Concert ticket sales

Virgin Media O2 says it recorded all-time-high early access concert ticket sales between January and November 2024. Photo Credit: Sergio Ruiz

Following the disclosure of record overall concert ticket sales at London’s O2 Arena for 2024, Virgin Media O2 has revealed all-time-high early access sales for the year.

The O2 operator, which says it provides 45.8 million connections to U.K. customers across mobile, broadband, TV, and home-phone services, just recently unveiled the 2024 stats behind “Priority Tickets.” Besides offering several perks and exclusive events, that program, as its name suggests, affords customers access to passes prior to general-onsale kickoffs.

Capping off a decidedly mixed bag for live entertainment during 2024, those stats include 1.54 million Priority Tickets moved between the top of January and November’s end – up 12% from the same window in 2023, according to the company.

Also as laid out by the Liberty Global and Telefónica SA joint venture, Dua Lipa ranked first in early access sales, followed by comedian Peter Kay, Lana Del Rey, Usher, and Billie Eilish, respectively. Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Tate McRae, and Iron Maiden, respectively, rounded out the back half of the list.

In general, presale tickets are often overlooked despite their demand-related importance, and Priority Tickets’ showing suggests strong fan interest in the appropriate tours. Bigger picture, single-artist concert series from Pink and more have broken sales records during 2024.

Running with this point, the likes of Live Nation and CTS Eventim continue to post strong financials, while artists including Toto, Keith Urban, AC/DC, and Kendrick Lamar have already teed up sizable concert series for 2025.

As many know, however, these and adjacent positives (see the many millions of dollars pulled down by ticketing platforms on the year) don’t tell the whole live-entertainment story.

In keeping with the “mixed bag” descriptor, multiple well-known acts have been forced to either dial back or shelve their touring plans. More pressingly, music festivals are struggling to put it mildly, with over 170 events and counting called off throughout 2024.

As explored in detail by DMN Pro, there are many possible reasons for festivals’ commercial woes but seemingly few concrete ways to curb the troubling trend heading into the new year.

Furthermore, the downturn isn’t sparing leading players like Coachella, which failed to sell out in 2024 and, notwithstanding its stacked 2025 lineup, still had Weekend 2 passes available at the time of writing.

It remains to be seen what the varying live-sector results mean for the wider crowd-based landscape – especially because the multifaceted situation doesn’t solely come down to pricing. Ample cost-related complaints (and at least a couple lawsuits) or not, diehard fans are still coughing up massive sums to see Oasis and others perform live.