With concerts still on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Live Nation suffered a 95 percent year-over-year decline in quarterly revenues during the three months ending on September 30th.
Live Nation disclosed the figure and other performance stats today, in its third-quarter earnings report. Concert revenues came in at $154.8 million throughout the three-month stretch, a 95 percent falloff from the $3.17 billion delivered by the same period in 2019. Predictably, ticketing revenues also dipped dramatically, compared to Q3 2019, while sponsorship and advertising income finished at $47.9 million, down 78 percent from 2019’s third quarter.
The discouraging numbers are largely in line with those that the Beverly Hills-based company reported for Q2 2020, when quarterly revenues decreased 98 percent from Q2 2019. Moreover, CEO Michael Rapino noted at the analysis’s outset that “there have been no major changes in our business conditions or outlook” since the latter report’s release.
During trading hours, Live Nation stock (LYV) enjoyed a small boost (3.11 percent), though it appears that the earnings report became publicly available about when the market closed. At the time of this writing, after-hours transactions had produced a 3.40 percent drop from the day’s closing price, with LYV’s per-share landing at $54.51.
And in a broader sense, despite the unprecedented disruption that the live-event industry continues to face, Live Nation’s Q3 2020 earnings report wasn’t without a few bright spots. The number of ticketholders who’ve opted to forego refunds and keep their passes touched 83 percent, down just three percent from the second quarter and seven or so percent from the first quarter. CEO Rapino also relayed that a “recent global survey” found that 95 percent of respondents plan to enjoy live music once restrictions are lifted – the highest figure of any such survey to date.
On the enthusiasm front, Live Nation also reiterated that EDC Las Vegas tickets sold out in less than 24 hours. (Subsequently, fans nabbed all the tickets to Insomniac and Live Nation’s Day Trip music festival in roughly 90 minutes.) Sales for multiple U.K. festivals, Creamfields among them, have also proven strong, as has fan interest in several COVID-free gigs that took place in New Zealand.
Earlier this week, Live Nation’s Ticketmaster subsidiary debuted a “social distance seating tool” for venues, among other resources designed to help venues accommodate fans. And last month, Ticketmaster president and global chairman Jared Smith, a 17-year veteran of the company, revealed that he will step down at 2020’s end.
how did livenation continue with earnings as all concerts are cancelled…$154.8 million. That sees like a lot of iron without actually doing anything…their website no way made them that kind of cash…odd….really odd…can we get some auditors over there…or would they be turned away??