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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Live Nation’s share price has reached a new high, topping $145 for the first time, after rising 11% in the last month alone.

The company’s stock, which peaked at $145.33 so far today (31 January), has continued on an upward trajectory after rocketing over 8% to a then all-time high of $127.64 in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory in last November’s US election.

Live Nation has said it is “hopeful” the administration change will have a positive impact on its antitrust battle with the DOJ.

Additionally, LN’s share price has risen 50% over the past six months and 63% in the last year. The firm has a market cap of more than $33.5 billion.

The firm’s president/CEO Michael Rapino was recently named No.1 on Billboard‘s latest Power 100 List, its annual rankings of the music industry’s top executives.

“The word ‘record-breaking’ has become synonymous with Live Nation under Rapino’s leadership”

“The word ‘record-breaking’ has become synonymous with Live Nation under Rapino’s leadership,” states the publication. “In 2024 alone, the first two quarters of the year broke revenue records, while in the third quarter (though down in overall revenue year over year) concerts delivered record profitability.

“Those results stem from consistently promoting shows from some of the biggest acts on the road.”

Rapino came out on top of the list ahead of Universal Music Group chair/CEO Lucian Grainge at No.2, with the top 5 completed by Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer, Spotify co-founder/CEO Daniel Ek and Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, who are jointly ranked at No.5.

Other live music figures included in the top 20 were AEG Presents president/CEO Jay Marciano at No.9, Red Light Management CEO Coran Copshaw was at No.19 and Oak View Group chair/CEO Tim Leiweke at No.20.

In further positive stock market news for the business, shares in German-headquartered live entertainment giant CTS Eventim have seen an 11.5% uptick over the past month to €94.70, while Sphere Entertainment’s have risen close to 15% in the same period to $46.17. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp is up slightly to $36.30.

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FireAid co-organiser Irving Azoff says he hopes the Los Angeles wildfire benefit will raise upwards of $50 million after the full lineups for the 30 January charity concerts were confirmed.

Billie Eilish, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting and Tate McRae will perform at Intuit Dome (cap. 18,000).

Meanwhile, Alanis Morissette, Anderson. Paak, Dave Matthews and John Mayer, Dawes, Graham Nash, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, P!nk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks and The Black Crowes will appear at the 17,500-cap Kia Forum.

The one-night-only event is being produced by the Azoff family in conjunction with Live Nation and AEG Presents.

“As soon as we understood the magnitude of the problem, the family, kids, Shelli [Azoff, wife] and I started talking about what we could do,” Irving Azoff tells Hits Daily Double. “Shelli said, we really need to do a show. Shelli and I spoke with Gillian Zucker, who’s the president of business operations for [NBA team and Intuit Dome tenant] the Clippers and is a close friend.

“We kind of had the idea to do a show at the same time, and she said, ‘Of course you can have Intuit.'”

One of the largest natural disasters in US history, at least 28 people have been killed as a result of the devastating blazes in LA, which have destroyed thousands of homes and business since igniting on 7 January. FireAid will raise money for rebuilding communities devastated by the wildfires and supporting efforts to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California.

“We want people to give money for the joy of the music and the joy of the rebuild”

“As the outpouring of volunteers to perform became clear, we expanded to the second building,” continues Azoff. “We couldn’t possibly have gotten everybody on and off the stage in one night at Intuit. And that’s when we came up with the idea of adding the Forum as well.”

Tickets for both concerts go on sale today (22 January) at noon PT, through Ticketmaster, starting at $99 (€95). All proceeds will go to the relief efforts, with all venue and ticketing service fees waived. The event will start at 6pm at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome will begin at 7:30 p.m.

In an effort to ensure people can experience as much of the show as possible, fans who buy tickets for Intuit Dome will be able to view the Kia Forum gig, when it begins, on screens inside the Intuit Dome. Conversely, when the Kia Forum show ends, fans inside will be able to view the acts at Intuit Dome, on screens at the Kia Forum, until the end of the event.

Azoff considers it feasible for the shows to raise “north of $50m”.

“Currently, the most significant portion of the money we’re raising is from sponsors,” he adds. “We have suites at Intuit, and no suites at the Forum, so we’re able to generate massive corporate donations at Intuit.

