LIVE MUSIC TRENDS

INFLUENCING THE INDUSTRY

CONCEPTS & TRENDS REPORT

BY ANNEKE DE VRIES 01-06-2018

INTRODUCTION
“I haven’t seen people spending this much money on live music since the late ’90s,” says Tommy
Goodwin (Leigh, 2018). Now that is something which I personally find very interesting.

The music industry changes all the time, and in order to stay up to date with the latest developments and
music trends, it is of importance to do your research on a regular basis.

I am an International Music Management student at Inholland Haarlem. As part of our program, we have
been assigned to write a trends and concepts report, based on either old, current or new trends and
concepts. This report will consist of the analysis of three live music trends, of which two will have a
DESTEP analysis, as well as the analysis of three significant concepts.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
(current) Trend 1: Booking Unknown Artists ..................................................................................................... 3
Trend analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
(current) Trend 2: Safety and security, a top priority ....................................................................................... 5
Trend Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
DESTEP Analysis ................................................................................................................................................ 7
(old) Trend 3: Online ticketing................................................................................................................................ 8
Trend Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
DESTEP Analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Concept 1: Sofar Sounds ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Concept 2: V-Class Bracing .................................................................................................................................... 13
Concept 3: Converse............................................................................................................................................... 15
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 16

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(CURRENT) TREND 1: BOOKING UNKNOWN ARTISTS
The first trend I will dive into is the trend of more unknown artists
being booked. As the prices of the headline acts are becoming
incredibly high, bookers start to take more risks and put extra
effort in booking more relatively unknown artists (Leigh, 2018).

To give an example, you can have a look at the Rolling Loud poster.
This is the type of poster you can find a lot when looking for
festivals. You can see that there are a couple of headliners,
supported by a lot of smaller acts.

Booking more relatively unknown artists has its advantages, but

obviously it’s disadvantages al well. In this chapter I will look further
into this current trend of unknown artists.

Trend analysis
I chose this trend because I personally think it is a trend which could have a huge impact. Not only does
it provide upcoming artists with great opportunities, but could it have a huge influence on the industry as
well. In the trend analysis I will analyse and describe why this trend is important, and will support this
description with the sources I’ve found.

TREND PYRAMID

Different
types of
fans/visitors

Bookers taking risks with booking

relatively unknown artists

Curiosity and equality

Above you can see an example of what a possible trend pyramid could look like for this trend.

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So, there currently is a trend among venues and bookers, of booking more unknown artists for concerts
and festivals. But why is this the case?

The main reason for this, is that the costs of a lot of headliner acts have escalated. They are too
expensive to pay, which gives bookers no other choice than to take more risk and to put more effort in
finding a relatively more unknown line-up. To give an example of the amount of money we are talking
about, we could look at artists like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Maroon 5. “Cheek says the “general rule”
is that arena headliners walk away with “$300,000 to $400,000 on a $700,000 to $800,000 gross”
(Moskovitch, 2014). This is information out of a news feed in 2014. Now imagine the fact that those
prices have gone up in the past few years. I can understand why bookers decide to put more effort in
finding more unknown artists to book!

Something I find very attractive about this trend, as mentioned earlier, is that it gives a lot more unknown
artists a chance to show themselves. Another advantage of booking more relatively unknown artists, is
the diversity of performing acts it creates on festivals and concerts. And, with new artists, new and
different fans will be attracted as well.

However, attracting different fans does have its consequences. “One change we’re noticing is a
propensity for people to buy tickets at the last minute,” Arnold says. “And while shows are selling out,
we’re also beginning to get a lot of no-shows.” (eventbrite, 2018). No-shows are people which buy a
ticket but don’t show up. This doesn’t matter for the income of the venue of course, but does affect the
vibe of the room and takes the chance to go to the festival, from people who did want to go to the
concert/festival.’

Now, obviously this is a difficulty, but with good marketing strategy’s and research, it is definitely possible
to continue this trend successfully.

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(CURRENT) TREND 2: SAFETY AND SECURITY, A TOP PRIORITY
The second trend I will analyse, is
the trend of safety and security
becoming a top priority. As a couple
of horrible events took place during
live music events in the past year,
the focus on safety and security has
increased tremendously. Think about
the bombing during the Ariana
Grande concert for example.

Trend Analysis
I chose this trend, because I think that although this topic is not the first thing you might think of when
you think about live music events, this trend actually has become a very important factor of live music
events nowadays as well. In the trend analysis I will analyse and describe why this trend is important, and
will support this description with the sources I’ve found.

