Live music is in excellent shape. But a great swathe of young people missed out on their formative gig going years during Covid. The truth is that for artists this presents a big opportunity to engage with new fans they might not have had prior to the pandemic. But this also comes at a time when we have one of the worst financial landscapes that the world has seen for many years. We know about the cost of living crisis and how it means people will make choices about what shows to go to and which ones to skip.
This all means the interest and demand for the live experience is massive but so is the competition. Artists need to cut through in a much noisier environment than we’ve ever seen before on social media and digital. My company Creed Media was set up five years ago based on my love of music. Since then, Creed has created and driven over 7,000 successful campaigns and 15 billion engagements with some of the world’s biggest global artists, helping them reach the Gen Z audience. Recorded music was our starting point but more and more live is a major part of our business.
So how can you have a competitive advantage? You have to market a show and communicate about it in a clearer way than ever before. You want to sell out of course. But It’s not just about having a sold out show or tour. By reaching fans with a really smart digital campaign you can have people in the venue that will actively help promote an artist after the show as well. That engagement is the real Holy Grail. It’s much more powerful than just having people paying to go the gig and then becoming passive. It’s a longer term plan for an artist’s career.
Gen Z fans create as well as listen and watch what’s created for them. You can’t do that with a billboard. That kind of marketing still has its place but it’s not right for a certain generation of music fans. They want to feel how they are spoken to is current and fresh in the same way they see their friends and peers posting on socials about a show. What’s important is that when they do like something – be it a brand or a song or a product – they engage in a way that’s never been seen before. Gen Z are the most discerning generation ever and they can’t be fooled by bad marketing. But if it’s done right they offer a really deep and creative engagement. You don’t look at a poster on a wall and think its current– it could have been put up four weeks ago or four years ago.
“There is this misnomer that Gen Z live online. Yes, they grew up with digital but they crave the physical too”
And this approach is not just for emerging artists. Legacy acts have a lot more available content and a back story that can be tapped into to help sell a show. Archive from back in the day is a gift. It’s almost like creating a time machine that will draw in new fans as well as existing ones.
The Gen Z audience do expect to have ideas and content served up to them. They have so much to trawl though that they want you to find them – it’s not the other way around. So as an artist or promoter if you are not putting your story in front of them they have many more choices to go elsewhere than ever before. Demands on their time are immense and live music is a demand on their time – albeit one they enjoy very much. Gen-Zers are twice as likely as millennials to take a sick day from work in order to go to a concert a recent study found – and 43% of Gen Z would give up alcohol for six months for a chance to be front row at their favourite concert!
Finally, there is this misnomer that Gen Z live online. Yes, they grew up with digital but they crave the physical too. They want to experience things, socialise, meet people. They won’t find their first love big or big musical memory from being at a virtual concert. That feeling is not confined to one generation – everyone wants to make those long lasting gig memories.
Timothy Collins is founder and CEO of Stockholm, Sweden-based Creed Media
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How to market live music to Generation Z
Timothy Collins of digital marketing agency Creed Media tackles the challenges of attracting zoomers to concerts
03 Nov 2023
Live music is in excellent shape. But a great swathe of young people missed out on their formative gig going years during Covid. The truth is that for artists this presents a big opportunity to engage with new fans they might not have had prior to the pandemic. But this also comes at a time when we have one of the worst financial landscapes that the world has seen for many years. We know about the cost of living crisis and how it means people will make choices about what shows to go to and which ones to skip.
This all means the interest and demand for the live experience is massive but so is the competition. Artists need to cut through in a much noisier environment than we’ve ever seen before on social media and digital. My company Creed Media was set up five years ago based on my love of music. Since then, Creed has created and driven over 7,000 successful campaigns and 15 billion engagements with some of the world’s biggest global artists, helping them reach the Gen Z audience. Recorded music was our starting point but more and more live is a major part of our business.
So how can you have a competitive advantage? You have to market a show and communicate about it in a clearer way than ever before. You want to sell out of course. But It’s not just about having a sold out show or tour. By reaching fans with a really smart digital campaign you can have people in the venue that will actively help promote an artist after the show as well. That engagement is the real Holy Grail. It’s much more powerful than just having people paying to go the gig and then becoming passive. It’s a longer term plan for an artist’s career.
Gen Z fans create as well as listen and watch what’s created for them. You can’t do that with a billboard. That kind of marketing still has its place but it’s not right for a certain generation of music fans. They want to feel how they are spoken to is current and fresh in the same way they see their friends and peers posting on socials about a show. What’s important is that when they do like something – be it a brand or a song or a product – they engage in a way that’s never been seen before. Gen Z are the most discerning generation ever and they can’t be fooled by bad marketing. But if it’s done right they offer a really deep and creative engagement. You don’t look at a poster on a wall and think its current– it could have been put up four weeks ago or four years ago.
And this approach is not just for emerging artists. Legacy acts have a lot more available content and a back story that can be tapped into to help sell a show. Archive from back in the day is a gift. It’s almost like creating a time machine that will draw in new fans as well as existing ones.
The Gen Z audience do expect to have ideas and content served up to them. They have so much to trawl though that they want you to find them – it’s not the other way around. So as an artist or promoter if you are not putting your story in front of them they have many more choices to go elsewhere than ever before. Demands on their time are immense and live music is a demand on their time – albeit one they enjoy very much. Gen-Zers are twice as likely as millennials to take a sick day from work in order to go to a concert a recent study found – and 43% of Gen Z would give up alcohol for six months for a chance to be front row at their favourite concert!
Finally, there is this misnomer that Gen Z live online. Yes, they grew up with digital but they crave the physical too. They want to experience things, socialise, meet people. They won’t find their first love big or big musical memory from being at a virtual concert. That feeling is not confined to one generation – everyone wants to make those long lasting gig memories.
Timothy Collins is founder and CEO of Stockholm, Sweden-based Creed Media
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.