Touring
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In the historically slow first quarter, Live Nation’s revenue dropped 11% to $3.38 billion (an 8% decline in constant currency), but adjusted operating income (AOI) fared better, declining 6% (or 0.5% in constant currency) to $341.1 million.
As the U.S. economy teeters and businesses brace for a protracted and uncertain trade war, Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter and ticketing company, believes the business will recover from the slow start to the year. CEO Michael Rapino expects 2025 to be “a historic year for live music, with a strong start having us on track to deliver double-digit growth in operating income and AOI this year,” he said in a statement.
The first quarter is relatively slow as concerts are concentrated in clubs and theaters before festivals, stadium and amphitheater shows appear later in the year. In 2024, the first quarter accounted for just 16% of Live Nation’s full-year revenue, and the concerts division received just 15% of its 2024 revenue in the first quarter. The second and third quarters, in contrast, accounted for 59% of 2024 revenue.
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Various financial metrics portend well for a stronger finish to 2025. Through mid-April, event-related deferred revenue — money collected for future concerts — of $5.4 billion was up 24% year-over-year. The 95 million concert tickets sold for Live Nation concerts represented a double-digit increase. On-sale sell-through rates were at or better than the same period last year. Ticketmaster’s primary ticketing volume was up 5% and gross transaction value (GTV) was up 10%.
The various divisions expect to have similar margins to previous years. Concerts’ AOI margin should be consistent with the 3% achieved in 2024. Ticketmaster’s AOI margin should be in the high 30s and sponsorships in the low 60s.
Absent stadium and amphitheater shows that occur later in the year, Live Nation’s concerts business had $2.48 billion in revenue, down 14% (11% in constant currency) from the prior-year quarter, from 22.3 million fans who attended 11,300 events. Concerts’ adjusted AOI improved to $6.6 million from a $1.8 million loss a year earlier.
In the ticketing segment, revenue fell 4% (1% at constant currency) to $695 million, and adjusted AOI of $253.1 million was down 11% (7% in constant currency). Concerts’ primary GTV was up 9%. Of the 78 million fee-bearing tickets, a number that was consistent with the first quarter of 2024, concert tickets were up 4% and accounted for 60% of volume. Non-concert tickets were down 9%.
Sponsorship revenue of $216.1 million was up 2% (9% at constant currency) while the division’s adjusted AOI of $136.0 million was up 5% (11% in constant currency). In the quarter, Live Nation secured new name-in-title sponsorships, including Citizens Live at The Wylie and Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park.
Foreign exchange affected AOI by 5% due to Live Nation’s exposure to the Mexican peso and other Latin American currencies. The company expects foreign exchange headwinds to result in low, single-digit impacts to revenue and AOI in the second quarter.
Shakira is No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Tours chart for March, back on top after ruling the February edition. She led last month’s list with $32.9 million but doubles her earnings on the newest update. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour earned $70.6 million from 11 reported shows. That’s more than any act has grossed in any March since the charts launched in 2019.
Monthly grosses typically balloon during the summer, when summer weather allows for stadium shows in the U.S. and Europe. With most acts confined to indoor arenas in the fall, winter, and spring, Shakira’s Latin roots fueled a massive stadium run in Central and South America and Mexico. She surpasses Bad Bunny’s March 2024, Coldplay in 2023, Bad Bunny again in 2022, the Backstreet Boys in 2020, and P!nk in 2019. (There was no ranking in March 2021 due to COVID-19).
Mexico was the setting of Shakira’s March shows, hitting Monterrey and Guadalajara before climaxing in Mexico City. There, the Colombian superstar played seven shows at Estadio GNP Seguros from March 19-30, bringing in $46.6 million from 396,000 tickets sold. Those shows are No. 1 on Top Boxscore, more than tripling the gross of No. 2.
Shakira’s seven Mexico City shows set a venue record, eclipsing RBD’s six nights (2023), Daddy Yankee’s five (2022), and Taylor Swift’s four (2023). But demand was so outrageous that she announced four more dates at the same stadium in August, extending to 11 shows.
The Estadio GNP Seguros shows alone would have secured Shakira the No. 1 spot on Top Tours, but her schedule also included two shows apiece in Monterrey ($12.5 million; 88.2K tickets) and Guadalajara ($11.5 million; 70.3K).
