The Brag Media reveals spending habits of young Aussie music fans

With Gen Z and Millennials now making up more than 40% of Australia’s working population, understanding the spending habits of these young people is more important to brands than ever.

A recent survey of over 5,000 young Australian music fans conducted by The Brage Media uncovered some useful data about how Gen Z and Millennials spend their money, their priorities, and why they choose to spend.

“Millennials and Gen Z are no longer the ‘future’,” said CEO of The Brag Media, Luke Girgis.

“They now make up more than 40% of Australia’s working population and are voracious consumers who do not hesitate to spend money when it comes to their passions, including travelling, entertainment, and online shopping.

“In fact, their spending is projected to grow in 2020 to more than $1.4 trillion annually and represent 30% of total retail sales.”

Entertainment spending remains a high priority, with the overwhelming majority of Gen Z and Millennials going to the cinema, sporting events or music concerts more than seven times a year.

“Australian young people’s #1 interest is music, and music fans in particular are the early adopters and the tastemakers for the rest of the population,” continued Girgis.

“As a platform that connects daily with these people, we wanted to know what their interests were beyond music.”

Key Takeaways

Some of the key takeaways and insights from the survey included:

• • 88% of respondents shop online. Around 23% shop online at least once a week, while 45% shop online at least once a month.
  • Millennial respondents say they receive an average of 19.5 parcels a year and Gen Z an average of 15.4 per year, compared to the average of  2.3 parcels per year for all Australians.
  • 47% of respondents travel internationally annually, compared to 27% of the general public. 82% book all their travel online.
  • 30% of respondents have paid for online education if they believed it to be valuable.
  • Over 80% of Gen Z respondents are looking to complete formal study in the next five years.
  • 52% have chosen their own super fund rather than going with their employer’s default fund.
  • 77% use Uber or car share when driving or public transport is not an option.
  • 75% are saving, overwhelmingly to travel. 83% hope to eventually purchase their own home.
  • Internet access is overwhelmingly via mobile (over 77%)

Brand Implications

The survey also discovered some significant implications for brands and marketers, mainly surrounding the growing lack of faith in traditional institutions.

Young people “overwhelmingly say a company’s positive or negative impact on society can make or break their relationship with brands,” said Girgis.

“This demands a new approach – the old ways don’t work anymore. Today, marketing isn’t about creating awareness – it’s about creating relationships.”

The Brag Media CEO Luke Girgis

Specifically, 42% of people engaged more deeply with a business if they believed it had a positive impact on society, while 77% have cut ties with a business for unethical behaviours.

82% will skip a video ad if given the options, 63% will abandon content if they can’t skip the ad, and 32% use an ad-blocking software to avoid ads.

“As Australia’s largest Music Media publishers, it is glaringly clear to us that content marketing has changed the advertising game forever,” said Girgis.

“Our survey indicates that content marketing has double the aided and unaided ad recall of display ads. However, it needs to be done well and be strategically managed.”

Girgis explained that the passion of music lovers can be leveraged, and connecting with these audiences is vital.

“A recent PwC survey shows that respondents spanning three generations and five continents all say music expresses more about who they are as people than their hometowns, religions, political beliefs, race, cultures or social media profiles.

“This makes connecting with these audiences via popular music platforms, such as The Brag Media, an obvious choice for marketers. The close connection people have with music makes it more than mere entertainment – it actually represents how Millennials and Gen Z see themselves.

The Brag Media is Australia’s largest music publisher and recently acquired the rights to publish Rolling Stone in Australia.