Live Nation Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Financial Results

  (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081203/LAW048LOGO-b)


                            Quarterly Summary Results
                Unaudited; $in millions (except per share amounts)

                                         Q4 2008     Q4 2007
                                         -------     -------

            Revenue                       $916.0      $922.4

            Adjusted Operating
             Income                        $28.4       $33.9

            Operating Income (Loss)      $(317.1)     $(24.0)
             (with goodwill
             impairment of $269.9)

            Free Cash Flow                 $11.2       $(3.1)

            Net Income (Loss)            $(337.5)     $(18.4)
             (with goodwill
             impairment of $269.9)

            Basic and Diluted EPS         $(4.33)     $(0.25)


“Our fourth quarter results capped an outstanding year for Live Nation,” said Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We continued to successfully execute our strategy, and we generated improved results across our business. Both the number of concerts we produced and ticket sales increased over the prior year, outpacing the industry. We also achieved considerable strength in our sponsorship business, as we continued to attract larger and more profitable advertising and marketing campaigns. Looking ahead, we believe that the live music business remains resilient despite the global economic turndown and that we are well positioned to benefit from this. Our concert pipeline remains robust to date in 2009 – we are pacing in line with 2008 concert and attendance counts. Our ticketing platform is proceeding according to our plan. We are seeing steady increases in consumer traffic to our websites, and we have sold over 1 million tickets to over 1,300 shows since launching our new ticketing platform. We remain focused on maximizing the performance of our concert business and on expanding our artist-to-fan direct distribution platform to the benefit of our shareholders.”

  Highlights:

  --  Entered into a definitive merger agreement with Ticketmaster
      Entertainment, Inc. to create the world's premier live entertainment
      company with a combined enterprise value of approximately $2.5
      billion.
  --  Continued our strategy to increase relationships with larger corporate
      sponsors, generating an increase in average revenue per sponsor of
      nearly 15% for the year.  National sponsors include BlackBerry, Burger
      King and State Farm.  Internationally, we entered into a new
      multi-asset/multi-platform, five-year agreement with O2.
  --  Launched our new ticketing platform in December 2008 using an
      established ticketing software system, licensed through CTS Eventim,
      for most of our North American owned and/or operated venues to power
      our online and e-commerce retail ticketing site.
  --  Grew our core concert business in 2008, with both the number of shows
      and attendance posting double-digit growth.


  Below are what we believe to be our key metrics related to our businesses:


                                         METRICS

  ($in millions except as noted)
  Key Drivers     Q4 2008     Q4 2007  Variance    2008      2007   Variance
                                        (Qtr.)                        (YTD)
        Rights Acquisitions - Global Music Businesses
  Talent Costs and
   Other Event
   Direct Operating
   Expenses        $729.8       $740.2   (1.4%)  $3,314.7   $2,954.9  12.2%
  Talent and Other
   Event Expenses
   as % of Total
   Revenue          81.7%        82.1%              81.2%      81.4%
  Number of Live
   Rights
   (Concerts)
   (est.)           6,949        5,234   32.8%     22,167     16,747  32.4%
  Number of
   Ancillary Live
   Rights - as of
   period end
   (est.)             848          n/a     n/a        848        n/a    n/a
  Revenue Recognized
   for Artist
   Services/
   Ancillary
   Live Rights      $82.2          n/a     n/a     $244.5        n/a    n/a
        Distribution Platform - Global Music Businesses
  Total
   Attendance
   (est.)      13,432,000   11,773,000   14.1% 52,114,000 46,437,000  12.2%
  International
   Music Festival
   Attendance
   (est.)          58,000       36,000   61.1%  1,160,000    879,000  32.0%
  Ancillary
   Revenue per
   Attendee
  - NA Music Amps
   only                **           **             $18.35     $19.10  (3.9%)
  Total Revenue
   per Attendee
   (Fan)           $66.49       $76.54  (13.1%)    $78.34     $78.14   0.3%
        Sponsorship Data - Global Music and Ticketing Businesses
  Number of
   Sponsors -
   as of period
   end (est.)         840          927   (9.4%)       840        927  (9.4%)
  Sponsorship
   Revenue
   Recognized       $33.9        $29.8   13.8%     $170.9     $164.0   4.2%
  Average Revenue
   per Sponsor
   (rounded,
   whole $)            **           **           $203,000   $177,000  14.7%

