Live Nation has already booked more concerts next year than it did in all of 2019

Live Nation has already booked more shows – twice as many according to some reports – in 2022 as it did in all of 2019.

Pent-up demand for going to live shows and artists hoping to replace lost income are fueling a very busy concert calendar beginning in the fall of 2021 through all of 2022.

Many industry observers worry that there may be so many concerts that some shows – particularly smaller shows by new artists – may suffer.

“Around the world, people are showing the need to get out and socialize once again which reinforces our expectation that a return to concerts will be the logical progression as vaccines are readily available to everyone who wants to get one,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a recent calls with investors. “This is generally already the case in the U.S. where we are confidently planning our reopenings, particularly for outdoor shows, and we expect many of our other major markets will follow this summer.”

“We are already seeing confirmed major tour dates for 2022 up double digits from the same time pre-pandemic in 2019 for 2020,” he continued. “Many of these artists will have multi-year tours, spanning the U.S., Europe and often either Asia or Latin America, setting us up for a strong multi-year growth run.”