TREND PYRAMID

Added
Security
(Surroundings),
More pat-downs

Safety and security becoming a

top priority at live music events

Feeling safe

Above you can see an example of what a possible trend pyramid could look like for this trend.

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The trend of safety and security becoming a top priority might seem obvious, but actually hasn’t been this
big, until some pretty recent happenings took place in 2017. The bombing at the Ariana Grande concert,
and the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas have been major influences for this
turnover. Where security was just a normally important factor, it now became an actual top priority.

So, what are the measures

that are actually being taken?

Well, first of all, the focus of

the security is not only inside,
but outside of the venue as
well; the surroundings of the
venue.

“Our system is currently built

around the idea that it’s from
the perimeter of the building
in,” said Chris Robinette, chief
executive officer of Prevent Advisors, a Los Angeles-based firm
that specializes in stadium and arena security. “We need to think about looking out and exterior. More
parking lot, more foyer, more patio area. We need to start reallocating and addressing those areas of
security. “That’s just the nature of where the threat manifests itself today,” he said (Larsen, 2017).

Besides that, it starts to become a norm to have metal detectors at the entrance of live music events.
However, the problem with this that it is not as easy as it seems to actually realise this measure. “While
that may seem like an obvious step, it’s not as simple as it sounds. The cost of metal detectors ranges
from a few hundred dollars for wands to around $5,000 for walk-through detectors similar to those used
at airports and government
buildings” (Waddell, 2014).
Besides the costs, there
usually is crew which has to
go in and out with equipment
constantly. Last but not least,
the staff will have to be
trained, but this seems to be
pretty doable.

Then, public assembly safety

and security consultant Russ
Simons believes that ongoing
training in the security is a
must, and the most effective
(Waddell, 2014).

The moral of the story simply is that for every festival and concert, no matter what the size, it’s
incredibly important to make safety their top priority. You never know what could happen, but with
good preparation a lot still could be prevented or solved in the best way possible, and that is what every
live music event nowadays should be aiming for.
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DESTEP ANALYSIS
A DESTEP analysis consists of a Demographic, Economic, Social/Cultural, Technological, Ecological and
Political/Juridical Analysis. For each of these factors, I will assess whether it’s applicable to this trend of
safety and security becoming a top priority. If this is the case, I will analyse and explain in what way it is
applicable.

Demographic
As everyone deserves safety and good security during a live music event (and actually simply in general of
course!), there is no demographic information applicable for this trend.

Economic
As mentioned above, there are quite some measures that are, and have to be taken in order to realize
this trend. Economically speaking, this does have quite some influence, since those measures cost money.
This is money which the event’s venue most likely has to pay, which also means that tickets might get
more expensive for the consumers. Think about loan costs for the security, but also about the costs of
the metal detectors mentioned above, which are more and more expected to be present.

Social/Cultural
Just as with the Demographic factor, we could say that everyone deserves safety and good security during
a live music event, which is why there is no real social/cultural information applicable for this trend.

Technological
Technologically speaking, the metal detectors might be important. This is something which the staff will
have to follow a training for in order to know how to handle the gear. Besides that, technology might be
of good use for, for example communication between the security, as well as other security/safety
measures. Think about things like an alert app on people’s phones, or other ways to warn or instruct
people through technology.

Ecological
The ecological factor is not applicable for this trend.

Political/Juridical
For the political/juridical factor, you could say it has become a norm for festivals to live up to this trend
of making safety and security a top priority. But besides the high norm it currently has, there obviously
are safety laws that apply to live music events in general.

“The risks must be considered and solutions put in place. Paying extra attention to laws and legislations
can ensure you are providing a safe environment for both workers and audiences alike. This includes The
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Noise at Work Regulations 2005.” (Davies).

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(OLD) TREND 3: ONLINE TICKETING
“Online ticketing unlocks powerful data and insights like never before” (Turner, 2015).

The previous two trends have been trends which are currently going on. This trend, is a fairly old trend,
but still is very interesting to look at. Looking back at old trends can give us an insight in the upcoming
trends as well. Look at it as a self-reflection ;).

Trend Analysis
The reason I picked this trend, is that it was a major improvement, as it gave venues the opportunity to
gather a lot of information about their visitors. Obviously this is very useful for them in order to be able
to improve their marketing and promotion towards their audience.

TREND PYRAMID

Data
Collection of
The customers

Online ticketing

Engagement and experiences

Above you can see an example of what a possible trend pyramid could look like for this trend.

