09.01.26
TJ Chambers
© shutterstock.com
After this summer’s extended re-posting (and navel gazing) of five-year old scribbles [Five Years Ago … (Part #1) The Nationalisation of Live? – https://tjchambers.blog/2025/04/18/five-years-ago-the-nationalisation-of-live-2020/; Five Years Ago … (Part #2) Refunds, Cashflow and Live Entertainment M&A – https://tjchambers.blog/2025/07/25/five-years-on-part-2-refunds-cashflow-and-live-entertainment-ma/; Five Years Ago … (Part #3) Post-Lockdown: Remote-Experiences; the ‘Gig Economy’; Follow the Mon€y and the Disruption of Live – https://tjchambers.blog/2025/07/27/five-years-ago-part-3-post-lockdown-remote-experiences-the-gig-economy-follow-the-money-and-the-disruption-of-live/; Five Years Ago … (Part #4) Peak Bleak – https://tjchambers.blog/2025/07/29/five-years-ago-part-4-peak-bleak/; and, Five Years Ago … (Part #5) What future is there for Concerts, Festivals and Events? – https://tjchambers.blog/2025/07/31/five-years-ago-part-5-what-future-is-there-for-concerts-festivals-and-events/], what, if anything, within the live entertainment and ticketing sectors has changed since 2020?
Learning to live (and die) with the virus
Firstly, there was the dreadful human loss and suffering caused by the coronavirus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an end of the ‘global health emergency’ on the 5th May 2023, by which time the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed 227,000 people had died in the UK with COVID-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificate.
(c) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274
The rollout of coronavirus vaccines began in the UK on 9th December 2020 with approx. 176M vaccine doses administered up to May 2023.
Despite that herculean effort, the respiratory infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to kill, with 252 fatalities with COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate in August 2025 (https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/covid-19), 344 in September, 688 in October, 448 in November, on and on it relentlessly wastes.
It is also important to note the isolating impact that the environmental lockdowns had on the elderly, those living by themselves, or young people who were at a pivotal stage of their lives and educational journey, with the repercussions still felt in our homes, schools, and wider society today.
And lastly many people are now living with an oft ill-diagnosed ‘long covid syndrome’ whose symptoms include fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath and sleep disorder.
So, the death, mental and physical distress of the pandemic continues.
Post-pandemic political disconnection
Secondly, despite the rapid deployment of vaccines, the UK government’s response to COVID-19 has been associated with controversy, not only because of an extraordinarily high death rate, but also because of allegations of cronyism and corruption surrounding the acquisition of PPE supplies, the granting of government service contracts, or the administration of various grants and bailouts.
The disruption of the pandemic has also inflamed a broader debate about trust in the political process with a widespread perception of politicians being self-serving and prioritising their own interests over that of the wellbeing of the wider public.
This disconnection with their political representatives is revealed by repeatedly low levels of voter turnout and is also driving the fragmentation of traditional political structures into populist parties, single-issue or fringe-interest groups.
Concerns about ‘dark-money’, campaign financing and social-media manipulation are all layered onto the pre-existing nationalistic Brexit and racist anti-migrant sentiment, and is being continuously fuelled by a hateful, right-wing media, which feeds on the growing disparity of the economic underclass and the alt-reality exclaimed by free-market billionaire evangelists.
The rise, and rise, of private equity
Alongside the macro-economic disruption of the pandemic and specifically within the live entertainment and leisure industries, the suspension and then (eventual) relaunch of events placed a severe strain upon cash reserves or continued access to capital for freelancers, agencies, and SMEs who underpin much of the ecosystem.
Initially there were no events or public assembly, which meant no need for IRL artists, event staff, crew, or security or even for venues to be open, before the gradual easing of UK Government restrictions in the summer/autumn of 2021, following the results of the Events Research Programme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-on-the-events-research-programme/information-on-the-events-research-programme).
However, for many sole traders, the self-employed or small-scale operators, savings were demolished, and many were forced to rethink careers and/or migrate to other industries.
Larger organisations struggled by suspending operations, utilising the Government furlough schemes or downsized. Whilst others sought loans, refinancing or attempted to find a corporate ‘safe harbour’ which meant that the scale of M&A in the sector has risen dramatically.
With the intensified cashflow demands of the post-pandemic relaunch there was a notable increased level of sector consolidation which attracted the interest of Private Equity.
