Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s summer may be over, but the sector’s biggest companies say consumer interest in live events shows no signs of slowing down.
Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation (LYV), announced that Thursday’s concert attendance set a record for the third quarter, and revenue for the period rose 32% to $8.2 billion.
“While we have benefited from tailwinds for many years, the globalization of our business and consumer spending continue to drive us forward,” Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapinoe said in the company’s third quarter. “The fundamental shift in habits toward experiences is accelerating the tailwind benefits.” Earnings release.
The company said it has sold a record 140 million tickets so far this year, with concerts accounting for the bulk of the $7 billion in sales. This is an increase of 17% from the previous year, and the number of tickets sold in 2022 has already exceeded 121 million.
This strong performance coincided with Taylor Swift’s Ellas Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour. But Rapinoe said he doesn’t expect the momentum to slow down.
Asked on the post-earnings conference call whether he was concerned about future year-over-year sales given the record success of Swift and Beyoncé’s respective tours, the executive said he was concerned about positive consumer sentiment. Combined with the trend, it doubled the strength of the business.
“What tours every year won’t hurt us. It’s about the macro portfolio of artists and tours, and we have a very good one.” [pipeline] “Looking ahead to next year,” he said, adding, “We expect double-digit ticket sales growth this year and next.”
The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly two years in the third quarter, buoyed by resilient consumers who splurged on live events, concerts and the Babenheimer double feature.
Summer concerts and blockbuster movies added an estimated $8.5 billion to U.S. economic growth in the third quarter, according to a recent estimate from Morgan Stanley.
“Live entertainment is now the brightest star in the broader media and entertainment world,” Bank of America analyst Jessica Lief Ehrlich wrote in an earlier note to clients.
“Naturally, we believe that talent, especially artists with huge fan bases, will be able to extract more and more value from the ecosystem (mainly due to rising supply and ticket prices). However, on the other hand, venues with several independent revenue streams are profitable and “most valuable,” the analyst said.
She outlined five catalysts that will lead to sustained long-term growth for the industry. Sound pricing power amid rising demand. Positive trends in supply and demand as social media apps like TikTok drive global awareness and fan growth. The relatively “non-disruptive” nature of live events as a virtual format remains unparalleled. And then came experiential marketing.
alexandra canal I’m a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, Email alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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