Have you ever been watching live music and thought, “Wow, this is better than sex!” If so, you’re probably not alone. According to the newly revealed results of a study called “Power of Live,” respondents were 10% more likely to rank live concert experiences as more “emotionally intense” than having sex.
According to Billboard, the study, conducted by research agency Culture Co-Op on behalf of Live Nation, surveyed trends and behaviors of 22,500 live music fans from 11 different countries, ranging in age from 13 to 65. The study’s “key takeaway” was that “live experiences are in high demand.” Okay, we knew this already…
However, the insights into why live music and other “live experiences” are in such high demand are much more interesting. The study identifies the term “Sensation Deprivation,” which attributes demand for live experiences to decreased in-person stimulus and interaction in an increasingly digital world. The findings show that 73% of respondents want to “experience real life rather than digital life.”
The Power of Live study findings further assert that “live music has become an antidote to lack of personal interaction in the digital age,” with event attendance exploding by 21% between 2016 and 2017.
As the study notes,
Of course, digital life isn’t dying off — but after a decade of all that posting, pinning, tweeting, snapping, and streaming, people are tapped out. They now recognize the importance of the physical world to their quality of life and are recalibrating their lives with more intention. …
Society is becoming more dynamic and blurred—the boxes are breaking down, so painting in broad strokes can be exclusionary. Respondents spanning three generations and five continents all say that music expresses more about who they are as people than their hometowns, religions, political beliefs, race, cultures, or social media profiles.
Respondents also overwhelmingly attested that a recent live music event was an “emotionally intense” experience, with 78% rating their concert experience as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 1-10 scale. The rankings for emotional intensity at concerts were 10% higher than for sex, 27% higher than for streaming music, 26% higher than for sporting events, and 31% higher than for playing video games.
This notably high emotional intensity people feel at concerts was previously tested with a biometric study at a St. Vincent concert. The results of that test showed that people attending concerts experience a significant spike in oxytocin. A similar acute increase in oxytocin has previously been observed as a result of petting puppies.
The results also show that fans are more receptive to advertising and brand messaging when they’re at a live event, with 67% of people surveyed saying they’re more receptive to new ideas when they’re more emotionally engaged. In addition, a whopping 90% of participants said they welcome branding at their live music events so long as they authentically enhance the experience.
It’s important to take the results of this study with a grain of salt. Live Nation, the world’s biggest concert promoter and the company that funded to study, stands to gain a lot by convincing proving the importance and popularity of live events. As we’ve seen this past week, Live Nation is in the business of making money first and foremost, even if it means developing platforms and policies to seemingly aid scalpers in order to get a piece of secondary market ticket sales profits.
However, despite the ethical grey area in which this study was conducted, we can’t say we would’ve answered the questions any differently. Live music is, indeed, better than just about anything else in the world…
[H/T Billboard]
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