Eventbrite Releases New Insights That Showcase Millennials' Unique Perspective on Performing and Visual Arts Events

Exclusive Research Finds Technology-Driven Millennials Are a Highly Engaged Audience Willing to Spend on Arts Events


SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - April 16, 2015) - Eventbrite, the global ticketing and events marketplace, today released new research that examines how millennials define, discover, spend on and engage with performing and visual arts events. Eventbrite, which experienced a 54% year-over-year increase in performing and visual arts events, surveyed more than a thousand Americans who attended an event in this category in the past 12 months. The study, "The Art of Attraction: How to Grow Your Millennial Arts Audience," uncovers key insights including:

Millennials Attend and Spend
The millennial generation currently commands an estimated $1.3 trillion in direct annual spending and they are allocating a healthy amount of their disposable income to performing and visual arts events; one in five millennials spend $500 or more in the past year on or at performing arts or visual arts events. They also splurge on souvenirs at these events; one in three millennials said they were likely to buy merchandise, such as posters or apparel, while attending an arts event.

Numerous millennials are apt to prioritize spending on arts events over other discretionary spending. When presented with the question, if you won $1,000 and had to spend it all in the next 12 months, more millennials said they would allocate the money to arts events (50%) than coffee (35%) or alcohol (29%).

Defining and Fueling a New Performing and Visual Arts Experience
Millennials are expanding the definition of 'arts' and 'arts' events: nearly one in three (31%) feel that iPhone photography is considered a visual art, more than half (54%) consider graffiti or street art a visual art, and 43% consider comic books or graphic novels a visual art. While some speculate that millennials are less engaged with the arts, Eventbrite's survey found millennials are often more engaged than boomers and crave a closer, more interactive look at the performing and visual arts world. Forty-three percent of millennials said they would prefer to attend events that incorporate audience participation, while only 29% of boomers feel the same way.

Some millennials take this engagement even further and set out to acquire new skills following arts events. Millennials are more than five times as likely as their boomer counterparts (21% vs. 4%) to take a class related to the arts after attending an event, such as enrolling in dance lessons after visiting the ballet.

Focus on Digital Discovery and Crowdsourced Recommendation
Millennials are more likely than boomers to hear about arts events through online resources like social media (48% vs. 24%), online ads (28% vs. 19%), and blogs (25% vs. 4%). In contrast, boomers are more likely than millennials to learn about arts events through traditional channels, including TV (66% vs. 42%), print (63% vs. 33%) and radio (49% vs. 33%) ads.

When it comes to taking action from reviews, everyone's a critic in millennials' eyes: they are almost equally as likely to attend an arts event because it was recommended on a site such as Yelp (47%) as they would if it was recommended by a critic or reviewer (53%). Boomers are more influenced by critics, with 73% likely to attend arts events if they recommend it and only 27% likely to attend based on a recommendation from a review site.

A Millennial Rendition of Arts Events
In 2014, Eventbrite saw a more than 60% growth in performing and visual arts events where alcohol is served, a trend in line with survey findings that more than half (58%) of millennials prefer arts events with drinks on the menu. Additionally, two in three millennials (66%) prefer arts events with food, and 31% said they would attend more arts events if they could eat or drink during a performing or visual arts event. 

Millennials embrace the tradition and formality around arts events; survey results found that they enjoy dressing up and attending fancier gatherings. Thirty-five percent of millennials would rather attend an arts event that is formal instead of casual (vs. 14% of boomers). Nearly half of millennials (49%) even think performing and visual arts events are not dressy enough. Even though formality can be a draw for millennials at arts events, they don't want to be forced into a tux. Sixty-three percent would prefer events without the rules of a dress code, proving a little freedom can go a long way with this generation.

"Amid recent studies indicating a decline in arts event attendance rates for U.S. adults, it was encouraging to see that our study found 70% of millennials who recently attended an arts event expressed interest in attending more," said Martina Wang, marketing lead at Eventbrite. "The challenge for performing and visual arts organizations is to effectively reach this highly-connected, influential generation, while staying true to deep-rooted traditions. Our findings offer them valuable insights into the future of this industry." 

For more details and to view the full study, please visit the Event Academy, Eventbrite's resource for event organizers with webinars, whitepapers, and industry insights for events of any kind. To learn more about Eventbrite ticketing and registration for performing and visual arts events, check out eventbrite.com/arts.

About Eventbrite
Eventbrite is the global marketplace for live experiences that allows people to find and create events. Since 2006, the self-service platform has helped event organizers of all kinds to sell more tickets through robust technology and promotional tools, totaling $3.5 billion in gross ticket sales. In addition to providing technology for organizers, Eventbrite has become the destination for consumers looking to discover a variety of live experiences from small photography and yoga classes to large concerts and festivals with tens of thousands of attendees. More than 200 million tickets have been processed on the platform, and in 2014 alone, Eventbrite processed $1.5 billion in gross ticket sales for attendees in more than 180 countries. Eventbrite investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.

Contact Information:

Contact
Lauren Busley
PR Manager
Eventbrite
busley@eventbrite.com
415.215.8924