In recent decades, accelerated by the coming of age of the millennial generation, there has been a shift toward favoring life experience over material goods, according to Clover Leaf Capital Corp.

Numerous studies have found that spending money on life experiences brings people more lasting joy than spending the same amount on physical goods. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) attributable to arts, entertainment, recreation, lodging and food services was nearly $1.6 trillion in 2019, up from $979 billion a decade ago.

In addition, the rise of streaming music services in the mid-2000s forced artists to rely increasingly on generating revenue from touring rather than album sales. 

With less revenue from album sales, artists have turned to additional live performances to fill the void. 

This shift in behavior has resulted in an increasing number of multi-city music tours and festivals, with the top 100 North American tours grossing more than $3.7 billion in 2019, nearly $1 billion more than in 2015, according to Pollstar’s 2019 State of the Concert Business business analysis. 

Clover Leaf Capital Corp believes that the rise of the «Experience Economy,» coupled with the dynamics of artists being financially incentivized to tour, has created a virtuous cycle of supply and demand.

Life experience

Buyers increasingly value flexibility and the ability to attend the events they want without having to plan months in advance. 

The secondary ticketing market supports buyers by providing them with a liquid, efficient and flexible mechanism to purchase tickets at their convenience. 

Many tickets are initially offered well in advance of the event date and are often included as part of larger packages, such as season tickets. 

These distribution practices can limit convenience and consumer choice, as buyers are asked to commit to plans and make a financial outlay months before the event.

The secondary ticketing market for live events alleviates these problems by allowing buyers the flexibility to purchase tickets when they want, sometimes hours before an event, and to attend otherwise sold-out events.