August 1st, 2023, Rishad Dsouza
Britons love their live music – according to YouGov Profiles, nearly a third of them say that concerts or live music events are one of their favourite free-time activities (31%). But what types of gigs are likely to draw them in?
When it comes to live music, pop (26%) and classic rock (20%) are among the most popular music genres among the British public overall, according to data from a fresh poll conducted via YouGov Surveys. The popularity of pop music is no surprise as the likes of Harry Styles continue to set new attendance records.
Pop music’s popularity is vastly boosted by the younger crowd though, with those aged 18-34 (34%) being 15 percentage points likelier than those aged over 55 (19%) to say they enjoy attending those types of live shows. The genre also enjoys a high standing among middle-aged folk (27%). Classic rock on the other hand enjoys more even popularity across age categories.
Third on the list overall is alternative and indie music, again with a lot of its support coming from a younger crowd. In fact, consumers aged 18-34 are three times likelier than those aged over 55 to enjoy attending indie gigs (27% vs 9%). Even middle-aged audiences are over twice as likely as older consumers to enjoy attending indie gigs (22%).
Classical music (18%) is one of only two categories - Blues being the other – of live shows with a significantly higher rate of appeal among those aged 55 and up (19% of 55+ vs 12% of 18-34 and 11% of 35-54).
Hard rock is the next genre on the overall list, enjoyed by about one in eight Britons with relatively even distribution across age groups. It is perhaps surprising to note that hard rock and heavy metal (10% overall) trail classic rock in popularity rather significantly.
R&B music, although followed by just over a tenth of Britons overall (11%), seems to be creeping up in popularity among the younger adults. Nearly a fifth of those aged 18-34 say they enjoy concerts featuring this music.
About a tenth of all British adults also enjoy attending Blues, Jazz and Country concerts, respectively (9%). Blues is the only genre other than classical with a significantly higher preference share among those aged over 55 (11%).
The changing winds in the world of live music is most evident in rap music (7% overall). Where 15% of those aged 18-34 would enjoy shows in this genre, it scores naught among the 55+ crowd, despite some in this age group experiencing the golden age of hip-hop in their formative years.
Reggae (6%), techno/trance (6%) and EDM (4%) bring up the last few slots. Techno/trance and EDM shows fare only marginally better than rap music among the older aged bracket (1%). While being significantly more popular among the young adults group, they still secure only a very niche share within this group.
Looking at the data by gender shows that women are nearly twice as likely as men to enjoy pop music live shows (33% vs 18%). Men over-index on the rock family of music genres – classic rock (23% men vs 17% women), hard rock (16% men vs 10% women) and heavy metal (14% vs 6%).
Noting these differences can help promoters, venues and music tour organisers plan better to better accommodate the needs of the audiences they are likely to play host to.
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