LiveNation Gaining Traction as Merger with TicketMaster Proceeds

February 26, 2010 by Vignesh · Leave a Comment

Last year was not a great year for concert promoter LiveNation. Concert attendance in the key North American market was waning, leaving the firm with slipping revenues and operating losses north of $300 million.

Things change.

Last month the merger between LiveNation and ticketing juggernaut TicketMaster was approved, paving the road for new opportunities and synergies for a new entity in the entertainment industry, Live Nation Entertainment.

The organization is still in the early stages of integration and for now reports the two units separately. Yesterday, reporting LiveNation progress for the first time since the approval, LiveNation released the muted good news that operating losses had shrunk for the 4th quarter, largely on the strength of higher ticket fees and the absence of large impairment charge that had stung earlier numbers. TicketMaster, aided by growth in its artist management branch, Front Line, saw revenues rise 7% to post a $35 million profit.

Consumer groups and ticket resellers have been voicing their concerns that the entertainment marriage would concentrate too much entertainment power in too few hands, resulting in elevated pricing.

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