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Concerts hold the ‘key to happiness’, study finds

A Trendera/StubHub survey of 18–45-year-olds in 20 cities worldwide reveals 62% of people say seeing live music makes them happy—more than games, sports and social media

By IQ on 19 Oct 2016

Concert crowd, StubHub/Trendera happiness survey

Almost two thirds of people say seeing live music makes them happy, with under-45s worldwide choosing going to a concert over playing video games or using social media as their favourite leisure activity, new research reveals.

A new study, Live Experiences Hold the Key to Happiness (commissioned by StubHub and undertaken by market research firm Trendera), found 62% of people said attending a concert makes them happy – more than the 49% who found happiness playing video games and 47% from spending time on social media.

Festivals are second in terms of live events, with 51% of respondents saying they make them happy, and sports third, at 49%.

And when split by gender, women are “more musically inclined”, says the report, with 66% of female respondents saying concerts make them happy, versus 58% of men.

“People are placing a premium on live events [and] sharing a surprising willingness to give up basic human comforts for up-close-and-personal experiences with their favourite artists”

Although an earlier survey of 1,000 Australians, by researchers at Deakin University in Victoria, found the wellbeing of those who attend concerts is “significantly higher” than people who don’t, StubHub/Trendera’s study cast the net wider, surveying 2,000 18- to 45-year-olds in 20 cities: New York; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Dallas; Boston, Massachusetts; Miami; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, DC; Barcelona; London; Paris; Berlin; Madrid; Lima; Mexico City; Rio de Janeiro; Rome; Sydney; and Toronto.

Among StubHub/Trendera’s other findings are that 75% of people cite “making unforgettable memories” as the best part about attending a live event; that an average of 40% of respondents would travel internationally for a live event (27% of Americans and 51% of those outside the US); that people would rather to a gig with Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump; and that 45% of people would work on a public holiday, 11% would give up toilet paper for a week and 7% would break up with their partner to see their favourite artist live (see below infographic).

StubHub infographic, What would you give up

“One of the biggest trends we’re seeing at StubHub is that live experiences are an increasingly valuable way to enrich people’s lives, especially because of the incredible memories they create,” says Jess Tassell, StubHub’s director of ‘think’. “Around the world, people are placing a premium on live events, participating more and more in the so-called experience economy and sharing a surprising willingness to give up basic human comforts for up-close-and-personal experiences with their favourite artists and athletes.”

Read the full report on the StubHub website.

 


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