Live Nation Posts Best-Ever Quarter With $8.2 Billion Global Revenue, Record Attendance

variety.com:

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer In the wake of massive summer tours from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, Live Nation has announced yet another record-breaking quarter in Q3 of 2023, with revenue up 32% to $8.2 billion and up 36% to $16.9 billion so far this year.

As fans continue to shell out big bucks for stadium and arena spectaculars (sometimes paying thousands of dollars for a single seat on the secondary market), Live Nation shows have sold 140 million tickets so far this year — up 17% year-over year — and have already blown past the 2022 full-year total of 121 million.

Ticketmaster also broke a record, with 257 million fee-bearing tickets sold so far this year and projections to manage over 600 million tickets by year’s end. “Today we delivered our strongest quarter ever and are on pace for a record 2023, driven in good part by the acceleration of structural growth in the live entertainment industry,” CEO Michael Rapino said in the official announcement. “While we have benefitted from tailwinds for many years, it has accelerated due to the globalization of our business along with a fundamental shift in consumer spending habits toward experiences.

With the majority of opportunity still untapped from Milan to Bogotá to Tokyo and beyond, we expect the industry will continue growing in 2024 and for years to come.” Live Nation no doubt got some help from Swift and Beyoncé, whose respective must-see tours this year were earnings gold.