Live Nation reports tough Q1 as COVID-19 wipes out concerts, says most fans are keeping their tickets

It’s a tough time for any business involved in concerts and live entertainment. That includes Live Nation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic keeps flights grounded and the live business in hibernation, the world’s leading promoter gives us a glimpse at how the situation is hurting its bottom line.

For the first quarter, LN posted a 20 percent decline in revenue to US$1.37 billion ($2 billion) and a US$172 million ($263 million) loss, as the Coronavirus outbreak shut down the global concerts industry.

“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,” writes Live Nation CEO and President Michael Rapino. However, in mid-March “we came to a halt and we have held no concerts in almost two months.”

There’s no dodging the downturn for a company whose entire business model is exposed during the health crisis.

Live Nation's Michael Rapino

Despite these challenging times, Rapino adds, “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.”

In a sliver of good news for investors, Rapino and LN noted that over 90 per cent of fans have opted to opted to hang onto their tickets for postponed gigs, rather than chase refunds.

According to LN, 91 per cent of global live music goers say they want to return to concerts and 80 per cent of shows are being rescheduled rather than scrapped altogether.

There’s no firm date on when venues will open their doors, and tours can kick off.

“Our next priority is planning for the reopening of concerts when the time is right,” Rapino adds. “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.”

Live Nation announced in March that it would suspend all upcoming concerts, and the following month unveiled a $600 million cost reduction target for 2020.