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Concerts and festivals are more important than ever given today’s streaming and shared music climate and the resulting decline in recorded music revenues. With the summer concert/ festival season around the corner, we used E-Score Music to understand which artists older millennials (ages 26-34) and younger audiences –comprised of younger millennials (20-25) and the Insta-generation (13-19), want to see in concert most.
We noticed that younger millennials have more in common musically with Insta-gens than with older millennials. Looking at who older millennials want to see in concert, we see a top twenty list that is dominated by rock music. Over half of the list (55%) are artists in the Rock music genre, with the remaining 45% split between Pop (25%), R&B (15%), and Country music (5%.) Although Rock anchors the older millennials list, younger audiences (younger millennials and Insta-gens) want to see Pop artists in concert most. Hip Hop and R&B artists’ concerts are in demand among this group also.
There are six artists that are common to both lists. Of those six, Adele is the artist millennials and Insta-gens want to see most with the highest average rank among them.
Interestingly, while millennials and Insta-gens are very interested in seeing artists from their lists in concert, few actually have. According to E-Score Music, over three-quarters of artists on both lists score below 10% for the artist participation attribute Attended Concert. This could mean great turnouts for festivals featuring these artists as these groups look to scratch concerts off their summer bucket lists.
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Merchandise: The Money Maker
Concerts and festivals are important opportunities to sell merchandise, which is a huge moneymaker for today’s artists. Using E-Score Music, we found which musicians on the Artists Fans Most Want to See in Concert lists have the highest interest from fans for clothing and accessories, which could have a significant impact on merchandise sales at upcoming festivals and concerts.
This summer will be bitter sweet for the Bey-hive. While the hive was desperately awaiting Beyoncé’s scheduled performance at this year’s Coachella festival, Queen Bey had a surprise of her own, canceling her appearance due to being pregnant with twins. Beyoncé ranks #2 among 13-25 year-olds, and #4 among 26-34 for musicians fans want merchandise from. Her replacement at Coachella, Lady Gaga, won’t do too badly herself as she makes the top ten for merchandise interest among 13-25 year-olds, a group that includes Coachella’s core audience.
Although Queen Bey will not be in action this summer, there are plenty of others on the lists that will. With the release of dual albums late last year, Frank Ocean has re-inserted himself into the music world after a four-year absence. The Blonde and Endless albums’ creator should have a successful festival season this summer, especially with younger skewing festivals such as Sasquatch! Music Festival. Younger fans are eager to see him in concert (#2) and buy his merchandise, as he tops the merchandise list for 13-25 year olds.
While Frank Ocean is making a comeback from a layoff, Bob Dylan appears to never stop working. In fact, looking at the numbers from older millennials, Bob Dylan appears to be on track to continue decades of success, as he is the #3 artist they want to see in concert, and the artist they most want to buy merchandise from. His merchandise sales should be good given the desire among this group to see him in concert and his continuing world tour and upcoming US tour.
Takeaway
There will be dozens of concerts and festivals featuring hundreds of artists this summer. Understanding which artists are in demand among your target audience is beneficial to creating strategic brand partnerships with musicians. E-Score Music unlocks consumer sentiments surrounding multiple aspects of a musician’s brand, and helps you understand where they fit into your marketing mix.
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Methodology
Lists were created using data from E-Score Music data fielded after 1/1/16 among respondents ages 13-34. Lists do not include deceased artists. Respondents ages 26-34 represent older millennials. Respondents ages 20-25 represent younger millennials. Respondents ages 13-19 represent Insta-gens, or the Insta-generation. The Insta-generation includes people 19 and younger who grew up with constant access to technology.
Resources
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