[Infographic] Generation Z and the Live Industry: Trends and Preferences

At the heart of the live sector's dynamism, Shotgun positions itself as an intermediary player operating at the intersection of audiences, artists and producers. Our role places us on the front line to observe the evolutions and trends shaping the future of live events.

The following infographic results from a meticulous study conducted with 850 young people aged 20 to 25 from our user community, presenting a margin of error of 3.47% with a 95% confidence level.

One of the confirmed hypotheses is the crossover between electro and rap communities. It appears that rap is more listened to in streaming than live, a trend reinforced by the artistic preferences revealed in the survey.

According to the roundtable we organised at MaMA 2023 in Paris which explored, among other things, the evolution of rap in the industry, this last piece of information may explain why rap's live consumption doesn't match that of streaming. Indeed, it was seen that many rap artists topping the streaming charts often don't have the capacity to deliver performances that meet audience expectations because they experienced meteoric success.

Regarding event formats, our results indicate a preference for outdoor events, intimate concert formats (less than 750 places), warehouse parties and small to medium-sized festivals. Unsurprisingly, the most important aspect for our young community in an event is the quality of artistic performances.

Then, the venue and scenography are considered crucial aspects of an event.

42% of our Generation Z community consider it very important to be among a crowd sharing similar codes and values during an event.

The three main negative experiences encountered at events are long waits at toilets, security concerns (rising) and the cost of drinks.

In the second part of the study, we explored their financial engagement by asking how much they're willing to spend for different types of events.

For an event with a 'discovery' programme in their favourite music genre, they're willing to spend between 15 and 30 euros.

For a one-day pass at a large generalist festival, the range is 30 to 50 euros, and for a festival specialised in their favourite genre, it's between 40 and 60 euros.

For a concert featuring one of their favourite artists, they're also willing to spend between 30 and 50 euros, demonstrating a willingness to spend as much to see just their favourite artist or several artists at a festival.

When asked what the barriers to greater attendance at these events are, the main answer, unsurprisingly in an economic context where young people have never been so poor in France, is budget.

Finally, the innovations they'd like to see in the future include more interactions with artists and participation in programming.