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Entertainment and culture marketing agency Bolster Group and ethical ticket resale platform, Tixel yesterday announced the release of the inaugural All Options Open -Ticketing State of Play 2022 research report.

The music and events industry is in the thick of a COVID rebound and it’s a wildly different environment than it was at the beginning of 2020. The report draws on the preferences and behaviours of more than1200 ticket consumers and in-depth interviews with music and events industry experts to provide a thorough understanding of today’s event-goer.

According to an Ernst & Young report, Australia’s contemporary music sector drove $835-million in ticket sales revenue in 2019 from 8.3-million attendances. We were riding the summer high and as Sharlene Harris, National Entertainment Manager for ALH Group, so aptly put it “2020. We were on a roll, weren't we? Sure felt like it.”

Tixel notes that “today, we sit on the cusp of Australia’s peak summer ticket selling period and we’re faced with a distinctly evolved consumer.”

According to the research, 71% of event goers reported having changed their ticket purchase behaviour following the pandemic (some buying more tickets, some less, others just buying differently) and pandemic-related cancellations and postponements have made half of us think twice about buying tickets (For Gen Z, this is more like 70%).

The shift to a Flexi Economy has seen consumer expectations commandeer the policies of airlines, accommodation providers, and gyms, and the same rings true for the events world — a huge 84% of event goers are more likely to purchase tickets knowing they can easily resell them later, and 41% of event goers will think twice about buying a ticket to an event that doesn't allow easy resale.

Jason Webb, Cofounder, Tixel shares “today’s ticket is considered by many as an option, not a commitment. Especially with 18-25 year olds. Their mindset isn’t BNPL, it’s BNDL — Buy Now, Decide Later.

“And they feel secure in the knowledge that if they change their mind or plans change, they can sell the ticket and move on. There’s a level of fluidity in tickets today that we’ve not seen before, driven primarily by consumer desire for flexibility.”

Another captivating part of the report is the five self-identified personas that buyers take on when sourcing tickets. The most common buyer type that emerged was the Early Birds (42%) who pounce on pre-sales to save money or avoid missing out, followed by the Group Organiser (22%) who rallies their friends and typically buys more than one ticket. There’s also Bet Hedgers, Window Watchers and Procrastinators.

Tixel adds “when it comes to selling tickets, FOMO really means FOSO. Our data showed it’s a fear of the sell-out that drives the majority of early buying and presale activity. People generally have an underlying confidence that they can unearth themselves a ticket later so they don’t miss out on the show, but if their sell-out sixth sense tells them that a certain event is gonna sell quickly, it’s by far the main motivator to act on a presale/onsale day even above getting a cheaper early bird ticket.”

Maximising the onsale helps offset effects of the delayed purchase cycle Tixel are seeing from the remainder of punters.

In terms of what drives overall attendance, it’s really on-stage talent and knowing you’ll have friends there. 91% of event goers need to love the artist/s performing to pull the trigger on a ticket, and 62% want to go with friends. And by the way, a lineup video alone is enough to sway 65% of event goers into purchase, so it’s critical to get the artists right (for your target audience) and the editing suite primed.

Darren Levin, Head of Strategy & Solutions, Bolster Group adds “we know audiences are typically buying later, much later, but this report takes a deeper look at why. As we head into a turbulent summer period, we hope this report arms you with all the info you need to get a handle on an ever-evolving audience. We could think of no better partner than Tixel, who have witnessed similar market shifts first hand, and we hope to build on this research year on year.”

The research report explored “How do we sell tickets to a buyer who wants to keep their options open, follow their friends, and change their minds? But also one who wants a ticket to that hot, sold out show - and then how do we ensure they actually turn up?”

These are some of the questions we set out to answer and while the above represents just a portion of the findings, anyone is welcome to download the full report by visiting tixel.com/blog/ticketing-state-of-play

Report methodology: Tixel and Bolster surveyed over 1,200 event goers in September 2022 in Australia, including a control group and select in-depth consumer interviews, as well as interviewing key music industry experts — Sharlene Harris (ALH Group), Seth Clancy (Oztix), Casey Katz (Untitled Group), Nick O'Byrne (Look Out Kid), Sam Adams Nye (Humanitix), and Taylor James (Lemon Tree Music).

Founded in 2015, Bolster has delivered digital solutions to some of Australia’s most loved events and festivals including Splendour In The Grass, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Groovin The Moo, Spilt Milk, MIFF and Sydney Film Festival.

Tixel is a marketplace for tickets to the hottest events. Tixel effortlessly handles transactions between fans in a safe and honest manner, helping to get more people to the shows, festivals and matches they love. Founded in Australia in 2018, partners include leading festivals and promoters such as Beyond the Valley, Boardmasters, Dekmantel, Strawberry Fields, and Corner Hotel, artists such as The Teskey Brothers, and primary ticketing platforms Eventbrite, Humanitix, and Oztix. Investors include Future Classic, Galileo Ventures, I OH YOU, Rose Avenue and UNIFIED Music Group. 

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