Music Companies Are Asking Superfans to Spend More — But Can They Afford to?

As growth slows in large, developed markets, music companies are looking elsewhere for opportunities. Increasingly, companies are targeting superfans, the most fervent and high-spending of music consumers, to provide those revenue gains.  

The Pareto Principle says that roughly 20% of customers provide 80% of a company’s revenue. Whatever the breakdown, music companies are expecting more from a small subset of big spenders. Concert promoter Live Nation wants premium offerings such as VIP boxes to increase to 30% to 35% of its amphitheater business from the current 9%, president/CEO Michael Rapino told investors during the company’s Feb. 22 earnings call. Earlier this year, the heads of Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group revealed their desire to offer new types of services and products for the most fervent of music fans.  

Coming out of the pandemic, people — especially younger consumers — spent money “as a way to make up for lost time” and, later, to cope with stress, Intuit Credit Karma, a financial management platform, explained. Consulting firm McKinsey & Company calls this behavior “selective splurging.” According to a November 2023 global survey by McKinsey, 20% of all consumers planned to splurge on out-of-home entertainment such as concerts — less than restaurants (38%), apparel (34%) and travel (28%). 

More than two in five Gen Z consumers (42%) spent more on live concerts than before the pandemic, according to a September 2023 survey by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma. That was well above Millennials (34%), Gen X (19%) and Baby Boomers (11%). Last year, music fans paid high prices to see the two biggest cultural events: tours by Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Fittingly, Swift’s The Eras Tour was sponsored by Capital One, and some fans signed up for their first credit card as a result.  

A couple of years after pandemic restrictions ended, though, consumers have a spending hangover and seem less willing to reach deeper into their pockets. Ample data suggest that consumers are increasingly stressed from high prices — U.S. inflation rose to 3.5% in March from 3.2% in February — and the ending of pandemic-era forbearances that allowed people to put off payments on their mortgages and student loans.  

Splurging has given way to focusing on the basics. Consumers intend to spend more than usual on essentials such as gasoline, groceries, produce and pet food, as well as health and fitness, in the next three months, according to a McKinsey survey in February. In contrast, consumers intend to spend less on discretionary items: entertainment, domestic flights, hotel and resort stays, home improvement and alcoholic beverages. Luxuries such as jewelry, furniture and home decorations have the biggest gap between spenders and savers.

Rising debt is one reason consumers are pulling back on spending. In the United States, the ratio of credit cards and auto loans becoming past due by 90 days or more exceeds pre-pandemic levels. Delinquency rates are especially bad for younger consumers who are most likely to spend money on concerts and entertainment. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Gen Z delinquency transition rate — transitioning into delinquency — reached 11.86% compared to 8.53% in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the New York Federal Reserve. Millennials’ delinquency transition rate rose to 9.56% from 6.53% two years earlier. Gen X and Baby Boomers’ delinquencies are also trending up but faring better (7.01% and 4.78%, respectively).  

For many young consumers who have taken on debt, 2024 will be a year to pull back. A third of Millennials and Gen Z say they have a shopping addiction, according to a survey by Qualtrics for Intuit Credit Karma conducted in February and March of this year. About three-quarters of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed by Qualtrics say they plan to change how they spend money. A full 20% of them said 2024 will be a “no buy year,” a recent trend where people swear off spending except to replace items, and 56% said they will have a “low buy year,” meaning they will reduce shopping significantly.  

Credit card debt is nothing new, though, and some experts believe consumers can take it in stride. Although credit card balances increased in 2023, consumers “largely still have the wherewithal to repay their existing obligations,” according to credit monitoring service Experian. In fact, the average FICO credit score improved to 715 in 2023 from 714 in 2022 despite the average credit card balance increasing 10%. In February, credit ratings agency Fitch revised its forecast for U.S. real (adjusted for inflation) consumer spending to 1.3% from 0.6%, largely on the belief that consumers will draw down savings throughout the year.  

High-priced concert tickets and experiences might be out of the question, but superfan spending is also more mundane. Artists routinely put out new albums with multiple CD and vinyl LP variants knowing that their most hardcore fans consider them to be collectibles (and purchase them to help their favorite artists top the charts). Swift’s 2022 album Midnights had 20 different versions across all physical formats. Those album sales accounted for 1.14 million of the 1.58 million units sold in its first week of release. At $20 or $30 apiece, supporting a favorite artist doesn’t require going into debt.

Music isn’t a necessity like food and shelter, but it’s proved to be both recession-proof and pandemic-proof. Regardless of the rises and falls in consumer sentiment, inflation rates and unemployment trends, people will spend money on music. But the broader trends around consumer spending may mean that the growth the music business hopes to reap from those superfans may not be as lucrative, at least for now, as they may have hoped.

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