  ** not meaningful


                        FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - 4th QUARTER


                         Q4 2008    Q4 2007     Variance
                                 $in millions
  Revenue
    North American
     Music               $452.1     $472.6       (4.3%)
    International
     Music                195.8      304.5      (35.7%)
    Artist Nation         245.2      124.0       97.7%
    Ticketing               2.6        2.3       13.0%
    Other and
     Eliminations          20.3       19.0        6.8%
                         $916.0     $922.4       (0.7%)

  Adjusted Operating                                           Margins
   Income (Loss)                                          Q4 2008 Q4 2007
    North American
     Music                $15.1      $18.7      (19.3%)        3.3%    4.0%
    International
     Music                 16.0       19.5      (17.9%)        8.2%    6.4%
    Artist Nation          11.2        1.4          **         4.6%    1.1%
    Ticketing              (7.7)      (2.5)         **           **      **
    Other and
     Eliminations           8.2        6.1          **           **      **
    Corporate             (14.4)      (9.3)     (54.7%)
                          $28.4      $33.9      (16.2%)        3.1%    3.7%
  Operating Income
   (Loss)
    North American
     Music              $(210.5)    $(10.0)         **           **   (2.1%)
    International
     Music                  6.2       13.0      (52.3%)        3.2%    4.3%
    Artist Nation         (88.0)      (9.2)         **       (35.9%)  (7.4%)
    Ticketing             (11.2)      (4.4)         **           **      **
    Other and
     Eliminations           6.2        3.4          **           **      **
    Corporate             (19.8)     (16.8)     (17.9%)
                        $(317.1)    $(24.0)         **           **   (2.6%)

  ** not meaningful

NOTE: Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2007 results to conform to the 2008 presentation to report discontinued operations.

The highlights of our financial information for the fourth quarter of 2008 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 are as follows:

  Revenue change - Total decrease of $6.4 million, primarily driven by:
  --  $18.1 million - Acquisitions of Heineken Music Hall (Holland), DF
      Concerts (Scotland), Luger and Moondog (Sweden) and the Main Square
      Festival (France) in International Music.
  --  ($126.8) million - Decrease in International Music driven by the
      disposition of a portion of the Italy promotion business along with
      reduced promotion activity in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy and
      Spain primarily related to arena events.
  --  $27.1 million - Acquisitions of Signatures and Anthill in Artist
      Nation.
  --  $94.1 million - Increase in Artist Nation revenue driven by the strong
      results of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour in 2008.


Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) change – Total decrease of $5.5 million, primarily driven by:

  --  ($4.2) million - Decrease in International Music due to show results
      primarily in Belgium, Italy (partly due to the disposition discussed
      above), Sweden and Spain.
  --  $8.0 million - Increase in Artist Nation revenue driven by the strong
      results of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour in 2008.
  --  $2.5 million - Acquisitions of Heineken Music Hall (Holland), DF
      Concerts (Scotland), Luger and Moondog (Sweden) and the Main Square
      Festival (France) in International Music and Signatures and Anthill in
      Artist Nation.
  --  ($5.2) million - Decline in Ticketing primarily due to higher salary
      costs, consulting fees and other expense related to building our
      ticketing infrastructure.
  --  ($5.1) million - Increased costs in Corporate driven by costs related
      to employees and consulting costs.


Operating Income (Loss) change – Total decrease of $293.1 million, primarily driven by:

  --  ($5.5) million - Overall decrease in Adjusted Operating Income noted
      above.
  --  ($269.9) million - Impairment of goodwill recorded in the fourth
      quarter of 2008 of $189.2 million in North American Music and $80.7
      million in Artist Nation driven by the company's market capitalization
      at year-end compared to total asset value as required by accounting
      literature.



