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Global entertainment giant has revealed a 92% fall in its year-on-year income in the fourth quarter of 2020 with its revenue falling to an all-time low.

However, despite the US-based company posting US$1.86 billion in revenue for the full year, down 84% from 2019, confidence in the return of live entertainment has seen the business’ share price  has risen a level higher than its pre-COVID price of early 2020.

Live Nation’s revenue for the fourth quarter was down to US$178.4 million from nearly US$2.3 billion in the previous year, while overall revenue for 2020 was almost US$8 billion less than in 2019.

The company, which owns ticketing giant Ticketmaster, lost about US$368 million between its concert and ticketing divisions in the fourth quarter and lost $1 billion for the year as a whole.

Ticketing revenue fell 98% while concert revenue fell 92%.

Despite facing its most difficult trading year for revenue and ticket sales, Live Nation President and Chief Executive, Michael Rapino expressed optimism for the projected return of live events in 2021.

During an earnings call and citing conversations with governors of US states, Rapino advised of “a clear outline to a 75% to 100%” capacity for outdoor US events in 2021, noting “we are seeing … what we’ve been talking about (fans) are excited to get back to the show as soon as we get the green lights in these markets to open up.”

Rapino (pictured below) went on to say “we continue to have a substantial tailwind in the live event industry, as consumers more than ever are looking to spend on experiences.

“The supply-demand fundamentals of the concerts business remain strong, with artists ready to get back on the road and fans eager to reconnect at events. All our data continues to show that there is substantial pent-up demand for concerts on the consumer demand side.”

Rapino also made reference to a recent survey that indicated 95% of fans are likely to attend a concert when restrictions are lifted and predicted that the pipeline for 2022 is much stronger than usual.

He noted that there are almost “twice as many major touring artists on cycle in 2022 than a typical year - about 45 artists versus the usual 25. And there remains plenty of scheduling availability at arenas, amphitheatres and stadiums to accommodate these additional tours, with over two-thirds of these venues’ nights unused by sporting events or major concerts in a typical year.”

Following Live Nation’s report, its share price rose to surpass a pre-pandemic high, hitting US$87.22 at the time of publication, compared with US$67.76 a year ago.

Looking back on last year, Rapino added “as we look back on 2020, it is clearly not the year anyone predicted, but I am very proud of how Live Nation has dug in and focused on turning this challenge into an opportunity to improve our business.

“Given the massive social and economic toll that the lockdown has had on the public, we believe there will be strong momentum to reopen society swiftly as soon as vaccines are readily available. And we believe outdoor activities will be the first to happen.

“So while the timing of our return to live will continue to vary across global markets, every sign points to it beginning safely in many countries sometime this summer and scaling further from there.”

Live Nation also advised that 83% of fans continue to hold on to their tickets for shows postponed during 2020, and advised of a US$950 million reduction in costs in 2020 and US$1.65 billion in cash savings.

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