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In 2013, Redshift Research Crowdology Survey conducted a research about ticketing which was mostly
focussed on online ticketing. Their survey, which was applied to the UK, showed that based on their
sample, 83% of the population preferred to buy online tickets (Redshift Research Crowdology Survey,
2013). Obviously, this is a lot. And not only the buyers are having a profit of the online ticketing, but the
venues as well. Below you can see the results:

As the world has been digitalizing, ticketing didn’t stay behind. Online ticketing became the most used
and preferred way of buying tickets. For the consumers, it’s easy, fast and sometimes cheaper than buying
tickets at the venue in person. For the venues, there are a lot of advantages as well.

First of all, as it’s easier for the consumers to buy their tickets, there is a high chance that they will sell
more tickets. The research even showed that 72% of customers would be put off going to an event if
tickets were only available on the door (Redshift Research Crowdology Survey, 2013). But besides that,
probably the biggest advantage for the venue is that they can collect a lot of data about their consumers.
This data can be used to improve or change their marketing strategy which can help the venue to attract
more consumers.

Last but not least, there is another “advantage”

of online ticketing, which is that everyone can
do it. It’s really easy to set it up which makes it
accessible for everyone.

A couple of years it was all pretty new and

upcoming. However, even now it’s safe to
assume that people are still experimenting with
how they can use the options of online
ticketing.

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DESTEP ANALYSIS
Once again, for each of the factors of the DESTEP, I will assess whether it’s applicable to in this case the
trend of online ticketing. If it is, I will analyse and explain in what way it is applicable.

Demographic
In the first place, mostly younger people (youth, young adults and some adults) were using the online
ticketing a lot. However, as everything is digitalizing, also a part of the elderly people started to get into
it. Nowadays nearly everyone gets their tickets online. This is not that much based on demographic
features anymore, but more of a personal preference.

Economic
Economically speaking, probably the biggest movement is that people are able to resell tickets online as
well. This means that people can buy an amount of tickets and resell them for more money. However,
there has been taken a measure against that by now, which will be named again in the juridical part.

Besides that it’s easier for people to buy tickets online which means usually there are a bit more people
buying tickets in general.

Social/Cultural
As buying online tickets generally is not based on cultural differences, this factor is not applicable for this
trend.

Technological
This trend takes place online (obviously as it’s “online ticketing”). This means that people will have to use
technology in order to participate. At the beginning this started with computers, but mobile phones start
to take over now as well.

Ecological
The ecological factor is not applicable either for this trend.

Political/Juridical
Online ticketing has a lot of advantages, but just like with most things, some people find ways to misuse
those opportunities. As people created bots to buy huge amounts of tickets in order to resell them again,
there is a law which forbids that now since January 2018. Besides that there are not a lot of significant
laws applying to this topic.

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CONCEPT 1: SOFAR SOUNDS

Sofar Sounds was founded in 2009 by three guys that went to a friendly fires concert, and got annoyed by
all of the people who kept talking over the music, staring at their phone and the sound of clanging beer
bottles. After the concert they decided to have their own gig in a living room and invited 8 friends. The
next time they did a gig, more people showed up as the word had spread mouth to mouth. After a while
it escalated and spread all the way through New York, Paris, and even Los Angeles. What had started as
something small in London, had now escalated to a global community. In 2017 they claimed to be hosting
over 500 gigs in over 300 cities.

“Sofar transforms everyday spaces - like a living room or retail shop - and turns it into a captivating venue
for secret, live shows, creating an immersive experience that brings guests and artists closer together.
Each Sofar is small, and typically features three diverse acts, with no headliner.” (How Sofar Works, sd)

What you can derive from this explanation, is that the target group of the concept clearly are people that
are interested in actually listening to music. Besides that, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re
from, as long as you are interested in the music itself. Because the whole reason this concept was created
in the first place, was that those three guys really wanted to create a space where artists could perform
and people would listen and connect.

Obviously this is what they are directing their marketing towards as well. On their website for example,
they use phrases like: “The best audience in the world. Passionate, dedicated and respectful. Thousands
of artists have performed to Sofar guests, across the globe.” (about - artists, sd)

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People naturally feel the need to belong to a group, and this concept really taps into that as connecting
people is what music can do. In a small and cosy environment like a living room, with both friends and
strangers, this becomes a very inviting atmosphere for the audience.

“With secret concerts and live performances by diverse

artists at people’s homes, they are trying to bring back
the magic of really listening to music.” (Mantri, 2018)
If we look at this concept from the financial point, we can conclude that money is not a focus of the
concept. The tickets, which people can’t actually buy, but for which they have to apply, are for free. The
only thing which the audience is being asked for, is to give a certain minimum amount to the performing
artists (think about approximately 4 euro’s) afterwards, in order to give the artists a small fee and sign of
appreciation for their performance.

