UK Music Concerts and Festivals Market Report 2024
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Report Summary
Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s UK Concerts and Music Festival Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest market research, trends, and consumer behaviours affecting your business. Get a 360° view of the music concerts and festivals market, including music festival market size, market share and forecasted growth to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Topics Discussed in the Full Report
- The impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the post-pandemic recovery on concerts and music festivals market.
- Consumer experience of music concerts and festivals and behaviours over the last 12 months.
- Key demographics of music concert and festival attendance.
- Important factors for consumers attending festivals.
- Emerging opportunities and threats in the market.
Outlook for the Concert and Music Festival Market
Buoyed by a strong post-pandemic revival, attendance and spending on music concerts and festivals have risen sharply over the past two years, in spite of the cost of living crisis.
Underneath the surface level of growth, however, the music festival market is seeing contradictory behaviour patterns. Demand for higher-priced, large-scale events and VIP ticketing has soared, alongside a more vulnerable grassroots and independent music sector. This growing ‘two tier’ split poses a threat to the long-term sustainability of the sector.
-  Music festival market size: The total estimated total value of UK music concerts and festivals market is estimated to have reached £3.5 billion in 2024
Opportunities and for the Concert and Music Festival Market
Never too old to rock and roll
Over-55s account for a fifth of all concert-goer. The affluent and expanding older population represents an opportunity for live music – helped by the continuing rise in ‘heritage’ acts with Boomer appeal.
- Music festival market statistic: 20% of concert goers were aged 55 and over.
Overseas music fans
With many major artists launching international tours, European or US city breaks centred around a live performance can offer big opportunities for travel brands partnering with promoters and venues. ‘Guaranteed warm and dry festivals’ are also likely to be attractive to those scarred by memories of a soggy British summer.
- Music festival market opportunity: 41% of those who attended live music events in the UK in the past 12 months also took a trip abroad to attend a music concert or festival.
Purchase our UK Music Concerts and Festivals Market Report to receive a five-year forecast, consumer behaviour analysis, and recommendations for market opportunities. Readers of this report may also be interested in our UK Competitive Socialising Market Report 2024, or our range of Leisure Time Market Research.
Meet the Expert
John has worked for Mintel since 2005, researching and writing reports on UK travel and leisure markets. Previously he worked for Deloitte as the research manager of their tourism, hospitality and leisure practice. He has a first-class BA in History and a postgraduate Library/Information Management qualification.
John Worthington
Senior Analyst
Table of Contents
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Executive Summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- Opportunities for the music concerts and festivals market
- Never too old to rock and roll
- Event discovery platforms can open up new revenue streams
- Music fans are heading on tour
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market size & forecast
- Market predictions
- Market size and forecast
- Key market drivers
- What consumers want and why
- Live music attendance has returned to pre-pandemic levels
- Livestream/In Real Life are growing in tandem
- Graph 1: experience of livestreamed music events in the past 12 months, 2022-24
- Mixed behaviour patterns
- The multi-generational festival
- Graph 2: further selected behaviours at music concerts and festivals in the last 12 months, 2024
- Hygiene, day-only preference and F&B are the leading festival factors
- Hygiene, day-only preference and F&B are the leading festival factors
- Graph 3: important factors when attending a music festival, 2024
- Big screen and VR concerts are popular with up to 30% of event-goers
- Graph 4: interest in alternative live concert formats, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
- Avatar gigs
- Social platforms are moving into the live music space
- Dice launches Extras feature
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Market value reached an estimated £3.3 billion in 2023 in the first full post-pandemic year for live music events
- Graph 5: estimated total market value of music concerts and festivals, 2018-23
- Soaring demand for large-scale events and rising ticket prices helped to grow market size
- But the grassroots sector continued to struggle…
- …while pressure on independent festivals intensified
- Market forecast
- Market value is forecast to grow 5% in 2024 and to rise a further 23% by 2029
- An improving economy should boost attendance levels and secondary spend
- Must-see events, the experience economy and premium-spending superfans will grow the market
