The Reside Music Market: Music Lovers Are in Their Live performance Period

Between a post-pandemic revival and massive names within the music trade happening tour, similar to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, and Harry Types’ Love On Tour, the dwell music and occasions trade has seen large progress. Mintel’s knowledge exhibits attendance for each concert events and festivals has been on the rise in 2024, practically returning to pre-pandemic ranges. This was, partly, because of inflation, together with rising ticket costs and the price of ancillary spend throughout the cost-of-living disaster.

Whereas huge acts similar to these talked about above have a good time huge successes, the place does that depart smaller, grassroots venues? To achieve perception into this and different questions surrounding concert events and festivals within the UK, discover additional with Mintel, as we will probably be wanting on the post-pandemic restoration of the UK dwell music market, how technological development is revolutionising the trade, and the way tendencies and client behaviours are altering.

The UK dwell music market worth reached an estimated £3.3 billion in 2023, which marked the primary full post-pandemic 12 months for dwell music occasions. This spectacular bounce again within the trade could be traced again to pent-up demand following years of restrictions and cancellations on this sector in addition to larger costs because of inflation – which didn’t, nonetheless, deter gig goers from digging deep into their purses.

Whereas huge occasions and venues thrive, smaller venues are nonetheless fighting the post-COVID impression, leading to ‘two-tier’ challenges within the live performance and music pageant market. Sadly, the power of the top-level market is in sharp distinction to a way more susceptible grassroots dwell music sector that’s not thriving from renewed, post-pandemic curiosity. This rising ‘two-tier’ cut up poses a risk to the long-term sustainability of the sector.

In addition to big-name worldwide artists, many music followers travelling overseas are curious about experiencing the native grassroots scene of their vacation spot. This feeds right into a key up to date journey development of ‘genuine discovery’. Positioning small grassroots venues because the place to expertise the genuine, native music scene is a key messaging factor in music pageant promoting. To benefit from this, dwell occasion discovery platforms may supply recommendations based mostly on supposed vacation areas.

Social media – which is turning into an increasing number of necessary within the dwell music market, may additionally play a key position right here. Platforms can develop a hyperlocal ‘what’s on in my space’ strategy, serving to to help the struggling grassroots native music scene.

Beneath the floor stage of progress, the live performance and music pageant market is seeing extremely contradictory behaviour patterns. Over half of UK followers say they’ve decreased the variety of occasions they attend because of rising ticket costs. To unfold out prices, they’re searching for versatile cost schemes, opening up alternatives for ticket sellers and venues to incorporate these of their affords.

After all, inflation is one purpose for prime ticket costs, however demand for large-scale ‘must-see’ occasions can be driving a rising development in the direction of dynamic pricing fashions on ticketing websites, thus additional inflating costs for sold-out occasions on resale websites: Nearly 40% of UK attendees within the final 12 months paid considerably extra for a music live performance/pageant ticket from a resale website.

In August 2021, the Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) really helpful a major tightening of laws on the UK’s rising dwell occasions secondary ticketing sector. In March 2024, Sir Keir Starmer introduced that an incoming Labour Authorities would cap the resale value of tickets, limit the variety of tickets particular person re-sellers may listing, and provides the CMA the powers it wanted to take swift motion towards touts and platforms.

Expertise, similar to dwell streaming, digital and augmented actuality, and AI-driven avatar concert events have already triggered a ripple all through the dwell music market, and can proceed to open up new income streams, whereas additionally reinforcing the buyer urge for food for the ‘actual factor’.

Within the wake of ABBA Voyage, a brand new wave of ‘avatar gigs’ is about to increase the longevity of iconic acts now not obtainable to see within the flesh. The AI and hologram applied sciences that make experiences like this doable are starting to open up main new income streams for dwell performances, and the success of ABBA Voyage is about to be adopted by Elvis and Kiss. Immersive expertise specialist Layered Actuality is launching Elvis Evolution in Tokyo, Berlin, Las Vegas, and London in 2024.

ABBA Voyage’s two-year run, which has been prolonged to January 2025 has demonstrated the nostalgic attraction of this new type, with these aged 50 to 60 mentioned to make up the most important demographic. It has additionally drawn in youthful followers, with one in 10 mentioned to be underneath 24. The ‘Throwback Pattern’ explores the highly effective attraction of nostalgia in in style tradition, even amongst these too younger to have skilled the unique – one thing that may be leveraged throughout industries, however lends itself particularly within the dwell music market and music pageant promoting.

“Lengthy dwell all of the mountains we moved. I had the time of my life combating dragons with you” sings Taylor Swift in her tune ‘Lengthy Reside’, capturing the sense of group and togetherness which might be a key factor amongst many live performance and pageant attendees, as they get to socialize with mates, household, and new folks. Whereas seeing a selected band or act is the highest purpose to attend concert events and festivals, practically half of future attendees in Germany prioritise different elements, such because the social facet.

Within the UK, there’s a development of multi-generational household teams attending festivals, with dad and mom introducing their youngsters to musical tradition. This displays the significance of shared experiences and bonding throughout generations.

Past household bonding experiences, occasions can foster a way of belonging and group help. Quite a few ‘fan initiatives’ on The Eras Tour testify this. For instance, the making and buying and selling of friendship bracelets with each mates and strangers on the occasion, or the fan chants at particular components all through the live performance, regarding the efficiency on stage. These and varied different fan initiatives that began in a single location had been then shared by way of social media the place they achieved virality and bought picked up in subsequent exhibits all around the world.

This additionally highlights the important thing position of social media in live performance and music pageant branding: One third of UK social media customers search Fb to search out out about occasions, together with concert events and festivals. Customers additionally use social media almost about the dwell music market to comply with occasions – as now we have seen, once more, with The Eras Tour that had quite a few followers who weren’t in a position to rating tickets comply with the exhibits on-line by way of livestreams. Platforms similar to Instagram additionally present musicians with an area to attach with their followers via posts the place they’ll tackle them immediately or by sharing behind-the-scenes and bonus content material.

On her Instagram web page, Taylor Swift has made it a behavior to thank and reward the crowds after wrapping up her concert events in each metropolis she performed in, alongside some candid photographs of her performances in that metropolis.

All of this goes to point out that, whereas the musical efficiency is in fact the central half, there are facets which might be virtually as necessary for folks attending concert events and festivals. This presents alternatives for entrepreneurs to resonate by selling concert events and festivals as rounded, particular experiences that attendees will cherish for a very long time after the occasion.

Trying forward, the two-tier cut up within the dwell music market will proceed to develop: On the one hand, there’s a cohort of ‘superfans’, keen to spend massive sums on their live performance/pageant expertise, driving worth progress. Then again, smaller, grassroots venues will face continued challenges and closures as they wrestle to remain afloat.

Development in know-how will proceed to revolutionise the live performance and music pageant market via dwell streaming, digital/augmented actuality, and AI-driven avatar concert events, which can open up new income streams, whereas additionally reinforcing the buyer urge for food for the ‘actual factor’.

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