PE now dominates ownership structures of leading international live entertainment conglomerates and rights owners e.g. Ambassador Theatre Group (Providence Equity + Blackstone), Big Tree Entertainment inc. BookMyShow (Accel + Network 18 + Saif Partners + Stripes Group + TPG Growth), Cirque Du Soliel (Catalyst Capital Group), Endeavor Group Holdings (Siver Lake), Formula 1 (Liberty Live Group), La Liga (Spain) (CVC Capital Partners), Learfield (Silver Lake), Ligue de Football Professionnel (France) (CVC Capital Partners), Live Nation Entertainment (Liberty Live Group) Oak View Group (Silver Lake), Merlin Entertainments (KIRBI + Blackstone + CPPIB), MSG Sports (Silver Lake), NEC Group (Blackstone), Premiership Rugby (England) (CVC Capital Partners), Superstruct Entertainment (KKR + CVC Capital Partners), TEG (Ticketek Entertainment Group) (Silver Lake), etc.
The splintering of entertainment service structures
An additional consequence of the pandemic-downsizing meant that organisations were less able to automatically bounce-back as most curtailed the scale of operations and/or jettisoned a level of skillset and expertise.
So, corporations increasingly looked to white-label AI technology solutions and low-cost service providers to back-fill operational needs, and viewed the use of freelancers, agencies and zero-hours contracts as an effective and flexible cost-control mechanism, especially given the fear that another pandemic, or business downturn, should occur.
The accelerated adoption of AI systems into previously ‘white-collar’ processes whether event creation, curation and discovery, access control and audience identification, content management and data analytics, or show settlement is displacing and/or replacing personnel whilst delivering an increasingly anonymised and automated white-label MVP service provision.
Similarly, the contraction and then externalisation of services by the major operators has forced supporting agencies, and freelancers/solopreneurs to increasingly compete on price with not enough consistent work leading many commentators to state that the conventional agency model is toast.
The concert-economy is therefore increasingly reliant on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees, with implications for the future wellbeing of the sector. (See: ‘A Booming Live Music Industry Looks For Its Next Workforce’, Drew Millard, 2nd January 2026, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-02/as-touring-booms-the-live-music-industry-looks-for-its-next-workforce)
State-of-the-nation
With regards to the post-pandemic relaunch, not all sectors have been as successful as others, with theme parks, tourist attractions and museums, struggling to match 2019 levels of attendance.
The ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions) reported that the total number of visits to the top 400 ALVA sites in 2024 was 157.2 million, which was a 3.4% increase on the previous year (2023) but which still represented a decline of 8.8% on the 169.7 million visits in 2019 to then top 386 ALVA sites (https://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=403&codeid=886).
Similarly, cinema has been fundamentally disrupted by the seductive convenience of streaming services, especially when combined with home delivery food and beverages, with the UK Cinema Association reporting 176.1 million admissions in 2019 falling to 126.5 million in 2024 (https://www.cinemauk.org.uk/the-industry/facts-and-figures/uk-cinema-admissions-and-box-office/annual-admissions/).
Within the performing arts, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre reported that more than 37 million attended its member venues across the UK in 2024, with West End revenues surpassing £1 billion for the first time and the West End attendance growing by 11 per cent Y-O-Y to 17.1 million in 2024 (https://solt.co.uk/londons-west-end-a-cultural-and-economic-powerhouse/).
However, the theatrical trade associations reported that many organisations faced mounting pressures due to rising costs and long-term underinvestment, with nearly a third posting deficits in the past twelve months, and with a similar number anticipating shortfalls in 2025.
SOLT and UK Theatre further stated that ‘direct state intervention is urgently required to safeguard a lucrative and vital sector’.
More positively, within the sports sector, Two Circles (https://twocircles.com/gb/), reported that attendances of professional sports events in the UK hit 77.7 million in 2024 – a rise of 27% over the past decade, noting that ‘This growth comes despite some areas of the discretionary leisure sector feeling the pinch, as consumers cut back on non-essential goods’ (https://twocircles.com/gb/articles/2024-sports-attendance-review-uk-edition/).
Two Circles further noted that football, including lower men’s leagues and the women’s football, dominated with 55 million total attendances, of which the Premier League attracted 14.8 million consistently selling out stadia with occupancy rates of 97%.
© TwoCircles 2024
And perhaps the most impressive, post-pandemic relaunch has been by the UK live music industry which has experienced a significant recovery with revenues exceeding £6.7Bn for the first time in 2024 – a 48.5% increase in total market spend since 2019.
Initially there was the backlog of covid-postponed and/or rescheduled tours and then the desire from many artists and attractions to replenish their live earnings following two, or more, fallow years, was enthusiastically embraced by the various support agencies of promoters, venues, and other event rights owners.
