Live music in the United States - statistics & facts
Not only have Taylor Swift’s concerts made the headlines for making the earth shake in the cities where the singer appears on stage, but her Eras Tour has also sent shockwaves through the live music industry in the United States and worldwide. In an industry that has been booming in recent years, Swift also managed to push music tour revenues into new spheres. However, not all is well in the music industry, and it faces several challenges on different ends.
Evidently, the willingness to spend money on live music events seems to not have slackened, even after economically difficult times. Based on data gathered in 2023, one in three Americans intend to spend more money on live music events in the following year. Yet, if ticket prices keep rising even more, this enthusiasm within the broader public might crumble and live music events might turn into a luxury good that fewer and fewer people can afford.
Growing ticket prices and lawsuits looming on the horizon
In these flourishing conditions for the industry, it comes as no surprise that the key players also generated record revenues. For instance, international live event operator Live Nation Entertainment managed to double its revenue within these past five years. Yet, Live Nation did not only make positive headlines recently, as it faces a lawsuit, initiated by the U.S. government, for antitrust violations and for abusing its dominant position in the music market. Moreover, ticket prices for live music events have been in discussion recently, particularly in the context of Taylor Swift’s global tour, as it had uncovered regional discrepancies in pricing. These differences were so significant that, for Americans, Taylor Swift’s concerts in Europe became potentially more affordable than the events at home. However, admissions have generally become more expensive all over the globe during the past decade, as the average ticket price worldwide grew by roughly 67 percent since 2011.Global music and live music industry is booming
Having experienced a steady decline since the turn of the century, the global revenue of the music industry has had a resurgence in the past decade, growing up to 28.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. In that same year, over 70 million music tour tickets were sold worldwide, marking the highest total in at least a decade. Additionally, the global revenue from live music tours amounted to approximately 9.17 billion U.S. dollars – also a new record. Likewise, in 2023, Taylor Swift Era’s Tour became the highest-grossing music tour worldwide ever recorded, and the first one to surpass the one billion revenue threshold.Evidently, the willingness to spend money on live music events seems to not have slackened, even after economically difficult times. Based on data gathered in 2023, one in three Americans intend to spend more money on live music events in the following year. Yet, if ticket prices keep rising even more, this enthusiasm within the broader public might crumble and live music events might turn into a luxury good that fewer and fewer people can afford.