                    FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS - YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

                               2008      2007    Variance
                                    $in millions
  Revenue
    North American Music    $2,236.0  $1,976.5      13.1%
    International Music      1,182.6   1,078.7       9.6%
    Artist Nation              664.2     573.5      15.8%
    Ticketing                   22.4      11.4         **
    Other and Eliminations      61.6     115.4         **
                            $4,166.8  $3,755.5      11.0%

  Adjusted Operating Income                                      Margins
   (Loss)                                                     2008     2007
    North American Music      $126.3     $80.0      57.9%      5.6%     4.0%
    International Music         88.7      78.4      13.1%      7.5%     7.3%
    Artist Nation               (2.0)      8.6         **     (0.3%)    1.5%
    Ticketing                  (18.7)     (5.9)        **        **       **
    Other and Eliminations      20.7      15.2      35.9%        **       **
    Corporate                  (45.2)    (35.2)    (28.4%)
                              $169.8    $141.1      20.3%      4.1%     3.8%
  Operating Income (Loss)
    North American Music     $(145.9)    $14.6         **        **     0.7%
    International Music         57.0      78.2     (27.1%)     4.8%     7.2%
    Artist Nation             (123.8)    (14.1)        **        **       **
    Ticketing                  (25.9)    (10.5)        **        **       **
    Other and Eliminations      12.4      (0.2)        **        **       **
    Corporate                  (58.0)    (51.2)    (13.3%)
                             $(284.2)    $16.8         **        **     0.4%
  ** not meaningful

NOTE: Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2007 results to conform to the 2008 presentation to report discontinued operations.

The highlights of our financial information for the year ended December 31, 2008 as compared to 2007 are as follows:

  Revenue change - Total increase of $411.3 million, primarily driven by:
  --  $168.3 million - Increase in North American Music primarily due to
      increases in the number of events, ancillary revenue per attendee,
      attendance and average ticket prices at our owned and/or operated
      amphitheaters and third-party venues.  2008 included a strong line-up
      of artists including Dave Matthews Band, Journey and Jimmy Buffett,
      and strong results for arena tours such as Coldplay, Van Halen and the
      Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
  --  $91.2 million - Acquisition of HOB Canada in North American Music.
  --  $106.9 million - Acquisitions of AMG, Heineken Music Hall, DF
      Concerts, Luger and Moondog and the Main Square Festival in
      International Music.
  --  ($59.3) million - Decrease in Artist Nation, despite a strong fourth
      quarter with the 2008 Madonna tour, based on the overall volume and
      size of tours in 2008 as compared to 2007.
  --  $150.0 million - Acquisitions of Signatures and Anthill in Artist
      Nation.
  --  ($54.1) million - Decline in other operations due to reduced
      participation in theatrical productions in our United Kingdom theater
      operations in 2008 and due to our sale in 2007 of a stage production
      in North America.
  --  $8.2 million - Foreign exchange movements, primarily in International
      Music.


Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) change – Total increase of $28.7 million, primarily driven by:

  --  $43.3 million - Increase in North American Music primarily due to cost
      controls on talent buying and other variable expenses, overall
      increases in ancillary revenue per attendee, higher ticket sales
      through our internal ticketing operations, higher average ticket
      prices, increased activity at our owned and/or operated amphitheaters
      and strong arena tours.
  --  $22.9 million - Acquisitions of HOB Canada in North American Music;
      AMG, Heineken Music Hall, DF Concerts, Luger and Moondog and the Main
      Square Festival in International Music; and Signatures and Anthill in
      Artist Nation.
  --  ($16.9) million - Decline in Artist Nation based on the overall volume
      and size of tours in 2008 as compared to 2007.
  --  ($12.8) million - Decline in Ticketing primarily due to higher salary
      costs and other expenses related to building our ticketing
      infrastructure.
  --  ($10.0) million - Increased headcount, consulting fees and related
      costs in Corporate.


Operating Income (Loss) change – Total decrease of $301.0 million, primarily driven by:

  --  $28.7 million - Overall increase in Adjusted Operating Income noted
      above.
  --  ($269.9) million - Impairment of goodwill recorded in the fourth
      quarter of 2008 of $189.2 million in North American Music and $80.7
      million in Artist Nation driven by the company's market capitalization
      at year-end as discussed above.
  --  ($30.7) million - Increase in depreciation and amortization expense
      primarily due to impairments recorded in 2008 of $12.1 million related
      to three venues and an intangible asset in North American Music and
      also due to the higher amortization of intangible assets related to
      the AMG, DF Concerts and Signatures acquisitions and certain artist
      rights agreements.
  --  ($21.8) million - Decreased gain on the sale of operating assets
      primarily due to gains recorded in 2007 on the sale of an
      amphitheater, an office building, two music theaters, seven clubs and
      two other non-core assets.


