−Removed: Impact of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic
−Removed: The unprecedented and rapid spread of COVID-19 and the related government restrictions and social distancing measures implemented throughout the world have significantly impacted our live event business.
−Removed: We initially saw event restrictions in Asia and parts of Europe.
−Removed: Beginning in March 2020, large public events were cancelled, governmental authorities began imposing restrictions on non-essential activities, and businesses suspended activities around the world.
−Removed: As the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic became clearer, we ceased all Live Nation tours and closed our venues in mid-March 2020 to support global efforts at social distancing and mitigating the virus, and to comply with restrictions put in place by various governmental entities, which has had a materially negative impact on our revenue and financial position.
−Removed: Operating Results
−Removed: Our annual results were materially impacted by these necessary actions.
−Removed: Our overall revenue for the year decreased by 84% to $1.9 billion.
−Removed: The revenue reduction was across all of our segments as a result of few shows occurring globally beginning in the last half of March 2020 and low ticket sales for future shows during the same period, along with the impact of ticket refunds and show cancellations.
−Removed: Our operating results for the year decreased as compared to 2019 largely due to the global COVID-19 pandemic impacts to our business to a loss for the year of $1.7 billion, including $27.5 million of impairment charges for 2020.
−Removed: The revenue recognized in our Concerts segment in 2020 included the results of all the shows that occurred prior to the stoppage of events in mid-March.
−Removed: Our event-related deferred revenue for Concerts, which is reported as part of deferred revenue on our consolidated balance sheets, includes the face value and Concerts’ share of service charges for all tickets sold by December 31, 2020, for shows expected to occur in the next 12 months.
−Removed: Any refunds committed to for shows cancelled or rescheduled during the year have either been returned to fans or are reflected in accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets.
−Removed: In addition, we have recorded an estimate of $102.0 million in Concerts for refunds that may occur in the future for shows we believe may be cancelled or rescheduled based on the limited amount of data available on refunds resulting from the global shutdown of our live events.
−Removed: This estimate only impacts our financial position as a reclassification from deferred revenue or other long-term liabilities to accrued expenses.
−Removed: We expect that the majority of our shows postponed due to the pandemic will be rescheduled.
−Removed: Event-related deferred revenue for tickets sold for shows expected to occur after December 31, 2021 totaled $35 million and is reflected in other long-term liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets.
−Removed: The revenue recognized in our Ticketing segment in 2020 includes our share of ticket service charges for tickets sold during the period for third-party clients and for shows that occurred in the period for our Concerts business where our promoters control the ticketing.
−Removed: Revenue in the period has been reduced by refunds given during the period.
−Removed: In addition, revenue has been reduced for any shows that were cancelled and for refunds requested on rescheduled shows up to the time of the filing of these consolidated financial statements, and funds have either been returned to the customer or are reflected in accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets.
−Removed: Our ticketing clients determine if shows will be rescheduled or cancelled and what the refund policy will be for those shows.
−Removed: We have not recorded an estimate for refunds that may occur in the future since our clients, not Ticketmaster, determine when shows are cancelled or rescheduled and we have a limited amount of historical data of refunds resulting from a global shutdown of live events on which to reliably determine an estimate.
−Removed: By the end of 2020 and through the time of this filing, Ticketing had processed or accrued for cancellations or refunds on 27.4 million tickets.
−Removed: For events that are cancelled, our standard policy is to refund the fan within 30 days, though subject to regulations in various markets and in some cases at the discretion of venue or event organizer clients.
−Removed: Our ticket refund policies for rescheduled shows vary by ticketing client and country.
−Removed: In multiple international markets, including Germany, Italy and Belgium, governmental regulations which allow for the issuance of vouchers in place of cash refunds for rescheduled shows, and in some cases for cancelled shows, have been put in place in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
−Removed: The volume and pace of cash refunds has had and may continue to have a material negative effect on our liquidity and capital resources.
−Removed: The length and severity of the reduction in live events due to the pandemic is uncertain;
−Removed: accordingly, we currently expect the negative impact to continue in 2021.
−Removed: The exact timing and pace of the recovery is uncertain given the significant impact of the pandemic and the uncertainty on the timing of the roll out of vaccines on the overall United States and global economies.
−Removed: We believe the ongoing effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on our operations have had, and will continue to have a material negative impact on our financial results and liquidity, and such negative impact may continue beyond the containment of such outbreak.
−Removed: We have never previously experienced a complete cessation of our live events or a large-scale reduction in the number of events selling tickets, and as a consequence, our ability to be predictive regarding the impact of these circumstances is uncertain and we are unable to estimate the impact on our business, financial condition or near- or longer-term financial or operational results.
−Removed: Cash and available liquidity
−Removed: We amended our senior secured credit facility in April 2020 and further amended it in July 2020 which, among other things, substitutes our net leverage covenant under our senior secured credit facility with a $500 million liquidity covenant (as defined in the agreement) until the earlier of (a) December 31, 2021 and (b) at our election, any fiscal quarter prior to December 31, 2021.
