Introduction
Our communities are back in full-swing and in post-pandemic mode. Live music and events are thriving, and artists have been on the road stopping from city to city around the world. This means music tourism is once again impacting the world around us and has grown tremendously within the last few years. This article tells you everything you need to know about music tourism, and how you can use it to your advantage. Bring your event planning and concert promotion strategies to another level.
What is Music Tourism?
According to The Recording Academy, music tourism is defined as the act of travelling to another city, state, or country to attend a music-related event or site. This can include venues, museums, hall of fames, fairs, festivals, and more. It is a trend that has grown rapidly and is currently valued at $6.4 billion. By 2032, it’s predicted to grow to $13.8 billion, which is a compound annual growth rate of 9.2% according to Travel and Tour World and Reprtoir. With the help of social media, it is a trend that is most common amongst Gen Z and Millennials. Fifty six percent of Gen Zers and 60% of Millennials plan to travel when attending a concert, according to Allianz Travel. As music tourism continues to rise, concert promoters, festival organizers, and entertainment event planners can plan and promote their live event to audiences across the nation and internationally.
Why is it Important?
Music tourism plays an important role in all aspects of the live event industry. From benefiting your live event to improving economic growth and creating a positive cultural impact, music tourism can help communities thrive. Communities can use entertainment tourism events to help sustain development and growth of the community, and keep live music thriving as part of the local culture.
Economic Growth
Music tourism is a significant factor in building revenue for venues, local businesses, and artists when more people are attracted to a community and its entertainment events. When fans travel to indulge in all things music, they end up supporting local businesses. These include retail shops, restaurants, hotels, etc., expanding the economy and creating economic growth in the market. According to EHL Insights, major concerts improve hotel performance by 25%. International music events held the top market share of music tourism revenue in 2023, generating 65% of the total. Additionally, in 2023 and just in North America alone, music tourism contributed to 34.6% of the market. When you attract fans from different areas and bring them to one place, your own communities are benefiting from your event.
Cultural and Social Impact of Music Tourism
Live music serves as a universal language and brings people from all around the world together. When you promote and attract fans to your live event, you are selling the experience to them. You are giving them a space where they can connect through shared experiences, learn about different cultural customs, and ultimately create a sense of community. Hosting music tourism events brings communities together, no matter their differences. In the end, your event, community, and businesses will gain from your audience’s experience.
Impact on Ticket Sales and Revenue
Event organizers can positively impact their ticket sales and revenue greatly by attracting music tourists to travel to their live events. Music tourism targeted events can provide a competitive advantage over other venues, concerts, events, or festivals who do not tailor their event planning or promotion to those who might travel to music events. Music tourism targeted events can expand your reach to different audiences and locales, increasing your ticket sales as well as your brand awareness and loyalty.
Fans who travel to different cities, states, or countries for concerts do not only spend their funds on the event itself, but also with local businesses. If event planners can partner with local businesses, it can increase the impact of the event with that business as well as the community itself. Finally, fans who travel to concerts or live events usually share their experiences online and on social media, like TikTok and Instagram Reels. If your live event is successful in meeting the expectations of your audience, you will gain more brand recognition from the viral user generated content that can have a large impact on an event’s brand and reputation.
Real-World Examples and Strategies
Real-World Examples and StrategiesTaylor Swift’s ‘Era’s Tour’
We all know the major impact this tour had on economies around the world. What went into planning and promoting the concert to help attract global audiences?
Generating Buzz on Social Media
Her team curated a feeling and sense of mystery by posting very calculated and strategic teasers and clues on her social media pages. This promotion tactic helped build hype, excitement, and anticipation among her fans. This strategy had her fans yearning to get a sense of what the live experience is like.
Fan Engagement
Whether it was pre-show events or online contests, Taylor and her team were committed to creating an inclusive and exclusive experience. They allowed fans to feel a sense of community and belonging in the fandom. This helped strengthen a connection between her and her fans, creating a more meaningful and unforgettable concert experience.
