German ticketing and concert promotion company CTS Eventim said on Wednesday that its second quarter revenues topped pre-pandemic levels, as surging demand for live music sets the concert-going industry up for a massive rebound this year.
“Live entertainment, which many people really missed during the pandemic, is making an impressive comeback this summer, and this is directly reflected in our business performance,” CTS Eventim chief executive Klaus-Peter Schulenberg said in a statement.
Eventim reported 595 million euros ($593 million) in consolidated revenues for the second quarter, up 44% from the 414 million euros ($412.6 million) the company earned in the second quarter of 2019, the last year of normalized earnings before shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the live event industry. The company earned just 46 million euros ($45.8 million) in consolidated revenues in the year-ago quarter.
Ticketing revenues were up 31% to 125 million euros ($124.6 million) in the second quarter, from 96 million euros ($95.7 million) in the first quarter of 2019, and up from 36 million euros ($35.8 million) in the year-ago quarter. CTS Eventim, which gets nearly half of its income from events in Germany, cited strong ticket sales for the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals this summer, as well as strong ticket sales in Italy and Switzerland.
The company’s live music segment saw the biggest uptick, with revenues surging 48% to 476 million euros ($474.4 million) from 322 million euros ($321 million) in the second quarter of 2019, and up from 12 million euros ($11.9 million) in the year-ago quarter.
The concert-going industry is enjoying a record-setting year for profits, as widespread COVID-19 vaccines and pent-up demand drives a surge in ticket sales.
Live Nation, the largest U.S.-based promoter, said concert attendance and adjusted operating income hit record-highs in the second quarter when it reported earnings earlier this month. Live Nation’s concert attendance reached 33.5 million fans, more than 20% higher than 2019, and operating income hit $479.6 million, 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While executives struck an optimistic tone for the rest of the year’s outlook, they cautioned that the shortage of workers, the energy crisis in Europe and lingering uncertainty caused by the pandemic remain persistent threats to the industry’s comeback.
“Given the robust relaunch of cultural activities and live events, we are very optimistic that our industry has now finally turned the corner after two very difficult years,” CEO Schulenberg said in a statement.
Second quarter 2022 financial metrics:
- Revenue: 595 million euros, up 44% from Q2 2019
- Ticketing revenue: 125 million euros, up 31% from Q2 2019
- Live entertainment revenue: 476 million euros, up 48% from Q2 2019
