Live Nation has released its third quarter 2022 earnings report, and the results are yet another sign that events are back and fan demand for live experiences is still going strong. The entertainment giant reported record third quarter revenues of $6.3 billion — up a staggering 63 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
The company also reported operating income of $506 million, up 95 percent from 2019, and that attendance across all venue types was up 40 percent compared to 2019. In fact, the third quarter saw Live Nation’s highest quarterly attendance ever at 44 million fans across 11 thousand events. Year-to-date, 89 million fans have attended 31 thousand Live Nation events.
According to the report, fans are continuing to spend their money on experiences: ancillary spending per fan was up 30 percent at US amphitheaters through September, while ticket sales via Ticketmaster saw 37 percent growth with over 115 million sold. Ticketmaster generated $6.7 billion of fee-generating gross transaction value in the third quarter alone, representing a 69 percent increase over 2019. This is significant considering the increasing pressure that inflation is putting on consumer budgets this year.
“Clearly 2022 has been an incredible year of returning to live events, and we expect it to finish strong,” said Michael Rapino, Live Nation Entertainment President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. Live Nation also expects continued growth into 2023, with both tickets sold for concerts next year and 2023 confirmed sponsorships outpacing the levels seen at this point last year for 2022.
“Beyond these specific leading indicators,” continued Rapino, “going into 2023, we expect we will drive growth in our concert business by adding more venues to our operated portfolio, continue increasing ancillary per fan revenue and further our efforts to deliver market value for the show to artists. And in ticketing, we expect to benefit from these market pricing trends, while also continuing to globally add new clients to our world-class platform.