Production-wise this concept is developed very well and works with a good system. Through their
website people are able to make their room/space available and become hosts. Artists are able to sign
themselves in as well and the audience can apply for tickets. Within all three categories people will be
then selected and confirmed for the Sofar concerts.

For the legal aspects, this concept has to be protected copy rights, as it is quite the unique concept.
Besides that they might have to consider safety rules for the rooms and spaces they use for their
concerts. Also do they have to check if they don’t go over the sound limit when performing the concerts
in houses (for the neighbours, etc.). Besides those things there aren’t any legal aspects involved in this
concept, unless the artists are being filmed, which sometimes does happen of course. In those cases the
artists will have to give permission to Sofar Sounds, or who ever filmed it and would like to share it, that
they are allowed to share it.

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CONCEPT 2: V-CLASS BRACING

V-Class bracing was quite recently founded and launched by the acoustic guitar brand Taylor. The Taylor
brand, which was founded by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug in 1974, stands for innovation and quality and is
the number two manufacturer of acoustic guitars in the United States.

"The unprecedented V-brace pattern represents an

entirely new chapter in the history of the steel string
acoustic guitar..." (Music Trades, February 2018)
As Bob Taylor, who designs the guitars, is always looking for improvement of not specifically design in
looks, but mostly the sound of the guitar, he said it was time to “stop trying to tweak our inventory
within an inch of its life” (Wise, 2018). Instead, he wanted to make a much bigger and bolder change,
which is why he gave one of his top workers Andy Powers the assignment design something stunning
(and he did!). Where the regular X-Class bracing guitars either have a good sustain, or a good volume,
but never both, the V-Class braced guitar does have both qualities.

The marketing for this product is based on that factor of innovation. As the concept is something
completely new within the world of X-Class braced acoustic guitars, the announcement really did grab
people’s attention and interest. But besides that, probably even more importantly, this concept of V-Class
bracing underlines Taylor’s image of continuing innovation towards a great sound. Because it’s that great
sound as a result of the innovation that Taylor is known for.

The V-Class bracing is a concept which might have been risky for the company in the first place, as you
never know how people respond to big changes. However, as it seems to be a success (so far at least),
the biggest danger is gone now. Financially this concept might have quite a positive impact for the
company if it becomes popular. Besides that, production-wise there shouldn’t be a lot of extra costs as
it’s only a change of design. The only things that might cost extra money is teaching the workers at the
factories the new design.

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For the legal aspects, this concept should secure its copyrights. Besides that there aren’t any big measures
that the concept has to take, as it falls under the Taylor brand which on its own already secured all of the
legal aspects they might have to consider.

“The ultimate goal of V-Class bracing is to give players an inspiring tool that does a better job of helping
them express themselves in the context of the modern musical world.” (Taylor, sd)

‘It will spark new songwriting ideas, make recording easer, sound better in a performance setting, and
give players the fresh musical discoveries they crave.” (Taylor, sd)

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CONCEPT 3: CONVERSE
The shoe brand converse is a great example of
a concept in which a brand connects itself to a
certain experience, which in the case of
converse, is the experience of live music
events.

The shoes itself aren’t that special if you think

about it. The design is actually quite simple.
However, whenever you see converse shoes,
you still immediately put that link to concerts
and festivals, and that is where the power of
those shoes lies. Because live music events, are
events that people visit in order to have a
great time, to feel that they belong to a group
and to meet new people. All of them are wants that people have. You can imagine that emotionally
connecting your shoe brand to events which satisfy those wants, is a very smart idea. But how did they
do this?

Converse is a brand which is for everyone. As they say themselves: the brand is made by you. Their
brand is based on all kinds of cultural happenings and personal feelings. That’s what they’re about, and
that’s what results into a lot of different ways in which they represent this sense of togetherness.

It’s about freedom, self-expression and being who you

are – no matter where you live or how you live. Now
that’s a pretty strong message! (break content, 2015)
One music related example of marketing they did is that they came up with the concept of having well-
known, and less well-known artists doing mash-ups. “The first track back in 2008 was "My Drive Thru,"
which brought together the artist then called Santogold, Julian Casablancas and Pharrell Williams.” (Diaz,
2013).

When looking at the legal aspects for Converse, there could be a

lot of factors involved. First of all, as they are working with
famous people and artist, they’ll have to consider copyrights for
the artists, as well as neighbouring rights. Also do they have to
register their design in order to protect it from other companies
that might want to use it. Then, as Converse is all about being
who you are and want to be, they might have to consider ethical
rights, as in, not to break those.

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