LYV - Live Nation expects 2022 to be a better year than 2019
Live Nation Entertainment Inc ( NYSE: LYV ) said late on Monday that artists are beginning to consider resuming in-person events later this year as the COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease on the back of vaccine rollouts. As a result, concert venue bookings are now starting to show signs of recovery.
President Joe Berchtold’s remarks on CNBC’s “Closing Bell”
President Joe Berchtold also expressed confidence that ticket sales are expected to follow in the upcoming months as more events are scheduled. On CNBC’s “Closing Bell”, Berchtold said:
“What we are seeing so far is that the number of shows we have booked in our large buildings, our arenas, our amphitheatres, our stadiums, those are pacing double digits ahead of where we were in 2019. Not all of those tours have gone on sale yet, we have a lot that are going on sale now every week.”
The pent-up demand due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Berchtold added, is likely to sustain high demand for concerts in the next few years. However, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is consistently updating its guidelines, and it is not yet evident what kind of health precautions will be in place in the second half of 2021. The president said:
“Rather than trying to dictate a global one-size fits all, we are looking to local health officials to tell us what makes sense in that market at that time and how do we continue to evolve it.”
Live Nation is expanding its footprint in streaming and NFTs
Live Nation is currently expanding its footprint in streaming and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). At the start of 2021, the American entertainment company took a majority stake in Veeps (live streaming platform).
“We are using that to scale up the streaming of live concerts for those who can’t make a show. We are also very focused on NFTs, how we create digital memorabilia. One of the things you, unfortunately, lose with digital tickets is you lose those ticket stubs that so many people like to keep as their record of the event.”
Live Nation opened at $93.18 per share (£65.95 per share) in the stock market on Tuesday and is currently exchanging hands at a lower $90.13 per share. In comparison, it had started the year at $70.67 per share. At the time of writing, the Beverly Hill-based company has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion.
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