Taylor chose to immerse herself in brand partnerships and sponsorships in the years prior to the Era’s Tour. According to a Marion Marketing article, she collaborated with Capital One in 2022. This eventually enabled her cardholder fans to get early access to her concert tickets. Pre-sale access motivates fans to purchase tickets during that time before the general on-sale annoucement so there is a better chance for them to obtain tickets for such a high-demand event.
International Music Festivals
Major music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Glastonbury, attract millions of music fans each year to attend their festivals. How do they attract fans from all around the world?
- Influencer Marketing. Partnering with influencers can be incredibly beneficial and rewarding for your concert or event. Working with someone who has a large following will not only help create excitement around the event but will greatly increase ticket sales. This is most seen with Coachella as it is one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Additionally, according to HyperTribe, influencers help create FOMO for their viewers, increasing ticket sales.
- Social Media. The use of social media marketing is one of the top reasons festivals, concerts, and events can attract fans nowadays. Social media can be used to interact directly with your target audience and announce any updates or changes to the event. Ultimately, it enables you to give your viewers an inside look at the event. Additionally, if you can stay on top of the latest trends on apps like TikTok and Instagram, you will be able to more easily grab the attention of your intended audience. This helps generate excitement around the event and is like a persuasion mechanism to get fans to act.
Key Tactics to Capitalize on Music Tourism
- Make the event welcoming to everyone attending. Have vendors at the venue create artist-themed merch, food or drink specials, or set up a creative photo backdrop. Make sure these have something to do with the festival, performing artists, and/or their songs. Curate the event such that the focus is on the artist and the fan experience. You can even utilize interactive games like a spin-to-win, or partner up with one of your sponsors to create a giveaway.
- Use the power of social media to your advantage. Showcase your event and what you have to offer. Why should fans show up? Make them aware of experiences or activities they don’t want to miss. Show people why they should come to your event and, as mentioned earlier, create the FOMO emotion. Social media can reach individuals around the globe, far and wide. Use current trends to reach the target audience you want to learn more about your event and to make them want to travel to see your event live.
- Obtain sponsors. Not only can sponsorships provide financial support for your live event, but they can also provide credibility and attract their own target customers. They can increase the size of your audience. Sponsors can use their own marketing platforms to promote and advertise the event, reaching a wider audience and larger demographic than those in your surrounding area and community. Additionally, having sponsors will provide credibility to your event. This will further expand the reach to different audiences who may be travelling to your event from outside local communities. They can even offer free samples at your event to help with your fan engagement initiatives.
- Offer Exclusive and VIP Experiences. Promote special offers and VIP experiences that will boost the fans’ experience at your event. These perks can include premium or VIP seating, early access, Q&A sessions, meet & greets, special food and drink access, as well as exclusive merch offers. This will not only make your event a better experience for the fans, but it will give them an incentive to come back to your event. In the future, this may further expand your brand awareness and loyalty.
Conclusion
In order to attract more fans and audience members to your live concert, event, or festival, you need to be able to promote your event further than just your local community. You must be willing to target outside of your current target audiences and demographics. Step into the world of music tourism and use its power to bring communities together for the love of the live music experience. Implementing the right event planning and concert promotion strategies is fundamental to appealing and attaining a larger audience. In turn, it helps to increase your revenue as well as your brand awareness and recognition, further than just your local communities.
Related Posts:
Understanding Music Festival Target Audiences
References:
https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/american-music-tourism-act
https://travelalliancepartnership.com/the-rise-of-music-tourism/
https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/planning/music-tourism.htm
https://www.luxuo.com/homepage-slider/the-rise-of-music-tourism.html
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/23/taylor-swift-eras-tour-global-economic-impact-ticket-sales/
https://www.marion.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-marketing/
https://hypertribe.com/post/inside-the-world-of-music-festivals-insights-and-analysis/