  Other information
  --  For the year ended December 31, 2008, our total capital expenditures
      were $186.9 million, of which maintenance capital expenditures were
      $25.0 million, down from $45.2 million in 2007.  We also incurred
      $161.9 million of capital expenditures for revenue generating projects
      during 2008, primarily due to the development and renovation of
      various venues including O2 Dublin arena (formerly The Point) in
      Ireland, House of Blues in Houston and Boston, the Hollywood Palladium
      and the AMG venue expansions in Sheffield and Leeds, as well as for
      our ticketing roll-out.
  --  As of December 31, 2008, our cash and cash equivalents were $199.7
      million and our total long-term debt was $885.7 million, including
      $122.0 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility.  Free
      cash as of December 31, 2008 was $32.2 million.


  Conference Call:

The company will host a teleconference today, March 2, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which can be accessed by dialing 888-603-6873 (U.S.) or 973-321-1019 (Int’l) and referencing passcode 70943698. To access the call via webcast, please visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.livenation.com/investors. Please visit the website approximately ten minutes prior to start time to ensure a connection. Additional statistical and financial information to be provided on the call, if any, will be posted supplementally under that same link. For those who are not available to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call on the Live Nation website through March 9, 2009.

About Live Nation:

Live Nation’s mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 22,000 concerts for 1,600 artists in 33 countries. During 2008, the company sold over 50 million concert tickets and drove over 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry’s first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. For additional information about the company, please visit www.livenation.com/investors.

                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                                            Year Ended December 31,
                                       2008           2007         2006
                              (in thousands except share and per share data)

  Revenue                         $4,166,838     $3,755,470   $3,294,471
  Operating expenses:
    Direct operating expenses      3,324,672      3,003,610    2,678,869
    Selling, general and
     administrative expenses         655,351        592,983      468,970
    Depreciation and amortization    147,467        116,834      123,628
    Goodwill impairment              269,902              -            -
    Loss (gain) on sale of
     operating assets                  1,108        (20,654)      (9,987)
    Corporate expenses                52,498         45,854       33,863
  Operating income (loss)           (284,160)        16,843         (872)
  Interest expense                    63,023         61,753       37,194
  Interest income                    (10,192)       (13,476)     (11,025)
  Equity in (earnings) losses of
   nonconsolidated affiliates         (2,264)         5,058       (1,716)
  Minority interest expense            1,426          6,160       11,449
  Other income-net                       (28)          (147)        (489)
  Loss from continuing operations
   before income taxes              (336,125)       (42,505)     (36,285)
  Income tax expense (benefit):
    Current                          (24,057)        34,919       24,879
    Deferred                           8,132          7,649       10,334
  Loss from continuing operations   (320,200)       (85,073)     (71,498)
  Income from discontinued
   operations, net of tax             88,435         73,137       40,056
  Net loss                          (231,765)       (11,936)     (31,442)
  Other comprehensive income
   (loss), net of tax:
    Unrealized holding gain (loss)
     on cash flow derivatives         (9,094)        (1,888)         104
    Foreign currency translation
     adjustments                     (48,277)        37,579       27,032
  Comprehensive income (loss)      $(289,136)       $23,755      $(4,306)

  Basic and diluted income (loss)
   per common share:
    Loss from continuing operations   $(4.20)        $(1.24)      $(1.10)
    Income from discontinued
     operations                         1.16          $1.07        $0.62
    Net loss                          $(3.04)        $(0.17)      $(0.48)

  Weighted average common shares
   outstanding
    Basic                         76,228,275     68,440,582   64,853,243
    Diluted                       76,228,275     68,440,582   64,853,243

The numbers above may be adjusted for final tax entries to be included in the Company’s Form 10-K to properly reflect taxes related to discontinued operations as opposed to continuing operations but net loss is not expected to be impacted significantly, if at all.

