The news: Live Nation expects 2025 to be another record year for concertgoing, as global tours from superstars like Oasis, Coldplay, and Beyoncé fuel attendance and ticket sales.

• The company has sold over 130 million tickets in the seven months through July, up 6% YoY—a company high.
• Concerts event-related deferred revenues in Q2—ticket sales from future events—jumped 25% to $5.1 billion, a sign that demand remains strong going into the latter half of the year.

Have ticket, will travel: Consumers are jumping at the chance to see their favorite stars live—and they’re willing to travel for the privilege.

• Half of the respondents to Bank of America’s 2025 Summer Travel and Entertainment Survey have traveled to another state or country to attend a concert, sporting event or festival in the past two years. That is especially true of younger generations: 70% of millennials and two-thirds of Gen Zers report traveling out-of-state or internationally to attend concerts or other events.
• Bad Bunny’s two-month residency in Puerto Rico is expected to bring in twice the number of tourists—600,000—than is usual during the low season, boosting the local economy by at least $200 million, according to tourism agency Discover Puerto Rico.

Money matters: While concert ticket prices have soared over the past few years—particularly for the most in-demand artists—consumers are turning to flexible payment plans, like buy now pay later (BNPL), to minimize the sticker shock.

• Around 1 in 3 (31%) Gen Zers have used BNPL to pay for concert tickets, and over half have used the service to pay for adjacent expenses like accommodations, transportation, and even the cost of a new outfit, according to a Cash App survey.
• Events like Coachella are capitalizing on that opportunity: Around 60% of general admission ticket buyers used the festival’s payment plan option for their purchase, which enabled them to snag admission for as little as $49.99 upfront, per Billboard.

Our take: While it may seem counterintuitive for concert demand to be so strong even as other areas of discretionary spending, like travel and restaurant meals, falter, it’s clear that a sizable number of consumers view entertainment as a necessary splurge in an era of uncertainty. That could help give the US hospitality industry a much-needed boost as it grapples with declining international demand.

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