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The global live music business is chugging along through its busy summer season as strong as ever, defying even what has long been its biggest challenge: ticket-price sensitivity.
Consumers consistently cite cost as
the biggest barrier to attending concerts. But the percentage of respondents on Luminate’s U.S. Music 360 survey who cite ticket prices as a deterrent has trended downward from 59% in the first quarter of 2024 to 53% in the same period two years later. The survey and Luminate’s latest special report, “Live Music 2026,” is the focus of this week’s episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business.”
“The concert industry really hasn’t seen too much of, if any, decline in demand,” says Luminate analyst Rob Steiner, author of the report. “That is not as much of a concern in the live music business, despite ticket prices going up overall on average.”
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But the success of the concert business doesn’t come without some areas of struggle, as evidenced by the outbreak of so-called “blue dot fever” earlier this summer. Some well-known artists like Meghan Trainor and Zayn Malik were forced to cancel portions of their tours due to apparent underwhelming audience demand. On the other hand, superstar Bad Bunny is raking it in on the world tour that he launched on the heels of his electrifying Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance in February.
As Steiner sees it, while consumers are proving they are willing to pony up top dollar for live shows, they are also forced to make tough choices about who they can’t afford to see, which impacts performers who aren’t necessarily top-shelf draws.
“Unless you are like a Taylor Swift or a Coldplay or Beyonce, you’re gonna have a lot harder of a time, I think, to get people to your shows because they aren’t able to afford going to every single show they want to go to,” he said. “Unfortunately, that greatly impacts the middle tier of artists that are too big for clubs, but too small for stadiums.”
Steiner touches on a broad variety of issues impacting the concert business, including what separate Gen Z consumers from their older counterparts and the struggle of independent venues to keep up with attendance trends at bigger arenas and stadiums.
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.
(Pictured: Bad Bunny)
