Concerts are increasingly going global as cracks emerge in the U.S. market

MW Concerts are increasingly going global as cracks emerge in the U.S. market

By Bill Peters

Live Nation has seen international fan count exceed domestic attendance recently, and Vivid Seats recently called out some pressure on the Las Vegas market

Live Nation has been buying up venues internationally.

Overseas opportunity still beckons for the concert industry, even as Americans feel the sting of high inflation and demand shows signs of returning to earth from the postpandemic peak.

Helped by bigger tours and investments in Europe and Mexico, Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment's (LYV) international concert attendance has been bigger than in North America in recent months, following fewer events and lower turnout stateside last year. Executives there have increasingly described the business in global proportions.

CEO Michael Rapino on Tuesday highlighted "the global desire for authentic human connection" in a world of artificial intelligence. Artists - at least the ones with the money and homegrown popularity - are now broadening their reach as streaming and social media help expand audiences.

"This world now has been flattened and bands from all over - from Latin America to K-pop to Colombia to India - are now on the road and able to travel and tour in all of the different venues and festivals around the world," he said during Live Nation's earnings call.

He added that Live Nation's international growth, at this point, was possibly even stronger than in the United States. The festival market in Latin America, he said, was "on fire."

Against that backdrop, Live Nation this year has struck deals to buy up venues in places like Paris and Milan. Last year, it said it would expand its stake in Mexico-based concert promoter Ocesa to 75%. At the time, Live Nation said Mexico was the world's third-largest concert market.

The gains abroad would mark an extension of recent trends. In February, Live Nation said international fan count exceeded that in the U.S. for the first time late last year - and that continued through the first quarter. The company closed out 2025 with a roughly 24% year-over-year sales gain in its international business, according to a geographic breakdown in its annual report. Its domestic sales, meanwhile, slipped fractionally.

Live Nation, in response to a request for more context behind those figures, referred back to the data in its filings. But during its call on Tuesday, the company said it had seen no signs of weaker demand.

"We see no slowdown in any genre, no demographic," Rapino said. "We see across the board, whether it's a club show - whether it's an amphitheater in Indianapolis or an expensive stadium show in New York - we've seen no demand pullback anywhere."

The remarks and the expansion abroad for Live Nation come amid deeper antitrust issues for the company domestically. A jury ruled Live Nation an illegal monopoly last month, a decision the company said it would fight. Live Nation is believed to control at least 80% of the ticketing market for major concert venues, but analysts have said a forced breakup of the company is unlikely.

Concert demand has boomed since the economy reopened following pandemic-era closures, sending Live Nation's stock on a tear. However, according to industry tracker Pollstar, the number of tickets sold worldwide in 2025 fell 3.7% year over year, as the concert industry settles down following peak attendance in 2023. In North America, the number of tickets sold fell 5% last year, according to the firm.

Demand, Pollstar said, is still well up since 2019. However, ticket marketplace Vivid Seats (SEAT) on Tuesday did call out some challenges in the U.S., including recent tour cancellations. CEO Lawrence Fey said those moves reflected "some subset of the market being tapped out" or resulted from some artists mispricing their tours.

The Pussycat Dolls largely canceled the North American stretch of a planned tour, while Post Malone has canceled or pushed back some tour dates. Meghan Trainor also recently canceled tour plans.

While Fey said there was no clear sign of a hit to demand following the start of the Iran war, he did say there were some signs of softer demand in parts of the U.S.

"The lower end of the Vegas market has probably been the most palpable place where we've seen the impact of potential consumer weakness," Fey said.

Bernstein analysts examined last year why artists have been flocking overseas. "Touring Europe keeps their fans buzzing, boosts theirbrand street credentials, and lines their pockets with sponsorshipsand merch sales and even sometimes better grossing tours than inthe U.S.," they wrote.

At the time, the analysts noted that some U.S. consumers had stumbled upon a "real-life arbitrage," as in certain cases it was "cheaper to fly to Europe than pay U.S. prices."

And as musicians rely on longer and often more expensive tours to offset meager streaming income, the analysts said promoters sometimes make performances abroad part of the package.

"Promoters are keen to expand and capture new market share, often reflected in artist contracts obliging the latter to tour in certain geographies, Europe being one of them," the Bernstein analysts said.

-Bill Peters

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May 06, 2026 16:18 ET (20:18 GMT)

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