5 reasons why live music stays thriving during recessions

• The live music industry is particularly well-positioned to hold up during a recession.
• Goldman Sachs laid out five reasons why the industry has historically been resilient during downturns.
• The firm finds that people prioritize live music, even when spending is tight.

Recession talk is getting louder across Wall Street. But even if the US slips into full-fledged economic downturn, one industry is well-positioned to weather the storm: live music.

That's according to Goldman Sachs, who labeled live music more "recession resilient" than other forms of entertainment.

The firm found that over a 30-year period starting in 1990, the live-music industry saw average growth of 7.3% during recession years, far outpacing other areas of entertainment.

Further, since 1990, spending growth for live entertainment has soared 735%. That outpaces any other form of entertainment, including gambling, sports, and theaters, according to Goldman's analysis of government spending data.

"Historically, the Live Music industry has shown a relatively strong degree of resilience in times of economic volatility," strategists led by Stephen Laszczyk wrote in a Monday note to clients.

The firm went on to detail five reasons why live music is especially resilient.

1. It's a well-established industry

Over the last 30 years, the market for live music has grown less niche and more mainstream, which has helped prop up the industry through economic downturns.

The global live music market was worth around $34.8 billion in 2024, and is expected to swell to $62.5 billion over the next decade, according to an estimate from Custom Market Insights.

"The relatively small base that the industry grew off of combined with the strong secular tailwinds that developed over the years helped drive compounding revenue growth in a way that appeared unaffected by periods of consumer spending weakness," Goldman said.

2. There's a large secondary market that will insulate direct ticket-sellers

There's a big market for people reselling their concert tickets, which has helped insulate the market from weaker consumer spending.

In 2019, secondary ticket brokers took in around $1.3 billion in profits on Live Nation shows, the music events giant estimated.

"We view this profit pool as a cushion that helps absorb declines in consumer spending. For example, in the event of a recession, we would expect that the secondary market would absorb most of the pressure on marginal demand, insulating the underlying profitability of the live music industry," analysts said.

3. Live music has gone global

Live music has spread well beyond Europe and North America, with Latin America and Asia now making up a significant portion of the global demand for concerts. That sprawl has helped insulate the industry when the US economy isn't doing so hot.

4. The industry offers still good value, relatively speaking

While ticket prices have increased faster than the pace of inflation over the last several decades, concerts are still relatively cheap compared to other forms of live entertainment.

The average price to a Top 100 Live Nation concert hovered around $106 in 2022. That was still cheaper than the average ticket to an NFL game, which cost around $258 that year, or the average Broadway show, which cost around $133, according to Goldman's analysis.

"We believe that the relative affordability (and value) of concerts makes live music more recession resistant compared to other higher priced forms of entertainment," the bank wrote.

5. Consumers prioritize live music when spending gets tight

Finally, consumers just can't seem to give up concert experiences, even when there's pressure to tighten their wallets.

Only 6% of people said they would first cut back on live music events if they had to reduce their spending, though 67% would cut back on gambling, while 28% would cut back on sporting events, a 2019 Live Nation survey found.

Live music has also shown no signs of slowing so far this year.

"Indeed, we have yet to see a meaningful slowdown in the high frequency indicators that we follow, including Placer geo-location attendance data at arenas (through the end of February) and Sensor Tower app engagement data for Ticketmaster (through mid-March)," the bank added.