Live Nation Posts Best-Ever First Quarter in 2022, Thanks to Demand for Tickets

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation Entertainment posted the best first quarter in its history this year, according to financial results released Thursday for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.“Momentum has picked up for all of our businesses over the course of the first quarter, and as a result, we delivered financial performance that greatly surpassed our previous expectations, with operating income of $27 million and [adjusted operating income] of $209 million,” CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement accompanying the results. “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.”The company’s AOI of $209 million topped the previous record, Q1 of 2019, by $94 million, and was $361 million better than 2021 — when the industry had not yet begun to emerge from the pandemic — with a boost of $269 million in ticketing, $66 million in sponsorship and $26 million in concerts.

Ticket sales were the main driver for the quarter’s success. “Despite some markets [globally] taking longer to re-open, the quarter was our second highest ever for GTV [gross transaction value] excluding refunds, trailing only Q4 2021, with March being our highest month ever for transacted GTV, excluding refunds,” Rapino said, noting that the quarter was 33% over Q1 2019.The company’s secondary-market ticketing GTV growth was even higher, up 106% relative to Q1 2019.