                       CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                                                      December 31,
                                                    2008        2007
                                            (in thousands except share data)
                            ASSETS
  CURRENT ASSETS
  Cash and cash equivalents                      $199,660    $338,991
  Accounts receivable, less allowance of
   $10,376 in 2008 and $18,928 in 2007            217,286     264,316
  Prepaid expenses                                194,355     186,379
  Other current assets                             28,517      44,722
    Total Current Assets                          639,818     834,408

  PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
  Land, buildings and improvements                990,433   1,018,079
  Furniture and other equipment                   260,524     236,320
  Construction in progress                         41,282      51,725
                                                1,292,239   1,306,124
  Less accumulated depreciation                   404,504     391,079
                                                  887,735     915,045
  INTANGIBLE ASSETS
  Intangible assets-net                           514,469     382,999
  Goodwill                                        205,296     471,542
  OTHER LONG-TERM ASSETS
  Notes receivable, less allowance of $562 in
   2008 and $745 in 2007                              672       1,703
  Investments in nonconsolidated affiliates        18,519      23,443
  Other long-term assets                          212,148     122,963
    Total Assets                               $2,478,657  $2,752,103
              LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
  CURRENT LIABILITIES
  Accounts payable                                $53,563     $79,273
  Accrued expenses                                378,992     511,636
  Deferred revenue                                225,664     259,868
  Current portion of long-term debt                48,637      36,345
  Other current liabilities                        64,381      18,348
    Total Current Liabilities                     771,237     905,470

  Long-term debt                                  837,076     786,261
  Other long-term liabilities                     146,360      91,465
  Minority interest liability                      61,722      61,841
  Series A and Series B redeemable preferred
   stock                                           40,000      40,000
  Commitments and contingent liabilities

  STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
  Preferred stock - Series A Junior
   Participating, $.01 par value; 20,000,000
   shares authorized; no shares issued and
   outstanding                                          -           -
  Preferred stock, $.01 par value; 30,000,000
   shares authorized; no shares issued and
   outstanding                                          -           -
  Common stock, $.01 par value; 450,000,000
   shares authorized; 78,528,724 and
   74,893,005 shares issued and outstanding
   in 2008 and 2007, respectively                     785         749
  Additional paid-in capital                      993,005     940,848
  Retained deficit                               (362,706)   (130,941)
  Cost of shares held in treasury (505,811
   shares in 2008)                                 (7,861)          -
  Accumulated other comprehensive income             (961)     56,410
    Total Stockholders' Equity                    622,262     867,066
    Total Liabilities and Stockholders'
     Equity                                    $2,478,657  $2,752,103


                    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                                            Year Ended December 31,
                                          2008        2007        2006
                                                 (in thousands)
  Cash flows from operating
   activities
    Net loss                          $(231,765)   $(11,936)   $(31,442)
    Reconciling items:                   86,059      85,848     118,343
      Depreciation
      Amortization of intangibles        62,163      34,980       9,824
      Goodwill impairment               282,939           -           -
      Impairment of other operational
       assets                            16,035           -           -
      Deferred income tax expense         8,132       7,649      10,334
      Amortization of debt issuance
       costs                              3,964       2,095         736
      Non-cash compensation expense      34,556      29,191       3,432
      Gain on sale of operating
       Assets                          (165,448)    (51,226)    (11,640)
      Loss (gain) on sale of other
       investments                            -         (64)      1,659
      Equity in earnings of
       nonconsolidated affiliates          (720)     (4,806)     (8,407)
      Minority interest income            1,587       7,869      12,209
      Changes in operating assets and
       liabilities, net of effects of
       acquisitions and dispositions:
        Decrease (increase) in accounts
         receivable                       2,130       3,827     (55,504)
        Increase in prepaid expenses    (25,603)    (51,554)    (11,837)
        Increase in other assets       (107,376)    (50,951)     (1,762)
        Increase (decrease) in
         accounts payable, accrued
         expenses and other
         liabilities                    (48,473)     30,858       3,902
        Increase (decrease) in
         deferred revenue                28,984      18,030     (22,219)
        Decrease in other-net                 -           -           -

