Demand for live music has come roaring back stronger than ever, but with it has come challenges for both artists and fans. To look at what this means for the future of live music, MIDiA Research used data from Bandsintown’s 80 million registered users to produce a new landmark study, “Return To Live | Post-pandemic music fans.”

Rock rules, for now…

Based on this comprehensive survey of 2,691 live music fans in the US and UK, rock is still the most popular live music genre, with 65% of concertgoers listing it in their top three preferred genres. But there is a potential shift happening with the 16-19 age group preferring pop music (68%) as their top live genre. 

Live music continues to grow

Artists working to grow their fanbase on the road should be encouraged by a key finding that growth in live music is not over. 39% of concertgoers say they will attend more shows this year than last, and just 15% said they’d go to less. 

“Despite the challenges for more established artists revealed in this landmark study,” said Fabrice Sergent, co-founder and managing partner of Bandsintown, “explosive demand for live experiences, together with online discovery platforms, provides an unprecedented opportunity for rising acts to build fandom and sell merch and tickets.”

Every Fan Matters

Building a base of true fans matters now more than ever. The study found that Fandom rules as the primary driver for attendance, with 90% of respondents citing it as their top reason for attending live shows, followed far, far behind by show location and ticket price. 44% are even willing to fly to see their favorite artist perform if they can not catch them locally.

But artists and the touring industry should not ignore the warning signs. 

The highest-spending concertgoers are also the most likely to be aggravated by rising prices, added fees, and a poor ticket purchase experience.

“The takeaway is clear: there is high demand for live music experiences, but these fans cannot be taken for granted,” said Tatiana Cirisano, Senior music industry analyst and consultant MIDiA Research.