Live Nation’s UK concert promotion division has reported an increase in losses, as its turnover also took a hit during the latest financial year.
The subsidiary of the US entertainment giant posted a pre-tax loss of £10.7m for 2024, according to newly filed accounts with Companies House.
This is a stark contrast to the previous year when Live Nation (Music) UK reported a pre-tax loss of just £1.9m in 2023, as reported by City AM.
The company’s turnover also saw a decline over the same period, dropping from £453.8m to £415.2m.
The last time the Live Nation division recorded a pre-tax profit was back in 2012, when it achieved £4.3m. Since then, the company’s cumulative losses have exceeded £150m.
The firm attributed the decrease in its 2024 turnover primarily to a drop in admissions, while the pre-tax loss was due to increased staff costs.
The accounts reveal that staff costs soared from £59.3m to £82.9m within the year.
The main contributor to this increase was a rise in wages and salaries, which went up from £51.6m to £73.1m, as the average number of employees grew from 946 to 1,133.
Despite the Live Nation arm promoting nearly 21 per cent more shows in the year, totalling 3,249, the number of admissions fell by almost two per cent to 7.2m.
In 2024, the company promoted concerts featuring artists such as Doja Cat, Shania Twain, Charli XCX, Glass Animals, IDLES and Tiesto in the UK.
Other performers who had their UK shows promoted by Live Nation included Limp Bizkit, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Tom Jones.
The financial results for this branch of Live Nation are distinct from those of Ticketmaster UK, which is part of the same group headquartered in the US.
That company’s accounts for 2024 are set to be filed by the end of September.
In 2023, Ticketmaster UK saw its turnover increase from £136.6m to £153.5m, while it moved from a pre-tax loss of £12m to a profit of £19.7m.
This week, Ticketmaster was compelled to implement new transparency measures following an investigation into its ticket sales practices for the highly anticipated Oasis reunion tour.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that the ticketing behemoth will now have to provide fans with clearer information about prices and ticket types, following widespread complaints during last year’s ‘Live ’25’ sale.
When tickets for the Britpop legends went on sale, demand significantly exceeded supply, with approximately 14m people reportedly vying for 1.4m seats.
Numerous fans complained about being stuck in lengthy online queues, while others were priced out by tickets costing several times their original face value.
Like this story? Why not sign up here for free to get the latest business news straight to your inbox.