Including the tour’s first shows in February and further dates in April, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour has earned a reported $111 million and sold 910,000 tickets in Latin America. Shakira re-ups in Charlotte, N.C. on May 13 to begin a 23-show run in the U.S. and Canada. Then, she’ll be back in Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Peru for 18 more dates through November.
Just as Shakira was No. 1 in February and one-upped herself in March, Tyler, the Creator scores a second consecutive month at No. 2 with increased totals. This month, Tyler earned $36.2 million and sold 221,000 tickets, up 25% and 17%, respectively, from last month. It’s the first time that two acts repeated on top in consecutive months in three years, when Bad Bunny and Elton John went 1-2, respectively, in February and March 2022.
Three years after crowning Boxscore charts with his six band mates, BTS’ J-Hope is No. 3 on Top Tours with his first solo shows. Across 10 dates in March, he brought in $26.6 million and sold 149,000 tickets. After three home-town shows in Seoul, he toured North America. Like Shakira, his March peak was in Mexico City, with a $6.1 million double-header at Palacio de los Deportes on March 22-23.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER and NCT 127 represent K-pop elsewhere, with $10.6 million and $7 million, respectively.
Dead & Company follows at No. 4, with the Eagles trailing at No. 7. Both classic rock acts played shows at Las Vegas’ Sphere. As has become common in the last year and a half, the Sin City arena is No. 1 on the Top Venues (15,001+ capacity) chart, combining both bands’ dates – plus two from Anyma – for $45.4 million and 195,000 tickets.
Country music is rooted in the U.S. and has historically struggled to export internationally. So it’s a welcome surprise that this month’s roster of charting country tours include Jelly Roll in Canada, Chris Stapleton in Australia and New Zealand, and C2C Country To Country across the United Kingdom.
Shakira and J-Hope provided Mexican promoter OCESA with some of its biggest wins during March. But they crowd the top 10 of Top Boxscores further with two festivals. Mexico City’s Vive Latino Festival grossed $14.2 million and sold 146,000 tickets in the middle of the month, and Bogota’s Festival Estereo Picnic earned $10.1 million in March’s final days. Altogether, OCESA grossed $140 million and sold 1.3 million tickets.
In a major first for the festival business, a three-day music festival in Southern California is opening a permanent year-round social club and restaurant in the middle of its festival site, hoping to keep the party going 365 days a year.
On Tuesday (April 29), Allen Sanford, founder of the BeachLife festival in Redondo Beach, Calif., and his business partner Rob Lissner officially opened the doors to the California Surf Club, a 22,000-square-foot public restaurant and private social club that will serve as the centerpiece of this year’s three-day festival headlined by Lenny Kravitz, Sublime and Alanis Morissette.
Sanford, a long-time restaurant owner and venue operator in Los Angeles’ iconic South Bay region, has been working on the adaptive reuse project for several years, leasing and rehabbing two harbor front buildings near Redondo Beach’s popular tourist pier into a members-only lifestyle club and public restaurant on the Redondo Beach waterfront.
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“The California Surf Club is two buildings,” Sanford explained to Billboard. “The south building is a membership club. The north building is a restaurant. During the festival, the south building will be open for all the members of the club. It’ll be open to artists and to some different ticket types. And then the north building will actually be part of the VIP experience.”
Allen noted that “the building is encompassed into the footprint of the festival, which is fairly rare. And it’s all the same vibe and culture of BeachLife.”
Designed by architect Stephen Jones and interior designer Steven Jones, the club mixes casual dining with a coastal-modern casual environment, where members who pay $350 per month can dine, play billiards with friends and relax near a warm fire pit. The club is decorated throughout with vintage surf art and artifacts, floor-to-ceiling glass, reclaimed wood accents and lush landscaping.
There’s currently a waiting list to join, Sanford explained, noting that more than 400 people have already signed up for the private club, which will serve as the unofficial headquarters of Beachlife Festival during the May 2-4 festival.
The California Surf Club also includes the Paddle Perch, a waterfront area outfitted with club-owned standup paddleboards, kayaks and outrigger canoes, as well as hot showers for surfers coming out of the water and a surfboard valet service. It even boasts several performance spaces, including a stage-ready room with a Wrensilva turntable console, high-end AV system, and large-format screen for live music, surf flicks, sports, and special events.
