Summary of our market study

Since 2020, the global festival market, including renowned German events such as Oktoberfest and various musical festivities, has been faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in years with minimal sales and a long-awaited return in 2022. The impact of the pandemic has led to a move towards online festivals, although this approach only marginally addresses the market's problems, with only 4% of people willing to pay for such virtual experiences. Meanwhile, the European music festival market had anticipated a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 12% in 2020, which was disrupted by the crisis. In Germany, live music sales amounted to over €2 billion in 2019, with festivals contributing around 20%, or around €400 million.

The demographics of festival-goers in Germany typically depict a majority of young, relatively affluent, single men. Trends indicate that almost 39% of festival-goers are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly festivals. following the COVID-19 conference, German festivals anticipated an upturn, supported by the recognition of techno/house music as an official musical genre, which could lead to increased growth and interest in the cultural landscape.

Resilient demand for festival experiences in Germany:

At the heart of Europe, Germany is home to an eclectic range of festivals, from the traditional revelry of Oktoberfest to the pulsating rhythms of techno music, catering for a diversity of cultural tastes. The festival scene is part of the essence of German cultural expression, blending art, entertainment and leisure into a rich tapestry that attracts crowds from all walks of life. The pandemic dealt a heavy blow to this dynamic sector, but with the easing of restrictions, there has been a noticeable resurgence in demand, a sign of a revival in the festival market, which has already seen sales of live music soar to over 2 billion euros. Before being disrupted by the pandemic, the European festival market had enjoyed a compound annual growth rate of around 12%. In Germany, where traditional and modern music festivals such as Oktoberfest, Reeperbahn and the Berlinale film festival are monumental, the appetite for such gatherings is very strong. Festivals, a crucial element in live music sales, accounted for around 20% of the market, or 400 million euros, before the arrival of COVID-19. German festival-goers present a varied demographic landscape. Men slightly outnumber women, and a large proportion of festival-goers are in the 20-29 age bracket. Interestingly, almost 19% of festival-goers are over 60, reflecting a cultural scene open to all.

Singles account for almost half of all attendees, demonstrating the appeal of festivals to single people. In terms of financial means, festival-goers tend to belong to higher income brackets, or to be students or teenagers supported by their parents. If we examine the behavior and preferences of German festival-goers, we find that quality takes precedence over price for almost half of them. Growing awareness of ecological sustainability has also made its way onto the scene, with almost 40% of attendees prepared to pay more for environmentally-friendly festivals. This paradigm shift can be seen in the younger generations, who give priority to these values. As a place for social interaction, festivals mainly attract people looking to listen to music, dance and socialize. Access to facilities such as toilets, showers and internet are, however, areas where participants feel there is room for improvement. When assessing the festival market, financial dynamics should not be overlooked. Organizing a festival can entail significant costs, from artist fees to energy and waste management. On the other hand, revenue streams to offset these expenses include ticket sales, accommodation such as "glamping", and sponsorship.

Key players shaping the festival landscape

In the vibrant tapestry of the festival market, several entities stand out for their impact and contribution to the sector. As we delve into the dynamic world of festivals, we need to recognize the key market players who are integral to the success and proliferation of these cultural events.

  • Vivendi
    A global titan in the media and content publishing landscape, Vivendi is well known for its significant influence in the entertainment sector. Although its specific contributions to the festival market are not detailed, its vast reach and financial power make Vivendi a key player whose decisions and strategies could influence the dynamics of the festival scene.
  • Live Nation
    Live Nation is a name synonymous with live entertainment. Renowned for organizing and managing some of the world's most renowned and well-attended festivals, Live Nation's expertise in event production, promotion and ticketing makes it a central figure in the festival world. It plays an indispensable role in shaping the experience of millions of festival-goers worldwide.
  • Eventbrite
    In the field of event management and ticketing, Eventbrite has carved out an enviable place for itself. By streamlining the process of event organization and ticket sales, Eventbrite enables festival organizers, large and small, to efficiently reach their audiences and manage event logistics.
  • Sony Music
    Although primarily known as a music production and distribution giant, Sony Music is also heavily involved in the festival circuit. Its influence extends to the selection of artists performing at the various festivals and their promotional efforts, which can have a considerable impact on festival programming and popularity.
  • Viagogo
    As an international secondary marketplace, Viagogo offers festival-goers another way to buy and sell tickets. Its global presence and service offering have made it a notable entity in the festival market, particularly in the dynamic field of ticket sales.
  • Next EventsGmbH (Parookaville)
    Next Events GmbH is the organization behind Parookaville, a festival that has rapidly established itself in the German festival calendar. Offering an immersive electronic music experience, Next Events GmbH has mastered the art of creating a unique festival atmosphere that attracts large crowds every year.
  • BigCityBeats (World Club Dome)
    BigCityBeats is the mastermind behind the World Club Dome, billed as the "world's biggest club". transforming a stadium into a huge dance music venue has created a new paradigm in the festival industry, showcasing their creative prowess and impact on the festival-goer experience. Together, these
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Summary and extracts

1 Market overview

1.1 Definition and scope of study

A festival is defined as a cultural event organized with the aim of bringing together, for one or more days, different types of people interested in this type of activity related to art, entertainment or leisure in general.people interested in this type of activity related to art, entertainment or, more generally, leisure.

