Luminate’s latest data-drop focuses on live music, and specifically on spending patterns in the US. It found that Gen-Z concertgoers spent an average of $101 a month on live music in the first quarter of this year.
That’s more than the $94 averaged by millennials – “historically the highest-spending demographic for live music” as Luminate noted. One thing driving this trend is Gen-Z attitudes to the price of concert tickets.
When asked about barriers to attending concerts, 57% of this demographic cited ticket cost, but that’s down from 75% two years ago. The percentage citing travel costs as a barrier to attending shows has also fallen.
“Younger fans are becoming more comfortable with spending big, and the industry has responded with bigger shows, more experience-based offerings and live infrastructure in emerging markets with existing tourist demand,” was Luminate’s conclusion.
There are other studies supporting the importance of Gen-Z fans to the live-music economy. Last September, for example, AEG released research claiming that “Gen-Z leads the superfan revival”. Live Nation’s ‘Love Song 2026’ study in Australia also zeroed in on fandom – and the live experience – being “central to Gen-Z’s identity”
Yes, both of these reports had a clear aim of boosting AEG and Live Nation’s brand-partnerships business: a pitch that concerts are a vital place to reach Gen-Z. But that points to the fact that this demographic’s value to live music goes beyond what they actually spend on and at concerts and festivals.
