Global performance fares have risen, can "performance assassins" make the market blood back?

Author | Peng Peng Editor | Fan Zhihui

Recently, the music performance industry is quite controversial. In addition to uncivilized performances, there are also high fares that persuade fans.

Chengdu Fairy Palm Music Festival is not only 1299 yuan in a single -day fare, which is more than three times compared to 4 years ago; the double -day VIP fare is up to 2999 yuan, and the first installment model of the highest 12 periods is also the first time. Netizens shouted "Grab the money directly."

From the tour of the five people, Jiang Yunsheng, and the FINE orchestra, to the Fairy Canton Music Festival, the rising trend of domestic performance fares caused heated discussion among public opinion, which was called "performance assassin" by netizens.

Recently, Pollstar Pollstar, an American live music institution, announced a mid -2022 report. The report data shows that the increase in fares does not only happen in the Chinese market, but to become a general trend in the global performance market, but the increase is relatively small.

So, can "Performance Assassin" really help the performance market? In the context of the epidemic, is the price increase for artists, organizers, and even the performance market, is it the best choice?

Global performance fare of "Rushing Positive"

Different from the "Parade Assassin" of the domestic sporadic "killing siege", Pollstar conducted a statistical analysis of the top 100 tour in North American box office in the first half of 2022.

The results showed that "the hilarity of the trend" has become a common trend. In the sample of statistics, the average tour fare in the first half of this year was $ 108.2, and the average fare in 2019 was $ 91.86, an increase of 17.8%.

At the same time, the statistical results also revealed a fact to us, that is, the rising fare did not stifle the enthusiasm of fans. At present, the audience has a strong demand for live performances. In the first half of this year, the average of 7,913 tickets sold in the top 100 tours of the box office, an increase of 5.6%compared to the average number of votes in 2019, which was 7,496.

Under the two -phase achievement of the average fare and ticket sales volume, the average box office has also achieved steadily.

In the first half of this year, the average box office revenue of the North American market was $ 85,6206, and the average box office revenue in the same period in 2019 was US $ 68,8553, an increase of 24.4%. Therefore, the total box office of the top 100 tour in North America also showed a steady recovery. The total box office sales reached 1.69 billion US dollars, an increase of 9.1%over the total box office of US $ 1.55 billion in the same period in 2019.

However, in Pollstar's view, this does not mean that the global performance market is surpassing the level before the epidemic. The steadyness of the North American performance market is just thanks to "many North American venues may return to the full load and the operating standards before the full load and the epidemic than the venues in other regions."

To enlarge the horizon to global, Pollstar's analysis results show that global performance fares are indeed rising. Globally, the average fare of the tour in the first half of this year was $ 105.55, and the average fare in 2019 was $ 92.42, an increase of 14.2%. (Compared with the 136%increase of the cactus music festival, how madness is it!)

Under the influence of fares and local epidemic prevention measures, the increase in fares has not drove ticket sales and global total box office. Compared with 2019, the global box office of the world fell by 14.4%in the first half of this year, and the total box office revenue in the world's top 100 tours decreased by 2.2%.

It should be noted that this business does not only consider the box office income, and whether it can make a profit also take into account the cost of the tour. Pollstar did not include the cost paid by the tour in statistical analysis, but it clearly states in the report that "although (although the industry) has largely overcomes the impact of the epidemic, it is still cope with the uncertain economy and busy busy economy and busy. Traffic and severe inflation. "

In other words, behind the high fare, it is a profit challenge that the tour organizers must face.

Can "Performance Assassin" make the market blood back?

In the performance industry, the increase in fares is not a fresh topic year by year, and even the high increase has been long for a long time. Since the end of the 1990s, compared with inflation, live performance fares have risen much faster.

Take the American music market as an example. From 1996 to 2018, the average fare of live performances rose 190%; while the overall consumer price increased by 59%at the same time. More intuitively, the average price of the performance tickets in 1981 is $ 12. If the price of tickets only increases with inflation, the average price of the performance tickets in 2018 should be $ 32, but the reality is that the average price of tickets in 2018 has risen up. By $ 70.

