President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment Michael Rapino discusses the company’s strategy behind expanding the global market for touring and ticketing and how that expansion is linked to the growing “experience economy.”
On the growth linked to the “experience economy”: “The pie is growing on a global basis. There are more people going to shows and more markets are opening up. So, we have this incredible global business called Rihanna. The reality was Rihanna was only open to western Europe and North America for most of the business. That’s where records were sold, that’s where MTV played, and that’s really all we could do was tour England, Germany, and America. That was the model for the last 50 years and, thanks to the internet, it unlocked that business so that a 19-year-old knows Drake dropped a single today in Colombia and wants to see him live. The business became this new kind of wider portfolio or canvas if you want to call it. So, we see for many years to come, live music on a global basis will grow.”
On the monetization of touring: “Our goal is if you’re the sports team or the artist, we want you to monetize the show the best way you can. Now, that means you might want low ticket prices and lock it down so someone actually can buy the ticket at a lower price, or you want to monetize the show and sports and athletes all the same. If you’re a team that can’t sell out, you have a different strategy than if you’re sold out in 10 seconds. So every team, every artist, is at a different place in their life cycle and has a different agenda.”
Our weekly newsletter with insights and intelligence from across the firm
By submitting this information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Goldman Sachs and accept our privacy policy. You can opt-out at any time.