- But new arenas and grassroots pressure could lead to an increasingly two-tier market
- Key players
- Live Nation dominates live music promotion
- Other leading operators include SJM, AEG and DEAG
- Macro-economic factors
- UK economy has emerged from recession, but growth is likely to be slow
- Graph 6: GDP, 2021-24
- Rising real wages and rate cuts should gradually begin to loosen purse strings over the next 12 months
- Graph 7: CPI inflation versus weekly total earnings growth, 2021-24
- Consumer confidence continues to trend upwards
- Graph 8: financial confidence index, 2016-24
- Post-pandemic ‘revenge spend’ has helped to cushion the live events market, but frequent attendees have reduced events
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- New UK arena venues coming on-stream
- Change of government could lead to tighter regulation of resale market
- Festival sponsorship could come under scrutiny after Barclays pull-out
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Music concert participation
- Concert attendance is up five percentage points over the last 12 months
- Graph 9: paid attendance at in-person music concerts in the past 12 months, 2022-24
- Average concert frequency has also risen overall
- Graph 10: number of in-person music concerts attended in the past 12 months, 2023-24
- But concert attendance remains an occasional activity for most
- Graph 11: music concert-goers profile by frequency, 2024
- Over-55s account for a fifth of concert-goers
- Londoners and Scots are the likeliest to have attended concerts
- Music festival participation
- Festival participation is up seven percentage points over the last 12 months
- Graph 12: paid attendance at in-person music festivals in the past 12 months, 2023-24
- Almost a third of festival-goers went to three or more events
- Graph 13: number of in-person music festivals attended in the past 12 months, 2023-24
- Graph 14: music festival-goers* profile by frequency, 2024
- Converting more female and older live music fans to festivals is a challenge and an opportunity
- Over half of Londoners have been to a music festival
- Trends in live music event attendance
- Live music attendance has resumed its pre-pandemic upward curve
- Graph 15: attendance at a music concert or festival in the past month, 2016-24
- Livestreamed events
- Livestreaming has seen a significant rise in the last 12 months
- Graph 16: experience of livestreamed music events in the past 12 months, 2022-24
- Livestreamers are also likely to be frequent IRL event-goers
- Music concerts and festivals – behaviours
- Multiple event-goers are likely to have cut back and prioritised more
- Graph 17: impact of rising ticket prices on music event attendance, 2024
- Re-sale sites are pushing up ticket spend
- Ticket inflation and tighter budgets have led to attendees looking for flexible payment schemes…
- …but add-ons and premium spend are popular despite the cost-of-living squeeze
- Graph 18: spending on merchandise products and premium experiences at music concerts/festivals in the past 12 months, 2024
- Music fans on high alert for fear of missing out
- Graph 19: use of alert services for music events in the past 12 months, 2024
- Multiple event-goers are taking out event insurance
- Rising demand for overseas event-based tourism
- Scope for more European city breaks centred around music
- Festival families
- Parents look to introduce their kids to musical culture
- Music festivals – important factors
- Hygiene arrangements and day festivals are key attractions
- Graph 20: important factors when attending music festivals, 2024
- Greener festivals, healthy eating and glamping are important for younger groups
- Graph 21: ‘top three’ most important factors when attending a music festival, by age group, 2024
- Day-only festivals can attract more female music fans
- Music concerts and festivals – opportunities
- Big-screen viewings, avatar concerts and exclusivity are key areas of opportunity
- Consumers are interested in various entertainment formats
- Graph 22: interest in alternative music event formats and exclusive content, 2024
- Live event cinema has cross-generational appeal
- Superfans are looking for exclusive, premium content and experiences
- Graph 23: interest in exclusive content and VR/avatar concerts, by age group, 2024
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Money, Money, Money
- The King of Rock n’ Roll returns
- Forever young
- Festival travel gets greener…
- …as artists and venues lead by example
- Bestival helps families on a budget
- Gig-alert app Dice launches extras for concert add-ons
- Snap Nation offers exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- TikTok is moving into the live music space with IRL/livestreamed events
- Festivals reaching more-diverse audiences
- The power of Swiftonomics…
- …versus a struggling grassroots
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Concert adspend has increased, but remains below pre-COVID-19 levels
- Graph 24: total advertising expenditure* on music concerts, 2020-23
- ABBA Voyage accounted for 28% of all concert adspend in 2023
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Appendix
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (value)
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
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