Hot concert economy drives industrial chain development

The booming concert economy is driving the development of listed companies in the industrial chain, Securities Daily reported on Wednesday.

The operating revenue of GoldenSea, the global stage lighting leader, reached of 709 million yuan ($97.53 million) in the first half of the year, up 24.16 percent year-on-year, according to the company's semi-annual report 2023 released on Tuesday.

The net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company witnessed a year-on-year growth of 27.12 percent to reach 223 million yuan during the same period.

In the first half of this year, the number of commercial performances increased by 400.86 percent year-on-year in China.

The performance box office revenue increased by 673.49 percent year-on-year and the number of visitors increased more than 10 times on a yearly basis, according to China Association of Performing Arts.

The hot concert industry has directly driven the whole industrial chain's development including planning, executing, actors, venues in the upstream, sound, lighting and stage in the midstream, as well as promoting, artists managing, tickets managing and security.

Meanwhile, the frequent holding of concerts is also driving the development of surrounding industries such as hospitality, catering, tourism, culture and creation.

The booming concert economy is a hot spot for this year's consumption and is closely related to the continuous social and economic development, and consumption concept upgrading, said Wang Peng, associate researcher at Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Young people, mainly the post-1990 and post-'00s generations, are becoming the main force of consumption. Concerts are expected to boost consumption in related industries and sectors, and the industry space is expected to expand further in the future, Wang said.

Many listed companies have increased their layout in this field. Beijing Funshine Culture Media Co Ltd said the company is actively expanding business in commercial performance and will take more commercial performance projects for balanced development.

The spiritual and cultural consumption demand, including performing arts activities, is increasing gradually in the context of the continuous growth of domestic residents' disposable income level and the upgrading of cultural consumption.

GoldenSea said it will combine the specific needs of the domestic market, actively develop product categories and models to adapt to the market, and seize market opportunities.

The development of the concert economy can also be further optimized from ticket purchase, travel, accommodation and catering, said An Guangyong, an expert at the Professional Committee of Credit Management of China Mergers and Acquisitions Association.

Better services can be provided such as introducing a smart ticketing system, providing public transport concessions tied to the system, and providing the audience more interactive experiences via mobile applications and virtual reality technology, An said.