Revenue / 05.11.22

Live Nation Announces Record-Setting Q1; 70 Million Tickets Sold for 2022

Access Staff

Pollstar (05/05/22) Speer, Debbie

Live Nation Entertainment announced a record-busting first quarter of ticket sales, with more than 70 million already sold for shows this year. CEO and President Michael Rapino highlighted operating income of $27 million and adjusted operating income (AOI) of $209 million in the quarter, whereas last year the company saw operating income bleed $303.2 million. "This was our highest Q1 AOI ever, exceeding Q1 of 2019 by $94 million, which had been our previous record first quarter," stated Live Nation Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold. The company saw $1.803 billion in total revenue on the quarter, with ticket sales accounting for $480.4 million. "Artists are back on the road and fan demand has never been stronger, a reflection that live events remain a clear priority for consumers as our social lives restart," Berchtold said. Rapino pointed to ticket buying as a reflection of overall business, and of demonstrating "how well our concert and sponsorship businesses are positioned to deliver record results this year." He added that Q1 was Live Nation's all-time second-highest quarter for ticketing gross transaction value (GTV), lagging only 2021's fourth quarter. "In primary ticketing, we are now benefiting from the 17 million net new fee-bearing tickets we gained in 2021, which helped drive transacted GTV for the quarter up 33% relative to Q1 2019," Rapino commented. "This quarter, we also added 7 million net new additional tickets through new contracts with venues as well as content creators, setting us up for ongoing growth this year and into 2023."

Read the full story from Pollstar. 

Tags: Revenue , Live Nation , Demand