🔗 Share this article

Envision finding yourself with a free evening. You feel rejuvenated, ready for adventure, and wanting to break from your typical schedule of evening scrolling. The world offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The response, as is often seen with these types of queries, is obviously: “That depends.” Thinking adults could understandably ask: what's the concert? Who is the partner? Is it going to be good?

Hardly anyone would choose a heavy metal lineup if the other option was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. But adjust either end of the equation, and it grows more complicated. For the participants posed this query through a major concert promoter, no such details was provided – and the response came out decisively and strongly preferring concerts.

Study Data Indicate Surprising Trends

An international report, interviewing 40,000 people aged between 18 and 54 from multiple countries, showed that concerts currently stand as the number one form of entertainment, ranking above athletic events, cinema and – indeed – intimacy. When limited to only one option of entertainment permanently, nearly four in ten picked concerts, versus film attendance (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were more than twice as likely to prefer seeing their favourite artist in concert (70%) instead of sexual activity (30%).

You arrive anticipating pleasantly surprised – and frequently you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Naturally it makes sense that a PR survey conducted for a concert promoter should come out so heavily preferring gigs – and, in the freewheeling spirit of a hypothetical choice, if your top performer is, say an iconic star, one can appreciate why watching him may be chosen rather than a ordinary experience. However this either-or decision between live music or sex, obviously silly even if it seems, is fascinating to reflect on considering the strange point we’re at with each.

The Transformation of Concert Culture

Over the past few years, concert attendance has grown beyond a communal experience but a competitive sport. Major promoters rightly note that arena crowds has “grown significantly year-over-year”, and live events sell out more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now needs extensive preparation, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a high spending capacity). Though you’re successful, that alone won't do to simply turn up and watch the performance. Currently there is an anticipation, particularly with concertgoers, that you can boost your experience quality by going multiple times (even travelling internationally), studying the performance lineup beforehand and memorizing the cues to perform and calls-and-responses created by previous crowds.

Several fans report feeling scarred by their attendance at major tours: what felt like a choreographed performance of massive crowds, to which certain attendees arrived not knowing the protocol. The extended concert series, earning massive sums, was proof of the degree to which people will go to feel part of a significant event and watch their preferred performer play, even if the real performance appears more and more less important than the show.

The State of Modern Intimacy

Sex, conversely – a relatively cheap and accessible pleasure – is in difficult times. According to modern research, approximately 25% of people had sex in an regular period, while nearly 30% were not engaging. In another major country, modern figures showed that over a quarter of adults said they had not sex at all in the last twelve months, rising from lower numbers in previous decades. In both territories, the shift has been linked to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the sector driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the fierce battle for passes. Certainly it isn't straightforward as a straightforward choice between either option – “do you prefer see a major tour often, or avoid intimacy?” – but it might be an sign of how people see the more dependable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Sex and live music are more similar than one may assume. They both embody the activation of a relationship, a actual experience of ideas or promise that might have amassed just in your mind. You arrive with some idea of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out enjoyable or disappointing rests largely on whether your energy and expectations align with others. Regularly you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and following be waiting around for a smoke and personal space on your own. Similarly for each, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the situation (but definitely make the most unpleasant occasions more bearable).

Achieving Equilibrium

The appeal to both gigs and sex relies on locating that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, consistency and change, work and relaxation. Naturally it occurs infrequently – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the understanding that success is achievable, that drives us to give it another shot: to {