Live Nation has posted another record year in 2018, with revenues up 11 per cent and attendances rising by eight per cent from 2017.
Last year marked the eighth consecutive year the live entertainment company delivered record results with revenue, operating income, and adjusted operating income (AOI) all up year-over-year.
Live Nation saw double-digit attendance growth across arenas, amphitheatres and theatres and clubs, adding nearly seven millions fans globally for a total of 93 million. This drove concerts revenue up 11 per cent, operating income up 61 per cent and AOI up 22 per cent.
Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, saw fee-bearing gross transaction value (GTV) up 14 per cent and total platform GTV of $33bn (€29bn/£25bn). This drove a 14 per cent increase in ticketing revenue for the year, and delivered growth in operating income and AOI.
The fourth quarter of 2018 delivered Ticketmaster’s highest fee-bearing GTV quarter ever, selling over 60 million tickets and delivering over $5bn in fee-bearing GTV. Overall in 2018, Ticketmaster managed over 400,000 events, selling almost 500 million tickets to fans in 28 countries.
Michael Rapino, president and chief executive of Live Nation, said: “Our top priority at Ticketmaster in 2018 was deploying our Presence digital ticketing solution, which we see as key for effectively unlocking the value of our customer relationships across our ticketing, concerts and sponsorship businesses. By the end of 2018, we deployed Presence in over 200 venues, operating 20,000 events for 40 million fans, approximately half of whom used digital tickets.”
He added that in 2019, Ticketmaster is hoping to have Presence in more than 500 venues, with over 125 million fans in attendance.
Rapino continued: “I believe we have tremendous opportunity for growth on a global basis, particularly in the 13 markets where we promote concerts but do not yet have a substantial ticketing operation. In 2018, we furthered our international expansion, establishing ticketing operations in Italy, growing our German operations and laying the groundwork for expansion into Latin America.
“Ticketmaster continues to exceed expectations, both operationally and in its leadership position in digital ticketing, which we believe it can extend globally and deliver continued profitable growth.”
Image: Live Nation
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