Sign up for IQ Index
The latest industry news to your inbox.
The world’s leading promoters & the 55 top markets they operate in.
Click the interactive map below to explore the top 55 global markets.
Following one of the world’s lengthiest and most restrictive Covid lockdowns, China’s live music industry began welcoming international touring again in 2022-3
after concentrating on domestic acts for much of the pandemic.
And there’s huge confidence in the country, with the China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) reporting that revenue from nationwide live shows during the first five months of the year already exceeded $1.53bn. Statista’s projections are that event ticket revenue will reach up to $10.5bn by 2027.
Damai, the largest entertainment ticketing website in China, revealed that in February and March, its box office for concerts was up 127% compared to the same period in 2019. Also in February and March, ticket-buyers on the platform were up 87%, and the volume of events on the platform tripled compared to the same period in 2019.
CAPA expects the number of concerts and music festivals to surpass those held in 2019 and predicted “explosive growth” in large-scale performance activities this year.
CAPA expects the number of concerts and music festivals to surpass those held in 2019 and predicted “explosive growth” in large-scale performance activities this year.
While the major promoters in the region – Live Nation, AEG Presents, Taihe Music Group, and ACOrange – have been focussed on Chinese acts of late, they have brought the likes of Taiwan’s Yoga Lin and Westlife to the nation’s arenas in 2023, while Suede, Corinne Baily Rae, and Jessie J are set to play Macau’s KoolTai festival in November courtesy of Chessman Entertainment Production.
“I know that a lot of huge international stars are now planning their Asia tours, with China being included,” Shine Zhou, VP of AEG Presents Asia told the International Ticketing Report. “In time, we’ll see a lot of overseas artists announcing their shows in China.”
China’s festival market is also booming, with Damai reporting it sold tickets to 106 music festivals in February and March alone. It says box office sales increased by 11 times compared with the same period in 2019.
“In time, we’ll see a lot of overseas artists announcing their shows in China.”
In the meantime, the local music scene has boomed, with the Livehouse chain of venues – ranging from 100- to 3,000-capacities across China – seeing a threefold increase in ticket sales in the past six years. “This has become a part of the lifestyle for the younger generation and will continue to grow,” Edward Liu, MD of Live Nation China, told us last year. “This more-established infrastructure helps the local emerging acts to quickly expand their fanbase, and international acts can also tour more markets in the future.”
China has a very different marketing landscape to many other countries, with Live Nation’s Ones To Watch video service and region-specific platforms, such as Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, and Red, key to reaching the ticket-buying public.