Live music industry revenue worldwide 2014-2025

A recent study exploring the global music industry found that revenues from live music events dropped by nearly 75 percent amid the pandemic in 2020. That year, revenues stood at just 7.32 billion U.S. dollars, and even though this figure almost doubled in 2021, financial figures are not set to recover before 2023.

Concerts amid COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the live music sector as concert venues closed, tours were halted, and festivals rescheduled. But while some events were canceled or postponed indefinitely, others were merely moved online to let music lovers enjoy performances by their favorite artists in a socially distant manner. In Europe, for example, the share of festivalgoers who watched a live music stream during coronavirus lockdowns stood at 60 percent, with a similar share of survey respondents stating they would happily pay to do so. Live stream concerts have become popular alternatives to in-person shows in recent years, and while some artists uploaded pre-recorded concert films to video streaming platforms, others took the virtual stage in gaming apps Fortnite or Roblox.

Most successful live music tours

The live music sector awoke from a deep slumber in 2021 as social distancing measures were loosened and travel bans lifted in many parts of the world. Looking at the top-grossing concert tours that year, The Rolling Stones came out on top with earnings of 115.5 million U.S. dollars. The group’s “No Filter” tour, postponed from 2020, sold approximately 516 thousand tickets for concerts across the United States. By comparison, nearly 670 thousand tickets were sold for Harry Styles’ highly anticipated “Love on Tour” shows that year.