As we all know, with the increase of national disposable income, consumers' demand for leisure and entertainment will increase, and the prices of entertainment products will naturally rise. American economist Alan Krueger has found that since 1999, the growth momentum of music performance tickets has been significantly stronger than other entertainment activities such as sports events, movies, and theaters.

Coincidentally, Napster, which is also established in the same year with its own power to accelerate the declining P2P file sharing service of the record industry. In Alan's view, Napster eroded the record sales market and artist's record tax income with rampant file sharing and piracy, which forced the musicians to regard the live performance as the core of profit.

In this way, the underlying logic of live performances has undergone fundamental changes. In the former Napster era, live performances maintained a level of low fare, and promoted the sales of albums through performance music; in the post -NAPSTER era, record recording was supported by live performances. The physical records gradually evolved into the peripheral product of the tour. Sales.

Alan has also predicted that such a change will make the situation of winners in the music industry intensified.

Under the influence of the epidemic, the cost of music tour, coupled with the related measures of epidemic prevention, the number of artists' performances and invoices is limited, and the price of ticket prices has been increased. At the same time, Alan's prediction has also become a reality. "Price increase" has become the carnival of the head artist. Musicians who have no box office appeal to tighten the tour opportunities, and there is no trend of fighting. The barriers of the music performance industry will become higher and higher, but unfortunately, homogeneous performances may be the mainstream of the entire industry in the future.

Under the rise of global ticket prices, the reason why domestic independent music performances can increase the boom in public opinion is not the poor information between domestic and foreign, but because the domestic music performance market is undergoing the "community gathering economic model" Turning to the transformation of the "Complete Business Economic Model".

Before the epidemic, thanks to the fire of "The Summer of the Band" and "Hip Hop in China", the commercialization process of independent music pressed the acceleration key. At the same time, the domestic music market also made the times.

Prior to this, the domestic music performance market had a "Big Brother" Midi Music Festival. When the cactus music appeared on the hot search, many music fans issued the lineup of the Midi Music Festival more than ten years ago to express their nostalgia. In fact, in the initial stage of live performance represented by Midi Music Festival, its operating model is very close to a spontaneous community party.

"In a community gathering, although it is indispensable to charges the guests who come to the present -for example, collecting a certain amount of food and tableware -but if the charge is too high, it is considered inappropriate." And in a community gathering type type type In the model, every fan is hoped to contribute to enrich the "experience" of live performances.

Therefore, the early domestic performance emphasizes the spiritual attributes and cultural characteristics of music. In the process of commercialization, the "humanistic" in the initial stage of the live performance was gradually removed and moved towards a complete commercial economic model. The supply and demand relationship was the only criterion for the market's consideration.

The epidemic created an unprecedented demand for viewing, and the supply of live performances under the epidemic was very limited. Domestic tour became an absolute seller market. Statistics from abroad also prove that the volume of fares has not scared away the consumption willingness of fans.

However, under a series of issues such as high homogeneity of performance lineup, no significant improvement of the viewing experience, and incompleteness of supporting facilities, for the most loyal group of audiences in the industry, the rising fares are lost for the loss of fares for the loss. Expectation and cognition of the performance site.

Equipping the channels for rising talents, ignoring the live performance experience, and the appeal of over -reliance on limited artists, it has always been unable to bring a real "blood return" to the industry, and even crack down on the viewing mentality of true music fans.

Therefore, in more domestic markets at the scene, frequent price increases and endless "performance assassins" are more like self -rescue in the industry's panic, and even some of them are exhausted.

Conclusion

Live performances, as a key link in the music industry, have also been the most serious impact under the epidemic.

The price increase is understandable, but compared with the mature live performance market in Europe and the United States, the domestic tour and music festivals seem to stop the development of high -quality performances and expand the consumer market.

It is worth mentioning that even after the epidemic is over, the rising artist performance quotation is expected to fall, and the corresponding performance fare will not return to the previous parity level. This impact and pros and cons of the market will naturally have music fans to vote to test.

However, when the full release is coming, where should the music performance market go in front of the aesthetic and fatigue audience?

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