Don’t look now, but music media has a massive opportunity heading its way. Throughout the past year, the music industry has seen a dramatic change in how fans are not only listening but also consuming their favorite artists’ music. Most notably through a resurgence in attending live events.
The result has led not only to a shift in how audiences are embracing concerts, but also to an increase in fan expectations. With fans having a limited amount of disposable income, artists, promoters, and record labels are realizing that the bar has been raised as competition increases.
Some even adding top-tier expansions and residencies.
Music media and broadcasters now have an opportunity not only to play hit songs, but also to embed themselves into the culture and hype surrounding this newfound appreciation for live events and enhance those “can’t miss moments.”
Gen Z Proves Music Loyalty
According to a recent poll from TripAdvisor, 55% of music fans are planning to take a trip for a concert or festival this year. For Gen Z, that figure jumps to over 75%. There has been a massive national resurgence of fans seeking IRL (In Real Life) music and concert experiences.
“We’re seeing a clear shift overall to where fans want experiences they can feel. They’re showing up for concerts. Lining up at indie record shops for moments like Record Store Day, and tuning into stations that reflect their communities,” Dayna Ghiraldi-Travers, founder and CEO of Big Picture Media.
Many concerts and festivals feature multiple verticals in an attempt to attract as many fans as possible. Radio can do the same by utilizing storytelling, targeted programming, and social media. Sales teams can also expand their roles with increased programming content leading up to major events.
“Throughout a busy summer of live events, we have seen fans embrace their shared love of specific artists and genres. Many going to extremes to make their experiences more memorable and mark themselves as part of fan communities,” AEG President Paul Samuels recently said while citing a study regarding the shift in fan’s desires for more live content and events.
Live Events Replacing the Algorithm?
Artists are discovering firsthand the name of the game right now is doing whatever they can to win over potential new audiences. The same applies to music media.
Stations can create specialized programming blocks that lean into and explain the experiences bands are offering. The Backstreet Boys continue to go viral for their impressive Las Vegas Sphere residency. Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman brought back the festival and expanded it to more cities after last year’s successful relaunch.
Many within the music industry believe now is the time for radio to get creative.
“One of the biggest opportunities for artists when they are on tour is to really make the biggest impression in each town they play while they are there,” longtime band manager Josh Terry explained. “If artists, their teams, and (some) record labels are adapting their marketing strategies to fans wanting live show experiences. Radio and music media needs to do the same.”
As more fans embrace live events again, music broadcasters have the unique benefit of access. Either directly or indirectly, to artists and live events.
“The opportunity is not in just in promoting an upcoming show. Rather the station owning the conversation before, during and after the event,” one New York City-based radio market manager pointed out.
Embrace and Create the Moment
For decades, radio was known as the place to hear new songs. Unfortunately, with the popularity of cell phones, listeners can hear those same songs on their own.
Music media’s role must now pivot to becoming a storyteller. Capturing and explaining not only the songs but also the moments surrounding them.
“Whether that’s connecting with the local radio station in their format for an interview. A listener only exclusive event. Doing phoners with local press ahead of time. A surprise pop up event. Doing content at a local coffee shop or music store. Even something as small as physically mailing out posters for promoters to plaster the city ahead of time. All of those create moments for fans to discover and increase awareness of what you’re doing and make it special,” Terry explains.
“If done well, you can see your attendance numbers double the next time you’re there. If done really well, you just developed a market that an act can headline in for decades with tremendous demand.”
Those results are something that Ghiraldi-Travers also agrees with.
“When local media and radio get behind festivals and artists early, they don’t just promote events they help build culture. They help drive attendance and create lasting connections between artists and fans. That grassroots energy is what turns a regional event into a destination and keeps live music thriving,” said Ghiraldi-Travers.
For stations that can rise to the fans’ level of energy and expectations, they might very well become part of the shared experience as well.
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‘Gunz’ has been a staple in the music, sports and news industry for over a decade. From his first on-air appearances on MTV and FUSE television as a teenager to broadcasting nationally with Don Imus, to most recently hosting the Vans Warped Tour on Amazon Music, he has become one of the industry’s most insightful and trusted voices. As host of idobi Radio’s ‘The Gunz Show’ (80K+ Weekly Listeners) for the last fifteen years, Gunz has built a reputation for Breaking Bands and Breaking News, including notable debut interviews from bands such as Twenty One Pilots, Cobra Starship, fun., and viral interviews with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, All Time Low and The All American Rejects. Whether it’s hosting red carpets or exclusive sit-downs with media’s biggest names from Clive Davis to Dana White, Gunz answers not only “What” is happening, but more importantly – “Why?” for programmers, publicists, artists, entertainers and fans alike.