Many of us here have skipped a meal or two to save up for the next festival. Or, you know, maybe even sold a kidney. After all, we all live for the experience, right? Well, according to consulting firm PricewaterhouseCooper, our love for music has driven live music ticket sales up like never before. In their updated Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023 Report, this number is expected to exceed $25 billion by 2023.
More specifically, the study suggests that live music ticket sales will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.33% from 2018 to 2023, the highest the value has ever been. It also adds that sponsorships will also drive around $6.5 billion in additional revenue in the sector.
Let’s dive deeper into numbers. Ever wondered how much money global tours actually rack in? Well, the report reads that “the ten highest-grossing global tours in 2018 each had ticket sales that exceeded $100m.” Ed Sheeran‘s world tour topped the numbers, becoming the highest grossing tour of all time. In the U.S. itself, Taylor Swift brought in $345 million in ticket sales, setting the record for highest grossing U.S. tour. This was followed by the $255 million from Beyoncé and Jay-Z‘s joint On the Run II tour.
Here’s where us EDM fans should be proud (or sob at our bank accounts). The study highlights that EDM artists such as Calvin Harris, The Chainsmokers and Tiësto have seen major growth in ticket sales numbers over the past years. Makes sense, seeing as these guys all made it on the Highest-Paid DJ List so far this year!
The report also adds that the level of competition will continue to rise in the entertainment market. Therefore, personalized consumer offerings will be the differentiating factor among market players.
“As the borders separating former media silos erode, companies need to think more broadly about the areas and segments in which they operate. At the same time, all E&M players must take the need to ‘know your customer’ more seriously, and marketers need to allocate their time and attention to new types of content and platforms – influencers, live events, ads inside apps and more.”
Ennèl van Eeden, Global Entertainment and Media Leader at PwC Netherlands
All pretty true, we’d say.
