Abstract
The past few years have seen a marked shift in the status of recorded music and live performance. The traditional relationship was one in which the record/LP/CD was the focus, with concerts and appearances primarily there to sell more records.
But in today' s downloadable world, where the price of music has tumbled, and is even in some cases given away free, or at a price determined by the buyer, records, CDs and downloads have been demoted to the status of promotional tools for selling tickets and merchandise.
The reality today is that there is not much money to be made in recorded music. Album sales are in meltdown. Much of the action is moving to the live arena. Live music has become a key route to profitability.
And it' s not just in the world of rock and pop. In classical music, too, many recordings are also essentially for promotion and publicity. Few labels can make money without delving into producing crossover styles, where the classical repertoire and its musicians fuse with popular, more commercial genres.
And amidst these changes to the status of live music, new approaches are being brought to the ownership and distribution of music. The voracious Live Nation has developed a vertically integrated approach that handles all the needs of artists including touring, ticketing, album production, merchandise, website and video. It plans to become a single source for all the needs of music fans. It is, by its own estimation “the future of the music business”.
In the UK, the live music scene has been growing its audience numbers, driven primarily by wider availability of live events through an ever-broadening array of venues, and supported by a strong consumer economy.
Main issues
- What are the factors driving the growth in audiences?
- What are the opportunities for driving further revenues through the live medium?
- What economic and demographic factors must the industry contend with?
- Who are the audiences for concerts?
- What are their attitudes towards live events?
- How is the supply and organisation behind live music changing?
- What' s innovative in the sector?
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Main issues
- Definition
- Abbreviations
- Market in Brief
- Upward trend fuelled by supply-side growth
- Economy, demography and technology
- Taking it to the streets
- Online route to ticket buying
- Touting for business
- The supply of live music
- Who' s the audience?
- Advertising and communication
- Internal Market Environment
- Key points
- Growing audiences for live music
- Figure 1: Attendance of rock/pop, classical and jazz concerts, 2003-08
- Figure 2: Proportion of audiences visiting rock/pop, classical and jazz
concerts once a year and less often, 2003-08
- More shows equal more audience
- Figure 3: Growth in concert performances (selected genres) through NAA
venues, 2003-07
- More venues coming on-stream
- Reaching new audiences with ' classic' acts
- Improved ticketing experience through online platforms
- The future could be mobile ticketing
- Online platforms generate more interest in music
- Secondary ticket sales
- Broader Market Environment
- Key points
- Growing affluence has buoyed the market -- until now
- Figure 4: Trends in personal disposable income and consumer expenditure,
2003-13
- Population trends increase emphasis on ' grey giggers'
- Figure 5: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender,
2003-13
- Socio-economic group
- Figure 6: Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group,
2003-13
- Technology takes the market into people' s homes
- Figure 7: Penetration of digital and mobile communications, January 2008
- Competitive Context
- Key points
- Competing in the experience economy
- Figure 8: Consumer expenditure on selected leisure goods and activities,
2002-07
- Scarcity and social currency determine the competitive landscape
- Prices up, but audiences not deterred
- Figure 9: Average ticket prices through NAA venues, 2006 and 2007
- Where to in a tightening economic climate?
- Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Who' s Innovating
- Key points
- Branding and sponsorship
- The rise of festival.alt
- Moving beyond the UK
- Yurt luxury
- Festival going with a conscience
- Convergent channels
- Music Concerts Market Size and Forecast
- Key points
- The audience for concerts
- Figure 10: Estimated numbers of concert goers, in millions, by major
music category, 2003-13
- Around 60 millions visit per year
- Figure 11: Estimated attendances and people numbers for each main
concert category, 2007
- UK live music consumers worth nearly £2 billion
- Figure 12: Estimated potential ticket revenues by music category, 2007
- Factors used in the forecast
- Music Industry Background
- Key points
- Classical music and opera
- Figure 13: Major arts council funded classical and opera projects, 2008
- Jazz music
- Figure 14: Major arts council funded jazz projects, 2008
- Rock and pop
- The festival' s where it' s at
- Figure 15: Major UK rock/pop/dance festivals, 2008
- Glastonbury woes
- T, V, heavy metal, dance and world
- Festival mix embraces arts and leisure
- Developing niche positionings
- Whose generation?
- Companies, Organisations and Services
- Key points
- Going live with Live Nation
- AEG
- Academy Music Group
- Figure 16: Venues owned and operated by Academy music Group, 2008
- MAMA Group Plc
- Festival Republic
- Raymond Gubbay Ltd
- Harvey Goldsmith
- See.Ticketing
- Figure 17: See Tickets -- number of events, by genre, June 2008
- Ticketmaster
- Figure 18: Ticketmaster -- number of events, by selected genre, June 2008
- The National Arenas Association
- Figure 19: NAA venues, by capacity, 2007
- London O2 Main Arena
- London indigo2
- Bournemouth BIC
- Birmingham NEC/NIA
- Belfast Odyssey
- Metropolis Music and SJM Concerts
- Marshall Arts
- Serious
- Brand Communication and Promotion
- Key points
- Advertising by promoters
- Figure 34: Leading promoters' main media advertising spend, 2007
- Media expenditure by artist/act
- Figure 35: Main media advertising spend on leading artists, 2007
- Main venues advertising
- Figure 36: Leading venues' main media advertising spend, 2007
- The Live Music Consumer
- Key points
- Concert and festivals attendance
- Figure 37: Music concerts and festivals attended in the last three
years, April 2008
- Pop concerts
- Rock/indie
- Classical gas -- a marketer' s dream?
- Jazz
- Dance -- niche and young
- The festivals scene
- Dance festivals
- Other festivals
- Purchasing Habits and Preferences
- Key points
- Online now the main purchasing outlet
- Figure 38: Concert and festival purchasing habits and preferences, April
2008
- Can technology drive food and drink purchases?
- Souvenirs -- impulse purchase or a slow burn?
- Stand for attention
- Growing the ancillary spend
- Figure 39: Concert and festival purchasing habits and preferences, by
other habits and preferences, April 2008
- Appendix -- The Live Music Consumer
- Concert and festival attendance -- detailed demographics
- Figure 42: Music concert and festival attendance, by demographic
sub-group, April 2008
- Type of concert -- detailed demographics
- Figure 43: Type of music concerts attended in the last three years, by
demographic sub-group, April 2008
- Type of festival -- detailed demographics
- Figure 44: Type of music festivals attended in the last three years, by
demographic sub-group, April 2008
- Appendix -- Purchasing Habits and Preferences
- Purchasing habits and preferences -- detailed demographics
- Figure 45: Concert and festival purchasing habits and preferences, by
demographic sub-group, April 2008
- Purchasing habits and preferences, by type of concert
- Figure 46: Concert and festival purchasing habits and preferences, by
types of concert been to in the last three years, April 2008
- Purchasing habits and preferences, by type of festival
- Figure 47: Concert and festival purchasing habits and preferences, by
types of festival been to in the last three years, April 2008
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