“We have no idea if people sitting at home are going to donate. We don’t know if anybody outside of California gives a shit. So we needed the two live gates, and we didn’t want to make it feel like a radio show, right? We couldn’t book everybody who wanted to perform.

“We don’t really want it to be a big, somber moment. This is about the spirit of LA. and how music heals… We want people to give money for the joy of the music and the joy of the rebuild.”

“Crew Nation is continuing its core mission of helping this hardworking community through unforeseen hardship”

The fundraiser will be broadcast and streamed live on Apple Music and the Apple TV app, Max, iHeartRadio, KTLA+, Netflix/Tudom, Paramount+, Prime Video and the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch, SiriusXM, Spotify, SoundCloud, Veeps, and YouTube, and at select AMC Theatre locations in 70 US markets.

Last week, Live Nation’s Crew Nation Global Relief Fund announced it is committing $1 million to assist performing musicians, live music crew and live music industry workers affected by the recent wildfires.

Crew Nation has opened applications for grants up to $5,000 for individuals currently employed within the industry facing displacement expenses due to mandatory evacuation orders, damage, or loss. Those seeking support can apply for Crew Nation Fund grants here.

“LA is home to so many who help make live music possible, and Crew Nation is continuing its core mission of helping this hardworking community through unforeseen hardship,” says Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino.

Separately, Live Nation is also supporting impacted employees from its Los Angeles headquarters with direct relief through its Taking Care of Our Own programme.

In addition, the co-founders of hip-hop festival Rolling Loud raised $25,000 for the LA Wildfires Relief Fund from a benefit concert held at Kemistry Nightclub in Fort Lauderdale on 20 January, headlined by Ski Mask The Slump God.

Meanwhile, the 2025 edition of annual live entertainment conference Pollstar Live!, which was scheduled for the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles from 18-20 February, has been postponed to 15-17 April to focus on the rebuilding efforts.

“Our hearts go out to the people of Los Angeles as they deal with the ongoing devastating wildfires and the long recovery ahead,” says Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke. “LA was home to Oak View Group, parent company of Pollstar, for the last decade, and many of our colleagues and music industry partners have been deeply and personally affected by this tragedy.

“Right now, Oak View Group is focused on the immediate needs of the community and raising funds in support of FireAid.”

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Live Nation boss Michael Rapino has praised the resilience of the company’s business model, describing live entertainment as “a very scarce commodity” in a new interview.

Appearing on CNBC’s Mad Money, Rapino discussed how the company was able to continue to thrive in a year that had fewer A-list artists out on the road.

“We’ve had a lot of questions over the last months about consumer demand, and we always put ourselves in a different category,” he said. “It’s a very scarce commodity. If you want to see Ben Folds tonight… you have to come tonight, whereas you may just delay your Disney trip. There’s an urgency around that artist, so we’re not seeing the pullback.

“We’re just seeing as more artists are on the road, bigger artists are on the road, those consumers still put going to that show top of their list.”

Moreover, the Live Nation president and CEO suggested the trend towards experiential experiences was “100%” holding up, post-pandemic.

“The amount of music available to the consumer today has just propelled this idea that they want to see the live show”

“We’ve been saying for the last seven, eight years, this experience economy was on the move,” he said. “Post-Covid, it absolutely skyrocketed, and we see now consumers spending more experiences versus products. We happen to be at the top of the poll with sports and experience spend, so we’re getting the great gain from that shift.”

More than 20 million tickets have already been sold for Live Nation shows next year, and Rapino credited streaming platforms such as Spotify for aiding that demand by boosting discovery.

“This consumer is a new consumer,” he added. “The amount of music available to the consumer today has just propelled this idea that they want to see the live show.”

Rapino was speaking in the wake of LN’s Q3 2024 financial results, which saw it post revenue of $7.7bn for the quarter – a 6% decrease year-on-year – alongside record adjusted operating income (AOI) of $909.8m (up 4%). The company’s share price responded favourably, rising 5% to $129.67 by the time the markets closed yesterday.

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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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More than 300 plaintiffs have reportedly settled personal injury lawsuits with Live Nation and Travis Scott after the 2021 disaster at the Astroworld music festival.

Ten people died and hundreds more were injured during the fatal crowd crush at the 5 November 2021 festival at NRG Park in Houston, US. In June last year, a Texas grand jury declined to indict rapper and festival founder Travis Scott, nor anyone else associated with the festival.