−Removed: These amendments will allow us the flexibility to manage our business through the disruption that we experienced in 2020 and expect to experience in 2021.
−Removed: In addition, we added a new incremental revolving credit facility of $130 million, extending our undrawn debt capacity.
−Removed: Following this increase, we currently have approximately $961.7 million in available debt capacity, including $400 million in undrawn term loan A capacity and $561.7 million in available revolver capacity, net of outstanding letters of credit.
−Removed: In addition, in February 2020, we issued $400 million principal amount of 2.0% convertible senior notes due 2025 and in May 2020 we issued $1.2 billion principal amount of 6.5% senior secured notes due 2027.
−Removed: In January 2021, we issued $500 million principal amount of 3.75% senior secured notes due 2028.
−Removed: We will continue to evaluate future financing opportunities to further expand liquidity at reasonable costs.
−Removed: As of December 31, 2020, our total cash and cash equivalents balance was $2.5 billion, which included $673.5 million of ticketing client cash.
−Removed: We believe this cash, net of client cash, together with our available debt capacity of $961.7 million, gives us the liquidity to fund our operations during the pandemic.
−Removed: Our total cash includes event-related deferred revenue for which the amount can fluctuate over the course of the year, but given the shift of shows into 2021, we expect this number to remain above seasonally normal levels throughout the first half of 2021.
−Removed: Event-related deferred revenue consists of cash held by our Concerts business for future shows, with roughly half the funds associated with upcoming shows in the United States and half for international shows as of December 31, 2020.
−Removed: In the United States, the funds are largely associated with shows in our owned or operated venues, notably amphitheaters, festivals, theaters and clubs.
−Removed: Internationally, the funds held are from a combination of both shows in our owned or operated venues, as well as shows in third-party venues associated with our promoter share of tickets in allocation markets.
−Removed: We do not otherwise generally hold funds for concerts being held in third-party buildings.
−Removed: In the United States, venues traditionally hold all funds, and internationally either the venue holds all funds or holds the portion of funds associated with their ticket allocation.
−Removed: Cost and Cash Management Programs
−Removed: Given the uncertainty associated with the duration of current conditions globally, we have implemented a number of initiatives to reduce fixed costs and conserve cash.
−Removed: As part of these cost reduction efforts, we have implemented salary reductions for most of our employees, with salaries for senior executives reduced by up to 60% during 2020.
−Removed: Additional cost reduction efforts include hiring freezes, reduction in the use of contractors, rent re-negotiations, furloughs, termination of certain employees and reduction or elimination of other discretionary spending, including, among other things, travel and entertainment, repairs and maintenance, and marketing.
−Removed: We are also making use of government support programs globally.
−Removed: In most European and Asian markets, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Australia, there were payroll support programs to mitigate a substantial portion of employee costs, some of which are continuing into 2021.
−Removed: Additionally, in the United States, we have filed for payroll support under the Employee Retention Credit program established as part of the 2020 CARES Act.
−Removed: Finally, the CARES Act also provides for deferred payment of the employer portion of social security taxes through the end of 2020, with 50% of the deferred amount due December 31, 2021 and the remaining 50% due December 31, 2022.
−Removed: We are further protecting our cash outflows by reducing advances in both our ticketing and concert businesses, re-assessing all capital expenditure projects and evaluating all other cash deployment activities.
−Removed: As a result of these initiatives and government support programs, we achieved over $950 million in cost reductions in 2020 and the elimination or deferral into 2021 of $1.6 billion in cash outflows, which primarily includes the cost reductions discussed above along with lower capital expenditures, acquisition payments, and concert and ticketing advances.
−Removed: We believe this aggressive cost and cash management program, combined with a strong liquidity profile, positions us to manage through the global COVID-19 pandemic-related hold on show activity and provides the flexibility to scale up quickly when shows restart.
−Removed: Based on these actions and assumptions regarding the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that we will remain in compliance with our debt covenants throughout 2021 and be able to generate sufficient liquidity to satisfy our obligations for the next twelve months, prior to giving effect to any additional financings that may occur.
−Removed: Our forecasted expense management and liquidity measures may be modified as we get more clarity on the timing of events.
−Removed: We cannot assure you that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will be correct because we have never previously experienced a complete cessation of our live events and the magnitude, duration and speed of the global pandemic is unknown, and as a consequence, our ability to be predictive is uncertain.
−Removed: Health and Safety and Planning for a Return to Business
−Removed: We are currently planning for the health and safety of our employees as they return to work in our offices in the future, and for our artists and fans as they return to live events.
−Removed: We will return to work in local markets only after there is clear guidance that the time is right to do so, and then in appropriate numbers with expanded cleaning and any social distancing or other regulations.
