Live Nation reports a record 2015, revenues up 11%

The world’s largest concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment reported a record 2015. Its annual revenue was up 11% to US$7.2 billion. It was its fifth consecutive year of record revenue and profitability.

Global concert attendance up 8% to 63 million from 25,000 concerts (this number up 12% from 2014) in 33 countries. Last year’s touring artists included U2, Madonna, One Direction, AC/DC, Luke Bryan, Fleetwood Mac and Ariana Grande.

Live Nation reported, “We continue to see the tremendous power of live events, with strong global consumer demand. Live is a truly unique entertainment form – it cannot be duplicated. It is elevated, not threatened by technology and is borderless. Fans around the world can now discover, follow, share and embrace artists, creating greater demand for live shows.

“We believe the live business sector will continue to have strong growth for years to come as fans globally drive demand, artists are motivated to tour, and technology drives conversion.

Live Nation is also the leading festival operator in the world. Electric Daisy, Beyond Wonderland and Voodoo Music are just three of its many events in the US, along with Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza which it acquired last year. Its UK festivals include Download, Wireless, Creamfields, Reading/Leeds and Hyde Park Calling. Its European list includes PinkPop in Holland, Belgium’s I Love Techno, D Code in Spain and Rock’n’Heim in Germany.

However the concert division had a $10.4 million operating loss, although this was down from the $19.5 million loss in 2014. The company as a whole posted an operating loss of nearly $34 million, which it attributed in part on foreign exchange factors.

One of its subsidiaries Ticketmaster also had a record 2015, with its gross transaction value up 12% at constant currency to $25 billion, and record ticket volume of 530 million over the 16 countries it operates in.

The management and artist service division Artist Nation had a 13% growth, due it said to more shows and higher management fees. It has over 60 managers, 280 artists and 750 million social media followers.

Advertising was up 17%, and sponsorship grew by 20% to almost 900 brands globally). Its concerts also had 300 million views on its web and mobile apps

Live Nation customers are increasingly buying tickets through mobiles. “As of the end of 2015, over 21 million fans have downloaded one of our apps, a 37% increase over last year. This drove a 20% increase in mobile ticket sales for the year to 21% of total tickets.”

The company predicts a strong growth of 2016 with tours already locked in for superstars Beyonce and Rihanna.

As reported in TMN, Live Nation in Australasia has bid to become operators of venues, last week teamed with Unified to create a heavy rock-focussed tour company, and is rumoured to be bringing the UK’s Download festival to these shores. It is also involved in the inaugural Auckland City Limits festival in New Zealand in mid-March.