Klaus-Peter Schulenberg: "I don’t run Eventim based on stock market prices"

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of Eventim, talks about rising ticket prices, challenges in the live entertainment industry and the future of the event market. Read the full interview.

The economy has gone through three years of recession, yet Eventim's revenue grew by 3.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2025. Why do people continue to spend their money on events?
Live events are experiences that combine emotion and community. Since you don't know when you'll be able to see the artist again, it always creates a high level of desirability and thus strong resilience on the demand side of the market. That said, I do believe that the development of ticket prices is problematic. 

You would say that as a beneficiary?
I am convinced that rock culture and live events should be accessible to everyone. In this regard, I stand in contrast to a major competitor from the United States [the world's largest entertainment company Live Nation, editor's note], which still considers ticket prices to be too low.

Speaking of rock culture: on the Eventim website, I can buy tickets for Guns N' Roses starting at 154 euros and for Eric Clapton from 180 euros. Do you really still call that accessible for everyone?
Ticket prices are set by the promoters in consultation with their artists. I therefore do not presume to judge which specific price is still reasonable and which is not. Where possible, promoters try to differentiate prices more strongly by linking higher prices to more services and a more intense live experience. VIP offers are priced higher – while the lower end of the price scale remains comparatively affordable.

Do expect there to be a tipping point at which people will no longer be willing to pay these prices?
Yes.

When will this tipping point come?
That remains to be seen. For the time being, prices are likely to continue rising.

You don’t just sell tickets, you are also a promoter yourself with festivals like “Rock am Ring”. You could influence pricing, couldn’t you?
We are no different from any other promoter in this respect. Rising ticket prices do not generally increase profits, but rather compensate for increased costs. After all, promoters are primarily dependent on two factors when it comes to pricing: on the one hand, there was a cost explosion of 45 per cent and more for infrastructure and personnel after the pandemic. On the other hand, artists' fee demands are continuously rising.

Which is because artists earn less and less money from record sales due to streaming.
Correct.

You yourself said that you already diversify ticket prices. When will Eventim introduce ‘dynamic pricing’, i.e. automated price increases for events when demand is high?
Personally, I am not a fan of dynamic pricing at all. I find it problematic if you are sitting in row five, seat one at a concert and have paid 180 euros – while your neighbour in seat two pays 350 euros because they bought their ticket a few seconds later. I don’t think that is appropriate.

So you rule out the possibility that Eventim will introduce this system?
Around 90 per cent of the tickets marketed via our platform come from third-party promoters. Ultimately, they will make the decision, because as a ticketing platform, we are first and foremost a service provider.

Eventim has already been the ticketing partner for the Olympic Games in Paris, and you will also be distributing tickets for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. How important are these major sporting events for you?
These events are highly attractive to us – not only from a commercial point of view, but also because of the ever-changing technical challenges. The Olympic Games always provide an innovation boost – for us as well. We process several million ticket requests in a very short time – and so far without even a single significant technical disruption. With each project, we continue to evolve.

Aren't you concerned that demand for the 2028 Olympic Games could be lower given the political situation in the United States?
The Olympic Games are a global event. I expect them to be completely unaffected by this. I am convinced that LA 2028 will be the most successful Games of all time – and that they will be profitable.

Is handling Olympic ticketing your gateway into the American market?
We were already ticketing partner for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, which were very successful. We stayed in Brazil afterwards and are now number one in the country's ticketing market. We also have ambitious plans in the USA. The Olympic Games give us enormous visibility, and we aggregate marketing-relevant data that will allow us to further strengthen our market position.

However, the market in the USA is already very well developed, with Ticketmaster dominating sales.
The US market is so large that you don't necessarily have to be number one, two or three to be successful.

How important is international business for your continued growth?
We already generate more than half of our revenue outside Germany. We will continue to expand internationally in order to maintain our growth trajectory – as we have done continuously since our IPO in 2000, with the exception of the two Covid years. That said, it is also true that there was a very strong catch-up effect after the pandemic, which is gradually returning to a more normal growth curve. However, there is still considerable growth potential outside Europe, not least in South America, where we are already active in Brazil, Peru and Chile.

Eventim's results usually rise steadily, but in the second quarter of 2025, adjusted EBITDA fell by almost nine per cent, and in the live entertainment segment by almost 40 per cent compared to the previous year. What happened?
Firstly, as usual, there were certain phase shifts. For example, we book event-related expenses such as marketing when they occur, and revenues when the event has taken place. That may be in the next quarter – or much later.