−Removed: Similarly, we are planning for the resumption of concerts when the time is right.
−Removed: We will let the facts and science tell us when we should start putting on concerts again.
−Removed: We recognize the experience at our venues will change when concerts start back up, and are working with medical experts and public health officials to implement safety precautions and protocols necessary for fans to return to enjoy our shows.
−Removed: Recent fan surveys indicate that the demand will be there when the shows return, with 95% of fans expecting to attend concerts again once the pandemic is over.
−Removed: We expect the re-opening of concerts will happen on a market by market basis, and given we operate in 46 countries globally, the timelines will vary from now to not for several months or beyond.
−Removed: The length and severity of the impact to live events and our related sponsorship and ticketing businesses is still uncertain.
−Removed: We currently do not anticipate a significant change in activity levels until early in the second half of 2021.
−Removed: We expect that most global tours will resume and larger venues will reopen in the second half of 2021 and that the underlying business will begin generating operating income once again.
−Removed: While this disruption has had a material impact on our business, as the leading global live event and ticketing company we believe that we are well-positioned to provide the best service to artists, teams, fans and venues once business resumes.
−Removed: Twenty years of global growth demonstrates the resilience of fan demand for the live entertainment experience.
−Removed: We are actively taking steps to ensure that when the time is right for us to do so, we will be ready to ramp back up quickly and once again connect audiences to artists at the concerts they are looking forward to.
−Removed: Because of the impact that the pandemic has had on our business in 2020, we are using operational metrics below based on 2019 results as they are more representative of the size of our business.
−Removed: We believe that we are the largest live entertainment company in the world, connecting over 580 million fans across all of our concerts and ticketing platforms in 46 countries.
−Removed: We believe we are the largest producer of live music concerts in the world, based on total fans that attend Live Nation events as compared to events of other promoters, connecting nearly 98 million fans to more than 40,000 events for over 5,000 artists in 2019.
+Added: The unprecedented and rapid spread of COVID-19 and the related government restrictions and social distancing measures implemented throughout the world significantly impacted our business through the first half of this year.
+Added: Late in the second quarter, however, we began to see the positive impacts of successful vaccination rollouts in many of our key markets, mainly the United States and United Kingdom, with social distancing restrictions easing and live events resuming.
+Added: In the third quarter, we saw a meaningful restart of our operations with outdoor amphitheater events and festivals taking place in both the United States and United Kingdom.
+Added: The discussion below is based on operational metrics for 2021.
+Added: Refer to Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Operating Metrics for 2019 operational metrics which are more representative of the size of our business.
+Added: We believe that we are the largest live entertainment company in the world, connecting over 310 million fans across all of our concerts and ticketing platforms in 45 countries in 2021 and over 580 million fans in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
+Added: We believe we are the largest producer of live music concerts in the world, based on total fans that attend Live Nation events as compared to events of other promoters, connecting over 35 million fans to more than 17,200 events for over 4,400 artists in 2021.
+Added: We connected nearly 98 million fans to more than 40,000 events for over 5,000 artists in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Live Nation owns, operates, has exclusive booking rights for or has an equity interest in 320 venues, including House of Blues ® music venues and prestigious locations such as The Fillmore ® in San Francisco, Brooklyn Bowl ® , the Hollywood Palladium, the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, 3Arena in Ireland, Royal Arena in Copenhagen and Spark Arena in New Zealand.
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Our artist management companies manage music artists and acts across all music genres.
−Removed: As of December 31, 2019, we had nearly 110 managers providing services to more than 500 artists.
+Added: As of December 31, 2021, we had 100 managers providing services to more than 450 artists.
We believe we are the world’s leading live entertainment ticketing sales and marketing company, based on the number of tickets we sell.
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Ticketmaster serves nearly 7,100 clients worldwide across multiple event categories, providing ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, festival and concert promoters, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums and theaters.
−Removed: We believe our global footprint is the world’s largest music advertising network for corporate brands and includes one of the world’s leading ecommerce websites, based on a comparison of gross sales of top internet retailers.
+Added: Prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we sold over 485 million tickets through our systems and served nearly 11,500 clients worldwide in 2019.
+Added: We believe our global footprint is one of the world’s largest music advertising network for corporate brands and includes one of the world’s leading ecommerce websites, based on a comparison of gross sales of top internet retailers prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Our principal executive offices are located at 9348 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210 (telephone:
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Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.”
−Removed: Our strategy is to grow our leadership position in live entertainment, promote more shows, sell more tickets and partner with more sponsors, thereby increasing our revenue, earnings and cash flow.
−Removed: We serve artists, venues and teams to secure content and tickets;
−Removed: we invest in technology to build innovative products which advance our ticketing, advertising and mobile platforms;
+Added: Our strategy is to grow our global leadership position in live entertainment, promote more shows, sell more tickets and partner with more sponsors, thereby increasing our revenue, earnings and cash flow.