          Net cash provided by (used in)
           operating activities         (52,836)     49,810      17,628

  Cash flows from investing
   activities
      Collection of notes receivable        334       1,910       4,427
      Advances to notes receivable            -        (879)     (2,420)
      Distributions from nonconsolidated
       affiliates                         7,269      16,195      15,922
      Investments made to
       nonconsolidated affiliates          (250)     (5,261)    (14,657)
      Proceeds from disposal of other
       investments                            -       3,616       1,743
      Purchases of property, plant and
       equipment                       (186,920)   (116,849)    (65,705)
      Proceeds from disposal of
       operating assets, net of cash
       divested                         198,665     132,106      36,292
      Cash paid for acquisitions, net of
       cash acquired                    (19,657)   (124,285)   (351,858)
      Purchases of intangible assets    (65,460)    (47,568)       (796)
      Decrease (increase) in other-net   (1,577)        (44)        981

          Net cash used in investing
           activities                   (67,596)   (141,059)   (376,071)

  Cash flows from financing
   activities
      Proceeds from long-term debt, net
       of debt issuance costs           420,327     399,781     339,491
      Payments on long-term debt       (369,610)   (285,635)    (78,253)
      Contributions from minority
       interest partners                  8,847           -      33,188
      Distributions to minority interest
       partners                          (3,042)     (4,424)     (1,415)
      Proceeds from exercises of stock
       options                              636         466           -
      Proceeds from sales of common
       stock                              5,454           -           -
      Payments for purchases of common
       stock                            (28,628)          -     (24,717)

          Net cash provided by financing
           activities                    33,984     110,188     268,294
      Effect of exchange rate changes on
       cash                             (52,883)      6,172         313
          Net increase (decrease) in cash
           and cash equivalents        (139,331)     25,111     (89,836)
      Cash and cash equivalents at
       beginning of period              338,991     313,880     403,716

      Cash and cash equivalents at end
       of period                       $199,660    $338,991    $313,880


Forward-Looking Statements, Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations:

Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential health and growth of Live Nation’s business; the company’s concert and attendance counts; the company’s ticketing platform and website traffic; and the company’s anticipated achievement of its strategic objectives and the related benefits to its stockholders. Live Nation wishes to caution you that there are some known and unknown factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to operational challenges in achieving strategic objectives and executing on the company’s plans, the risk that the company’s markets do not evolve as anticipated, the potential impact of the current general economic slowdown and operational challenges associated with building out the company’s ticketing operations.

Live Nation refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, specifically the section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the company’s most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company’s projections or forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date on which they are made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or concerning Live Nation are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Live Nation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. A reconciliation of each such measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, together with an explanation of why management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors, is provided below.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization (including impairments), loss (gain) on sale of operating assets and non-cash compensation expense. The company uses Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to evaluate the performance of its operating segments. The company believes that information about Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of the company’s portfolio of businesses separate from non-operational factors that affect net income, thus providing insights into both operations and the other factors that affect reported results. Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) is not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A limitation of the use of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenue in the company’s business. Accordingly, Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) less maintenance capital expenditures, less net interest expense, less cash taxes, less net distributions to minority interest partners plus distributions from investments in nonconsolidated affiliates net of contributions to investments in nonconsolidated affiliates. The company uses free cash flow, among other measures, to evaluate the ability of its operations to generate cash that is available for purposes other than maintenance capital expenditures. The company believes that information about free cash flow provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available to service debt and make acquisitions. Free cash flow is not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A limitation of the use of free cash flow as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available for operations and it is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, free cash flow should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss) and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash flow as presented above may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Free Cash is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company defines as cash and cash equivalents less event-related deferred income, less accrued artist fees, less collections on behalf of others plus prepaids related to artist settlements/events. The company uses free cash as a proxy for how much cash it has available to, among other things, optionally repay debt balances, make acquisitions and finance new venue expenditures. Free cash is not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A limitation of the use of free cash as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available for operations and it is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, free cash should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, cash and cash equivalents and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to Their Most Directly Comparable GAAP Measures

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to Operating Income (Loss) – Three and Twelve Months ended December 31