The civil trial over injuries suffered at the festival was due to start this week but has now been delayed until February 2025 after settlements were reached, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Now, a host of lawyers will designate another round of so-called bellwether plaintiffs to test the strength of the remaining cases.

The result of the first trial could determine how much other victims receive in future trials or settlements.

The result of the first trial could determine how much other victims receive in future trials or settlements

Scott West, who represented 9-year-old Ezra Blount, Astroworld’s youngest casualty in the wrongful deaths suits, said hundreds of cases remain.

The bulk of the cases were settled with an undisclosed lump sum Friday and earlier this month, with West saying that amounts weren’t addressed in court.

The remaining plaintiff lawyers will decide which suits will be set for trial in February.

In a recent ruling, Judge Kristen Hawkins instructed that Live Nation chief Michael Rapino could have to give evidence in person, due to having “information [that] is not available through other sources”.

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Live Nation chief Michael Rapino has reflected on the evolution of the music business and offered a bright forecast for the company’s future in a new interview.

The president and CEO was quizzed about the LN’s impact on the music landscape, ticket pricing and Adele’s triumphant German residency, as well as wider industry issues, at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference.

Live Nation posted $6.02 billion revenue in its most recent financial results covering Q2 2024 – an increase of 7% on the equivalent quarter last year.

Here are a selection of highlights from yesterday’s (10 September) conversation in the US…

On the effect of the internet and streaming…

“For 50 years, the music business was very controlled: record labels, MTV, radio, the gatekeepers. It was entirely a US/Western Europe business: you had 100 dates – you toured 60 in America, 30 in Europe – and that was the only place you could really make money. [Then] everything unlocks, and all of a sudden you have a 14-year-old anywhere in the world with a phone that knows the next Kendrick [Lamar] song. That demand was always there, it was just never marketed to because of the old model. That consumer is now marketed to every day on Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, so that has been the greatest kind of supercharge to the live music business in general. You have this whole new base of global consumers that were under-serviced from an enterprise perspective – venues, ticketing, all of those things in Latin America, South America, Asia – that will get there and make this even a better business.”

On Live Nation’s impact on the music industry…

“For 30/40 years, it was always about the labels. Promoters were always a little ‘Wild West car salesmen’, so we were the first company that kind of professionalised them, brought them together and consolidated them on a global basis, and started setting some new standards. As we saw it, the artists wanted a better service; they wanted someone that thought globally.”

“This has been a very consistent industry. I don’t think there’s another industry that has an 8-9% compounded growth for the last 20-25 years”

On the importance of data to artists…

“They’re brands now and they know where their fans are. We just successfully did this incredible 10-night run with Adele in Munich. The idea that we would sit there and say, ‘We’re going to take a bet that you’re going to sell 700,000 tickets in one city; we’re going to spend $100 million building this incredible temporary stadium with the largest video screen in history,’ you don’t make those bets [without] fan data. Adele would know how many fans she has in Europe; how many in Munich; how many follow her; how big of a potential radius. Artists now are much, much smarter around their data.”

On the growth of the business…

“If we zoom out, this has been a very consistent industry. I don’t think there’s another industry that has an 8-9% compounded growth for the last 20-25 years, through recessions and [everything] else. I believe, in the next decade, that 8-9% will continue to be the beacon. This will be an industry that we should look at to have continual global growth on an annual basis. We doubled our business in two years in 2022 and ’23. We had some incredible pent-up demand, and this year is the first year we’re probably feeling a little bit of the hangover effect of that huge stadium business for two years. So we always knew this year was going to be a little light on stadiums, but we were going to do our best then to monetise our venues, our amphitheatres, where the business walks in our door and we can manage it. The fact that we grew almost 80% for two years – and this year we’re still going to be flat to growth – is exceptional.”

“We know next year is going to be a monster stadium year”

On 2025…

“It’s still early, so most things are set in stone, but there’s always things that shift. But our stadium business in ’25 looks like it’s bigger than ’23 right now. That’s a big number. Our arena business for ’24 looks bigger than it was this year, and we had a good arena year. So we think it’s probably the best of everything next year – a strong hike on the top end and consistent on the amphitheatre end. We know next year is going to be a monster stadium year.”