In Germany, festivals and related festivities are an integral part of popular culture, combining traditions such as the 200-year-old Oktoberfest with modernity in a country whose capital gave its name to a unique style of techno music. Volksfests, literally "people's festivals", are thus generally included in the category of festivals in Germany.

on a global scale, festivals have been hard hit by the health crisis, and are now looking to bounce back economically with the help of soaring demand following two years of restrictions.

German festivals take many forms:

  • Traditional festivals (Oktoberfest in Munich, Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart)
  • Music festivals (Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Beethovenfest in Bonn, Time Warp in Mannheim)
  • Film festivals (Filmfestspiele in Berlin, Filmfest in Munich)

The main market trend is the ability of the market to revive festival organization processes after a two-year slump that had a major impact on the sector's economy, as well as on cultural and artistic life. as 2022 is the year of recovery, it will be crucial in determining whether or not a large number of festivals can survive financially, or risk being shut down for good.

1.2 European market

In ****, a study by Festicket highlights the growth of the music festival market across Europe [***]. As Europe's leading music festival and travel booking platform, Festicket has produced an estimate of the market between **** and **** (***). The estimate is based on aCAGR of around **%.

Estimated music festival market in Europe Europe, ****-****, in ...

1.3 Domestic market

In ****, the last full year before the two years skewed by the health crisis, live music sales were worth just over * billion euros in Germany. Covid has put a real damper on sales in this sector, and we'll have to wait until **** to reach the * billion euro mark again. The * billion ...

1.4 Impact of Covid and confinements

Covid will have had its way with many of Germany's festivals. Oktoberfest and all German beer festivals will be held for the first time in more than three years in **** . the Oktoberfest and all German beer festivals will be held for the first time in over three years, a real relief ...

2 Demand analysis

2.1 Profile of festival-goers in Germany

By gender

Men make up a slight majority of festival-goers in Germany. They account for **.*% of the total.

Gender of festival-goers Germany, ****, in percent Source: ****

By age

Unsurprisingly, the majority of German festival-goers are in the **-** age bracket, accounting for over a quarter of all festival-goers. Of note is the ...

2.2 Festival trends

Nearly half of all festival-goers consider the quality of the festival to be more important than its price. however, **% of those questioned totally disagreed or slightly agreed with this statement.

Festival-goers who agree with this statement "The quality of a good/service is more important than its price" Germany, ****, in percent Source: ...

2.3 Beer preference

Whether it's a beer festival (***) or beer consumption at a music festival in Germany, it's important to note that beer is the country's beverage par excellence. As this graph confirms, beer is the most popular festival drink. They are consumed by **% of festival-goers, far ahead of any alcoholic competition...

Most popular ...

2.4 Trends for jazz and classical music festivals

Jazz

The number of people interested in jazz festivals is stagnating , at just over *.* million in Germany. The two years of decline in **** and **** appear to be due to the health crisis.

Number of people interested in jazz festivals Germany, **** to ****, in millions Source: ****

Classical music

This graph shows the evolution ...

3 Market structure

3.1 Festival organization costs

The following table lists the main costs involved in organizing a festival, based on the costs of a fictitious festival for **,*** people.

Source: ****

3.2 Sources of revenue

To offset all the costs mentioned in the previous sub-section, let's now look at the main sources of revenue available to festivals.

Source: ****

4 Offer analysis

4.1 Music Festival Award

According to the Allensbacher Institut, the average cost of a festival is ** euros per day. It should also be noted that almost **% of festival-goers buy their tickets on the day they leave the box office. As we saw in section *.*, however, tickets are not the only source of revenue (***)

Here are ...

4.2 The different beer festivals

The following table lists the main beer festivals in Germany, true treasures of popular culture . Beer festivals open to the public are free of charge, although tables can be reserved for several hundred euros.

Source: ****

4.3 Geographical distribution of music festivals

The following map, divided into "Länder", provides an overview of the regions with the largest number of music festivals among the top ***. It is captioned in categories:

Category *: fewer than * Category *: between * and * Category *: between * and * Category *: between * and ** Category *: over **

Source: ****

4.4 Supply typology

The following graphs show only the *** biggest festivals in Germany.

Number of visitors

The following graph shows that * out of * festivals have fewer than **,*** festival-goers, so the vast majority of festivals are modest in size. There are only three festivals with over half a million visitors.

Number of festival-goers among the ...

4.5 Musical genres offered by festivals

The graph shows that the majority of the *** biggest festivals - more than one in two- offer three main types of music: Pop/RnB, Rock, and House/Techno/Electro. Then there's Hip Hop, available at more than one festival in four. There's something for everyone, however, as genres such as Schlager ...

5 Regulations

5.1 The European Festivals Association

The EFA (***) is a Europe-wide coordination group bringing together the various players involved in the development and management of European festivals. It supports artistic and logistical cooperation between festivals, and fights for common European regulations.