Under director of memberships Chris Brown, California Surf Club offers four membership tiers — Founders, Classic, Ambassador and Groundswell — as well as limited day-rate access. In addition to Sanford and Lissner, California Surf Club is led by president Jeff Jones and COO Jerry Garbus, along with Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg, musician Donavon Frankenreiter, professional surfer Chris Frohoff, athlete Danny Ching, Quality Seafood President Jeff Jones, Redondo Beach School Superintendent Dr. Nikki Wesley, former Redondo Beach police chief Keith Kauffman and more.
The north building of the Surf Club boasts the public-facing waterfront restaurant with more than 250 seats across indoor dining rooms, shaded patios, firepit lounges and an Airstream courtyard. Led by executive chef Dennis Horton, the restaurant includes live-fire cooking, a lagoon-facing walk-up window with a casual “Lagoon Menu” for beachgoers, a cold seafood bar with shucked-to-order oysters, ceviche, sashimi, and crab, and performance spaces for guest DJ sets.
“The California Surf Club is like a surfer’s second home,” Sanford tells Billboard. “As a 47-year-old father, the only place I can go out to is a restaurant and that’s uncomfortable a lot of times — there’s nothing recreationally to do with my friends and family where we can hang out and enjoy the ocean. It’s literally designed to be your friend’s house that lives on the beach that has really good food and drink. It’s a place to just come and hang out with like-minded people.”
California Surf Club, Redondo Beach
PJ Cordero
California Surf Club, Redondo Beach
PJ Cordero
California Surf Club, Redondo Beach
PJ Cordero
BeachLife Festival
Courtesy Photo
The U.S. House of Representatives easily passed the bipartisan TICKET Act in a 409-15 vote on Tuesday (April 29), sending Congress’ first-ever regulatory framework for the event ticketing business on to the Senate.
Sponsored by Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-lll.), the legislation is meant to improve transparency and disclosure of ticket pricing and fees, ban deceptive marketing practices and improve consumer protections by requiring refunds for cancelled or postponed events.
While the legislation introduces long-sought legal protections for artists and fans, some advocacy groups argue that the bill doesn’t go far enough to curb ticket scalping and warn that its language could inadvertently legalize controversial sales practices, including speculative ticket sales.
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“The Ticket Act that just passed the House does not do nearly enough to protect fans and consumers against bad actors,” reads a statement from National Independent Trade Organization executive director Nathan Marro shortly after the bill passed.
At issue is a clause in the bill that Marro and other industry groups like the National Independent Venue Association say create a legal loophole for speculative ticket sales — a highly criticized practice where scalpers sell tickets they don’t actually own, only procuring the tickets after a consumer has agreed to buy them at a substantial markup. Under the language of the TICKET Act a “ticket exchange that does not have actual or constructive possession of an event ticket shall not sell, offer for sale, or advertise for sale such event ticket.” Marro worries that the provision is diluted by a loophole in the legislation which allows secondary sites like Vivid to offer “a service to an individual to obtain an event ticket on behalf of such individual.”
Marro argues that such a service — similar to Vivid’s Seat Saver program, where consumers pay to procure seats before they go on sale to the public, will worsen long-standing public complaints about fair access to tickets.
“Vivid Seats spec ticket ‘seat saver’ program is still 100% legal,” under the current language of the bill, Marro said. “NITO urges the Senate to strengthen this bill prior to passage and we will continue to advocate for stronger protections for our community.”
Stephen Parker, executive director for the National Independent Venues Association, also called out the spec ticket loophole, noting “the inclusion of a ‘concierge service’ carveout, as written in the TICKET Act, would undermine” the legislation. Specifically, Parker asserts that the carve out erodes the trust the public has in the artist — or show presenter — and their ability to fairly and transparently schedule ticket sales. When services like Seat Saver mislead fans into thinking they can buy tickets for high profile events ahead of schedule, Parker says trust in the safety and fairness of the ticket sales process is diminished.
“States across the country have proven that strong, loophole-free ticketing consumer protections work, and Congress should build on that momentum,” wrote Parker, noting that legislatures in Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nevada all banned speculative tickets sales without carve outs for concierge programs like seat saver.
