They might soon be facing legislative action, but for now Live Nation is riding high. The live-events giant has reported record results for Q1 2023 – including an astounding peak ticket sales number.

Why its important: With all pandemic restrictions behind us for the first time in three years, demand for live events (and especially concerts) is off the charts. Live Nation/Ticketmaster has spent Q1 raking in the cash across all its divisions – Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising.

By the numbers: Gross revenues were $3.1 billion, up 73% year over year. The Concerts business generated $2.28 billion, up 89%. The Ticketing business brought in $677.7 million, up 41%. And Sponsorship & Advertising revenues were $170.1 million, up 47%. Meanwhile, 19 million fans attended Live Nation shows across 45 countries – including 7.5 million in North America. 3.3 million people went to stadium shows, and 6.7 million attended arena shows – which was an 80% increase from last year. Theater and club shows were also up 45%.

Ticketmaster sold over 145 million tickets in Q1, showing “record levels of activity across all markets.” The average ticket price on primary tickets rose by 16%, and secondary market tickets ran about double face value.

The big one: Ticketmaster “sold 15,000 tickets per minute in North America” during its sales peak for Q1. Just, wow.

What they're saying: "We expect to host a record number of fans this year, even against a 2022 comparison which benefited from rescheduled shows attended by 20 million fans," said Michael Rapino, Live Nation’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "Ticketmaster should also deliver record activity, with around 600 million tickets managed globally this year. Our sponsorship business, even after incredible growth last year, looks to be on track for double-digit AOI growth again this year. “As we then look to 2024 and beyond, we have all the necessary levers to build our flywheel globally and continue to compound AOI by double-digits for the foreseeable future.”