Entertaining, Cultural and Tasty Concerts & Festivals Profiler 2016 Brought to you by THE MEDIACENTER

Big Tours and Big Bucks for 2015 Although the total gross revenues of $4.71 billion for the Top 100 Worldwide Tours of 2015 didn’t exceed 2013’s record of $5.0 billion, North American revenues for these top tours set a new record, totaling $3.12 billion, a 14% increase over 2014. The Top 100 Worldwide Tours also set North American records for ticket sales, at 42.08 million, a 10% increase, and an average ticket price of $74.25, a 4% increase. Taylor Swift’s not only rose to the top of all tours for 2015, but her $199.4 million in North American ticket sales exceeded the previous record – The Rolling Stones’ $162.0 million during 2005 – by 23.1%.

Attracted to Every Type of Venue During 2015, 18 promoters sold more than 1 million tickets each worldwide, with Live Nation at the top with more than 29 million. AEG almost reached 15 million tickets on the strength of Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and The Rolling Stones. In the Top 100 Arenas category, as measured by worldwide ticket sales during Q1 2016, the first 5 positions were European venues and #6 was in Mexico City. Barclays Center in Brooklyn was #7 overall and first in the US, with 185,172 tickets sold. The House of Blues Boston retained its top spot among the Top 50 Club Venues in worldwide ticket sales during Q1 2016, with the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC second.

Touring Dollars Deliver Adele’s $16.3 million in 2015 sales of her album, 25, may have put her at the top in this category, but she didn’t tour, so Taylor Swift with $61.7 million in touring revenue was #1 on Billboard’s Top 40 Money- Makers List of 2015. There were 8 country music artists in the list, with Kenny Chesney #2 overall; however, 11 acts were veteran rock and pop stars, such as The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Bette Midler, Rush, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna and Grateful Dead. The top 40 list also included 3 Latino American artists, with Juan Gabriel at #18, and 4 rap artists, with J. Cole #27.

Party Like It’s 1969 As more Baby Boomers become empty nesters, more of them are attending music festivals, making younger adults a bit uncomfortable. Adults, 45–64, were more than 34% of the total attendance at the 2015 Bottlerock Festival in Napa, CA. Boomers are not just attracted to their generation’s artists, such as Robert Plant and Billy Joel that promoters have added to recent major music festivals, but also 40% of them have interest in the music of younger artists. According to a survey from EventBrite, the world’s largest self-service ticketing platform, both Boomers and Millennials attended an average of four concerts during 2015.

Food, Drink and Delightful Diversions According to CarnivalWarehouse.com’s 2015 Top 50 Fairs, both the Texas State Fair (#1) and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (#10) had record years, increasing attendance 22.7% and 9.8%, respectively. The top 5 carnivals playing at the top 50 fairs were North American Midway Entertainment, Ray Cammack Shows, Wade Shows, Butler Amusements and Belle City Amusements. Total attendance ranged from 8.8 to 2.0 million. According to The Savvy Explorer Website, some of the best food & wine festivals during the remainder of 2016 include Maine Lobster Festival, August; Kentucky Bourbon Festival, September; and The Great American Beer Festival, October.

Advertising Strategies With Baby Boomers attending as many music festivals as Millennials and accounting for the largest share of TV viewership, concert and festival promoters should make TV a significant portion of their media mix. To attract more Baby Boomers, promoters may want to consider offering a “senior” discount for adults, 55+ and/or targeting Millennials with a “Bring a Boomer” promotion that discounts a combination ticket purchase. Local clubs and theaters may want to promote a discounted “4-Ticket Package,” since both Millennials and Baby Boomers attend an average of 4 music festivals per year, or a discount when they show 4 festival tickets from the past 12 months.

New Media Strategies Social media sites are not just excellent platforms for local clubs and theaters to share information and invite patrons to upload photos and videos, but also a resource for content that makes the experience better: parking, food and beverage, menus, cab or Uber, etc. Promoters may want to consider using LinkedIn to reach older adults with higher incomes and college educations, promoting a group ticket package for patrons from the same companies/businesses. Using live streaming apps, such as the Periscope, Meerkat, Livestream and others, to interview patrons as they enter the venue will help build the venue’s brand and also attract those adults without definite plans for the evening.

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