Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket sales and distribution company, serving over 30,000 clients worldwide across multiple event categories like sport, music, theater, and more. As the primary ticketing service for many major entertainment venues and organizations, Ticketmaster sells hundreds of millions of tickets per year. But just how many tickets does Ticketmaster sell in a given year?
The Scale of Ticketmaster’s Operations
As the market leader in ticket sales and distribution, Ticketmaster has an enormous operational scale:
- Over 500 million tickets sold per year across 28 countries
- More than 12,000 clients worldwide including venues, theaters, festivals, sports leagues and teams
- Exclusive ticketing deals with hundreds of major venues and organizations like the NFL, NHL, PGA Tour, UFC, and major concert venues like Madison Square Garden
- Partnerships with 86 of the Fortune 100 companies and 83 of the Fortune 100 sports teams
- Over 60 million monthly unique visitors across all platforms
With this huge client base and online traffic, Ticketmaster sells an enormous number of tickets every year. But getting an exact number is difficult due to the company’s privately-held status.
Ticket Sales Volume Estimates
While Ticketmaster does not disclose its precise annual ticket sales figure, various estimates peg it between 400-500 million tickets sold per year globally based on the company’s market share and industry data.
According to an AP report, Ticketmaster sold more than 400 million tickets in 2007 alone for over 10,000 client across the live entertainment industry. Given the company’s growth since 2007, total ticket sales today are likely over 500 million per year.
An LA Times article in 2009 when Ticketmaster was merging with LiveNation estimated that Ticketmaster’s sales volume was nearly 500 million tickets annually.
Tickets.com, a much smaller competitor to Ticketmaster, claimed in a 2011 lawsuit that Ticketmaster’s share of primary ticket sales was between 70-80% globally. With around 600 million primary tickets sold per year across concerts, sports, theater and other live events, a 75% market share would equate to 450 million tickets for Ticketmaster.
While these are estimates based on market share data, they provide a reasonable approximation of Ticketmaster’s enormous ticket sales volume being somewhere between 400-500 million tickets sold per year.
Sales Volume by Segment
Ticketmaster sells tickets across a wide range of live events. Here is an estimate of what percentage of their sales volume comes from each segment:
- Concerts – 30% or 150-200 million tickets per year
- Sports – 25% or 125-150 million tickets per year
- Theater/Broadway – 15% or 75-100 million tickets per year
- Other (family shows, comedy, festivals, etc) – 30% or 150-200 million tickets per year
Concerts make up the largest share at an estimated 30% of volume. Sports follow closely at 25% as Ticketmaster has deals with virtually every major sports league. Theater and Broadway account for a significant 15% with Ticketmaster’s lock on NYC theater ticketing. The “other” category encompasses the rest including festivals, fairs, comedy shows, e-sports, philharmonic concerts, and more.
Geographic Sales Breakdown
Ticketmaster operates globally across 28 countries. But the majority of sales still occur in North America. Here is an approximate geographic breakdown of Ticketmaster’s ticket sales volume:
- North America – 65% or 260-325 million tickets per year
- United Kingdom – 15% or 60-75 million tickets per year
- Rest of Europe – 10% or 40-50 million tickets per year
- Australia – 5% or 20-25 million tickets per year
- Rest of World – 5% or 20-25 million tickets per year
North America accounts for an outsized share of nearly 65% of total volume reflecting Ticketmaster’s longstanding dominance in the US and Canada. The UK follows at 15% where Ticketmaster is also a leading provider. The rest of Europe represents about 10% while Australia generates around 5%. The remaining markets across South America, Mexico, Asia and New Zealand make up the last 5%.
Year-Over-Year Sales Growth
Ticketmaster’s sales volume has grown steadily over the past decade, driven by expansion into new markets and acquisitions. Here are some key stats about Ticketmaster’s growth:
- Sales grew at a CAGR of 2-3% annually from 2010-2020 based on market share gains and acquisitions according to industry analysts
- In 2016, Ticketmaster acquired Ticketbis adding 17 new countries and increasing international ticket volume by 10 million per year
- In 2018, the company expanded into 7 new European countries adding inventory sources and increasing sales
- The company expects continued sales growth of 2-5% annually through further expansion and acquisitions
While the ticket sales market has grown steadily over the past decade, Ticketmaster has grown at a slightly faster pace by consolidating market share through major acquisitions like Ticketbis and strategic expansion into new countries.
Sales Volume Projections
Given the above growth trends and assuming a conservative 2% annual growth rate, here are projections for Ticketmaster’s ticket sales volume over the next 5 years:
Year | Projected Ticket Sales Volume |
---|---|
2023 | 510 million |
2024 | 520 million |
2025 | 530 million |
2026 | 540 million |
2027 | 550 million |
Given the pace of expansion into new markets and acquisition of companies like Ticketbis, actual volume growth is likely to exceed 2% annually. But even at a conservative growth estimate, Ticketmaster is projected to sell over 550 million tickets worldwide by 2027.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster sells between 400-500 million tickets per year currently based on market share estimates and previous disclosure of sales volumes. Concerts account for the largest share at 30% followed by sports at 25%. Over 65% of sales occur in North America. Sales volumes have grown steadily between 2-5% annually over the past decade through market share gains and strategic expansions into new countries. Continued growth is expected to drive total ticket sales to over 550 million globally by 2027 cementing Ticketmaster’s position as the dominant player in ticket sales and distribution worldwide.