The insight: Concert demand is at record levels, according to Live Nation, as people remain willing to splurge on live events and related experiences.
- Deferred revenues—money made from pre-event sales—for its concert business rose 24% YoY in Q1 to $5.4 billion as consumers snapped up tickets for Lady Gaga and Mumford & Sons.
- Intense demand for live music is driving a boom in stadium tours, with the number of shows playing in arenas this summer set to increase by 60% YoY.
The trend: Despite—or perhaps because of—economic uncertainty, US consumers are less likely to cut back on concerts, sporting events, festivals, and other live events this year, according to a CivicScience survey.
- Just 30% of consumers have or plan to reduce spending on live music performances in 2025, compared with 36% in 2024.
- Most of that enthusiasm comes from Gen Zers and millennials, who are both considerably more likely than the general population to attend a live event this summer.
- Nearly three-quarters of consumers ages 18 to 29, and 59% of those ages 30 to 44, expect to go to at least one live concert in the summer months.
Feeling the pinch: Unfortunately for Gen Zers, their enthusiasm for live music is increasingly at odds with their ability to pay for tickets. That hasn’t yet dampened sales, if only because more consumers are going into debt or using buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to finance the purchase.
- 86% of Gen Zers admit to overspending during live events, not only on tickets but also on adjacent categories like food and beverages as well as apparel and accessories, per a survey by Merge.
- Roughly half (49%) of Gen Z consumers are very or somewhat likely to use BNPL to pay for concert tickets in the next six months, compared with 36% of the general population, according to CivicScience.
- Events like Coachella are capitalizing on that opportunity: Around 60% of general admission ticket buyers used the festival’s payment plan option for their purchase, which enabled them to snag admission for as little as $49.99 upfront, per Billboard.
Our take: Healthy demand for concerts could offer some measure of relief for retailers and restaurants, particularly as more consumers use events like Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour as an excuse to travel.
At the same time, the cohort driving the spending boom is vulnerable to inflation, which could force them to reevaluate how much they spend on experiences.