MSGE, VIVID, StubHub, NIVA reports show a slowdown in concerts

Reports from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, two major ticket resellers and the National Independent Venue Association point to a slowdown in concerts and ticket sales. That view stands in stark contrast to Live Nation’s recent stellar report investors.

MSGE, VIVID, StubHub, NIVA reports show a slowdown in concerts

Live Nation posted revenue of $7.01 billion in Q2 2025, a 16.3% increase year-over-year. 44 million fans attended their shows, a 14% increase year-over-year It’s subsidiary Ticketmaster had a revenue increase of 2% year-over-year to $743 million, selling more than 83 million tickets worldwide.

But Q2 2025 reports from MSGE, VIVID and StubHub and a NIVA survey of independent U.S. venues paint a very different picture.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment just reported a quarterly revenue decline of 17% YoY. The company said its performance was primarily impacted by lower event-related revenues, particularly from concerts at Madison Square Garden Arena.

Ticket reseller Vivid Seats saw it Marketplace sales fall 30% from 3.1 million to 2.2 million tickets in April through June of this year. Vivid’s CEO pointed to “double-digit industry declines across categories in June… The concerts category was up low single digits in Q2, but down double digits in June.”

StubHub has not yet fully reported its Q2 2025. But in a revised IPO related SEC filing this week, the reseller showed a net loss of $35.9 million in Q1, up from $29.7 million the prior year.

In addition to these reports to investors, a National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) survey released in June looked at the state the independent live sector. Several findings in “State Of Live” confirm economic struggles caused mostly by rising costs and increased competition. Most notably, 64% of U.S. independent stages are not profitable.

Analysis: Reports show a slowdown in concerts

Live Nation may be performing better than others in U.S. live music because of its global footprint and massive scale. NIVA sees the later and how Live Nation uses its power as a key reason that independents are struggling.

All businesses and consumers – including the live music industry and ticket buyers – are also concerned with growing economic uncertainties and possible inflation.

But whatever the reasons, these four reports point to unsettling times ahead for live music.

Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.