Live Nation has said all along they are hoping to get back in business in summer 2021, and in a new conversation with investors and analysts, CEO Michael Rapino says they are on schedule. IG Mag reports the country's largest concert promoter says they are working with promoters on a “roadmap to get back to live safely.”
“We are encouraged by progress on testing technology treatments and vaccines which will help us build our plans.” Rapino notes, although not elaborating other than saying Live Nation is working on a plan with health experts that will allow shows to go on even if a vaccine is not widely available yet.
“From venue sanitation procedures to fan-friendly policies and on ticket purchases and the latest testing options, we are setting standards that will give the fans, crews and artists peace of mind before, during and after the show,” he commented.
While they plan to scale shows in summer 2021, Rapino warns the “exact timeline of this return will vary by region, and so we continue to focus on remaining flexible.”
Rapino also pointed to a "constantly low" refund rate as reason to why fans will return to shows.
Live Nation claims they saved over $900 million this year, $100 million more than initially anticipated. “With these reductions, we have lowered the estimate on our operational cash burn rate [negative cash flow] to $110m per month and our gross burn rate to $175m per month on average for the last nine months of the year and prior, to the benefit of contribution margin generated by the business.”
Among the cuts, would be 20% smaller guarantees across the board promised to artists. If a show gets canceled due to poor ticket sales, the artist would only get 25% of the guarantee, as opposed to the full 100% that promoters are currently expected to pay. The most shocking is if an artist cancels a performance in breach of the contract they would pay the promoter two times the artist fee – something that is unheard of in the music industry. Read that memo here.
Will you be hitting up shows even if a vaccine isn't available?
[via Kerrang!]
