Last Minute Ticket Buying: Eventbrite Releases Study At NIVA ‘24

With ticketing issues top of mind during NIVA ’24, conference partner Eventbrite released Eventbrite’s Music Edit 24 offering a look into the evolving music taste and behavior patterns of concertgoers and music enthusiasts. 

The statistics, which were released on the first day of the three-day confab of independent live venues, promoters and festivals, were taken from Eventbrite platforms including event, website and app data. The information compares U.S. music event data from January to April 2024 to the same period in 2022 and 2023. 

According to the report, fans are purchasing tickets at the last minute. The average time between ticket purchase and show date is down 26 percent from 2022 to 2024. So far in 2024, 57 percent of tickets were sold a week or less before a show. In response, venues and promoters are creating a shorter on-sale window with the average time between on-sale and show date reduced by 41 percent. 

Fan engagement continues to be a priority and revenue source with venues and promoters leaning into bottle service, table reservations and VIP packages as the top add-ons of the fan experience 

Attention to the VIP experience appears to resonate with concertgoers. VIP ticket sales are growing. Shows mentioning “VIP” grew by 26 percent globally on the Eventbrite platform from 2023-2024. Fans are embracing multiple ticketing tiers with the most popular being GA, table, VIP, early bird and ladies.

Niche music events are trending too. Attendance at alternative music shows in the U.S. increased seven times from 2023-2024, with alternative, pop, Latin, blues, jazz and R&B seeing the greatest attendance growth. The most searched subgenres in the U.S. were salsa, house, Soca, K-pop, reggaeton, dancehall, techno, afrobeat, Kompa and bachata.