Are Smartphones Ruining Concerts? Or is Something Else Going On?

Millennials and Generation Z browse on their smartphones for 87 hours every month. Given the way that they use phones in concerts, are we surprised by this figure? For many in the music industry, it’s becoming passé to talk about. So much money in mobile…but how do you access it…yada…yada…yada.

Retailers are watching the trend like hawks. And recently, mobile ad firm Zenith reported that,

“…At the current rate of growth, mobile devices will account for 75% of all internet use in 2017 globally.”

This is huge. Phones aren’t going away; in fact they are becoming increasingly integrated into our lives. But we’ve tried different approaches, from artist apps to partnerships with large media platforms, and now to VR. The problem ultimately comes down to how fans are using their phones when real-world problems arise.

Artists Say “Put Away the Phones”

Adele Photo: Adele Stops Her Performance To Admonish Filming Fan | TODAY Katy Perry Photo: John Shearer/Invision/AP

The trouble is that many artists are at a loss when it comes to fan interaction with phones in the real-world concert experience. Or at best, they’re in a love/hate relationship.

Artists are unhappy, even angered, when their fans would rather record performances with their phones instead of experience live as live.

Artists like Adele, Beyonce, Slipknot and Justin Bieber have lost patience with fans and their phones, often resulting in overblown news reports of the confrontations. Adele shared her perspective with a front row fan, “I know you’re taking a picture, but I’m talking to you in real life.”

Yet, we’ve also all felt the thrill of seeing thousands of phone LEDs held aloft to share a collective moment of live performance music history.

Should Artists be Mad?

I think that artists are frustrated when they look down at a sea of fans overly engaged with their smartphones because they don’t know what to do about it. Should artists be mad about it? The short answer is yes, but when you step back and look at the reasoning backing these recordings, artists may want to reconsider their stance. More and more evidence is pointing towards embracing a mobile music tech strategy rather than attempting crusade against it.

So What are Fans Actually Doing on Their Phones?

According to a Billboard article written by Donnie Dinch, General Manager of Consumer at Ticketfly, 31% of Millennials (18 to 34 year olds) are on their phones for at least half of a concert. Which is a significant amount of concert goers compared to the minority of 15% of Millennials who reported never using their phones. Why are they spending so much time on their phones during a live event which they paid attend?

Millennials are doing exactly what my grandfather would guess they are doing, “putting it on social media.” Results from Harris Interactive’s poll for Billboard show that Millennials are posting to social media platforms, fueling their social networks’ FOMO (fear of missing out). Billboard reported 40% of females and 24% of males are recording the show not for personal record but to fuel these FOMO fires. Evidently, 59% of females are more likely to post these recordings to social, than men.

Its logical for an artist to feel under-appreciated because the entire audience is on their smartphones, but it is increasing their social exposure drastically. Increasing social exposure is difficult for many, regardless of having a well developed mobile fan engagement strategy paired with a large fan club. The typical concert connoisseur has a notably high average of 356 followers/friends on Facebook. If artists don’t take a seat on the mobile bandwagon and develop a music tech strategy they will quickly be left in the analog wasteland.

Sources:

Owsinski, Bobby. “Smartphones And Concerts Are Tied At The Hip.” Forbes. July 31, 2015. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2015/07/31/smartphones-and-concerts-are-tied-at-the-hip/2/#60e149ad36fa

Dinch, Donnie. “Millennials Stare at Their Phones for 30 Percent of Live Shows, and Other Revenue Opportunities: Op-Ed.” Billboard. July 23, 2015. http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6641809/millennials-stare-at-their-phones-for-30-percent-of-live-shows-and-other?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Digital%20Update&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_term=biz_digital

BI Intelligence. “Here is eMarketer’s deep dive into worldwide mobile phone and smartphone usage.” Business Insider. February 4, 2017. http://www.businessinsider.com/here-is-emarketers-deep-dive-into-worldwide-mobile-phone-and-smartphone-usage-2017-2

Chaffey, Dave. “Mobile Marketing Statistics compilation.” Smart Insights. March 1, 2017


Originally published at blog.nymbusmedia.com.

Smart Concerts

Michael Claricurzio

Written by

Smart Concerts

Artist, brand and live fan relationships in a connected world.

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