Parker and Marro have identified other shortcomings with the TICKET Act, including stronger enforcement of the BOTS Act. Marro said his group of talent agents and managers would also like to see greater disclosure around all-in pricing so fans know how much was added to the face value of the ticket by the promoter, the ticketing company and the venue.
The TICKET Act now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
Eric Church is already gearing up for the release of his new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine on May 2, but this fall he will take that new project on the road when he launches his Free the Machine Tour, with 22 arena shows starting Sept. 12. Joining Church on varying dates on the tour […]
The Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., is undertaking a $1 billion renovation project that will reimagine nearly every aspect of the seasoned venue, it was announced Tuesday (April 29) by OC Sports & Entertainment (OCSE), an affiliate of the operator of the city-owned venue.
Dubbed Honda Center Encore, the privately funded transformation will happen simultaneously to the ongoing development of the arena’s surrounding campus, OC Vibe — a $4 billion, 100-acre entertainment district anchored by the home of the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks. Both Honda Center Encore and OC Vibe are being funded by the Samueli Family, owners of the Anaheim Ducks and longtime stewards of Honda Center.
Honda Center Encore
Courtesy of OCVIBE
“We don’t want to have the experience of our guests coming in here to be fantastic when you’re outside of our four walls of the Honda Center, and then you walk in and you’re taken back to 1993,” says OC Vibe CEO Bill Foltz. “We’ve kept the place up. It’s an amazing venue. It really needs to be updated. That process actually started a couple of years ago, where we started bringing in designers and architects.”
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The Honda Center Encore transformation will include a new five-story south entrance with a grand arrival experience along with a high-impact digital display to host outdoor viewing parties and community events. Foltz tells Billboard that the display will be used to showcase events occurring at the Honda Center in addition to viewing parties for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as the arena has signed an agreement to be the designated watch party site for the league. The new south entrance will replace the arena’s current facade.
Honda Center Encore
Courtesy of OCVIBE
Once completed — the transformation is due to be finished by 2027 — the arena will have entirely refreshed its food and beverage spaces, including ten brand-new concepts and the introduction of self-service technology to elevate speed and convenience. The transformation will also include a new all-inclusive club on the club level, offering an upscale, hospitality-focused experience for premium guests, with curated food and beverage offerings and unmatched views of the action. The venue will also debut new opera box suites on the main concourse and a full renovation of all 68 existing luxury suites.
Honda Center will additionally install new escalators to improve vertical circulation and introduce four new entry plazas, each with its own distinct social aesthetic. The construction of three new parking structures that will add 6,000 new stalls to the campus is already underway; the new parking options are expected to be complete by October and will increase parking availability by 60%. To keep the parking experience as friction-free as possible, the arena is also eliminating the need for arena guests to purchase parking passes in addition to their ticket.
Honda Center Encore
Courtesy of OCVIBE
“When you buy your ticket, it’s an all-inclusive price, meaning all-inclusive of your parking and access when you get here. So, when you pull in our parking garages, you won’t be stopping to check a QR code or to pay somebody,” says Foltz. “You’ll come straight into the parking garages, which are built for speed of access and exit. We think that step alone will get our fans into the excitement 20 to 30 minutes faster than they’re getting in today.”
One of the few aspects of the building that will remain unchanged is the arena’s iconic floors. The more than 30-year-old building will keep its white and burnt orange Italian marble flooring that “look[s] just the same as it did 30 years ago,” Foltz says, adding that the arena will match the color scheme throughout the renovations.
While the renovations will create more points of sale for attendees (especially those in the upper tiers of the arena), Foltz says the majority of the $1 billion renovation will be dedicated to guest experience over direct revenue enhancement. “The bulk [of the renovation] is making this building brand new so it will last another 50 years,” he says, adding, “We have a contract to run Honda Center through the 2060s.”