+Added: We serve artists, venues and sports teams and leagues to secure content and tickets;
+Added: we invest in technology to build innovative products which advance our ticketing, digital presence, including mobile platforms, and advertising;
and we are paid by advertisers that want to connect their brands with our passionate fan base.
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Through our strong partnership with artists, agents and managers, we believe we can continue to expand our concert base by delivering strong and consistent services.
+Added: In December 2021 we acquired OCESA, one of the most prominent live event businesses globally with a robust business portfolio in ticketing, sponsorship, food and beverage, merchandise, and venue operations across Mexico and Latin America.
• Grow our Revenue per Show.
We will grow our revenue per show across our venues through more effective ticket pricing, broader ticketing distribution and more targeted promotional marketing.
−Removed: We will also grow our onsite fan monetization through improved onsite products, merchandising, and enhanced experiences for our fans.
+Added: We will also grow our onsite fan monetization by improving ease of purchase including contactless payment and rollout of digital technology, through improved onsite products, merchandising, and enhanced experiences for our fans.
• Sell More Tickets and Invest in Product Improvements .
We are focused on selling tickets through a wide set of sales channels, including mobile and online, and leveraging our fan database.
−Removed: We will continue to enhance our API features to reach a broader audience and expand our digital ticketing rollout, strengthening control over distribution for all parties and creating new and unique marketing opportunities.
+Added: We will continue to enhance our application programming interface features to reach a broader audience and expand our digital ticketing rollout, strengthening control over distribution for our clients and creating new and unique marketing opportunities.
We will grow the volume of secondary tickets sold through a trusted environment for fan ticket exchanges, allowing our fans to have a dependable, secure destination for secondary ticket acquisition for all events.
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• Grow Sponsorship and Advertising Partnerships .
−Removed: We will continue to drive growth in our sponsorship relationships and capture a larger share of the global music sponsorship market.
+Added: We will continue to drive growth in our sponsorship relationships and capture a larger share of the global music sponsorship market by further monetizing our fan base and portfolio of brands.
We will focus on expanding existing partnerships and developing new corporate sponsor partners to provide them with targeted strategic programs, accessing the fans attending our shows each year.
−Removed: We will continue to develop and to scale new products in order to drive onsite revenue.
+Added: We will continue to develop and to scale new products in order to drive onsite and digital revenue.
Our Strengths
We believe we have unique resources that are unmatched in the live entertainment industry.
−Removed: We connected over 580 million fans to their favorite live event in 2019.
+Added: We connected over 310 million fans to their favorite live event in 2021 and over 580 million fans in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Our database of fans and their interests provides us with the means to efficiently market our shows to them.
We have extensive relationships with artists ranging from those just beginning their careers to established superstars.
−Removed: We promoted shows or tours for over 5,000 artists globally in 2019.
−Removed: In addition, through our artist management companies, we manage more than 500 artists.
−Removed: • Online Services and Ticketing .
+Added: We promoted shows or tours for over 4,400 artists globally in 2021 and over 5,000 artists in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
+Added: In addition, through our artist management companies, we managed more than 450 artists in 2021 and more than 500 artists in 2019.
+Added: • Digital Platforms and Ticketing .
We own and operate various branded websites, both in the United States and abroad, which are customized to reflect services offered in each jurisdiction.
−Removed: Our primary websites, www.livenation.com and www.ticketmaster.com , together with our other branded ticketing websites, are designed to promote ticket sales for live events.
+Added: Our primary commercial websites, www.livenation.com and www.ticketmaster.com , together with our other branded ticketing websites, are designed to promote ticket sales for live events.
We also have both Live Nation and Ticketmaster mobile apps that our fans can use to access event information and buy tickets.
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In addition, we own, operate, have exclusive booking rights for, or have an equity interest in, 320 venues located across 45 countries as of the end of 2021, making us, we believe, the second largest operator of music venues in the world.
−Removed: We also believe that we are one of the largest music festival producers in the world with 111 festivals globally in 2019.
−Removed: In addition, we believe that our global ticketing distribution network—which includes one of the largest ecommerce sites and related apps along with nearly 11,500 clients worldwide in 2019—makes us the largest ticketing network in the world.
−Removed: We employ a sales force of over 500 people that works with nearly 1,200 sponsors, through a combination of strategic partnerships, local venue-related deals, national agreements and digital campaigns, both in North America and internationally.
−Removed: Our sponsors include some of the most well-recognized national and global brands including Citibank, O 2 , American Express, Cisco, Hilton, Red Bull and Anheuser Busch (each of these brands is a registered trademark of the sponsor).
+Added: We also believe that we are one of the largest music festival producers in the world with 56 festivals globally in 2021 and 111 festivals globally in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
+Added: In addition, we believe that our global ticketing distribution network—which includes one of the largest ecommerce sites and related apps along with nearly 7,100 clients worldwide in 2021 and nearly 11,500 clients in 2019 — makes us the largest ticketing network in the world.
