The Music Network (10/11/22) Brandle, Lars

A new report from entertainment and culture marketing agency Bolster Group and fan-to-fan resale marketplace Tixel focuses on the state of the ticketing industry, based on responses from more than 1,200 ticket-buyers. The authors discovered that over 70% of consumers reported changing their ticket purchase behavior during the pandemic, while cancellations and postponements have made half reconsider their transactions. About 84% of ticket-buyers are more likely to purchase tickets knowing they can easily resell them later, and 41% will think twice about purchasing tickets to events where easy resale is not permitted. "The changing ticketing cycle is clearly a pressing issue for a lot of promoters," said Bolster's Ollie Hall. "They all seem to have their own theories too for the change in consumer behavior post-pandemic, so it's great to now have the consumer data to help validate or dispel these ideas." The study highlighted five "personas" when music fans buy tickets, with the most common being Early Birds who move fast on pre-sales to save costs or to avoid missing out; following them are Group Organizers who galvanize friends and typically buy multiple tickets, then Bet Hedgers, Window Watchers and Procrastinators. The report also found consumers are purchasing tickets later while promoters are announcing further out from showtime to beat competitors to market. Analysts additionally learned that single day and band rooms events should be sold in shorter bursts, while international concerts and yearly events have a "little more wiggle room." Tixel co-founder Jason Webb said the report leads to the conclusion "that everyone is hungry for data, case studies and hard stats that help to make sense of the new environment we're working in."

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