The period since has seen the overall number of events increase, but the revenue growth has far outstripped that, in part due to the higher ticket prices now being charged, especially by the increased number of larger scale arena and stadium dates from artists such Beyoncé, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Oasis, and Taylor Swift etc. – conversely successful in part due to a perceived scarcity of artist experiences, at least in the immediate/short term. Additionally, event awareness and the FOMO-fuelled social value attributable to the live experience, has in part been reflective of the success of streaming and social media apps.
The industry has been quick to identify the increased costs of energy, labour and logistics as significant and sector-specific factors, but in 2024 the average ticket price increased by 9.5% whilst local inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index ran at 2.5%.
© LIVE Annual Report & Economic Highlights 2024
Indeed, over the past 20 years, average ticket prices have soared by 237%, far outpacing general inflation and wage growth (Concert ticket prices have soared 237% in 20 years, new study finds, Aiden Baxter, 18th August 2025 – https://thefestivals.uk/concert-ticket-prices-have-soared-237-in-20-years-new-study-finds/).
Factors that have contributed to these price hikes include the shift towards larger scale arena shows – the existing network of 5,000+ capacity UK arenas include; P&J Live, Aberdeen; SSE Arena, Belfast; BP Pulse Arena, Birmingham; Utilita Arena, Birmingham; Bournemouth International Centre; Braehead Arena, Scotland; Brighton Centre; Cardiff International Arena; Derby Arena; OVO Hydro, Glasgow; First Direct Arena, Leeds; M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool; The O2 Arena, London; The OVO Arena, London; The AO Arena, Manchester, Co-op Live, Manchester; Utilita Arena, Newcastle; Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham; and the Utilita Arena, Sheffield, with new arenas also planned for Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh) and the widescale adoption of yield management strategies (price-differential by ticket product type, location and time-of-purchase etc.), and market-based comparable pricing to combat secondary profiteering.
And so long as the industry continues to proclaim record-setting revenues, and whilst the audiences continue to pay ever-higher prices, there is obviously no problem.
The increasing focus on incremental revenues, and the ‘superfan’
Post-pandemic, across all forms of live entertainment there has been a two-ponged focus on their individual sector relaunch, firstly with an attempt to attract returning audiences, and secondly, to maximise the monetization of event revenues.
These re-pricing initiatives include:
- bundling – ticket + download / merchandise / memberships etc.
- packaging – up-sales of ticket + food & beverage, accommodation, and/or travel
- increased levels of event-integrated VIP + Hospitality
- the widescale adoption of yield management tools (pricing-by-date: midweek vs weekend; pricing-by-location: stalls vs balcony, festival ‘Golden Circle’, capital vs region; timing: early-bird / standby / walk-up / late-sale discounting; variable scaling: changing the event configuration between performances; ‘slow-ticketing’ – drip-feeding the amount of inventory available via adding shows and/or inventory to ensure demand always exceeds supply etc).
- the use of comparable ticket pricing to secondary marketplace listings (i.e. capturing ‘market value’ for event rights owners)
- implementation of ‘primary gouging’ or ‘surge pricing’ i.e. not dynamic as that requires a link between demand and prices i.e. weak demand = lower prices, stronger demand = higher prices
- and, the push-promotion of ticket insurance to customers enabling them to buy an incremental ‘peace-of-mind’ with a more flexible ticket refund policy
There has also been the focus, by both the recorded and well as live music industry on ‘the superfan’.
Goldman Sach’s influential ‘Music In The Air’ (1st May 2024, https://www.goldmansachs.com/pdfs/insights/pages/music-in-the-air–focus-on-monetisation,-emerging-markets-and-ai–updating-global-music-industry-forecasts-f/music-redaction.pdf) report suggested that the improved monetisation of superfans could represent $3.3bn of incremental revenues by 2030 by launching premium plans for streaming, podcast and/or audiobooks, and the adoption of value-add packages to the live experience.
Whilst the definition of a ‘superfan’ is typically vague, all the industry operators increasing know how to monetise them. So, a key focus for sector growth is not to necessarily develop new audiences (rather the ongoing globalisation of the live music industry – Middle East, Pacific Rim, LATAM and now Africa – will expand the overall market) but to exploit a smaller subsection of the audience. Not just a fan, but a super-fan.
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So, in a brief summary, what has the last five years brought us. Coronavirus. A distrust in politics. The rise, and rise, of Private Equity. A fracturing of support services with a P&L-led belief in AI. An unequal relaunch of culture, leisure and sports, with a live music-industry focus on revenues and how to ‘gouge’ the attendee / fan / patron / supporter / ticket-buyer.
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Until the next time. ‘Happy New Year!’
TJ_Chambers 