Live Nation Entertainment has been consistently reducing its hiring activity throughout 2020, with new job postings dipping from 437 in January to just 17 in December 2020. The job closures have also been significantly higher than new postings since Q2 2020, potentially in response to the effects of lockdowns on in-person live events. However, hiring continues with focus on virtual events, upcoming big-ticket concerts and sporting events, finds GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Live Nation closed around 2,800 positions in 2020, while it posted in the region of 1,400 jobs. Most positions closed in 2020 were related to operations and maintenance of venues, live events and music festivals. GlobalData’s job analytics database shows most closures were for entry and junior positions in H1 2020, with several events being cancelled or postponed. Further, the company laid off around 2,400 employees in 2020 across various divisions – as per the notices filed with the statutory bodies.

Ajay Thalluri, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Live Nation has not been able to recover from lockdowns as social distancing norms continue to be a challenge to host in-person events. However, with live streaming gaining relevance, the company recently acquired ticketed live stream platform Veeps and is posting jobs to promote virtual events.”

Of all Live Nation’s new jobs in 2020, 89% got posted in Q1 2020. Most jobs since Q2 2020 were related to product and software development for the creation of interactive virtual event platforms, building partnerships with Fortune 100 brands, marketing and digital analytics. Live Nation is expected to be cautious with its hiring activity in near future as it cuts down costs. The company announced a $900m cost reduction target for 2020, according to Q3 2020 results.

The company is also is cautiously planning to host live events in the Summer of 2021 and 2022. Through its affiliate Ticketmaster Entertainment, the company has already started posting jobs to support Insomniac’s electronic dance carnival (EDC) in 2021 and fixed contract jobs for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Thalluri concludes: “With the company gaining prominence in the live stream domain, it is expected to post jobs in the coming quarters. The vaccination drive across countries could pave way for live in-person events to resume soon and positively impact hiring activity.”