On ticket pricing…

“As much as it makes headlines on the top end, it’s still the most affordable opportunity out there. On average, 75% of tickets are under $100 and almost half the tickets are under $50. Look at it compared to sports: we’ve never been able to figure out this PR struggle, but in sport it’s like a badge of honour to say the courtside [seats] are $7,000, [yet] you’re horrible if you charge $800 for the front row at a concert. So it’s an incredibly affordable opportunity in the big picture. Music inspires; it’s one of the most passionate consumer experiences. In all of our data, it ranks at number one or two – it’s higher than any other Kodak moment.”

On the future…

“We’re going to be a business that will continually show that the live industry is resilient. Regardless of what economic challenges are going on, I think it’s a very resilient industry. Our job… is to make sure any of the noise on the regulation side doesn’t affect our business. It’s business as usual, pedal down to the ground, and we’re going to grow this business aggressively, as we have. And we think we’ll continually be the story that overdelivers.”

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Live Nation posted $6.02 billion (€5.6bn) revenue in a record Q2 2024 as bosses say it is “business as usual” at the company, amid the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit.

Revenue was up 7% on the equivalent quarter last year, while operating income rose 21% to $466 million and AOI 21% to $716m, with the key metrics pointing to another record-setting year for the firm.

Year-to-date ticket sales for its 2024 concerts are 118 million – 1m higher than at the same point 12 months ago – powered by double-digit increases for arena, amphitheatre, theatre and club shows. LN’s venue management outfit Venue Nation has hosted 24 million fans year-to-date – up 10% – and is on course to host more than 60m fans this year.

“We continue to see strong demand globally, with a growing variety of shows attracting both casual and diehard fans who are buying tickets at all price points, which speaks to the unique experience only live concerts can provide,” says Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino.

“Venue Nation’s strategic investments in hospitality and infrastructure are driving strong returns as more attendees maximise their onsite experiences.

“While operating income will be impacted negatively by one-time accruals, we are on track to deliver double-digit AOI growth for the year and look forward to a very busy 2025.”

“The good news is, as we predicted, ’25 looks likely to be a big banner year again”

Taking questions from shareholders during yesterday’s earnings call, Rapino noted the positive results came in spite of a quieter period for stadium concerts – in part, due to Paris hosting the Olympic Games – and added that 2025 was shaping up to be “a big banner year”.

“We’re thrilled that we can still grow the business coming off two years of extraordinary growth, given where we were in 2019, so it’s still a strong year for us overall,” he said. “Stadiums were always the challenge, international was always going to be a stadium issue given Paris Olympics. Most of France shut down for that month, and most of that affected a lot of the stadium business for the summer.”

Rapino continued: “The good news is, as we predicted, ’25 looks likely to be a big banner year again. We’re looking right now at our stadium pipeline for ’25. It’s bigger right now than it was two years ago for ’23. Our amphitheatre and arena is bigger right now than it was last year at this time in terms of our pipeline. So we’ve always thought 2024 would be the year of AOI and amphitheatres and arenas and ’25 will be back to a solid continual growth of stadiums.

“As we’ve always predicted post-Covid, we’d be back to an 8%, 9% compounded annual growth as an industry on the top line, and we’ll see that come back to life next year and probably more.”

“This is a supply driven business,” added Berchtold. “The demand is there, notwithstanding the fact we have a lot fewer stadiums this year, we’re actually still growing our show count. We’re still growing our fan count.”

International markets remain a key driver of the growth, he said.

“I think what we’re seeing is an acceleration of the continued globalisation on the demand side, the artist seeing that they can go everywhere in the world,” reflected Berchtold. “We’ll have some shifts in terms of venue types and exactly which markets have which level of activity. But there’s nothing that would suggest that we’re really deviating from historical trajectories on the ongoing growth of the business.”

“If you’re in my legal department, you’re working on the DOJ. If you’re running any one of my divisions, it’s business as usual”

Asked whether the DOJ lawsuit was impacting strategic decision-making at the company, Berchtold said: “We’re able to isolate. So if you’re in my legal department, you’re working on the DOJ. If you’re running any one of my divisions, it’s business as usual.”

