Live Nation announced this week that was teaming up with financial powerhouse Citi under a marketing alliance that will leverage Live Nation’s new, integrated music platform and make Citi the official credit card company for the burgeoning live music empire.
Citi customers will now have an exclusive menu of benefits through Citi’s recently expanded Private Pass Program, such as access to presale and preferred tickets, box seats at select venues, premium seats, swag and other promotions. Financial terms were not disclosed but the Hollywood Reporter estimated the multiyear deal was valued in excess of $100 million. Live Nation had a similar marketing alliance with American Express, but it was not as extensive as the new arrangement with Citi.
In addition to giving Live Nation access to millions of Citi customers, the deal was partially designed to help blunt some of the recent, aggressive moves by rival Ticketmaster, as the two competitors jockey for position in the industry prior the expiration of the their ticket-selling contract at the end of the year.
The deal will also give Citi the opportunity to participate in future initiatives, such as venue naming rights, tie-ins with Live Nation’s new ticketing operation and benefit access for other Citi customers. It is anticipated that Citi’s brand messaging and logo will be integrated into online and offline initiatives as well as in signage, direct mail campaigns and LiveNation.com.
“Over the past two years we have assembled a vertically integrated live music platform that provides our corporate partners comprehensive access to over 10,000 events and more than 36 million avid fans through an unparalleled foundation of venues, concerts, festivals, ticketing, artist merchandise, online and direct artist access,” said Michael Rapino, Live Nation CEO, in a statement. “Live Nation is the only company in the world that can provide our corporate partners this kind of global onstage, onsite and online access to one of the most powerful mediums available — live music. Our relationship with Citi represents an entirely new level of strategic alliance made uniquely possible by this new platform. It is a truly symbiotic marketing alliance that will simultaneously benefit Citi cardmembers, touring artists and music fans all over the country.”
