Taylor Swift's tour helped set a record: Britons spent £6.7 billion on live music

In 2024, spending on live music in the UK rose to a record £6.68 billion. This is 9.5% more than last year. This growth is largely due to pop singer Taylor Swift's massive music tour, which, along with concerts by Dua Lipa and Charli XCX, filled entire stadiums, writes UNN with reference to The Guardian.

Details

UK consumer spending on live music concerts reached a record £6.68 billion in 2024, up 9.5% from the previous year, partly thanks to Taylor Swift's blockbuster Eras tour

The report by Live (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), a newly established organization that advocates for the interests of the British music industry to the government, speaks of a full return to work after the consequences of Covid-19.

Thus, the figures are already 28.2% higher than in 2022, when live music more or less recovered after the pandemic. And more than £2 billion higher than in 2019, the last full year of live music before the shutdown.

But given that nightlife venues across the UK are still closing at an increasing rate (one in four nightlife venues, including clubs, has closed since 2020, with closures accelerating this year), and young artists are struggling to make a living, the report notes that growth is mainly due to stadiums, "where high-profile concerts by artists such as Swift, Dua Lipa and Charli XCX take place."

Live's study analyzed 55,000 concerts, performances, festivals, and events and found that pop music concerts accounted for 32.1% of all funds received at the 2,000 most popular concerts of the year. This is 4.7% more than last year

Spending on live music also remained predominantly concentrated in the capital, with London accounting for 28.9% of all spending in 2024. However, Manchester saw a sharp increase thanks to the opening of the new Co-op Live arena.

Over 23 million music tourists visited the UK in 2024

Festivals and concerts in the UK attracted over 23.5 million music tourists in 2024

Concerts accounted for 75.3% of live music spending, up almost 2% from 2023. However, some festivals are facing difficulties competing with large one-day concerts by artists such as Swift and Bruce Springsteen, which force consumers to make decisions about priorities in their live music budget

Live supported the widespread industry recommendation for the government to introduce tax breaks so that festivals can survive.

The government has a clear role, given that its economic management will determine our trading environment and audience confidence

In 2024, the UK live music sector employed over 234,000 people, up 2.2% from the previous year, though with low job security: 78.8% of these workers are temporary or freelancers. Short-term event cancellations jeopardize these fragile livelihoods: 48% of respondents reported job cancellations with less than a week's notice.

Addition

Live was established in 2024 to support the work of the Music Venue Trust and facilitate the development of a funding program whereby arenas and stadiums with a capacity of over 5,000 could voluntarily add a £1 levy to ticket prices, creating a fund to support local music venues. In July, the Royal Albert Hall in London became the first arena to commit to this program.

With the appointment of trustees and commitments from a number of prominent artists who will perform at stadiums and arenas throughout 2025 and 2026, the Live Trust is confident that it will soon be able to begin providing financial support where needed

It defines its mission to "empower" the UK music industry as a push for economic growth, removing barriers to opportunity, improving industry safety – focusing on issues of worker job insecurity, harassment, and attempts at terrorism at live music events – and focusing on environmental sustainability.

Recall

Earlier, UNN wrote that pop queen Taylor Swift and American football star Travis Kelce are officially engaged. The couple had been dating for about two years and announced it on social media, posting engagement photos.