+Added: We monetize our physical and digital assets through long-term sponsorship agreements and advertising.
+Added: We employ a sales force of approximately 500 people that works with approximately 560 sponsors and nearly 1,200 in 2019 prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, through a combination of strategic partnerships, local venue-related deals, national agreements and digital campaigns, both in North America and internationally.
+Added: Our sponsors include some of the most well-recognized national and global brands across diverse sectors including consumer, financials and leisure including Citibank, O 2 , American Express, Cisco, Hilton, Red Bull and Anheuser Busch (each of these brands is a registered trademark of the sponsor).
We operate in the following main industries within the live entertainment business:
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The artist manager negotiates on behalf of the artist and is paid a fee, generally as a percentage of the artist’s earnings.
−Removed: For music tours, two to nine months typically elapse between initially booking artists and the first performances.
−Removed: Promoters, in conjunction with artists, managers and booking agents, set ticket prices and advertise events.
+Added: For music tours, four to eight months typically elapse between initially booking artists and the first performances.
+Added: Artists, in conjunction with promoters, managers and booking agents, set ticket prices and advertising plans.
Promoters market events, sell tickets, rent or otherwise provide venues and arrange for local production services, such as stages and equipment.
Venue operators typically contract with promoters to have their venues rented for specific events on specific dates and receive fixed fees or percentages of ticket sales as rental income.
−Removed: In addition, venue operators provide services such as concessions, parking, security, ushering and ticket-taking, and receive some or all of the revenue from concessions, merchandise, parking and premium seating.
−Removed: Ticketing services include the sale of tickets primarily through online and mobile channels but also through phone, outlet and box office channels.
+Added: In addition, venue operators provide services such as concessions, parking, security, ushering and ticket scanning at the gate, and receive some or all of the revenue from concessions, merchandise, parking and premium seating.
+Added: Ticketing services generally refers to the sale of tickets primarily through online and mobile channels, but also include sales through phone, outlet and box office channels.
Ticketing companies will contract with venues and/or promoters to sell tickets to events over a period of time, generally three to five years.
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We promoted more than 17,200 live music and other events in 2021.
−Removed: While our Concerts segment operates year-round traditionally, we experience higher revenue during the second and third quarters due to the seasonal nature of shows at our outdoor amphitheaters and festivals, which primarily occur from May through October.
−Removed: Due to the unprecedented stoppage of our concert events globally in mid-March due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, we did not promote our usual number of shows or experience our typical seasonality trends in 2020.
+Added: While our Concerts segment traditionally operates year-round, we experience higher revenue during the second and third quarters due to the seasonal nature of shows at our outdoor amphitheaters and festivals, which primarily occur from May through October.
As a promoter, we earn revenue primarily from the sale of tickets and pay artists under one of several formulas, including a fixed guaranteed amount and/or a percentage of ticket sales or event profits.
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We sell tickets for our events and also for third-party clients across multiple live event categories, providing ticketing services for leading arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, music clubs, concert promoters, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums and theaters.
−Removed: We sell tickets through websites, mobile apps, ticket outlets and telephone call centers.
+Added: We sell tickets through websites, mobile apps and ticket outlets.
During 2021, we sold 35%, 63% and 2% of primary tickets through these channels, respectively.
Our Ticketing segment also manages our online activities including enhancements to our websites and product offerings.
−Removed: Including intersegment revenue, our Ticketing business generated $188.4 million, or 10.1%, of our total revenue during 2020, which excludes the face value of tickets sold and is net of the fees paid to our ticketing clients.
+Added: Including intersegment revenue, our Ticketing business generated $1.1 billion, or 18.1%, of our total revenue during 2021, which excludes the face value of tickets sold and is net of the fees paid to our ticketing clients.
Through all of our ticketing services, we sold 132 million tickets in 2021 on which we were paid fees for our services.
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As ticket sales increase, related ticketing operating income generally increases as well.
−Removed: Due to the unprecedented stoppage of live events globally in mid-March or reduction in the number of fans in attendance due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, we did not sell our usual number of tickets in 2020.
We sell tickets on behalf of our clients through our ticketing platforms across the world.
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While we generally have the right to sell a substantial portion of our clients’ tickets, venue and promoter clients often sell and distribute a portion of their tickets in-house through their box office and season ticket programs.
−Removed: In addition, under many written agreements between promoters and our clients, and generally subject to Ticketmaster approval, the client may allocate certain tickets for artist, promoter, agent and venue use and not make those tickets available for sale by us.
+Added: In addition, under many written agreements between promoters and our clients, and generally subject to Ticketmaster approval, the client may allocate certain tickets for artist, promoter, agent and venue use and do not make those tickets available for sale by us.
