No in-person concerts? No Problem. Live Nation shares hit record highs this week
It’s been more than ten months since in-person concerts have been canceled or postponed, but event ticket seller Live Nation Entertainment’s (LYV) stock has made an impressive, steady comeback since last March — touching new highs earlier this week.
The company has been offering drive-in shows, live streams, and new content through its “Live From Home” virtual music hub.
On Tuesday, Live Nation announced it acquired a majority stake in the livestream platform Veeps, with the stock touching new highs following the news. The move makes sense, given the trend to live stream everything amid COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide.
“Live-streaming is a great complement to our core business, and essentially gives any show an unlimited capacity,” said Live Nation’s president and CEO Michael Rapino.
Cowen analyst Stephen Glagola says the company has been able to utilize streaming to broaden fan reach and generate an additional revenue stream.
“Live Nation has adopted new ways of connecting both fans and artists including live-streaming and ecommerce that we think will improve monetization opportunities as the company emerges from the pandemic,” Glagola told Yahoo Finance.
“We think this will help Live Nation drive a few incremental dollars in revenue per fan – streaming concerts to fans that perhaps can’t attend a event live and/or enhance the live experience for those attending,” he added.
The stock’s performance has been impressive following a 52-week low in March of last year when large gatherings were postponed or cancelled as the pandemic crippled hospitality and entertainment industries worldwide.
Live Nation was quick to secure a revolving credit loan in April and cut costs. Rapino forwent his $3 million 2020 CEO compensation, and other top executives cut their salaries by up to 50%.
Last year Ticketmaster unveiled a technology giving event organizers the ability to adapt protocols like social distance seating, contactless box-office and entry, contactless concession payment and staggered fan entry times.
“We believe Ticketmaster will emerge stronger from this crisis, as event organizers will become more accustomed to adopting mobile identity-based ticketing technology to provide safe events for fans,” said Glagola.
“Looking to the future, live streams will continue to unlock access for fans – whether they are tuning into a sold out show in their hometown, or watching their favorite artist play in a city halfway around the world,” said Rapino.
Veeps was created in 2017 by Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte and billed as a ticketed live-stream platform custom-built for artists, by artists. It’s meant to create easier interactions between fans and artists.
“Last year Veeps live streams helped artists — both big names and new acts — make over $10 million dollars for themselves, their families, their crew and their chosen causes,” said Joel Madden, co-founder of Veeps.
The platform hosted around 1,000 ticketed live stream shows in 2020.
Ines covers the U.S. stock market. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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