Honda Center Encore
Courtesy of OCVIBE
Honda Center Encore
Courtesy of OCVIBE
On the heels of delivering Kush + Orange Juice 2, Wiz Khalifa is hitting the road. Wiz and Sean Paul announced the Good Vibes Only Tour on Tuesday (April 29), which will feature DaBaby as a special guest performer. The 15-date amphitheater run will go through North America this summer, kicking off on July 6 […]
All three of the Carter girls made their Cowboy Carter Tour debuts Monday night (April 28), with Blue Ivy and Rumi both joining Beyoncé on stage for an emotional performance of “Protector” during the trek’s opening night at SoFi Stadium.
In clips taken by fans in Inglewood, Calif., both of the superstar’s daughters accompany her about a third of the way through the show for the tear-jerking Cowboy Carter ballad about motherhood, which samples Rumi’s voice in the recording. As the 7-year-old sits next to Bey on a set of stairs flanked by backup dancers, 13-year-old Blue crouches behind them, wrapping her arms around both her younger sister and their mom.
“Born to be your protector,” Bey sings before standing up, taking Rumi’s hand and walking with her downstage. “Even though I know someday you’re gonna shine on your own, I will be your projector.”
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At one point, the little girl turns around and gives her mom a big hug, at which point Bey can’t help but stop singing and giggle. “Give it up for Rumi, y’all!” the Destiny’s Child alum then says proudly as the crowd cheers, while Rumi excitedly waves.
Though Monday’s kickoff marked Rumi’s first time ever joining her mom on stage, Blue has long been working with her mom as a backup dancer. The teenager first started dancing on Bey’s Renaissance Tour in 2023, and on Christmas Day 2024, Blue was on the field with the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer for the star’s NFL Halftime Show.
Blue also had a couple shining moments to herself during the Cowboy Carter show, showing off synchronized choreography with her mom during “America Has a Problem.” She also had her own dance solo set to Bey’s “Deja Vu,” commanding a line of other dancers in a brown leathery fit as fans went wild.
Performing tracks from past albums as well as a bulk of the songs from her Grammy-winning, Billboard 200-topping album Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé kicked off about three months of touring with her show at SoFi. The vocalist will stay at the stadium for four more nights before embarking on a run of performances across the United States and Europe this summer.
LONDON — The U.K.’s LIVE industry group (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has announced that contributions to its music fund has crossed the £500,000 ($668,007) milestone. The fund supports the grassroots music scene, and has been backed by stars such as Diana Ross, Pulp, Mumford & Sons and Hans Zimmer, all of whom have pledged to donate £1 ($1.30) from every ticket sale for upcoming arena shows.
LIVE campaigns and raises awareness for issues facing the U.K.’s live music scene, with a particular focus on the grassroots music scene and its workers. It represents 15 live music organizations, including the Music Venue Trust, the Music Managers Forum, Featured Artists Coalition among others.
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The LIVE Trust, established in January 2025, receives funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5000. A funding strategy is then implemented alongside a panel of industry experts, ensuring the funds reach venues, promoters, festivals and artists.
A proposed ticket levy has long been discussed in the U.K. to help stem the tide of grassroots music venues closures. The MVT reports that over 150 venues have closed across the U.K. since 2023, citing a number of financial challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
The current Labour government has supported the idea of the levy. Speaking in a parliamentary debate in January, Chris Bryant (creative industries minister) backed the idea of a levy in either format: “If the scheme does not happen voluntarily, will we make it statutory? Yes,” he said.
A number of big name acts have already committed portions from ticket sales in recent years, including Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Enter Shikari and more. Coldplay will donate 10% of the revenue from their upcoming Wembley Stadium residency to the Music Venue Trust, one of LIVE’s members. The group will play a record 10 nights at the venue in August and September.
Last week LIVE shared their Music Fans’ Voice report, which surveyed 8000 concert goers about the state of the live music industry, with 93% of respondents backing the £1 per ticket contribution.
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE said, “This is a welcome milestone for The LIVE Trust and marks a very significant contribution to the grassroots live music sector. What this demonstrates is that there is a real appetite from performers and their teams to support the wider live ecosystem and we applaud and thank those that have already taken this initiative. Whilst this is an excellent start there is still much work to do if we are to convince government that a voluntary rather than statutory levy is both workable and sustainable.”
Anuel AA is hitting the road (and resuming) his Real Hasta La Muerte 2 tour this year, presented by CMN Events. The 20-date stint — which started last November in Argentina and was originally meant to end this March in Miami — will officially kick off at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on […]