Live Nation confirms record-breaking revenues and discussions with DSPs over pre-sale ticketing.

Live Nation has reported its highest-ever revenue figures. The live entertainment giant closed 2024 with total revenue of $23.16 billion, marking a 1.9% increase year-over-year.

Other key figures from Live Nation’s earnings report include:

  • Concert revenues: $19.02 billion (+1.5%)
  • Ticketing business revenues: $2.99 billion (<1% increase)
  • Sponsorship & advertising revenues: $1.2 billion (+9.1%)
  • Operating profit: $530 million (+65%)

Live Nation concerts saw 151 million fans in attendance, a 9% rise, with US stadium and arena tours selling over 75% of tickets within the first week of going on sale. Looking ahead, the company expects greater growth driven by stadium tours from the world’s biggest artists. Already in 2025, the company has sold 65 million tickets which is “up double-digits” year-on-year.

“2024 was live music’s biggest year yet, as artists toured the world and fans turned out in record numbers. 2025 is shaping up to be even bigger, thanks to a deep global concert pipeline, with more stadium shows on the books than ever before.”

Michael Rapino, Live Nation President and CEO

Ticketmaster’s growth and the backlash over ticket prices

Live Nation’s ticketing division, Ticketmaster, continues to thrive, reporting a 14% revenue increase in Q4 2024 to $841 million. Across the year, revenues hit almost $3 billion, with an operating profit of $311 million (+32% YoY). 

However, this success comes as Ticketmaster faces intense scrutiny from fans and regulators due to soaring ticket prices. Driven by increased touring costs and additional promoter fees, ticket prices have risen 42% since the pandemic.

Regulators have begun investigating these prices, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently launching a probe into Ticketmaster’s use of dynamic pricing for Oasis’ 2025 reunion tour. Fans initially saw standing tickets at £135, only to find them rise to £355 due to demand-based pricing.

Ticket reselling also continues to be a major issue. The EU introduced legislation last year to curb ticket touting, while the UK government is currently reviewing policies to address the problem.

Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold defended the company’s pricing, explaining that stadium tour tickets are priced “almost perfect” as higher ticket prices help prevent ticket resellers from profiting.

“The artist, in general, every cycle, is a little more educated on ‘what’s the best way to price my ticket?’ ‘How do I keep it accessible to my fans, but make sure scalpers don’t run away with the front of the house?’ So we love seeing these stadiums sitting somewhere around 95 percent sold out. The instant we sold out at 10am we’ve transferred a lot of wealth to the scalpers”.

Joe Berchtold, Live Nation CFO

The future of ticketing: DSPs and super-premium subscriptions

As noise surrounding the next phase of music streaming ramps up, Live Nation also confirmed ongoing discussions with Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music about integrating ticket pre-sales into premium subscription offerings.

This development aligns with the broader industry shift toward “Streaming 2.0”, which aims to offer superfans exclusive content and experiences to enhance the music streaming experience in order to drive more revenue and monetisation opportunities across the industry. 

What is Streaming 2.0?

Spotify’s rumoured ‘Music Pro’ higher-priced subscription tier is expected to include perks such as early ticket access. However, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino expressed skepticism over the scalability of such pre-sale deals:

“If… they [DSPs] are trying to add a $5 premium to a monthly subscription and they don’t have enough of their own inventory in terms of music or free songs. It’s always the easy go-to: ‘let’s give them pre-sale access’. The hard part about pre-scale is just scaling it. Everybody wants the Beyoncé [tickets], and that’s hard to scale.”

Michael Rapino, Live President and CEO

While Live Nation has not yet confirmed any DSP ticket partnerships, the ongoing discussions highlight a potential shift in how fans access live events through premium streaming subscriptions. 

Final thoughts

Live Nation’s record revenues confirm the continued demand for live music, but rising ticket prices and resale issues remain pressing concerns for fans and regulators. Meanwhile, the company’s talks with DSPs signal a possible shift in pre-sale ticketing, posing an interesting evolution toward the next iteration of music streaming.

Whether Live Nation will face regulatory pressure or agree to pre-sale ticket opportunities remains to be seen. Regardless, it will certainly be intriguing to see how the industry navigates the next phase of live music and streaming’s potential transformation.