{"id":9064,"date":"2023-11-03T11:34:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T11:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/investment\/live-nation-says-it-believes-doj-is-in-mid-stages-of-investigation-following-its-strongest-quarter-ever\/"},"modified":"2023-11-03T11:34:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T11:34:36","slug":"live-nation-says-it-believes-doj-is-in-mid-stages-of-investigation-following-its-strongest-quarter-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=9064","title":{"rendered":"Live Nation says it believes DOJ is in \u2018mid-stages\u2019 of investigation, following its \u2018strongest quarter ever\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ticketmaster parent and concert-venue operator Live Nation Entertainment Inc. on Thursday said it believed the Justice Department\u2019s investigation into its competitive practices was in the \u201cmid-stages,\u201d but said it believed that \u201cnobody thinks that the fundamentals\u201d behind its promotions business were breaking the law. <\/p>\n

Management at Live Nation
\n LYV,
\n +2.54%<\/bg-quote>
\n \u2014 which rivals have complained has emerged as a concert-industry gatekeeper due to its size \u2014 made the remarks after the company earlier Thursday reported blowout quarterly results, helped by record concert demand, swelling ticket prices and global expansion. Executives said they saw no signs of weakness, even amid concerns that higher prices for basics could keep consumers away from spending on entertainment. <\/p>\n

\n

But more details emerged on the investigation Tuesday in a report from the Wall Street Journal. That investigation picked up steam, the Journal said, after pre-sale ticket demand for Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras Tour crashed Ticketmaster. <\/p>\n

The Journal reported that the probe, which began last year, focused on whether Live Nation restricts concert venues from working with other promoters or ticket sellers when the company strikes deals with artists, and whether those agreements include other restrictions. Rivals, the Journal noted, have argued that Live Nation can drive up ticket prices because of its control over promotions, ticketing and concert venues, and has more money than other promoters to bring artists under its umbrella. <\/p>\n

Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold said on Live Nation\u2019s earnings call on Thursday that the DOJ was taking a ground-level look at many of the things its rivals often complained about. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut let me emphasize that as far as we can tell, nobody thinks that the fundamentals that drive our promotions business are unlawful,\u201d he said. \u201cWe pay top dollar to artists and provide them with top-notch tour support, and those are good things.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added later: \u201cWe don\u2019t think there\u2019s any real news right now concerning the investigation. We\u2019re completing our document production that they\u2019ve asked for. We haven\u2019t even started depositions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd our impression is that the investigation is kind of in its mid-stages at this point,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd yet, we have another news story on the day before earnings, which we don\u2019t seem to think is a coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berchtold made the remarks after tours from Swift and Beyonc\u00e9 helped drive concert-ticket sales. The third quarter, Live Nation said, was its \u201cstrongest quarter ever.\u201d Shares rose 3% after hours on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Live Nation earned $483.5 million, or $1.78 a share, in the quarter, compared with $361.4 million, or $1.39 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 32% to $8.2 billion. <\/p>\n

FactSet consensus called for earnings of $1.26 a share on revenue of $7 billion. <\/p>\n

The company said it sold 140 million tickets in the year to date, up 17% year-on-year and already surpassing the sale of 121 million tickets for all of last year. Management was also bullish on demand for next year, citing a bigger touring pipeline set to play more shows at bigger venues. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we have benefited from tailwinds for many years, it has accelerated due to the globalization of our business along with a fundamental shift in consumer spending habits toward experiences,\u201d Chief Executive Michael Rapino said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Live Nation and Ticketmaster have long faced criticism for hidden fees, which lawmakers have sought to stop. Live Nation in September said it would halt collecting merchandise fees at dozens of its smaller clubs, after long-standing artist frustrations with so-called \u201cmerch cuts\u201d at venues and a spike in touring costs over the past year. Live Nation told MarketWatch that change was \u201copen-ended,\u201d and some artists suspected the move was only temporary. <\/p>\n

Live Nation executives on Thursday said they saw no signs of waning concert-ticket demand. They said that ticket sales through Ticketmaster last month were up when compared with last year, and up double digits in North America. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0seeing\u00a0no\u00a0sign\u00a0of\u00a0weaknesses,\u201d Berchtold said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ticketmaster parent and concert-venue operator Live Nation Entertainment Inc. on Thursday said it believed the Justice Department\u2019s investigation into its competitive practices…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investment"},"yoast_head":"\nLive Nation says it believes DOJ is in \u2018mid-stages\u2019 of investigation, following its \u2018strongest quarter ever\u2019 | inFundPros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ticketmaster parent and concert-venue operator Live Nation Entertainment Inc. on Thursday said it believed the Justice Department\u2019s investigation into its\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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