BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND OTHER INFORMATION |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2015 | |
| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |
| BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND OTHER INFORMATION |
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND OTHER INFORMATION
Preparation of Interim Financial Statements
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X issued by the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, they include all normal and recurring accruals and adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of the interim periods shown.
The financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2015, as amended by the Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on June 30, 2015.
Seasonality
Due to the seasonal nature of shows at outdoor amphitheaters and festivals, which primarily occur from May through October, the Concerts and Sponsorship & Advertising segments experience higher revenue during the second and third quarters. The Artist Nation segment’s revenue is impacted, to a large degree, by the touring schedules of artists it represents and generally experiences higher revenue during the second and third quarters as the period from May through October tends to be a popular time for touring events. The Ticketing segment’s revenue is impacted by fluctuations in the availability of events for sale to the public, which vary depending upon scheduling by its clients. The Company’s seasonality also results in higher balances in cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, accrued expenses and deferred revenue at different times in the year. Therefore, the results to date are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full year.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Included in the September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 cash and cash equivalents balance is $547.3 million and $533.8 million, respectively, of cash received that includes the face value of tickets sold on behalf of ticketing clients and their share of service charges, which amounts are to be remitted to the clients.
Acquisitions
During the first nine months of 2015, the Company completed several acquisitions that were accounted for as business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting and were not significant either on an individual basis or in the aggregate.
During the first nine months of 2015, the Company recorded gains of $11.3 million as a component of other expense, net in connection with the consolidation of a festival promotion business, a ticketing company and an artist management business that were previously accounted for as equity investments.
Reclassifications
Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year consolidated financial statements to conform to the 2015 presentation. The Company has reclassified $20.0 million of debt issuance costs originally included in other long-term assets in the December 31, 2014 balance sheet and now reflects it as a reduction of the current portion of long-term debt and long-term debt in connection with the retrospective application of new accounting guidance for debt issuance costs as discussed below.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Recently Adopted Pronouncements
In April 2014, the FASB issued guidance that raises the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and requires new disclosures of both discontinued operations and certain other disposals that do not meet the definition of a discontinued operation. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2015 and there has been no impact from its adoption.
In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance that simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs. The guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The guidance is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within that year. The guidance should be applied on a retrospective basis to all periods presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is permitted and the Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2015. See “—Reclassifications” above for discussion of the impact of implementation.
In September 2015, the FASB issued guidance that eliminates the requirement for an acquirer in a business combination to account for measurement-period adjustments retrospectively. Instead, acquirers must recognize measurement-period adjustments during the period in which they determine the amounts, including the effect on earnings of any amounts they would have recorded in previous periods if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. The guidance should be applied prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after the effective date. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within that year. Early adoption is permitted and the Company adopted this guidance effective July 1, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
Recently Issued Pronouncements
In May 2014, the FASB issued a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard that will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP. The new standard provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle of the guidance is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within that year. Early adoption of the standard is only permitted for annual periods beginning after December 31, 2016 and interim periods within that year. The guidance should be applied retrospectively, either to each prior period presented in the financial statements, or only to the most current reporting period presented in the financial statements with a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. The Company will adopt this standard on January 1, 2018, and is currently assessing which implementation method it will apply and the impact its adoption will have on its financial position and results of operations.
In February 2015, the FASB issued amendments to the consolidation guidance that make changes to the analysis a reporting entity must perform to determine whether it should consolidate certain types of legal entities. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within that year, and early adoption is permitted. The guidance should be applied either using a modified retrospective approach or retrospectively. The Company expects to adopt this standard in the fourth quarter of 2015, and does not expect there to be an impact from the adoption on its financial position and results of operations.
In April 2015, the FASB amended its guidance on internal-use software providing guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license. If a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The amendments to this guidance are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within that year, and early adoption is permitted. The guidance should be applied either prospectively to all arrangements entered into or materially modified after the effective date or retrospectively. The Company will adopt this standard on January 1, 2016, and will apply it prospectively. The Company is currently assessing the impact its adoption will have on its financial position and results of operations.
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