The Biz: California’s Ticketing Reform; Earnings Fallout; WMG/Paramount Deal; Monetizing An Iconic Beatles Performance

California Assemblyman Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, is ramping up his push for ticketing reform legislation in the state.

The Fans First Act would cap resale mark-up at 10% above face value for tickets to live music concerts, comedy shows and theatrical productions; sporting events are exempt. If the bill — which is moving through the assembly’s committee process — were to become law, it could have a broader effect on resale reform beyond the Golden State.

Because of the size of the California market, regulatory framework adopted there is often adopted more widely, as businesses find it more efficient to simply use the California standards in, say, North Dakota than the other way around. Obviously ticketing is a much different beast than vehicle emissions, for example, but the nation’s largest state adopting a hard resale cap would certainly create the kind of headlines to generate political pressure for reform elsewhere.

Haney held a press conference at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, flanked by supporters from Music Artists Coalition, SAG-AFTRA, and NIVA.

“When tickets are treated like speculative commodities, artists lose connection with their audiences, independent venues struggle to build loyal fan communities, and money that should be supporting local music ecosystems instead goes to professional brokers and resale platforms exploiting demand,” Haney said. 

Live Nation Earnings Fallout

Live Nation had what would technically be considered a mixed earnings report. Revenues beat estimates —the nearly $3.8 billion in sales was close to a first quarter record for the company and ahead of estimates by about 5% — but profits were well off the mark. While analysts had anticipated a loss in the mid-30 cents per share, Live Nation reported a whopping loss of $1.85 per share.

The company had a good reason for the hit: it booked $450 million in “legal accrual,” in anticipation of damages following a jury finding that the live giant operated an illegal monopoly; in a technical sense, the jury awarded damages to the plaintiff states of $150 million which will be trebled during the remedies phase.

The Street was unfazed by the eye-popping loss — without it, doing some back-of-the-napkin math, Live Nation’s EPS would have been on the positive side in the high single digits, which would represent a significant beat.

CEO Michael Rapino and CFO Joe Berchtold painted a fairly rosy picture on the post-release call, as well. For starters, the pair emphasized the strength of the venue side of their business

“Our Venue Nation strategy is set to drive significant growth as we expand our fan base and enhance venue experiences,” Rapino said, with Berchtold saying the company is “strategically reinvesting Ticketmaster cashflows into venue expansion” with an aim at “long-term growth.”

In the report, Live Nation said it expected amps to carry the company in Q3 — which includes most of the high-shed-traffic summer months — but one analyst, at least, wondered if revenues would suffer as historically amps are the sector hit hardest when costs rise for the consumer — particularly fuel costs — because tickets to amp shows tend to be purchased closer to showtime than equivalent arena and stadium tickets.

“As you see from the numbers in our releases, we’re tracking ahead of last year on show count, on ticket sales, up over double digits,” Berchtold said. “We see a strong year in amphitheaters. We think they’re a great product. Demand will always be there.”

WMG, Paramount Ink Deal

On the heels of an agreement with Netflix to produce documentary streaming content for the label’s roster, Warner Music Group has signed a deal with Paramount for theatrical releases.

Under the deal, the companies will develop movies drawing on the lives and music of WMG‘s roster of artists and songwriters.

 “Every artist deserves to tell the stories behind their life and music in their own creative way, and we’re excited to partner with our incredible talent and world-class filmmakers to bring these stories to the big screen, growing their audiences around the world,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said.

The move reflects a broader strategy by Kyncl, who sees the WMG roster as a content source beyond music.

Iconic Beatles Site To Become Ticketed Attraction

The rooftop on London’s Savile Row where The Beatles’ last performed live in 1969 and the studio within where the band recorded Let It Be will be opened as a tourist attraction next year, Apple Corps — which manages The Beatles’ business interests — announced.

The seven-story 3 Savile Row will feature unseen material from the Apple archives, rotating exhibitions, a fan store and a recreation of the basement studio where the final album was recorded.