eventbrite
The Ledger: Concert Companies Are Maintaining a Rosy Outlook for the Rest of 2022
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Strong demand for live music is not a surprise given fans’ time away from concerts in 2020 and 2021. But it’s not straightforward, either. Fans are dealing with inflation and high gas and airfare costs. Companies face staffing shortages and higher costs. Artists are flooding markets’ venues seeking to recapture lost business. Still, judging from some companies’ statements around their latest quarterly results, indications point to an exceptional second half of the year. Live Nation’s second quarter earnings showed a company is primed for a record year. Live Nation sold more than 100 million tickets to its concerts this ...
The Ledger: Three Major Trends Revealed in Music Companies’ Q1 2022 Earnings
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. From streaming services to concert promoters and ticket sellers, music companies have reported encouraging first-quarter earnings results that show consumers continue to adopt subscription services and eagerly return to live events after COVID restrictions were lifted in late 2021. The same companies’ stock prices tell another story, however. While music companies posted double-digit gains in subscription growth, revenue, ticket sales and many other metrics, their share prices are down by double-digits in 2022. That’s not a surprise given the state of the economy: Inflation is at a 40-year high ; rising interest rates s...
Music’s First Blockchain Ticketer Big Neon Has Run Out of Money
Big Neon was billed as music’s first blockchain ticketing company when it launched at the end of 2018 and announced plans top become a token-based system by 2020 and the eventual “spiritual successor” to Ticketfly. But 27 months after launching, the mobile-based ticketing system has run out of money and is now shutting its doors, co-founders Dan Teree and Ryan O’Connor confirm to Billboard. Earlier this week, Teree and O’Connor sent to a note to venue clients like the Midway and Bimbo’s 365 in San Francisco, the Gas Monkey in Dallas and The Exit/In in Nashville announcing Big Neon’s plans to close effective March 30. “It is with great regret that Big Neon has decided to cease operations,” the letter read. “This was ...
Eventbrite Executive Sees Potential in Virtual Concerts Post-COVID
During a recent call with investors pertaining to their Q3 2020 earnings, the CFO of Eventbrite, Lanny Baker, explained how digital events continue to impact the live music industry. Citing dramatic increases to digital event ticket sales before the pandemic, Baker detailed the growth and made note of potential opportunities for virtual shows in the future. “When the in-person events have recovered and people have moved from their computer screens back into the real world, we’ve seen that next shift back, but we’re still talking about 10%, 20%, 30% of ticket volume being for virtual events. Whereas pre-Covid, that number might have been 2%, 3% or 4%,” he said. “So I think there’s been a structural opening of a business opportunity and habit around online events....
Eventbrite Posts Big Losses in First COVID-Impacted Earnings Report, Reveals Three-Tiered Refund Plan
Eventbrite is carrying about $293 million in exposure from advance payouts to the creators on the system, official with the San Francisco-based ticketing company disclosed Monday (May 11) in its Q1 earnings report, sharing new details on plans to refund ticket holders and detailing the impact of the live music shut down on their bottom line. The top line numbers for the quarter were brutal as nearly every public event on its system had to be postponed or canceled, leading to a $146.5 million net loss for the quarter, down 489.66% from the previous quarter, equaling a $1.71 per share loss. The losses included $113.7 million of chargebacks and reserve increases and a $76.5 million increase in reserves “in anticipation of potential future chargebacks and refunds,” according to the compan...
