Live Nation has decided 2012 isn’t so “flat” after all, at least not attendance-wise, reporting Aug. 29 that turnstiles and ticket sales are up from 2011’s figures.
And the company is so encouraged that president and CEO Michael Rapino took to the airwaves to tout the numbers, appearing on CNBC as the report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the filing, overall attendance at Live Nation concerts from June 1 through Sept. 30 is currently projected to be up approximately 5 percent from last summer.
Making up that increase are projections that international attendance will be up by about 20 percent; festivals 30 percent, EDM events 70 percent and sheds up 15 percent.
Ticketmaster’s global ticket sales for 2012 through the end of July are up approximately 5 percent as well, according to the company.
The filing appears designed to apply specifics to generalizations about summer attendance made by Rapino during an Aug. 7 earnings call. At that time, Rapino predicted EDM attendance would “triple” and festivalgoers would “more than double.”
The filing could be intended to mollify shareholders – shares of LYV ended the day Aug. 31 at $8.52 – down from $9.30 the day of the earnings call. While the numbers are in line with Rapino’s comments during the call, the estimates weren’t included in the actual financial report.
Despite the rosy attendance numbers, Live Nation took a hit in the earnings department in Q2 – showing that improved attendance may not help the bottom line if it’s not being efficiently monetized in ancillaries, or “spends per head,” as CFO Kathy Willard put it.