Millennials Were The 'Biggest Growth Sector' At Live Events In 2023

Audience Republic has shared its first-ever 2024 Live Event Industry Report, with findings from big names in the global entertainment sector, including venue owners, promoters, ticketing agents, artist managers, marketers, and more, informing the results.

From examining the findings of last year’s live events, Audience Republic – Australia’s leading CRM and event marketing platform – can make projections about what’s to come in 2024.

The report explores everything from ticket sales to pricing, to audience behaviour generation-to-generation, the impact of the long-running cost-of-living crisis, inflation, as well as challenges and exciting opportunities in the industry.

According to the report, organisations experienced significant ticket sale increases in 2023, with 49% of people surveyed reporting that their ticket sales increased last year, while 48% admitted that they increased ticket prices in 2023. In good news for live event sectors outside of music, theatre, comedy and arts reported a whopping 80% increase in ticket sales.

Millennials – 27- to 42-year-old adults – are predicted to be the biggest growth demographic in 2024 after proving to be the most significant growth market last year (47%).

With artists that generation loves recently visiting Australia, such as blink-182, Taylor Swift, P!nk, The National, Paramore and many more, it’s no surprise that punters have saved up their hard-earned cash for great gigs from artists who haven’t toured Australia in over five years.

Some of the bad news arrives later in the report, where 37% of people surveyed believe the cost-of-living crisis severely impacted ticket sales last year, where 65% spent either the same or less money at live events from 2022 to 2023, and 60% stating that the live event market has become “saturated”.

To combat those challenges, 71% of respondents plan to invest more resources into building an audience this year and use Instagram to continue communicating with audiences. In a somewhat controversial move, 65% of respondents admitted that they plan on implementing AI in communications in 2024.

Jared Kristensen, CEO and Co-Founder of Audience Republic commented on the findings in a press release, “The insights that have emerged from this Report provide a brilliant snapshot of the current state of the live events industry while providing a window into what experts globally believe is in store for 2024.

“I’m heartened by the sense of optimism that’s prevalent in the industry, with almost half of respondents buoyant about their ticket sale prospects in 2024, yet there’s no ignoring the very real challenges the events industry faces from elements such as cost of living and market saturation.

“As a CRM and marketing platform designed specifically to help events maximise their potential and sell more tickets, I’m confident Audience Republic can help organisers navigate and overcome such challenges.”

You can view the complete 2024 Live Event Industry Report here.