Live Nation Entertainment has released financial results for the quarter that ended March 31, 2020. On a positive note, the company says that more than 90 percent of fans at this point have opted to keep tickets to shows rather than ask for refunds, and even more (91 percent) of global live music goers say that want to return to concerts.
A statement from Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation:
At the beginning of the year, we were on track for tremendous growth across all our businesses with both fan demand and artist touring increasing on a global basis. However, in mid-March we came to a halt and we have held no concerts in almost two months. Despite these challenging times, we continue to have full confidence in the long-term supply and demand dynamics of the live concerts industry, Live Nation’s leadership position and our business model’s ability to successfully deliver profitable growth and shareholder value.
Ensuring Health & Safety
Our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of our employees, fans and artists. Like most of the world, we have been working remotely since mid-March and we will return to work only after there is clear consensus that it is safe to do so, and then in appropriate numbers with expanded cleaning and social distancing protocols. Similarly, we recognize the experience at our venues will change when concerts start back up, and we are working with medical experts and public health officials on procedures to keep people safe while enjoying our shows.
When we asked over eight thousand fans across North America about their requirements for returning to shows, they had two clear priorities – with 85 percent of fans stating they want increased cleaning and sanitizing of the venues and ready access to hand sanitizing stations, while no other actions received more than 40 percent support. In addition, we expect to have additional safety protocols in place, potentially including reduced capacity, touchless concessions and creative ways to apply our digital ticketing technology.
Planning For Reopening
Our next priority is planning for the reopening of concerts when the time is right. First and foremost, we will let the facts and science tell us when we should start putting on concerts again. We are working with the government at the federal and state levels in the U.S. and across all countries, building plans that fit within reopening phases for each specific market. In the meantime, we have fortified our balance sheet to have the resources to ramp up quickly when the time is right.
We know from fans that demand will be there when the shows return. Globally, over 90 percent of fans are holding on to their tickets for rescheduled shows where refunds are available, which is the clearest demonstration of pent up demand that will enable us to quickly start concerts back up. Reinforcing this, in a global survey of ten thousand live music goers, over 90 percent indicate they will be back to concerts once possible to do so. Looking further out, given that 80 percent of shows have been rescheduled rather than canceled, and as we noted almost all fans are holding on to their tickets, we believe 2021 can return to show volume and fan attendance at levels consistent with what we’ve seen in recent years.
Go here for the full statement as well as detailed financial information.