Due to these and other permitted third-party ticket distribution channels, we do not always sell all of our clients’ tickets, even at venues where we are the exclusive primary ticketing service provider, and the amount of tickets that we sell varies from client to client and from event to event, and also varies as to any given client from year to year.
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Including intersegment revenue, our Sponsorship & Advertising business generated $411.9 million, or 6.6%, of our total revenue during 2021.
−Removed: We typically experience higher revenue in the second and third quarters as a large portion of sponsorships are typically associated with our outdoor venues and festivals, which are primarily used in or occur from May through October.
−Removed: Due to the unprecedented stoppage of our concert events globally in mid-March due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we did not recognize our normal amount of sponsorship revenue or experience our typical seasonality trends in 2020.
+Added: We typically experience higher revenue in the second and third quarters as a large portion of sponsorships are usually associated with our outdoor venues and festivals, which are primarily used in or occur from May through October.
We believe that we have a unique opportunity to connect the music fan to corporate sponsors and therefore seek to optimize this relationship through strategic sponsorship programs.
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While festival sites only host a few events each year, they can provide higher operating income because we are able to generate income from many different services provided at the event.
−Removed: • Other Venues —Other venues includes restaurants and exhibition halls that typically are not used for live music events.
+Added: • Other Venues —Other venues includes restaurants, exhibition and convention halls that typically are not used for live music events.
The following table summarizes the number of venues by type that we owned, leased, operated, had exclusive booking rights for or had an equity interest in as of December 31, 2021:
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Total venues in operation 27 178 54 56 5 320
−Removed: 28 149 54 52 6 289
Venues currently under construction — 3 — — 3 6
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We have aggregated the agreements for each festival site and reported them as one festival site.
−Removed: (2) Venues in operation includes our venues that were closed temporarily beginning in mid-March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Competition in the live entertainment industry is intense.
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We believe that barriers to entry into the promotion services business are low and that certain local promoters are increasingly expanding the geographic scope of their operations.
−Removed: Some of our competitors in the live music promotion industry are Anschutz Entertainment Group, or AEG, Another Planet Entertainment, Jam Productions, Ltd.
−Removed: and I.M.P in addition to numerous smaller regional companies and various casinos and venues in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
+Added: Some of our competitors in the live music promotion industry are Anschutz Entertainment Group, or AEG, Another Planet Entertainment, CTS Eventim, Jam Productions, Ltd., I.M.P., Outback Presents and TEG Dainty in addition to numerous smaller regional companies and various casinos and venues in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
AEG operates under a number of different names including AEG Presents, Concerts West, Frontier Touring, Goldenvoice and Messina Touring Group.
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Resale, or secondary, ticketing services have created more aggressive buying of primary tickets whereby certain brokers are using automated internet “bot” technology to attempt to buy the best tickets when they go on sale, notwithstanding federal and state prohibitions.
+Added: We actively develop and apply methods to mitigate the impact of these bots, however, the bot technology constantly evolves and changes.
The internet allows fans and other ticket resellers to reach a vastly larger audience through the aggregation of inventory on resale websites and marketplaces, and provides consumers with more convenient access to tickets for a larger number and greater variety of events.
We also face significant and increasing competition from companies that sell self-ticketing systems, as well as from venues that choose to integrate self-ticketing systems into their existing operations or acquire primary ticketing service providers.
−Removed: Our competitors include primary ticketing companies such as Tickets.com, AXS, Paciolan, Inc., CTS Eventim AG, Eventbrite, eTix, Ticketfly and SeatGeek;
−Removed: secondary ticketing companies such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, Viagogo and SeatGeek;
+Added: Our competitors include primary ticketing companies such as Tickets.com, AXS, Paciolan, Inc., CTS Eventim AG, Eventbrite, eTix, SeatGeek, Ticketek, See Tickets and Dice;
+Added: secondary ticketing companies such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, Viagogo and SeatGeek;
and many others, including large technology and ecommerce companies that we understand have recently entered or could enter these markets.
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• licensing, permitting and zoning, including noise ordinances;
−Removed: • human health, safety and sanitation requirements;
+Added: • human health, safety, security and sanitation requirements;
• the service of food and alcoholic beverages;
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We believe that we are materially in compliance with these laws.
−Removed: We are required to comply with federal, state and international laws regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personally identifiable information and user data, an area that is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world, including the European Union’s GDPR (as defined and discussed below in Item 1A.—Risk Factors) and the recently-enacted California Consumer Protection Act.
+Added: We are required to comply with federal, state and international laws regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personally identifiable information and user data, an area that is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world, including the European Union’s GDPR (as defined and discussed below in Item 1A.—Risk Factors) and the California Consumer Protection Act.
We are required to comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate and also the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010 regarding anti-bribery regulations.
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Although we generally hire outside vendors to provide these services at our larger operated venues and regularly sponsor training programs designed to minimize the likelihood of such a situation, we cannot guarantee that intoxicated or minor customers will not be served or that liability for their acts will not be imposed on us.
