Blog: live nation

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

Are we reaching peak fandom?

Mark Mulligan

1 May 2025

Business Strategy

Streaming

Music

With streaming revenue growth slowing to 6.2% in 2024, the recorded music industry’s attention is firmly fixed on superfans as the ‘get out of jail free’ card. The growing sophistication of artist merch has reached the stage where fans can buy Taylor Swift fashion bags and shop her jewelry ran...

min read

The pandemic catalysed a streaming business model reckoning. Is the live sector next?

Tatiana Cirisano

27 Apr 2022

live music

live nation

touring

The news is everywhere: concerts are back. Coachella heralded the return of a roaring festival season, hundreds of acts are back on the road, and Live Nation says it is expecting a record year. But other headlines paint a different picture: Little Simz canceled her tour because it was not financiall...

min read

Why the SVOD Boom Will Benefit Live Nation

Zach Fuller

12 Jul 2019

american malls

Live music industry

live nation

My first experience of the United States was not the NYC, LA or Florida usually encountered by those visiting the new world for the first time. I was five years old and, due to an Auntie marrying a midwestern doctor, the family holiday consisted of a brief jaunt from Cincinnati, Ohio through to Indi...

min read

Just Who Would Buy Universal Music?

Mark Mulligan

14 Jan 2019

Access Industries

Artists direct

Bolloré Group

Vivendi continues to look for a buyer for a portion of Universal Music . Though the process has been running officially since May 2018 , the transaction (or transactions) may not close until 2020. In many instances, dragging out a sale could reflect badly, suggesting that the seller is struggling to...

min read

Quick Take: YouTube Moves Into Social E-commerce With Ticketmaster Partnership

Zach Fuller

15 Nov 2017

Alphabet

Amazon

Amazon Prime Video

YouTube has announced a partnership with Ticketmaster that will allow its video property to connect users directly with concert tickets. The deal is non-exclusive and similar to a previous coalition between Ticketmaster and Spotify.

min read

Do Not Assume We Have Arrived At Our Destination

Mark Mulligan

15 Jun 2017

artist income

Artists

Drake

Forbes has released its annual Celebrity 100, its list of the top earning media stars. The healthy share of music artists hints at the continued ability to build highly successful music careers. The presence of younger, streaming era artists like Drake and the Weeknd goes further, hinting at how str...

min read

Can Twitter Successfully Transition Into A Live Streaming Destination?

Tim Mulligan

4 May 2017

CBS

Facebook

live nation

At yesterday’s first ever Digital Content NewFronts, struggling social media platform Twitter made a bold play for relevance in the video-centric world of digital content. With much fanfare, Twitter unveiled a slew of 16 separate live streaming partnerships with premium media providers across Spor...

min read

Watch Out Access, Liberty Media Is Building A Full Stack Music Company

Mark Mulligan

7 Sep 2016

Access Industries

BMG

Deezer

Access Industries’ full stack music company has, ahem, company: Liberty Media. With a combined market market cap of $37 billion, John Malone’s Liberty group of companies is by anyone’s standards a serious player.

min read