After Live Nation saw ticket sales drop 22.6% last quarter, CEO Michael Rapino’s concern (understandably) is to get the most out of those of us that are still going to their shows. Rather than evaluate why less people are going to concerts (high ticket prices, expensive parking, annoying and outrageous “convenience” fees, to name a few), the focus shifts to maximizing profits from existing customers. Hypebot reports:
“With the reduced attendance expected throughout the year in North America, we knew driving more dollars from each fan was a key strategy. We believe we’ll achieve this in two ways; first through higher margins on food and beverage…that will be an outcome of our new concession deal with SMG Airmark which will increase profits by 10%,” said CEO Michael Rapino during the earnings call.
“The second way we expect to drive per head is through a host of new onsite initiatives including reducing the items sold and focusing on the most popular, profitable increasing points of sale, portable hawking to sell food and beverages directly to the patrons in their seats, and finally increasing products and adding new products like souvenirs photos, early access passes and bundling to create incremental revenue,” Rapino continued.
Translated to English: higher margins on food and drinks (that could mean either higher prices, or cheaper-quality food at the same price), bundling things like CDs with ticket purchases (nothing new) and wacky sports-stadium/theme park ideas like waiter service and kitschy souvenirs. I can just see the Splash Mountain-esque framed photo of you and your friends moshing at Mayhem Festival now!
