August 07, 2008 -
By Mitchell Peters, L.A.Live Nation has reported a second-quarter net income of $1.2 million, or 2 cents per share, down from a net profit of $9.9 million, or 15 cents a share, during the same period last year.
Revenues at the Los Angeles-based company rose 18% to $1.16 billion from $986.3 million.
"We are pleased to report that the live music industry remains healthy, particularly given the continued economic slowdown that has impacted so many consumer-oriented business,"
Live Nation president/CEO Michael Rapino said today (Aug. 7) during a call with investors."
As expected, concert attendance and per head revenue has held up very well, and the pace of ticket sales remains robust in the current quarter.
"Live Nation produced more than 5,800 concerts during the second-quarter, up 42% from last year, according to Rapino.
Attendance jumped 14% to 13.7 million, and total revenue per fan rose 6% to $82.18.
Sponsorship revenue declined to $44.7 million from $44.9 million.
The company executed 623 sponsorship deals during the quarter, and is on track to close more than 1,000 deals in 2008, Rapino said.
Revenues in Live Nation's North American Music division grew 33% to $619.7 million, while its International Music segment increased 12.5% to $377.2 million.
As reported earlier, the company's amphitheater season weathered an iffy economy in the first half of the year, and managed to post some improved numbers.
Per-show attendance through July at North American amphitheaters this year, the overwhelming bulk of which are owned and/or operated by Live Nation, is 9,109, up 1,360 people per show over last year, according to Billboard Boxscore.
Meanwhile, Rapino said that Live Nation remains confident in its summer concert schedule, noting that Madonna's fall tour has already sold 1.3 million tickets.
"We continue to believe this tour will be Madonna's biggest ever, with the potential of grossing over $240 million in total revenues," he said.
Coldplay's summer tour is 90% sold out, Rapino said, noting that other Live Nation tours include New Kids on the Block, Jonas Brothers, Journey, John Mayer and Rascal Flatts.
Moving to Live Nation's latest batch of multirights deals, Rapino said the company's 10-year agreement with Nickelback expects to generate more than $700 million in revenue.
And its 10-year partnership with Shakira could generate more than $800 million in revenue.
"These deals put us on track in meeting our goals of signing a total or four to six major artists to a long-term, multiple-rights deal in 2008," he said.
As Live Nation prepares to launch its own ticket platform in 2009, the company's in-house ticketing sales increased 74% to $7.3 million during the second quarter.
Through its existing relationship with Ticketmaster, Live Nation is allowed to sell 10% of its tickets through a "registered fan club mechanism," according to Rapino.
"We've got full staffing in place in all of our venues and box-offices," he said, adding that Live Nation has done ticketing for Bonnaroo and Pemberton festivals.
"We're fully on track on execution, costs and transition, and see no stumbling blocks right now."
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London, UK (Billboard Publicity Wire) August 7, 2008 -- HyperDiy Media, a new kind of 'Record Label Replacement Company', are offering a range of services to replace the old-fashioned style record deal.
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WMG Narrows Losses In Q3 August 07, 2008
GlobalBy Andre Paine,
LondonWarner Music Group has released third-quarter earnings figures which show its losses narrowing and digital revenues continuing to grow.
WMG announced revenues of $848 million today (Aug. 7), an increase of 5% compared to the same quarter last year, but 1% down on a constant-currency basis.
The major made a net loss of $9 million or $0.06 per share for the third quarter, compared to a $17 million loss in Q3 in 2007.
The losses were smaller than analysts’ estimates, while revenues exceeded expectations.
Digital revenue for the period was $166 million, representing 20% of total revenues.
That value was a 1% rise on Q2 in 2008 and up 39% compared to the same quarter last year.
It also represents 22.7% of WMG’s recorded music revenue, but the New York-based company says this was not enough to offset declines in physical sales.
“This quarter, we continued to outperform our competitors, even in the midst of a challenging recorded music environment,” says chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfam in a statement.
“We continue to advance our strategy to lead the recorded music industry’s transition with new business models, key partnerships and successful A&R investments.
As we transform the business to position it for future growth in an evolving industry, we remain focused on driving profitability and cash flow, while prudently managing capital and costs.
”Revenue from recorded music increased 5.1% from the prior-year quarter to $686 million, down 1% on a constant currency basis.
However, there was a fall of 7.5% in U.S. recorded music revenue to $319 million, while revenues outside the U.S. increased 19.2% to $367 million.
The company says major sellers included Madonna, Disturbed, Plies, Luis Miguel and Frank Sinatra.
Music publishing revenue was flat domestically but an 11.1% increase in revenues from international markets ensured a 7% overall increase from the previous Q3 to $168 million.
WMG says that was achieved despite a 14.3% decline in mechanical rights revenues compared to the same period last year, reflecting the decline in physical record sales.
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