Live Nation to Launch Ticketing Business

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Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. said Friday that it will launch its own global ticketing business next year when its long-standing deal with Ticketmaster expires.


The announcement is part of shift by Live Nation to provide a one-stop option for marketing, ticketing and merchandising services for artists and events. The company also signed Madonna to a record deal late last year.


It will sell tickets for its concerts and third-party events as well, the Beverly Hills-based company said.


“We will have a fully operational new ticketing company and reach a new milestone in this journey,” Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino said on a conference call Friday morning. “We expect to sell more than 20 million tickets annually.”


Live Nation estimates that the new ticketing business will add $17 million in income by 2010, and that could double as the company expands its offerings.


Live Nation executives added that the company plans to spend about $20 million this year in hardware to prep for the launch of the new ticketing service. Live Nation’s agreement with Ticketmaster expires in a few months, and a separate deal with the ticketing agency and Live Nation’s newly acquired House of Blues chain expires in early 2009.


Rapino also indicated that in addition to selling concert tickets, the new business might also sell tickets to sporting events, which is a large chunk of West Hollywood-based Ticketmaster’s revenue.


“We believe that our customer, the venue operator who we have a very long and local relationship with … when we’re in business with them, we will be in business with their full ticketing platform,” he said.


Shares in Live Nation jumped 3.4 percent to $13.82 in afternoon trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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