Frequency and attendance at popular music concerts in the USA: Does facility age matter?

Abstract

Popular music is a valuable community amenity in the USA. State and local governments often encourage concert development by subsidizing construction and operation of concert venues. The facilities most likely to receive public support also host professional sports franchises. Public policy arguments supporting subsidization often maintain that concert frequency declines as facilities age, thus necessitating their replacement. Anecdotal evidence is inconsistent on the matter. Using a two-year pooled cross-section of 1234 concerts in 80 professional sports facilities from July 2012 to June 2014, the present study tests if facility age predicts changes in concert frequency and attendance. The results lend support to subsidy proponents' arguments, but the magnitude of the age effects is unlikely to warrant significant subsidy levels.

Keywords:

• popular music
• concerts
• arenas
• stadiums
• attendance
• subsidies

Acknowledgements

The author received no public support for this project. The views reflected herein are those of the author and not of the City of New York or the Independent Budget Office. He is indebted to the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism that greatly improved the quality of this study. He is solely responsible for all mistakes.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. US Code Title 20, Chapter 26, Section 952, Paragraph (b).

2. Professional sports leagues have found it advantageous to give up their non-profit status: MLB did so in 2007 and the NFL announced in April 2015 they would as well. A key motivation for voluntarily giving up non-profit status is to avoid the costs of tax compliance and having to publicly disclose financial information (Zimbalist, 2014).

3. Indirect subsidization through the tax code is in opposition to direct subsidization through the public budget. Symphonies and orchestras survive largely on private donations in the USA, whereas classical music is more heavily subsidized through the public budget abroad. By one estimate, for example, classical music in London composes 10 per cent of the total attendance at musical events, yet it commands more than 90 per cent of government subsidies to these events (Laing & York, 2000).