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

Between a post-pandemic revival and massive names within the music trade occurring tour, similar to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, and Harry Kinds’ Love On Tour, the dwell music and occasions trade has seen large development. Mintel’s knowledge exhibits attendance for each live shows and festivals has been on the rise in 2024, almost returning to pre-pandemic ranges. This was, partially, as a consequence of inflation, together with rising ticket costs and the price of ancillary spend in the course of the cost-of-living disaster.

Whereas large acts similar to these talked about above have a good time huge successes, the place does that depart smaller, grassroots venues? To realize perception into this and different questions surrounding live shows and festivals within the UK, discover additional with Mintel, as we can be trying on the post-pandemic restoration of the UK dwell music market, how technological development is revolutionising the trade, and the way developments and shopper behaviours are altering.

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

Whereas large occasions and venues thrive, smaller venues are nonetheless combating the post-COVID influence, leading to ‘two-tier’ challenges within the live performance and music competition market. Sadly, the power of the top-level market is in sharp distinction to a way more susceptible grassroots dwell music sector that isn’t thriving from renewed, post-pandemic curiosity. This rising ‘two-tier’ break 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 concerned about experiencing the native grassroots scene of their vacation spot. This feeds right into a key modern journey development of ‘genuine discovery’. Positioning small grassroots venues because the place to expertise the genuine, native music scene is a key messaging component in music competition promoting. To profit from this, dwell occasion discovery platforms may supply ideas primarily based on supposed vacation places.

Social media – which is changing into increasingly more necessary within the dwell music market, may also play a key position right here. Platforms can develop a hyperlocal ‘what’s on in my space’ method, serving to to assist the struggling grassroots native music scene.

Beneath the floor degree of development, the live performance and music competition market is seeing extremely contradictory behaviour patterns. Over half of UK followers say they’ve lowered the variety of occasions they attend on account of rising ticket costs. To unfold out prices, they’re looking for versatile fee schemes, opening up alternatives for ticket sellers and venues to incorporate these of their affords.

In fact, inflation is one cause for top ticket costs, however demand for large-scale ‘must-see’ occasions can be driving a rising development in 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/competition ticket from a resale website.

In August 2021, the Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) really helpful a big 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, prohibit the variety of tickets particular person re-sellers may checklist, 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 live shows 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 ready to increase the longevity of iconic acts now not accessible 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 ready 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 kind, with these aged 50 to 60 stated to make up the most important demographic. It has additionally drawn in youthful followers, with one in 10 stated to be underneath 24. The ‘Throwback Development’ 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 competition 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 music ‘Lengthy Reside’, capturing the sense of group and togetherness which might be a key component amongst many live performance and competition attendees, as they get to socialize with buddies, household, and new individuals. Whereas seeing a selected band or act is the highest cause to attend live shows and festivals, almost half of future attendees in Germany prioritise different components, 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 assist. Quite a few ‘fan tasks’ on The Eras Tour testify this. For instance, the making and buying and selling of friendship bracelets with each buddies and strangers on the occasion, or the fan chants at particular components all through the live performance, referring to the efficiency on stage. These and varied different fan tasks that began in a single location have 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 competition branding: One third of UK social media customers search Fb to seek out out about occasions, together with live shows and festivals. Customers additionally use social media as regards to the dwell music market to observe occasions – as we’ve got seen, once more, with The Eras Tour that had quite a few followers who weren’t in a position to rating tickets observe the exhibits on-line by way of livestreams. Platforms similar to Instagram additionally present musicians with an area to attach with their followers by posts the place they’ll handle 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 live shows 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 after all the central half, there are elements which might be virtually as necessary for individuals attending live shows and festivals. This presents alternatives for entrepreneurs to resonate by selling live shows and festivals as rounded, particular experiences that attendees will cherish for a very long time after the occasion.

Wanting forward, the two-tier break up within the dwell music market will proceed to develop: On the one hand, there’s a cohort of ‘superfans’, prepared to spend giant sums on their live performance/competition expertise, driving worth development. Then again, smaller, grassroots venues will face continued challenges and closures as they battle to remain afloat.

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

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