a whole.”

DEAG entered the Spanish market in late 2023 with the launch of subsidiary Get Rock Live (GRL), and continued its international expansion by acquiring three companies in the first six months of 2024 and acquired three companies, starting with Black Mamba Event & Marketing – organiser of longstanding electronic music festival Sputnik Spring Break.

In the UK, it enhanced its presence in the spoken word and literary sphere with the acquisition of How to Academy, and l also took a majority stake in live promoter and producer ShowPlanr.” It also spun off its hip-hop booking division into a standalone brand called District Live.

DEAG says it intends to further grow its M&A activities and is currently in “promising talks” with a number of companies, with a particular focus on ticketing and further expansion into other European countries. At last count, the number of tickets to concerts and events it has sold in 2024 and 2025 was up 18% to 5.8 million, with an increase to around 11m expected for the year as a whole.

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