Non-profit ticketer Humanitix partners with Facebook
Humanitix, a ticketing startup donating all profits from booking fees to charity, has announced an event ticketing partnership with Facebook.
The integration of Humanitix with the social media platform means users can simultaneously launch events on both platforms.
“It’s a really big deal for us because it takes a long time to get an integration like that over the line with Facebook,” Humanitix co-founder Joshua Ross told Pro Bono News. “Hopefully there’ll be more to come in terms of the opportunities to partner with them.”
Sydney-based Humanitix, founded in 2016 by Ross and Adam McCurdie, directs all profits from booking fees – 4% transaction price plus AUD$0.99 – to educational programmes in Australia and overseas.
The ticketing service has donated over AUD$380,000 (USD$259,000) to charity and processed more than AUD$9 million ($6m) in ticket sales.
“There’s billions of dollars in these booking fees and no one likes them but event organisers put up with it because they need to do it,” explains the Humanitix co-founder.
“We think there’s a massive opportunity in ticketing, where fees can be more modest, and you can have the best of both worlds”
“Our objective isn’t to make booking fees zero, it’s to solve inequality through education programs. But we think there’s a massive opportunity in ticketing, where fees can be more modest, and you can have the best of both worlds.”
Last year, the company received AUD$1 million ($682,000) in grant funding from the Google Global Impact Challenge and a $1.2m ($819,000) grant from the Atlassian Foundation.
“Humanitix has become the fastest growing ticketing platform in Australia and New Zealand,” comments Australian communications and arts minister, Paul Fletcher. “It’s great to see Facebook getting behind them. This support will help Humanitix to keep on with its mission to make a difference in our community.”
The ticketing service has worked with the likes of Sydney Youth Orchestra, UN Women and Football Federation Australia, the Grounds of Alexandria and Illawarra Folk Festival. Most events currently serviced by Humanitix have a capacity of under 20,000, although the platform is capable of catering for larger events.
Humanitix operates in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to expand to the United States within the next year.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Eventim half year results show significant gains
CTS Eventim released its latest financial results today (23 August), which indicate significant growth in revenue and earnings in the first six months of 2018. Of all its divisions, live entertainment saw the biggest gains with revenue rising 36 per cent to €429.1 million, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) up 57.4 per cent to €28.5 million.
The news follows an already successful first quarter, details of which were released back in May, and despite market conditions including fewer major tours and presales “due to the FIFA World Cup.”
In the first half of 2018, group revenue for the company rose to €606.6 million, up 24.2 per cent from €488.5 million over the same period in 2017. Normalised EBITDA climbed to €94.1 million, up 12.5 per cent on last year.
Eventim’s ticketing division reported revenue increases of 3.1 per cent to €183.4 million, and a normalised EBITDA of €65.6 million, slightly higher than last year. This, the company says, is despite the expense of implementing GDPR regulations throughout its operations. In all, the company sold 22.4 million tickets, with web ticketing volume up almost 10 per cent.
“This is a clear indication that we are well-equipped for further growth – not only in our present markets, but also beyond”
Commenting on the news, CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg explained the boost in revenue and earnings was down to both live entertainment and ticketing. “Our strong Live Entertainment business and our online ticketing operations played a major role here.”
Last year, the company hit revenue in excess of €1 billion for the first time ever. Commenting on the news, CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg says, “this is a clear indication that we are well-equipped for further growth – not only in our present markets, but also beyond.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Revenue and profits up for Madison Square Garden in 2018
Posting their financial results yesterday, the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) has reported strong growth in revenue and operating income in fiscal year 2018.
Over the course of the fiscal year, the group generated approximately $1.6 billion in revenue, representing an increase of some 18 per cent compared to 2017’s efforts. On top of this, the Company generated operating income of $18.9 million, an increase of $79.2 million and an adjusted operating income (AOI) of $193.8, up $96.2 million on last year’s results.
Speaking on the good fortune of the year, MSG executive chairman and CEO Jim Dolan says: “We had a solid fiscal 2018, driven by the performance of our bookings business, the Christmas Spectacular, and sponsorships.
“This past year we also took important steps to position the Company for continued growth as we unveiled our plans to build state-of-the-art venues – called MSG Sphere – in Las Vegas and London, and announced the exploration of a potential separation of our entertainment and sports businesses.
“We believe that our commitment to delivering premium live experiences for our customers and partners will continue to create long-term value for our shareholders”
“Looking ahead, we believe that our commitment to delivering premium live experiences for our customers and partners will continue to create long-term value for our shareholders.”
Somewhat deflated results were posted for the fourth quarter of 2018. Revenue increased just four per cent on the same quarter in 2017, at $318 million. Alongside this, the Company generated an operating loss of $45.4 million and an adjusted operating loss of $2.5 million, however this does represent improvements on last year’s results by 51% and 94% respectively.
The results of the two branches of the company, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) and Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) were also released. MSGS revenue decreased by 26% to $132.5 million. The loss was attributed to a lack of playoff-related revenue, combined with lower basketball and hockey league distribution.
The opposite was true for MSGE, which posted revenue of $185.6, up 47% from 2017. Among the higher event-related revenue coming from the Company’s venues, including Madison Square Garden itself, the rise in revenue has been attributed to a full quarter of operating results for their club and hospitality division, TAO Group.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
LN Q1: Ticket resale still biggest growth area
Ticketmaster’s biggest-ever month and high-profile tours including Beyoncé’s Formation, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams, Rihanna’s Anti, Drake’s Summer Sixteen and the Guns N’ Roses reunion contributed to double-digital revenue growth for Live Nation Entertainment in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016.
The multinational concert, ticketing, management and sponsorship giant reported a 10 per cent increase in revenue to US$1.2 billion and seven per cent rise in adjusted operating income in its Q1 financial results, released yesterday, although losses were also up: $34 million compared to $24m in Q1 2015.
Ticketmaster was the biggest success story of the three months up to 31 March, increasing its gross transaction value (GTV) by 18 per cent on a constant-currency basis, driven by continued strength in its ticket resale operations: GTV for Ticketmaster/Live Nation-owned secondary-ticketing marketplaces, such as TicketsNow and TicketsExchange in North America and Get Me In! and Seatwave in the UK, was up 43 per cent, reflecting a trend seen in Live Nation’s record-breaking 2015 yearly results.
Ticketmaster sold over 17 million tickets globally in February – its most in a single month ever.
In the concerts business, ticket sales for shows are up 10 per cent, with over 35 million already sold. Live Nation is also promoting 13 per cent more shows than in the same period last year
In the concerts business, ticket sales for shows are up 10 per cent on the last four months of 2015 (up to 29 April), with over 35 million already sold. Live Nation is also promoting 13 per cent more shows than in the same period last year.
“At the same time, we are expanding our global footprint, most recently adding South Africa as the 37th country we promote in and our acquisition of Founders Entertainment, which builds our presence in New York and adds Governors Ball to our global festival portfolio,” said CEO Michael Rapino in the earnings release.
The sponsorship/advertising business reported revenue growth of 13 per cent on a constant-currency basis.
Rapino concluded: “2016 is on track to be another year of growth and record results for the company. All of the leading indicators for our concerts, sponsorship and ticketing businesses are performing ahead of last year and we expect each of the businesses to deliver revenue, AOI and free cashflow growth this year.
“Our results are demonstrating the fundamental strength and growth trajectory of live events and Live Nation’s positioning to deliver long-term profit and cashflow growth.”