Berchtold pointed to opportunities around new venues (“I had a venue meeting this morning. We looked at 10 new venues that we’re looking to build across the US, Latin America and Asia in the pipe”) and ticketing, referencing Ticketmaster’s recent acquisition of leading African ticketing platform Quicket (“Last week, we expanded ticketing in South Africa and have a few more of those on an international basis”).

“So lots of opportunities still ahead of us, and business as usual in the divisions,” he concluded.

Berchtold also played down concerns regarding tour cancellations, saying there had been no more than normal.

“In terms of our cancellation rates, we’re seeing historical norms below last year,” he said. “They historically run kind of 4% to 5% of shows, about 1.5% of fans, absolutely in line with historical trends. I think most of the reports that we’ve seen have been efforts to take one or two data points out of a very large number of tours and shows, and we’re just not seeing anything unusual there.”

The Q2 report also mentioned $279.9m in “Astroworld estimated loss contingencies” for the first half of 2024. All wrongful death lawsuits filed over the 2021 festival disaster were settled earlier this year.

Live Nation’s share price was up to $95.08 this morning, giving the company a market cap of $22bn.

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A wrongful death lawsuit filed in relation to the youngest victim of the Astroworld tragedy is set to go to civil trial in September.

Nine-year-old Ezra Blount was one of 10 people killed in the deadly crowd crush at the festival, which was headlined by Travis Scott at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, US.

Blount’s family is suing Scott as well as companies including event promoter Live Nation and Apple Inc., which livestreamed the November 2021 concert.

AP reports that State District Judge Kristen Hawkins scheduled jury selection to start on 10 September. Scott West, a lawyer for Blount’s family, told the judge they still planned to depose Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino before the trial. Rapino had previously been ordered to give testimony in the lawsuits brought against LN and others.

Live Nation attorney Neal Manne previously fought attempts to have Rapino questioned, arguing that messages dated from prior to the festival proved that the CEO had no involvement in the planning of Astroworld. But lawyers for the plaintiffs said Rapino had correspondence and conversations with a number of people involved in the festival in the immediate aftermath, and as such his testimony is relevant to the litigation.

The lawsuit is the last remaining wrongful death filing relating to the disaster after nine of the 10 cases were settled

At the latest hearing on Tuesday (14 May), Manne said he hoped an agreement could be reached regarding Rapino’s deposition, but added he might still appeal the issue to the Texas Supreme Court.

The lawsuit is the last remaining wrongful death filing pertaining to the disaster after nine of the 10 cases were settled out of court. All of those who died suffered from compression asphyxia. The defendants deny allegations of negligence, among other claims.

Judge Hawkins also scheduled the first trial related to the thousands of injury complaints filed over Astroworld. The trial, which will focus on seven cases, has been set for 15 October. Around 2,400 other injury cases are still pending.

Last year, a grand jury declined to file criminal charges against Scott or anyone else associated with the festival.

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Live Nation reports that its all-in ticket pricing policy has resulted in an 8% increase in completed sales in the programme’s first six months.

The initiative, which shows customers the total price and fees associated with their tickets upfront, has been rolled out across all Live Nation venues and festivals in the US. As well as delivering greater transparency for fans, the company says it has increased sales for artists and seen fewer abandoned carts at checkout.

The data comes as policymakers in the House prepare to vote on the TICKET Act, which aims to ensure transparent pricing for consumers among other ticket reforms.

“Showing the total cost to walk in the door upfront is better for fans and artists”

“Showing the total cost to walk in the door upfront is better for fans and artists,” says Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino. “We’re proud to have led the industry in adapting this common sense policy, and we encourage Congress to enact a nationwide law so every ticket buyer benefits from this transparency, no matter where they are buying their tickets.”

Live Nation was among a number of companies in the US that pledged to adopt “all-in” ticket pricing last summer. It has also supported the passage of all-in pricing laws in states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee.

However, it warns that many resale platforms are still not compliant with these state-led transparency standards and is encouraging consumers to report illegal drip pricing on other ticketing platforms to their state Attorney General’s office.

Live Nation also backs other ticketing reforms that benefit consumers including banning speculative ticketing, allowing artists to cap resale markups, and enhancing legislation against buying tickets with bots.

All-in pricing could also be mandated in the UK as part of proposed legislation passed in the House of Lords. A recent report from consumer body Which? revealed that “bewildering” and “sneaky” additional fees make up 25% of UK gig ticket prices.

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