Leadership / 01.25.18
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino on the Future of Concert Ticket Pricing and Responding to Terrorism
Access Staff
Original article published on Billboard (01/25/18) by Dave Brooks
In an interview, Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino discusses how the live music business will unfold in 2018, and Live Nation's assumption of the role of "an important marketing partner for the artist." Rapino says the managers of the future "want to know everything about [the artist's] audience and the more that he can build that audience and deliver them art, the more he can have total control of the business." Rapino says Live Nation's growth focus for 2018 is in the hospitality area, noting, "People will pay for great experiences and the real opportunity is, how do you drive the per spend on site?" Rapino also says part of Live Nation's job with artists is ensuring they are going to market with the best dynamic pricing strategy, as well as locking down the desired ticket pricing. "If you want to charge $129, then figure out how to make it $129, and make sure no one else makes any money on that so your fan is getting it at $129," Rapino notes. "Ultimately, that will be digital tickets that replaces barcodes and allows us to deliver a true ticket directly." Also imperative for Rapino is ensuring fan safety at events in the wake of last year's terrorist incidents in the U.K. and Las Vegas. "Our job is to work with the artist and the venue to have a global [security] standard," he says.
Read the full story on the Billboard website.
Tags: Paperless , Wristbands , Music , Security , News , Stadium , Personalization