Summer movie attendance may be down, with expensive tentpole films like “The Flash,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and “Fast X” all underperforming at the box office. But attendance at live events is surging. Concerts, in particular, are doing incredibly well with acts ranging from Taylor Swift to Beyoncé to Morgan Wallen filling the seats.
Andrew Bragman
Pent-up, post-pandemic demand has certainly played a major part of it. Andrew Bragman, Vice President of Ticket Operations for SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park in California, says, “I think the rebound from the pandemic was a great kickstart to getting fans back into venues. People wanted to be social again! We've seen that continue in both our theater and stadium so far in 2023, with the stadium being ranked the busiest in North America by Pollstar and the theater ranked in the top 20 busiest venues of its size.”
Staying in the Golden State, Joe Carter, Senior Director of Sales & Customer Experience for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, notes that attendance is up substantially “for us at the Hollywood Bowl [and The Ford] and will break our existing records from last year. We are still living in a period of pent-up demand, even though it feels there are more tours and concerts available in general. We’re seeing people buying more frequently within the season, as well as more new audiences. As people are looking for feel-good experiences that they can share with their friends and families, outdoor concerts easily fit that bill.”
But Lauren Dugan, Senior Ticket Manager for the Oak View Group — Moody Center in Texas, believes there is more at play in her part of the country: “Although I do believe we are reaping the benefits of built-up demand recovering from the pandemic, that is not the only factor at play in Austin. Being ‘The Live Music Capital of the World,’ Austin has never had a world-class arena suited to host the biggest names in the industry. Now we do. We are hosting artists at Moody Center that have never played in this market before, like Harry Styles and Mana. Other artists, like Madonna, haven’t been in this market since 1985. Austin and Moody Center is becoming a top 10 must-play venue in North America.”
David Winn
Attendance is even up for venues not frequented by Swifties and enthusiastic fans of other popular music acts. One example is the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). David Winn, BSO’s Box Office Manager, says, “I believe that the summer of 2022 was the re-emergence of people from the COVID years. We had strong attendance at concerts and were able to reach our goals. This year, though, it feels more like 2019 when patrons are attending our Popular Artist concerts in droves. We far exceeded goals with our early round of Popular Artists June 22–July 4. Now that we are in the midst of the BSO summer season, we are seeing strong sales for the blockbuster concerts. Those concerts where the pieces being played are ‘Top 40 Classical’ or with international soloists like Yo-Yo Ma, Hillary Hahn, Emanuel Ax, and Joshua Bell.”
Live theatre has also seen solid attendance in the warm weeks. Deadline.com reports that, overall, the 34 Broadway productions grossed $33,088,397 for the first week of the 2023–24 season in late May. More than half of the productions — 18 of the 34, to be exact — played to houses with at least 90% of seats filled.
Chris Stasiuk
Chris Stasiuk, Box Office Treasurer at the St. James Theatre in Manhattan, says, “I work on Broadway and, yes, we are doing better now than last year with the pandemic woes hopefully in our rear-view mirror. Audiences are flocking to the shows that are flashy and well known. ‘Aladdin,’ ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Wicked’ are doing record numbers, as are newcomers like ‘Back to the Future.’ The less-known productions still struggle to find their niche. It is wonderful to see the international tourists back in New York. I think tourism is definitely a big factor.”
And then there is the festival circuit. Few have done better this summer than Ravinia. Duncan Moss, Senior Associate Director of Ticket Operations, says, “Attendance and demand for Ravinia’s large-scale performances are way up this year. I believe there are two factors for this. Not only are people feeling more comfortable in a post-pandemic world, but we’re also seeing more acts on the road with large tours to offer, creating great demand for the product. The most interesting factor is there doesn’t seem to be much price sensitivity, which eats up the supply very quickly. People are just clamoring at the opportunity to get out and see their favorite acts and will accept the price to do so.”
Duncan Moss
He continues, “Locally, in Chicago, we’ve been having a warm and relatively dry summer. This bodes well for the concertgoer by offering up an easy choice of what do this week or weekend — spend a night out in the beautiful weather. People want to be out, and they’re excited to get out.”
Even though most of these venues have had little problem welcoming audiences back, some have put together fun promotions to also boost attendance. Moody Center’s Dugan says, “Having hosted Harry Styles for a sold-out, six-night residency, we were able to take advantage of a suite giveaway which racked up over 23,000 entries, 14,000 new email subscribers, [and] 9,000 new Instagram followers. After that success, we’ve done similar giveaway promotions recently that helped garner more buzz and interest in Moody Center, resulting in additional visits that lead to sales we may not have had.”
Bragman also had some successful promos to tout: “We continually seek ways to create premium experiences and offers for our events, based on show demographics or events happening at Hollywood Park. For example, during our recent one-day Summer Bash community event, we created a special $25 all-in ticket offer on select YouTube Theater shows. Additionally, Live Nation is our exclusive booking partner at YouTube Theater, and we are currently running a ‘Summer's Live’ promotion on select shows, which includes four tickets for $80 all in.”
Ravinia’s Moss adds, “Being an outdoor venue, we like to send ‘good weather alerts’ the week of a performance to give people a heads up that the weekend is full of fun concerts to enjoy outside in the nice weather. These are successful in pushing some last-minute sales with buyers that might be ‘teeter-tottering’ on the edge of going. I imagine every group of friends has that one friend who sees the email and quickly texts everyone to say, ‘Let’s go!’ and that equates to a boost in attendance for us.”
Even some museums are getting creative. Tammy Enright, Project Manager at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in the office of Visitor and Guest Services, notes that summer is a particularly strong season for her venue with families. “We see a boost in the calendar not from promotions, but from being part of the conversation around large, national events that occur in this time, namely Juneteenth and this summer’s 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop,” she says. “We engage with virtual and on-site visitors around both topics, including August’s Hip Hop Block Party.”
Looking ahead, where do our ticketing and live events professionals see attendance headed for the remainder of July and August? BSO’s Winn says, “We only see ticket sales going up and up. . . . Currently, the Tanglewood season is at 91% of goal, with concerts through Sept. 3. There is no slowing of sales. But we do see strong sales within a week of a concert. That trend I believe is here to stay.”
Never one to boast, Bragman forecasts, “I think the pace is only going to accelerate! We are largely sold out for our 2023 SoFi Stadium concerts, and we are seeing great demand for concerts at YouTube Theater as well. With Metallica, Morgan Wallen, Beyonce and six nights of Taylor Swift on top of the upcoming football season and two major soccer matches in July, we expect to see continued interest and strength in the market and are already looking ahead of the 2024 concert schedule.”
Perhaps Stasiuk summed up the hot days ahead best: “It’s about music and experiences. I personally want to see Squeeze on the beach in Asbury Park. I want to see Metallica at MetLife. I want to sing out loud and be reminded of my youth. If I’m a millennial, I am spending my disposable income on what makes me dance and hang out with friends. Sunshine, cocktails and music. It’s what summer is all about!”
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