−Removed: We are also required to comply with the ADA, the DDA and certain state statutes and local ordinances that, among other things, require that places of public accommodation, including both existing and newly-constructed venues, be accessible to customers with disabilities.
+Added: We are also required to comply with the ADA, the DDA and certain state statutes and local ordinances that, among other things, require that places of public accommodation, including our websites as well as existing and newly-constructed venues, be accessible to customers with disabilities.
The ADA and the DDA require that venues be constructed to permit persons with disabilities full use of a live entertainment venue.
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In order to comply with the ADA, the DDA and other similar ordinances, we may face substantial capital expenditures in the future.
−Removed: From time to time, governmental bodies have proposed legislation that could have an effect on our business.
+Added: From time to time, governmental bodies have proposed legislation that could affect our business.
For example, some legislatures have proposed laws in the past that would impose potential liability on us and other promoters and producers of live music events for entertainment taxes and for incidents that occur at our events, particularly relating to drugs and alcohol.
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Our People and Culture
−Removed: Bringing more than 40,000 events to life and connecting over 580 million fans across all of our concerts and ticketing platforms, as we did in 2019 prior to the global Covid-19 pandemic, is a massive undertaking, made possible by our thousands of employees spread across 46 countries.
+Added: Bringing more than 17,200 events to life and connecting over 310 million fans across all of our concerts and ticketing platforms, as we did in 2021, is a massive undertaking, made possible by our thousands of employees spread across 45 countries.
Our teams come together every day to grow our business, and we recognize our people are the key to our success—whether they’re putting on a show at one of our venues, selling tickets, working with our brand partners or supporting our businesses in a myriad of other ways.
Taking Care of Our Own
−Removed: Our core value with our employees is “taking care of our own,” which means our top priority is making sure that every employee can rely on the company to go above just providing standard compensation and benefits by offering assistance for a range of planned and unplanned situations.
+Added: Our core value with our employees is “taking care of our own,” which means our top priority is making sure that every employee can rely on us to go above just providing standard compensation and benefits by offering assistance for a range of planned and unplanned situations.
We also ensure that our employees have direct access to senior executives to raise concerns and share ideas.
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During life’s most difficult moments, we offer employees financial support to help them through a variety of crises, including unexpected deaths, natural disasters, and escaping domestic violence.
−Removed: To this end, in March 2020, in partnership with House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, we announced Crew Nation, a global relief fund offering financial support to live music crews while concerts are on pause due to the pandemic to which we have donated over $10 million.
+Added: To this end, in March 2020, in partnership with House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, we announced Crew Nation, a global relief fund offering financial support to live music crews to which we have donated over $10 million.
• Taking Care of Others :
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• Employee Resource Groups :
−Removed: Programs that focus on empowering underrepresented groups within our employee base through career development, networking, talent development, advocacy, non-profit support and community outreach.
−Removed: Our employees have created a network of over 40 local chapters across seven groups, with over 8,000 employees attending the over 140 events held across the world in 2019.
+Added: Our seven employee-led groups with executive leaders as sponsors provide programs that focus on empowering underrepresented groups within our employee base through career development, networking, talent development, advocacy, non-profit support and community outreach.
• 2025 Diversity Goals :
−Removed: In July 2020, in response to events in the U.S.
−Removed: and around the world that sparked overdue reflection on racism and discrimination in our societies, we announced ambitious goals to strengthen the company’s diversity from the top down that we will strive to obtain by the end of 2025.
+Added: We remain committed to reaching the ambitious goals we set to strengthen the company’s diversity from the top down.
+Added: Our efforts thus far have resulted in both hiring and promoting diverse talent into a number of key leadership roles.
+Added: • Industry Engagement :
+Added: In 2021, we further demonstrated our commitment to diversity and inclusion by joining the efforts of “Diversify The Stage” and signing their pledge to provide greater access to equitable opportunities for underrepresented groups in live music, events, and touring industries.
Human Capital
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We believe that our efforts in these areas are working and contributing to the overall success of the Company, as evidenced by accolades such as obtaining a Great Place to Work® certification (2017-19), placing fourth on Indeed's list of the World's 50 Best Workplaces (2019), placing third on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list for the music sector (2019), and our inclusion on Forbes’ Best Employers For Diversity list (2019).
−Removed: As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately 8,200 full-time employees, including those on furlough due to the interruption in our business from the pandemic.
+Added: As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 10,200 full-time employees.
During regular operational times, our staffing needs vary significantly throughout the year.
Therefore, we also employ seasonal and part-time employees, primarily for our live music venues and festivals.
−Removed: At the end of 2019, prior to the pandemic, we employed approximately 15,400 seasonal and part-time employees and during peak seasonal periods, particularly in the summer months, we employed as many as 28,000 seasonal and part-time employees in 2019.
