Listen to Your Heart: Motives for Attending Roxette Live

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify motives of people attending concerts during the Roxette tour to South Africa and, based on these motives, to identify and profile different market segments. A destination-based survey was undertaken, and questionnaires were distributed at four of the seven Roxette concerts held at the Grand West Casino in Cape Town (May 10 and 11, 2011) and at the Sun City Super Bowl in Sun City (May 13 and 14, 2011). A total of 960 questionnaires were administered at events in Cape Town and Sun City (436 and 524, respectively). The factor analysis identified five motives: Artist affiliation and unique experience, Socialisation and event novelty, Fun and group affiliation, Enjoyment and entertainment, and Nostalgia. Based on these motives, two distinct clusters of attendees were identified: Avid fans and Recreational attendees. Although these fans have different travel motives and behavioural variables, their socio-demographic characteristics are homogenous. Marketing campaigns should focus on attracting and retaining Avid Fans as they were found to be the most lucrative target market. This was only the second time that the attendees at a live music performance in South Africa were analysed, and the first time that they were clustered based on their travel motives. The research provides valuable insights into the behaviour of people attending musical events and also highlights the complexity of their motives.

KEYWORDS:

• live music performances
• motives
• Roxette
• South Africa

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Big Concerts for their financial support for this project and for allowing this research to be conducted at the concerts. The authors would also like to thank all the fieldworkers and respondents who participated in the survey.