                                       Loss
                                      (gain)
                   Adjusted  Non-cash   on
                  operating compensa- sale of Depreciation         Operating
                    income    tion   operating     and      Goodwill  income
                    (loss)  expense   assets  amortization Impairment (loss)

                                    ($in millions)
                            For the three months ended December 31, 2008
  North American
   Music             $15.1     $9.2     $0.1     $27.1      $189.2  $(210.5)
  International
   Music              16.0      8.6      0.2       1.0           -      6.2
  Artist Nation       11.2      2.2      0.7      15.6        80.7    (88.0)
  Ticketing           (7.7)     1.3        -       2.2           -    (11.2)
  Other and
   Eliminations        8.2      0.2      0.2       1.6           -      6.2
  Corporate          (14.4)     3.5      0.7       1.2           -    (19.8)
  Total Live Nation  $28.4    $25.0     $1.9     $48.7      $269.9  $(317.1)

                            For the three months ended December 31, 2007

  North American
   Music             $18.7     $6.0     $0.1     $22.6          $-   $(10.0)
  International
   Music              19.5      3.6     (0.2)      3.1           -     13.0
  Artist Nation        1.4      1.2        -       9.4           -     (9.2)
  Ticketing           (2.5)     0.8        -       1.1           -     (4.4)
  Other and
   Eliminations        6.1        -      0.3       2.4           -      3.4
  Corporate           (9.3)     5.9        -       1.6           -    (16.8)
  Total Live Nation  $33.9    $17.5     $0.2     $40.2          $-   $(24.0)

                            For the year ended December 31, 2008

  North American
   Music            $126.3    $11.7     $(0.5)    $71.8     $189.2  $(145.9)
  International
   Music              88.7      9.4       0.2      22.1          -     57.0
  Artist Nation       (2.0)     4.4       0.6      36.1       80.7   (123.8)
  Ticketing          (18.7)     1.6         -       5.6          -    (25.9)
  Other and
   Eliminations       20.7      0.2       0.1       8.0          -     12.4
  Corporate          (45.2)     8.2       0.7       3.9          -    (58.0)
  Total Live Nation $169.8    $35.5      $1.1    $147.5     $269.9  $(284.2)

                            For the year ended December 31, 2007

  North American
   Music             $80.0     $9.2     $(6.7)    $62.9         $-    $14.6
  International
   Music              78.4      4.1     (18.8)     14.9          -     78.2
  Artist Nation        8.6      2.9         -      19.8          -    (14.1)
  Ticketing           (5.9)     1.3         -       3.3          -    (10.5)
  Other and
   Eliminations       15.2        -       5.0      10.4          -     (0.2)
  Corporate          (35.2)    10.7      (0.2)      5.5          -    (51.2)
  Total Live
   Nation           $141.1    $28.2    $(20.7)   $116.8         $-    $16.8

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) to Free Cash Flow – Fourth Quarter

                                                    Q4 2008       Q4 2007
  ($in millions)
  Adjusted operating income                          $28.4         $33.9
  Less:  Interest expense-net                        (15.6)        (13.8)
             Cash Taxes                                0.6         (12.5)
             Maintenance capital
              expenditures                            (3.3)        (14.5)
             Distributions to minority
              interest partners                       (1.2)         (1.1)
             Distributions from
              (contributions to) investments
              in nonconsolidated affiliates            2.3           4.9

             Free cash flow                          $11.2         $(3.1)

Reconciliation of Cash and Cash Equivalents to Free Cash as of December 31, 2008

  ($in millions)                                              December 31,
                                                                 2008
  Cash and cash equivalents                                      $199.7
  Deferred income                                               $(209.8)
  Accrued artist fees                                            $(10.8)
  Collections on behalf of others                                $(56.9)
  Prepaids related to artist
   settlements/events                                            $110.0
     Free cash                                                    $32.2

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081203/LAW048LOGO-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, [email protected]

SOURCE: Live Nation

CONTACT: media, John Vlautin, [email protected], or investors,
Linda Bandov, [email protected], both of Live Nation, Inc.,
+1-310-867-7000; or Brad Edwards of Brainerd Communicators, Inc.,
+1-212-986-6667, [email protected], for Live Nation, Inc.