In ****, it published a report listing the main pieces of legislation to be aware of concerning ...

5.2 Techno recognition

At the end of November ****, Germany finally recognized techno/house music and DJs as musicians in their own right. In this country, where Berlin is the world capital of this style, it now seemed derisory not to provide tax benefits for establishments offering techno parties, particularly following the Covid period which ...

6 Positioning the players

6.1 Player segmentation

  • Vivendi
  • Live Nation France
  • Eventbrite
  • Viagogo
  • Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH

List of charts presented in this market study

  • Estimating the music festival market in Europe
  • Number of visitors to major paying music festivals
  • Live music sales
  • Gender of festival-goers
  • Average age of festival-goers
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Latest news

Music: billions in the concert business - 04/01/2024
  • Taylor Swift has booked 149 concerts in 20 countries up to December 2024.
  • The singer is set to become the first music star to break the billion-dollar barrier
  • Before Covid, live music generated $21.5 billion worldwide.
  • By 2023, live music revenues are expected to exceed $28 billion, according to Goldman Sachs.
  • Live Nation, the world leader in the concert business, holds over 75% of worldwide ticket sales via its Ticketmaster platform.
  • In one year, Live Nation sold almost 120 million tickets worldwide.
  • The group can fill the equivalent of 1500 Stade de France with these ticket sales.
Vivendi demerger project well received - 14/12/2023
  • Vivendi climbs over 10% on the stock market following the announcement of its demerger project.
  • The operation involves the creation of three separate entities around Canal+, Havas and an investment company.
Vivendi reinvents its business model with the acquisition of Lagardère - 22/11/2023
  • Vivendi's annual sales will rise from 9.6 billion to 17 billion euros following the acquisition of the Lagardère group.
  • Vivendi's adjusted operating profit will rise from over 800 million euros to over 1.2 billion euros.
  • The number of Vivendi employees will increase from 38,000 to 66,000.
  • Vivendi sold Editis to International Media Invest for 653 million euros (including debt).
  • Vivendi owns 59.74% of the Lagardère group.
  • Other major shareholders in the Lagardère Group are Qatar Holding LLC (11.52%), Arnaud Lagardère (11.11%) and Financière Agache (7.97%).
Vivendi takes control of Lagardère: "A big change" - 22/11/2023
  • Vivendi officially takes control of Lagardère on November 21.
    Vivendi now holds 57.95% of Lagardère's capital and 50.50% of its voting rights.
  • Vivendi's sales rise from 9.6 billion euros to 16.5 billion.
  • International activities account for 63% of Vivendi's revenues (compared with 54% previously).
  • The number of Vivendi employees rises from 38,300 to 65,700.
  • Bernard Arnault holds a 7.7% stake in Lagardère via Financière Agache.
Vivendi plans to sell its festivals and ticketing business - 27/09/2023
  • Vivendi plans to sell its current music festivals and its See Tickets ticketing service.
  • The group controls 11 festivals in France and the UK.
  • The Garorock festival drew 150,000 festival-goers over the summer.
  • The Brive festival welcomed 43,000 fans and hopes to reach 50,000 by 2024.
  • Vivendi counts 400,000 festival-goers annually thanks to its various festivals.
  • See Tickets operates in ten European countries and the USA, with 25 million tickets sold in 2019, 27 million in 2021, and 39 million in 2022.
  • The part of the company that Vivendi plans to sell represents around 150 million euros in sales and has 600 employees.
  • Competitor Ticketmaster sold 500 million tickets in 70 countries in the previous year.
  • Should See Tickets be sold, this would mark the disappearance of the last major French player in the ticketing sector, with Germany's CTS Eventim holding 65% of France Billet (FNAC Darty group) and Ticketmaster owned by Live Nation since 2010.
Concerts: France remains the cheapest country, but international stars are going through the roof - 20/06/2023
  • change in ticket prices from 2019 to 2023: +13.6
  • Increase in top ticket prices for Zenith halls, arenas and stadiums (2022-2023): +18% (seating capacity over 6,000) and +23% (stadiums)
  • Highest ticket prices: 70 euros (capacity over 6,000) and 137 euros (stadiums)
  • Global stars' fees: 149 euros on average (premium category) vs. 106 for French-speaking artists
  • Increase in first prices for venues with 1,500 to 6,000 seats: +22% (23 euros)
  • Comparison of international tour prices in Europe and the U.S.: for example, Muse in 2023 - France: 62 euros, Switzerland: 140 euros, U.S.: 115 euros
  • price differential for premium categories:
    • Madonna - France: 650 euros, England: 1,124 euros, United States: 2,555 euros;
    • Beyoncé - France: 450 euros, Germany: 499 euros, United States: 982 euros
  • Prices for festivals with more than 30,000 spectators per day:
    • France: less than 80 euros, England: 118 euros, Spain: 125 euros, Belgium: 127 euros.

Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

Vivendi
Live Nation France
Eventbrite
Viagogo
Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH

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