But isn't that the case every year?
Yes, but the scale and intervals vary. We cannot influence when an artist wants to go on tour and when they want to start presales. In addition, many festivals take place in the second quarter. We are now seeing a significant oversupply there, which is affecting us outside of our flagship brands.

By that, you mean primarily Rock am Ring and the Hurricane Festival, which you promote.
Exactly. Small or lesser-known festivals, on the other hand, are under enormous pressure. As a result, I expect consolidation in certain segments of the festival market.

Eventim's live segment was under significantly more pressure than its ticketing division last year. Wouldn't you be much better off if you focused solely on ticketing?
Live events are part of Eventim's DNA.

Eventim's share price has not yet recovered from the slump that resulted from the half-year figures. Its performance on the stock market has fallen by almost 25 per cent last year. Don't you need to react to that?
I focus on the development of the company and on achieving the goals we have set ourselves.

So your shareholders don’t matter to you?
I am a shareholder in Eventim myself. However, I don not run Eventim by just looking at share prices and quarterly figures. If we have a quarter that deviates from expectations, there are reasons for that. That does not worry me. I think about our business and the long-term development of the company – which, so far, has evidently not been to the detriment of shareholders.

But you can only take such a relaxed view because in Germany Eventim is more or less a monopolist. There is hardly any event that is not distributed through you. You are repeatedly criticised for this great market power.
We are strong in the German market, but still far from being a monopolist. When we grow, it is due to the quality of our offering, our performance, reliability and fairness towards all market participants. What seems far more important to me in this context is that we are the only European player that can seriously compete with American providers. As a German company, we comply with all legal requirements.

Meaning that the stronger you are as a European player, the more independent we German customers are from American providers?
Exactly. In addition, as a European company, we are heavily regulated, whereas foreign companies are generally much less so.

You consider that unfair competition.
I would like to see equal conditions for all. But many European regulations do go very far.

In what way?
Let me give you two examples: In 2023, we wanted to increase our stake in the French market leader France Billet from 48 per cent to 65 per cent, which the EU eventually approved. However, it took almost a year and a half to do so, even though we had no other holdings in France at the time. The legal fees alone amounted to more than one million euros. Or take the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act – are we seriously supposed to demand a corresponding declaration from international top stars? Do you think that is reasonable?

It doesn’t sound particularly pragmatic.
No – but we are confronted with this on a daily basis.

However, that doesn't stop you from continuing to expand your business in Europe. After all, you have just built a multifunctional arena for 16,000 visitors in Milan.
That’s right – even though building in Italy comes with certain peculiarities.

I’m very curious about those.
Let’s put it this way: our experiences were very multifaceted.

What does that adjective mean?
It was almost like a good Italian opera: great music, an impressive stage, fantastic artists – and, in between, surprising appearances from behind the scenes. These ranged from great commitment to wilfulness and indolence. Some aspects were challenging, some very challenging.

Would you still do it again?
Absolutely. After its official opening in May, the Unipol Dome will be the largest, most innovative and most sustainable arena in Italy. The entertainment market there is incredibly dynamic. That's why all the effort will have been worth it in the end – even though it was more than I had initially expected.

Have you already identified other cities or regions for new venues?
We are building an arena in Vienna for 18,000 to 20,000 visitors, and we are also in talks with other European cities.

Including German cities?
Germany is in Europe.

How will artificial intelligence influence ticket purchasing in the future?
Automation in purchasing and subsequent service is a major topic. We will analyse existing data even better in order to provide promoters and fans with even better recommendations. One example: people who buy tickets for hard rock concerts and football are also likely to order musical tickets. Our thesis is that the ordering behaviour shows that couples use these events to balance interests within their relationships.

Will we also see concerts performed by AI avatars in the future, with no humans appearing at all?
A dreadful idea. Of course, there are shows like ‘Abba Voyage’ in London where virtual avatars perform. I've seen it and found it entertaining. But it has little to do with real live entertainment – live is and remains unmatched. People want to see flesh-and-blood humans on stage. They want to experience a sense of community. Handmade music stands above everything else.

Finally, a personal question. You are now 74 years old. How long do you think you will continue to shape your company?
Your question implies a certain degree of age discrimination.

I can't entirely deny that.
I enjoy what I do. As long as I add value to the company, I will continue.

Mr Schulenberg, thank you very much for the interview.