Study: festivals, gigs, create passionate new fans who spend more

Music consumers traditonally named radio, streaming, TV and word-of-mouth as where they find new music. Festivals and concerts still rank low. But a new study shows that fans who discover a new artist at live events tend to add more high value and be more excited about their finds.

The research by San Francisco-based ticketing company Eventbrite, conducted by MusicWatch, showed that one-third of those surveyed came across their new “best friend” artists at festivals and concerts. Three of four of these went to see that act again and tended to spend more on them.

The study did a US-wide survey of 1,000 aged 18 to 49 who had attended at least one concert in the past 12 months.

It found that traditional channels (radio, TV, word of mouth) still accounts for 68% of music discovery. Streaming is responsible for 42%, with 14% via social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr. Live events accounted for 8%. 64% of those surveyed said they find new music through multiple sources.

Eventbrite contends that radio is a free and passive medium, and that people who find new music are low value. In other words, they don’t get overly excited about splashing out cash after hearing a track or act they like. But those at festivals tend to spend four times as much on CDs and downloads, 10 times as much on merchandise, and are nearly twice as likely to pay for a music subscription. They are 15% more likely to attend two or more concerts per month.

In America, money spent per capita on CDs and digital downloads dropped from $35 in 2008 to 2014. But it was a different situation for live music, where the spend leaped from $29 in 2008 to $48 in 2014.

Eventbrite is quick to point out that discovery at festivals and concerts is an integrated process and linked to the other avenues. Streaming increased attendance at live events. Last year, about half of the 69% who stream (and 42% of those surveyed) who found new music online then went on to see the acts’ concerts and almost a quarter bought their merch.

Social media also plays a major role. Of the 14% who learned about new acts and bands through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr, 57% showed interest in seeing that artist perform. A single Facebook share, the ticketing service claims, produces an incremental $4.48 in ticket sales for Eventbrite’s music events. Much of this has to do with a consumer’s FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out.

Live streaming of events also fans the FOMO flames. Those sitting at home watching in their slippers are also engaged about the event. An earlier Eventbrite study on 20 million conversations about music festivals showed 23% of those posts came from people participating remotely—totalling over four million updates from fans missing out.