This week, Live Nation has released its third-quarter financial report for the year, offering unique insight into the ebbing and flowing live music industry.

Front and center among the company’s growth is the surging global ticket sales, which have exceeded 92 million individual tickets through mid-October. The 6-percent rise since last year sets 2019 up to be the first year that Live Nation breaches 100 million tickets sold. The increase in ticket sales is in part due to Live Nation’s ambition in establishing new venues, with a particular focus on renovating existing venues for something new. This year alone, the company added 36 venues to its global portfolio, including the Brooklyn Bowls in both New York and Las Vegas, as well as Sportpaleis in Belgium. This growth in tickets sold should continue to boom, too, with 1500 stadium, arena and amphitheater shows already booked for 2020, a triple-digit rise from this time last year.

Overall, Live Nation’s reported revenue of 10.8 billion makes 2019 their best year ever, but the company’s stock dropped a drastic 8 percent on Friday when their quarterly report was released. Paramount among contributing factors are the much-enhanced income tax expenses faced by the company as Live Nation continues to expand internationally. 2019 has seen the company’s income tax expensive jump a whopping 60 percent, with 85 percent of the company’s total taxes being accrued in foreign countries. Another reasoning for the dipping stock value is the fact that while the company is reporting record numbers, they still missed Wall Street’s expectations by a significant amount.

Those looking to get their dataset on can view Live Nation’s third quarterly report here.

Tags: live nation, stocks, ticket sales

Categories: News