+Added: At the end of 2021, we employed approximately 12,000 seasonal and part-time employees and during peak seasonal periods, particularly in the summer months, we employed as many as 14,300 seasonal and part-time employees in 2021.
Labor Relations
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Our union agreements typically have a term of three years and thus regularly expire and require negotiation in the course of our business.
−Removed: We believe that we have good relationships with our employees and other unionized labor involved in our events, and there have been no significant work stoppages in the past three years.
+Added: We believe that we have good relationships with our employees and other unionized labor involved in our events, and there have been no related significant work stoppages in the past three years.
Upon the expiration of any of our collective bargaining agreements, however, we may be unable to renegotiate on terms favorable to us, and our business operations at one or more of our facilities may be interrupted as a result of labor disputes or difficulties and delays in the process of renegotiating our collective bargaining agreements.
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Michael Rapino 56 President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
−Removed: Joe Berchtold 56 President
+Added: Jacqueline Beato 38 Chief Operating Officer–U.S.
+Added: Joe Berchtold 57 President and Chief Financial Officer
Brian Capo 55 Chief Accounting Officer
+Added: Liz Dyer 36 Senior Vice President–Human Resources
+Added: Johnel Evans 47 Global Vice President–Diversity and Inclusion
Arthur Fogel 68 Chairman–Global Music and President–Global Touring
John Hopmans 63 Executive Vice President–Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategic Finance
−Removed: John Reid 59 President–Europe Concerts
−Removed: Alan Ridgeway 54 Chairman–Asia Pacific
−Removed: Bob Roux 63 President–US Concerts
+Added: Bob Roux 64 President–U.S.
Michael Rowles 56 General Counsel and Secretary
+Added: Sherri Pucci Sosa 51 President–Venue Nation United States
Russell Wallach 56 President–Sponsorship and Advertising
−Removed: Kathy Willard 54 Chief Financial Officer
Mark Yovich 47 President–Ticketmaster
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Rapino has worked for us or our predecessors since 1999.
−Removed: Joe Berchtold is our President and has served in this capacity since December 2017.
+Added: Jacqueline Beato is our Chief Operating Officer of our U.S.
+Added: Concerts division and has served in this capacity since February 2022.
+Added: Prior to that, Ms.
+Added: Beato served as Executive Vice President of Operations starting in August 2020 and Senior Vice President of Investor Relations since joining us in July 2019.
+Added: Beato was Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Caesars Entertainment prior to joining Live Nation.
+Added: Joe Berchtold is our President and Chief Financial Officer.
+Added: He has served as President since December 2017 and Chief Financial Officer since July 2021.
Prior to that, Mr.
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Brian Capo is our Chief Accounting Officer and has served in this capacity since joining us in December 2007.
+Added: Liz Dyer is our Senior Vice President of Human Resources and has served in this capacity since September 2020.
+Added: Prior to that, Ms.
+Added: Dyer served in various human resources roles since joining us in April 2016.
+Added: Johnel Evans is our Global Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion and has served in this capacity since joining us in June 2021.
+Added: Prior to that, Ms.
+Added: Evans was the Vice President, Inclusion Diversity & Engagement at Becton Dickinson and Company from September 2018 to June 2021 and Vice President, Human Resources of Becton Dickinson and Company’s Vascular Access Division from November 2015 to September 2018.
Arthur Fogel is the Chairman of our Global Music group and President of our Global Touring division and has served in these capacities since 2005.
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John Hopmans is our Executive Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategic Finance and has served in this capacity since joining us in April 2008.
−Removed: John Reid is President of our Europe Concerts division and has served in this capacity since joining us in January 2012.
−Removed: Alan Ridgeway is Chairman of our Asia Pacific region and has served in this capacity since January 2019.
−Removed: Prior to that, Mr.
−Removed: Ridgeway served as President of our International and Emerging Markets division since November 2011.
−Removed: Ridgeway has worked for us or our predecessors since 2002.
−Removed: Bob Roux is President of our US Concerts division and has served in this capacity since October 2010.
+Added: Bob Roux is President of our U.S.
+Added: Concerts division and has served in this capacity since October 2010.
Roux has worked for us or our predecessors since 1990.
Michael Rowles is our General Counsel and has served in this capacity since joining us in March 2006 and as our Secretary since May 2007.
+Added: Sherri Pucci Sosa is our President of Venue Nation United States and has served in this capacity since joining us in April 2021.
+Added: Prior to that Ms.
+Added: Sosa was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of various casino and hotel properties of Caesars Entertainment from 2015 to March 2021.
Russell Wallach is President of our Sponsorship and Advertising division and has served in this capacity since July 2006.
Wallach has worked for us or our predecessors since 1996.
−Removed: Kathy Willard is our Chief Financial Officer and has served in this capacity since September 2007.
−Removed: Willard has worked for us or our predecessors since 1998.
Mark Yovich is President of Ticketmaster and has served in this capacity since December 2020.
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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.